Thursday and Friday I joined my colleague Derk to give a course in functionally specifying at Thetford in Etten-Leur (www.thetford-europe.com). Thetford produces, among others, toilets and refrigerators for caravans. In the lunch break I was shortly guided through the assembly hall. Here, the end products are assembled from parts supplied by external parties. The majority of the workers performing the motorially challenging assembly work are women. A unique sight is the kart with several shelves at the entrance of each assembly work cell, which provides the ladies with a facility to store their hand bags in a safe way. I was stupefied by the incredible production rate; hundreds of thousands of toilets are produced each year!
This afternoon I participated in the Royal Ten road race (www.royalten.nl). It's a 10k race through my training area the 'Haagse Bos' and therefore a must to run this race. Fortunately the organization had prayed the right prayers as the weather gods cleared the sky of the grey clouds and their rain showers, the race could be run in perfect conditions. I took off bravely in the front of the pack. There was no way back, this was going to be a hard race, because slowing down deliberately is never an option. The invited Arabians quickly disappeared out of sight, again confirming that, besides not being able to jump properly, 'white men can't run' either. With the wind in the back during most of the first half I realized a 5k split of ~17:15. Was I on track for a sub-35' result? If so, I would go for it. The way back was harder, due to the wind, but due to the fatigue as well. In the final km the slime in my throat narrowed the access for the necessary oxygen, but nevertheless I pushed a little harder. Turning into the finish straight I could see the clock, telling me that 35 minutes had passed already. With the wind in the back I opened all energy sources available to finish faster than 36 minutes. 35'42'' it was, a new personal best. My throat hurt and my eyes must have looked like huge empty glass balls (I didn't feel so well) when a man asked me my name which he wrote at the second position of his list telling me to show up at the award ceremony at three. I had won a prize! As second finisher in the category of 'men without license' I was invited on the stage to receive a bush of purple flowers and a little silver-like plate looking very useful to serve chocolates on in the nearby royal palace. The fact that almost everybody had left the square in front of the stage, and of those who remained only two applauded, couldn't spoil my pride. May 21, 2006 will be remembered as the day I won my first prize in running. Too bad Merijn is not here to give the flowers to. I secretly enjoy the old-fashioned romance of taking up physical challenges for my love and saying 'it was hard and I almost subsided, but I persisted, as I knew who was waiting for me. These I won for you'.
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