What is a drop bag? Simply put a drop bag is a bag with stuff that you check in at the start of the race and will have access to at aid stations during the race. So you can put things like food, clothes, batteries, etc in it that you might need in later stages but don’t want to carry with you all the time.

In the 50 mile Bello Gallico the drop bags will be available at the second aid station, just before the halfway point in the race at 37 kilometers. The 50 miles or 80 kilometers is short enough to be able to complete without the use of a drop bag so I probably won’t need most of what I pack but you never know what might happen in those first 37 kilometers.

Besides that, I might actually need what is in my drop bag, it is also good to practice the use of a drop bag as I expect that I will be doing longer events in the future in which I will definitely need my drop bag.

So what’s in my dropbag for the Bello Gallico trail….

1. A sports towel to dry myself in case it rains in the first half.

2. An empty plastic bag to store wet clothes.

3. A replacement red light in case the one on my race vest stops working or falls of.

4. Basic medicine and other care products

• Pain medication
• Anti diarrhea medication
• Cleening wipes for my glasses
• Hand warmers to heat up my hands

5. Spare Petzl Nao headlamp (in case the one I am wearing breaks down).

6. Body glide, to reapply for chafing prevention.

7. Some basic first aid necessities such as bandages, sport tape and handkerchiefs.

8. Spare batteries:

• Spare battery for the Petzl Nao headlamp
• Spare batteries for my Garmin GPSMAP 64st (handheld navigation)
• Spare batteries for my Fenix flashlight

9. Powerbank with charging cable for my GPS watch

10. Food to put in my race vest:

• Beef Jerky
• Clif Bloks energy chews (1)
• Clif Bars (2)
• Amand Go bars (2)
• Nakd bars (2)
• Clif protein bar
• Torq energy gels (6)
• Nuun tablets for in my soft flask (3)
• Just Nuts bars (4)

Now of course I won’t be using all of this, but I want to have options depending how I feel and what feel that I am able to eat.

11. A full set of running gear including different types of underwear, Buffs and gloves in case it rains in the first part and I want to put on dry clothes.

12. Duct-tape (clothes or shoes might need emergency repairs)

13. Running shoes in case I want or have to switch shoes.

14. Food to eat at the aid station:

• Beef sausages
• Oreo’s in white chocolate
• Salted cashew nuts
• Fruit flavored biscuits.

15. Spare soft flask, hydration bladder and tube (in case the ones I am carrying start to leak)

16. Spare race bib belt, I use the race bib belt to carry the energy gels, to prevent spending a lot of time fumbling at the aid station putting new gels in the race bib belt I put a belt with gels already inserted in it in my drop bag so that I only need to put my race bib on it and I am good to go.

17. Trekking poles, I don’t expect that I will need them but will take them along in my drop bag just in case I need them to support me while running / walking with an injury.

Within my dropbag I will organize everything in separate bags to be able to easily find what I need.

One final advice I got out of a presentation by Maarten Schön and Marek Vis about their Legends Trail adventure was to put a checklist in your drop bag to make sure that don’t lose too much time at the aid station and don’t forget anything.

My checklist in my dropbag consists of:

• Do I need medical assistance?
• Charge GPS watch
• Blister treatment if needed.
• Medication?
• Eat!
• Clean glasses
• Change clothes?
• Change shoes?
• Refill water
• Nuun in the soft flask!
• Refill food
• Change batteries (headlamp / flashlight / GPS)
• Change spare batteries in race vest.
• Trekking Poles?
• GO!

All packed in a sports bag and ready for me at the second aid station in the race.

So the rough training plan for these last 17 days:

• Put in a few long runs.
• At least one long trail run.
• A bit of speed work.
• A night training run.
• Stay in one piece.
• Rest.

These last 17 days start as I have just finished my last workday and that structure of having to get up at 5 AM every morning to go out for a run suddenly has dissapeared. I expected that this would result in me getting up every day and just wanting to run endlessly but that’s not how it went for the first few days apparently I had to refind my rythm.

It did not take me too long to find that though, I just had to kick myself in the butt a few times during the first week after quiting my job.

Thursday the 1st of December

As I said, the strucutre that was missing had disrupted my training regime and so I ended up not running today and just walked around in the city centre of Utrecht a bit, buying a few small things for the Bello Gallico like handwarmers and a few waterproof bags to store my clothes in that I put in my race vest. Furthermore I am just resting, mentally and physically and rest is also training.

Friday the 2nd of December

I still did not feel like running but convinced myself to go out for a run anyway. Even though I did not want to run, I also did not want to spend the last 2 weeks until the Bello Gallico doing nothing and watching my endurance level drop.

And so I took a handheld bottle of water with me and set out of a run of an undefined length. Soon after I left the house it starts to drizzle a bit and all I can think of is, great extra training!

After about 20 km I stop to text Astrid that all is going well and that I am actually enjoying myself and will be home a bit later than planned.

After 28.7 km I arrive home, soaked by the rain but very content with this training run.

Saturday the 3rd of December

Today I wanted to do another long run, with the almost 30 km of yesterday I wanted to take that “fatique” with me on another long run to simulate running long distances without putting all the distance in one single run.

So for today I had set out a nice new running course for myself by modifying one of my regular cycling routes. The plan was to go for a 40 km run at a very conservative pace. The run itself was quite uneventful, I kept the same pace and heartrate throughout the entire run and after 40 kilometers I was getting close to home again.

When I noticed that I would hit aproximately 41 km I decided to add a short loop to the run and make it a marathon. And so on this random Saturday morning I ran a marathon in a time under 4 hours with my heart rate in the low aerobe zone (135 – 145) for almost the entire run. Slowly I am starting to realize the progress I have been making on these long runs, and it makes me proud.

Sunday the 4th of December

Since I had just two back to back days with long runs, covering around 70 kilometer in just two days the plan was to do an alternative easy training today.

And so Astrid and I decided to go out for a bike ride on this beautiful sunny winter day. And so early in the morning we ride out on our racing bikes for what was supposed to be a 45 kilometer ride. 2 kilometers into the ride we turn around and ride home to get warmer gloves as we could barely move our fingers anymore, after switching to different gloves we go out for attempt two.

After around 8 kilometers we have frozen feet and I could not feel my fingers anymore, despite the Summit Series gloves of The North Face I am wearing so we decide that it is time to call it a day.

Arriving home we have cycled 18 kilometers in total and it takes us some time to defrost all limbs.

Since I am not fully happy with the amount of training I had for today I decide it would be nice to do a bit of strength training. Since we don’t have a lot of hills to do a hill training I just throw a 10 kg kettlebell in a backpack, strap on the backpack and run up and down our staircase for 30 minutes.

Monday the 5th of December

For today I had planned my longest run in preparation for the Bello Gallico, a 60+ km trailrun. Besides this running distance I had an additional challenge added to today’s training.

I created a 60 kilometer trail course from a combination of a trailrun course I regularly run on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and a well known point to point course in that area.

