The green light

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Bo

I never get the opportunity to run with KK. At a relaxed pace, he runs almost 2.5 minutes per/km faster than me. But tonight was different. Tonight we got to run track together and I loved it!

Okay, a quick catch-up. KK is finally back at track. After discovering he had a fractured pelvis after Comrades and spending 8 weeks in complete rest and doing nothing (not even swimming), he has been given the green light to return to track. He is only allowed to do mini sessions of 100m light jog with 100m walk for now. The ‘bone doctor’ has prescribed some medication that he needs to start taking and then to monitor it from there.

We still don’t know what caused it. Initial reports about osteoporosis have been shrugged off by the ‘bone doctor’ but then again, he can’t say for sure how KK managed to get himself injured? Very odd. I think KK might have overdone the training a tad?

Every runner hates an injury and when you’re out of action for so long, it’s a death sentence no matter who you are and what pace you run.

KK is just thrilled to be back at track and has committed to taking it slowly. There’s no use rushing his rehab and injuring himself again. Especially since entries for Comrades have opened (he’s entered) and Two Oceans entries are around the corner. Mentally, runners start setting their 2016 goals now.

I don’t really mind how long it takes KK to fully recover. If he needs me to pace him, then sure, I’m available. 😉

Pelvis my dear Elvis

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Bo

Thinking back now, it was better that KK never had his ‘groin’ pain checked out properly before Comrades. If he had, he would have most probably pulled out of the race.

We finally know what the cause of the pain is. It’s not a torn leg muscle or groin injury. He went for an x-ray and as clear as daylight, he has a stress fracture of his pelvis.

Photo credit: Google image (not KK’s)

Out for 8 weeks. Out. No gym, no light training, no short easy runs. Out. Complete rest.

It’s been two weeks now and he’s already going mad! How do you tell someone like him, who runs or gyms every day of the week, to do nothing. To rest.

It’s funny how once you know what’s wrong, once you have a proper diagnosis of the problem , how easy it is to put a recovery plan in place to manage. Previously, random Google searches would bring up a million results but leave you feeling confused and frustrated.

KK knows what he needs to do now. He knows the journey ahead and that unless he rests, he won’t heal. It’s a runner’s worst nightmare! But he has no choice.

Two coins to win a race

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Bo

I wanted to give KK something special for his Comrades race, something meaningful. But he’s not the soft, fluffy teddy emotional kinda guy. A rather introverted engineer, he’s not into deep quotes. He’d rather watch cat videos on YouTube than a motivational TED video and Hallmark cards aren’t his thing.

His face went blank when I even suggested that we watch Chariots of Fire together the week before Comrades, so I really was torn as to how I showed him my support & that he knew I understood the significance of his race and what it meant to him.

I knew he wanted his back to back Comrades medal more than anything. This is a medal only given out to those who run the Up run and return the next year to run the Down run (or vice versa). It wasn’t even about beating his previous time. All he spoke about was these two medals and ensuring he finished in time because this would be his only opportunity to get it.

So the night before the race, I packed two coins into a tiny plastic bag which I gave to him to run with. The two coins symbolized his two medals and I told him that each & every time he felt like quitting or when it got tough out there along the route, that he should reach into his running belt and feel the two coins. Feel and envisage what he was running for.

KK finished his race and got his medals! He didn’t say whether or not the coins helped but I did notice that he never threw them aside. When we packed up to go home, I caught a glimpse of the coins, still in the packet, tucked away neatly with the rest of his running kit. That said it all…

Seeing the medal from 87.7kms away

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Bo

As I write this, there are just three days to go before the Comrades marathon. KK will be running his second one and going for what is known as a ‘back to back’ medal. His training compared to last year has been entirely different mared by a horrible groin injury since March and less mileage on his legs.

Him and I approach our running in very different ways. I like to ~~over~~ analyze and talk about the run to death. I read books, articles, blogs and ensure I’m engaging with other runners on social media. KK zones out.

There’s one advantage to this. Along with the frustration of an injury not healing fast enough and less and less time to do that one last long run, I noticed KK becoming more and more determined. As if as if because he couldn’t train his legs, he put that energy into training his mind.

Not once has he mentioned bailing. He never talks about quitting. He doesn’t even have a plan B. In his mind, he intends to run the best race he can and come home with his medal. Some might call it arrogance or even ignorance but I think when you take on a race of this magnitude, you need to have your head screwed on right and not have a single doubt in your head or hints of failure. He talks about that medal all the time as if he imagines it in his hand. His eyes are set firmly on the goal and the challenge ahead.

They say that even though you’ve done the training, Comrades is a mental race. Once you pass around the 60km mark, your head takes over and you’d better have that mental strength to push on when your body begs you to give up. If I know KK, this is his strength. Failure is not an option.