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Amsterdam Mary & Half 17th Oct 2010
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Murph1 - grew up in Newcastle, my Dad still lives there but my Mum lives "down here" in London with my Stepdad. I kind of moved away from the Toon when I finished my A levels and went to uni. Still visit though, occasional match etc.
On promotion, yeah great to see some team spirit, we;ll never go anywhere with Ashley in charge though and his cretin sidekick Llambias. Haven't got a clue either of them. Aim for the season is simply to stay up but given no funds are being released for new players......................
Load of bollocks if you ask me.
Re Amsterdam, really looking forward to running somewhere different and a smaller race. Be good to really get out and run with a bit more space on raceday. My last three marathons have been London, I'm a bit bored of it and It was great when I ran Tokyo in 2007. Really refreshing.
Still sorting out a plan for the "Dam" really and still just kind of ticking over post London. My build up will defo be shorter (11-12 weeks) and I need to pay more attention on speed prior to this one. 'I've heard it's a fast course and as it's flat hopefully that'll help me get under 3 hours. I need to find 32 seconds although I still have a feeling I had a bit of an off day in London and never really got into the race.
I'm staying at the Crown Plaza for 3 nights, courtesy of a mates hotel points in return for £100, lol Need to book a flight.
Thinking of Notts half as my main build up half marathon. Had a shocking run there in 07, need to rectify that!
Cheers, Rob
Rob - pretty similar story for me, was brought up in Washington and moved away for college and now live just outside London, folks still live near Houghton so get back for the odd game but see more away games really.
Unless you get rid of those clowns I think you are going to have a long hard season - team spirit only goes so far in Prem league as I know full well.
Everything I have heard about Amsterdam is that it is flat and fast, I have only done 1 marathon before which was FLM in 09 and swore I wouldn't do it again unless I could get GFA and hopefully get a better run. As Shazza said I think you will find it easier to shave off the 32 seconds you need rather than the 21 minutes I need to hit my target.
Re training, am concentrating on speed (well for me) at the moment, and have entered a few 10k races, including the one at Whipsnade zoo so if they let the cats out I should manage another pb
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Murph
Murph - yeah what a pair of clowns those two are, doesn't matter what kind of spin they put on things. Tragic state of affairs but thesedays I'm more into other sports like the Tour. Football just annoys me thesedays...in general not just Newcastle, lol
Yeah I fancy a 10k race, never done one before. Going to keep a longish weekend run going and try and get one solid speed session in a week, either on the track or treadmill. I reckon tick over at 35-40 miles a week with some cross training like swimming then ramp it up again middle of July.
Yeah imagine lions running after you at Whipsnade, defo pb on the cards then, lol
Much better week for me training wise. I managed my 4 planned runs and gym session, although not in quite the order I was supposed to! Still on low mileage (17 miles this week) but feeling v. comfortable.
Have decided to do the Hal Higdon Novice plan rather than the Intermediate one. Don't think I can commit to 5 runs a week with the way work is so I'm going to be sensible and stick to 4 runs instead. I'll be starting it in 3 weeks time, quite excited about it now.
153 days to go
Hi everyone can I join in the fun??
I was going to run Abingdon again this year but was persuaded (it didn't take much) to opt for Amsterdam instead. Not too sure of a target time yet but will be around 4.0 - 4.15; we'll see how the training comes along.
My OH is coming along to support us all, we'll be taking the ferry and are looking to rent an apartment or houseboat for the weekend. Can anyone make any recommendations?
Still 153 days to go
Welcome to the thread, Simply
Can't make any recommendations re. renting but I think some of the people on the thread live in Amsterdam so I'm sure they'll be able to help.
I'm not good with sea travel so I'll be taking the plane
I live here but have never really looked into the old apartment and houseboat rental thing. Found a couple of places. Some seem expensive, I guess it depends how many nights/ people. If there are a few of you it doesn't seem bad at all..
I could also put out the feelers and see if anyone I know would be interested in renting out their place. Most people I know have decent places and are away a good portion of the time.
http://www.coolamsterdamapartments.com
http://www.stephibookings.com/index.php?id=details&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=27&tx_ttnews[backPid]=79&cHash=018ccc8acf
The following seems to do apartments and houseboats..
http://www.stayamsterdam.com/apartments-home.php?arr_day=15&arr_month=10&arr_year=2010&dep_day=18&dep_month=10&dep_year=2010&adults=1&kids=0&submitbtn=Check+Availability
http://www.houseboathotel.nl/?sID=9961529a3f0934a692eeae169a263f1e
This looks pretty reasonable, but not really the traditional 'houseboat'... http://www.houseboats.nl/
http://www.amsterdamrooms.info/houseboats.htm
Apart from all that did a half yesterday. Bloomin sore today! 1.50.05 (darn that 5 seconds!!). Not bad after a night on the sauce though..
Cheers for posting all those links H, I never considered a houseboat! What a good idea!
Little Nemo I'm going to be following a Hal plan too and am also a tad excited about it! Oh dear...
152 days to go
Bring on the Heineken 
I see ambition has started tentatively looking at 4 hours now!
