The Amsterdam Marathon. After almost a year of hard training, the day had finally come: my first marathon. After a very decent breakfast we headed out to the Olympic Stadion in Amsterdam, the starting point of what turned out to be a very tough run.
At 9:30AM, I was off. The first 15km I felt great, the support was great, and I was keeping my target pace rather easily. However, the next 10km were gruelling. This part of the course consisted of an out-and-back along the Amstel River to Ouderkerk, and back to Amsterdam. Even though the temperature was perfect (around 17°C), the lack of cover along the river made it very easy for the wind to throw me off my game.
I reached the half-way point in a good 1h42′, but I could feel that I was falling behind. After reaching the end of the river, I was happy to be back running in Amsterdam. My body, however, felt too weak to continue at my target pace. What followed were 10 painful kilometers, before finally picking myself up for the final six.
In the end, I finished in 3h53′. Half an hour slower than I trained for, and I still feel a little bit disappointed. I guess it will take a few days before feeling proud of what I did.
