Thursday, June 21, 2012

My Comrades 2012 Race Report

Alan, Ian and I attended the expo on Friday morning just to get our race packs and numbers. The t-shirt is a bright yellow and our race pack included the usual advertising pamphlets and a few sample product sachets, shampoo and conditioner samples and The Modern Athlete magazine.


We bumped into Bruce Fordyce at the Elite Runners collection point. (Alan because he is an Elite and me because I was a charity fundraiser).


We went back to the expo on Saturday morning for a more social visit. We have tea in the Green Number area and chat to whoever is there at the time. We also walked around looking at all the new products available. Nice and Fancy but Are they really necessary tools or just expensive toys?

There was also the usual physio massage stand with long queues, the charity stands selling their goodies to be worn on the day. I bumped into Caroline at the PinkDrive stand while we were both collecting our race packs as charity runners.


I got pink socks which I obviously couldn't wear on race day but might become my sleep socks. I also got a pink buff which I did wear on race day and will continue to wear - I do love my buffs! There was a packet of plastic thingies that we couldn't work out what they were until we saw the stand where people were explaining what they are and how to use them. Turns out that are thingies to "pin" your number onto your your vest "without the prick". I will attempt to use them this weekend and post about afterward.

After the expo, we drove to Pietermaritzburg and checked into our hotel. The hotel experience was not a good one and I have written a letter of complaint to the manager. He did reply, unsatisfactorily, telling me he is taking suitable action without actually telling me how he is making better on the breakfast charge of R135 for Comrades runners or fixing the key-card system that never worked.

We spent the rest of the day eating - a burger lunch at a nearby coffee shop followed by scones with jam and cream with Anne and then dinner at Ken and Margie with The Hurry's . A Delicious dessert of brownies and ice cream was served but I didn't eat it - couldn't risk a dodgy tummy on race day from rich foods that I don't usually eat before running. I will be going back sometime to get my share of the brownies! Around the dinner table, amongst 8 of us, all but one person (my husband) have run Comrades, with a total of 95 medals and 3 of us running this year.

Got back to the hotel and into bed by 9pm. Awake at 4am to get ready to walk to the start. (I slept fine but the noise from street downstairs kept Alan and Ian awake for most of the night). Plenty runners in the hotel foyer, apologies to those I didn't greet in my rush to get through.



We are fortunate enough to get VIP access so got a muffin and tea at the start. Thanks to Di and Dave for making special arrangements for us and making sure that Alan was well taken care of. It was quite an emotional morning for me be because my mom was such a big part of our Comrades experience. She would have been fussing over Alan and I, making sure we got something to eat and drink and keep comfortable and warm before we go to the pens.


Alan and I lined up together in the C seeding block so that we could at least start together. As I said previously, we crossed the start line together while Ian tried to take pictures of us passing. We then went our separate ways - Alan to run his just-over-5-minutes a kilometer and me to run/walk my 7 minutes/1 minute.


Quite a mess of plastic bags and long sleeve tops are left behind once all 14000 runners have made their way over the start mats.


The start was cold and windy for the first 20 kms. I threw my long sleeve top to one of the many people lining the roads especially to collect the discarded running wear, at about 10 kms. Bad move because the cold wind picked up and I was freezing right up until I met up with my support team at about 25kms. Norman, Nichola, Wendy, Ian, Gus and Kim were at Camperdown to offer me (and before me, Alan, Chris and Val) support, cheering and whatever I wanted but I didn't wants nothing except to see some friendly faces and to know that I had people watching for me. It offered something to look forward to and a certain comfort in knowing that they would help me out if I needed it. I saw Norman, Nichola and Wendy another two times, at Ashburton and at Cowies.



I was running ahead of schedule and feeling fine. I saw the support team again at Alverstone and they told me that Jafta, the bus driver with the tambourine had just come past and if I hurried, I could catch up and join his bus. Just in time because my watch went flat and so I needed somebody to do the thinking (pacing) for me. I had run with Jafta last year and knew I was comfortable with his pacing. I caught up with him leading his very large un-official bus within a kilometer. Jafta doesn't run with a flag displaying his finishing time, he runs with a tambourine to keep pacing and aims for "Comfortable Finish" (This was his 18th finish so he knows the way really well). I am not sure if he means comfortable in the sense of within the cut-off time of that we walks and run without straining too much. Either way, both worked for me.

