I’m so ready for Summer

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Bo

I know it’s only the end of August, but there are certain cues that alert me that Summer (and the end of the year) is fast approaching.

Spring has arrived. Yes, I’m stating the obvious but I can smell that the season has changed. I can smell rain in the air. I can smell freshly cut grass and braai’s.
I’m able to run much later in the afternoons because the sun now sets after 6pm. Huge bonus.
The smell of jasmine is everywhere! This is one of my favourite smells.
KK and I have planned our annual weekend getaway to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Santa Shoebox entries open this week and before you know, it’ll be the drop-off weekend.
I received a meeting invite to a work conference happening in February 2016. What?
We’ve started having casual conversations as to which family member will host Christmas.
KK has already put in his December annual leave dates at work. Yikes!
I have this sudden urge to go to the nursery and buy plants and do some gardening.
I’ve started seeing pictures posted on Facebook of kids in swimming pools. When we were young, there was a silly rule about waiting for the first Summer rains?

This is my favourite time of the year! People come out of that gloomy Winter slump. It’s so wonderful to be outdoors and in the sun. Everywhere I hear people saying, “Shew, it’s going to be a long hot Summer!”

I’m not complaining. Bring it!

Switching off

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Bo

When KK and I were down in Durban for the Comrades, we took the time to relax and enjoy being away from all the mad rush of Jo’burg and work. On the first evening we went for supper, my phone was flat and so I left it in the hotel room to charge. I felt lost for the first hour or so but once we started to eat and wind down, I realized that I wasn’t going to die! *dramatic, I know*

The morning afterwards, I left it in the hotel room again. It wasn’t planned or even discussed, but I started to leave my phone in the room every time we’d go have a meal. After the first day, KK did the same.

There was never a flood of urgent messages when we returned to the room. Nobody phoned us and we never needed to return any calls. Conversations on social media platforms carried on without us regardless.

What we did notice is that we became a lot more conscious of everything around us, the people, the food, the music. We spoke more, we connected. And it just got better at each and every meal. We did more ‘people watching’ and giggling at private jokes. We ate slower and took time to sit for longer at the dinner table. Long moments of sighing and smiling and letting go…

Sunset photo (yaken before we went for supper)

A photo of the beautiful setting sun I took before we walked down for supper without our phones, hence the reason why I don’t have any photos of us actually at the restaurant.

It was the feeling of freedom and escapism that I reveled in the most. For 6 days, I was able to walk away from the madness living in my phone, the opinions, the stories and all the noise. I allowed myself to shut off.

I’d love to say I was able to do so after the trip but that never happened. But what I have done is made sure that I pack my phone away in my bag when we go out to eat. I consciously try & make that effort. (after I’ve taken my Instagram and Zomato pic, of course). You should try it!

Focus. It’s on my list. #microblogmondays

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Bo

Focus.

I’ve started my week off with a new plan. A new strategy. And it’s all about focus. I find that I am easily distracted by everything else but ‘proper’ work all day long.

I spend way too much time and energy on stuff like emails and trying to clear my inbox. I waste more time doing too many little things than focusing on what matters. And do I even know how to sift through all the noise and know what this is?

I need to start doing work that adds real value.

My first ‘back to basic’ action item was to get into the office this morning and make a list of everything I need to do this week.

First task – Done. *tick*

Focus.

I also need to find more time to blog instead of letting all the thoughts swim around in my head. I’m drowning. So here goes. Focus.

Me? Run Comrades? Are you mad? I know I’m not. (Maybe)

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Bo

In the days leading up to and after Comrades, quite a few people asked me if I was going to ever run the ultimate race. As all runners do, I’d politely reply ‘yeah, I’d love to!’ But if I had more time, I’d give them my real answer because trust me, I’ve thought about it long and hard.

Here’s how I’ve broken it down:

I’m a slow runner. Fact! My training with Coach Dave has helped me slice quite a bit of time off my running pace but I’m still averaging 7:44 on my runs. This is me, giving it all I’ve got. To run Comrades, I’d need to run a hell of a lot faster so that when I take on my walk breaks, I’d still be able to average just over 8 mins/km. To slice off another minute and a half off my current pace is a massive task!
I’ve never run a marathon before. This would then need to be another goal to achieve. And to qualify for Comrades I need to run it in under 5 hours which means I need to average 7mins/km. I’m nowhere near this kinda pace now. I’m struggling to get down to even 7:30! Another goal.
To accomplish these goals is a massive task which would most probably take a a few years I’m guessing. Do I honestly want to commit that amount of effort and dedication into my running at this stage of my life?

So yes, it’ll always remain a dream. But for now, it’s baby steps. My running form is wrong, I still slouch too much, my core needs strengthening. This is what I’m focused on for now. Getting the basics right and focussing on smaller achievable goals.

So the question again, am I ever going to run Comrades? Highly unlikely. But then again, you never know.

The entire bit above was written with my head. But here’s what my heart wants to scream out: