I won’t lie, last week I completely lost my mojo! I didn’t run at all. Let’s just say Tuesdays excuse had to do with a “witch” at gym who stole my parking – the red mist descended, I lost my cool, she ignored me – and I left the gym completely deflated, ready to kill. And by the time I got home it was too dark to run… So I had a glass of wine instead…
Thursdays excuse was, well there wasn’t one. I just didn’t feel like it.
But these things happen. And then you go on a run that ignites the flame again and reminds you why you run in the first place. I ran the 10km Totalsports Womens Day race around Emmarentia yesterday. I wasn’t in a mood to be social yesterday morning (come to think of it I never am when running). And even though I started with Catherine, Lesley and Oliver, all I felt like doing was putting my iPod in and going. It seems we all had the same idea because we all ran alone.
It was a tough race but it was brilliant for my soul, I did a lot of reflecting on what’s been going on in my life of late - who, why, what and all that. It always amazes me that even though you might be running with 4000 other people around you and its tough, you’re tired, your feet are hurting, and the looming hill up ahead looks impossible – somehow your mind is crystal clear. It's in these times that I feel as if my soul is speaking to me, and not the other way around. Everything else is stripped down and I know exactly what I have to do.. Of course doing it is a completely different story!
But at least I think, I think, I hope.. I may have got my mojo back...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Needles, physio.... oh and did I mention needles?
Why is it always the third day or third week in any plan or diet or routine you might be following, that seems to jump right up and bite you in the ass? Week 1 is pukka, perfect, couldn’t be better, you feel on top of the world, stronger than ever. Week 2 is even better, you’re getting into this now and really felling focused. Then Week 3 roles round and hits you with something resembling the sentence “oh is it?”…
To elaborate, my Tuesday night run was superb. It was a comfortable 5kms, keeping my pace steady at 6.2mins/km, had Florence & the Machine blaring away in my iPod... Happy Days! But on Wednesday morning the suffering started! You see long story short, I suffer from really tight and painful shin splints. Last year my uber-fantastic physio discovered that my problem was coming from knots in my calves the size of melons plus my short Achilles tendons, all devilishly combining together to give me moer-of-a-sore shins! So on Wednesday I realized that it’s time to visit aforementioned physio for what seems - to me anyway - like minor surgery.
Imagine if you will, the most painful massage you’ve ever ever had, throw in about 6 acupuncture needles in each leg, ultra-sound and that ‘pins and needles’ machine, and that sums up my visit to uber-fantastic physio who now is not so uber cuase she made me cry!
Needless to say I didn’t run on Thursday (oh the pain!) nor did I run on the weekend, turning Week 3 into pretty much a sucky running week.
Good news is, week 4 has rolled around and my shins feel like new! I am going to give them a test run tonight with a 5kms Then just to make sure my focus doesn’t dwindle any more, I am diligently attending a talk in Edenvale tonight by apparent legendary Comrades Coach, John Hamlett..... Hmmm, I wonder if there'll be any red wine?
To elaborate, my Tuesday night run was superb. It was a comfortable 5kms, keeping my pace steady at 6.2mins/km, had Florence & the Machine blaring away in my iPod... Happy Days! But on Wednesday morning the suffering started! You see long story short, I suffer from really tight and painful shin splints. Last year my uber-fantastic physio discovered that my problem was coming from knots in my calves the size of melons plus my short Achilles tendons, all devilishly combining together to give me moer-of-a-sore shins! So on Wednesday I realized that it’s time to visit aforementioned physio for what seems - to me anyway - like minor surgery.
Imagine if you will, the most painful massage you’ve ever ever had, throw in about 6 acupuncture needles in each leg, ultra-sound and that ‘pins and needles’ machine, and that sums up my visit to uber-fantastic physio who now is not so uber cuase she made me cry!
Needless to say I didn’t run on Thursday (oh the pain!) nor did I run on the weekend, turning Week 3 into pretty much a sucky running week.
Good news is, week 4 has rolled around and my shins feel like new! I am going to give them a test run tonight with a 5kms Then just to make sure my focus doesn’t dwindle any more, I am diligently attending a talk in Edenvale tonight by apparent legendary Comrades Coach, John Hamlett..... Hmmm, I wonder if there'll be any red wine?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The wall and treadmill incident
The term “hit a wall” is one I’ve heard many a times in convos with seasoned runners, and more often read about in magazines, but I’ve never had the foggiest idea what it actually meant, until Sunday that is.
My fabulously fit and fast next door neighbour joined me on my 7km run on Sunday morning. The first 5kms were fantastic, I felt superb. And then, it literally was like I hit the proverbial wall. My muscles felt like they were made of lead and that they just didn’t want to work anymore. Being the stubborn Aries that I am, I kept saying just run it off Imo, just run it off! But then about a minute or so later, when my vision started going blurry and the road started to get awfully close to my face, I had no choice but to stop! All it took was a 300m walk and some deep breaths to get over it but man it was scary. We figured out that it must have been from not eating very well the night before or that morning for that matter – well that and the copious amount of red wine I might have had that weekend… But lesson learnt and now at least I know I guess…
So Tuesday rolled around and I thought I might enjoy a lovely calm, non-wall-hitting run. And if it hadn’t been for the fact that I happened to glance over at the runner on the treadmill next to me and see a guy I went out with once or twice - who then stopped calling, and now its weird - it really would have been great. I blushed – well would have if I wasn’t already blood red from the exercise - my stomach did a nauseating 180 flip, my fingers literally started to tingle too. I thought about glancing over and giving a casual nod in his direction, but I was sweating like a paedophile in a Barney suit and looking completely unpretty! So I decided to speed the hell up and get outta there. Luckily for me I did the fastest run ever, so I guess I should thank him actually after all.
