How much rest is needed after the marathon? And does it matter that you used a nutrient patch?
No, I wasn't on stage at the Alphense Bergen Trail last Sunday. In fact, there was not even an official time registration. The prize in this one was a ticket won through the Rotterdam Marathon Participants. And that exactly one week after the marathon of Ghent.
Beforehand I was a bit hesitant to accept the price. Eventually I decided to do that anyway and then of course the question arose which distance I wanted to have. The longest distance, 25 km, you can probably adjust if necessary. Really the kind of excuse of a walking addict.
That the trail was not in Alphen aan den Rijn, but in Alphen Noord-Brabant – near Gilze – was another point of doubt. Far away and quite flat on paper. Luckily I could ride with Frank and Richard. They too had no idea what kind of terrain to expect.
On speed
Despite the fact that there were two runs of RMD partners on this day, there were still quite a few RMD people present. More than in this picture (fanatic trailers Wouter, Marco, Frank and Richard), and almost enough to fill our own startwave. We decided to start as a group in wave 4. Indeed, don't shorten anything, together on the 25 km.
I hadn't walked a day after Ghent. I was very curious how the legs would hold up. The previous times they did feel heavy in the first training sessions after the marathon, but now of course I also had those band-aids used.
In any case, the first few kilometers went very smoothly. Richard walked ahead, Frank a little further back to stay in one piece for the Athens marathon. The reverse route I did, say, first a 25 km trail and then the marathon.
Whether it was the plaster or the rest period, I don't know, but I felt forced by my legs to keep going at a fast pace. Always against or just over the border of zone 5. A much higher heart rate than I normally do. But I felt really driven, my body dragged me on, a bit like you were on drugs. To clarify: this barrel was just without a band-aid!
Crossen
The course was very different from the flat landscape as seen from the car. We walked mainly through forest with autumn trees, very nice to see. The trail was pretty hard – maybe as hard as Gent – and there were a lot of small climbs of MTB courses in it. That's nice, hard cruising over a small hill and then accelerating further on a sloping path with sharp bends.
The speed remained reasonable the whole time. Only the last 3 km I was just tired. In the end I finished in 2.48.21 over 24,26 km (much less than the promised 25,5 km). Not badly done so just after a marathon. And the course is definitely worth it, especially in these autumn days.
Flying
Shortly after Rotterdam Marathon, I let myself be immortalized as white Kenyan. Again, I'm working on a little project. Apparently the body feels more secure and trained (except for my belly then). The subject this time is: Icarus. Above is a picture of during the paintproces. I can't wait for the final results. After posing I had more pain this time than after both races. Too bad they don't have invisible plasters…
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