About Bo

Dog lover. Runner. Although very slowly. Keeping up with the stresses of running and life...

Running through a storm is not as glamourous as it sounds!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Bo

I heard the thunder, I saw the dark clouds moving in, but I simply ignored it thinking it would blow over. It didn’t.

Two kilometres in to my run last week Thursday I got caught in the biggest storm to hit Jo’burg. At first, the drops didn’t appear to be that heavy so I decided to push on and not turn back.

Big mistake!

Within 5 mins, the rain was so heavy I could not see in front of me. I had to seek shelter along the side of the road under the trees (I know!) and next to some bushes. At first, I thought it would blow over but it just got louder and heavier, it felt like the lightning was going to hit me!

I stood dead still, holding myself in a tight ball and closed my eyes. I waited. I hoped it would stop.

Every now and then a car would drive passed. The problem is that with no pavements and very little water drainage in Douglasdale, I would get splashed. I refused to cry. I kept trying to convince myself that it was awesome. It wasn’t!

After 10 minutes, I made the call to run home. It did not look like the rain was going to stop and I feared it might hail. It was getting late. I was freezing! I was 2 kms away and thought that at the most, it would take me 20 mins. I could not run fast because the puddles of water were so deep. My running shoes were drenched!

I arrived home, ran straight upstairs and jumped in to the shower. My mascara had run all down my face. I had left puddles of water from the front door all the way through the house.

I’ve heard people raving about how wonderful it is to run in the rain. How refreshing it is.

Geepers! I rain in a storm. Never again!

Sometimes, the signs are there and we refuse to listen. We ignore them. And then have to face the consequences.

The lesson: if it looks like a big rain storm approaching, it most probably is. Go run at the gym!

Choose your attitude

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Bo

Last week, someone on Twitter posed the question: do you prefer running in the mornings or the afternoons and why?

Without hesitation, I replied saying, “Definitely afternoon. It gives me time to clear my head after a stressful day”. I then sat back and thought about it… the question I asked myself was, “Why the stress? What’s going on?”

On the work front, things have never been better. Never before have I had such clear direction as to what my role is and what is required from me. (Thanks Sue).

The stress is coming from those around me, my colleagues and the politics at work.

The facts: I work for a large corporate. Red tape, bureaucracy, processes, and especially politics is always going to form part of the culture of my working environment. People are busy. They have jobs to do, deliverables that have to be met, outputs with tight deadlines.

What gets to me most is that regardless of the facts, majority of people have become almost institutionalised. They’ve forgotten to greet one another; they’ve forgotten to smile, to laugh, to have fun and even to respect one another. The smallest of issues gets blown out of proportion and they don’t look for solutions, but blame.

Most days I see colleagues walking out the door to go home with heavy shoulders, tired faces and lifeless.What those negative, frustrated, moaning people at work don’t realise is that their attitudes can make or break someone else’s day. That their constant complaining, back-stabbing and negative comments do little but create an environment where it’s a challenge not to get sucked into all the politics but to rise above it and remain positive.

A colleague asked me the other day, “Bron, how do you do it. How do you manage to smile and be so positive with all this going on around you?”

My answer: Well, you just have to. Some things won’t change. Corporate world is the same no matter where you go. But it’s the way you deal with situations and those involved which makes the difference.

… and at least I am able to run off that stress when I get home.

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!