I met up with Kerry whom I had run with last year and later in the day Francis joined us. I met John who amazed me by running with his mobile phone and regularly chatted to his wife or children. Time passes really quickly in good company, when you can zone out because you don't having to worry about your pacing and when you don't have a clue where you are. at my last supporter spot, I was told that Alan had finished in 8:33.


Ian was there to welcome him home a good 3 hours before my arrival, enough time for a shower and lunch and then handing out green numbers. In the meantime, I was still out on the road and thrilled that I had no problems with my foot or any other part of my body and I knew I was gonna finish!
I didn't enjoy the Durban finish as much as the 'Maritzburg finish but again, I was thrilled to finish - 8 minutes faster for 2 kilometers long was just a bonus.




Relief? Joy? I am not quite sure what I felt when I finished. The medals are a great reminder of what I am capable of!

The blisters are also a reminder that small things don't matter.


 Set yourself a goal and go for it. The reward is so worth it!!


4 comments:

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Comrades Marathon 2012

12 days have past since I completed my second Comrades Marathon, a distance of 89.28kms.

I crossed the finish line in a time of 11:36:45 - Almost 7 minutes faster than last years 'Up' run which was 2kms further.


The most remarkable thing about my finish was that I ran a total of just less than 700kms in the 5 months leading up to the race. This included the longest run of 42,2 kms. The suggested/recommended training (by veteran Comrades runners who really know what they are talking about) is a minimum of 1000kms which includes 2 long runs of about 60kms and 3 marathons!

I had also broken the second metatarsal on my left foot in early March and had done no running until April 24.

Based on the above, I was told by many people that I shouldn't even go to the race, never mind actually line up!

But, I figured that I in the six weeks that I had available to me, from starting running again until race day, I could train to run a marathon and therefore could make it to half way at Comrades. I would be happy with this to still be part of the experience and not 'waste' the donations I had raised for PinkDrive. Someone then mentioned that if I make it to 60kms, the rest is dependent on my mind and not my body and it's previous training. So, I thought that I would re-assess when I got to halfway, and if I was ahead of the cut-off and feeling fine, I would run to 60kms and then see how I was feeling. 12 days before the start of the race I started believing that I could actually finish the whole race!

8 days before the race, tragedy struck. My mother, Merle Robb, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. She died in her peacefully in her sleep at home with her husband. Days melt into one another, but at some stage my dad and I decided we would still go down to Durban and run (my dad would be running his 39th consecutive Comrades). We held a beautiful memorial service for my mom on the Thursday and early Friday morning we flew to Durban for Sunday's race.

My dad and I started the race together - he had Elite seeding so could go into C seeding with me. We ran a couple of hundred meters past the start mat and then he left me in his dust.

He had a good run, finishing 8:34:08, perfectly within his target of 8:30!

I exceeded my own expectations and am thrilled to have got my second Vic Clapham medal and my Back-to-Back medal.


It was a bittersweet run for me and a clear demonstration of the power of my mind.

I couldn't have done it alone and I am truly grateful to all those that supported me in training, treatment and positive belief before the race, in love during the week of my moms passing and the encouraging support I had along the road by seconds and fellow runners. Thank you all!!

Congrats to Val and Chris who ran their first Comrades in true style!

I will write a detailed race report in the next couple of days.

 

4 comments:

Friday, May 25, 2012

9 Days and Counting

I haven't posted in a long while - time flies when you are training.

I have been enjoying early-morning training, working at my mornings-only-office-job, driving children from school and other activities, taking a weekly WeightWatchers class, seeing coaching clients, hosting Sh'zen spa parties, cooking, baking, eating and a whole lot more. There is a whole lot of stuff going on and I have been heard to say that my morning job is interfering in my real life. I haven't time to have coffee with friends and haven't made anything with my pewter. The good thing about my job is that we can almost afford the tickets for Ian and our girls to visit Greece for two weeks next month.

Today marks 9 more sleeps until C-DAY!

I have spent the last month training which culminated in a half marathon race followed, a week later, by a 26km training run with Ian. These are the longest distances that I have run since my marathon in early march. Now to go to 90kms?

