Skip to main content

702 Walk the Talk

25 July 2010


Belinda and i did the 15km part of the 702 walk the talk. The day started off really early with me waking up at 4:15 to be at Belinda’s gran’s (Dawn’s) house by 4:45. We set off to Kieran’s house (Dawn’s son) as he was providing us with a lift to the venue. Four of us squished into the back as Kieran and his fiancée, Nancy took the front. We got dropped off at the corner of Emmerentia, and not realizing that he was going back home had to whip off my tracksuit quickly in the car. The morning wasn’t too cold, despite being 6am, so i didn’t mind being in shorts. We took a walk up the hill to the start, which was about 1km away. Dawn set off at 6:30 doing the 30km walk. Belinda and i hung around at the start for an hour, watching all the late 30km walkers running to the start and start walking once they got to the banner. The crowds for the 15km came with 30 minutes before our start, and the mood was set. To get warm and our heart rates going, Black Eyed Peas, I gotta Feeling played loudly as the crowd jumped up and down, waving hands in the air. Away we went.... After about 3km, there was a water point and people throwing t-shirts. I decided to go to the tables and take a shirt, but this ended up in me almost getting stampeded on. The lady on the other side of the table saw me and reached out at me with a shirt- success! My friend wasn’t able to get one though, and we lost each other for a few minutes through the fight. After a quick phone call we were on our way. The route was interesting and incorporated bits and pieces of routes like Pirates, Wobblers hat race and a Edgars Women day race i did a few years ago, so at times i felt like a bit of a tour guide pointing these things out- “oh, look it’s zoo lake....” Along the way i realized that walking, even casual, is hard work, and could feel muscles i don’t normally use for running, every up hill was a pain in the hips and butt.
The greatest moment though was crossing the finish line and being able to sit after 2 hours 34 minutes. After stretching for a bit, we went in search of something sweet to eat and drink (coffee), then sat at the finish watching the hoards finish. I decided this was the perfect time to try maintain my tan i obtained in Denmark, and whipped off my shirt to lie on the grass. At odd times i would look up and see people looking my way or even Belinda looking at me funny- i remembered South Africans don’t just take their tops off in public like that. This didn’t worry me though and continued lying there until Dawn finished before putting my top back on. We listened to live entertainment for an hour, and it was pretty good, but at that time all i wanted to do was sleep and not party! After the entertainment ended, we headed back down the road and waited for Kieran to take us home. We eventually arrived home at 5:30.

It was a fun filled day, definitely something different, but it was the best feeling to put my sore and tired body to rest at the end of the day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grain free Date Bread

A few weeks ago one of my dad's clients baked what we think was a date bread. Although I am mostly low carb and didnt know the ingredients of this bread, there was so much of it and I didnt want it to go to waste. Toasted, it was amazing, almost like a caramel taste. In all honesty, I found my running for the few days I ate the bread actually improved - I felt more energetic and had more endurance. I searched for a low carb or gluten free version that I can make myself. Carb wise you looking at about 15g on average per date, making it basically your enemy if you are low carb. Rather opt for cranberries - 13g per cup. As an athlete though, dates are so good for you - in moderation of course as 90% of the carbs in a date is sugar. Medjool Dates are high in Potassium (higher than oranges, bananas and spinach), which is great for heart health and to build muscle and proteins in the body. They are also high in fibre, meaning you stay fuller for longer. You also get an energy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Orienteering Relays

Sunday, 10 March 2019 De Vos Farm, Midrand Relays are something that I have mixed feelings about. It's hard to be in a team, with the pressure that you might let the team down or if you have a 'weak' member that could have done better. It's great if you win though, the sense of sharing a victory. Once a year the Gauteng club and school relays are held. They are sprint type relays, allowing for more competition. This year ROC hosted it at De Vos Farm in Midrand. I felt a bit disadvantaged having not orienteered here before but luckily my dad had a map from before which I could use to try visualize the area. I got to run the first leg, which I was happy about. I had just come from a 5km Time Trial, so I needed the motivation of the other orienteers to keep me running hard. I also enjoy the mass start. 1. In the mass start I battled to get into the map and find #1. Once I found it I followed the path, but got side tracked by a control before mine (it wasn't ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Running Solo

In this day and age, with work schedules and family commitments it becomes difficult to train with a group or partner. Some people only have the early morning, others have lunch breaks to train and then there are the afternoon or evening runs after work. I personally prefer to train after work at about 4pm as I can't seem to get up early enough in the mornings to train. With everyone's schedule being so vast, it means that we are left to train on our own. This is hard when you feel unmotivated - there is no one depending on you if you skip a session and often every excuse in the book is used as to why you 'can't' train - its too hot, you feel sore, you had a big lunch etc. There is also the factor that you can't find anyone on the same program as you, if you using a 'virtual' coach. Training in groups can be fun and motivating. You meet new people and if you miss sessions people will often ask where you were, making you very much accountable. Trainin...
Post a Comment
Read more