Brentano-Murphy's Adventures

Stair Training - a simple exercise of going up and down stairs. Anyone who has watched Rocky knows of the iconic scene where Rocky climbs 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A feat of strength and endurance. Many youtube videos show athletes conquering the stairs at their local stadium. But is there any purpose to running stairs or are they just for show? For many runners, training involves long runs, tempo runs, speed work, hill work and sometimes strength in the gym. But should runners look to incorporate stair training into their routine? From my personal experience, yes! Stair training is great for runners and walkers alike, due to its cardiovascular and muscle toning benefits. What are the benefits? With stair climbing, a higher demand is placed on the body, meaning your muscles are forced to work harder, to resist gravity. Your glutes and thigh muscles are actively engaged, which will increase stability and

19 May 2019 Woodlands Office Park The final of the Urban series for 2019. Woodlands has always been an ok event for me, I've never had a really bad run but I have also never had a good run, I was interested to see what the event would hold for me. I ran the RAC 10km first (in a time of 44:41), before rushing to the event. This meant that I started last - Elaine and Michelle had already finished when I arrived. We had a different start to normal, a bit down the road, with the start control at the entrance to the park/ reserve. Start >  1: Ran on the inside of the olive green and headed off with no actual plan of getting to the control. I ended up by another olive green, before turning left around the thick vegetation. I followed through, deciding to head to the path. Once I hit the path I turned right, following the path until I saw the small building, where I cut into the vegetation, to the control. Hind sight, I should have run to the right of the thick vegetation and

11 May 2019 The Johannesburg Country Club Another night Orienteering event, and the last one for the year. My Saturday was quite busy. I started off the day by doing Golden Harvest Parkrun, tailwalking with Alison and Rascal. I then had to rush home to get ready and leave for Cross Country in Dobsonville - It was the first race of the season and I was quite happy with placing 5th in the senior women 4km. Rushing home, it was my first weekend of feeding the feral cats at the local business park (there are 6 stations). Getting back home only to rush off again to the orienteering. After being injured and taking some time off I wasn't feeling too confident in my running going in to the event, but the most I could do was try and focus on my navigation. I decided to start before Sarah Wimberley, something that I havent done all season, so there was a bit more pressure. Start >  1: Setting off I followed the path to the junction. I left the path and followed the path parallel

5 May 2019 Irene Agricultural Research Council Farm My very first wings for life world run.  The object of the event is to keep running/ walking until the chasing car catches you (it starts 30 minutes after the event has started at 15km/h and increases by 1km/h every hour). 100% of entry fees goes towards spinal cord research. The night before I had gone to Monster Jam at FNB stadium, and didn't eat supper and battled to get to sleep. This meant that on Sunday I was feeling exhausted. As the race was at 1pm, I ate as close as possible to 9am, which was 2 fried eggs and a coconut pancake with nut butter - clearly the 17 hour fast did not agree with my stomach as I had gastro soon after eating. I also had a flat panic before leaving home as I realized that I had put on my 2018 license number and not 2019 - this meant everyone had to help me to hunt down my license numbers as a matter of urgency! But we managed to find a pair of 2019 numbers, that I swiftly put onto my runn

Recently I saw a post on Instagram about Parsley Tea. I have been trying to cut down on my herbal tea and coffee, but with the colder weather it has been hard - and hot water is just disgusting. I did some research on what parsley tea was about and what benefits it has. Parsley is high in vitamin K, C, A, E, and B vitamins. Parsley also provides fiber, iron, copper, calcium, and potassium. But since you don't eat the parsley in your tea, you won't benefit from fiber and you'll get only very small amounts of other vitamins and minerals. Benefits: High in antioxidants May Promote Blood Sugar Control Kidney stones Urinary tract infections (UTIs) Digestive problems Menstrual problems Liver disorders Fluid retention and swelling (edema) Side Effects:  People who consume too much parsley may experience anemia, liver or kidney problems. Having now tried parsley tea, it strangely reminds me of chicken soup - my dad found it 'earthy'. It was not as