The start and finish of the course was the railroad station in Driebergen, roughly 10 kilometers from my home. However since I have quit my job I no longer have a car so getting to the start of this trail course requires a bit more effort than normal.

And so on Monday morning the alarm goes of at 5:30 AM. Astrid and I get up and do our regular routine of Kettlebell and Planking exercises for about 30 minutes to start our day. When we are done and after a small breakfast I put on my running gear and backpack and get on my bicycle for a 10 kilometer ride to the start of my trail course.

After 25 minutes of cycling through pretty chilly conditions I arrive at the railroad station and find a place to safely leave my bike. I put the small jacket and windstopper gloves in my backpack, start up my GPS and off I go. It is around 9AM as I head out on the trail, roughly 60 kilometers ahead of me.

I follow the course on my GPS as I look around at the beautiful partly frozen environment. Suddenly I hear some movement up ahead. A deer leaps out of the bushes, stares directly at me and just as me stops in his (or her) tracks. Besides the tame Deers in Nara (Japan) I have never been this close to a Deer, it’s just 5 to 10 meters in front of me. For seconds it just stands there staring at me. Instead of trying to grab my camera I just stand there and watch, then after a few more seconds it runs into the distance.

I realize that this is one of the reasons that I run trails, and with almost 60 kilometers still ahead of me I am in for a full day of enjoyment.

After about 10 kilometers I remind myself that I have to drink. It is cold, a bit below 0, and I normally don’t get thirsty in these temperatures, but knowing how important it is to stay hydrated I take the tube of my hydration backpack in my mouth, nothing…. I try my soft flask which is also in my race vest, also nothing…

I pause my watch and stop to figure out what is wrong. I look at the tubes and both are completely filled with ice. Great another challenge! I untangle the tube of the hydration backpack from the backpack and put it between the backpack and my chest, assuming that my body heat will defrost the tube. In the mean time I am holding the tube of the soft flask with one hand causing it to defrost and allowing me to drink a bit.

Now that this is fixed I again continue to move forward, enjoying the environment and beautiful views with the sun that is low at the horizon and I find myself stopping for pictures quite regularly.

At the halfway mark of my course I am getting near a small village. I have created my course in a way to pass through this village to restock at a local groceries store. I enter the local AH store and buy a bottle of water, a small bottle of juice, a cookie and some chocolate. Outside in the sun on the parking lot I refill my water supply as I eat my just bought lunch. I really like this aspect of running, being out there the full day and using facilities like this to get supplies.

After a short lunch break I continue my way, back to the course I was following. By now it is 13:00 and I have a bit over 30 kilometers to go and 3,5 hours before the sun sets and I have to be out of the woods. So I better get going again.

Kilometer after kilometer passes by and I feel strong and am able to keep a consistent pace without taking too much breaks. In fact the only breaks I take are to take pictures.

With 2 kilometers to go I stop at a great view, I take a picture and take a deep breath as I stare into the distance where I see very narrow trail through the field ahead of me. I put my camera away and go for it. With almost 60 kilometers of running behind me I race down that winding singletrack.

Unfortunately the course leads me through an area were I cannot exit the national park as I had expected to, so a short detour was needed but just as the sun sets I arrive back at the train station after a total of 62.3 km in just under 6 hours.

As I unlock my bike I tell myself how special this is. A crossfit training session, cycling and then running this distance and still feeling fit and strong. I get on my bike and cycle the 10 km back home. What a great and amazing day!

Tuesday the 6th of December

Considering that the Bello Gallico trail is getting closer and closer and after yesterday’s training I decide that it is probably better to take it easy today. I still get up early and after some chores around the house I go out for a nice long walk.

During my walk I pass by the Runnersworld store in Utrecht and stop to buy a few things that I still need for the Bello Gallico trail. Since the location has changed it is also required to have a red light on your backpack for safety while running through the night.

At Runnersworld the guy in the store that greets me recognizes me from this blog post series, a surreal experience, and we chat a bit about my preparations and how it is going.

With a tube of footglide (hopefully to help me prevent blistering my feet) and a red light I leave the store and continue my walk back home, where I arrive after a total of 13 kilometers.

Wednesday the 7th of December

The temperature has gone up a bit and so I think this is a nice day to try another bike ride. This time equiped with the right gloves from the start and a pair of shoe covers to keep the cold of my feet I leave home for a 55 km ride.

The ride feels tough and I really need to work to keep a decent speed, more than usual. I figure that it is probably due to the long training on Monday. Nevertheless the ride also reminds me that I want to spend more time on the bike next year. I love cycling almost as much as I love running and have an awesome road bike that I don’t ride enough.

Later that day I start feeling symptoms that are similar than the ones Astrid has been feeling for two days now and that seem to indicate a stomach flu. I figure that this probably affected my performance on the bike during my morning ride as well.

Thursday the 8th of December

Today the stomach flu has clearly taken control of my stomach and I spent most of the day feeling weak, sick and on the toilet.

Even though I feel like crap I still take the train to Zoetermeer to visit Tom in the Mud Sweat Trails store for a nice chat and a lunch.

At the store I try on several Ultimate Direction race vests in a search to find something new and cool to wear during the Bello Gallico trail but I decide to do the wise thing and stick with my Salomon backpack instead of wearing something completely new at a 50 mile trail.

Friday the 9th of December and Saturday the 10th of December

I slowly start to feel better on Friday and decide to go out for an easy short run. Covering 15 kilometers and conveniently planned along a course with some public toilets the run actually goes quite well and helps me to feel better.

Enough reason to go for the same run again the other day on Saturday. I start the run at around the same pace as yesterday, mostly because I want to run at an easy pace but also to get a good indication if I am feeling better at the same effort. I clearly do feel better and so in the end I add a few 20 second strides at top speed to wake up the leg muscles a bit.

All in all the stomach flu did not get to me too much (knock on wood) so the staying in one peace goal is still working out so far.

Sunday the 11th of December

For tonight I have my final night training planned, a 3 hour slow run starting a bit before midnight in order to re-acquaint myself again with running at this unusual time and to get a feel of the temperature drop during the night.

This is also the last real training for the Bello Gallico. I might do a little short run somwhere in the last week but that’s just to keep moving a bit.

During the day Astrid and I go for a long walk in national park Hoge Veluwe and visit the Kroller Muller museum that lies within the park. In total we end up walking a bit over 20 kilometers during the day. Great time on feet training, especially with the night training that I have planned later that day.

After having dinner and watching some TV, I put on my running gear and go out of the door at 23:30. As I exit the street I turn on my headlamp and head into the dark.

During my night runs I always see people that are walking around mostly drunk, coming out of the local bar who look at me like I am some kind of alien. I stopped caring for what people think when they see me running a while ago and just move along.

The night is clear and cold I was not looking forward to this run as I am still struggling a bit with training motivation but regardless of the lack of motivation I still faithfully do the training that I have planned and so I continue running, even on this cold Sunday night while I would love to be in bed and just sleep.

