As I write this, there are just three days to go before the Comrades marathon. KK will be running his second one and going for what is known as a ‘back to back’ medal. His training compared to last year has been entirely different mared by a horrible groin injury since March and less mileage on his legs.
Him and I approach our running in very different ways. I like to over analyze and talk about the run to death. I read books, articles, blogs and ensure I’m engaging with other runners on social media. KK zones out.
There’s one advantage to this. Along with the frustration of an injury not healing fast enough and less and less time to do that one last long run, I noticed KK becoming more and more determined. As if as if because he couldn’t train his legs, he put that energy into training his mind.
Not once has he mentioned bailing. He never talks about quitting. He doesn’t even have a plan B. In his mind, he intends to run the best race he can and come home with his medal. Some might call it arrogance or even ignorance but I think when you take on a race of this magnitude, you need to have your head screwed on right and not have a single doubt in your head or hints of failure. He talks about that medal all the time as if he imagines it in his hand. His eyes are set firmly on the goal and the challenge ahead.
They say that even though you’ve done the training, Comrades is a mental race. Once you pass around the 60km mark, your head takes over and you’d better have that mental strength to push on when your body begs you to give up. If I know KK, this is his strength. Failure is not an option.
Good luck Karl! I’ll be there with you, in your heart, every step of the way. I love you…
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Good luck to your KK! I have so much respect for all the runners. Do you plan to ever try?
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I’d love to but if you need to average around 7:30 and 8:00 to finish in time, I’ll never make cut off. My pace currently is around 7:44. But hey, you never know. 🙂 And you?
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7:44 is right between where you need to be so why do you think you would never make cut off? You would… This is the head talking to you. I said something to Graham from Boskruin group the other day about thinking that 32 was SO FAR and he was like “that is going to hold you back girl” and you know what he is SO RIGHT. I’ve been working on changing my mindset to see if I can conquer a 32 and now I’m ready to tackle it.
xxx
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The mind. It needs training too I guess. #noted
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Glad to hear KK is running, all the best to him. Tell him to please make sure he supports any struggling VOB runners he comes across :). That last 30km scares the shits out of me – will the mind be strong enough when the body has nothing left? God, this has been a nervy week (and I am not usually nervous). What colours is KK running in?
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Standard Bank running kit. I’ll tell him to look out! Go go go!!! 🙂
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That race is just an incredible feat, and I think that until you actually run yourself, you can’t even fathom it. Hell, I can’t even fathom running that far!
Good luck to KK! I’m sure he’ll do well
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So true! Thanks Jenty!
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