In the end, the distance never really matters

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Bo

Wikipedia will tell you that the Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg is widely regarded as one of the most impressive cliff faces on earth. I would agree.

I would also add that it’s the perfect place to reset your body, mind, and soul, and be reminded that the so-called big issues you worry about back home pale in significance when you’re engulfed in those magnificent mountains.

We arrived at Thendele Lodge in the Royal Natal National Park for a weekend away with car boots overflowing with bags of crisps, boxes of wine and warm blankets. And thank goodness too! It was ffffreezing in the evenings.

On Saturday morning, we hiked up to The Gorge. The dry grassy path wound its way into lush forest terrain and out onto sections of boulders.

At one stage, I was peeking at my Garmin every few meters because the 7km halfway mark had been passed almost 2kms ago by the time we had reached The Gorge.

Cheese and ham rolls, next to the stream, sitting at The Gorge… Hashtag bliss!

Having nearly fallen into the ice-cold almost translucent stream, I admit to having flashbacks of my Run-The-Berg trail run which also promised to be one distance but turned out to be much much much further. Was this hike really only 14kms?

While I’m fit enough to handle the distance, my legs felt like jelly after my near-fall and unlike road running, trail running and hiking require a hectic amount of concentration, of which my mind is untrained.

Deceptively, the hike downhill back to the lodge wasn’t easy. My jelly legs were joined by butterfly ankles and my legs ached. My watch recorded 20kms when we finally arrived back at the lodge. Boy was I ready for a hot shower and a glass of wine!

The rest of the weekend was downtime and the instruction was for “everyone to do exactly what they wanted to do.” (You gotta love holidays with friends like this!)

For some, it meant more hiking up to Policeman’s Helmet on Sunday…

For others, a snooze on the couch in the sun…

That was my choice. And while I did get through a few chapters of my book, my mind wandered to other thoughts…

How on earth was KK able to attempt over 30kms of hiking a mere week after finishing Comrades?
A stiff body and refreshed mind feel absolutely amazing after hiking 20kms up to The Gorge, in one of the most spectacular places in the world. Ironically the 20km hike felt shorter than any half marathon I’ve ever run.
That I am so lucky to have such interesting, caring and adventurous friends in my life.

KK and I agreed on the drive back home that we really do need more weekends away in our lives. And yes, maybe even another hike or two 😉

My 5 weeks counting down to Christmas

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Bo

It’s been long…

It’s nearing x5 weeks since KK left for a business trip to Perth. Five weeks is the longest we’ve been apart.

It’s happened only once before when he worked on a project up in Tanzania. When he returned, I scored a pair of tanzanite earrings and decided we needed a dog, which explains how Annie came into our lives.

But this round has been tough.

The pool pump gave in on Sunday night. After weeks of nursing the clear blue water, fishing out leaves with the net, brushing the walls, keeping the water levels up, emptying the little basket (which at first I couldn’t find), the pump suddenly broke.

Water streamed into the neighbours yard and down my cheeks. It was the Christmas cherry on the top.

I’ve been bravely tackling issues on my own.

Opening up a business bank account and reading all the small print. KK is good at this.
Ensuring the washing is done each week and taking out the rubbish bin on Mondays. These are KK’s chores which I kept forgetting to do. Washing piles up quicker than I thought.
Taking Emma to the Vet and finding out that she has a heart murmur.
Putting up all the Christmas decorations around the house. It sounded like a good idea when I started.
Seeing new clients for my new business and not having him to sense check my sales pitch beforehand.

While the above list may sound petty, I realised just how much KK does around the house. How much I rely on him.

I take him for granted.

Lying on the couch. I’ve done a lot of this. Crochet, movies, books. It was fun the first few weeks.

