Book: The Unpublished David Ogilvy - His secrets of management, creativity, and success- from private papers and public fulminations

 

Initially I was a bit disappointed that it was not more autobiographical and it jumped from different time periods.

 

However it is great to read and learn from David Ogilvy and how he did things. So many wonderful lessons and the way he did things. He had a wonderful sense of humour. His different lists of various things are shared as well as his sales process that he wrote down when he was an Arga salesman. This is one of those books that I will definitely read again.

 

Recommendable: 9/10

 

 



Race: Tokai Manor Run, 16kms

I

 

 

Uhm, a 16km run the day after Christmas is madness! With that said, it's actually brilliant to run off the Christmas indulgence. The route has changed due to the fires earlier in the year. It was a looped race of 8kms each. Some of it was the reverse of the Pollsmoor race. I think Bella would really enjoy the green belt area. Race started at 06:30, had no takers of the IY runners to join us. Met up with Graham, Derick, Karen and Heinrich at the race.

 

There was a bit of a bottle neck onto the green belt soon after the start. Oh my goodness, I was tempted to stop after the first 8kms, so difficult to continue especially seeing the end so close. To keep things interesting, Graham and I kept pushing to catch up with people just in front of us.

 

I was totally pooped by the end. Walked A LOT! Had really hoped for time of 01:41 - unfortunately, quite soon into the race, I realised that this would not be realistic etc. Needed the loo unfortunately no loos along the way. There were tables with shooters along the way, and also saw a guy dressed in a brown gorilla suite - a lot of fun!

 

Time: 01:57:something. All participants received a great little hand towel.  

 

Book: The Secret, Rhonda Byrne

Absolutely everything and anything is possible with the right mental attitude and putting it out there to the universe. I really enjoy this book and the reminder to focus on the positive and to live in the now. It touches on all aspects of life, health, wealth and relationships. What you put out there is what you attract. 

Highly recommend that everyone reads this book. 10/10

Race: Sundowner 10kms Waterfront

 

I won't lie, I was in no mood to run this race, especially after last year's bun fight at the start.

 

Instead of driving through, I decided to take the MyCiti bus. Therese had said that I could get a lift back to Hout Bay with her. When I topped up my MyCiti bus card, the lady at the Spar said that I needed to get off at Sea Point and change busses, which would take me directly through to the Waterfront. This I did, only to find out that the information was not correct. So had to hop onto the next bus (after already hopping off). Was running late, did not have the biggest lunch and was getting rather moody about the whole scenario.

 

Anyway, long story short, made it on time and managed to start relatively close to the front with Therese. Saw David Green and Linda. Started off quite well. Was very hot. Tried staying with the 60 minute bus.

 

As we passed along the promenade I was looking at my watch to check my speed, I 'bliksemed' over a bollard, grabbed onto the poor soul next to me, didn't bale, did however graze both legs.

 

Lost my speed and motivation - I know it's all in the mind!

Finished at 01:05:20 not too bad, seeing that I walked a lot. Two minutes faster than last year, so not too upset.

 

Had a delicious ice-cream afterwards (toffee) with Michele, Therese, Steve and Moses.

Race: Energizer Night Race, 3 kms Blouberg

What a beautiful evening. I won't lie, I was quite tired after the 15kms AVBOB run in the morning, however, I wanted to support Michael ([dot]GOOD), and also wanted to run it as I did the Energizer night race in Chicago last year. 

It was quite windy. Michele joined me. There was an option of two distances, three and eight kms. Initially I thought that I would walk the 3kms, alas, peer pressure of everyone running did encourage me to run too. Michele did the full distance.

Quite pricey (R90) compared to other races, with that said, everyone received a buff, three glow sticks, a fun medal made from beverage cans and a coke afterwards. 

All in all a fun evening.

Race: AVBOB 15kms, Table View

Seriously can't believe it's already a year since meeting up and running this race with Graham.

Today started off WET! The race starts super early, 06:00, so had to leave Hout Bay at 04:45. Martin and Matthews drove with me. 

I ran with the sub 01:30 bus for just over four kms. Couldn't keep up. Did push myself each km. Did 00:29 on the dot at five kms and 01:00:42 at the ten km mark. (I think that maaay be my fastest ten to date). 

