At 07h40 on the morning of 25th January, the tweet I posted went like this: “Breaking out into tears as hubby runs into the ocean. Nothing prepares you for this much emotion! #IM703SA” No words can express the ups and downs of the Standard Bank Ironman 70.3 in East London, so I decided to choose some of my favourite pics to share with you instead.
Well done Karl! I am in awe of your strength and determination. I love you Ironman!
Before I headed out to run on Sunday, I threw my sunglasses in the drawer, choosing to run without them for a change. Lately, I find that I hardly wear them and run the entire way with them perched on my cap, so why bother? But there are definitely items which I can’t run without? Here’s my list:
My towelling cap
There are three ‘generations’ of running caps in my drawer. The first blue Nike one I happened to find at Meltz (of all places!). It set the standard for the next two caps because of the towelling headband. I sweat on my head big time and the towelling soaks it all up. The next two caps have both come with towelling and I simply cannot run without it! I haven’t been able to find another Nike cap but stumbled upon this blue Sailfish cap at Tribe on Main Street last week. It’s as if it was made especially for my head. Super light and fits like a glove. It’s a winner!
My sports bra
I’ve been a loyal Anita sports bra wearer for many years and never bothered looking for alternatives. Until I happened to see a survey of running bras which showed the CW-X from Contour Sports as the top sports bra and decided to try it out. I’m not a fan of buying clothes online but trust me, the sizes are a perfect match! The best thing about this bra is that it feels as if it’s holding me and all my jiggly bits tightly together. I’ve also had no chaffing during any track sessions or the recent half marathons I’ve run. It even looks attractive enough to be worn just on its own (if it was that confident). The biggest bonus: I throw it in the washing machine!
My thick socks
KK and I never really confuse whose socks are whose because while he loves all things Nike, I’m a huge Falke fan. I cannot run in thin socks and find the thicker the sock, the better. Combined with the cushioning of my asics running shoes, it’s as if I’m running on clouds. I just wish they couldn’t get all bobbly after a few washes.
My Garmin/Jawbone combo
Wearable devices has become the rage lately so when KK gave me a Jawbone UP24 for Christmas, I was thrilled! I’ve become slightly obsessed with it too. It tracks my steps as well as my sleeping patterns and suggests corrective measures and tips to help me monitor my health. It sync’s with all the apps such as My Fitness Pal and Strava (find me!) which makes it the perfect match with my Garmin. I even get a weekly newsletter showing how well/unwell I’m doing.
Are you the same? What are some of your favourite running items?
(ps: this post is unsponsored and all my own views and opinions. Basically, no one paid me to say these things…)
As colleagues return to work, the first thing they do is ask one another how their December break was. My reply has generally been “great!” and I really do mean it. For a change KK and I weren’t rushing around planning for Christmas eve, we had loads of time to ourselves and each and every day we did well… pretty much nothing but lie at the pool, watch TV and veg. The perfect holiday in my mind!
I flicked through some of the photos I took during my time off and it’s a great reminder of the fun we had…
Lots of braai’ing
Lying next to the pool and swimming (and yes, even I swam with my head fully dunked!). This was the view most days of the sun beating down on us. I’m not as pale as I was last year. 😉
Jo’burg is so quite over December, we managed to eat out at some of our favourite restaurants, including the Mexican restaurant in Illovo, Peron. The food is superb!
Talking about food, a Domino’s Pizza opened up around the corner from us so we decided to try it out. Not bad, but I don’t think we’ll be back. I much prefer Andiccio’s.
Christmas came around so quickly and we celebrated with KK’s family on Christmas eve and with my family on Christmas day. But it’s our own Christmas tradition of putting up trimmings in our home which I look forward to the most. We dedicate an entire evening where we have a kickass supper and then have fun placing all our ornaments all over the house with carols playing in the background. 
Speaking of Christmas, this year we also visited the Bryanston Organic Food Market at night. There were carol singers and the most divine food on sale. The market is just down the road from us and I’m ashamed to say that we’ve never been before. We promised to return after a really relaxed evening out.
For New Year’s eve, we slipped away to Mount Grace for a few days of pampering. We entered the new year with massages, food and snoozes.
It wasn’t all relaxing. During December, we both managed to get great training under the belt attending as many track sessions as we could. I clocked up over 120km’s of running during the month which really prepared me for the races I’ve just completed now in January. 
Kicking the year off with some wonderful memories is just such a great way to start a new year!
There are two bridges close to my home which cross over the N1 highway. The bridges are quite symbolic for me because they not only remind me of just how far I’ve come with my running but also an indication of my ability to overcome whatever crosses my path.
When you stand on one bridge, you can see the other one. An entire loop from home and back, across both bridges is approximately 4.6kms. When I first started running this loop, it felt like a marathon, an impossible task, too difficult. I dreaded running it. Looking across the bridges now, I am humbled at just how far my running journey has come.
My 2015 New Year’s resolution list is not so much about looking ahead as it is about looking back because 2014 was when I learned more about myself than ever before.
My 2015 bridges at a glance:
Every time I run over any one of these two bridges, I stop and look across to the other side…
Here’s to a magical 2015, full of adventure and lots of bridges to cross, both at work, home and on the road!
Keeping up with the Walkers... 