To make it worse my intestines start playing up on me straight from the beginning. No public toilets around, but hey there are bushes, and it’s dark so who cares. Well I do because it makes my run far less enjoyable and even more difficult to finish.

But I simply consider this to be part of training, would I drop out of a race because of this? No. And so I just continue while visiting the bushes every 5 km or so.

At 21 km in a pitch dark environment on a narrow trail along the water the battery of my headlamp dies, most likely I had it running on the wrong setting and it consumed the entire battery in just 2 hours.

Luckily I have a small flashlight with me that saves me here. After just over 3 hours of running and 32 kilometers I arrive home at 2:30 AM. Dispite the discomfort I finished the planned training, proud of it and happy to jump into the shower.

I go to bed at 3:00 AM happy that training is over, resting, active recovery, staying in one piece and preparing my gear is all that’s left before the start of the Bello Gallico trail.

Almost there

On Monday afternoon with just 5 days and a bit to go before the start of the Bello Gallico I am sitting at the local bar with a cup of tea and my lunch, Astrid is alongside me with her lunch and a beer and I think back on the past few months.

Even though I had a few small setbacks during the training period such as being hit by the flu for a few weeks in October and falling and injuring my leg in November I have been able to do almost all the training that I wanted to do. And considering where I am coming from, an unexperienced runner just 2 years after his first 10 km on the road I am proud of where I am.

The past few months preparing for this race have been a great journey. A journey in which I learned a lot about trailrunning, training, about gear and most of all about myself. I feel that I am ready for the challenge that the Bello Gallico will give me and confident that I have done all that was possible to prepare in a way to give me the best opportunity to finish this run.

But the past months have also made me realize that even though it will be great to finish this race and to get that medal, the real value lies in the journey towards it. The physical fitness I have managed to achieve for myself, the new friends I have met and the experiences that I enjoyed along the ride.

More than ever I consider myself blessed for being able to do this, that my life and my body allows me to do this and most importantly that I have Astrid alongside me that supports me in all of this.

5 days to go…. To be continued…..

It feels weird to hear myself say it or to see myself write it. Me being ready for a 80 kilometer trailrun. But after completing the past weeks of training and with just a bit over 2 weeks to go until the start of the Bello Gallico I am starting to believe that I am ready for this challenge.

Of course I won’t be running at the front of the pack and that’s also not what I am training for. I am training to finish this and to finish it running. Usually in these long races I am somewhere in the second half of the pack, and thats where I feel comfortable and where I think I belong. We will see where I end up on Sunday morning the 18th of December. But even if I am dead last, I won’t mind as long as I get the medal at the end.

So how did these past weeks since my last blog post go?

My last blog post ended with the completion of the 55 km Lommeltrail, a trail I deliberately had put in my preparation for the Bello Gallico. Having finished this successfully was a great confidence boost towards the Bello Gallico trail. Especially since I wasn’t completely wrecked after it but was able to go for a nice short trailrun on the morning after.

Coming home from the Lommeltrail on Sunday afternoon, my memory takes me back to last year. A year ago I also completed the 55 km Lommeltrail, at that point it was my very first ultra distance. I still remember that Astrid and I went for a short walk the day after because we thought that would be smart to do. After a few hundred meters of wobbling around the area, hardly being able to move our legs we returned to our cottage. Lets just say it took us a while before we were out running again.

And this year I had actually managed to go for a run on the day after and everything felt fine. Apparently my body was getting used to these long distance runs. There were 10 days left in November after arriving home, so how did these go in my preparation towards the Bello Gallico trail.

Monday the 21st of November

At the end of the week (Thursday and Friday) I would be at a work related conference, something I was really looking forward to but it also meant that I won’t be able to do a lot of running on those days. Which basically meant that I needed to get my long runs in at the beginning of the week.

Starting on Monday, just 2 days after finishing an ultra distance. And so after a good night of sleep I left the house early in the morning with the plan to go for a two hour run. I had taken the day off from work so I had all the time in the world.

And so it became 24,5 km for the first run of the week. Pleasantly surprised by being able to cover this distance without problems and without any real recovery time from the Lommeltrail.

Tuesday the 22nd of November

Since I had to be at work today the best option was to run in Rotterdam, luckily I did not have any appointments in my calendar until 10 AM so I had a bit of time to go for a long run.

And so after an early drive to Rotterdam I left the office at 7 AM to go for a 2 hour run. 2 hours and a bit over 20 kilometers later I arrived back at the office, time for a shower and breakfast and then the workday.

Even though the alarm goes off very early in the morning, you could even argue if 5 AM is actually morning or if it should be considered night time, it is worth it every time. Getting my training in before the workday actually starts works great for me and the added benefit is that I am used to running at a time when most other people are still asleep which hopefully will make it easier to run from midnight to morning during the Bello Gallico trail.

Wednesday the 23rd of November

Since I would be leaving the office early to go to the conference this afternoon I only had time for a short run, but that fitted in nicely with how I had built up my week. With the long runs on the first few days I had chosen today for a bit of speedwork.

And so I went out for a short run of an hour and wanted to throw some speed in it without blowing myself up. And so I ran relatively comfortable for an hour at a pace of around 4:30 / km. A nice workout and fun to experience some speed again.

In the evening Astrid, myself and one of my colleagues drove to the XP Days Benelux conference we would be attending the next two days, after arriving there we headed for the bar. This was not going to be a night with a lot of sleep…..

Thursday the 24th of November

After just about 5 hours of sleep, the alarm of my phone goes off. It is 5 AM and I want to get a run in before breakfast and the start of the conference program.

The conference is in a small village which typically don’t have a lot of street lights. For me that means an extra chance to run in the dark with a headlight on. And so at around 6 AM I am leaving the hotel with my Petzl Nao on my head. I run a short round around the village and when I arrive back at the hotel, I notice a small running trail in the forrest that surrounds the hotel. Of course I could not let the opportunity of a few dark trail kilometers pass and so I ran through the forest for a bit. Time for a bit of rest and to enjoy the conference.

And then later on the day an e-mail from the organizers of the Bello Gallico trail. Unfortunately they did not come to an agreement with the local authorities to be allowed to run at night through the area for the Bello Gallico trail. Leaving them with only one reasonable option, moving the entire event to a different location in Belgium and as such a completely new course for the run.

This basically means that my recon run of the course 3 weeks ago suddenly is nothing more than just a nice training. I quickly decide to plan another recon run of the new area for the upcoming weekend to at least have a rough idea of the terrain and the course.

Friday the 25th of November

I am using the second day on the conference as a resting day, no running today, just enjoying being at the XP Days Benelux conference with some old and new friends of the agile community.

Saturday the 26th of November

On Saturday I did not really have a reason to go for a run, I would be doing a long run on the new Bello Gallico course on Sunday so Saturday should be an easy day and should definitely not challenge me too much with an ultra distance ahead of me.

But the weather was great and I really felt like running and so I could not resist and went out for a short run but I kept the pace and heart rate low to save my energy for the next day.

