“Mens sana in corpore sano”

That’s what Juvenalis said around 100 AD: “A sound mind in a sound body”. Over time, the phrase has come to mean that only a healthy body can produce or sustain a healthy mind. And that’s exactly what I’ve been working on these past months ;).

I started with volleyball late September, which I’m really starting to like. Tactically I’m still a big newbie because…

…I don’t play competitively yet and because there usually aren’t enough people from my group present to play normal games with. But technically I’m improving well according to my housemate Femke :).

But volleyball hasn’t been the only thing. Femke also invited me to go running with her from time to time. And in that I’ve been improving a lot as well… I’ve run 10 km (6.2 miles) a few times now, the last time that included a series of twenty 50-meter sprints. While I used to think of running as boring and useless, I’ve started to appreciate it. Especially running in the dark I would almost call therapeutic :P… At times you almost feel as if you’re in some kind of trance… Both me and Femke (as well as her boyfriend Stijn a couple of times) have been thoroughly enjoying it :).

In spring I’ll be participating in the ‘Batavierenrace’, which is the world’s biggest relay race. It’s a 185 km (115 miles) race in which more than 300 groups of 25 students participate, totalling more than 7,500 people. I don’t know yet what distance I’ll be running, but it’s nice to have a goal for yourself :).

Mens sana in corpore sano!

EDIT: Corrected the spelling mistake in the quote ;)