About Bo

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

Getting to grips with grass

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Bo

Since committing to training with a running coach just over a month ago, I’m already seeing certain benefits. If I promise to pitch up at training and work hard, he pretty much takes care of everything else. In a way, it’s actually a relief.

For starters, my coach decides on how much running I do in the week. It’s such a weight off my shoulders knowing that someone else is watching my mileage. For a change, I’m not stressing over not having run really long LSDs on a Sundays. And it’s okay just to do 5kms twice a week. It’s in his hands. He has a plan.

Another thing I’m learning is what he means by consistency. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and learning to read my body.

Ironically, my coach is making sure I slow down a bit. *Wait a minute, I’m in this to speed up aren’t I?*. At the last track session, I felt strong. I’ve noticed that I’m doing a lot more running than walking. Just as he promised, I’m building that strong base foundation first. Speed work can only start once this is in place.

I must mention though that perhaps the biggest benefit is that I’ve learnt to run on grass! For me, the finish of any race is always the worst because it always feels like after running on the road, the grass on the field slows me down and sucks me in. Quite funny that where we train, the track is grass and it’s not that bad. Not that bad at all.

Thoughts on a run

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Bo

There are some really great 10km races in Jo’burg at the end of every year. Starting with Pirates, Old Ed’s and this morning’s Wanderers 10km road race. Well-supported and filled with awesome vibe, the races wind through some of the most beautiful tree-lined suburbs Jo’burg has to offer. I was really pleased when my running coach agreed to me running the Wanderers 10km race because it’s one of my favourites. It’s also quite apt that a race called ‘Wanderers’ is also what my mind did as I meandered through the beautiful streets.

Here’s what went through my mind:

I forgot to drink water before the race. Crap. I was so happy to get to that first water stop.
Even though I was freezing at 6am, 10 minutes into my race, I warmed up. Next time, remember to ditch the gloves.
Run your own race. Yeah yeah… I repeat this to myself every time but keep watching how older, larger, taller, shorter, younger runners run past me with no effort. It’s my race that I need to focus on. Not theirs.
Stop comparing yourself to others. Just stop it!
I ran today. A lot. Most races, I walk quite a bit but what I tried to do today was run more than walk. No more street pole strategy. If this is running, I need to do just that.
I’ve only been to x4 training sessions with my coach and as desperate as I am to see results, I need to be patient. It’ll happen. It will. But not now. The focus for now is consistency and stability.
I need to run more. Confession: I haven’t been very consistent on my Tuesdays and Thursday.
10km at 8 mins per km is still 10km. Well done! And three out of the 10kms were run at 7:28mins per km.
Watching other runners finish their races after me is a good way to prove to myself that I am not in fact the slowest runner in the field. KK taught me this. There are loads of people behind me. And they come in smiling.
A good cheese griller sausage after the race goes down really well! 🙂

Here’s to a great week, full of tough challenges and awesome running days!

Two words. Let’s begin.

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Bo

I’m not known for my patience and I wore this like a flashing neon sign around my neck on Saturday morning. It was only my second training session and my new running coach mentioned that he would email me my training schedule sometime in the next week. Without hesitation I said, “And the training will make me run faster, right?” Fail… I could see it in his eyes.

Structure. Consistency. Those are the two words he used in his reply to me. He first wants to set some structure into my running routine and start with the basics. He wants to assess where I am at the moment and what I want to run, and what my goals are. Then I need to get some consistency into my routine and we’ll work from there.

One step at a time and one day at a time.

I must admit, this gives me a chance to gauge where I am too. Here’s what we’re working with:

My 5km PB – 37 minutes : Dischem 5km race
My 10km PB – 74 minutes : Vaal 10km race
My 21km PB – 2h48 : Two Oceans half marathon
My fastest km – 6:01 minutes

My average pace for majority of my runs is 8 minutes per km. This is the part I want to change. I’m not aiming to run Comrades, I’m not even aiming to run any specific race. I just need to see whether or not I can run faster. That’s all.

Structure and consistency. One step at a time. One day at a time. Oh, and to learn to be more patient. Can I throw that one in as well?

*Image from http://www.rockcreekrunner.com, a great new site I happened to stumble upon*

The right treatment

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Bo

As I walked out of the physiotherapist’s office, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Having suffered (I know I sound like a drama queen) for almost three weeks solid, I finally found relief for the pain that was killing my side. One of my intercostal muscles (the ones near the ribs) was bruised, locked in a tight spasm causing me pain. With a fair amount of pressure and what felt like ‘magic hands’ the pain started to release.

I’m one of those that thinks they’re doing the right thing, but isn’t. In order to heal, I thought resting my body from all forms of gym and running was the way to go. I figured it would eventually heal itself. But it didn’t and required the help of a trained specialist who knew exactly what to do.

After four years, I’ve realized I’ve made the same mistake with my running. I’ve bought all the best selling books for runners, I’ve followed all the great running blogs, I follow a bunch of really cool runners on Twitter and every so often, I’ll try do some speed work when I go to gym. But none of this is actually making me run faster now is it? No, I need help. Professional help. I kinda need the physiotherapist but for running. I need a proper coach.

So I’ve found one. After emailing him my sob story of ‘I’m a slow runner blah blah‘, he told me to come along to one of his training sessions to meet him and give it a try. So I did … and I won’t look back.

My side is finally healing because I’ve received the proper treatment. It’s about time I gave my running that chance as well. Here’s to a new challenge and new goals!