Tag Archives: running

Saying hello…and goodbye to Two Oceans

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As KK and I depart for our annual Easter break down in Cape Town, I must admit, I’m feeling a little mizz. In fact I’ve been feeling a bit down for a while now. You see, as everyone packs their bags and counts down to the Two Oceans half or ultra marathon, I won’t be running the race this year.

I pulled out due to injury as well as not being mentally ready to race against a cut-off time of 3 hours I feared I would miss (again). I was at a point where my running was not fun anymore and I hated the training. So I made the decision to stop stressing about my running, to focus on the 10km races and start falling in love with running again…

It was not an easy decision but once I made it, it was a weight off my shoulders and I still think it was the right decision. I have really enjoyed the shorter distances and I’ve had fun not having to constantly watch my pace. I’ve been happy with a 4km run in the evenings from home and sleeping later when I don’t feel like getting up at 3:30am for a race. It has helped me get back my “running mojo” and I’m enjoying it more than ever.

Yet it still doesn’t take away the fact that I wish I was running on Saturday. It doesn’t take away the fact that reading people’s tweets and blogs as they count down to the race doesn’t fill me with a tingle of jealousy and bit of regret.

While I know runners don’t judge one another, I am my biggest critic and keep trying to convince myself that pulling out of the race doesn’t mean I’m quitting. It means I’m doing what’s right, for me, at this point in time.

But it’s a heaviness that fills my heart.

I will still be there to support KK and the rest of our running gang. I’ll most probably get *goosies* when the gun goes off and I’ll still be super excited to see my running friends cross that finish line.

I’m holding thumbs that KK runs a PB! I wouldn’t miss that for the world!

Ps: this will be my last blog post until we get back from holiday on the 15th April.

Have a wonderful Easter!

What exactly do you mean by personal best?

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Non-runners who read my blog often ask me what a PB is. I tell them that it’s a Personal Best – when you run your fastest time over a specified distance to gauge improvements. They look at me oddly as if, well, what does that mean?

Funny thing is that when I listen to my running buddies, it appears to me that most of them are on a sole (excuse the pun) mission to increase their running speed and get a PB. (Hey, wait a minute? So it’s not just me?)

Achieving a PB is the ultimate benchmark for most runners. It’s as if this is the signal that they are getting better as runners. But I do wonder sometimes if speed is the ultimate goal?

Is your best always measured in terms of time?

Here’s where I’m going with this …

I’ve been busy at work refreshing my Key Performance Areas (KPAs) for 2012. A new process has been implemented and apart from the normal ‘doing your job KRAs’, there’s a new section called “Stretch goals”. This is meant to be areas where I manage to perform additional tasks above and beyond the normal KRA’s. But the measurement required to see whether or not I have achieved this is the difficult part.

You see, it’s not like running where I am able to record PB’s which indicate ‘best’. I need something more concrete because I can’t just use a PB (time) to indicate greatness for everything I do. The measure has to be tangible and measureable and different for each task.

But yet, in running, it’s okay to just use time. It’s okay that getting faster and faster is the ultimate measure of improvement.

I think this is sometimes where running fails. Because runners have become obsessed with PB’s that even all their “Stretch” goals are based on time/pace/speed. Are runners also training for goals of fitness levels, endurance or overall post-race recovery…or anything else? 

I do realise that all these contribute to better times and faster running. But is there an alternative measure than the PB? *just a thought*…

Running ‘Om die Dam’

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There’s nothing better than using the excuse of running to go away for a long weekend and that’s exactly what we did to go run the ‘Om die Dam’ race this passed weekend.

It’s one of my favourite races on the race calendar – run from the Hartebeespoort Highschool it is well-organised, with quite challenging routes and there’s a fantastic vibe at the start of the race. Yes, I’m talking about the sound of the fish eagle that gets played followed by chariots of fire.

This year, I decided to run the 10km. I started with KK and the gang of other 21.1km runners but we split at the 4km mark. What followed was a relentless 4km uphill stretch which forced many runners to walk. Ironically, I got stuck with a Walker from Irene Running Club. I gave mini bursts of running but when I stopped to walk, she would catch up to me and pass me. I’d sprint off again, passing her, but knew that at the next walk break, she’d catch me. So she did and laughed saying, “Kom meisie kind! Moenie laat ek jou stop nie!” When it got to the last 500m, I was shagged and she beat me.

Thank-goodness the weather was cool for the run but it turned into a scorcher of a weekend which was great! If we thought Winter had arrived, we were wrong and we spent the the rest of Saturday and Sunday re-charging our tired legs at the Caribbean Beach Resort near Harties.

It was an awesome weekend of going for lazy walks, long afternoon snoozes, snacking on sinful food, braaing while the sun set and just chillaxing…

A tale of two coaches

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Whilst enjoying a breakfast with my girlfriends, I was listening how one of them explained how she goes about managing her team at work. She told us that she manages all of them very differently. Some thrive on praise, whilst others need to be pushed and challenged. She concluded that it’s about finding that ‘something’ that motivates them because not all of them respond in the same way. *good manager Mich*

The same can be said about the training techniques of running coaches. Lately, I’ve been exposed to two very different training techniques. The one coach drives me harder than I’ve ever been pushed in my life and has me setting goals that give me serious goosies. The other expresses concern about my love of running and tells me to slow down.

The training methods of these two trainers are so extreme that what it has taught me is that as in life, with running, there needs to be a balance.

You see, while I “get” what each of them is teaching me, I have settled for the middle ground. I’ve decided that while I like to be pushed hard and be motivated to believe that I am capable of so much more, I do understand that there is a time and place for everything.

Yes, so I do need to push myself and reach those running goals, but at the same time, if it causes me to stop enjoying running, those goals are empty. Pointless.

Thanks coach! Both of you….