Reflecting on this year’s Two Oceans race

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Bo

It’s long overdue and regular readers of my blog might have noticed that I haven’t yet published my annual account of my Two Oceans half marathon race.

In previous blog posts, I’ve mostly bitched about the race and vowed (every time) never to return. It’s been a love hate relationship. However this year, everything fitted together like a puzzle and it turned out that I ran the race with very different eyes.

The race was a few days after a friend had let us know about the cancer moving to two parts of her brain. Her regular WhatsApp messages popped in and out of my thoughts sporadically & my mind flashed through what she was going through.

The night before the race, I had said to myself, how can I moan when I know how much Susan loves triathlons and swimming & would love to just get out there and run? So I didn’t moan and woke up on race morning looking forward to the race.

I started in race category D which kinda felt like I had golden circle tickets at a rock concert. It also meant less time waiting compared to category E and loads more room to stand in.

10 minutes before the race started, my mind flipped into panic mode. But instead, I thought, scared? Bron you don’t know what scared is. Susan is scared.

When it hurt near the 17kms mark and my legs were tired, I thought you don’t know what tired is. This is not pain. Not like what Susan is going through.

And when I wanted to quit, I remembered that quitting was not an option for her.
Finally, when I crossed that finish line, I said “this is for you Susan”. But somehow, the message was really for me. I had come through 21.1kms having learnt something quite humbling about myself.

I moan about my running way to often. I criticize my pace and point out all my weaknesses. I blame the race, the race organizers and my training. It’s the backbone to my blog. But I need to stop. I am a runner and incredibly grateful to be able to cross those finishing lines at road races.

I am good enough. My body is good enough! There are so many people out there who don’t have the opportunities or the health that I have to be able to run. So from now on, every time I don’t feel like running, I’ll think of those that wish they could. I’ll think of Susan. Because what she made me realize, that every time I put my running shoes on, I need to be grateful that I am able to run. It doesn’t matter how slow or fast or even how far. We seem to forget that.

Autumn arrives

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Bo

And just like that, Autumn is officially here. Last week I was still wearing sandals and strappy dresses to work but on my run on Sunday morning, I could definitely feel that fresh chill in the air.

In my mind, the only positive aspect that comes with a change in season, is well… change itself. It’s a time of reflection. A time to make decisions and do things differently in my life.

So three things come to mind:

I’ve relooked my eating plan and made a few adjustments. Smaller portions, more veggies and perhaps less wine on the weekends (for now).
I’m starting off the month of May with a number of work responsibilities having moved out of my control to another team. That’s brought about huge changes to my day and a readjustment of priorities. Time to refocus on new projects.
I’ve also been doing some assessments of my running and redefining my running goals now that Two Oceans has come & gone. If I’m enjoying the casual run, what am I still training for?

I’m not a cold weather person. The dry skin, the static hair, the layers of clothing all irritate me.

But the colder weather brings with it fleecy blankets in front of movies and soups with piping hot bread smothered in melting butter. (Oops, about that eating plan!)
Mmm, something I can definitely look forward to!

In the blink of an eye

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Bo

Life changes in the blink of an eye. It really does. But it takes years for you to notice it.

During these recent times of uncertainty in the world, I’ve tried to make sense of the chaos. Have I made the right choices? What will I do if things go wrong? What’s my plan B? Let’s face it. The world has officially gone mad. But whatever it is, when I look around and observe what some of my friends are getting up to, I see a real sense of bravery! Of change…

Sharon & Hillary took up horse-riding. Andrew resigned from his job with no alternative. He just decided one day, “Screw this! No more!”

Chevy & Marc packed up and left Johannesburg for a different lifestyle down in Cape Town where job titles don’t matter. What matters to them is walking the dogs on the beach after work in the late setting sun.

Shaun & Lisa left for an overseas adventure. Taking up job opportunities but with the end goal of exploring the world while they’re still young. So did Meg & Rob. (By the way, follow Meg’s awesome blog on all things Dublin.)

My very good friend Karen envisages a completely different upbringing for her two sons. She is planning a future quite opposite to anything she knows. Listening to her planning to emigrate to Australia has shown me that it’s not as easy as one might think. But she has a vision. A new start to life.

Retrenchment has meant Sam has registered her own company. I can see that she’s nervous. The unknown always is, but she’s doing it. How frikking exciting!? I wish it was me!

Full time running coaching has given Coach Neville a second chance at “life”! They always say follow your passion and I suspect he’s been surprised by the journey that perhaps he should’ve embarked on years ago.

Turning 40 was a biggie in my life! Watching Samantha training to run her first Comrades marathon on her 40th birthday in a few months time, well … that’s pretty epic!

Susan is fighting cancer. Too many people I know are fighting cancer. Their resilience to never give up inspires me. Their approaches to decisions that they don’t exactly have control over is heartbreaking to see.

Terence has gone solo! I wish I could do that… But what do I have to offer?

This is me in Cape Town in 2007. In a blink of an eye, it’s 10 years later.

I’m seeing newbie runners like Russel bursting with runner’s high. I watched my sister, Gwynn, buying her own home and then going on to lose 17kgs! Janine is going back to university. New jobs. New hobbies. New lives!

It’s inspiring! It’s brave! It’s been happening in front of my eyes all this time, but I’m only seeing it all now. As if it’s a sign I need to see. For a reason I’m still grappling with.

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!