Damn tot Damn!

I'm walking again normally now.

For those of you who don't remember me going on about it the last time around, the Dam tot Damloop is an annual ten mile road race between Amsterdam and nearby Zaandam. However, 'nearby' isn't the word that springs to mind when you're running there. In fact, to a plod-along runner like me, it seems like an awful long way.

This year I was busy (not) training (enough) for the race. Hence the reason why I managed to complete eight minutes slower than the last time I did it in 2003. On a more positive note, I'm happy to be back (I had to drop out last year due to injury) and am full of ambitious training plans for next year. I swore blind that I would 'retire' gracefully after this one, but already I'm declaring my commitment to a series of gruelling early-morning workouts. I'm putting it down to post-race euphoria.

After all, the Damloop is a pretty special event. I don't particularly like the muscle soreness, but the atmosphere is addictive. Just when you start to get fed up with the pavement pounding, something distracts you from it - like one of the enthusiastic crowd members throwing a banana or giving a nonsensical commentary through a home-made loud-hailer. That, plus the fact that there's a fair share of guys with toned rear-views in lycra to focus on. The highlight for me was the start line. I waved at the amazing Paula Radcliffe, who was standing on a platform above us. As the music started to build and we began to surge forward to begin the race I definitely felt the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This must be the reason why 30,000 runners chose to take part this year!

Peter was also running this year, and did a fantastic job! I'd like to say that I ran alongside him, but I'm afraid he's much too fast for that.

This year I had the extra responsibility of organising all eighty of the runners from our work team. This involved a few months of preparation leading up to the big day. On sunday it was a case of showing up early at the start area and trying to fight the crowds so that everyone got to the right place at the right time, running the race, then throwing a big party at the end of it. I was fit to drop at the end of the day, but I was frightened to sit down for fear that it may not be possible to stand up again. Luckily I didn't have to sleep on the floor of the hospitality tent however, and I was safely tucked up in bed before long feeling very proud of myself and also a bit like I'd been hit by a truck.

Click HERE for all the photos...

Artis de Partis

Artis de Partis is the star of an advertising campaign for Artis - the City zoo of Amsterdam.

I'm his biggest fan. Peter came home very late the other night clutching a carrier bag. Imagine my joy when I discover he'd nipped into the zoo shop earlier and bought me my own personal ADP! Artis had been out clubbing with him that evening, but survived intact. He now sits on my bed, mournfully observing the world through his little button eyes.

New Lives Everywhere

Congratulations to Peter's sisters Madeleine and Esther on the arrival of their new babies! Madeleine and Dave's lovely baby daughter Lisa Zoe Van Pelt arrived on 6th September, shortly followed on the 11th by Esther and Ed's little cutie Kjell.

I'm going to have to work on my babysitting skills because something tells me I'm going to need them soon. My twin sister and her husband Neil are expecting at Christmas time and my good friend Alex and his wife Julia are due to deliver any day now.

New to this World in June this year were Vicki and Phil's little Laurence and Suzi and Richard's little Alexa Mia. I'm looking forward to meeting them next time I'm in the UK.

Sand Between My Toes

As I lie awake early in the mornings feeling the bed shake underneath me and watching the light-fitting swing to and fro above my head, I daydream about the beaches of Portugal. They're starting to build a block of apartments opposite us and the process of 6.30am pile-driving for the foundations isn't doing much to create a serene atmosphere at Govert Flinckstraat.

We've been back from sunny Portugal a week now and I'm starting to adjust back to Amsterdam noise levels. Friends Marielle and Salvador were tying the knot in a place called Setubal, just south of Lisbon, so we thought we'd make a week of it.

By observation, I learned several things about Portugal which I'll share with you now.

1. It's very warm and very lovely.
2. It's possible to get a tan there even if you're a pale English girl prone to burning.
3. There are (seemingly) no annoying 'Brits Abroad' north of the Algarve (apart from me).
4. There are about a zillion beaches and they're all great.
5. There are less mosquitoes there than in Amsterdam.
6. No one drives piles into the ground outside your bedroom window at 6 in the morning.
7. Ownership of a very tiny dog is compulsory.
8. Judging by the Portuguese people over thirty - the Mediterranean diet doesn't do much to keep you slim, but it does do much to keep you happy.
9. They barbeque the fish on the streets outside the restaurants.
10. It's not a good idea to stay in a hotel that has wooden floors, especially if there's a family of elephants in the room upstairs with a preference for high-heeled shoes.

All in all it was a lovely holiday and great to see Marielle and Salvador get hitched in such pleasant company and beautiful surroundings.

You can see photos of the holiday here. Enjoy!