National Women’s Day

August 7, 2010 Cands No comments

As you all know I have raised some money in the past for breast cancer awareness and support groups in South Africa, so it was with surprise that the credit card I was speaking about yesterday, being offered to women by Standard Bank, will give you R10 000 if you happen to be diagnosed by any of the cancers which plague women of today.  I thought this was quite generous especially given that Monday is Woman’s Day, in commemoration of the 20,000 women who marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 – to protest against the ‘pass’ laws and amendments to the Urban Area’s Act.

As I have written about before, many women in South Africa either don’t have adequate access to health care or they are not educated about early detection of treatable diseases like breast cancer – so I do congratulate Standard Bank in at least making some effort in showing their support in this regard.  MyCard also offers 24-hour roadside assistance and access to doctors, councilors and therapists via a toll-free hotline AND (this is the one I really like) a handyman service for all those things which we would rather not do – like drilling and moving heavy things around.

I think it is about time that a product aimed specifically at women only is being introduced – it is also a fantastic branding exercise given that I (the target market) am completely sold on the product :)

National_Women_Day

Fund Raising, Reluctant runner

If I had R50 000 to spend…

August 6, 2010 Cands One comment

I have a little confession to make…  I am an absolute slave to competitions!  I will enter anything which involves winning money, travel, spa treatments – I don’t discriminate :)   So when I heard that Standard Bank was running a campaign for a new credit card, specifically for women (I was in the market for a new credit card anyway), I jumped at the opportunity because all successful applicants stand a chance of winning R50 000!!!

Of course now that I have applied I catch myself wondering what I’d spend the money on and as I’m sure you can all guess, it includes running somewhere new and exciting.  So this is what I would like to do, if I had the time and money to do it and who knows, perhaps by stating it it might come true…

There is a Pilgrimage which people do in Spain called El Camino de Santiago (Road to Santiago or St James’ Way).  The distance varies depending on where you start but the longest route is around 800km and if you walk, should take a month – I however, would like to run…  There would be a fair amount of planning involved although accommodation is usually very cheap or even free along the way.  Food can be bought in the various towns which the trail goes through and so all that needs to be carried is clothes and water.

Who would like to join me??  Where would you run if time and money wasn’t a limiting factor?

MyCard

Fund Raising, Reluctant runner

Comrades News

August 5, 2010 Cands One comment

It has just been confirmed that the guy who came third in the Comrades this year, Sergio Motsoeneng, has tested positive for a banned substance.  The Comrades Association only hands out medals and prize money (in this case R90 000) after all doping tests have been complete.  Sergio has been found guilty of cheating at the Comrades before when he had his brother run half the race for him in 1999.

If you want more information I’d suggest you read it at Hayibo.com – a South African news site which puts a funny (that’s haha and not weird) spin on breaking stories, helping us see the humour in the sometimes outrageous, sometimes scary and sometimes totally unbelievable events which can only come out of South Africa :)

Hayibo

Comrades Marathon, Reluctant runner

Barefoot Running Research

August 4, 2010 Cands 3 comments

I have spoken about running barefoot before, and the fact that I consciously try and alternate my running style from landing on my heel (as you normally run with shoes on) and running on my toes or forefoot (as you would naturally run barefoot).  So, I was quite pleased to find this video on YouTube which documents research which was done at Harvard University, on just this subject…  Have a look and let me know your take on this.

Reluctant runner, Research

Running and Wine Tasting

August 3, 2010 Cands One comment

The second run of the winter trail series I am busy cutting my teeth on, was at the Paul Cluver wine estate on Sunday.  The weather was just perfect as we set off into the mountains for one of the most beautiful runs I have done to date.  We had a rather nasty uphill to conquor, but the thing with trail running is that it is ok to walk!!  Nobody reminds you that it is a running race (common on road runs) and you don’t even feel the urge to get going – you just plod on with everyone else to the top of the hill.

I was lucky I didn’t faceplant on the path as I was gazing around once we got to the top, you could see right to the ocean on the one side and just green rolling hills on the other. After some pretty hair raising descents we were even treated to some rope sections – which means we had to hang onto ropes to get us down one of the ravines… Nothing too hectic but if the ropes weren’t there I think I would have been A LOT dirtier than what I was at the end.

