About Bo

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

Running “normal”

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Bo

Seeing my shadow on the ground whenever I run has always made me think that maybe my running form is not the best. I slouch forward (an entire blog post has been dedicated to this), my hips don’t move (as much as Shakira’s do) and it doesn’t look as if I’m comfy at all.

Every runner has their own form, their own way of swinging their arms and legs but I started to think that maybe if my form is that bad, it surely must be slowing me down when I run. So I went looking for professional advice.

I happened to see that Mari Naude, a biokineticist who I met through fellow runner @TanyaKovarsky a few years back, was offering running technique sessions. She had helped me a few years ago when I struggled with plantar fasciitis so I made an appointment to see her.

Within 5 minutes of the session, she had me running on a treadmill, taking a video of my running form. That was followed by flexibility tests of my hips, my back, even down to my toes, the big toe in particular. Then came the analysis…

My right foot is weak. Very weak. Even though my hips are flexible, they seem to stiffen up when I run due to the amount of pounding of my heel when I strike the ground. My legs are too straight when I run which is why my hips don’t have any movement. I am crossing my arms too much and using my upper body to do all the work. The slouching comes from fatigue and partly due to the fact that I’m not leaning forward with my hips correctly.

With a flood of info, all I could remember was that I have a spastic foot. Mari did say that correcting things would take many months of work and then showed me the first set of drills she wants me to perform. By the time I left her office, I was sweating!

What I loved about the session is that the videos were taken on my phone which means that I’ve watched them over and over. I’ve giggled so many times and thought I’d be brave enough to upload one and show you. LOL, enjoy!

Now the (not so funny) hard work begins.

The year Annie grew old

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Bo

It felt like she grew old overnight. One day she was running around outside chasing birds, the next day she needed help getting onto the couch. An adrenalectomy to remove a tumor which was growing on one of her adrenal glands and suddenly we were told that “12 years is a good age for dogs like her”. Since January, my dog Annie has never been the same.

Before and after.

According to Dr Carter, we were “lucky to catch” her tumor before it was too late to be removed. The op, although successful, was incredibly invasive and for a little dog who had been healthy all her life, it was a massive shock. Animal hospital stitches operation

Visiting her in the Fourways Vet Hospital, seeing her lying in her own little hospital bed was heartbreaking. Just when I thought it was all over, I had no idea of what was yet to come.

The remaining adrenal gland will not ‘wake up’. She is therefore unable to control her blood pressure which causes her to fall over a lot. She can’t control her temperature properly and often gets depression. This means that Annie lives off high levels of Lenisolone (it’s the canine version of Prednisone. If you’ve been on this cortisone, I don’t need to explain. It’s demonic!).

The op was such a big shock to her body that she has grown old very quickly. She is showing signs of cataracts in her eyes, is hard of hearing and limps slightly every now and then from joint pain. Her little back ‘chicken legs’ (KK calls them this) shiver. And then … a growth was discovered in the lining of her stomach wall. She won’t survive another op…

Monthly checkups with Dr Carter and she stands at the door waiting to get outta there!

I’m so blessed that my parents have been able to look after both Annie & Emma. Living in a retirement home, it was the perfect setting for Annie to recoup and get 24/7 attention. The hugs and kisses don’t just stop with my parents! All the neighbors shower the girls with attention too! I am so grateful to have the parents I do. Staying with my parents in the retirement home hugs and kisses

KK and I realise that our house is not conducive for an old dog. Annie falls down the stairs and slips on the tiles. But more than that, our lifestyles are not suited to looking after her anymore. We have a full time helper so she has company in the day but when we leave at 6:30 for work and only get home after 7pm after track, that’s a long day without us. Then weekends, we’re out again at track sessions or running races or shopping.