I have run 183.2 kms in 21:50 hours at an average pace of 7:09 in the last 30 days. (Information made available by Dear Norman who has monitored my runs on a daily basis and has updated my training schedule on a spreadsheet with a motivating comment/snippet of information and my Comrades finishing time based on the pace of the day.) I would not have known when to run, what to run and sometimes even where to run if Norman hadn't stepped in to be "My Coach". The most important role that he has played is to lead me to believe that "I might well finish this race after all". THANK YOU NORMAN!

I have run almost all my training runs with Ian. The few that I have been alone have been because he has been at gym, doing a Pilates class with Alex. I am very grateful to have had the company, especially in the cold, dark mornings this last month. This time last year, I was doing all my training on my own while he stayed warm in bed. THANK YOU IAN!

I have seen Tarryn for LynoSport a number of times and it has helped my recovery immensely. I am now able to hold all my bunkies for 30 seconds and I have no niggles or twitches. The pain of 'rubbies' has been worth it. THANKS TARRYN.

Thanks also to all those that have shown interest and concern in my training. I am now as ready as I am ever going to be. If you would like to follow my progress on race day, you can SMS my race number 21249 to 31832 and you will receive 5 messages on the day.

This time next week I will be in Umhlanga KZN having been to the Comrades Expo to collect my race number and have a look around. I will be resting up in my hotel room over looking the sea!

I only have 6 more runs to enjoy, lots of mental prep to wrap my head around and a very important race-bag to pack. It's going to be a long week. Enjoy yours













5 comments:

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

PinkDrive Winner

Thank you to all my generous friends and family for donating to my PinkDrive Race4Charity.

I have exceeded my R5000 target and raised R5500 and it couldn't have happened without your kindness and I am truly grateful and PinkDrive thank you too.

 

As promised at the beginning of my campaign, I am doing a random draw of all the people who contributed to win a prize from the PinkDrive shop. I entered all the names of the people who contributed (21 in total) in the order that the funds were received by PinkDriveinto a random list generator and then I got Dear Zoe to press the RANDOMIZE button.




The winner is Karen Henry! Well done Karen!! Thank you for your donation, I will be mailing you your gift soon - ish.


Thanks again to all that who contributed. I will be lining up for Comrades 2012 on June 3rd and running with all of you in my heart!

 

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Monday, April 23, 2012

I did RUN

I don't remember when, if ever, I have been as excited and apprehensive to run as I was on Saturday.

I had two more Lynosport sessions with Tarryn last week and I am strong all round (measuring strength of fascia lines using the bunkie). During both sessions she did some intense rubbing on my calves and that seemed to make the world of difference to my walking without pain and without a roll in my ankle. I also learned why running on a treadmill isn't beneficial for a road runner (a basic explaination is that opposite fascia lines are used on road vs treadmill).

So, with complete rest since running for 20 minutes and covering 2.2 Kms on the gym treadmill last Sunday, I was very anxious for my first road run in almost 7 weeks! I dressed in my skort and a long sleeved race t-shirt, put my sandals on and hit the road for my old routine, but this time on my own and not as early as i used to out. I figured 3 kms would be a good tryout and I ran to the high school and back. My foot was sore in the area of the break and I can't realistically expect it not to be. Tarryn said I need to work the foot so that the muscles, tendons and ligaments don't get tight but not too much that the bones are disturbed while they are still repairing. I took my sandals off for the last 700m, a smooth section of the road and my feet felt fine considering there has been no outdoor barefoot activity in a long while.

It felt so good to be back running!! But, my foot is still healing and I have to take it slow (way slower than suits me) but I am being an obedient (to my therapists and my body) girl so as not to cause any long term damage. I will try one day running, one day resting but it is a plan not set-in-stone. I really have to take it as it comes with a general goal of a half marathon in mind.

I entered the Kwai Challenge many months ago and I am hoping that I will be okay to run/walk the half marathon by Sunday May 13. This Friday is the RAC 60km long run which I would've been doing again this year but this time I will be going to assist/watch/cheer my dad and a few other friends who are taking part.

Have a happy running week and pleased come back on Wednesday to see who has won my PinkDrive giveaway.

4 comments:

Friday, April 13, 2012

Injury Update

Congrats to Karen, running her first Ultra marathon last weekend. The Two Oceans was run in horrific, wet and cold conditions and she completed the race in a respectable time of 6:41. Well done!

Norman walked the half marathon in equally horrid conditions and finished in 2:56. Well done!

Well done to Shaun, Paula and Kim who also did the various races.


