I STARTED RUNNING AGAIN... WELL SORT OF.

It all started when we arrived in Florida and the guilt from not running for a month started eating away at me. Literally would have been lovely as it would have gotten rid of those lovely extra kilo's i've been carry consisting of cider, ribs and some interesting take on biltong only the Americans can do, called Jerky. But no, literally was not to be, rather more mentally as I was starting to feel very unfit and rather heavy. So I signed up for a 5km charity run and thought the best way to deal with this guilt would be to tackle it head on by making this 5km run a personal time trial. No easing back into it, no leisurely pace... light a fire cracker and run. Whilst this in not necessarily a very bad idea, it turns out it was maybe not the greatest considering only the day before I had  been given a flu shot, a tetnis injection, a TB jab and had copious amounts of my blood removed from my body (only to be replaced by numerous pints of cider) all in the name of immigration.

So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up the day of the run, with the flu! And possibly TB and lock jaw, but who's to say. And to add insult to injury and an already bruised and battered body,  faithful Mother Nature had made sure it was a perfect Florida winter's day. A cool 75 degrees fahrenheit with as little possible respite in the form of a breeze as possible! At this point, my confidence in the fact that surely I can run 5kms, had disappeared. Along with any possibility of escaping the madness as I was already standing in the 25 line deep masses to begin.

An interesting fact to note quickly before I continue my tirade is, that in America before each race they actually semi seed you into groups. 5 minute milers (WTF) up ahead and so on. So carefully placed at the back of the bunch, already losing half my body weight in fluid, we began! AAAHHH! seriously, what have I done!!! It's boiling, my limbs feel like lead and the small amount of oxygen I may be able to inhale is being used to try and rid my system of the germs given to me the previous day. Not good when you're trying to set a pace for a time trial! To say it was an uncomfortable run would be to compare having an anvil dropped on your head as having a mild headache. It was torture! But I suppose time trials usually are!

24 minutes and 33 seconds later I found a little peice of heaven. The finish line, some juice and a small patch of grass I could lie and write my last will and testament (assuming I could open my eyes).  It was over, and by george I have never been so happy to see the end of a run. You know your fitness has taken an island holiday millions if miles away from you when 5kms becomes your conquering Mount Everest. However, slowly but surely I regained my personality and blood supply to all limbs and smiled. At least I finished in under 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure my running family would have disowned me if this wasn't the case :-)

As it turns out, finishing wasn't even the best part. I won a prize. I know, I also fell over when I heard... but it's true. It true American style, I was awarded a 3rd place win for my age group, and the leader was only 8 seconds in front of me! And the prize... A Pint Glass! I'm starting to like America more and more!  So with my new found love of winning... I mean running... I have studeously kept up the training thus far and even thrown in a bit of cycling for good measure. (Yes, Thunder, our building does have one of those bikes you can sit on and read your book). But hey... it's a start!

THE BEGINNING OF LASTS...

Arg, so I ran a half marathon this weekend! Believe me, I am asking myself the same question too, why? Originally it seemed like quite a good idea as it was going to be my last time on the trot with my running club and we had grand ideas of pulling off a mass finish amidst a flurry of cheers as we crossed the finish line to the glorious notes of Chariots of Fire! NO. There was fire, just not in the graceful sense originally envisioned. My lungs (which I now know have not fully recovered from my lovely bought of death flu) bypassed the “Let’s ache a little so she knows what she’s doing to us” and went straight for the “If you don’t refrain from this insane sport of yours immediately we will be forced to burst into flames and evacuate your chest cavity forth with!” Ouch would be a euphemism. Bother this really hurts would be a euphemism. To say I was cursing like a sailor… yip, euphemism too! And to add insult to injury, it was lashing rain. Internal inferno and external hypothermia… I know, I couldn’t imagine why someone would do it either! However, having said all of the above (as friends and family can attest I always do), it was bleeding marvelous! Thunder put it into perspective:

Thunder Struck: Why you walking like a penguin?
Me: Ran a half marathon this morning.
TS: Why?
Me: Was the last run with the running family.
TS: So you thought you would ease back into running after a 4 week break and pneumonia with a 21km run in the rain?
ME: Pretty much!
TS: Riiiiiiighttttt…

I do have a tendency to rush back into running because a) I really like it b) it’s the guilt for not having done it for so long and c) there’s usually a group breakfast involving pancakes which just cannot be missed! And whilst I do like to complain and over exaggerate the weather conditions (I swear we were in a hurricane with flying cows everywhere), I love the runs and the crowd and the scenery and am going to miss everything so much when we leave. When you suddenly realize you are doing something for the last time, it becomes something bigger than itself and very important to you. Am whist I’m not going to bore you with the nerves and stories of me counting all “my lasts” in SA, I am going to say a big thank you to my wonderful running family for being there for that last and for supporting me always.

Thank you guys!

