Groningen – Back home… Home after two weeks at the island Lanzarote and finishing the Ironman. Home with the cats and Hilde. It feels great to be back, but at the same time I feel a bit sad because time really flew the last two weeks. Lanzarote is a magical place and really did it’s magic on me.

Before heading to Lanzarote everything was clear in my mind. Two weeks of training to get back on track. And as dessert the Ironman the last Saturday of those two weeks. With the injuries I have had, the race would be no more than another training set and to see where I would be in my process to get ready for the second half of the season. Enjoying the race and experimenting with some things. It all went a bit different….

With this idea I got on the Ryanair plane in Eindhoven. Training and racing, nothing more, nothing less. But within a week things changed. The magic of Lanzarote got to me, my body and my mind. My thoughts about training were gone with the wind and everything turned into race mode. Nothing wrong with that, if preparations had been solid. But they were not, with the injuries I had…

With the new mindset the first week flew by and training was good. The second week became a taper for the race on Saturday. Ooooh boy, my body felt stronger and stronger. But my mind started playing tricks on me when the purpose of the two week stay changed from training to racing. Fortunately, Bart Klein was with me. Together we worked on the mental parts of racing Ironmans. The doubts of Ironman Arizona got back to me the first couple of days, but faded with help of Bart.

Slowly my confidence grew. And things got clear for me. There were some old habits and the ideas how to race Ironman were far from right. It became clear to me, that this was the time to change! Change these habits. Change these ideas. With a body that was still far from perfect, there was nothing to lose and give it a go.
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Groningen – As like with every camp, race of vacation there is too much to do in that last week. I got no clue where to start, so at the moment I am enjoying a coffee instead and thinking of what to do. Fortunately, everything I could possibly forget it buyable, can be shipped, or brought by those who leave later than me. Nonetheless, a little stress is building…

So you might wonder what it all is what I still need to do? Well, a lot! And as I have mentioned in one of my previous blogs (check Kasemier.eu or my facebook page) there it is quiet a challenge to get it all figured out. I just can’t do and think straight. So at one point I might be looking for a pair of socks, while come across my running shoes and that reminds me of getting a second pair of shoes too. In the mean time forgetting about the socks… And this story goes on and on…

And the list continues to grow and grow. Perhaps a travel assistant would be the cure for my overflowing mind… But what also helps is writing all of it down, like I have done so many times! A little part of the list is below and perhaps you can all help me get these things done….

• Ordering Powerbar products for training and racing.
• Getting my Orbea checked and race ready.
• Doing the dishes and clean the house.
• Print Noorderlink on my race suit at Promotex.
• Paying for my SRM and hopefully getting it back before the end of the week.
• Finding a song for the flow on race day.
• Deciding what to bring with to stay within the 20kg weight limit of Ryanair.
• Figuring out how to get to Eindhoven airport with all my stuff.
• Putting in all the training to get as ready as possible for the race.
• Buying tons of sunscreen.
• More… More… More… More…

NOTE: This blog comes from my website: www.kasemier.eu.