About Bo

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

Mid-year life appraisals

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Bo

Mid-year appraisals are under way at work. Amid all the stress and deadlines and noise, it affords you the opportunity to stop, to breathe and re-assess where you’re at with your goals and projects.

It’s a case of looking at what you committed to do, your progress, feedback from stakeholders and sometimes a re-negotiation of the goals and deadlines.

It’s a good idea to do a similar review of your personal life too which is what I’ve started to do. Here’s a brief assessment of two things which have stood out for me:

Home: Work life balance is nowadays easier for me to get right than KK. He has started working Saturdays and will bring work home to do almost every evening. I get it, I do. So what we’ve done is committed to having ‘date nights’ and spending quality Sundays together. Even if this means chilling at home and taking long naps after a braai on the couch. It’s ‘us’ time and a compromise. As long as we find the time to connect, that’s what matters.

Sunday braai’ing with KK and the girls

Running: Everyone knows that I hibernate during Winter and don’t run. But this year has been different. I’ve surprised myself with my discipline in getting to track during the week and forcing myself to wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings to train. It’s been hard and I’ve hated some days! But so far, so good! You know that cheesy saying that Summer bikini bodies are formed in the Winter. This better ring true for running bodies!

Random pics snapped by Graham Block at the Sunday Harriers long runs – Thanks Sharon and Tamryn for the company!

It’s almost Spring and one of my good Twitter friends, Lucy, has posted a photograph of jasmine flowering in her garden in Knysna! I love jasmine. It signals a turn in the seasons for me. This gives me goosies! Things are always different when Summer arrives. They are! And so far, I’m on track with all my goals to deliver some great results!

Pelvis my dear Elvis

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Bo

Thinking back now, it was better that KK never had his ‘groin’ pain checked out properly before Comrades. If he had, he would have most probably pulled out of the race.

We finally know what the cause of the pain is. It’s not a torn leg muscle or groin injury. He went for an x-ray and as clear as daylight, he has a stress fracture of his pelvis.

Photo credit: Google image (not KK’s)

Out for 8 weeks. Out. No gym, no light training, no short easy runs. Out. Complete rest.

It’s been two weeks now and he’s already going mad! How do you tell someone like him, who runs or gyms every day of the week, to do nothing. To rest.

It’s funny how once you know what’s wrong, once you have a proper diagnosis of the problem , how easy it is to put a recovery plan in place to manage. Previously, random Google searches would bring up a million results but leave you feeling confused and frustrated.

KK knows what he needs to do now. He knows the journey ahead and that unless he rests, he won’t heal. It’s a runner’s worst nightmare! But he has no choice.

Running through my weeks…

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Bo

1. Beach holidays – Umhlanga. 2. Annie’s mouth after breakfast – cuteness overkill. 3. Wine after a busy week – one word: relax. 4. Dad’s old shoes. 5. Track training through Winter – I’ve got this! 6. Sweet temptations at work. 7. Cocktails on the deck at Hyde Park. 8. Slippers – best invention ever! 9. Romantic suppers with KK.

Pirates 10km race review

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Bo

I love the Pirates 10km race in Jo’burg. To me it feels like all the Comrades runners come out of resting and the race is always well supported and organised. I’ve run the race twice before and in my mind, I recognized certain sections of the route but had no idea until Sunday morning, just how hilly those first few kilometers were.

Sharon and I started out, hoping to warm up as quickly as we could. Even with gloves, it was freezing, although not as cold as I remember in 2013. The first few km’s “appeared” deceptively flat but in reality, it was quite a gentle pull. By the time we reached 4kms, I was shattered. My race goal was to try maintain an average pace of 7:41 but I was running the first few kilometers in over 8 minutes per km. Eeeek!

I mentioned to Sharon that I really needed to speed up. I wanted to report back to my Coach better times but in those few moments, all energy was being sapped as I started to doubt myself and be really despondent. I started to plan the conversation I would have with him in my head. “Am I wasting my time? Why can I not pick up my pace? WTF Coach?”

Once we got over the 5km mark, things started to look better (aka downhills arrived). We started to pick up speed. I started to feel better. Stronger. And in that last km, I really pushed myself remembering the key words I’ve learnt at track training: slow poison. 6:41 min/km pace. Niiiice!

As I ~~over-analyse~~ review the race, I see that I’ve improved from previous years. 2011: 78 mins; 2013: 80 mins; 2015: 75 mins. I’m thrilled.

Lessons learned:

I know that I start slow. I need to be patient because I’m usually faster once I’ve warmed up near the end of the race.
Once I allow my thoughts to control me, my race is over. All strategy goes out the window and I use more energy pulling myself out of that negative dip than concentrating on tackling each kilometer as it comes.

There are some great races coming up and so far, my training though winter is going well! See you next year Pirates!