I did it!

It was an absolute blast! I will definitely always cherish my very first marathon experience! I felt so lucky with teammates, friends, colleagues and family all being part of the cheering and time tracking experience, I felt the love :-)

"I did it!" first words at finish plus some tears behind my sunglasses! All goals for my very first marathon accomplished! Sub-4, enjoyed it thoroughly and did not have to stop or walk. It almost felt like a birthday or graduation day, so special! From waiting before the start with teammates until celebrating late at night. When I got closer to the Harrier Zone, I had butterflies in my stomach, since it was a dream come true to represent the Harriers in my first marathon in the city I call home. Thank you to all Harriers out there cheering, running and encouraging each other. Congratulations to all finishers, amazing results! Special thanks to the spreadsheet masters, coach K and to my sista who helped me plan my training and dealing with an injury early in the program, making sure I would be able to run injury-free on Nov 7th! Our team is the best!

I am in!

It's been way too long since my last update. The summer flew by. A summer with beautiful weather, super humid days, exciting races, weekend getaways and a couple of setbacks. But that's the history of the summer of 2010. Right now it's fall, I recovered from an injury and learned how to avoid it from coming back. It turned out that I had a lazy left butt and that resulted in peroneal tendonitis late July. Luckily with the help of a fantastic physical therapist I went to the root of the problem and worked on strengthening my ankle plus my left weaker side and I was able to slowly build up mileage and resume marathon training in the middle of August. Still in time for my first marathon in November. It was frustrating and I got nervous, but my New York sista, who happens to be a very talented trainer, helped me with exercises, whipped me into shape with plyometrics and listened patiently to all my questions, doubts and insecurities about running a marathon and all other things that kept me awake at night. Now I feel stronger and pumped and ready to run this town. THIS town, since through my team, the NY Harriers, I recently learned that I got a spot in the ING NYC Marathon! Yes!!! It's a dream come true. My first marathon in my city, where I live for 6.5 years now and where I took running to a more serious level in terms of distances, race times, competing and more importantly being part of a team since 2009. A team that gave me new friendships, new challenges and a well-balanced active and social life.
I am so excited and nervous at the same time for November 7th. But most of all proud to be running my first marathon as a Harrier, being cheered on by my teammates and some of my best friends and colleagues. It's sad that my beloved family can't be here, but I know they will be tracking me at home in Holland, with iPhones, internet and text messages. Knowing that will hopefully keep me going strong. As well as that some exceptional people in NY, are family now. All I have to do now is RUN and make them proud, which I hope I will be able to do. And enjoy my very first marathon of course!

Sisters United

Memorial Day weekend was super exciting for me since my 'little'
sister Judith came to visit me! We had such a good time and we did so
many different things. I felt so fortunate to have her around and as expected she
got along very well with my NY Sista Susan, so we were hanging out
with the 3 of us almost the entire week. All Gouda! All 3 of us have many and different things in common and as you can tell from the picture, I am blessed with 2 sisters nowadays. Lucky me :-)Even though Judith and I are different;
in many things we have many common interests like running, shopping, breakfast, make-up, sharing our ambitions and being there for each other. We did a 5K race on Memorial Day! They had the best post-race festival with free massages! Judith had to get adjusted to the heat and ran an easy 5K mostly enjoying the course and I tried harder and ran something similar to my other 5Ks even though I got stuck in the back for the first mile.
The spring of 2010 might as well be the hottest and most humid spring
I've had to experience in New York! With running I can't handle the
humidity that well at all times, but I am learning how to adapt and
that electrolytes is the magic word. On June 12th the Harrier women
ran the mini 10k, a club points race for women only. The field was
very competitive and there were Olympians like Lornah Kiplagat from
The Netherlands and the pregnant Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher were
there to participate as well. I was in the front corral and it was all
so exciting so I think I started too fast in my hopes for a sub 46
time. I was definitely working hard and apparently did not have enough
sodium in me since 200 m before the finish my body shut down on me and
that was scary! In my head I knew I was almost there and I was doing
something around 45 min and then my calves cramped up, I could not run
and everything was a blur. A race marshal grabbed me and walked me to
the finish line and once there he pushed me into the medical tent. I
could not believe what just happened! One moment I was running and
working hard, the other moment I almost passed out. All of a sudden
Susan and Mr. Biggs were there as well as Brandt and Ellen (who snapped pictures.) It was a good feeling that they
followed me to the tent to make sure I was OK.
The staff gave me water, ice and salt and made me lay down. That
helped, but I did not realize that I was dehydrated that much until a
little later when I got nauseaic and delirious. Took me a full day to
feel better and a week before I did not feel fatigued anymore.
During the scenic and beautiful Shelter Island 10k this past
Saturday, I just wanted to pace myself better, listen to my body,
enjoy the race and have a good run. It was great to not be caught up
in a P.R.-goal and it made me confident about my running again.
The course was gorgeous. This weekend I will do a half marathon in
Connecticut. It starts and ends on the beach which is great with the
current temperatures. I am very satisfied with my recent P.R. at the Brooklyn half in May; 1:43:59.
I felt strong, consistent and this is the kind of race I should aim for.
With enough Gatorade!