After a bit over 12 kilometers on my favourite course in the neighbourhood I arrived back home, a nice start of the weekend.

Sunday the 27th of November

With the Bello Gallico race changing locations and this beeing the last weekend in which I have a car available this was the last opportunity to check out the new course.

Race director Stef had quickly put a GPS route together for me that, while it was not the definite route of the race, would give me a good impression of the terrain and the challenges.

And so on Sunday morning I left Utrecht at 6 AM to drive to Oud Heverlee, the starting point of the course. Unfortunately there were some highways closed in the Netherlands due to construction work on these roads which meant my drive to Belgium took 2 hours and 45 minutes, almost a full hour longer than in normal traffic conditions.

After having paked he car I quickly get going and within a few minutes I am on my way on the course. The area is really nice, I start at the official start location and after a few hundred meters on the road I already find myself heading into the forrest on a tight singletrack trail alongside a beautiful view over the water. This first part is physically challenging due to the slippery nature and the thick layer of leaves on the ground.

After about 20 minutes Tim, one of the race directors, sends me a message that he is at the 5 km mark. After turning a few more corners I can already see Tim standing there and waiting for me. I blink a few times to see if my eyes are not deceiving me, but they are not, he is actually wearing shorts while it is just 5 degrees outside.

We have a short chat and I am back on my way, I still have 42 kilometers of running left ahead of me so I better get going to make sure I am done before the sun sets. I notice the amount of tarmac in the course, which is a pitty but at certain times it is a welcome part of the run since it allows me to recover a bit. Most of the course is either going up, down or zig-zag not really allowing me to get in a stable running cadence.

After 29 kilometers I pass the small village Leefdaal. I have deliberately modified the course to pass through this village since I assumed that a refill of water and something else to eat than the energy gels and bars I was carrying would be welcome. And so I visit the local grocery store to buy myself a bottle of water and a small box of cashew nuts. Sitting outside I refill the water container in my race vest while chewing on some cashew nuts. I put the remainder of the cashew nuts in a plastic bag and put them in my race vest and after this short break I am on my way again, 18 kilometers remaining.

The course is tougher than what would originally have been the location of the Bello Gallico trail. Elevation changes and tough muddy tracks make it difficult to get into a steady pace. I put on some music, it’s focus time, I just want to get this done.

With 2 kilometers to go my phone rings. It’s Stef, he asks me where I am on the course and that he will meet me at my car. After 10 minutes I am approaching the parking lot and Stef is already walking towards me. We greet eachother and briefly discuss the course and what I think of it.

The new Bello Gallico course is more challenging than the original one, it has more elevation changes and tougher terrain. But it also hase more tarmac in it. If I would have known up front that this would be the course I would be running on I would have spent more time training on hills and a bit less on long steady paced endurance runs. But we will see how it works out.

Tim and his wife Frederique and their kids also arrive at the parking lot. After a drink together we all head home, where I arrive 2 hours later. Happy that I have managed to squeeze this recon run in, but also happy that the week is finished.

Monday the 28th of November

As the new week starts I leave our comfy house at 6 AM to drive to Rotterdam for another day at the office, one of the last.

This is my last pre-workday run in Rotterdam, at least for now it is. In September I had decided to quit my job and my last workday is on Tuesday the 29th of November, just a day away.

On this cold morning in Rotterdam I run along the river “De Maas” as I have done numerous times over the past 2 years. I stare over the water while running, taking in this moment. After I finish my run I take a deep breath and enter the office, time for a shower and breakfast.

Tuesday the 29th of November

Today is my last workday and I don’t have a new job ligned up to start on. this is how I have chosen it to be and it feels like the right way to go for now.

I start this day with a short run in Utrecht with a bit of speedwork in it. Running 10 kilometer at an easy pace and then adding in a quick 2 kilometer to give those leg muscles a bit of a workout.

With a weird feeling in my stomach I get my things together and head to Rotterdam for my last workday. The day is a busy day with a lot of last minute talks to several colleagues and a fun team event in the afternoon and diner in the evening. At 21:00 I head home by public transportation, jobless, the end of an era. Time to look forward.

Wednesday the 30th of November

So this is my first day as an unemployed person, or should I say self employed? It’s a thin line but I will stick with the latter as that seems to be the direction where I am heading.

No running today. Today is the day I will get locked up in prison. No that’s not the reason why I quit my job. I was offered the opportunity to join a Prison Day by my friends Sandra and Jeroen.

Prison Day is a concept that is intented for self reflection. You get locked up in a cell with nothing but your own thoughts to work on. Perfect timing for me since I had just quit my job and need to figure out what I will be doing next.

This day was interesting, it gave me new insights, confirmed existing ones and forced me to put certain thoughts aside to make the day a useful experience for me. I will elaborate more on it in a separate blog post soon.

Just 17 days to go.

As the month of November is finished there are just 17 days left until the start of the Bello Gallico trail. Just 17 days…….

In the upcoming last few weeks I will be looking to put the dots on the I in my training. What are those dots? Mainly keeping the fitness level that I have and maybe improving that by just a little bit and working a bit more on improving my core and strength in my legs.

Besides the training there is also all kind of others things I need to get done such as deciding on the contents of my race vest, what should be in my drop bag, purchasing the last items I need and what music I want on my iPhone.

I am looking forward to these last trainings and oddly enough, for the first time while working towards an event I am actually looking forward to the tapering during the last 7 to 10 days before the start.

To be continued….

The week did not start that promissing, at the end of the previous week I had a pretty hard crash during a trailrun training in Bouillon. It actually hurted that much that I was unable to move my leg, putting on socks was a challenge and getting out of the car after our drive back from Belgium meant I had to use my hands to lift my leg out of the car. I was happy that I am driving a car with automatic transmission so that I did not have to use my left leg while driving.

So with 5 weeks to go I was a bit worried that this injury might last too long to be able to continue my training. The original plan for my training week:

• Interval training on Monday
• Long run at low heart rate on Tuesday
• Long run with some strides at the end on Wednesday
• Rest on Thursday and Friday
• Run the 55 kilometer Lommetrail on Saturday. As a train as you race training.
• Short recovery run on Sunday.

One thing was for sure, I would not be running for at least the first few days in the week so that little plan could go right out of the window before it even started. The Lommeltrail was not very important for me since I had already run it last year, but it was a nice milestone on my way to the Bello Gallico. Considering how I was feeling after the weekend, running a trail of 55 kilometer seemed an unrealistic goal so I decided to wait until the end of the week to decide if I would be running there and if so if it would be 9, 15, 35 or 55 kilometer.

So how did this week turn out?

Monday the 14th of November

On Monday I started the week with working from home to prevent straining my leg further and taking care of my it, cooling it throughout the day with an icepack, using homepathic cures such as Spiroflor and Arnicka and keeping it elevated to hopefully improve the recovery and decrease the time that was needed to recover.

A little walk from home to the grocery store proved to be very painful and I already had written of the chance to still run the Lommeltrail as I had planned to.

