To all my running buddies, Season’s Greetings from me to you…

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Bo

I received this email greeting from my running club which I thought was so special and would really like to share it with you. *I’ve tweaked it a bit…*

SEASONS GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES FOR 2012

Good Luck to those who will run…

for new PBs in 2012 (That’s me)
their first Comrades Marathon (@saulkza)
a 10^th Comrades Marathon (@TanyaKovarsky)
their 1^st Half Marathon (@terencetobin)
their 1^st Marathon (@angelo2711)
their 1^st Ultra Marathon
those going for Gold or Silver Medals

And most of all, good luck to all who will be running or walking in 2012 and beyond.

I wish you an injury free year!

Love Bron xxx

If you want to learn about yourself, throw yourself head first out of your comfort zone

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Bo

Anyone that knows me well will have realized that I do not enjoy hosting parties at my house. I will even go as far as admitting that I never invite friends over for supper (sorry guys). I find it too stressful, too much work and in fact, I am to worried that I burn the veggies and cock it up. So for me, it’s easier to meet at a restaurant and not have to stress.

So when I was asked to be part of a team to organize our year end function at work, I thought, that’s cool, how hard can it be? We’re an organizing committee of 10 people so this won’t be too difficult. Boy was I wrong!

What started out as an organized function with a charity event linked to it, turned into a rushed, “run out of time”, make it happen lunch where we had just a mere 2 weeks to pull it all together. It just so happened that it was also during one of the busiest weeks in the year so some of the team members dropped out to focus on work commitments. It was then left to a handful of us who had limited or zero (me) event/function/hosting experience to pull the event off.

When I am stressed and out of my comfort zone, the only way I can feel in control is if I have everything organized, sorted out, all the boxes ticked. But working in a team where some people worked with different views of deadlines and urgency proved the biggest challenge.

Some days I was overwhelmed at the thought that this would be the biggest failure and that everyone would think I was useless (yeah… I know, I’m working on my confidence levels).

It was far from a failure. In fact, it turned out great!

Some lessons I learnt from this experience:

If you provide people with good food, you are already half way there.
Good music is a “must”. And yes, sometimes the old classics are what works best.
Learn to delegate. You can’t do everything.
Once you’ve delegated, trust that it will be done. Don’t keep asking for feedback. (sorry team, I know I nag in red pen)
Ask for help. Roping in a colleague to handle all ‘budgetary’ issues was the best decision. Not only was she brilliant but at least none of the team had to watch the money.
A good party doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. Cheap props from China Town and a box of Ferrero Rochers wins hearts.
I am good at project management. Very good at it.
Other people’s ideas are awesome. I need to stop being so risk-averse, open my eyes and give them a chance.
Being a good team player is a part of who I am, but when I am in charge, I battle to motivate a team.
I need to relax more. For pietsake, it’s a party Bron, not heart surgery.

I had so much fun and the feedback to the organizing committee from the rest of the team has been amazing.

They had fun. Memories were made. That’s what it’s all about!

It hurts to take those bold steps but if you don’t then how can you heal?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Bo

A very dear friend of mine is hurting. She is going through a really tough time after having made some big changes in her life. Serious decisions that are having major implications not only for herself but those around her.

But she’s made the right decision and as much as I see her struggling with the unknown, I really hope she knows just how much I support her.

Thinking about making those hard decisions has made me also re-think a foot injury that has been niggling me for a while now and which is slowly starting to have an impact on, not only my running, but my walking too.

In March this year, I visited a podiatrist to have my feet checked out. I was struggling with aching feet, especially plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I was given orthotics and simple instructions on how to use them, guaranteeing relief from the pain.

I was lazy. As we headed into winter and my running went into hibernation, I packed the orthotics away and ignored it. But as summer approached and I started running again, the pain returned.

Again, I ignored it. You know when you think something will go away but a voice in the back of your head tells you it never will? And you ignore it, making every excuse you can think of why it’s okay to just carry on. Because sometimes, making a decision is really the hardest thing to do?

Unfortunately, I have reached the point of no return. Not only is my foot pain affecting my running, but I am unable to walk normally. The pain is that severe. I have tried the early morning stretches, the arnica oils, the golf ball rolling under my foot.

But I have been forced to accept that the only thing that will help me is if I take a break and rest it. Give it time to heal. Unless I do that, things will not change but only get worse. And I need to start using those orthotics.

It’s frustrating, especially because I am in the beginning stages of my Two Oceans half marathon training.

But the pain needs to heal. It needs to go away if I want to continue with my running in the long term. Deep down inside, I know it’s the right thing to do. It’s the only way if I need to heal.

It’s the same with my friend.

Taking that first step is the hardest part. But it’s the first step in that healing process to doing what’s right.

7 things you most probably didn’t know about me…

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Bo

So the challenge came from @TanyaKovarsky’s blog www.dearmax.org to list 7 things about myself that you most probably didn’t know.

Okay, so here goes:

1. When I was growing up, I collected Pink Panthers. At one stage I had 27 of them and called them my ‘Pankies’. I still have a few in the garage that I really should donate to charity. It just breaks my heart to get rid of them.

2. I was born a ginger, had blonde hair growing up, but now I am dark brunette.

3. I studied Information Science, which is really a fancy name for Librarianship. Yes, I like to wear my hair tied up in a bun and still remember the Dewey Decimal classification system.

4. I am an avid (closet) cross stitcher.

I really need to find time to do it. It truly is addictive and can keep me busy for hours.

5. I love documentaries. Especially about 9/11, The Kennedy’s and Man’s first flight to the Moon.

6. I never learnt to swim. I can do doggie paddle but never learnt to do crawl or backstroke or anything fancy. If I am totally honest, I am not really a water person at all.

7. Even though I have travelled to many exotic places, the Kruger Park and Namibia remain my two favourite places in the world! I was fortunate enough to spend a week quadbiking, 4X4’ing, sand boarding down the dunes in Walvis Bay and swimming with the dolphins two years ago. It’s a memory I will cherish forever!