City Parks Run for the Parks (April 18th)

Since I'm liking the races and wanted to see if I could run faster in a shorter race after my last 10K, I decided to sign up for another race organized by New York Road Runner to benefit City Parks Run for The Parks. City Parks organizes many events like Summer Stages in Central Park, which is great year after year.
The distance was 4 miles and during the overcrowded Haiti Run I had a little over 30 minutes and I thought I could do sub-30, so I was aiming and hoping for approximately 29 minutes.
Last week we had a tough speed workout on the track and I put in quite some mileage and during an easy run with my NY running 'Sista', I was feeling pretty tired in the legs and my breathing was off, so I was happy when we had about 800 meters left. However, my sista with all her years of running experience and being an excellent fitness trainer decided to help me realize my new PR goal and took our 'casual' run up a notch; or even 2 notches. All I had to do during those last 800s was staying with her. Well, she picked up the pace and it almost was like an all-out sprint and that for 800 m! I was wheezing and not liking it, but obviously I also like to challenge myself and I'm not a quitter so I gave it all I had left. I said 2 times 'I can't', but the reply was 'yes, you can' - don't even think of stopping.....This finish visualization boot camp paid off, since the next day I ran 28.54 and placed 10th in my age group and logged my fastest pace so far: 7:13. I was soooo happy and in hindsight liked the ass-kicking of the day before much better. In fact, during speed workout yesterday we ran 5x 1200 repeats in faster than 5k race pace and every time I was seeing the 'finish' I tried picking up the pace more, no matter how sore my body felt and I feel mentally and physically stronger, because I learned how and when to pick it up and finish strong.
Some of our rock-star Harriers ran the Boston Marathon this week. They did so well, truly inspirational. The women's team came in 13th and the men's team 14th! Meanwhile during the race I ran, there were more Harriers and the women placed 2nd. By lack of the faster runners I scored for the team as well, which is a nice reminder of my improvement over the past months and I will run my guts off in order to get faster and faster! (so I hope)

Spring is Here!

Spring is here!
Last week on the 3rd of April I ran the Scotland Race in a beautiful
Central Park with the sun out and me sweating it all out in this NYRR
club race. I PR'd on this 10k! I was aiming at 47 minutes and was able to
run 46:28, which made me happy since it's 2.5 minutes faster than my
10k at the Joel Kleinerman race in December. Afterwards we had a nice
post-race brunch with the Harriers. Over 80 harriers were racing that
day so we had a fantastic turnout and our women team came in 3rd and the men's team 7th.
After brunch I had to go home and pack final things for my trip to
Holland. I had a great Easter celebration with my family and was able
to enjoy my parents, sister and brother and see many good friends. As
I am writing this I am in a KLM plane on my way home to New York.
Always sad to say goodbye but I will be back in a few months and my
sister will visit me around memorial day. Us running sisters will have a blast doing a race
together with my running Sista and running in central park.
Partying and shopping, all good! On Monday Judith and I ran an easy 8k
and that was a good recovery. The rest of the week I tried to stick to
my mileage and got some nice runs in when not meeting and seeing
people. I ran in the Dutch polder which is land that user to be water,
which is pumped away and the area is surrounded by dykes, many feet
below sea level, very flat and very green and some nice sheep and
little lambs were seen in the meadows. After breakfast today (April 11th) my parents and I watched
part of the Rotterdam marathon which had some great times. I can't
believe I signed up to do my first marathon in November! (Philly) I am
super excited and motivated.
Until the next update! -Vera

Lente en hardlopen!

