The finish line. Are we there yet?

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Bo

KK has run his last race for the year and instructions from his coach are that he needs to take a three week mandatory rest period before Comrades training starts in January 2017. Three weeks? He’ll never last!

His last race for the year was the 35km Ultra Trail Cape Town. It was a technical and nasty course with lots of tough uphill climbing, hikes and steep rocky downhills.

There are just so many thoughts that go through my head while waiting (im)patiently for KK to finish the race. His time 7:17!

When he woke up on the morning after the race, he had a stiff body with sore bruised feet and toes and vowed never to run #UTCT2016 again. *famous last words* As for me, I managed to get horribly sunburnt with ugly patches of red all over my body.

I was wearing sandals so my sunburn is all patterned. Bloody marvelous!

The race day summed up 2016 for me. An entire year dedicated to early mornings, heavy training sessions, races, track sessions, eating healthily, sore muscles, strength training and mild injuries. Only runners can relate to the amount of sacrifices made. And then it was all over leaving us both battered and bruised.

There were some good races and then some you know you never want to enter again because you hated the experience so much. That was 2016…

One of my Pinterest boards showing photos of the medals from all our races this year.

We lost some running friends along the way. Those that chose to move away to start exciting new adventures, and others who decided to focus on other sporting events. We miss them.

When people say, ‘running mirrors life’, I found the balance between work life and home life may not have been as “balanced” as I would’ve wanted. I sacrificed too many afternoon runs in favour of meetings at work. I skipped loads of track sessions when I claimed that “urgent” emails needed to be answered immediately. What rubbish! What I regret the most was allowing work stress to get the better of my eating program. I will enter 2017 heavier than I’ve been in 4 years.

Was it worth it? Some days, most definitely. But in the long run, I’m at the end of 2016 exhausted, demotivated and unsure of what 2017 holds. Does anyone know?

A good friend of mine Whatsapped me with this quote: “Keep the positive attitude and stay motivated. Remember, Donald Trump is fucking president! The whole world has gone mad!”

My running goals are clear! Shorter distances and an increased focus on strength training. If I allowed 2016 runs to take a back seat, that won’t happen next year. The balance (although only mentally for now) has shifted. Even if it’s only 3kms on a lovely afternoon when the sun is setting, I must commit!

Here’s to a fantastic, rewarding and exhilarating 2017! You never know quite what to expect but at least line up at that starting line.

It started out as a bet. But I ran with it anyhow.

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Bo

It started out as an agreement. A dare. Our trail running buddies, Dan & Linda agreed to run a road race if I would come along and try out a trail run. They stuck to their word and ran Varsity Kudus (*gasp* of all races!) in January. The pressure was on!

So last week, I headed off to run the Biogen Love Run 2016 night race at the PWC Bike Park to close off my end of the bargain.

The PWC Bike Park

All set up & ready for the runners

It was my first trail run. I have never even run Park Run before.

Here’s some differences I noted compared to road running:

The field is smaller. We’re used to a couple of thousands of runners lining up at the start of a road race. Here there must’ve been a max of about 350 runners. You can imagine my panic thinking I would come last in such a tiny field!
It’s casual. Very casual. Runners arrived and sat on the grass embankment, some snacking on crisps, others playing on their cellphones. No one was doing any serious warming up. No lubing or vaselining.
Before the race. Notice how relaxed everyone is!

More runners gathering and relaxing before the race.
No ASA or temp numbers are needed. We each received a little bar-coded card to pin to our clothes. Race results were up the very next day too!

Runners ready! The first batch, ready to go. Headlamps being turned on.

Runners go out in batches. On road races, everyone goes off when the gun goes off at the same time.
The paths are quite narrow. This means that passing someone slower in front of you is quite a challenge. I was unsure of the trail race etiquette, but goodness me, hardly anyone moves out the way for anyone else. It’s as if, sorry Jack, make your own way around me.
People walk. They walk and no one else gives a damn. In road races, the walkers get a bad rap. Faster runners are always complaining that walkers should have their own start or that they get in the way of ‘real runners’. Trail running is different. If you want to walk, you do, and no one gives you any grief about it.
You get dirty. My socks and my shoes were so dusty when I got home!

I really enjoyed it. It’s way less competitive than road running. It has a very relaxed vibe to it. And everyone seems to do their own thing and have fun.

Super bright headlamps! I look like I’m about to go looking for gold!

The best part? My time was fantastic! I averaged 8:14 mins per km. I thought I’d be much slower. And, I came 9/26 in my category and 109/234 total of 5km runners!

The question I’m sure you’re asking is, “has the trail bug bitten?” A little. But I’d definitely need to go shopping for the right trail running shoes and a camel pack and perhaps try out a more technical course? And a daytime run. But yeah… It was fun. Dan and Linda, you guys were right!

I’ve hit the wall

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Bo

As a runner, I’ve only hit the wall once. It was during my very first half marathon road race.

Clearly unprepared, I was approximately 5kms from the finish line when it hit. My legs stopped and would go no further. As much as I tried to push myself to move on, I couldn’t. It felt like my brain would not connect with my body. I was screaming inside to take just one step, but my legs were paralyzed. They felt like concrete and soon my head was full of negative thoughts of quitting.

“In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or bonking describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Such fatigue can become seriously debilitating. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycaemia, such as dizziness and even hallucinations.” ~ Wikipedia

The past couple of weeks at work have felt pretty much the same. I’ve hit the wall. I know what needs to be done and can picture it in my head but no matter how I try to convince others to go on that journey with me, they won’t budge. There’s a disconnect. It feels like I’m talking but no one is listening. I’m going at 120 miles an hour and they’re stopped at the traffic light.

By the end of last week, I realized I had hit the wall. The frustration had set in and I did not know where to turn. I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this. We’re often not all on the same path when it comes to work.

With running, the only way to recover is to re-fuel. Water, energy drinks, a banana, whatever it is you can get hold of. But you never stop. I had forgotten this. I know I need to refocus and set my eyes back on the goal – the finish line. Ironically, this is what two people told me to do. The words one of them used were, ‘Baby steps Bron, baby steps. Just keep at it’.

I’ve gone on to run so many half marathons since that first race and yet looking back now, Johnson Crane will always be one of my favorite races. Even though I hit the wall, I still went on to finish the race. Of course it was difficult. But was it worth it? Hell yes!

Mid-year life appraisals

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Bo

Mid-year appraisals are under way at work. Amid all the stress and deadlines and noise, it affords you the opportunity to stop, to breathe and re-assess where you’re at with your goals and projects.

It’s a case of looking at what you committed to do, your progress, feedback from stakeholders and sometimes a re-negotiation of the goals and deadlines.

It’s a good idea to do a similar review of your personal life too which is what I’ve started to do. Here’s a brief assessment of two things which have stood out for me:

Home: Work life balance is nowadays easier for me to get right than KK. He has started working Saturdays and will bring work home to do almost every evening. I get it, I do. So what we’ve done is committed to having ‘date nights’ and spending quality Sundays together. Even if this means chilling at home and taking long naps after a braai on the couch. It’s ‘us’ time and a compromise. As long as we find the time to connect, that’s what matters.

Sunday braai’ing with KK and the girls

Running: Everyone knows that I hibernate during Winter and don’t run. But this year has been different. I’ve surprised myself with my discipline in getting to track during the week and forcing myself to wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings to train. It’s been hard and I’ve hated some days! But so far, so good! You know that cheesy saying that Summer bikini bodies are formed in the Winter. This better ring true for running bodies!

Random pics snapped by Graham Block at the Sunday Harriers long runs – Thanks Sharon and Tamryn for the company!

It’s almost Spring and one of my good Twitter friends, Lucy, has posted a photograph of jasmine flowering in her garden in Knysna! I love jasmine. It signals a turn in the seasons for me. This gives me goosies! Things are always different when Summer arrives. They are! And so far, I’m on track with all my goals to deliver some great results!