Of course this did not mean that I could not train at all, but for Monday I was limitting exercises to upper body training (shoulders, biceps, triceps, core and back)

Tuesday the 15th of November

Tuesday was not really different from Monday except that the pain was slowly fading. I was able to go to work again but still did not dare to run so I just kept treating my leg with the icepack.

Wednesday the 16th of November

By now I had the feeling I was going slightly mad after not running for forever and then some (only 3 days without running). I am really terrible at taking breaks from running, especially if they are forced due to tapering or injuries. So after a few days I am climbing up against the walls or curtains out of frustration. Normally I run in the morning but I decided to wait just a bit more and only played around with the Kettlebells for a bit more this morning.

During normal daily activities the pain started to fade away into the background more and more and so at the end of the day I finally dared to go for a short run. I did two short loops close to home to make sure that if something did not feel right I would be not more than 1 km out.

All in all it went ok, I felt my quadriceps at each step but it was bearable and it did not get worse. After 6 kilometers I decided that this was enough for now and spend the rest of the evening with my new friend mr. icepack.

Thursday the 17th of November

I expected my leg to be sore after yesterday’s run, but when I woke up it actually felt better than before, looks like the little exercise is actually helping the recovery process.

So the next step, a short run in Rotterdam before the workday as I do so often. And so early in the morning I drove to Rotterdam, left my clean clothes and towel in the office and at 7:00 AM I went out for a short 11 km run. Besides a bit of sensitivity in my leg the pain was almost fully gone, happy as a child I ran along the tunes that played through my headphones. Now I knew for sure that I would be running in Lommel, I just hadn’t decided the distance yet.

Throughout the week, my friend Tom who is also the organizer of the Lommeltrail was “bugging” me on Whatsapp to ask me if he could put me in the volunteering schedule or if I was going to run. I don’t know if he did that on purpose to give me additional motivation but I was certainly not just forfeiting and opting to volunteer right now.

Friday the 18th of November

Another day, another run. The original plan was to taper a bit before the Lommeltrail, but I needed to go for a run to get a feeling of what was possible. I did not want to make my decision on which distance to run based on the previous two short runs. And so on Firday morning I went out for a slightly longer run to see where I am at.

During this run I completed 16.4 kilometers at a conservative pace, slight annoyance in my left leg towards the end, but the rest of the run was pain free. In the afternoon we drove to Lommel where we had rented a cottage at the start / finish location. The race briefing would be at 20:00 at which I would pick up my race bib and had to decide on the distance.

At the registration desk in the evening when I turned in my voucher for a race bib, the friendly lady asked: “which distance” and I just blurted out: “55 kilometer” and so it was decided, the other day at 9:30 I would be at the start of the 55 km Lommeltrail as was originally planned.

So why did I choose the Lommeltrail in my preparation for the Bello Gallico? Well for multiple reasons. First of all timing wise it is a nice milestone to test if I am ready for the longer Bello Gallico run. Secondly just as the Bello Gallico it hardly has any elevation gain in it, therefore making it a suitable training for it. And finally I really enjoyed the run last year.

Saturday the 19th of November

After a good night of sleep, dispite the dent in the matras that made me feel I was sleeping in a hammock, Astrid and I set off to the starting area at 8:00 AM. A bit early since I would not be starting until 9:30 but since Astrid would be volunteering at one of the aid stations and had to be at the volunteer briefing at 8:30 AM. Astrid would be taking care of aid station 2 on the 55 kilometer route together with Dutch trailrunning champion Kim Mulder. I was looking forward to get to that aid station at 25 km on the course.

After shaking some hands and chatting a bit with other runners that I know from the trailrunning community it is time to start and at 9:30 we head out for a nice day in the outdoors.

The weather is really great today, the whole week was dominated with pouring rain but today the sun was shining and it would remain dry for the rest of the day. The big downpours of the past week have left their marks on the trail though as the first 40 kilometers looked more like a mud run.

Ankle deep mud along the trail and puddles of water made it quite challenging compared to the previous edition where the trail was dry. For me this was a great addition to my training since it added a mental aspect to it. I am at my best when I can settle in a steady pace and just let the distance pass by. The current trail conditions meant going zig-zag along the trail and jumping to avoid the deep puddles and constantly getting wet feet in the unavoidable puddles.

At 25 km of this mud sliding, slalomming and jumping I arrived at the second aid station where Astrid helped me refill my water bottle and sent me back on my way on the trail. Up to the third aid station at 35 kilometers I was on a 10 km/h average pace but decided not to try to maintain that pace since I did not want to go all out. I did not want to run this trail at 100% to minimize the recovery time I would need.

With some music on and going through more runnable sections of the trail in the last 15 kilometers I was enjoying myself and passing several other runners from the shorter distances along the way.

And 5 hours and 44 minutes after the start I crossed the finish line. Of course a bit tired after almost 6 hours of running, but definitely not fully worn out and with a smile on my face I cross the finish line where Astrid was already waiting for me. After a shower in our cottage we got back to the start / finish area to see the rest of the runners finish and to end the evening with Pizza and beers with all the volunteers of the trail enjoying fun trail stories.

Surprisingly enough my left leg that seemed so troublesome at the beginning of the week did not hurt at all during this entire run. I feel blessed with a body that is able to recover this fast.

Sunday the 20th of November

To keep my legs moving I planned to go out for a short run on the Sunday morning after the Lommeltrail. Since we were still in our cottage in Lommel I decided to go for a run on the 9 km course of the trail. It was a nice sunny morning and after a few hundred meters my legs were warmed up and felt fine again.

Part of the 9 km trail is similar to the later part of the 55 km trail and it was a lot of fun to run this section again with relatively fresh legs.

As I got back to the cottage it started to rain, perfect timing. After a shower and some time in the infrared sauna we had in our cottage we packed our bags and went home to Utrecht, the conclusion of a great training week.

It is also a good indication of my progress over the past year. Last year in November I also ran the 55 kilometer Lommeltrail. In easier circumstances with a dry trail I was only 6 minutes faster than during this years edition. But most importantly the impact that it has decreased. Last year I could not even go for a short walk the day after the race and today I could easily go for another 13 kilometers of trailrunning.

Looking back

In hindsight I might say that I am very happy that I bounced back right on track of my training. It feels weird to start the week wondering how long I won’t be able to run and then to finish the week with over 100 training kilometers and a completed ultra trail. It even makes me feel guilty and wondering that people think I am exagerating an injury. Honestly this injury felt really serious, but giving it the right attention and listening to my body led me to the way I handled it this week.

Did I take a risk with running the Lommeltrail? I don’t think I did. I had decided up front that I would quit as soon as the pain in my leg would come back, regardless if I would be at kilometer 2 or 54 (ok if I would be at 54 I probably would slowly walked the last kilometer).

Finishing the Lommeltrail was also a confidence boost that is very welcome. Since my failed attempt at running around Texel in July and my failed attempt at the 65 km Trail des Fantomes in August this is the first long distance race that I finish.