Lessons learnt – eat properly before a long run, say no to that 7th glass of red vino if you want to run the next day and keep your cool on the treadmill so to speak.
Oh and t-minus 326 days and counting!
My fabulously fit and fast next door neighbour joined me on my 7km run on Sunday morning. The first 5kms were fantastic, I felt superb. And then, it literally was like I hit the proverbial wall. My muscles felt like they were made of lead and that they just didn’t want to work anymore. Being the stubborn Aries that I am, I kept saying just run it off Imo, just run it off! But then about a minute or so later, when my vision started going blurry and the road started to get awfully close to my face, I had no choice but to stop! All it took was a 300m walk and some deep breaths to get over it but man it was scary. We figured out that it must have been from not eating very well the night before or that morning for that matter – well that and the copious amount of red wine I might have had that weekend… But lesson learnt and now at least I know I guess…
So Tuesday rolled around and I thought I might enjoy a lovely calm, non-wall-hitting run. And if it hadn’t been for the fact that I happened to glance over at the runner on the treadmill next to me and see a guy I went out with once or twice - who then stopped calling, and now its weird - it really would have been great. I blushed – well would have if I wasn’t already blood red from the exercise - my stomach did a nauseating 180 flip, my fingers literally started to tingle too. I thought about glancing over and giving a casual nod in his direction, but I was sweating like a paedophile in a Barney suit and looking completely unpretty! So I decided to speed the hell up and get outta there. Luckily for me I did the fastest run ever, so I guess I should thank him actually after all.
Lessons learnt – eat properly before a long run, say no to that 7th glass of red vino if you want to run the next day and keep your cool on the treadmill so to speak.
Oh and t-minus 326 days and counting!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Day 1 of 333
It's a cold winter's afternoon in July 2010 and I am thinking about the funniest , wittiest and most interesting way to introduce this, my new blog! But hell, it's a blog about running! It's a blog about my personal challenge of training for the Comrades Marathon in 10 short months.. It's a blog about a complete novice non-runner trying to become an ultra-marathoner.. Funny, witty, I don't think so - this is the most serious (some might say stupid) thing I have ever done!
With that said, it's probably also going to be the best and most life-changing thing I have ever done too. So there, yin yang, good, bad.. get on with it..
The challenge is simple. Train for the Comrades - 89km of road that in 2011 will wind up from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.. I have my running partner Catherine at my side.. We are armed with a training schedule fresh from runnersworld magazine.. We have our nike+ ipod attachement thingys so we now how far we are going, and can listen to great music at the same time.. We are seemingly set!
In deciding to write this blog the movie Julie & Julia popped to mind.. My idea was for it to be a sort of replica of the movie, except we wont be making delicious Julia Child recipes over 365 days, but will instead be training for the hardest race of our lives over 333 days..
So far its 4km twice a week and one longer 6 - 8km run on a sunday.. This morning was Day One!... We ran through Emmarentia Dam in Linden, Johannesburg.. An oasis in the middle of the city, the one place I feel like I just could possibly be Forrest Gump running in the most beautiful places in the world..
It's the start of something beautiful I felt this morning.. It's the start of something so challenging I dont even think I know it yet.. Its the journey of a lifetime, and I hope you take it with me right here..
It will be one foot in front of the other.. every day, every km..
Imogen
xxx
With that said, it's probably also going to be the best and most life-changing thing I have ever done too. So there, yin yang, good, bad.. get on with it..
The challenge is simple. Train for the Comrades - 89km of road that in 2011 will wind up from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.. I have my running partner Catherine at my side.. We are armed with a training schedule fresh from runnersworld magazine.. We have our nike+ ipod attachement thingys so we now how far we are going, and can listen to great music at the same time.. We are seemingly set!
In deciding to write this blog the movie Julie & Julia popped to mind.. My idea was for it to be a sort of replica of the movie, except we wont be making delicious Julia Child recipes over 365 days, but will instead be training for the hardest race of our lives over 333 days..
So far its 4km twice a week and one longer 6 - 8km run on a sunday.. This morning was Day One!... We ran through Emmarentia Dam in Linden, Johannesburg.. An oasis in the middle of the city, the one place I feel like I just could possibly be Forrest Gump running in the most beautiful places in the world..
It's the start of something beautiful I felt this morning.. It's the start of something so challenging I dont even think I know it yet.. Its the journey of a lifetime, and I hope you take it with me right here..
It will be one foot in front of the other.. every day, every km..
Imogen
xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)