Studying and dinner on the Tacx

Heen-en-weer

Rønnestad: 3x 6x(30"/15")

Duurrit 2 uur

2h easy indoor cycling 🚴‍♂️💻

What an experience! Grateful for an unforgettable day with TeamNL 🙏

The race was hard. Training conditions in Holland were totally different from Bangalore: hot, humid, smog, 1000m above sea level and some uphill/downhill in every 5k-lap. Plan was to start at 4:30/km and to adapt to conditions when necessary (for those interested: plan attached as proposed to coach).

The start was just before sunrise. It got hot after the first 2 hours. It seemed everyone slowed down because of the heat. Except for a number of world class front runners, who ran with unbelievable quality and discipline.

On plenty of places one saw the athletes running on the other side of the road, and opportunities for interaction were everywhere. It was great to encourage each other while running, and to have fun with people in the crowd. I greatly enjoyed this and it gave so much energy!

Saw the other Dutch runners often. Martijn and Leendert ran together for hours, and looked very strong and steady. Mascha just kept on going even when it got hard, not showing signs of slowing down. I made friends with two fans of team Denmark, and later found out that their athletes were also the greatest company. After 50k people started walking or dropping out of the race everywhere. The race felt like a battlefield. At soms point here, there were three monkeys running across the course! Never seen that before. 

The support crew was great and valuable. Bottles and gels were handed out while we ran past them, so we didn't have to stop. Myself I had water and 120grams of carbs from gels every hour. This worked flawlessly. In the meantime, I ran some time with mister Oralek, who was good company, as well as a strong Norwegian woman, and made friends with a runner called Anette and with Sergio from Argentina. Had fun with lots of volunteers and other team's athletes and coaches, until at some point I heard people were talking about 'that tall happy dutch guy' :-b

The descends were devastating for the legs (quads), and they hurt so much I couldn't maintain pace anymore after about 75k. I wanted to finish the race badly and am very happy with this 8h22! In Holland I would have aimed for 7h30, but it's unrealistic in these conditions: this race simply can't be compared with a cold, flat dutch november race.

It feels like an honor to have had all these experiences of a championship. Grateful and humble for having had this unique opportunity, and sharing time with top athletes and so many inspiring and kind people!

A big thanks to all the people sharing in the adventure via the app group. Touched by all the support and the way in which you guys want to all stay connected! Thanks for being on this ride together 💙 And lastly: this report is incomplete in naming all the people who've made this such a great day, as there were many 🤗

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Studying and dinner on the Tacx

Heen-en-weer

Rønnestad: 3x 6x(30"/15")

Duurrit 2 uur

2h easy indoor cycling 🚴‍♂️💻

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