Then there are other little things that I’ve noticed:

I didn’t know where KK keeps all our important documents, such as my green ID book which I needed to open up the bank account.
I don’t have a side gate key so couldn’t take the dustbin out on dustbin day.
I thought the store was going to swallow me up. There is so much crap in there! What the hell are we keeping?
I’ve never done a backwash of the swimming pool. Ever! In fact, one thing I’ve learnt is that I know very little about pool maintenance.
When we had load shedding, I discovered (in the dark) that the little camping light next to my bed doesn’t work.
If I go for an afternoon run, there isn’t anyone checking to make sure I get back safely. (I do message my mom but I think it freaks her out waiting for my return).

He couldn’t come home soon enough, especially since I haven’t had a good nights sleep in weeks.

The whole “cooking for one” is a constant reminder that I’m alone. I’ve developed nasty cabin fever. And it’s actually not fun suntanning next to the pool by myself.

I’ve been eating way too many pizzas. Damn Woolies has these on special. I added the bacon in case you’re wondering. And yes, I burnt it.

I have a greater sense of gratitude for all he does and how he looks after me at home. I also have new found respect for people who live on their own. I talk to myself now. Do you?

I did have some help putting up the decorations. Thanks Emma!

I miss the company. I miss the routine. I miss KK. I want things back to normal.

But it’s been a good five weeks to teach me that things will go wrong, but I can handle it. It’s taught me to pick up the phone (actually WhatsApp) and ask for help. And most of all, I’ve learnt to be a little independent and trust myself for a change.

The biggest Christmas present will be fetching him from the airport on the weekend! I cannot wait!

Why I left my phone in the hotel room and went for a run instead

Posted on September 29, 2018 by Bo

We celebrate our wedding anniversary annually with a trip away. Away from work commitments, household chores, and the noise that drowns out our lives. We try get away from it all.

This year, we couldn’t have picked a more perfect destination than Club Med Bintan Island, tucked away off the coast of Singapore.

The view over the pool area from reception

It was an absolute paradise! The food, the drinks, the people…

There are x4 things I did that made it even more blissful and ensured that I enjoyed each and every minute on the island.

1. I locked my cellphone away in the hotel room safe everyday. For someone like me to not have my phone constantly with me was hard! But when I lay on the deck chair overlooking the ocean, I saw for myself just how obsessed people are with getting that perfect photo, taking pics of their food or simply seeing their heads facing down staring at their screens when in fact there was such beautiful scenery all around us.

I don’t have many photos of the holiday but what I did come back with are hundreds of conversations between Karl and myself. We spoke. A lot. And I switched off. I detoxed digitally and it felt good not exposing myself to all the hatred and anger that exists on social media.

2. I ran. In fact we must’ve run almost every single day on the island. The humidity at 8am did not stop us either. You kinda think that on holiday, you should take a break from exercise but we loved the fact that we had time to run whenever we wanted to! And to explore different routes and pathways around the resort. Yes, so I did get lost on my first run. I blame the Club Med chief of the village who claimed the distance around the club was 4kms. It was actually 8kms! Pffft, non-runners!

I was not mentally prepared for the uphills and humidity on my first day of running. But once I knew the route, it was just me (and the monkeys) on a road surrounded by palm trees and lush vegetation, next to a beautiful golf course with the piercing sound of the Cicada bug, apparently the loudest insect, zinging in my ears. Bliss!

This naughty little bugger made off with my running cap that was drying out on the balcony!

3. I ate everything and more on my plate. We diet way too much. We have become so obsessed with our Banting / low carb / paleo / weightless / weight watchers / Sleek geek / plant-based eating schemes that we’ve forgotten to find joy in actually eating something that tastes really delicious! I ate bowls of pasta, ice-cream, fried rice, curries! I ordered cocktails at the pool. I lived! And the damage was not as bad as I had imagined! I still have clothes which fit. LOL

Food food and even more food!

I didn’t dish up massive portions but I made sure I tasted as much as I could – from spicy Korean dishes, to Indonesian crab and lots and lots of fried rice.

4. I swam in the sea! You heard right! I swam sometimes three or four times in the same afternoon. The sea water was as like warm bath water and there were very few waves. If you looked down at your feet, the water was so clear, you could spot a fish or two dashing through your legs every now and then. Freaky!