On Wednesday afternoon I went for my first lynotherapy session with Tarryn. She was fantastic! I felt comfortable in her abilities and I was quite taken with her enthusiasm and belief in lynotherapy. She believes we can fix my imbalance and get me back on the road sooner rather than later.

I gave a comprehensive history of my sporting activities before changing into hideous sports shorts. She took me thru quite a few stretch tests to establish my flexibility, all of which I passed. She said she already had an idea which fascia line wasn't functioning well but we did the bunkie test to be sure.

This bunkie test shows up weakness in the medial stabilizing line, and I failed it right out. I could set myself up on my right elbow and place my left foot on the bankie but I could not lift up my right leg at all. Tarryn laughed and I was horrified. I thought it was a trick and I immediately rolled onto my left side to attempt the same test. I could do it easily! For sure my left side was weak. We did no other tests.

I was then placed onto the massage bed and rubbed hard. This is the part that I wasn't expecting. Tarryn said I must tell her when it feels burning or hot. It felt uncomfortable initially but the more she rubbed the more painful it got. She rubbed the inside of my ankle, on my shin and my inner thigh. All were sore and I now have a bruise on my inner thigh and my ankle is swollen. (I am sure Tracey purposely forgot to tell me of the pain involved in the treatment.)

After the rubbing, Tarryn tested me for temporary wedges to balance my gait. I was then given two little bits of yellow pages to wear in my shoe, one under the bone just behind my big toe and one under the arch.

I was sent off to walk/run to integrate the muscle changes that she had made. I also had a follow up appointment for Friday afternoon.

I went to the gym and managed 20 minutes on the the treadmill and covered 2 kilometers walking and running. My foot wasn't sore while I was doing it but I was walking with a limp when I walked off to my Pilates Class. It was also slightly swollen and I had a dull headache when I finished at the gym.

The following day I also had a headache, for which I took a tablet. I was walking with my wedges in my shoes all day and managed a little more running than walking on the treadmill and covered almost 2.5 kms in the same 20 minutes. I wasn't limping as badly and had a good Pilates class afterward.

This morning I have woken up with a dull headache again. Not bad enough to warrant a tablet but it got me thinking that it could be related to the wedges. The wedge under the arch of my foot was also feeling "hot" so I have taken it out. I will just wear the one behind my big toe for the rest of the day, until I see Tarryn later today. Here's holding thumbs for successful treatment.

I have a friend running his Comrades qualifying marathon this Sunday and another running to improve her Comrades seeding. "Happy Running Gus and Val". Ian, Norman and Isaac taking part in the half marathon - "Have a great one. 2:05 for you Ian"

Happy running to you all!

 

4 comments:

Thursday, April 5, 2012

It's Easter already

It's quite hard to focus on what I have done rather than what I haven't done. I have missed two races, entered and had a number for. I have missed more than 300 kms in training thru March and am down by more than 500 kms in my year-to-date of training. My training is nowhere near what it should be in order to complete The Comrades Marathon, all 89kms, which is taking place in only 59 days.

I had a couple of tough decisions to make last week and I decided to a) not give my Comrades entry away and 2) I will line up and run to (at least) half way and be part of the experience and put value to the kind donations given to Pinkdrive.

In the meantime, I have had an X-ray and my left, second metatarsal is fractured. It is aligned and healing well. I will continue to not-run and keep up with my TI swimming, running in the pool and Pilates for at least the next 10 days. I am walking better, can wear regular shoes again and can take a little pressure on the ball of my foot while running in water. I am going to see a lynosport therapist at the suggestion of one reader.

I plan on starting a gentle run/walk program from Sunday 15th which will give me 7 weeks to train toward a marathon (halfway point of Comrades).

I will be missing the Randburg Harriers Easter 100km aka "The Poor Man's Two Oceans" taking place this weekend. I ran the Sunday portion last year, in the cold and rain. Wishing those taking part, happy running.

Two Oceans is also happening this weekend, in Cape Town. My best wishes go out to Karen, doing her first ultra - "slow and steady girl, you'll have a blast and finish well." and, to Norman, "Happy walking, your ankle will be fine and you'll be done in time". To all those from Morningside Runners - "Have a fantastic weekend, make yourselves proud." to everyone else taking part in the trail, the half or the ultra, Have a great run!


To you, wherever you may be running, happy running and a Happy Easter or Pesach to you and your families.

 

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