To the seven hills for the new record - Zevenheuvelenloop 2019
Disclaimer: Automatically translated from Russian
Zevenheuvelenloop, which means “ Running through seven hills ” - a race in which I participated in 2016 year and where I decided to go this year for the new PB.
Mental preparation began with the calculation of target time and pace. Based on the following data: current PB at 10 km - 36:24 (tempt 3:38 min / km), PB at the half marathon 1:19:55 (tempt 3:47 min / km), that is, in theory, it should cope with an average pace of 3:47 min / km, which corresponds to target time 55:30. Given that the last time I ran away here at 58:31 (tempt 3:54 min / km), a good improvement would have been achieved. On that and decided. True, he looked at the PB of his cellmate Herman, with whom we drive in training and compete in competitions (in different age categories), but which is almost a minute faster than me by 10 km. His record on this track was 54:43 (3:38 min / km). Far away, I thought.
From day last race a week passed, which I ran away in full, wounding the maximum allowable volume of 90 with small kilometers. On a competitive week on Monday, he arranged a vacation ( it seems, because of the rain ), and then he rested on Friday.
On the eve of the start, I felt good. The scales showed the fighting 69 kg. The weather was promised a wonderful one - about + 7 degrees and without rain. Since the route passes through settlements and forest area, wind was also not expected. The battle lining was something like this:
Although the soul hoped that I would risk running in a T-shirt. Well, I was not sure about the sneakers, so I decided to go to Saucony Kinvara, who showed themselves well last half marathon, and for the start prepared by NB 1500v5.
Nijmegen is not the city closest to Harlem, about two hours by train with one or two transfers. I already went here last Zeveheuvelenloop, as well as on Stevensloop this year and the final triathlon divisional competition in past. The places are pretty beautiful, with pretty bridges and the bride where lurking hills. Since the event was a very mass organizer strongly recommended that you take the train - those who arrived by car had to pay a special fee, and for those who wanted to use the railway, the starting package included a ticket with a huge discount. The start was planned at 13:00, you had to leave home at 8:45. He made his way to the last and did not even have time to shave and brush his teeth. During the cycle, a chain flew to the station, then chain protection fell off - I had to run with a bicycle to catch a train. A good start, I thought.
But nothing more unforeseen happened - all the transfers went clearly, the podcasts sat in the train, had a bite to eat, watching the train car gradually fill with people in sneakers from station to station.
Well, I examined the landscapes outside the window:
At the train station in Nijmegen, you immediately plunge into the atmosphere of the upcoming big event - information stands, a support group and a large number of street toilets - what else is needed for happiness :-)
A few hundred meters from the station, the prostate town began - tents for issuing rooms, T-shirts, a small expo and a sponsorship stand with the names of the participants (too simple - I found myself in just a minute):
On the thermometer + 3 degrees - a sunny frosty morning. There is still enough time - I’m going to inspect starting positions. My blue cluster, right behind the gray elite. Which cannot but rejoice. Starting gate - in a couple of hours we’ll run:
Since several tens of thousands of people participated, 5 locations were allocated for changing clothes. We changed clothes in the underground parking lot of Rabobank. I came there among the first when there were very few people:
He began, in no hurry, to grab the number on the T-shirt, glancing around the sides, trying to notice what the looking fast dudes dress in. Well, trying to recall his past races and sensations. The last time I ran in such weather was just here on Stevensloop, then it was + 8 degrees, spring, and, I remember, it was very hot, although it was very windy. He then ran in a T-shirt and sleeves. Ok, I decide not to wear sleeves. T-shirt and shorts. Some guy comes up, asks for advice on what to wear and is surprised that I expect to run with a short sleeve.
I put on a T-shirt, jacket, windbreaker, strap into the NB and go out to warm up. I run a couple of kilometers and catch myself thinking that the sneakers are very hard, but on hills, especially on descents, I still need something softer. I return to the parking lot, change into Kinvara, run another kilometer - it’s normal, we’ll run in them. After standing in the ritual queue for the toilet, I go to finally change my clothes. I decide to change the number from a T-shirt to a T-shirt (a very correct decision), leave extra clothes, phone, take a bottle of water, gels, put on a plastic cape I saved from the half marathon - that’s it, I’m ready to start.
On the street, a control call to the toilet (yes, I always prefer to play it safe and think through everything carefully to the smallest detail so that there are no surprises) and, in awe of the cold, I go to the starting cluster, to which about a kilometer. The people are running warming up, and I’m already once-and-so-heated.
I come to my place, squeeze as close as possible to the beginning of the starting zone and start waiting, wondering how many people are running in the Waporflai 4% (chiters!). Leading represent the Ethiopian-Kenyan elite, the local star Susan Crumins (she was born in this city and several times became the first Dutch woman in this race). Then the partition opens and we begin to seep to the starting gate and everyone ran. I didn’t even hear a shot.
From the start, it’s quite crowded right away, although everyone is running quite shustro - the road is wide, there is no place to loop. On the second kilometer I noticed the descended Maureen Koster - I just fell off. I run through the sensations, trying to keep the pace between 3:35 and 3:40. At times it turns out a little faster, at times a little slower - hills-s. In general, the overall ran well - a comfortable heavy pace. I tried to overtake as many women as possible. At each of the few food outlets he tried to intercept water or isotonic. While crawling into one of the mountains on the seventh kilometer, gel sucked in (took two with him, but the second did not come in handy). On the rise of the eleventh kilometer, “ New Balance Kilometer was organized with a separate standings and photographers:
I caught myself thinking that the right foot in front (I once had a chinsplint there) was somehow unpleasantly felt. It will be necessary to look more closely. Not frozen, not sweating especially. Everything went pretty quickly and smoothly. On the slopes he didn’t break, at the end, too - until the last moment he did not remember whether there would still be a rise or not. Was - in front of the finish line was just a little in the hill. At the finish line I watch the clock on the scoreboard, falling over 55 minutes. Just a few seconds were missing - you still had to look at the time in the process, and not just at the pace. But even for dirty time in the target time, he met, and that’s great. At the finish line he did not linger - he looked around (marked Ben Parkes) and went towards the exit - he had to go home.
I get a wooden medal, an isotonik, I hush up a kilometer, the second I run to the parking lot ( under the applause of volunteers ), change clothes and hurry to the station - I just have time for the nearest train.
On the train I listen to podcast, look at Instagram on tags from the competition, and there the wakes - it turns out they just updated the women’s world record, for almost a minute - 44:20, Letesenbet Gidey poses with a check for 50k euros. Yeah, keeping such a pace on this track is a respect.
I come home, do household chores and a message from Herman arrives in the evening - they adjusted the official results:
Logging in to watch:
Official result: time - 54:44 269th of 19837 in the overall standings 29th of 1714 in the M35 category
Oh, and the results are not bad at all: and out of 55:30 he ran out, it turns out, out of 55. And the average pace is only a second slower than the average rate at ten (3:39 versus 3:38 min / km). Although this race is difficult to compare with a flat race of the same length - still the track is very fast - the ups are compensated by the slopes. This is how the profile looks with the seven hills indicated on it:
This is the event. Cross another missed, though, oh well - it was worth it.