pro triathlete Jerzy Kasemier

Video

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:13:27 +0100

With all the channels frozen rock solid it was time to put on my...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0100

With all the channels frozen rock solid it was time to put on my skates and go for it. After 15 years I skated around the city center of Groningen. Something that doesn’t happen too often.

Most of the lakes near Groningen have frozen shut. Which means...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:14:00 +0100

Most of the lakes near Groningen have frozen shut. Which means you can go and skate on them. And since I regretted not doing so last year it was time to give it a try. Some warm clothing, a Heidi Liebt hat, skates and a big smile made me go!

Superman

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:20:04 +0100

Groningen - In the mean time the first month of 2012 is already behind us and therefore it is time to get back to training. One of the core issues in doing so are the core stability training sets. Nothing wrong with that, you might think, but I think differently about that after putting in this first set of the season.

This morning I got up early. Feeling great. Even before the alarm went. All to put in the first strength training of this year. Slowly I walked to the kitchen… Thinking of which sets I would do. Hamstrings first? Or perhaps some back exercise? Turned on the heating. Made me some coffee and I was ready to go! Excited to get this workout in, ‘Superman here I am!’Starting with some regular sit ups. Nothing fancy. And that went rather easy in the first set of the three planned. The second became increasingly harder and the last was done till halfway. ‘Hmm…. Great start. But there is more! Let’s get the second set in.’ Push ups have never been my thing, but this since this was my first strength training again I was thinking of being Superman for some vague reason. And again the first set flew by. ‘Yeah!’ The second set was already tough… And as with the sit ups the third set was termintated halfway… Muscles were shaking. Lets put in a pause and then continue.

I got at least a couple of sets in… But the thought of being Superman faded rapidly. My muscles started shaking rapidly, telling me that I was not up to what I thought I would be able to handle. The memory of the sets of last year got to me big time. I am sitting here, typing. And I am still thinking about why on earth I thought I was Superman. My shoulders and back are tense. Not to mention my stomach abdominals… I had started were I left last year… Not clever! Lesson learned.

Found this on Youtube. It still if one of the most beautiful...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:54:06 +0100

Found this on Youtube. It still if one of the most beautiful races I have done.

It is a sprint towards the finish line with Jerzy Magazine....

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:27:03 +0100

It is a sprint towards the finish line with Jerzy Magazine. There are still 9 pages left for advertisements, so don’t hesitate to contact me and get one of those last ones left!

Ironman Wales 2011 - 10 Ironmans

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:39:34 +0100

Tenby (Wales, United Kingdom) - At four in the morning the alarm went, starting the regular ritual to get ready for the start at 7AM. Automatic pilot mode ON! Shower, breakfast, coffee, making drinks, off to transit, fixing everything on the bike and transit bags, walking to the swim start, taking some photos, putting on the wetsuit, doing a warm up swim. And then it got bright in the sky. Race day had arrived. So there we were. Roughly 1500 triathletes on the beach. Ten minutes before the start. Trembling to go. Adrenaline speeding through our veins. Heart rate approaching race speed. Ready for the adventure that lay ahead of us.

From the beach we had to swim left towards the first buoy. And among the PRO athletes we were already discussing if it wouldn’t be best to run over the beach to cut the swim to the first buoy short. And then someone started walking… Running… And when one starts running all others follow. There we were running down the beach, 5 minutes before the start. But then, for some reason everybody turned around and we walked back again… Getting ready in line for the start.

Everybody was jumping up and down. Excited for what was going to happen… But I felt some sort of relaxation. No stress, no worries, no adrenaline, no… Were we going to run to the end of the beach again? I was just going to follow the crowd. Or were we going to go for the swim right from the point where we were? It was fine with me. BOOM!!! And I was running down the beach, still wondering what I was going to do? Run or swim. But everybody surrounding me started running… And so was I…

I ran. Thinking about what to do. Enter here? Enter here? Or here? Still running towards the end of the beach… Here? Or here? Still looking at all the others that we passing me, running madly to the end of the beach. To the rocks… Here? Yes! Here! And there I went into the sea… Well, I gave it a try. The waves were hard on me, but I think I did just the right thing. I was just behind the people that ran to the end. And as I heard after the race, they had to swim back to avoid being thrown on the rocks.

My mind had turned numb. Nothing got in, nothing got out. I just moved my arms, with the auto pilot on. Beating the waves, the endless lines of waves coming towards me. The first turn passed without a blink. Auto pilot off. Goggles back on. And auto pilot back on. Hitting the waves head on. Towards where? The waves made it hard to see where to go, but fortunately the auto pilot showed me the way. In between the boat and buoy, towards the second turn and the beach.

‘Catch a wave!’ The waves were rolling onto the beach quiet nicely, but they were too hard to catch. ‘Paddle! Paddle!’ And just before getting to the beach I caught one and I was thrown on the beach. Head first, turning of the auto pilot! While spitting out sand, salt water and perhaps even some crabs or lobsters I ran over the beach to get back in for the second lap. It was just part of the ride. And auto pilot was back on. Normally the second lap feel quicker, better, more relaxed, but this time there was no feeling. Just the relentless pounding of the waves. And before I knew it the beach was reach again… Fortunately this time without biting the beach and eating sand!

From the beach it was near straight up towards the boulevard, 60 (it seemed more!) meter higher. Halfway I grabbed a pair of shoes left behind before the start and cramming my into a little backpack while running towards T1. The shoes were comfortable and I would have loved it to keep them on after the tent in transit, because the asphalt was so rough that running over it was hard. ‘Don’t cry! Get on your bike and it is over before you know it!’

And there I was… On my bike, ready to head out and get those 180km done! But with the little knowledge gained during the reconnaissance ride all hope for a quick bike split were gone! The first few miles (or kilometers as I prefer) it was silent, no one was in front or behind me. Just riding, thinking to take it easy. Keeping an eye on the SRM to keep the power down. It was windy. Even windier than in the North of the Netherlands. And there were hills, endless rows of hills. Up down, up down, left right, up down, right left, down, up, left, up, right, left, down, up, right… Did I ride this course?

It felt as riding in a fairytale. The landscape, the views, the houses, the trees, the sheep, everything looked amazing, but it did not cheer me up for some reason. I just rode. And rode. There was a little smile on my face when I got to the beach and saw one of my fellow athletes almost get blown from the road. I cheered for Edo van der Meer when I passed him near the turn around. There was a struggle with the energy intake, did I miss the first aid station? Putting in a gel with my Powerbar engery drink certainly did not help the stomach. And again, more hills, turns, ups, downs, all taken without blinking, thinking, feeling, seeing, enjoying….

And then I got back to Tenby. Going into the second lap made me smile. The crowd was amazing! The people got mad! Cheered, screemed as loud as possible! Clapping their hands! It almost made me miss a corner. Which even made me laugh. But then it struck. There was 70km left… The stomach had turned over and that made it hard to get the energy in. But those 70km flew by in a state of numbness… The course was relentless and beating all emotions out of me, just riding the hills and getting those 180km behind me.

Transit was easy, but slow. Putting in the gel as planned and then taking off for the marathon. It felt great to be doing something else. A new start, a new chance to get back some feeling, some smiling, some flow. And for a while I did. The legs were great, or well for as far as the can be great after a 5:45 bike ride. Nonetheless the first stretch up the hill went great! Hammering it, cheering for Edo, getting into a rhythm. Starting to get into the flow of Ironman Austria. And I was catching others! On the way down I was flying! ‘Yeah baby yeah!’

I got my drink at the coach post and got ready for another climb towards the turn just outside Tenby. Still flying! And I finally got warm again. So warm that I needed cooling I thought. Throughing some water over my head. It helped to cool me and the pace still great. Hitting the second turn halfway into lap two. And then the wind caught me! Chilling me to the bone! I got cold, freezing cold. And this within just a couple of minutes. I got goosebumps all over and running became harder and harder. My energy level was down… I was running on vapors of the energy left in me. The pace dropped. It also affected my mind, with which I had trouble dealing with all day. And then I snapped. Giving in. Surrendering. I started walking.

It was freezing cold. There was no joy left in me to race. I was done. Physically and mentally! The battery was empty! Emptied beyond the point where you can still refuel it. It only came down to another 25km to finish. ‘Lets get this over with, no matter what. Get your 10th Ironman medal!’ It was not so much of a struggle. It was just what I had planned, finishing! Those last 25km came down to walking, running, eating some All Sorts and salted cookies, drinking coke, trying to make the best of it. Which was hard, but I made it. After 10:29:19 I finished my 10th Ironman.

This was by far the hardest Ironman I had ever done. By far the toughest Ironman I had ever done. It silently got to me, draining all the energy without me noticing it. It was a relentless day of hills and wind. Ironman Wales proved to be a worthy opponent. The Welsh dragon lives yet another day to be fought again next year! I had only dented it, but nonetheless I made it.

Video

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:33:08 +0100

Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:50:13 +0100

RunningCoffee - Op naar 2012

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:48:00 +0200

This post is mainly for those from Groningen and surroundings. And therefore I post this in Dutch.

—————
Al enige tijd loop ik met het idee rond om iets samen te doen. Samen in de vorm van sport. En dan bedoel ik natuurlijk hardlopen zoals de naam RunningCoffee al doet vermoeden. Samen een doel stellen en daar naar toe werken. Maar vooral samen genieten van hoe leuk hardlopen is! En dat in combinatie met een goed kop koffie.

Natuurlijk allemaal leuk en aardig, maar wie ben ik dan? Voor wie mij nog niet kent, ik ben Jerzy Kasemier. En ik doe iets met sport. Nou ja iets… Eigenlijk heel veel. De afgelopen 4 jaar ben ik de wereld over gevlogen om een sportieve droom te verwezenlijken. Toch ligt mijn hartje in Groningen en bij samen dingen doen, zoals sporten en koffie drinken. En vandaar RunningCoffee.

Dan nu terug naar de kern van de zaak. Nederland kent een groot aantal hardloopevenementen. Kleine, grote, korte, lange. Maar één van die evenementen spreekt het meest tot de verbeelding: de Amsterdam Marathon. De combinatie van onze hoofdstad en de marathon maakt het tot een nostalgische combinatie. Helaas is de editie van dit jaar net achter de rug. Maar niet getreurd, want dat houdt in dat het nog een jaar duurt voor de editie van 2012!

Lees meer op www.runningcoffee.nl.

The first real try out is a fact. It will take some more time...

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:56:42 +0200

The first real try out is a fact. It will take some more time and effort to complete it, but at least it starts to look like a real magazine. And there is still space to be a part of this. There are several spots left for advertising, so let me know if you want to have a page of your own.

Video

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:24:42 +0200

Photo

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:26:00 +0200

The wrap up of Ironman Wales 2011 (Tenby, United Kingdom). What...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:35:35 +0200

The wrap up of Ironman Wales 2011 (Tenby, United Kingdom). What a day… What a day…

Final video before racing tomorrow. A snapshot of transit where...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:29:25 +0200

Final video before racing tomorrow. A snapshot of transit where everybody is getting ready for the big day tomorrow.

Ironman Wales 2011 - Race the dragon

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:24:00 +0200

Tenby (United Kingdom, Wales) - There are 12 hours left before I get up tomorrow morning. And I am ready! Ready to face, race and fight the Welsh Dragon. The bike is in transit, the bags are in place. The body is filled with energy. And the mind is set. What remains is counting down the hours. The worst hours of them all. Waiting for all that lies ahead of us. Waiting for the unknown… Waiting for what the Dragon will throw at us…

And there are a lot of unknowns this time. Everything changes by the hour. The weather changed from partly clouded to rain and storm, to light rain and what not more. It is a constant changing factor, and although it is an external one, it keeps all of us busy. What to wear? What not to wear? It is like something lurking in the dark, not knowing what it is?

But there is more. We had the briefing this afternoon. And that was surprising too. The swim moved from the North to the South Beach. Adding another kilometer of running tomorrow. And there is more… There are sheep on the course at some point.. ‘They are soft when you hit them.’ Comforting thought. And not to forget about all the dirt, leaves and pieces of branches on the road, blown from the trees… I guess the Dragon is just up for a big fight! And I will give him a big fight! Starting tomorrow morning at 7AM!

Video

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:08:28 +0200

A view from the boulevard on the swim course…

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:51:00 +0200

A view from the boulevard on the swim course…

Photo

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:26:06 +0200

Great car to travel in

Check out those Welch names...

Wales

Ironman Wales 2011 - Swim warm up

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:03:22 +0200

Watchfield (United Kingdom) - Stage 2 is done. It was a long day in the car, but at least we got to do some sightseeing along the way. Lots and lots of trucks. The Netherlands, Belgium, France and England. And of course I won’t forget the left hand driving. All added to the experience we had today… Perhaps not as much as the EuroTunnel/channel swim decision….

Someone suggest a channel swim would be the perfect warm up for the Ironman this Sunday. And I guess it was… Along the way towards Calais I told my parents that they were lucky taking the train to England. Not just because of the wind, but because the waves created by the wind. They would have been really seasick if they had come with me by boat…

Nonetheless, I was determined to swim to England. With or without waves! We got to the coast and the waves were massive! Even in the car we could feel the force of the storm. That was going to be one tough cookie to get across… We parked the car behind one of the buildings at the beach and I got changed. Wetsuit, cap, goggles, some Vaseline in the neck for the rubbing, and two gels under my bathing cap. Just in case I would get hungry during the 35km swim warm up.

Boy, and girl, I was excited! Ready to go! On the beach I could feel the sand in between my toes. And the noise of the waves almost got deafening. I ran. I ran to the see and took one big dive through the first wave. But I could not get through and was thrown back onto the beach… BAM! The sand was hard, rock hard! And then I noticed that I just woke up and hit my head against the window entering the train to get through the EuroTunnel…