About Bo

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

I’m just tired…

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Bo

I got home from work on Monday evening just before 7pm. KK was still not home and as I sat in the dark, in my car, in the garage, scrolling through my Twitter time line (a ritual I do most evenings), I started to ask myself a couple of hard hitting questions. Surely there was more to life than working 12 hour long, stressful days, leaving for work and arriving home in the dark, raccoon red eyes from staring at my laptop screen? Was it worth it? My mind wondered off to the news that a colleague had resigned and was leaving to go assist her husband run a game farm. Being the ‘bush baby’ that I am, I burned with envy. How glorious…

I came to the conclusion that I am just tired. I’m tired of Winter. Tired of leaving for gym in the dark. Tired of dieting when I crave comfort food. Tired of the hour long commute to work and back. Tired of having static hair (thought I’d throw that one in). Tired of having sinus because the seasons can’t decide what they’re doing… Just tired. And I feel guilty for feeling tired. I know there’s a lot to look forward to. I just need to get through August.

Struggling to shake the sinus attack that had crippled my body since Friday (drama queen), I had used it as an excuse not to run Wits Kudu’s 10km on Sunday. This is a new race on the race calendar so there were many doubts filling my head. The one was that awareness of the race would be low and therefore very few runners (I was wrong). Another was that after I ran, I would develop a serious chest infection and take long to recover.

So KK and the running gang headed out to run the race while I snuggled under the blanket. I could not sleep. Mostly because my nose was irritating me, but also because I was watching the tweets on my Twitter time line of those that had in fact run the race. Verdicts of “toughest race ever” and “relentless hills” were coming through. Then the tweets of those that had completed it and how victorious they felt. When KK did arrive home, his verdict was that it was a ”swine of a race” but was proudly wearing the cap he received at the finish.

Secretly relieved that perhaps I did in fact make the right decision not to run such a tough race, I realized that I most probably would’ve been fine to run. It’s not flu. It’s a runny nose. I am ever so willing to use the smallest excuse to get me out of running a race. And yet in life, I am not that kind of person.

Anyone looking at how I live my life would see that I am not a quitter. I am the one that never takes sick leave. I am the one that works the long hours. I am the one that tries new challenges at work and in my life. I’m the one that gets up at the crack of dawn to get to gym. I’m game for anything new.

No. I love running. I really do! I’m just tired…

Preparing to run…

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Bo

I approach my running in a similar way to the way I approach my life. I feel secure and comforted if I am in control and can plan ahead. Those close to me know that surprises scare me and stress me out.

There’s a ritual that allows me in some small way to have control of my race: the laying out of my running kit the night before each race.

I start from the bottom up: running shoes, socks with the red stripe, running shorts, running top, warm top, running bra, running cap, running watch, head band, hair clips and sunglasses.

I also have a pair of small pearl earrings which serve two purposes. The first is that I do believe they give me good luck. The second is that with no make-up on (think albino) and my hair tied back, I feel at least a little pretty. And just in case I bump into someone I know.

In addition to that, I also read the race review in the Nedbank Runner’s Guide and do extra hill or speed work at the gym with my personal trainer.

But no matter how prepared I am, what my running has taught me is that some things are beyond my control. The weather, the traffic, the queues at the loos before the start of each race. Some things I just cannot prepare for. But that’s okay… it really is.

And so too in life, I can only be as prepared as I can be.

My next mission is to try and work on my ‘mental preparation’. This is still where my biggest challenge lies.

My dogs are like little humans …

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Bo

My dogs, in some funny way, remind me of humans…

They each have very different personalities and as much as I love them both equally, I do recognise a constant struggle as they fight for a bigger share of my attention.

Annie (my 1st born as my maid, Queen, puts it) is the smaller of the two. Skinny, light, but very highly-strung. Emma, the younger, is over-weight, laid-back and carefree. Emma does have the cuter face with big bold eyes and like her mom (me) is always smiling. Yet, behind that cuteness lies a very dark streak.

You see, deceptively, Emma uses her size and weight to her advantage and constantly pushes little Annie around. If Annie jumps up on my legs to give me a love, Emma will too and I see her taking baby steps side-ways to slowly edge Annie out of the way. It’s difficult to reprimand Emma and so instead, I give them both a kiss and a love back.

I guess in a way, I’m doing Annie a disfavour. She never causes a scene but gracefully slinks away.

So too in life, there are those that willingly take advantage of the weak and gentle-natured people and those that humbly accept defeat.

I don’t love Emma any less. But when I got home from work tonight, I did give Annie an extra loving hug and kiss, just so she knows… (behind Emma’s back, of course).

Blogging: the next step in my running journey …

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Bo

In November 2010, I was asked if I would like to blog about my running experiences, especially my build-up to Two Oceans Half Marathon in April 2011. Having missed the cut-off time in 2010 (I don’t wanna talk about it!), I reluctantly declined, fearing that if I missed cut-off again, I would have alerted all the readers of my blog of my failure and would never forgive myself or get over it. The shame would be too great to overcome. (stupid me!)

I actually did manage to make cut-off for this year’s Two Oceans. It was one of the most wonderful achievements of my life and I regretted not being able to share what it meant for me with others. The build-up to the race, the training, the dieting, the injuries. But most of all the mental war that I fought daily convincing my body and my mind that I was capable of doing it.

With a 21.1km cut-off time of 3 hours for majority of the races I run, I not only have the stress of ensuring I can run the distance, but the added stress of trying to do it within the cut-off time when I know that my running pace is 8mins/km. My running has therefore become more of a mental challenge.

A good friend of mine has always told me that I do in fact have a story to tell. That there most probably are other people out there who have the same struggles with running as I do and that I can be an inspiration to them. (I love you Conrad!).

It was only recently when I was invited to a Bloggers meetup that someone who follows me on Twitter made the comment, “Bron, you’ve passed 20 000 tweets on Twitter, maybe it’s time for you to start your own blog”.

I knew exactly what I wanted to blog about…

Running a half marathon takes me just under 3 hrs. I get to do a lot of thinking in 3 hours. Mostly about my life, people I love, my fears, my hopes.

My blog will take you on that journey – one of me trying to make cut-off time and the other, all the thoughts filling my head while I run.