Goal

3:45 in Utrecht. End of May.

This is it — 20 weeks to go.
That means preparation moves from idea to reality.

The training plan is ready. I tried to build one with AI, but it quickly drifted into extremes. So I did what has always worked best: downloaded something reasonable from the internet and trusted experience over theory.

I really hope the parcours stays the same as last year and they don’t return to the two-lap idea. It’s enough that Utrecht already gives you brutally hard final kilometers. The city lifts you up — and then lets you go. Last kilometers your run towards campus almost alone.

I wish I could say that after last time — a muscle strain that ended my spring half marathon — I’m wiser now. That I know what I’m doing.

The truth is: I don’t.
I’ve never trained seriously for a spring race before. And so far, the only thing I’ve learned is that cold weather — and lately even snow — makes everything harder.

But if you want to run, you have to start running.

So… off we go.


Photo taken after the first interval training — the moment you realize how much work really lies ahead. And the long runs haven’t even started yet.