Brentano-Murphy's Adventures

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