There are 4 weeks left for the Bello Gallico trail, 3 of those weeks will be spent on training, the last week will be tapering. I had a few bumps along the way but I feel that I am ready for it.

To be continued…..

The week of training started perfectly and went exactly according to plan with a rest day on Monday, speed training on Tuesday and 3 long runs on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Before the weekend started I had ran 84 km and was feeling fitter than ever, looking forward to the weekend.

The Legends Trail training weekend

From Friday evening to Sunday afternoon Astrid and I would be volunteering at a training weekend for the runners of the Legends Trail which would take place in March 2017. Looking forward to see some trailrunning friends, meet a bunch of new people and hopefully getting a chance to do a bit of trailrunning myself we arrived in Bouillon in the South of the Belgian Ardennes on Friday afternoon.

Friday the 11th of November

On Firday afternoon and evening it was nice to spend some time talking with other trailrunners, mostly people to which my acomplishments look like just a walk around the park. During dinner I get the chance to chat with Maarten and Marek, two Dutch runners that I met at the Legends Trail and that I really look up to. Their long distance adventures are an inspiration to me and one of the reasons I believe I can continuously extend my limits.

In the evening we get an explanation about navigation by map and compass. Interesting, but it also makes me even happier with my handheld GPS. If you would drop me in the forrest in the middle of the night with just a map and compass I will probably end up in the news 30 years from now as a news item about an old guy that was discovered living in the forrest for all those years because he could not find the way back home.

After Maarten and Marek’s story about their Legends Trail experience during the first edition this year it was time to go to bed, tomorrow it would be an early rise to hit the trails.

Saturday the 12th of November

On Saturday morning I had planned a 25 km trailrun in the environment and Jan, one of the other volunteers, would join me for this run. And so at 9:30 we left the headquarters. The run was a challenging one with a lot of elevation changes, steep descents, a number of ladders and some beautiful views.

For me it was the first time running in the Belgian Ardennes since my failed attempt at the 65 kilometer Trail des Fantomes in August. I instantly remembered why I love this environment so much, we don’t have anything that even comes close in The Netherlands.

Jan and I take an easy pace progressing quickly through the first kilometers of the run. Before we left Jan told me that his regular pace is about 8:00 / km which was fine for me because I wanted to get an easy run in. In the first hour we reach an average of 6:30 / km still ok for me and we are having fun on the trails, enjoying the environment and stopping from time to time to take a few pictures.

Somewhere halfway through the terrain became more chalenging and more fun! Challenging descents, scrambling over rocks going uphill, climbing hills with no sign of a trail anywhere and a few ladders to complete the experience. It reminds me that I really should visit this area more often, this is so much more fun than the trails in The Netherlands.

Close to the end of our litle adventure we start to slow down, partly due to the technical nature of the terrain, but also because we are feeling the efforts that we made on this run. Jan is having problems to keep up and I am also looking forward to the end of the run. And then the silliest accident happens. While we were just walking on the trail at a low pace I slip on a tree root and hit the ground pretty hard smashing my upper left leg on that tree root.

I stay on the ground for a moment, Jan stays calm and checks if I want to sit or stand. I want to get up as quickly as possible to get moving again and Jan helps me to get up. My leg hurts, really hurts. I can still stand on it so the first check is ok. After assessing the damage and assuming nothing is seriously wrong I want to get moving again to prevent my leg muscles from growing numb. Slowly I start walking along the trail. We have about 4 kilometers to go before we are back at our starting point so I should be able to walk that.

Despite the fact that I am limping I still manage to run at a reasonable pace those last kilometers and by the time we arrive back at the headquarters I have almost forgotten what happened as I see Astrid running towards me. After a shower and sitting still for a while it becomes clear that this is not just a litle pain that will pass overnight.

In the evening from 18:00 to 22:00 Astrid, Jan and I are taking care of one of the check points for the runners of the training weekend, serving them soup, coffee and some snacks as they navigate and run through the night. This is always fun to do and at the moment it also really helps to get my mind of the pain in my leg.

Sunday the 13th of November

On Sunday morning my left leg feels stiff and painful, no running for me today, just a short walk and help cleaning the headquarters as the training weekend comes to an end.

With just 5 weeks to go I was right on track, but this injury could provide a major setback and could endanger the participation in the Bello Gallico trail. And yes I am worried…

On the 19th of November I am supposed to run the 55 kilometer Lommel trail, If I am recovered enough to show up at the starting line there I guess I will be fine for the Bello Gallico in December as well. If this takes more than one or two weeks I will probably have to be realistic and postpone my first 50 miler…

To be continued…..

To train for these long distances I do more than just running more and more and more. A very important aspect of running is the strenght of your core (abs and lower back muscles) if these aren’t strong enough your running gait will become sloppy which causes more energy which is basically a downward spiral.

To train my core I do a workout with these new friends of mine, the kettlebells, three times a week together with Astrid.

Added to that a combination of planking exercises, push-ups and sit-ups should make my core strong enough to help me through the long endurance runs. But the main training still consists of running.

Monday 31st of October

After a day without running it is time to pickup the training again. This morning I consider myself lucky to be working from home because this means that I won’t have to run in the crowded streets of Rotterdam but can find the nice and quiet green area’s just outside of Utrecht. And so early in the morning while it was still a bit dark I set out for a short run of around 12 km to kick off the week.

I love running in this environment, especially early in the morning, the view is beautiful and the outdoor feeling it gives is relaxing. Running in a green environment along the water while the sun is rising and the sheep have woken up and are staring at me.

For this first run of the week I took it relatively easy but added four high speed strides at the end as a first step to rebuild speed in my running. For quite a while I have been mainly focussing on trianing in the aerobe zone building an endurance base for the long runs. This worked for my endurance but since I didn’t do any speed workouts it clearly slowed me down.

So starting from this week I am also including more speed training in my shorter runs. This means intervals, strides and shorter runs at a higher pace, mixed with the long endurance runs. I am almost following a traditional training schedule…. Yikes!

At the end of the run I covered 12.8 km, a nice way to start the week and I arrived home with a huge grin on my face.

Tuesday 1st of November

For this day I had planned a longer run that I would split up in two parts. The plan was to run around 18 km of which I would try to run around 4:45 / km for the first hour and then finish with an easy 5km at a slower pace.

Apparently I still had quite some speed in me because I ended up flying during the first hour. I got into a nice flow and clocked around 4:30 / km covering a bit over 13 km in that first hour. True, my heart rate went up to 165+ but I could keep going for an hour without any problems.

After that I dropped the pace as planned to about 5:30 / km and continued for another 5 km to get to a total of just above 18 km in less than 1:30. I guess I could call this a very welcome confidence boost, the first of this week, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Wednesday 2nd of November

Ah the dreadfull resting day. I had a big training planned at the end of the week, on Friday and Thursday I would be running the course of the Bello Gallico trail in preparation for this run. The plan was to cover around 55 km on Friday and another 25 on Saturday. So I decided that a bit of resting would be wise to do.

