This time next week

By this time next week, it will all be over. The gun will be going off in a few minutes to signal the end of Comrades 2012.  I just hope I'm over that finish line by then!

My reason to finish

Tim Noakes gave a great talk last night during which he advised runners to spend the next 11 days finding a reason why you are running Comrades.  And when the road seems impossibly long and you think there may be a chance you don't finish this thing, you can come back to that reason, hang on to it and let it carry you to the finish.  So after the talk last night, I thought very carefully about what my reason was.  Yes, I have many reasons...I love running, Comrades is just the thing runners in South Africa do to prove to ourselves and other runners that we are in fact 'real' runners.  But there had to be another reason for me.  And suddenly I realised.  A few years ago, no one that knew me - including me- would ever have thought I could be a runner.  I was too into smoking, excessive drinking and other such things that are pretty bad for the body! My life was going in a very different direction...certainly no where near running or even having a remotely healthy mind or body.  And then one day, the One who gave me the ability to run, led my life in this very direction.  Through the people I met and the places I ended up, I suddenly became interested in running.  Nothing up until that point was enough motivation for me to change my lifestyle (and essentially my life).  Even my health driven, fitness freak running man had finally given up trying to get me to quit my bad habits.  And after two years of trying to encourage me to give running a try, I finally decided, what the hell? Why not? And from that day, my whole life gradually began to change.  Without even realising it, running became my main focus in life, and all the things that I thought were important, changed dramatically.  God gave me not only the ability to run, but also made it a way for me to change my life.  So when I'm 70km into the toughest race I'll probably ever run and I'm asking myself why I'm doing this- my answer will be simple- God gave me running and it changed my life in a big way...I will always run for Him!

Rest is best

Everyone who either runs or enjoys any form of exercise knows that telling you that you can't exercise or run, is asking a lot! A rest day once a week is one thing...I look forward to those! But not being able to run at all for most of the week...torture!  Even my doctor understands that! When I started feeling the symptoms of a cold on Monday I wasn't worried.  It was rest day and after a day of home remedies, I was sure I would be fine by Tuesday.  Which I was! Had a great run on Tuesday afternoon and was feeling good about this week of carefully planned tapering.  Plus, that sore throat was barely bothering me anymore.  Wednesday I wasn't so lucky and this cold seemed to have finally arrived in full force.  More self medication, one more rest day...surely I would be back on the road on Thursday? Wrong! Thursday I felt so ill I could hardly make it through the work day before rushing off to a last minute appointment at the doctor.  What a disaster! The cold symptoms were now out in full force and before I knew it I was on antibiotics, booked off work and instructed to rest.  In fact the doctor admitted that he knew how difficult it is for runners not to run, so he gave me the go ahead to run if I absolutely had to, provided I take it very easy and stop if I feel bad.  Despite this, and despite the fact that I was freaking out about not running with a little over two weeks til Comrades, I just couldn't run! I got straight into bed and pretty much rested right through til this morning.  In addition to feeling a little cabin feverish, it had now been 3 whole days of no running and I was starting to stress about Comrades.  Realistically I know that at this stage three days of rest won't do much to change my race..not when I've put eight months of hard work in! But still-I couldn't let it be 4 days! So this morning I decided to go out for a slow run, seeing as though the antibiotics seem to be clearing this cold away.  The run was slow and sluggish and I know it's because I'm still recovering and not because I've lost fitness in three days (as a runner, I can be a little irrational at times) but I felt terrible at the end.  So I've had to be mature and cancel all weekend plans, get back into bed and keep resting for another day.  Here's hoping it's all cleared up before 3 June!!!!!

23 Days

23 days til Comrades.  That is all.

The Looooong Run

No build up, no excitement, no supporters, no start line, no medal...just 60km on the road.  That's what the long club run is like.  On Friday, 27th April, while most South Africans were enjoying Freedom Day by turning off the week day alarm - my alarm, along with a few hundred other runners was set for much earlier than a normal working Friday.  Most clubs organise a 60km training run before Comrades as one last long run.  I opted to do the run of a different club, rather than my own for a few reasons.  Firstly I run for a fairly small club and only about 40 people take part in this particular long run.  However, my running man runs for one of the biggest clubs in the country and there are roughly 400 people that run their long run.  So in the fears of getting lost with such a small group of runners from my own club, I decided to go the safe route and stick with the crowds.  Also, while any 60km is good training, this particular long run is known to be one of the most difficult routes and therefore, perfect Comrades training.  So at 5:30am on a public holiday, I set off in the dark to run a long and what I had been warned would be a very boring, but extremely difficult 60km.  Everyone I had spoken to was right, it was long and it was tough, but it certainly wasn't boring.  Despite the fact that the route was missing all the supporters, vibe and excitement of my first Ultra Marathon, I really enjoyed it! Maybe its because I was running so slowly, maybe because I was running with a very experienced Comrades runner who had loads of good advice, or maybe it was just feeling as though the plan was coming together.  That after all these months of hard training, I could now run 60km (predominantly uphill) comfortably.  Whatever it was, it felt great!  It was a long morning on the road, but every step was worth it! My first thought when I had finished, was that Comrades is still an additional 29km-which is a very scary thought! But according to Comrades king Bruce Fordyce,a scared and intimidated Comrades runner is a successful Comrades runner.  And if that's the case, then hopefully I'll be successful come June 3.