I took a gamble on Om Die Dam & it paid off

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Bo

My foot is still not better. Even though I’ve been quite obsessive with all the treatments, socks, granny shoes, massaging and exercises, it still aches. I was about to surrender my Two Oceans half marathon entry but then spotted on KK’s training program that he was running the Om Die Dam (ODD) 50km race. It got me scheming…

I had not run a 21km race since last year’s Two Oceans half marathon
I need to run a 21km race for this year’s Two Oceans half marathon
If I get halfway and struggle with my foot, I can walk to the end. Time on feet, right?
The race has a 4-hour cutoff for the half. Ample time!

So off we drove to Harties early Saturday morning. We haven’t run ODD for a couple of years. The congested traffic, the crowds, KK wasn’t running many ultras. It was a race we rather avoided. This year was different. Parking 100ms from the start, well-organised and 24/hr manned spotless port-a-loos in every corner. Always a good sign.

KK and I split up before the start. He wanted to slip into his starting pen early, I wanted to take my time lubing up and getting into ‘the zone’. I had not set a goal time. I was hoping to run under 3:10 but had no idea how under-trained I was. Perhaps 3:20 was more realistic?

My half marathon time ranges between 2:44 and 3:15. But this was the first time I had taken such a long break, focusing instead on 10km distances. Would it come back to bite me? I was also unsure if I would undo months of resting & care of my foot. Only one way to find out. *stupid thinking*

Mentally I had done my homework. In the days leading up to the race, I had envisioned running the distance. I wrote down a few positive statements on my pacing chart that I planned to whip out & read when I hit the dark patches en route. I was ready.

The fish eagle crowed (the start gun!) and off we ran. I had bumped into friends, Billy & Christa, at the start of the race & when she mentioned that she wanted to run 3 hours, I thought, “Okay Bron, stick with them.” But soon found this to be impossible.

In the first few km’s their pace was too fast. I was struggling. I desperately wanted to keep up with them thinking that if Comrades race veteran Billy was pacing, I’d be fine. But they slipped further and further away. Getting to that finish line was all in my hands now.

I slowed down to a more comfortable pace and looked around, trying to take my mind off the run. I had completed 7kms in 1 hour. Was this too fast? Typically, if I can run 7kms every hour, I make the 3-hour cutoff gun. I was on track. I was confident. Was I overly confident? Perhaps. Definitely. I was over-thinking.

Just as I was about to pull out my pacing chart, a friendly face popped up alongside me. My ex-colleague and friend, Thiren. We started chatting away and it was just what I need to take my mind off the run as we neared the 14km mark. 2 hours had passed.

It’s quite amazing what the body can achieve if the mind believes and I declared to Thiren that we would make 3 hours if we pushed ourselves. I started to see that finish line! He was struggling with calf pain and managed to run to the 18km mark together before he trailed off.

I wasn’t done yet. I felt fantastic. I was strong. Hurting, but still strong. As I reached the 19km mark, I spotted Billy’s familiar white Comrades cap. I had caught them! What joy! I was thrilled that we had both achieved the goals we had set out at the start. It was 3 hours.

I crossed the finish line, elated! My foot had survived. It wasn’t sore (YET! The afternoon was hell). But my mind had achieved what I needed it to do – believe that I could manage the distance. The body explodes with feel-good hormones when you finish a race. The best part is that this feeling lingers for quite some time afterwards…and boy was I happy!

Two Oceans, here we come!

Is running the new kid on the block?

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Bo

Running races in South Africa have become increasingly popular. If you don’t arrive at sparrow’s fart before a race, be warned about getting stuck in gridlocked traffic! This was us at Johnson Crane in January. Added to that is taking over 20 minutes to cross the timing mat at the start of the race, like majority of suckers at Vaal marathon.

The starting line at Pick n Pay 2017

Is it due to health trends hitting our media that people suddenly want to run? Could Parkrun have ignited newbie runners into challenging themselves to run further than 5kms? Or have other events such as Crossfit, Bootcamp or Warrior have added to the flow of budding athletes trying their skill on tar?

Another view of the start of Pick n Pay 2017 – crazy view!

Whatever it is, it’s fantastic! Running is a reasonably cheap sport (that’s before you think you need a GPS watch to upload your runs to Strava) and you don’t need to run official races to enjoy yourself.

YouTube is loaded with free coaching and it would appear that people are catching on to this. Don’t believe me? Check out Cape Town’s promenade. Or head to Jo’burg’s highway aka Westcliff stairs. Packed!

Start line at Sarens 2017 – a stunning pic!

In between the ever growing numbers of runners are everyday people like you & me. The average Joe who will never run an ultra like Comrades; the casual half marathoner who dreams of full marathons; the 10km social guy and yes, all the really fun runners at the back! It’s a mixed batch and we’re all in it having fun together.

Let’s keep running!

Look around. What do you notice?

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Bo

Our patio door stands open for most of the evening while we watch TV. The aircon in the bedroom cools us down while we sleep. The evenings are still light by 7pm. I’m smug that Summer is holding on for this long because I know what’s coming.

I’ve got the SADs. Seasonal Affective Disorder. I can feel the seasons changing. There’s that ‘something’ in the air. The glow of the sun is different. The freshness in the morning is crisper. And then these kinds of images have started popping up on my social media timelines…

The signs are everywhere. Autumn is sneaking in on us and yes, Winter is coming. I’m not ready. Are you?

The thing about regret…

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Bo

I’ve had a few regretful moments lately.

It started on Friday when I had to fork out R7k for two new tyres for my car. Why? Because apparently if you have a puncture you shouldn’t drive on run flats for more than a week. I regret not getting my tyre fixed sooner.

I spent Saturday afternoon with my sister and niece. Gosh but she’s growing up so quickly! We laughed and chatted and shared a bowl of chips with our quesadillas at Tasha’s. I regret not spending more time with her. She left me with the most beautiful bunch of flowers.

After an entire week of rain, I lay on the couch on Sunday staring out into the drenched garden. Summer is gone. Winter is on its way. I regret not spending more lazy afternoons next to the pool enjoying the rays of the sun.

I continue to struggle with plantar fasciitis. Desperate to run and knowing I’m missing out on key road races, I regret not running more often during the last months of 2016. You can never make up that training time, it’s gone.

I sometimes sit back and wonder how these things happen. Am I aware of it? Or does it catch me off guard? Can I make it up or fix things. Sure! But the feeling is pretty crappy in the moment. I suppose there’s no point in regretting but rather focus on what matters now! Learn from mistakes and move on!