{"id":5546,"date":"2024-05-05T14:58:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T12:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sunpig.com\/martin\/?p=5546"},"modified":"2024-05-05T14:58:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T12:58:37","slug":"annual-marathon-walk-saturday-4-may-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunpig.com\/martin\/2024\/05\/05\/annual-marathon-walk-saturday-4-may-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual marathon walk, Saturday 4 May 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Actual walking time 6:44:06, total elapsed time 7:44:01 because I was generous with my breaks. (Last year<\/a>: 6:32 and 6:59 respectively. I was in better physical shape last year.) I stopped in the centre of Weesp at the half-way mark for about 25 minutes to have some breakfast, then a 20 minute stop at the Gamma DIY store near ‘s Graveland for a toilet stop and a cold drink (about 32 km), and finally a 15 minute rest just outside of an Albert Heijn in Hilversum (about 37km) for another drink and a snack. Finished up at the Theehuis ‘t Hooge Erf<\/a> in the Lage Vuursche forest, which is just <\/em>under 42km door-to-door, so I walked past it by about 500m to complete the full marathon distance, and then doubled back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abi met me for a mid-afternoon lunch. I had their “Little Italy” sandwich<\/a>, which was amazing<\/em>, although I was in a mood to appreciate any food by that point. Slices of fried aubergine fried in a crispy breadcrumb coating, rocket leaves, resting on toasted bread that had been topped with marinara sauce and melted pecorino and mozzarella cheese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I usually do these marathon walks in April or early May, when the weather can be pleasant, but not too hot. A nice dry day around 15\u00b0 is just about perfect. In April of this year all my free weekends were very rainy. Earlier this week it started to get hot<\/em> (25\u00b0), and I felt that I needed to get the walk in before it was too late. The weather forecast for yesterday was decent, but there was a chance of rain by 14:00, so I made sure to get out early, about 06:45, just after sunrise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a lovely clear morning, and it stayed that way all the way to Weesp. I stopped once to re-tie my laces and tape up my heels, because there was a bit of friction. Last year I stepped up my walking shoe game from Asics Patriots to Asics Gel-Pulse 13s. (They were good shoes, but the upper wore out quite badly.) This year I’m walking on the Asics Gel-Pulse 15, which have a very different sole than the 13. They’re nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year I used http:\/\/sortyourmusic.playlistmachinery.com\/<\/a> to make myself playlists of music of specific tempos, to help me keep a good and constant pace while walking. When I tried to use that tool this year, however, it wouldn’t save playlists to my Spotify account any more. (I don’t think the tool is actively maintained, and the Spotify API keeps moving on.) Instead of tempo playlists, I ended up listening to the selection of albums I happened to have downloaded to my phone. Last month I accidentally left my Airpods Pro behind in Scotland. I’m using my backup\/sleep buds now, a set of Soundcore Liberty 4 NCs<\/a>. They’re OK. But Apple Music opens up whenever I connect them. I decided to just roll with it, and listen alphabetically by artist. Here’s what came up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n