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Okay, so it’s official, all the talking about it and moaning about it and saying, phew, that’s miles away… is now right here. World cup is in 12 days! Which means, the completion of my most hectic, biggest, most amazing, frightening, enlightening and time consuming installation is due to be complete in 10 days! AAAHHH! I have completely by-passed the notion of panic and headed directly for the real of “What the F*CK!”. Breathing, thinking and actually planning and fulfilling those plans have become a fantasy that I can only dream about, Real life has hit like a ton of bricks and boy does it not give a giant shit about planning! The paperwork involved in organising something of this magnitude is tantamount to chopping down The Amazon, 5 times. Not withstanding the carbon emissions used to actually make the tree’s paper to be printed on and then, obviously THROWN AWAY. Does now one know how to read anymore!!!! Seriously!

Anyway, the point is I am now officially in for The Big Snmoke for 2 weeks. 2 weeks Peeps… 2 cold weeks of unpacking boxes, fixing skirting chips, re-wiring electrical points, making nice with suppliers and putting lavedar bags on pillows. It’s that time, finally… and boy am I EXCITED!!! In just 10 days time we will get to look back on this finished product and think “We did this!”. And not only did we do it, we completed a 6 month renovation and interior design spectacle in 9 weeks! Woo hoo! I’m going to be running around like a headless chicken for the next few weeks, excuse the lack of communication but I promise the pictures will be worth waiting for.

Happy Monday Peeps!

Oh, and BTW, for all of those who do not know, the Comrades was yesterday and my Running Family was superb. Well done to SuperMom, Running Mom, Adventure Queen, Sonic Hater and Eye Candy! I am so proud of you guys! SO PROUD!!!

PHEW!

Say it with me… Crisis Peeps, It’s Friday! Whoop whoop!

We made it. The disastrous nasty little week is over and we’re all heading for a weekend of fun fun fun. Thunder I know can barely keep her excitement in check because it’s GP weekend. (GP stands for Grand Prix for all those not in the know – including moi!). The Chef is pretty much in the same state as the Sharks and Stormers are fighting to the death on Sat (Go Stormers!) and I’m bouncing off the walls because a) I survived my first week back from leave and b) running a half marathon on Sunday where as opposed to a medal, you get a real live miniature tree! And c) have mothers day breakfast with the running family and mothers day lunch with the real family… so it’s a gastronomic fest all round!

I’m also due to fit some shopping in, some polite and elegant dinner conversation and sleep (bottom of the priority list at the moment!). Pint Size and Relax with Dax are coming round for dinner tonight to elaborate on the delectable qualities of wine cultivar and everything else that goes with those delicious fermented grapes we enjoy so much. Thunder and The Barman and joining the dinner on the basis that, although we don’t know how to talk about the wines, we certainly know how to consume them! And as is becoming to wonderful trend in my house, The Chef will be cooking for us all!

So a big cheers to everyone for this weekend ahead! And Happy Mothers day to all the mom’s out there who make our lives so special!

THANK YOU!!!

I’m off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Auz… except that I’m not seeing a Wizard or going to Auz, but I am off! Yip, I have been given the green light to fly to London tomorrow night for the epic adventure that is the London Marathon, hours of drinking champagne and chatting to girlfriends and a number of hundred pounds spent on buying clothes. Whooppeee!!!

I shall be leaving behind a plethora of work which will be studiously ignored in favour of the above, a seemingly excited Chef (excited to see me leave, or excited for me I have yet to figure out!) and a gaggle of ladies who I promise to spoil on my return! What I will be going to is another gaggle of ladies, congested tubes, £4 coffee and indecisive weather… THE EXCITEMENT IS MAMMOTH!!!

I want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who sponsored my charity. Thank you to The Globe Trotter, The Grandmother, The Parentals, The Parentals Friends, SuperMom, The Adventure Queen, The GBF, The Old Boss, 2IC, The Cousin, The Rider (soon becoming a runner), One Half of The Boys, Pop Tart, Thunder Struck, The Chef, The Barman, Running Mom, Pint Size, Glass And A Half, My JHB Partner in Crime, Sonic Hater, The Consistent One, Mr Lumps and Bazza! You guys are amazing, all the support and encouragement has been incredible!

Farewell All, Running Family no injuries please!

Mwah xxx

LETTERS

Right, so I’ve officially had a few days to recover/think about what exactly happened on Saturday 3rd April 2010 and a few letters have sprung to mind:

Dear Dancing Gorilla,

While your dancing skills and hip thrusting movements are certainly something for the record books, I feel their skills should be used in a more appropriate environment. While putting a smile on my face up Chappies was much appreciated, the resulting drop, tuck and roll (or un-ladylike lack thereof) was not exactly what I was counting on! Your enthusiasm on making sure my executive shuffle kept in pace with the background tunes could indeed have been matched by your unhelpful nature of peeling my now embarrassed and bloody body of the tar. My resulting race was therefore somewhat hindered by the complete annihilation of my right knee cap and I’m pretty sure all the runners behind me (thankfully there were still some at this stage) were not so enamored at the little trickles of blood finding there way off my elbow and into the resulting breeze.

