1. Saying a final farewell to winter. 2. Remembering back to 2012 when it snowed in Jo’burg. 3. My Dad’s old shoes. 4. A personal best (PB) run. 5. My niece at the Standard Bank Art Gallery Pierneef exhibition. 6. Fixing our Barracuda. 7. My miniature pot plant overlooking my garden. 8. Cuddling with Harper. 9. Coloring in craziness.
Last year August I signed up with a running coach. I secretly hoped that he would in some miraculous way make me a faster runner.
I remember that first afternoon track session well. A couple of runners gathered on the grass field, then we started with a 2.3km warm up (which almost killed me) followed by more warming up, and finally running around and around a grass track, ending off with another cool down on the same 2.3km warm up route (ok, this time I did die). After my first session, I remember asking the coach, “So this will make me fast, right?” I was so naive!
A year later, here’s what I’ve learnt about track training and coaching:
I guess the biggest thing I’ve gained is not just one coach, I’ve scored over 20 different coaches! Yes, so Dave is the main kahuna, but each person that I train with at track has made a difference to my running and taught me something in their own way.
It’s the odd word during the warm up about the best PB races; it’s the encouragement as each one of them laps me. It’s the tips offered about my running form & reminders not to slouch; it’s the books loaned to me; the caring Whatsapp messages, those that run that last lap with me and help me push my limits. It’s the LSD’s on Sunday, the jokes we share, the ones that look out for me at races and those who sacrifice their track session to pace me.
It’s been the most incredible year. I can truly say that track training with the Running Junkies has changed the way I think about running, changed the way I judge my pace and has made me understand what matters most about why I run. There’s so much more to love about running than my pace!
As a runner, I’ve only hit the wall once. It was during my very first half marathon road race.
Clearly unprepared, I was approximately 5kms from the finish line when it hit. My legs stopped and would go no further. As much as I tried to push myself to move on, I couldn’t. It felt like my brain would not connect with my body. I was screaming inside to take just one step, but my legs were paralyzed. They felt like concrete and soon my head was full of negative thoughts of quitting.
“In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or bonking describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Such fatigue can become seriously debilitating. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycaemia, such as dizziness and even hallucinations.” ~ Wikipedia
The past couple of weeks at work have felt pretty much the same. I’ve hit the wall. I know what needs to be done and can picture it in my head but no matter how I try to convince others to go on that journey with me, they won’t budge. There’s a disconnect. It feels like I’m talking but no one is listening. I’m going at 120 miles an hour and they’re stopped at the traffic light.
By the end of last week, I realized I had hit the wall. The frustration had set in and I did not know where to turn. I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this. We’re often not all on the same path when it comes to work.
With running, the only way to recover is to re-fuel. Water, energy drinks, a banana, whatever it is you can get hold of. But you never stop. I had forgotten this. I know I need to refocus and set my eyes back on the goal – the finish line. Ironically, this is what two people told me to do. The words one of them used were, ‘Baby steps Bron, baby steps. Just keep at it’.
I’ve gone on to run so many half marathons since that first race and yet looking back now, Johnson Crane will always be one of my favorite races. Even though I hit the wall, I still went on to finish the race. Of course it was difficult. But was it worth it? Hell yes!
I stress. I stress about the smallest issue and allow those thoughts to eat me, to consume me and overwhelm my thoughts. So when I noticed on my social media feeds that a couple of people were colouring in as a way of de-stressing I thought, eh, let me give it a try.
Just to be clear, I am not the creative one in my family. My sister studied art and to this day will paint the most exquisite paintings. So it’s odd that this appealed to me.
Two of my sister, Gwynnevere Salgado’s, paintings
I bought two different adult colouring books (and one for my sister). I also bought a range of colouring pencils and kokkies.
Some of the ones I’ve completed from my colouring in book
I started on my first pattern and since then, I’ve been hooked! My hand aches! I sit in front of TV and colour in. And I really do zone out. I get completely fixated on the page and the colours and the shading. I’m in my element!
How ironic that such a simple thing can be so addictive and yet so wonderful and fun at the same time! Has it helped me de-stress? I zone out and focus on my thoughts and get clarity on some issues. It’s helped me to zone in while I zone out, if that makes any sense.
It also gives me another hobby. Running takes up quite a bit of my time but this is easy to pick up and do whenever or wherever I feel like it. And let’s be honest, it’s also a much better option than hours of Candy Crush.
(This post is unsponsored. I’ve seen various colouring books at Exclusive Books as well as PNA. Go on, do it! Join me in this addictive fun!)
Keeping up with the Walkers... 