The Wilds Municipal Nature Reserve, 28 April 2019 Heading in to the event, I was a bit nervous firstly in terms of navigation and secondly in terms of running. Running has been my advantage this season and with a recent tendon injury in my foot, I wasn't sure how much strain I was going to take out there. Normally I do about a 10km run before events, but because of my injury I had to miss it. I still went for a 1km warm-up, to prepare my body. I decided to go nearly last - I find I focus better if I am behind people, instead of thinking the whole time of who is going to pass me. I started 2 minutes behind Tania. Start > #1: Followed the bottom path. Wasted time as I thought I had missed the control and was trying to figure out where on the path I was when I crossed the path that led to the gate. I continued going after I though I knew where I was, but it was a very good start. Initially I thought the control was on the right, but it was actually on the left. Easy to spot

14 April 2019 Edenvale High School Back to Orienteering in the light and around buildings... My weak point is fast navigation and as much as I like the urban or sprint events, I am actually not very good when it comes to navigating my way around buildings and thinking and planning ahead. If we got 1 minute to just stand and select route choices before we ran I think I would do so much better, its the moving while thinking that gets me confused and I feel I waste time if I stand at the control to read the map. I have been to Edenvale once to help with schools league many years ago, so I had a vague idea of the layout. I was nervous about my speed, navigation and foot - I had come from an 11km run but I feel my fitness has dropped slightly. I was expecting to place maybe 3rd or 4th. I started near the back of the women, I feel its less pressure as I won't be caught by anyone. Start > 1: Setting off I took a bit longer to find #1. Route choice was either left or right of bu

30 March 2019 Wanderers Golf Course I am going to start off by saying that this event was definitely not my event. I think I have been so caught up in who I am going to beat and how fast can I run, rather than focusing on the actual course and technique on the night. I was not able to find a map before the event, so I did not feel as mentally prepared as I wanted to be. I realized after registration closed that Michelle was not there, so I think I placed a lot of pressure on myself to come first, to get those 1000th points, instead of focusing on doing well on navigation. When I got to the start I put my name down at the first available time, which meant I had 3 minutes before the start - no time for warm-up. I have been suffering with a bit of a foot injury, but I knew that whatever pain, I could run through it. Start - #1: Picking up the map and starting, I was actually cautious and stopped to find #1 - I did not get to see where the other ladies had gone to. Following the path

Saturday, 16 March 2019 Leeukop Golf Club The 2nd night event was held on Saturday. Leeukop was a brand new map, which made it a level playing field for everyone. I was feeling a bit nervous before hand - I have been suffering with a tight hamstring, so I wasn't sure what my running speed would be like and this is something I rely on when I mess up on controls. I also wasn't sure how technical the course was going to be. I set off last on the womens course, 2 minutes behind Sarah Wimberley. Out on the course I didn't really see who I was around, I only saw lights and people, so I am not sure where I passed Sarah as I didnt see her and she didnt see me. Start - 1: Setting off, for the first few meters I forgot to put my headlight on (only realized when I couldn't see my map). #1 was quite straight forward, head around the bottom of the forest area. # was also easy to find. 1 - 2: Set off too much left, until I spotted the control and ran towards it. 2 -3: Follow

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

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

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

Saturday, 2 March 2019 Eagle Canyon Golf Estate The first night orienteering event of 2019 kicked off this past Saturday at Eagle Canyon Golf Estate. The night series is a firm favorite of mine as I find the navigation a bit easier and I find I am able to make up time for any errors with my running.  On Saturday I attended a baby shower before the event, and with all the nice food around I did pig out more than I should have. This left me feeling a bit more nervous as I wasn't sure how it would affect my energy levels. Working at registration at the event was also hectic with a lot of pre-entries to assist as well as a few on the day entries. This left my feet feeling sore from standing. I was determined though to still go out and do my best and not use these things are excuses. I chose my start time quite late, when there was a gap in registration, so I found myself amongst less competitive women and groups, which was nice. Going to the start was about 700m, or so I was