Author Archives: Bo

Unknown's avatar

About Bo

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

5 things I’ll remember from London 2012

Posted on by
8

It’s all over. As quickly as the Olympic Games arrived, it ended even quicker. But wow, what a great two weeks it was! There were many highs and lows but five key things stood out for me:

1. Pushing yourself to the limit … and then going even further.

It was absolutely incredible to see so many personal bests, new Olympic and World records being set and competitors pushing themselves beyond what they thought possible. What stood out for me? The runners, of course. But watching the weightlifter’s step out on the mat, time and time again, to lift weights that seemed impossible to lift was fascinating to watch. Maybe it’s the smack from the coach across the face that did the trick or the loud shout before the lift? But there’s definitely a look on their faces that you start recognising which tells you ‘they’ve got this in the bag’.

2. Different strokes for different folks.

I really enjoyed most of the swimming, track & field and gymnastic events, but I must be honest when I say that there were some events which I did not watch. In fact I am baffled by the fact that they are even part of the Olympics at all and yet hundreds of spectators filled the grandstands to watch these events. It made me realise that maybe I don’t enjoy watching them but others do. I guess we’re all different and we all enjoy different things.

3. Great legends come with great responsibilities.

I watched in awe and amazement every time two of my favourite stars of this year’s Olympics, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, came out to compete. However, both ‘legends’ acted very differently in front of the crowds and cameras. Phelps was humble and took time to congratulate other swimmers. Bolt on the other hand revelled in the limelight and became a tad too arrogant for my liking. What disturbs me somewhat is that younger athletes look up to them and I do not know if Bolt realises the power he now holds and the message and image he portrays. Legend, yes. But role model? I’m not so sure.

4. I love you South Africa!

My country is a proud one and one to be proud of! Watching the four gold medallist rowers belt out our national anthem was such an emotional sight! Seeing both Bridgitte Hartley and Caster Semenya’s infectious smiles on the podium was stunning and made me smile too! And who can forget Bert Le Clos – no explanation necessary. I can still hear him saying, “Beautiful!” in his husky voice. I am filled to the brim with pride!

5. Even good athletes give up, but great ones don’t.

I watched the women’s marathon with keen interest because two of my favourite South African runners were participating, but my attention was on the runner who came stone last.  Ireland’s Catriona Jennings in my mind demonstrated true guts and determination. The awesomeness of the crowds as they cheered Jennings home over the final agonising mile of the marathon. Crippled with the pain of a foot injury, Jennings finished last in the women’s race, a full hour after the winners. She was overcome with emotion and I’ll never forget the visible pain on her face as she crossed the finish line and bawled her eyes out.

The lesson: She did not give up, no matter how much it hurt. She showed me that even great athletes also have bad races; even good runners can struggle and come last, but winners never quit.

See you in Rio!

Lunch with Pablo Picasso and the boys

Posted on by
2

I have no real interest for most things artsy fartsy. Growing up, I was always more interested in reading the entire Virginia Andrews series or doing research into the Kennedy assassination than getting my fingers full of paint or putty. I was the brains of the family while my sister was the creative one. Even today, I’d prefer to spend three hours running a half marathon than browsing through an antique shop – something my mom and sister love doing.

So you can imagine my surprise when I visited the Standard Bank Gallery to see the latest French Masters of the 20th Century exhibition. The artwork is original works by Degas, Renoir, Manet, Matisse, Picasso and many more and shows how each artist depicted the human body through painting, printmaking, film and photography. I was filled with such awe and admiration!To see artwork that dates back to the early 20th century left me breathless. The detail. The colours. The frames.

Every time someone accidentally stepped too close to the paintings, an alarm would go off and the security would give a disapproving look. I’ll admit that some of the art looked way too weird for my liking. Some of them I did not understand and there were one or two that looked as if my niece had painted it. (mmm, a giveaway of my fine arts knowledge). However, how many chances in life do you get to stand in front of a Picasso or Renoir painting?

Visitors to the gallery get the option of strolling around unguided daily or a tour by the curator on Friday’s between 1pm and 2pm. Some of the facts she highlighted about the artists where really interesting and made me look at the paintings in a whole different way. (before I got bored and giggled every time the alarm buzzed.)

