How to irritate a runner

This weekend I joined the rest of Joburg and went to watch Kings of Leon at Soccer City.  Needless to say I decided not to run a race on Sunday morning, but rather to stay in bed and enjoy a lazy day of no exercise.  So when I heard about the Hunters Half Marathon on Saturday in Pretoria, I figured it would be the perfect chance to make up my mileage with a long run that I otherwise would have missed this week.  My running partner and her brother got on board with the idea and so we all set our alarms for 4 am, grabbed the GPS and made our way to Pretoria in the early hours of Saturday morning.  As we set off in the dark, there were a few moans and groans about getting up so early and driving so far just to run! But as we got closer and the sky got lighter we all woke up a bit and got excited to start the race, which promised to be a fast and easy course. It looked a bit like rain but thankfully the weather held out and we didn't have to worry about that.  Just as well, because there  were enough other problems during the race to get our blood boiling! The start was very congested and it took a long while before we were able to start running comfortably.  This is an issue in many races though, so while it was annoying, that's not quite what made us so upset.  The first 7km of the race went by without any hassles, but as the runners reached what should have been the 8km mark, we started noticing that there was a mistake and the marker told us that we had already run 10km.  From that point on, right to the very end of the course, each marker was 2km out.  It became the topic of conversation among the runners for the duration of the race and every one seemed pretty upset.  Well, I spent the first 5km after the mistake being highly pissed off that I had gotten up at 4am just to run 19km!  But then as I got more and more tired as the race continued, I started feeling quite relieved that it would be 2km short! So for the next 5km I felt great! I was tired and I would only have to run another 1km! Of course by the time the last marker - the 20km marker - appeared, my Garmin told me I had run 18km, but I didn't care anymore.  I just wanted to blitz through that last km and go home. However, as I continued to run and as my watch counted down the meters towards 19km, I came to a shocking realisation that 19km in fact would not be the end of this race! I couldn't see the end and the runners up ahead didn't seem to be turning off to any finish line just yet.  So I kept running....and running and running! In the end, after I had mentally prepared myself for a short race, we ran almost 3km between the false 20km mark and the finish. By the time I finally entered the sports grounds, I was so irritated that I didn't even care that I had done a good time! At least I had a Garmin watch! I felt even more sorry for those runners who had no idea of what was going on, just a thought that things were seriously wrong! Passing the fake 20km mark, many runners were shocked at their time and were excited and convinced that they would run a miraculous PB, only to be severely disappointed when they were still on their feet 2km later and the PB slowly became a distant memory! Now that's enough to upset any runner!

There's no pleasing a runner

A heat wave has struck Johannesburg! For the past week the temperatures have reached well into the 30's.  It has been unbearably hot on some days..(especially when you are stuck in a (non air conditioned) classroom with 37 pre-teens who think its cool to keep their jerseys on all day!) Needles to say, this makes running fairly tricky.  While in Summer it's accepted that we need to leave the house later than usual for evening runs so as to avoid the heat of the day, its preferable that we don't run in the dark...particularly if you're a small, defenseless and not very fast runner, like me! But when it's still 29 degrees at 17:00, a long run becomes quite a struggle.  So the general consensus at our weekly Time Trial this evening, was that it's just been too hot to run much this week, hence a low mileage week pretty much all round.  Of course, being typically Joburg weather, we can probably expect a few thunderstorms in the next couple of days.  And you can be sure we'll complain about that too.  When it's too hot, we can't run.  When it's too cold, we don't want to run.  When it's raining, we're just not motivated enough to run.  So when exactly are we satisfied with the weather? It can't be a perfect 18 degrees for every run!  Well, you'll find even in the bad weather conditions (bar a few) we'll lace up our running shoes, take a hat and stay hydrated or run in a wind or rain protector.  Oh yes, we'll get out that door and do our necessary training...but there's going to be much complaining after that run! Because lets face it, if we weren't complaining about the weather or something else, what else would we discuss for an hour after every run!

The Carnival City Curse

On the 17 October 2010 I set out to Carnival City Casino to run what I thought was going to be an easy and enjoyable race.  A few weeks before, I had broken the 2hour barrier for a half marathon for the first time on a fairly difficult course.  When I heard about the fast and flat race at Carnival City, I was eager to see what I time I could do there.  Unfortunately, my running man and I had a particularly bad start to the morning (lets face it, waking up at 4:30am on a Sunday morning to drive to Brakpan, never qualifies as a good morning, but this one was worse than usual).  For starters, we woke up late and it was proving to be quite a struggle to get above mentioned man up! Being grumpy and tired we had a silent argument for the duration of the drive there.  I was angry and upset and to make things worse, we were late! I had to sprint through the casino (where there was a surprising number of people playing Roulette at that time of the morning!) to get an entry, rush for a bathroom break and I only reached the start just as the gun went off.  By this stage I was so anxious and yes, typically emotional, that I couldn't even think about the mammoth task ahead of me (because a year ago a 21.1km was still a pretty mammoth task!).  The race went by with many tears and sighs along the way.  To add to my drama there were unnaturally strong winds blowing the whole morning, making my journey that much more unpleasant.  Despite everything, I finished the race in under 2hours.  As I crossed the finish line, I sobbed into my running mans chest - which of course he couldn't understand as the earlier argument was already a distant memory in his mind.  In the year that followed I always looked back on that day as one of the worst races I've ever done.