And to think you raised your eyebrows when I suggested 4:20 not long ago. Good for you, its definitely possible.....
*waves at Simply* Oooo houseboats...party at yours afterwards
Nice run H!! Its annoying when the time do that isnt it!?! Mind you 1:50:00 would be worse - so close to sub 1:50
Whats the usual October weather like? I've only been over in December when it was freezing!
Blimey H, I think I remember meeting you in the pub after the Berlin marathon in 2005, wondered where you had got to! Nice half BTW and good to hear we have a local agent on the thread! Do you know of a nice hotel within a mile of the Olympic Stadium? 3 or 4 star preferably.
Just in the final stages of talkiing the Mrs into a weekend in Amsterdam in mid-October, a bunch of flowers should do it. Only just got over VLM and already planning the next one!
Good to see a couple of my fellow sub 3 fredders JAP & RS will be attending this one.
Hey Wardi.. you're right. Memories of that night (or not as it were!) I don't know where we put all that beer
Would be great if you could join AMS. Lots of nice hotels, but if you want something close to the stadium this is probably the best bet. It's right by the park too and on the tram line/ walkable to town (long walk to the north of town but just through the park to the south)....
http://www.parkplaza.com/hotels/netvonde (just to check it's the one on Koningeinneweg, I think there are 2)
As for the weather, expect anything. The last few years have been good running weather actually, bright but breezy. Pretty similar to the UK at that time of year.
Very good JAP but she is too canny for that! Anyway, in a moment of tactical awareness I have meanwhile booked us into our delighful castle wedding venue for our 2nd anniversary in June with nosh, champers & overnight stay. It is only 4 miles up the road but hang the expense! As a result I now have the green light so entry, plane & hotel to sort. I can fly direct from Leeds so no major hassle. Aim to stay from Friday to Tuesday. She does run a bit ( about 52 mins for 10k) so I might see if she wants to do the half.
H.. many thanks for the link, looks like a decent place. My god was Berlin hot that year! The best part of the day was the post marathon massage. There were all these burly looking blokes manning the massage tables & I got directed around the corner and got two frauleins, one for each leg.
Ha ha, all I remember was a lot of German nakedness. I just changed my top with the intention of showering a little later and never did. It was big steins of beer all the way until we tried to get the S Bahn home and realised we were way too late
Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR H! 21 again. Let me know how it feels
Afternoon all.....
Bliddy hell, haven't been in here for a bit.... best read back!!
Full:
Half:
7.5K:
Ta.
It doesn't feel like I'm 21, that's for sure.
Thanks for the links H - they look promising
prf - it's very tentative, more of a *peep* at sub 4 than a look I think but it will be fun trying.
Hi Curly - a party on the houseboat post marathon sounds perfect. Just don't expect me to be in any state to join in - I'll be asleep in the chair
Afternoon all...
Times... well, this is going to be my first and ONLY marathon so don't have a clue..... finishing and being able to walk after would be good....
Or should I say being able to cycle as we plan to hire bikes!
We've rented an apartment in Rembrandt square from these people...apartment
Never used them before, so fingers crossed.
Sorry to hear that you're pulling out Higs, I think Hoose is too...
Morning all, what a fantastic day, so good to see the sun shining
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Good work on your half H, particularly given a night on the sauce before hand. I will be testing my post alcohol running tolerance this weekend, as have a party on Saturday night before a 12 miler on Sunday.
I am actually seriously considering going on the wagon prior to Amsterdam (as need all the help I can get) and just wondered what other peeps view on the demon drink in the run up to a marathon??
Have a good w/e all.
Murph - I'm not a big drinker but I do indulge in some bubbles (cheap cava) on a Saturday night usually - all I do is not drink the weekend before a big race or the night before a shorter race...I think it depends on your volumes usually and how you drink - I can stop after a few and I dont like training with a hangover so thats even more incentive, but maybe you are a drink heavily/no drink kind of person in which case going on the wagon might be an idea...
As with all things - its about balance
Booked my flight with KLM from Heathrow yesterday. Fly friday afternoon, fly back monday evening. £87
Murph, I am with Curly in that training with a hangover is no fun. However, the biggest difference I find in whether I am drinking or not is with my weight. I either lose weight through not drinking or find it far easier to maintain racing weight. Clearly far too many calories in red wine
I have a 10 mile race coming up on Sunday and the forecast is for 26. Oh dear, this may be hard work. I have also just shaved my head, so will get to worry about burning that and sunstroke as well.
Were flying KLM from Bristol, seemed to be the best deal...
There wasn't loads of extras.... ie extra to "book" a seat, extra to check luggage, extra to book a return seat..... I thought a seat was a standard requirement on a plane!! Grrr
Murph - what JAP says really, nowt worse than running feeling grim. Depends how pissed you get though doesn't it? lol
Cutting down on alcohol has a massive impact on weight, thats a fact. You can still have a few here and there if anything to relax but I tend to cut out alcohol almost completely about a month from a marathon save for the odd glass of wine. If you're social life involves many nights a week down the local then it's obviously going to have an effect. I don't really drink much thesedays so it isn't really an issue but I actually enjoy the odd drink more because of that.