You never regret it.

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Bo

I’ll be honest with you, I did not want to get out of bed this morning to go running. I know I need to put some extra training in because of all the 10km races coming up soon but that didn’t stop me from having that mental negotiation with myself as I lay snuggled up in bed.

My head told me:

The cold front has arrived. You know you don’t like to run in the cold. I hate it!
The wind is blowing. You hate the wind and this wind is icy. My worst!
It’s Sunday. It’s the day of rest so turn over and go sleep. It sounded so good!

Somehow, I reasoned with myself that it was much warmer heading off to gym than it was being out on the roads, so off I went.

An hour later, driving home, I had the biggest smile on my face. Here’s what my heart told me:

You did good. Sometimes I find myself training harder on the treadmill than what I do out on the road. And funny enough, I am able to run in under 8 mins /km on that “deathmill”
The woman running on the treadmill next to me had a prosthetic leg. Nothing says be grateful you can run than seeing that
Your body thanks you! I had that awesome red glowing face. I love that look!

I need to remind myself regularly that not once have I ever regretted running.

Earlier this week, I happened to find jasmine on my time trial route. What an awesome smell which always alerts me that Spring is finally on its way.

Thank goodness for changing seasons! Running is not for sissies (unless there’s a cold front, right?). Have a wonderful week!

The reward around the corner

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Bo

I’ve mapped out a couple of running routes around my neighbourhood, some are 5km routes for quick runs after work, others are for the longer Sunday LSD’s. I ran one of my favourite routes this morning; I call it the Elgin route.

To get there means I have to meander through parts of Bryanston first and conquer one of the longest uphills – Cumberland & Homestead Roads. It’s not so much steep as it is long. I’m usually already walking by the time it starts its big pull. I don’t mind the walk. Walking during my runs usually gives me time to think and re-energise for the week ahead. But the road is relentless and takes me a good few minutes to get to the top.

The best part is as I turn into Elgin. It’s more of a mental turn on my run because my head tells me the hard work has been done and it’s pretty much downhill home from there. But there’s more to it…

Elgin Road is filled with the most beautiful massive trees, buzzing with bird life. You can hear the occasional Grey Lourie if you’re patient and there are always doves coo’ing in the lush gardens. You’re bound to run into other runners, even ones with dogs on leads.

It’s the part of my run where I let go and allow myself to be surrounded by nature and the fact that it feels like I’ve blocked out everything else. All I hear are my feet pounding the tar as the sun hits my face.

There are three takeouts from running this route:

1. It’s okay to walk the uphills. I still reach the top.

2. The reward is around the corner, be patient.

3. Take time to appreciate and enjoy my surroundings. There’s so much beauty around us!

One of the best running routes there is!

The iPod discovery

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Bo

I find running through the winter months hard. If I’m honest, it’s very hard. But I did promise myself that this year, I would continue training and not slip into my usual running hibernation. Sp pretty much since the Jozi afternoons got dark and cold and the mornings hit 0 degrees, I’ve been doing most of my training at the gym.

It’s not too bad and I get to do some proper speed work and interval training which I hardly do out on the road. For years now, my iPod nano has ensured surviving running on the dreaded deathmill as long as I have a range of great playlists to choose from on my trusted old iPod nano. That’s all I pretty much used it for. Until now…

Playing around on my iPod recently, I noticed a Fitness section. Um, hello! Where’ve you been hiding? Fiddling with the settings, I managed to set it to run a 5K route, matched with one of my new playlists and decided to run on around the track at the gym instead of the treadmill for a change.

Imagine my surprise when I heard a woman’s voice come on, talking to me about my workout. Every now & then, she would tell me my pace, how far I’d run and how I was doing. How awesome is this? My very own ‘personal trainer’ in my ears! I know others have used their iPhones but I’ve never been keen to strap my phone to my arm at the gym and I find it too risky out on the road too. The size of that iPod nano is perfect.

I know that if I run x5 laps on the track, it measures 1km. So I was fascinated how near close to accurate the iPod was. (okay, 200m short) Googling it, I later discovered that I comes with a built in Nike+ sensor. All I need to do is a bit of calibration. I’m also checking out recording any runs to Nike+ because well, as all runners on social media know, you haven’t really run until you tell everyone, right? *winks*

I’m so excited about this! I think gym is great but every so often, you need to be doing something different or else you get bored and the novelty wears off. I guess this is like most things in life. Getting into a rut is so easy and yet so simple to get out of. You just need to know how. Sometimes, it’s right under your eyes!

My iPod nano discovery is definitely going to help me get through winter! Okay, iPod, let’s run!

The high after the race

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Bo

It’s been just over a week since KK finished his very first Comrades marathon race. We’ve enjoyed many evenings of analyzing it, discussing the highs and lows, the plans for the up run next year and the sad story of the runner who died just as he finished his race. It’s also been quite relaxing not to have to get up at ungodly hours to run or to plan our weekends around a race calendar.

The most wonderful part for me was running the journey alongside KK as his supporter. The training, the eating plan and the gym sessions. Even completing numerous half marathons while I waited for him to run full ones. But the two highlights for me came as the sun rose and set on the 1st June.

As we dropped KK off on the morning at the start of the Comrades race in Pietermaritzburg, he could hardly talk. In the 17 years that I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him so nervous. But the exhaustion & joy on his face when I finally found him on the field at Sahara Park after the race with his medal around his neck is a sight I’ll never forget. I was overcome with emotion and pride.

So people have asked me if I’ll be tackling the up run with him next year. Um… not a chance! The bug hasn’t bitten and I don’t think it ever will. The Comrades marathon is an enormous physical and emotional challenge which I’m so glad KK has conquered. But for now, I’m sticking to those half marathons thanks.