I had a wonderful night tonight! I went to a running club for the first time ever. Normally I'm not one for group activities (hey, that’s why I like running in the first place, it’s a nice solitary sport), but if I'm going to run a marathon (there, I said it) then I'm going to need more than books to keep me motivated. I had a small chat with a guy at a running shoe store yesterday who tipped me off about a group that runs close to my neighborhood. They are called Phanos, which is Greek for torch, and they run at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium.
I decided to go for it, and in very windy conditions I rode my bike all the way down to the end Stadionweg. I started to get excited as I got closer and saw the stadium lights. I have never run on a track before, much less in a stadium, much less in a stadium where Olympic Athletes competed!
The stadium was built for the 9th modern Olympic games in 1928, and was almost torn down before it was saved and beautifully renovated in the late 90s. The tradition of the Olympic torch being carried from Athens to the site of the games was started there, the Olympic flame was first lit during the opening ceremony (I'm guessing that’s where Phanos got the inspiration for their name). Also during the 1928 games women were first allowed to compete in track and field events. Which I thought was fitting since I was having my first track experience in the same stadium.
When I got to the stadium, I quickly followed the signs the running store guy had told me to look for, and I was lead into a pleasant bar/café that looked out onto the fields. I asked around, and although no one's English was that great, I soon found someone who would get me started in the right group. Everyone was so cool! It was so wonderful to be around runners and talk about running. (You ran HOW many marathons? The guy I was warming up with had run the Amsterdam one 11 times!)
The actual training was hard, but so much fun! In some ways I felt like I was in ballet class again Jeté-ing across the floor, only I was skipping on a track doing strange hopping drills. In some ways it felt like gym class, doing 60 pushups (ok, I only managed 45). I think its funny that here I am today, going out of my way to take part in something I avoided bitterly most of my youth. And the best part was running around a track with 22,500 seats looking down on me.
I know I am going to be sore tomorrow, but right now, I feel great!
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