I put my fear of the sea aside and not only swam in the sea but jumped on a boat to be led out to the waters to go snorkeling. With a mask covering my face and looking down onto the most beautiful coral reefs, a sea turtle swam passed me! My heart! And then yes, I gulped down a huge mouthful of sea water in all my excitement!

Here’s a couple of photos I did manage to take which gives you a sense of just how beautiful Bintan Island is…

Walkways through the resort which never felt busy or overcrowded.

We had a choice of sitting around the pool or lying on deck chairs staring into the ocean.

Lazy strolls along the beach.

Just couldn’t resist this photo opportunity.

The ‘B’ is actually me, not Bintan 😉

In his element!

No make-up, sticky sun creamed body, cocktail in hand.

Full body massages on beds overlooking the ocean.

Thank you for a wonderful holiday KK!

That time of year again

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Bo

The change in season is never more evident than when we return home from our Easter holiday. The yearly trek down to Cape Town to run the Two Oceans is the first time I’m packing in warmer jackets and closed shoes, knowing that evenings are a lot cooler. And by the time we fly home, everything is suddenly duller. There’s a fresh chill in the air, the sun sets earlier and unless you head out for your afternoon run before 17:30, you can forget about finishing in the light.

Wine and pizza pairing at the Brenaissance Wine Farm on the day we landed. I was already feeling chilly & whipped out my puffer.

We did manage to soak up a few rays down in Cape Town. Truth be told, we must be getting older because we preferred to lie around at the pool at the hotel instead of heading down to Clifton 4th beach.

Calm & relaxing. Only realized that my toenails are painted blue by pure coincidence – Thank you Monika & Lemonade.

KK gets terrible cabin fever and so we decided one morning to hike up the mountain. It wasn’t as easy as we thought. The fires had destroyed a lot of the vegetation and so the path wasn’t visible. It turned into quite a serious hike, right up KK’s alley! But the views from the top were amazing!

I was left with mixed feelings about Cape Town’s drought situation. There’s definitely awareness of it up in Jo’burg and we packed in wet wipes, expecting the worst. But I didn’t get a sense of the seriousness whilst down in Cape Town. The hotel only had a few signs around, but no clear instructions on what I was expected to do with the water in the bucket after I had showered.

The concierge claimed it wasn’t an issue and would only hit Cape Town in 2019. The toilets at the V&A Waterfront had a small sticker above the loo saying, “This toilet uses grey water.” So does that mean I flush after my wee or not?

The great thing about holidays in Cape Town are definitely the late sunsets! It was 19:00 and the sun was just setting over the ocean. It was refreshing to stop and take it in. We also scored with no wind this year! The wind and I are not big friends and that nasty South Easter can upset my entire day.

cape town sunsets

I must confess that I did have two chocolate croissants, one after the other, at breakfast on our last morning in Cape Town. It was glorious! I had been very good the entire weekend – no wine, lots of protein, zero Easter eggs (liar) and a salad here & there for lunch. But coming back to Jo’burg, I have a new mindset & have reset my goals:

Running: I will be relooking my running goals. I’m already eyeing RAC 10km in May. But for now, I am hoping for more runs, less mileage. Going for regular 4km runs after work (before that Winter sun sets) instead of thinking that I need to run 10s and 21s all the time. That will come, but not for now.
Weight: Call it “the 40s midlife crisis” or blame it on my running injury ~~excuses~~, but something has gone seriously wrong in my head & I have lost control over food. Sounds quite dramatic, I know! I’ve been to see another dietician. I’ll save it for another blog post, but while eating Pronutro and rice cakes works amazingly for some, it didn’t for me. So I found someone who is Banting / LCHF / Keto / Plant based pro. My gut feel is that this way of eating suits me. It’s worked before. It’s my head I need to fix first.

There’s another long weekend coming up at the end of April and then we have that long stretch into Winter. Chilly, dark morning runs. Battling the traffic to get home from work early enough to run. The streets lined with an array of beautiful hues of brown and orange leaves that crunch under your feet. I’m ready for you Winter.