Although I would take a break from running I still did the Kettlebell and core training that I do 3 times a week together with Astrid, mostly to strengthen my core and build some upper body strength, but other than that I did not do any workouts today and tried to cope with that feeling of inactivity in the best possible way.

Thursday 3rd of November

Another rest day…. Now this is very unusual for me to take two resting days in a row. I really wanted to make sure that I would be able to complete the training run that was planned. Mostly because I wanted to do a long distance and see the environment, but also because Astrid and me planned an entire weekend around it from Thursday evening to Sunday evening.

In the evening we drove to Beek in the south of The Netherlands were we would stay with Astrid’s brother and his wife as an intermediate stop whereas we would continue to Belgium the other morning to start my training run.

Friday 4th of November

We got up at 6:00 AM in the morning. As I packed my race vest and got my gear ready I was slowly beginning to get nervous for the training ahead. Now it doesn’t happen that often that I feel nervous for a training run, but this training was different for me. I was going to run part of the course of the Bello Gallico trail. Starting in Maasmechelen, around 12 km before the start and finish location of the actual trail. From there I would follow the course for about 53 km which would bring me to As where Astrid and I had booked a hotel to stay for the night. For me this would be an exploration of the course but also a test of where I am in the buildup to this race. The last time that I had run more than 42 km was about 6 months ago. So yes I was nervous, but looking forward to it.

And so at around 8:15 in the morning Astrid dropped me of at my starting location where I set off for my run. The weather is beautifull, cold but it is dry and with an occasional ray of sunshine it is great running weather. Following a steady pace and with my Garmin GPS handheld showing me the way I easily covered the first 20 km in just under 2 hours before I took a short break for a few minutes to eat something and let Astrid know that evrything was going well. After eating a small energy bar I started moving again.

I was not drinking a lot but figured that my hydration backpack would probably not have enough water to go to the end of this run. Luckily I prepared my GPS with a few waypoints of small restaurants on the course, the next one would be at around 30km and I decided to keep running until that point and refil my water supply there. Arriving at the 30 km mark I found a small cafeteria in which I could refill my hydration pack. Since I was stopping anyway I decided to send Astrid another message to keep her up to date of where I am and at what time I expected to finish, but my iPhone had different plans. While I was typing the message the screen turned to black. I tried to get some life in it for about 15 minutes but it wouldn’t do anything. So I decided that there was nothing else to do than just continue running.

By this time I feel that I have developed some blisters on both feet, but it doesn’t hurt that much so I just ignore it and continue running. For me it really works to split up long distances in parts of 10 km. So I set my focus to the next 10 km, in this case 40 km, and then just run until I arrive at that point. While I am running I am surprised at how easy it was to maintain a steady pace at 6:00 / km. The terrain isn’t that challenging, but still it was great to experience that my fitness level is sufficient to do this without going all out.

At the 40 km mark I manage to get my iPhone working again for a moment, at least long enough to get a message out to Astrid. I check the distance to the hotel and set my mind to the next 10 km and set off to the last part of the run since the hotel is only 13 km away.

As my watch bleeps for the 50 km split I realize how special it is that I am doing this and I think back to my very first ultra distance, the 55 km Lommel trail which was just one year ago. I remember that I was hardly able to walk after running that race, and here I am one year later just relaxed running through the forest kilometer after kilometer just enjoying being out there, enjoying nature and smiling…. just smiling…. This is what running is about for me.

At 52.5 km I follow the course that leaves the forrest area and see the hotel right ahead of me. It is 14:30 when I arrive at the hotel, I stop the recording on my watch and the summary display shows 52.7 km with an average pace of 5:59 / km. I don’t feel tired at all which is a good sign since in December I will have to run another 27 km after that. For today I am very happy with the 52.7 km I completed and will leave the rest of the course for tomorrow.

I enter the hotel and Astrid walks towards me. After a long hot shower and puncturing two huge blisters on both feet Astrid and I headed to the bar for drinks and snacks followed by a delicious dinner. A great ending of a very succescfull training day.

Saturday 5th of November

The plan for today is to run the second part of the Bello Gallico course. Since I want to be done, showered and checked out by lunch I want to start running at sunrise. And so at 7:30 I leave the hotel and pickup the trail again. Despite the long run of yesterday I don’t feel any discomfort besides the blisters on my toes and immediately find a steady pace.

After the first 3 km on paved roads I finally hit the trail. This part of the course starts easy but after a few kilometers it becomes clear that the harder parts of the trail are in this section. Compared to yesterday’s run there is more singletrack in this section and the elevation changes are a bit steeper. However it is still a relatively flat trail. The real challenge in December will be how it is to run on this course in the middle of the night.

The run is rather uneventfull but enjoyable. I cover the 24 kilometers in this run without any problems and at a pace of 5:45 / km I can be very happy with these two training days.

I arrive back at the hotel just after 10:00 AM and this completed my training run of the course. A total of just under 80 kilometers covered, a good idea about the course and the terrain and a big confidence boost. For the first time I truely believe that I will be able to run this race.

Sunday 6th of November

Initially I had planned to take a resting day on Sunday. But luckily Astrid’s sister saved me from another day without running by asking me to join her and Wil (her partner) in the “Enci bergloop” a run around the Enci quarry that they run each year. Of course I had to accept the invitation, it would save me from another day of resting.

And so after a short 2.5 km run in the morning to see if the legs still work I drove to Maastricht to join Wil and Anja in this run. For Anja it would be the first time to run the long distance (2 laps of 4.2 km) and we had agreed that I would stay with her to help her complete this.

For me this was the ideal change to try out my new Hoka One One Speed Instinct shoes that I had bought earlier in the week. I did not want to try them out on the long runs of course so this 8.5 km trailrun was the ideal try-out. The run itself was great fun, the course was challenging with several sections with elevation changes providing nice climbs and fast descents and I just enjoyed the run, kept an eye on the pace to make sure that Anja would not strain herself too much, made a few pictures along the way and enjoyed the ride on the Hoka’s.

These new Hoka’s could very well become my favourite trail shoe. I loved the way they gripped the surface and the tighter fit around my foot compared to the Altra’s I was wearing the previous days gave a feeling of control. It is only 8.5 kilometers so it is too early to do a review of this shoe but I will try it out at a few more trails before I do.

Before I knew it we were already heading for the finish line and together we pulled of a sprint in the last 200 meter hitting a top speed of 20 km/h.

At the end of this week I look back to a succesfull training week with a total of 119,5 km of which around 85 km was spent on trails. I am happy with the progress so far and honestly I did not expect to be at this level at this point. In the next 5 weeks I will try to further extend my endurance and also build up some more strength.

To be continued next week……

Arriving home was also the start of the build-up towards the Bello Gallico trail on the 17th of December, my first 50 miler. For many runners in the (ultra)trailrunning community, this trail isn’t particulary difficult, but for me the 80 kilometers and 565m of elevation gain will be the biggest achievement of the year.