I have included some photographs for your information. While I’m sure viewing the fall was a very humorous event, the resulting bodily injuries are making no-one laugh and thus I request that you maybe take your fabulous skills to the finish line/zoo where a smile at this point is a very very welcome surprise indeed.

Yours in agony,
Crazii

Next Letter:

Dear Body,

You are amazing! Not only have I abused you during the last few months, but come race day you had to contend with my crazii brain announcing that should you, in any way decided you cannot finish the race, tough shit. So I must thank you dear kneecaps, ankles, elbows and hips for taking full advantage of the 3 myprodols readily consumed after the above mentioned fall and floating me the remaining 26kms to what can only be called a first and last finish experience for me.

First for obvious reasons, and last only because of the style in which I finished. I will most certainly be doing the race again, I just shall not be finishing in the manner in which I did on Sat. SuperMom put it the best “You finished in true style Ballerina (she calls me Ballerina), with a pirouette and a puke". Yip, it’s true. But I finished and in under 6 hours and it’s all because of you. So thank you dear Body, you are amazing.

Yours in admiration,
Crazii

Second last letter:

Dear Brain,

You are stubborn, this we know. However I do believe you had a moment of epiphany on Saturday with regards to your Comrades aspirations. The continuous reminder that one should not complete a Comrades Marathon before the age of 30 was somewhat of a mysterious concept to you, until I believe you met Constantia Nek. It was at this point you suddenly fully appreciate the concept of memory. Running memory on your legs. Years of training your body to do what it needs to do to get you the distance.

While I accolade your fierce determination to conquer 5 to 56kms in the period of a year, there is nothing that can beat experience and time on the legs and for that you will need to take a breathe, congratulate yourself, and give yourself a break.

Yours in patience,
Crazii

And last, but certainly not least:

Dear Running Family,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I could not have done any of it without you guys! SuperMom, Speed Machine, 2IC, Adventure Queen, Running Mom and everybody else, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Yours in gratefulness,
Crazii

0 DAYS TO GO!

OMG! I just ran 56kms! And tripped over a cat’s eye while watching a dancing gorilla, and finished in under 6 hours, YAYAYAYAYAYAY! It was amazing. All the training, sore knees, absurd amount of carbs was totally worth it! I, Crazii Redhead, managed to complete the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, battered and bruised, weak and with my most unhappy face on, but I did it. And by George I would to do it again in a second!

Thanks to SuperMom and all my running family, I made it through. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys, or The Chef, The Barman, Thunder and Pint Size. My amazing support crew kept me going for the glorious/agonising/heart breaking 56kms… I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way!

Thank you all, next stop, London Marathon!

1 DAY TO GO!!!

In less than 24 hours I will be starting the 2010 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon with 9000 other people. There is currently an interesting debate going on between the runners and none runners as to whether or not you can actually call us people. Other names being bandied about include Crazii’s, Freaks, Cuckoo’s and my personal favourite, Machines.

In exactly 24 hours, (this crazii machine, hehe) will hopefully be running along Rhodes drive (after triumphantly having conquered Constantia Nek) cursing about the severe camber in the road but thanking my little speed racers, my running family and the crowd for getting me this far.

I think what I’m looking forward to the most is meeting SuperMom at the start and running together, seeing Thunder and The Barman off for their first half experince, getting through Death Valley unscathed, doing the executive shuffle up Constantia Nek and then finishing, arms raised in triumph, having run with some of the most incredible running names in history.

Good luck to my wonderful running family, Thunder and The Barman, I promise to see you at the finish smiling like the Cheshire cat while hobbling to the tent for an energade and some hot cross buns!

1 Day to Go!!!

4 DAYS TO GO!

The panic seems to have subsided marginally and my lungs seem to have remembered how to process oxygen to a point where breathing is just possible. My fellow running family have continued to run until this morning, which is causing a great sense of unease and a fear that I may, in fact, be completely under trained. I keep repeating the old adage of “under trained is better than over trained”, but thus far it’s not working. I think that saying is very much like the saying of “It’s good luck to be shat on by a bird”. It’s not, it’s the universe’s way of telling you you are equivilant to a pigeons long drop. The only reason people tell you it’s good luck is to make you feel better because you are now covered in pigeon poop! So now I sit at my desk, contemplating the reasons how I actually ended up here in the first place.

12 months ago it seemed like a good idea to start running. Life was very chaotic, love life was in a shambles and the one lonely pair of running shoes I owned suddenly grew a voice. So I began running alone along the promenade for 5 arduous kms before collapsing in a heap on the grass wishing my car was an automatic. I continued this torturous experience until the Men’s Health 10kms Run where I signed up for what became the biggest life changing adventure of my life!

With the introduction of a new life before sunrise, a group of incredible people and a support structure I realized I had been lacking, I find myself today, ready to embrace the challenge of long distance running as well as the realization that no matter how big the mountain may seem, when you have helping hands all along the way, it’s only a little bump in the road.

So a big thank you to my wonderful running family, for taking me under their well run wings and teaching me that no matter how many times you shower, if you get home at 4am and join the 5:30am run, you will still smell like tequila!

4 Days To Go!!!