Today I ran the 10 km at the Haarlemmermeermarathon in Hoofddorp. This was the same place I ran my first 10km last year. Back then I finished in 58:11. I had a personal best of 56:22, that I did at the Laan van Meerdervoortloop in October of 2007.

Today the weather for running was great. The weather for the spectators was not that great but Caroline, Menno and my sister Lilian were there to support me. It was 17 °C, a bit windy and a light drizzle.

At the start it was dry. I ran this race together with Monique-Cecile of KekWek (who lives in that area) and a friend of hers. Well ‘ran together’… We started together, but after 500 m I left them both behind me. MC had broken her ankle this summer and she has subscribed for the New York Marathon this fall, so she was already glad that she could run and any time within an hour would be a great achievement.

The first 2 km was the usual struggle, asking yourself “why do I do this”, “will I make it to the finish in a decent time”, “can I keep this pace”, etc. But as always after the first quarter is done I start to get “in shape” and everything falls into it’s place.

I reached the 5km after 26:34, which is a personal best at that distance. My best time at the 5 km race is 27:04. This gives you confidence!

When I reached the 9 km point, I checked my watch and saw that the time was just under 49 minutes. That was really a pleasant surprise. It all felt good, but this was the prove of that. A personal best would be achieved. I kept on pushing the last kilometer and finished in a personal best of 54:19!!! I took more then 2 minutes off my previous best time, and 4 minutes off my time of last year!

MC finished in 58:28. She was really pleased with that as well. Today Patty and Tim ran the half marathon. I haven’t spoken them, because of the weather, but they finished in 1:50:41 and 1:58:21, so I think they are happy with it as well.

But what a great day. 10 km in 54:19!