{"id":2896,"date":"2014-10-16T16:55:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T15:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielebesana.com\/blog\/?p=2896"},"modified":"2014-10-16T16:56:36","modified_gmt":"2014-10-16T15:56:36","slug":"dam-tot-damloop-5-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielebesana.com\/blog\/run\/dam-tot-damloop-5-years-later","title":{"rendered":"Dam tot Damloop, 5 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dam tot Damloop is a running\u00a0event starting from AmsterDAM and ending in\u00a0ZaanDAM (now you see where the name comes from, right?<\/i>).
\nSunday 21st September I run for the second time this\u00a016.1km popular course.<\/p>\n

\"PostNL<\/a>
PostNL loading the trucks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Popular is probably an understatement: 45.000 people<\/strong>\u00a0took part to this edition, and I bet the organizers had lot of fun to make things work like a clock!
\nThe starting point was next to Amsterdam Central Station, with lots of PostNL (the national post service company) trucks loaded with the bags of the participant, labeled and grouped by starting number.
\nWhile we were running, the trucks diligently delivered our bags like they do everyday with the mail, that here in Netherlands reach destination within 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Also the participants were accurately grouped by starting number in a different starting areas.
\nI was in vakstart 3<\/i>, scheduled to depart at 10:38am (10:38! so precise!)\u00a0with my number\u00a03975.<\/p>\n

Well, I need to do one step back because that wasn’t originally my<\/strong> number.\u00a0I run undercover, with the pseudonym of Claude<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One of the most characteristics things of the Dam tot Damloop is that, no matter how many thousands of people will join, every year the entrance tickets are sold out in a couple of hours.<\/p>\n

Last week I searched around\u00a0for someone that could sell his entry bid, and unfortunately for him, Claude was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The run<\/h2>\n

10:38am, BANG<\/em>! The gun shoot in the air and an\u00a0army\u00a0of 1.700 soldiers\u00a0slowly started moving east leaving\u00a0vakstart 3<\/em>.
\nThe people cheering up their friends and relatives, and the\u00a0bands playing on the side of the road awaken in me memories\u00a0of the magic atmosphere of those running events.<\/p>\n

You’re not an individual. You’re part of something greater\u00a0and beautiful for 16.1km. Everyone share the same passion and has his own goal. All different but all the same, like in life \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

At the entrance of the Ijtunnel, the almost 1km long tunnel under the water connecting Amsterdam to\u00a0Amsterdam-Noord.\u00a0a band of Brazilian percussion is\u00a0playing full on, making their powerful rhythm echoing for hundreds of meters.<\/p>\n

I wondered if the engineers, architects and builders that realized\u00a0this tunnel with\u00a0an highway inside ever thought that one day an horde of 45.000 people would have run in it. And I can\u00a0now notice every single meter of this tunnel that I drove dozens of times in the last years\u00a0by motorbike, van or cars without paying much attention.
\nAnd my mind drift thinking that the human race, capable of wars, violence and other terrible things is also capable of beautiful things that are enjoyable but not necessary logic.<\/p>\n

The part of the run after the tunnel is not that interesting but necessarily on wide roads to keep the stream of people going. In few kilometers the mass of runners will stretch more and more.<\/p>\n

That’s where we enter Amsterdam Noord, with the little streets with\u00a0cobblestone and the locals partying in the streets and cheering us up. The kids stretching their arms looking for an high-five from a runner. The bands and DJs playing on and on.<\/p>\n

It’s so entertaining! <\/strong>Much more entertaining than my GPS watch, that I keep looking to see how I’m doing.
\nI wanted to start slow so at first I keep\u00a0a comfortable pace (or at least I tried).<\/p>\n

The run is\u00a0a succession of entertaining happenings outside and curious thoughts inside. The weather is great\u00a0with almost 20C and some wind.<\/p>\n

\"Singing<\/a>
Singing a song after finish line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At KM 8 I feel\u00a0a bit of pain in my operated knee and\u00a0I feel\u00a0bad because I still have\u00a0to run half the distance! I didn’t had that in my training sessions, and I suspect it’s caused by few sharp corners along the way. Anyway, by KM 9 the pain disappear\u00a0and I’m positive again.<\/p>\n

I want\u00a0to lower the pace after the 10K mark but I postpone\u00a0for after 12K, that’s my ‘unknown territory’ as I haven’t run more than 12K in a long while.
\nI felt pretty good and excited to enter the Zaandam area, KM13, 14, now is\u00a0time to push!<\/p>\n

I checked the map yesterday and I’m expecting a 180 degree turn before the finish line, but I didn’t realize that that corner was much earlier than I expected. I look\u00a0up and I can see the\u00a0FINISH\u00a0sign just few hundred meters away… then I go for\u00a0a massive sprint with people shouting and applauding me all the way till the end of the run!
\nOr at least, this was my perception indeed \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I won this race!<\/strong>
\nI won the race together with everyone else that had fun and enjoyed the run.<\/p>\n

And I’m very happy for my run.<\/p>\n

5 years ago I finished in\u00a01:23:14. Last Sunday, 5 years older and with a reconstructed ACL in my knee (I think this makes all just more heroic, right?) the timer stopped at\u00a01:19:23!<\/p>\n

Enough bragging, here some graphs, bars and numbers for who may care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Startnummer 3975<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Naam<\/td>\nDaniele Besana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Woonplaats\/Team<\/td>\nAmsterdam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Afstand<\/td>\n10 Engelse Mijl trimloop<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Categorie<\/td>\n1206e Mrecr<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Totaal plaats<\/td>\n1376e van 11017 finishers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Snelheid<\/td>\n12,164 km\/uur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netto tijd<\/td>\n1:19:23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Netto tussentijden (verschil)<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5 kilometer<\/td>\n24:47<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10 kilometer<\/td>\n49:59 (49:59)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15 kilometer<\/td>\n1:14:27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Uw relatieve finishpositie in het totale deelnemersveld van de 10 Engelse Mijl trimloop:
\n
\"\"<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
Voorkom een teleurstelling en schrijf je nu in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here the stats from my GPS watch:<\/p>\n