My colleagues and I felt like VIP’s as if we had “back stage passes” to the gallery and the curator allowed us to take a few photos (without a flash, of course). Just a perk of being part of the marketing team at the blue bank. Thank-you Mandy. And to you, Mr Picasso!

The day it snowed in Jozi warmed my heart

Posted on by
2

When you work in a corporate environment, you come to realise that stress, politics and work pressure are part of everyday life. I have found the past few months particularly tough, not only for me, but also for my colleagues.

I have searched for many ways of encouraging them. Out of desperation, I have even proposed a rather cheesy idea to the head honcho of the department, hoping it would bring a spark back to people’s faces. But no luck. When people are down and demotivated, it’s very difficult for them to see anything positive in whatever you do.

But something magical happened today. Something unexpected. It snowed in Jozi.

At first, staff would casually walk up to the windows and look down. But as it became heavier and heavier, excitement grew and more and more people gathered together at the windows. It took one person to say, “Hey! Let’s go outside and play in the snow!” for everyone to grab their jackets and head on out. The excitement and giggling was electric.

What a sight to see hundreds of people from other departments all with the same idea, queuing at the ‘cattle gates’ to get passed security and out of the building.

Once we got out, we laughed and giggled and stood in the snow with massive smiles on our faces. I looked around and saw colleagues having fun. I saw them laughing and hugging and taking photos of each other and acting silly. We were like kids! We didn’t care if it was cold and we didn’t care how wet we were getting. It was awesome. But for the 5 minutes we stood out there, it was as if all the problems disappeared.

I realised that the snow was for me, more than them. You see, although I’ve been part of a project team where the focus is on “people” and changing that cold, hard corporate culture, I have also felt incredibly ‘responsible’ for their happiness in the office. It’s been a bit of a burden on my shoulders and a lot of my stress has been frustration in not seeing a change in culture and a vibe remaining so negative.

But today was different. Today came out of nowhere. The lesson I learnt was that laughter and fun will come at the most unexpected times. But also, that sometimes, I’m not the one that will bring about the change. I just need to be present. But most of all, I need to start laughing too!

Not running in winter did me some good

Posted on by
5

I hate running during the winter months. There, I said it. I always promise myself that I’m going to try keep up my training and run through until summer, but it never happens. My last race is usually the RAC 10km in June and after that, it’s downhill. As it gets darker, the excuses flow and the motivation wanes.

But it’s not all bad. This year, I have discovered some good that has come out of it.

I’ve rested my feet. All through 2011 and up until June this year, I have been battling with plantar fasciitis as well as Morton’s Neuroma in my left foot. I have bought every gadget I could find to massage my feet. I have been to Lyno sports massage. I have tried all the stretching exercises I could find on Google and Runners World. But not running for two months and resting my feet has done wonders. I know when (wise) people tell you to stop running and rest when you get injured, most runners go into shock and refuse to listen. But it works. My plantar fasciitis was healed with Lyno but the neuroma has definitely lessened and cannot be felt on most days. My feet feel strong and rested.

I’ve rested my body. I don’t normally catch colds or flu during winter. In fact, KK and I do not even have a house doctor and usually self-medicate with med-lemon and honey. But this year, we were both hit badly and it set us back for weeks. First him, then me. I had to stop all activity and was even bedridden for a week. No gym, no running. It can make you feel pretty miserable. But knowing that it’s winter made it okay. If it were summer, I’d be panicked that I was missing all the cool races. But the race calendar only really kicks into gear once spring comes along so I could safely use this time to rest as much as I could and recover properly. My body has rested.

I’ve rested my mind. Running can sometimes be all consuming. It gets to a point, especially before the big races such as Two Oceans, that that’s all everyone talks about. I get a bit obsessed about my running pace. I get upset about my race times. I get all worked up in good and bad ways after reading tweets, blogs and articles talking about running. But the less races I’ve run, the less running has been an issue. I’ve also been able to blog about other things that have been keeping me busy and so there have been some weeks where running has not even featured. It’s good to rest your mind.

Yet, I must admit that I even though I have rested my feet, my body and my mind, enough is enough. I am feeling niggly. My feet are starting to itch. My body is feeling heavy. My mind is starting to think about all things running.

The resting is over. I can feel spring is on it’s way…