In de zomer van 2009 ontstond het idee om een blog te gaan bijhouden met mijn hardlopende zus Vera Kuipers. Vera is al een tijd behoorlijk fanatiek aan het trainen en lid van de New York Harriers (Vera woont en werkt en loopt dus ook hard in New York). Ik ben aangestoken door mijn zus en in maart 2009 begonnen met hardlopen, want ik wilde in september de Dam tot Damloop doen. Ik woon in Den Haag en loop mijn rondjes vooral door het Haagse Bos. Ik ren daar vanaf mijn huis in zo'n 12 minuten naar toe en er zijn bijna net zoveel hardlopers als in Central Park...
Het afgelopen jaar heb ik 3 keer meegedaan aan een "race". Op 11 september liep ik de Goudse Singelloop (10 KM) in 56,57 en op 20 september de Dam tot Damloop (10 EM) in 1.40,48. Op 1 november was Vera in Nederland en hebben we samen meegedaan aan de Laan van Meerdervoortloop in Den Haag (10 KM). Ik liep hier 56,36.
Tot half december ben ik zo'n 2 keer per week blijven hardlopen. Toen de winter echt begon met heel veel sneeuw ben ik (helaas) afgehaakt en heb ik een maand nauwelijks gesport. Er waren wat audities die ik aan het voorbereiden was (ik ben fluitiste) en ik ben gewoon te bang om te gaan rennen als het buiten zo glad is (bang dat ik val en pols/vingers breek).
Het niet-rennen en niet-sporten beviel me helemaal niet, dus half januari heb ik me ingeschreven bij de sportschool. Het kon immers sowieso geen kwaad om ook wat spierversteviging te doen van buik/rug/armen en ik ben nu helemaal blij dat ik me heb ingeschreven. Ik volg nu trouw 2 keer per week BodyBalance. Dit is een combinatie van Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi en heel erg goed voor een stijve hark als ik. Bovendien ook een hele leuke afwisseling met het hardlopen.

Begin maart heb ik mezelf een paar nieuwe schoenen cadeau gedaan. M'n NIKE's waren een beetje op en waren bij m'n tenen iets te breed. Ik ben naar de Run2Day gegaan in Den Haag en heb daar ook even een filmpje laten maken om te bepalen wat voor voeten ik nu eigenlijk heb. Ik heb een neutrale voet, wel smal, en de Mizuno Wave Rider 13 zat in de winkel meteen heel fijn.



Ik ben de schoenen dus direct gaan testen in het Haagse Bos, maar helaas zette ik mijn voet in een rare kuil, waardoor mijn knie een harde klap kreeg. Deze is een week gevoelig geweest. Erg jammer, want was weer ontzettend gemotiveerd!
Gisterochtend ben ik weer gaan rennen en heb ik een rustig loopje gedaan van 45 minuten en ben ik er nog meer van overtuigd dat deze schoenen voor mij helemaal super zijn.

Zojuist heb ik me ingeschreven voor de Marikenloop (onderdeel 5 KM) in Nijmegen en ook dit jaar wil ik graag weer de Dam tot Damloop doen. Verder lijkt het me heel gaaf om in oktober de Halve Marathon in Amsterdam te lopen.
In 2009 was ik vooral bezig met de prestatie van zo'n loop op zich, maar dit jaar wil ik mijn tijden wel wat gaan aanscherpen en dus ook trainingen doen voor snelheid. Een leuk vooruitzicht: 16 mei tijdens de Marikenloop loop ik sowieso een PR, want ik heb nog nooit eerder een officiële 5 KM gedaan :-)

Vanaf nu zal ik regelmatig posten hoe het gaat met het hardlopen. Ik doe dat meestal in het Nederlands, mijn zus post vooral in het Engels.

Opmerkingen, tips, reacties etc. zijn altijd welkom en vinden wij erg leuk!