For now we will take each day as it comes. Dr Carter is very happy with her progress. But as he says, “Annie is old.” We need to come to terms with that. Annie Brussels griffon

The Jacaranda stood tall

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Bo

On a recent Saturday morning training session with Coach Dave, we were instructed to run up to the top of a hill towards an orange bush and jog back down. We were to do this until he said stop. The “bush” at the top of the hill was in fact the most beautiful tree. The Jacaranda mimosifolia. The name stood out because it was signposted on the bark as most of the trees at Emmerentia Dam are.

Hill training at Emmerentia Dam

The beautiful Jacaranda tree

Up and down the hill we ran and each and every time I reached the top, I would touch the bark of the tree and repeat the words “Jacaranda mimosifolia”. It occurred to me that I had never noticed that Jacaranda trees change to orange during winter. How odd because their majestic beauty when they are in full bloom during spring paints the streets with their exquisite colours of blue and purple.

Up and down…. Jacaranda mimosifolia. When I did stop to catch my breath at the top of the hill, I took time to appreciate the tree and reflected on the past couple of months.

It’s been a tough winter. I have not been able to get into a proper training routine. My running has suffered. I have missed races, missed track sessions and missed the discipline and consistency Coach Dave taught me from the beginning.

The Jacaranda trees in bloom up my street

Worse is that the last 6 months have been really hard at work. Challenging. Maybe because it’s me that has been the challenger for a change. Nobody really likes that. No one likes the orange leaves.

I’ve lost a bit of my sparkle. I’ve lost my shine. I’ve become that orange Jacaranda tree which is still the beautiful tree that people marvel at during spring time, but fades into the background when the leaves turn orange and waits for winter to end.

I am bordering on desperate for spring to arrive. It hasn’t been that cold, but it’s been dry and long. You could see it in the brown dead grass as the sun rose during our training session. The frost melting as the air warmed up.

Soon those Jacaranda mimosifolias will be blooming and showing off their majestic blues and purple showers again. The colours of the leaves may change, but it’s still the same tree. And of course, it gets easier to run.

The purple carpet…

A bit of “trail running” running

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Bo

When I woke up that Monday morning, it felt as if I had been hit by a bus! My shoulders ached, my toes were sore and my ankles were stiff. All the signs were there. I had finally run my first proper trail run at the Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series event at Segwati Game Ranch. Trail running landscape Segwati game farm Cars parked at Segwati trail running gwts_3_of_4_-_segwati_-_as_-_012_0049

Trail running is definitely different to road running. My fellow running junkie (and comedian) Shaun captured it quite well when he posted this to his Facebook wall:

“I need to work on my beard, grow a man bun and eat more organic granola bars to be taken seriously as a trail runner.” ~ You had to be there but trust me, I LOLZ’ed for days at this!

But seriously, here’s my list of some of the more positive (& negative) aspects about the trail runs:

You get to lie in! Trail runs begin later in the day. My race only shot off after 9:30. BONUS!
But then is was hot. VERY hot and I struggled. There are no water points and I had left my camel pack in the car.
It’s dusty. And dry.
You do a lot of looking down to prevent yourself from falling (which explains the sore shoulders!) I was determined not to fall so I made a conscious effort of watching where I was going the entire time.
You need the right shoes! I was happy to have an old pair of casual Salomon’s to run in. They kept my feet super protected from all the stones and sand, but they were not the right size for racing. At the 3km mark, my toes were taking strain already. I don’t even want to explain how sore those downhills felt.
The hills take forever to climb! And I’m not talking an extra 30 seconds to your time, I mean minutes!
The views are spectacular! The air is fresh and crisp. And at Segwati, I dodged some “bok drolls” along the path which meant the animals were close by.
I made it to the finish before prize giving! This is a first. Usually I’m still out there on the road when this happens.
You had to run 3 out of 4 races to qualify for a medal. I know, right!

Me and KK after the trail running race Dusty trail running shoes But it’s loads of stress-free fun and in fact a lot more casual than the road runs. I do wish I had more time to enjoy them but with limited time in the week and weekends, I have decided to stick to my road running programme and focus on my 10kms and 21kms. Expect a blog post soon on my goals leading up to the end of the year.