My time was not amazing but at the end of the day I didn’t care and neither did anyone else, especially since there was wine tasting going on AND a special discount on any purchases made by the trail runners!!  I’m really starting to feel at home in this new world of trail running :)

Paul Cluver

Reluctant runner, Trail Running

Running Inspiration

July 28, 2010 Cands No comments

A friend of mine sent me this the other day and it has inspired me to think about planning my own little endurance race.  I’d probably not do something as crazy as running across the Sahara, but something which has a good mix of stamina, fun, endurance and excitement might actually be exactly what I can occupy my free time with…  Feel free to give me some ideas :)

Reluctant runner

I’m back!!!

July 26, 2010 Cands No comments

Yes, I took some time off running and blogging after the Comrades because let’s face it, we all know what it’s like when you are working towards something and it ends up taking over all your headspace -  you end up needing some time off from what you were working on and just taking a breather – which is what I’ve been doing.  No running and no writing about running, it’s been marvelous!!

Anyway I’m now back on the wagon because you do reach a stage where you miss whatever you were working on and want go back to it – or a variation thereof.   Since seconding my mom at the African X, I have been seriously reconsidering the world of trail running.  You might remember my first attempts at trail running which ended in me vowing never again to set foot on an un-paved path – but it just looks like so much fun so I decided to give it another shot…

To ease me back into it I signed up for the Montrail/Cape Storm trail running series again – the first of which was yesterday.  I managed to provoke, encourage and threaten a couple of my friends to do it too so my experience of the race was totally different to last year because I actually had people to run the whole way with.  I also put no pressure on myself to do the 10km route in an hour, like I’m used to on the road, which meant that we could walk the difficult bits and totally eliminated the stress.

I’m not going to trade my running shoes in just yet for trail shoes, but I’m pretty enthusiastic about my future in trail running – and it doesn’t even have anything to do with the fact that the average age of the trail running fraternity is roughly half that of road runners :)

Trail Series

Reluctant runner, Trail Running

Comrades 2010 – Race Dissection

June 2, 2010 Cands 7 comments

3:45am Sunday
My alarm goes off and I stagger out of bed to put my running kit on, have breakfast and prepare myself for the long day ahead.

5:15am
I’m standing in a crowd 23,000 people strong, along with Craig (my running partner from last year) and his mom Linda listening to Chariots of Fire and feeding off the energy only this many people can give off at the start of a race which is said to ‘define you’.

5:30am
The cannon goes off and it takes 10 minutes to get over the start line, this could be a problem considering that the race is timed from gun to gun, not on your actual time from your chip.

6:30am
I join the sub-11 hour bus and hang on,  looking for Craig who got lost in the mayhem at the start.   I happen to find Julie and we catch up on the last few weeks.

7:30am
I find Craig and we try to keep up with the sub-11 hour bus and fall off when we stop at my dad for food.  We decide to just take the race as it comes, enjoying the experience for what it is and not stressing about coming in at a certain time, other than just to finish within 12 hours – which we would have comfortably.

11:04am
We go through half-way.  We are tired and still seem to be running UP on a DOWN run…

12:00am
I lose my sense of humour and then get it back once the Myprodol kicks in.  Craig and Julie are going strong although also on the grumpy side.  The supporters help us along, screaming and shouting for us by name.

14:20pm
We are 18km from the end and the downhills are testing our quads and already dead tired legs.  We have picked up one of my team mates along the way who isn’t feeling great.  The sub-11 hour bus is nowhere to be seen.

15:40pm
We are 10km from the end and decide that we would like a bronze and not a copper medal so we need to do the last 10km in an hour.  All the literature says that you need 80min for the last 10km but we decide to push anyway.

16:00pm
We are running hard into Durban.  We see the first sub-11 hour bus and pass it.  We are going faster now than in any other time during the race.