Finishfoto Damloop 2009:

Run for Haiti

After the disastrous earthquake that struck Haiti in January, many charities, celebrities, countries, basically everybody, raised money and joined forces to offer relief. The running community of New York came together on February the 20th to support the cause. The New York Road Runners (NYRR) organized (in collaboration with the City), a 4 mile charity run and walk in Central Park. Over $400,000 was raised! All runners and walkers paid $40 which went straight to the Haiti relief funds.
The race was crowded, so running full out wasn't possible. I enjoyed the Haiti Run though! Yes, there were lots of people ahead of me who should have been behind me when lining up, so I just ran through them Nice weather, good vibe and we had a nice and spontaneous small post-race get together with some Harriers at Lansky's where we were treated like VIPS!
It was only my 2nd 4 mile run in half a year and I was hoping for a time around 30 minutes, so I was very happy to see my actual time.

Sunday morning run

Oh boy, that was a cold, but beautiful run in the sun this morning. The Harriers meet on Sundays in Central Park for a long run of at least 8 miles and depending on your speed and upcoming races you basically decide how far and how long you go. I did a decent 11-12 miles including my to and from meeting point miles. My legs got a little more fatigued than usual after an hour, I guess Miami didn't leave my legs yet, however, I'm happy I got my mileage in and my coffee and oatmeal tasted divine once I got home. we ran through the northern hills and mostly on trails where I don't run often so it's a nice change of scenery!
Once I got home I declared to my roommate (and close friend) that I was running for almost 2 hours, but she's not really a runner and doesn't really care or understand how much I love to run, trying to become faster and stronger and especially enjoy it to the max. So it's a good thing I usually do some high fives after finishing a run with friends and teammates, since it just makes it more satisfying and I like that pat on the shoulder, especially when you go out for a morning run on Sunday in freezing temperatures. I think it was about 20-25 Fahrenheit this morning (-5 C). When I told my lovely roommate about my race goals for the Kleinerman 10K in December, she told me to "take it easy, relax and don't become too competitive!" I almost choked in my tea, since first and foremost I love to run because it does clear my mind and makes me feel good, but I definitely am more competitive since I joined my team. That's the beauty of running, you are racing against others, but also against yourself when you have your own individual goals. In our team, people really encourage each other and the coach is equally happy for the fastest and the slowest people when there's progress. I have to realize that not everybody understands that, so it's great to have found this team and have made good running friends. When I come home all sweaty and muddy and exhausted after a Cross Country run, my roommate returns from the gym with her hair still in tact and no traces of sweat. We bond over breakfast though :-)

Miami Half Marathon 1/31/2010

Vera PR'd in her 3rd half marathon in 5.5 months! 1.49.09 was the time in 73 F nd 93% humidity conditions. The course was wonderful. Running near the cruise ships towards Miami Beach, running through South Beach, back to downtown Miami: gorgeous and well-organized! The final 1.5 miles were tough and my body was depleted from all electrolytes, so I had to make sure to replenish quickly. Later in the day, my teammates and I were hanging around the pool, had pina coladas and cuban food, we had a great time!!

Run Sis Run is here!

Welcome to our site. We are excited about each other and about running, racing, fitness, workout gear, shopping, traveling and seeing each other often! However, Vera lives in NYC and Judith in The Hague, the Netherlands, so we rely on email, skype, facebook and many calls to stay connected. As sisters we couldn't wish for anybody better than each other.
That said, time for less cheesiness and more ACTION. Running action.
Currently, Judith runs alone or with friends mostly in The Hague and in the gym. Vera runs with friends and her team in Central Park, New York and in the Upper East Side. 24 hour fitness is her indoor workout paradise.
We both got super enthusiastic after running our first real races and setting new goals. For Judith this was the Dam 2 Dam Run, from Amsterdam to Zaandam: 10 miles back in September 2009. Vera set her goals on the NYC Half Marathon in August 2009 after completing her first 10K race organized by Nike the year before. After reaching our goals we kept on running and wanted to become faster and better runners. The New York Harriers helped improve Vera significantly besides making many new friends! Best decision in years to join this team!
Judith wants to complete a half marathon in the Spring or Summer and will most likely train with her The Hague friends. With this website we will keep you posted on races, goals, progress, training experiences, good or bad and we hope you will enjoy our stories.