Tilburg Ten Miles of Fun!

Sunday September 6th I participated in the Tilburg Ten Miles run. 

The weather wasn't looking good.. dark clouds, a strong wind and a bit chilly. 

I don't mind it being fairly cold, because I tend to run better when it gets colder outside, however I was a little worried about getting soaked. As soon as the thousands of participants launched their pursuit for the finish line, the dark clouds moved back and a watery sunshine appeared.

At the start I met up with one of my climbing buddies, Monique. Usually on sunday we go for a climb, but today we put on our running shoes. Run forrest run!

This run was great! Loads of people cheering on the side of the course, marching bands playing music and fueling stations spread along the entire course. I especially like these runs because they print your first name on your runner number, like a giant name tag, which results in having total strangers cheering for you. Keeping going, Tatjana, you're almost there! Has me looking around quizically every time, trying to find the familiar face. 

The run went very smooth. I started at approximately 23 minutes after the launch and caught up on the '1h 35 minutes' hare around the 14k mark, having plenty of reserves left to accelerate. I crossed the finish line 1 hour and 54 after launch, resulting in a net run time of 1 hour, 30 minutes and 20 seconds, an averaging 10.7 kilometers an hour. So proud of us!! Hence the big smile crossing the finish-line. 

This run was the perfect training for the half marathon in Eindhoven on October 11th. 

Looking forward to this very much. I have attended the event for several years, but never as a participant. I'm aiming for a net time around 2 hours. At my first half marathon in March 2015 I ran a net time of 2 hours 6 minutes and I've improved quite a bit over the time, so I should be able to make it. 

But first I'll be starting at the "Singelloop" in Utrecht. Last year I rand the 5k run of this event with several co-workers and cheered for my co-workers running the 10k. This year I'll be starting the 10k myself and looking forward running through the beautiful streets of downtown Utrecht. 

But first some more training laps! Run, Tatjana, Run!

Where will you be running next? :)

Go for it full speed ahead!