I love my weekends, especially because of…

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Bo

Friday night pasta…

We don’t eat a lot of take-out. For us, Friday nights are pasta night in our house. It’s the one night of the week where I make a kick-ass pasta dish, loaded with cheese. Yum!

Saturday morning breakfast in bed…

KK wakes up quite early on Saturday mornings. If we aren’t off to run a race, he will make breakfast which we usually eat in bed watching something we’ve PVR’ed on TV. Even if it’s just a bowl of Milo cereal, or muesli and a hot cup of tea. It’s perfect! The best part is falling asleep again and waking up later.

Saturday movie night…

If we have no other plans, KK and I usually go to movies. We take it in turns to pick the movie and always buy x2 small popcorns and a water. After the movie, we go for supper. It’s our special “date night” and never grows old.

Sunday afternoon naps…

I absolutely love napping on a Sunday afternoon. It’s even better if there’s a typical Jozi thunderstorm and the room gets all dark and cosy.

Spending time with my dogs…

Annie and Emma follow me wherever I go. They absolutely adore me. It’s also the only time I get to really snuggle them and let them cuddle with me when I nap. I like to spend extra time talking to them and brushing them. They love it!

Feeding the birds in my garden…

There’s nothing more beautiful than the sound of birds in the garden. I have two bird feeders and it attracts so many birds to my garden. All weekend, there is the sound of weavers and grey louries in the trees. It’s magnificent!

Early morning races…

Running races have become a part of my life. It’s what we do. I once told a friend that I was thinking of quitting the running and she said, “You can’t. It’s such a big part of what you and KK do on your weekends. It’s what your friends do on weekends. Quitting is not an option.” She’s right. It’s a big part of our lives and our weekends. Yes, so the 4am wake up and driving to races in the dark always feels like hell, but crossing those finish lines and eating pancakes under a tree after a race while we all review how the race went is .. well, it’s pretty awesome.

Confessions of a runner: Of course I can run faster silly!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Bo

In 2010, I ran the Pick ‘n Pay half marathon. It’s a great race and winds its way through Bedfordview and Edenvale. I remember getting to the 16 km mark and bumping in to an old friend from school. On that day, he was marshalling the race.

When he saw me, he looked surprised and asked me, “Bo, are you okay? Why are you so far at the back? Are you hurt?” In my head, I said, nope, this is my pace. I run at 8mins/km. But I was too embarrassed to admit that to him, so instead I laughed it off, claiming I was having a slow race and taking it easy. Of course I run faster than this, silly billy! Pffft!

Fast forward 3 years. I’m blogging about my race journey and sharing my ups and downs of my running and my quest to run faster. Last week, I happen to have blogged that I was in a dip with my running, that I was not having a good time, and pretty much hating my running. Guess who comments on my blog? My friend, the marshall, from the Pick ‘n Pay race.

However, this time, the encounter was different. Here’s what he wrote…

“… On the running side, if it helps, of my years and years of running have yielded many great victories, but plenty disappointments too. I actually hung up my shoes after last year’s Comrades. I lost the mojo. I never took a step until the Kudus race this year, then Dischem, then Bobbies on Sunday, and I’m totally passionate again. It doesn’t mean you must stop , I’m just saying that we all have little setbacks and disappointments. Some run through them, some take a break till the mojo returns. I think you are expecting too much too soon to be honest.

Run Happy, Run Grumpy, Run Speedy, Run Slow, Run a Little, Run a lot, just have fun!!

Let me know when you are next at a race, I’d love to run your distance with you and have a catch up, and whatever your goal for that day, let me pace for you and give you a helping hand, it’ll be my pleasure. Keep your chin up Bo, and keep going!”

I did manage to bump into him at Johnson Crane. It was so great to see him and to chat.

How weird that sometimes it’s easier to hide our insecurities because we think others will judge us and not understand what we are going through. And yet, everyone has their own demons that they are fighting. Opening up and trusting someone can sometimes yield some wonderful results!

Running Johnson Crane 10.56km

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Bo

The Johnson Crane running race holds a special place in my heart. It’s where I managed to run my first half marathon but it’s also the race where I hit my first (and my only) wall.

The race is held out in Benoni where it’s pretty flat. It’s hugely popular and this year, the marathon and half had to be delayed by 30 minutes due to traffic congestion. No wonder with 6 000 entrants!

Loads of runners had entered the 10.56km (quarter marathon) race. Young, old, kids. I managed to weasel my way to the front area so that I wasn’t starting at the back of the group. Gun went off and so did we.

The race is not too challenging but what makes it different is the fact that it is flat. Very flat. There are no undulating hills to help break the run. Sometimes a flat run can actually be quite tough because of this reason.

For the first time ever, I was able to run a full 10km race without stopping to walk (largely due to the awesome help from Craig aka @biggestbossfan). Yes, we did stop maybe twice to walk for 1 minute but compared to other races, this was a huge improvement for me. It definitely helps running with someone!

I also managed to run the race in under 8mins/km. We finished in 82 minutes. Bearing in mind this was a 10.56km and Craig did point out that it took him on approximately 2mins to pass the starting line due to the number of runners, I was thrilled!

Considering I was averaging 80 minutes for a 10km, here I ran a 10km, plus another half a km in 82 minutes. A personal best (PB)!

Rating: 8/10

Try again. If that fails, try again.

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Bo

I did not have the best of week’s last week. Having received the news from my running coach that I had not followed my training schedule correctly and had therefore not improved as he would’ve liked sent me into a depressed spiral where I questioned my running and considered quitting.

I got blasted by my coach for even having thoughts of quitting. He said to me: Get your mind right!

Ironically, this is where I am lacking in “strength”. I am disciplined enough to train every day. I have even changed my diet, cutting out wheat and red meats. I drink enough water and have ensured I wear all the running gadgets one can buy. All the boxes are ticked. But getting up when I have fallen down is so difficult.

Previously, when it came to motivating myself and getting my head space right, I would sit quietly and repeat positive statements to myself. I would envisage myself running and completing races. I would fill my time with reading motivational running books. It would always be a very private and personal journey.

But there’s something I realised a few months ago when I started my blogging. When it comes to believing in my abilities, nothing helps me do that more than realising that others believe in me. In fact, spending time with people that build me up is exactly what I spent the week doing.

Dinner with a best friend (who meticulously read back to me every sentence from my coach’s email and analysed each comment with a fine tooth comb and turned each sentence into a positive statement – Marci, you mean the world to me), to the awesome run with an inspirational friend from Cape Town (Rogeema, you are too awesome for words) and an Iron Man (Morne) who surprised me with a visit, right down to the motivational tweets and caring comments on my blog telling me that quitting is not an option and that they believed in me.

There’s nothing that touched my heart more than realising that other people are so willing to share in my running pains and get me through the bad times.