It's Raining, It's Pouring...

My friend Anne and I got rained out - we had plans to meet at the lake and run this morning. But it is just pouring and doesn't look like it's going to let up, so luckily we were able to reschedule for tomorrow, when the weather is supposed to be much better.

I guess it will be Jillian and her Shred for me today, instead... I am halfway through the first level. Yes, it does get easier as you go along.

I got a nice run in on Tuesday, up to the Finnish track. But my heart wasn't really in it, as I was thinking a lot about my cousin who lost his wife to cancer this past weekend. I only met her once, at their wedding in California in 2009, and she was such a neat, upbeat person - it makes me so sad that they didn't get more time together. My heart goes out to my cousin, her four kids and the rest of her family...

Sunny Spring Day

Kristel and I took advantage of the spring weather to take a long walk in the woods near the Zoet Water, an area just outside of our town where there are beautiful woods, lots of paths, a pretty chapel and a fresh drinkable water spring.

After our walk, we sat and enjoyed the sun and some tea we brought along in a thermos. There is a nice picknick table right near this chapel. Then I filled up four water bottles with spring water to take home. The water is supposed to be very rich in iron, and there are always people lining up to fill their bottles. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Cold Snap

A cold front came through yesterday and I was so glad I hadn't given into temptation and put away all my winter clothes yet! I usually don't dare do that until the beginning of May here, but it was mighty tempting last week, with the gorgeous weather we had been having. I hadn't been to the gym all week, so I decided to go there today for a treadmill run - you know how I like to get hot and sweaty and I just didn't feel like braving the chilly wind this morning! The nice thing about the treadmill is that you can "force" yourself to go at an easier pace. It felt good and I ended up with 8.8 km in an hour. Have a great Sunday!

Is it Friday already?

It's been a gorgeous week, and I have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather as much as I can. I got two really nice runs in this week:

• Tuesday: to the Finnish track, four loops around the track and then back home for a total of 6.2 km in 41 minutes
• Thursday: out to the lake and back for a total of 7.3 km in 50 minutes

I was deliberately trying to run slow and easy for recovery, which is no problem at the beginning of my runs, but once I get warmed up I tend to pick up the pace in spite of myself. I don't know if this is good or bad, or if I shouldn't worry about it too much...anybody have any thoughts on this?

Other than that I have been busy making phone calls, cleaning out cupboards, throwing lots of things away to get ready for our living room renovation - we have already ordered a new couch and have to get all the rest done before it is delivered in May: make new curtains, paint the walls, new floors, etc. I am so excited! I will take before and after pictures to share with you when it's done.

Now I have just a few things to do around the house and then I am off to meet a friend at Loving Hut for lunch - yay! Have a great weekend!

Good Times in Dendermonde

Chip time 58:47! Not quite a 10K PR, as I was actually slightly faster in Mechelen in September, but I was super pleased to have been able to get out there and nail a 6 minute pace again - this means I have been successful keeping my fitness level up in spite of the cold winter and lots of treadmill running. I also improved my time on this course by about three minutes over last year!

We really enjoyed the race again, it was extremely well organized with great facilites (no long lines to wait for the ladies room), a positive atmosphere (we met some friendly fellow runners) and a pleasant course. They even made some improvments in the course over last year and eliminated a couple of narrow spots - although there were still a couple of bottlenecks that did slow us down: one was over a narrow foot bridge and another on that short stretch along the Dender River where they split the path into an out and back - that got very congested and was a pain to slog through.


Finally, when we were standing in line to pick up our bibs, we noticed the President of Flanders, Kris Peeters, was also lined up to pick up his bib for the 10K - it's always fun to know you are running with a celebrity! He of course got to start at the front of the pack - maybe that's why I was able to run so fast - trying to catch up with him ;-)



And last but not least, we couldn't have asked for better weather - it was a perfect day for racing and good times in Dendermonde!

Yoga on Saturday

Got a busy day ahead of us today so I got up early and did this great sequence from Yoga Journal: Twist and Detox. It's just 20 minutes but afterwards I felt like I wrung myself out a bit and am ready for my day!

Tomorrow is our 10K in Dendermonde...it will be chilly but we are hoping for some sunshine.

Have a great day!

Local talent

Selah Sue, a really talented singer-songwriter from right here in Leuven, just released her first album - and this song has been rocking my runs! Apparently she is going to make her first big appearance in the US in Austin TX this Saturday at the South by Southwest Festival there. So keep you ears open - you'll probably being hearing more from her!

It's gotten cold and gray again, so I went to the gym so I could get a good sweat going. I did 50 minutes and 7.3 km, felt awesome! Now it's time to get showered so I can meet two friends downtown for lunch. Good music, good running, good friends and good food - what more could one ask for?