In these blog series I will try to keep a journal of how I am preparing for this adventure, starting with the month of October.

First of all I will start with a disclaimer:

I am not a professional athlete nor I am professional coach or trainer. I have always trained myself by doing what feels ok for me. Therefore my preparation for this 50 miler is not a recipe on how one should train for such an event.

In other words “don’t try this at home” but keep reading.

Now how am I training in general? The approach that I take is very simple, I try to run between 100 – 120 kilometers a week with the maximum distance of the longest run building up to around 60 kilometer, add in a bit of speedwork in shorter trainings and do some core stability and upper body training with planking exercises and kettlebells. Throw in a rest day here and there when I feel it is needed and hopefully this should get me ready for the challenge ahead.

I have a few milestones built in during the months towards the race, one beeing a course recon with a 55 km run 6 weeks before the race and the other being a 55 km trail race about one month before the race.

So how did my first month of training turned out to be…

Week 1 – 28th of September to 2nd of November

During the holiday in Japan I hardly did any running, just a few short runs to tick the running in Japan box on the “things to do in Japan” list. And so it was time to get moving again.

In these first few days I did not really have a plan and just went out for a few runs and some cycling trips to get an idea of where I am at endurance wise. The first run and the two short cycling trips went quite well so it was time to start increasing the effort a bit.

On Sunday morning the 2nd of November I went out for an early run, the plan was to get a 20 km run in before the start of the Formula 1 GP. During the run I found myself struggling a lot, barely able to keep a 6:00 / km pace while my heart was racing up to a 160 bpm heartbeat. “I had no idea I was in this bad shape” were my initial thoughts during the run. I completed the 20 km with a few walking breaks in between to catch my breath. All of a sudden I felt like I had to start from scratch again, how could this have happened.

Week 2 – 3rd of October to 9th of October

On Monday morning it suddenly becomes clear why yesterday’s run was so horrible, It seemd I had caught a nasty stomach flu. I felt terrible, nauseating, extremely tired and end up spending most of the rest of the day on the toilet.

The rest of the week basically proceeds in the same way with me spending most of the days in bed with my exercise at most consisting of a very slow walk to the supermarket and back. On Saturday morning I managed to go for a short run bringing my total for the first full week of training for the Bello Gallico to a whopping 6.6 kilometers.

To make sure that this week was not a complete disaster in my preparation for the Bello Gallico I also focussed on the preparation of my gear for this trail. One of the required items is that you need to have a rain jacket in your backpack. Since I did not have a rain jacket that would fit in my race vest I stopped by the Mud Sweat Trails trailrunning store of my friend Tom and bought this cool Ortovox rain jacket.

Postponing my running training for a bit more Astrid and I decided to enjoy the nice weather before autumn sets in and went for a long recreational bike ride. The 83 km ride was quite a stretch for me as I still lacked energy, but it was nice to be active for over 4 hours and spend time with Astrid.

All in all the worst of my stomach flu seems to be over and now it is just a matter of regaining strength and fitness.

Week 3 – 10th of October to 16th of October

After being ill for almost a full week I was clearly not fully recovered yet, so long distances were not really an option for me. So for this week I decided to stick to relatively short distances. So I started with running a simple 10 km road course near the office where I work on Monday and repeated the same run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Nothing really exciting just covering some distance while still recovering from the previous week.

By the end of the week I was slowly beginning to feel stronger and was able to build up the distance up to a nice run of 18 km in Etten – Leur, followed by a nice trailrun in Kerkrade the day after. Over the week I managed to run around 85 kilometers spread out over 7 runs and finally felt I had recovered enough to pick up training for a long distance.

Week 4 – 17th of October to 23rd of October

Since the previous week consisted of 7 days with running trainings, I decided to start this week with the part of training that I hate the most…. Rest. I am really bad at rest days but I do know that it is something that I should really do to give my body the chance to recover from the training runs and grow stronger.

So this week the running training started on Tuesday with relatively easy runs during the workweek with a 15,2 km, a 21,2 km and a 12,4 km on the workdays. And then it was time to go for a bit more distance. So I started with a very easy but long run on Friday, covering a bit over 32 km followed by a 20 km trailrun on Saturday and another 12 km trailrun on Sunday. Finishing this week with a total of 114 km, now we are getting somewhere.

Week 5 – 24th of October to 30th of October

I wanted to do another 100+ km training week to keep building on my progress of last week, which would become a challenge considering I had a day filled with job interviews planned on Wednesday and would help out my friend Tom of the Mud Sweat Trails trailrunning store with his booth at the Dutch Trailrunning championships on Saturday and Friday.

So no time to waste, I needed to get some decent distance in right from the start of the week.

During the work week I managed to get some decent running distances in with a 10 km on Monday, 25 km on Tuesday, 15 km on Wednesday, another 10 km on Thursday and just before the weekend began putting in a 14 km on Friday.

This weekend I would only have time to run on Saturday morning, so I had to get my long distance in on this day. And so I left the house early at 7:30 AM in the dark, planning to go for a 3 hour run. Keeping my heart rate low I ran at a relatively low pace for 3 hours and covered 31 km in total. This brought the total of the week to 105 km.

After a quick shower I enjoyed lunch outside together with Astrid before driving to Schoorl to help Tom setup the booth of the MST Store at the end of the afternoon.

I arrived in Schoorl around 15:30 after 1,5 hours of driving. Tom had just arrived and I helped him unload the trailer with the tent all the clothes, shoes, Buffs and everything else after which we started assembling the tent and arranging all the merchandise in and around it together with Tom’s son. By the time we were finishing setting up everythin trailrunners were already browsing and buying. After a successfull evening I went home for a good night of sleep, although a bit short.

Sunday did not allow time for a workout as I was supposed to be in Schoorl before 8:00 AM for another day of booth duty. And so the alarm clock went off at 5:00 AM and Astrid and I were in the car at 6:15. The day at the Mud Sweat Trails Store booth was a great experience, meeting both familiar faces in the trailrunning community as well as helping people new to the sport with advice about gear and nutrition.

During this week I got so fed up with my brand new Suunto Spartan Ultra sports watch that it was time to change it for something else. I have bought the Spartan at it’s introduction, being one of the first in The Netherlands to own one. Right from the start it became clear that this product was not ready to be released.

I will not go into details here since I can ramble on for hours about the bugs and missing features in it. In the end I have agreed with Suunto that they would take it back and give me a full refund. Leaving me with the choice to purchase something else.

I have chosen for the Garmin Fenix 3 with optical HR sensor and was very pleased with the performance and features right from the start, no more annoyances during training runs of dropping GPS signals, the battery running out and the HR sensor disconnecting.

And so the first month of prepartion came to an end. A slight setback after a week of illness but still happy with the progress so far. With about 7 weeks to go before the big event and at least one week of tapering I still have work to do the next 6 weeks and cannot afford any more troubles such as illness or injuries but I do feel confident that if all goes well I will be toeing the starting line of the Bello Gallico with enough preparation to be able finish it.

To be continued next week…..