About Bo

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

Strong in mind. Sometimes.

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Bo

I would not be lying to you if I said that I have not eaten bread since April. In fact, I haven’t eaten fluffy powdered Portuguese rolls, savoury rice, cheesy macaroni or roast potatoes either. Since deciding to adapt to a low carb high fat (#LCHF) diet, I have managed to stick to this way of eating and seen wonderful results. In fact, I hate calling it a diet because in my mind, it’s a way of life.

It was a comment from a colleague recently who said she doesn’t know of anyone with stronger willpower than me. It’s a fact that I can resist all the snacks at work, even to the point of taking my own lunchbox with me to conferences and workshops. But I do question this so-called ‘strong willpower’ when it comes to my running.

You see, I’m *that* runner that refuses to run when it’s too windy or raining. I’m the type of runner that delays getting out of the car in the icy cold winter to run a race. I’m one of those runners that has a mini mental breakdown when I get to the 14km mark of a half marathon because I doubt I’ll finish in time. In actual fact, my inner voice might be able to say no to a spaghetti bolognaise smothered in cheese but when it comes to running 5kms on a treadmill, it begs me to quit.

Why is it easier with eating right but when it comes to running, I allow my inner voice to weigh me down? Why can I not be more self-controlled when it comes to running?

I think it’s about time me and my little inner voice had a chat…

Focusing on the negative. (Expert level)

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Bo

The first kilometer of the running route from my house starts on a ~~very~~ semi-steep uphill. Because of this, I usually use the first kilometer to ‘warm up’ and walk. But my running has been getting stronger and one afternoon, I found myself managing to run the entire kilometer without stopping. I was thrilled! When I reached the top at the swimming school, my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest, more from happiness than exertion. I could not stop smiling. My inner voice was saying, “Well done Bron!” Best . Feeling. Ever!

Two minutes later, another runner caught up to me and we started making conversation. We exchanged pleasant neighborhood chatter and discussed some of our road races. A few minutes had passed and I was enjoying running with her when out of the blue, she said, “Well, nice to have met you. Enjoy the rest of your run, I need to get going and run a little faster. I need to get home before the sun sets.” And off she ran…

That’s when all the negative thoughts flooded my head:

Before the sun sets? What the…? Yes, because I’m so slow, right? No one wants to run with you Bron. No one! You’re too slow!

When she was out of sight, I slowed down (even more) and was still grumbling to myself when I suddenly thought back to how my run had started. I had managed to run up to the swimming school without walking. That was a great moment and it was brilliant! So then how the hell did I manage to allow my run to dip into such a negative mood. Why did it become all about my speed? How did I go so quickly from celebrating reaching a goal to focus on one of my biggest running insecurities?

Lesson learnt: It’s an area I need to work on. Breaking myself down happens so quickly and so easily. It’s destructive. I need to focus on my achievements and stop obsessing on the negative. I’m proud of myself. I ran the first kilometer from home all the way up the hill, to the swimming school, for the first time, without walking. Yeah! That’s what I want to take out of that run. Because that’s what counts!

(Image from Google)

Declaring your goals in running, at work, in life

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Bo

KK has decided to run the full Two Oceans next year. He’s run six half Oceans before and has been ‘thinking’ about doing the full one for ages now. But it’s as if all of a sudden, it’s become a reality and he has set his sights firmly on the goal. There’s something quite powerful about declaring your goals and telling others of your intention.

I know this because it’s something I’ve been doing at work for the last 10 months.

I decided last year to move my career into a different direction. I chatted to mentors, friends and decision-makers about my thoughts and finally decided to make it happen. Things don’t happen overnight in a corporate, I’m afraid and so for a few months now, I’ve needed to be patient and wait for things to fall in to place.

It did not stop me from telling people of my intentions. I started reading up, researching and engulfing myself in conversation with colleagues in this field. I set my eyes on the goal and did not look away, even when there were bumps along the road and it looked as if it might never happen.

Having a vision, a dream, a destination that you set your mind to is important. Putting the steps in place requires patience and planning. Being surrounded by those that believe in your goals and want you to reach your dreams is perhaps the most important part.

The months leading up to next year’s Two Oceans will be exciting and I’ll be there for KK every step of the way! Thanks to all those who have walked this journey with me too…

Runners, do you recognize this face?

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Bo

He’s a familiar face at pretty much all the road races in Jo’burg as well as Pretoria. He arrives at the race long before majority of the runners and sets out all his goodies. It’s mostly running shorts, carbo loading sweets, cool drinks from the back of his bakkie and running gloves (which have saved me before on an icy Winter morning). His name is Mens Moosa and he’s been a friendly face at the races for the last 25 years!

Mens says his love is mainly for ultra marathons and boasts 25 Comrades medals to his name. I did not realize that 5 minutes before the start of the races, he quickly packs up all his goods and manages to get to the start line to run the race with everyone else.

When you do see him next time, say hi! No race is the same without seeing his face! Thanks Mens!