The first week of March 2018 we had fantastic winter weather. I had known for a time that exercise had a positive effect on all aspects of my life. Skating on natural ice gives a huge kick, you come to places where you normally do not come, in winter conditions and you have to actively engage yourself in order not to freeze.
At the end of February it started to freeze and that lasted until the first week of March. After a few days the ice was thick enough to stand up and with our children we were skating in the Eilandspolder in a few locks. On Signal there was a specially created natural ice skating group, and if there was a skate piece somewhere, it was immediately placed in the group. After I had placed a photo of our adventure in the Eilandspolder afterwards, there were a whole bunch of skaters who can come out. But in some places it was still too thin, someone got a wet suit … So always be careful, do not be fooled!
I bought new skates and a few days later I went ice skating with our youngest son at Zuiderwoude. My brother is also fanatical with natural ice, and he had tipped me over Zuiderwoude. There was a pretty nice ice floor on the lake, with my youngest son on the sled we made a trip of about 10 kilometers. Lots of bobbelijs, but unforgettable beautiful and wonderful to have done. That weekend, I believe a Saturday was predicted that in the afternoon the temperature would be so high that the frost period would be over that same day. The Signal skating app gave a tip that the USA could be skated if you were early. I jumped into the car on Saturday morning and the last winter day I skated the unofficial USA-trip (Ursem, Schermerhorn and Avenhorn). The ice was beautiful and even though the blisters were on my feet I had an unforgettable time.
What does this have to do with running? Maybe not immediately much, but what I did with it was interesting. I already knew that exercise is very important for my happiness in life. But winter with its shorter days and cold is a difficult period to stay healthy. Every year in the dark months I see my weight increase and I notice that I have difficulty getting off the bench. With the skating I broke through certain characteristic winter patterns.
During these days I had contact with several friends about skating and my enthusiasm to go outside. Real winter weather is often short-lived in the Netherlands and this period also ended. A friend called me back a few weeks later and invited me to run for his wedding party together. And not only running together, but also working towards a half marathon. That also seemed like a good idea to me.