16:20
We catch and pass the second sub-11 hour bus, the one we were meant to be on.  Before they  fill the road around a bend, we take them on the outside and zoom past -  into the last 2km of the race.  I’m feeling like my legs want to pop off, Julie wants to throw-up and Craig is just hell-bent on getting to the end before 11 hours.

16:40
We enter the stadium.  I get goosebumps from everyone screaming our names.  We cross the finish line at 10 hours and 52 minutes, hand-in-hand.  We ran the last 10km in 42 minutes – that is after we had run 79km!!  And again I am convinced that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.

I had an amazing time once again, thanks to Craig and Julie for sticking it out with me :)   I hope all of you that ran had a great run and enjoyed it for what it is – The Ultimate Human Challenge!!  Let me know how you did.

Comrades Marathon, Reluctant runner

My Comrades 2010 Running Plan

May 29, 2010 Cands No comments

My plan for every Comrades thus far has been simple – I just want to finish…  The first time I did it I started with my mom and then ended up running alone from about half-way, I had my iPod to keep me company but running alone can be tough.  Last year I had Craig and we ran in the sub-11 hour bus, it was MUCH better than running alone because Stuart our ‘bus driver’ was incredibly inspirational and kept up going, along with the fact that you feel part of a whole which makes it a bit easier when you are feeling tired and sore.

This year I will be joining the sub-11 hour bus again and I would advise all the novices out there who are already having sleepless nights, to stick to whichever bus is within your ability.  A group means you have support and the energy within each bus is easy to draw off of – that is of course besides the fact that you don’t have to worry about how fast or how slow you are going.  The bus will get you into the stadium and over the line in exactly what they advertise to do (ie if its the sub-11 hour bus they will get you in just before 11 hours and the same with the others).

Last year there were two sub-11 hour busses, I’m not sure what this year has in store for us but if I find out I will let you know here – and if you are in the sub-11 hour bus and you see a girl running in a skirt with pink socks, then say hi!!

Running BusPhoto Credit

Reluctant runner

Running your mind into submission

May 28, 2010 Cands No comments

In my post about the Psychology of Running I told you what I do in terms of keeping control of my mind and my thoughts during an endurance event like the Comrades Marathon.  I also said that I have a little energy exercise which I do when it feels like my wheels are about to fall off, and here it is…

Note: This may seem a bit airy-fairy and hippy but I use it all the time and it works like a charm!

The aim with this exercise is to draw on energy which is all around us, for our own use.  This energy is essentially ripe for the picking, we just need to access it and the easiest way is to think of those things which inspire us and make us happy.  The way I do this is through the recollection of incredible things which I have experienced.  The way our brain stores our memories is to attach an emotion to the event before it is filed away as a memory – so in recalling certain events you have the ability to experience the accompanying emotion along with it.

To start this exercise, I cast my mind back to every incredibly moment in my life, things like your first kiss (although for some of us that is WAY to far gone), your wedding day, the day your child was born, your first Comrades finish, travel – whatever makes you feel good and can feel a physical response to.

Then you need to imagine the emotion of those memories as light which collects in an inward spiral in your solar plexis or just below your ribs, basically where you would feel what we call ‘butterflies’ if you are nervous.  You  need to imagine these emotions coming together to form a ball of energy (I usually imagine it being white or pale yellow) which is so tightly bound that it is reflecting intense light outwards from the centre of your body.  Now you can feed off this ball of energy whenever you need to.  You will probably find that in this process you will feel the hairs raise on your arms and you might even get goosebumps without it being cold – I have had it where it even feels like my hair is raising off my head like there is intense static electricity nearby.

I do this exercise before I get up on race morning so that my ‘ball of energy’ is already there for me to draw on.  The nature of energy is that it never dissapears, it just changes form so if you feel like your ball of light is looking a bit dull then all you do is conjure up those memories again, even things which didn’t happen but you know would make you feel good if they did – like maybe being the first to run into the stadium at the Comrades, or helping someone who is battling accross the finish line, or kissing Brad Pitt (oh dear, did I just say that out loud?).

If you use this during the race on Sunday, let me know how it goes – I’d be really interested to see how it works in other people.

Running your mind into submissionPhoto Credit

Reluctant runner
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