About Bo

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

It takes a little bit of veldskool to find yourself again

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Bo

It was a last minute invite from our friends, Dan & Linda, which saw us packing our bags and heading to the majestic Drakensberg mountains for the long weekend. KK and I always promise to make time for shorter weekend getaways but land up never getting around to organising them.

I knew that the weather would be chilly but somehow I still didn’t pack enough warm clothes. I ditched my warm puffer jacket at the last minute and regretted it the first afternoon when we were sitting outside having sun downers. As that sun dipped behind the mountain, the temperature dropped very low. Brrr! Drakensberg Sports Resort sun setting

It reminded me of my old veldskool trips where we would be bussed up in the middle of winter to Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga to sleep in rows in army tents in the pitch dark. I remember not taking enough warm clothes with me then and having to borrow my friend Vicky’s track suit top. I also remember my takkie slipping off my foot during the obstacle course and disappearing into the mud. It was my only pair of shoes. It sounds cruel when I write about it, but trust me, these were the best of times growing up!

But I digress.. Drakensberg sports resort

Cuddled up in fleecy blankets with glasses of wine in front of the log fire was exactly what I needed after a few weeks of hectic work pressure. I had been working 12 hour shifts and hadn’t made time for a run for over 5 weeks. My body felt the effects.

So I let go… I over ate. I over slept. I drank too much wine and allowed the beautiful mountains to engulf me. It felt like one huge hug. My favourite was the Village Bakery which was overflowing with the most divine baked goods! Of course, I had to have my favourite… a jam donut! Village Bakery Drakensberg

On the Sunday we managed to visit the Falcon Ridge Bird Sanctuary for a show. If you go to the ‘Berg, add it to your itinerary. It’s an amazing place and the show is full of snippets of info on these wonderful birds. This is Dan and Linda saying hello to the fastest bird on earth, the Peregrine Falcon. Falcon Ridge Drakensberg show Vultures Drakensberg Falcon Ridge

As we drove home, I had already mentally re-set my goals. I had refreshed, recharged and realised what I needed to do to get back the balance I had somehow lost. What helped was this view… Drakensberg views Sunrise over the Drakensberg mountains

A sentence out of a blog post by a friend hit home. It said, “You’ve been gone so long from all that you know.” Sometimes you have to leave, to come back and find yourself.

Last week, I went back to track. I made the Monday and Wednesday session. It felt so good! And I have my first trail run coming up.

Thanks Dan & Linda for a fab weekend!

A run down of our Comrades 2016 marathon

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Bo

This was KK’s third Comrades marathon. He has successfully run the up and the down run, receiving his back-to-back medal, but one thing I’ve learnt is that even if you’ve run Comrades before, each year is different. The training was different, the build-up was different and yes, even the weekend down in Durban was a different experience this time around.

We stayed at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort for the first time. It’s beautiful and when I forgot the stress of the race that hung over KK’s head, it felt like we had escaped to Bali for a getaway weekend. The resort was nice and quiet too which was good for KK to rest his legs and head before the race. Feet up Zimbali Resort

First things first, the Expo which was packed with both nervous runners and excited supporters. It was a bonus to pick up KK’s race pack in record time. Comrades marathon 2016 expo

Back at the hotel and I forced KK to put his feet up and relax. We did lots of napping and snacking and just walking around the gardens of the hotel. And yes, wine for me. It was bliss. File 2016-06-05, 7 12 12 PM (2)

Preparation on my part meant packing a bag of sunscreen and more snacks. Mapping out my supporter’s route was to ensure that KK knew exactly where to look out for me. Here’s me being all clever with my Comrades route map but KK knows I can’t read a map. Thank goodness for Waze. LOL! Mapping out my supporters route

The morning of the race is always incredibly tense. As much as you’ve prepared for the race, it all comes down to how you feel on the day. KK had been battling with an Achilles heel injury which weighed heavily on his confidence to predict what time he would run. Two very nervous runners at the start of the Comrades marathon

Only runners are permitted beyond these gates which somehow looked like once they were through, they were trapped in a cage with no escape! The starting line of the Comrades marathon

The first stop was Cato Ridge. I must admit that finding the right spot to stop was tough because it was pitch dark. I have serious night blindness and even though it felt like I was sitting on the dashboard trying to see the road, my supporter companion Linda, looked very nervous! Cato Ridge Comrades stop

Cato Ridge Comrades marathon down run 59km mark

The first batch of runners started to trickle passed. I was amazed at how fast they ran! And then I even spotted a partially blind runner. Amazing! Blind runners running Comrades

The first stop where we met KK and Shaun W was at the 30kms mark. I have run 32kms before and felt like death. But they looked fresh and were still smiling – a good sign! The first Comrades stop at Cato Ridge

It’s hard work being a supporter but one family had a good idea. While standing on the side of the road, a runner ran up to me, handed me a card and ran off. On the one side of the card was a beautiful motivational message from his daughter. On the other side, a message to me with a cellphone number, “Please can you send my wife a message and tell her where I am and that I’m fine.” Brilliant idea and of course, I sent the message with pleasure and a smiley face! Updates for family

After a while, we shot through to our next stop, Hillcrest. Here we were able to find some toilets, a Woolies and a place to grab some lunch. #priorities

Somewhere along the way, KK and Shaun W had split up. When KK reached us at Hillcrest, he was still smiling (still a good sign) and felt strong but running alone. I knew that once he had reached this spot, the head was required to take over the work as the legs had done all they could. Comrades is a mental race after about 60kms…I was nervous! Meeting KK at Hillcrest 60km mark

The advantage of the down run to Durban is that there is ample place for spectators to sit and watch the runners finish the race. It looks much bigger on TV and we chose the spot where we could watch the runners enter the stadium as well as run down the last strip to the finish line. Comrades finish line

I don’t know how people were able to track their loved ones during the race in previous years, but with new technology, we were able to watch all our family & friends who were running via the Ultimate Live app on our cellphones. It helped to know exactly where KK was and allowed me to be ready to see him enter the stadium, still smiling!

He did it! My heart leaped when I finally found him on the field. It was a PB and he was thrilled with his run. Comrades finish

To take on an ultra marathon such as Comrades means you have to not only have done the hard physical training, but your head needs to be right. Many of the Comrades runners have admitted to dropping into a very dark head space along the route when they were overwhelmed with with negative thoughts. To pull yourself out of this and not quit must take incredible strength. For me, this is what stands out as the most inspiring and amazing quality a Comrades runner possesses. Comrades medals

It’s been a week and KK is itching to go run again. He was told to rest for at least two weeks but every now and then I catch him checking out Strava and looking at trail running sites. He loves Comrades and I know we’ll be back again next year. I can’t wait!

It’s all in your head

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Bo

There’s just one more week to go before the Comrades marathon and life at home has started to mirror the actual race day. The many months of training has prepared KK for the first 60kms of the race. But it’s the last 30kms or so where his mind needs to take over and he will have to rely on mental strength to get him to that finish line.

These last couple of days has felt like those final 30kms and KK has gone through every emotion possible. But he’s not alone. I’ve seen other runners going through the same thing, many of them posting to social media. Here’s a few which I know both runners and supports will relate to.

The struggles with tapering and worrying if they’ve done enough training
The nightmares
Trying desperately not to get sick
The false niggly aches and pains in the legs
The inability to concentrate on anything non-Comrades related
The fears
The joys

As supporters, we feel it all. But hang in there! Keep calm. ~~You’ve~~ We’ve got this! Comrades countdown

Posture problems

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Bo

OMG! Look how bad my posture is!

I’ve known for ages that I slouch and every now and then I’ll catch myself out and quickly sit up. But looking through a bunch of race photographs has really made me realize just how horrible it looks. Quasimodo me! Slouching runner

I know every runner has a different form and a very different way of running. But this doesn’t look great and must slow me down big time! Okay. Noted. Something I’ll need to work on. This might be even harder than running!