This year, I was determined to make a better day of the dreaded Carnival City race.  Unfortunately, the morning didn't start out too well again! First, my running man couldn't find his race kit and by the time he decided to wear something else, it seemed as though we would be late for the second year in a row.  Next, the GPS was being more of a hindrance than a help and we got slightly lost.  With about 25minutes to the start and no sight of Carnival City, I decided that this race was just never going to be a good one for me.  But somehow, in those last few minutes, we managed to find the Casino, get entries, make a bathroom  stop and push our way to the front of the field...with time to spare!  The only other thing that could ruin this race for me now was the weather.  No wind at all, but at 7am when the gun went off, it was already extremely hot! All runners had to be careful to stay hydrated and preserve energy as the temperature climbed to 30 degrees.  As the race went on, I started to enjoy the morning and despite the heat, I finished in a PB of 1:44! I will no longer pull my face when someone mentions Carnival City, I have a new, better memory of it now and the curse is officially broken!

Garmin Forerunner 110...a girls best friend!

My running partner and I often joke about still being on the shelf.  We both happen to be in long term relationships though we both still have very empty ring fingers! One thing that we do both have though, courtesy of our respective running men, is a fab, pink and grey Garmin watch.  When I first started running, my running man bought me a Polar watch which came with a heart rate monitor.  It didn't measure distance or pace, but time and heart rate was all I needed as a new runner.  He said to me at the time that if I was still running in a year, he would buy me a GPS watch.  I didn't think much of it then (probably hardly believing that I was running at all, never mind still be running in a year!).  But a year passed and I had started taking this running thing pretty seriously.  So as promised, I received my favourite birthday present to date! My Garmin watch goes with me on every run, be it 5km, or 42km! It tells me how far I've run, for how long I've been running and what pace I'm running at. A few months later, my running partner had a birthday and after much not so subtle hinting, she was thrilled to find that her own running man had bought her one too.  So now we are both proud owners of a Garmin Forerunner 110.  We flash them around at races more than any girl probably flashes a diamond and even after months of having them, we still get excited when they miraculously pick up satellites at the push of a button! So while these men may be useless at some things, they managed to get a pretty big something right...buying us the best present any runner could ask for.  Next step...a diamond running watch????

Rugby vs Spar Ladies

Every year, Spar organizes a series of  races for women in various parts of the country.   I started taking part in the Spar Ladies 10km challenge in 2009...when I was very unfit! But it's a great race and the field is made up of thousands of female runners and the occasional male runner...in drag! (All part of the rules) Last year, my running man joined in the fun by slipping into one of my dresses (that I can no longer wear due to it being horribly stretched out!) and a wig.  Despite his uncomfortable outfit, he was still stopped along with the rest of the leading men, just before the finish, allowing the female runners to finish before them. It's only fair since it is a race for women after all.  Once all the top ladies were in, the men were allowed to continue over the finish line.  This year, the race unfortunately fell on the same day as the Rugby World Cup quarter final - SA vs Australia.  So needless to say the field saw far fewer dressed up men this year than ever before! I must admit I was in two minds about whether or not to participate in the race this year, or to join the bulk of South Africans in watching the important game.  I opted for the race and it was just as well! I asked the first person I saw at the end of the race and was informed that SA had lost the game.  So while the rest of SA is pretty depressed about the outcome of the rugby, I am left with a natural high after a good run.  Good choice!

32631

It took a while, but I have finally received confirmation that my entry for Comrades has been processed.  Of course I am yet to qualify for the race which means I have to run a standard marathon in under 5 hours.  Luckily this is not particularly difficult, provided the correct amount of training gets done.  The hard part is doing the best possible qualifying time so as to secure a place in a good seeding pen come race day.  For an average novice runner like me, the best I can hope for is a sub 4 hour marathon which should get me into the D pen (I think).  To date, my best marathon time is 4:08 (yes, I know I've only run two) and at this point, taking another nine minutes off that seems almost impossible.  But that's the plan.  If I don't manage to do that, then I'll be stuck in the E seeding pen which will put me pretty far back in the field, meaning I'll lose quite a lot of time at the start. And when you have absolutely no idea what to expect or how bad the pain is going to be after about 70+ km, you need all the time you can get...just in case things go pear shaped! There are still 239 days left before Comrades however, which means there will be plenty of time to worry about these things later.  For now, my entry is in, my number is 32631 and there are 9202 other crazy people who have also entered this thing.  Good to know I'm not alone!