About Bo

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

My new sho’t left running route

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Bo

Ever since I can remember, I’ve started my weekday afternoon & Sunday morning long slow distance (LSD) runs heading up the same road every time. It’s a nasty pull which is around 1.3km long. By the time I reach the top, I’m grumpy and the average pace on my Garmin has shot up to over 9mins/km. It’s always the worst part of my run but for years now, I’ve convinced myself that it’s “good to do uphill training” and that at least the run home is “all downhill”.

But when I received my May running schedule from my Coach, I needed to factor in an 8km route so I decided to run a different way. Instead of going all the way up, I turn left at the first main road and sort of run the route in the opposite direction. The biggest benefit is that I don’t start my run huffing and panting ~~and vloeking~~ the run. Yes, I do still encounter some hills and yes, I’m still hitting that downhill on the way home. But I guess mentally I don’t start my run feeling like I’ve got such a huge mountain to conquer before I start.

Why I never thought of it before is beyond me. I think we easily fall into a rut. We often think what we’re doing is the best thing. We don’t like to change. It’s too difficult to think up something new so we just go with the flow.

The biggest lesson is that in life, there are always big mountains to climb. They’re often at the beginning of our journeys. But there’s always more than one way over that mountain and yes, sometimes, an easier more fun way too! Find it!

Running around Tokyo – shopping bags instead of running shoes

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Bo

Even though we had packed in our running shoes, we just didn’t find the time and opportunity to run while we were holidaying in Tokyo. The weather was also not on our side and we had not packed in any warm or rainproof running clothes. We were so disappointed because everywhere we looked, we came across the most awesome running paths and jogging courses scattered throughout the beautiful parks across Tokyo.

The Imperial Palace

We walked this stunning 5km jogging course in the drizzle among the late blooming cherry blossom trees. Each scenic kilometre is marked by the most beautiful tile embedded in the pavement so that you can track your distance. We were passed by a couple of runners and felt very envious of them.

Check out the runner warming up 🙂

Shinjuku Chuo Park

On our last day of holiday, we took a stroll through the park across the road from our hotel whilst waiting for the bus to the airport. This park has a very convenient jogging track, weaving through the beautiful trees and peaceful calm of the park. It’s a short course so you’d have to run it a few times to get the distance.

Narita airport

Running Junkie Brenda alerted us to the new running track at the Narita airport in Tokyo and you can’t miss it! In preparation for the city’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games, the airport has recently undergone a complete makeover. It’s so clearly marked – Blue lanes indicate departures while red lanes indicate arrivals – and looked so tempting! What a great idea for travellers / runners to bide their time while waiting for their flights.

Okay, so we missed out this time around, but Tokyo, we will be back with our running kits ready for any type of weather! We promise!

I loved Tokyo because of…

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Bo

I had the most awesome opportunity to visit Japan for my 40^th birthday. I wanted to visit a country and experience a lifestyle and culture completely different to mine and Tokyo did not disappoint. Since returning I’ve had lots of family & friends asking how my trip was and so I thought I’d capture a snapshot of my ‘Top 10 things I loved about Tokyo’:

The people: No matter where we went, people were so friendly, so calm, and unpretentious. If we stopped to look at our map, guaranteed someone would stop and offer to help us, even if they struggled to speak English. They live a simple life and respect one another, time and spaces. I think out of everything, I will remember the people the most. They are just wonderful!
The shopping: There is just so much to buy in Tokyo! From wonderful clothes to electronics. I found some of my favourite brands along the busy streets of Ginza and Shibuya.
The noodles: I must have eaten noodles almost every day and started to perfect the art of eating with chopsticks. So divine!
The efficiency: Things just work in Tokyo. Trains run on time. Everything is in its place. It’s magical! Especially for my engineering husband.
The little things: It rained a lot while we were there and when they packed our shopping, an extra plastic bag was wrapped around our shopping bags so that our shopping didn’t get wet. It’s the norm for them but we felt so special.
The wide variety of options: Everywhere we went, there were just so many varieties of things, so many options to choose from. For example, an entire floor dedicated to selling different head phones!
The free wifi: For a socially-obsessed tourist such as myself, this was a winner. I could check in and share my experiences in real-time with family & friends as well as search maps for places to go.
Attention to detail: Everything is meticulous and thought-out.
Cleanliness: They are obsessed with cleanliness and are constantly wiping and disinfecting. Most things are automated including the doors to taxis, entrances to shopping malls, even flushing the toilet (which had heated seats)!
Cherry blossoms: Breath taking beauty, everywhere!Thank you for a wonderful holiday KK! When can we go back?

Friday’s on my mind…

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Bo

I skipped the whole Dr. Martens phase when I was growing up. As a nerdish teenager, I viewed anyone who wore ‘those’ shoes as rebellious, as wild and dangerous. To me, only skin heads, punks and goths wore Dr. Martens. It was the shoe for guitarists who played in heavy metal bands and for girls who shaved the sides of their heads and wore short skirts. Even my sister had a pair but she was always bunking class to go draw and paint in the Art studio in high school. You see what I mean?

I was a child of the 90’s when grunge was in fashion but somehow got caught up wearing takkies and jellies . As a result, I never had a favourite pair of cherry red or black 14 hole Doc’s. Until now…

20 years later and I spotted Dr. Martens shoes one evening last year. I was hooked. I had to have a pair! They suddenly appealed to me. I fell in love with them and finally (!) after two decades have bought my very first pair of Dr. Martens. I love them!

The company’s tagline is #standforsomething. Ironically when I’ve told people I’m buying Docs, many have laughed and recalled back to the days when they were young and used to wear their favourite pair. So why now? Well why not? It might co-incide with me turning 40. So that’s what my stand is going to be. 40 and fabulous!

Okay so who of you still have your ‘old’ Docs or great memories of them? I know some of you are smiling right now. I know I am.

Have a wonderful long weekend everyone! Docs