Drenched by the time I reached the end. 

Super happy with my time 01:34 last year it was 01:43. 

The watermelon was sublime. Opted for the glass again.

Martin came third in his category! Happy for him so Moses and I waited for prize giving with him. There were some great lucky draw prizes. Martin won chocolate. 

Race: Correctional Services (Pollsmoor), 10km

It's crazy to think that it is that time of year again for all the year-end races and the training programs starting for the Bay2Bay.

Last year when we did the Pollsmoor run, it was just Therese, Michele and myself that ran it. It was incredibly windy and I remember we were very early so found shelter from the wind behind one of the walls.This year, Moses, Martin, Anda and Linda joined the three of us. The weather was incredibly pleasant, a gorgeous summer evening. 

I met Jane during the race last year, and I was so happy to see her again. 

Started quite a bit to the front this time. At some point the sub-60 bus ran past and I did my utmost to keep up with him, alas, I could not. With that I think I wasted quite a bit of energy and was pooped! The soles of my feet also started burning at the 6km mark - I am so going to be visiting the Sweat Shop in the next couple of days, tired of having sore feet. 

Jane caught up to me and we finished together. Our time: 01:04:26, not great at all, with that said, it is three minutes faster than last year, so am happy about that. 

The race organisers' medals did not arrive in time, but they made a plan and all the runners received a peak cap, there were a lot of colours to choose from. Must admit that a cap is much more practical than a medal. 

Race: Cape Town International Airport 10km

 

06 December 2015 - Feels like I've not raced / run for ages. I had asked earlier in the week whether anyone was keen to join me, and after getting no feedback, I saw it as an opportunity to have a lie in on Sunday morning. Then last night at the year-end function and awards evening, Moses from the running club asked me whether I was still planning to run today. So it was a good opportunity to not have too late an evening (although I did only get home at 22:30), and it was good to not head to the race alone.

 

This is the second year ACSA hosted the race. The weather was quite weird, misty and grey on this side of the mountain, clear skies on the other side and grey-ish again towards the airport. It got quite hot during the race.

 

Very flat race. Also a bit smelly as you run along places such as Intewaste, but it is what it is. Did the first 5kms in 27 minutes so was chuffed with that, however something hot-wired in my mind and I could just not keep up the speed.

 

Time: 01:02:56 - not the sub 60 yet, however seeing that I have not run for quite some time, I'm quite happy with the result.

Book: The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran

This is a book I read many many moons ago. It's one of those books that you get a different message each time you re-read it. 

It covers many topics from marriage, children, giving, eating, working, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes and so on. 

Race: K-Way VOB Grape Run 10.6kms

17 October 2015 - Another beautiful crisp spring morning. Natalie and I drove together. The 21.1km was sold out [not that we had planned to run it]. There were not many 14km entries left; fortunately we got entries.

It is so beautiful to run through the vineyards. The route goes through Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia and Buitenverwachten; something went wrong with the marshaling / boundaries somewhere, and we missed Buitenverwachten and at the 5km mark it said that we had done 9kms. It was a bit confusing, I just thought that we would make up for it at some point.

At one point I thought to myself, wow I really am so much fitter than last year - reason being, as we reached a certain point of the route, I had remembered walking A LOT by that point during last year's race. Alas, the route was a lot shorter. Which I really did not mind at all. We ended up running 10.6kms instead of 14kms. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning.

Time for 10.6kms = 01:14

Race: Outsurance KFM Gun Run, 21.1 kms

Super stoked! Set my PB for the 21.1km.  02:22 whoo hoo! 

Got to the stadium at about 05:50. Race started at 06:30. Saw Thérèse and Nomawethu as I lined up (they did the 10km). The canon went off at 06:30. Got such a fright! Unfortunately did not see Graham but was sure we would catch up with each other. 

It was a beautiful run. I think I may be making peace with flat runs! The route goes through the Waterfront past the road that goes past Beluga, along the Promenade, through Sea Point, up along the hill above Clifton. My tactic with that hill was to run for two lamp poles, walk for two. It was beautiful at the top! The 12 Apostles greeted us. Turned right at the bottom of the hill and headed back through Bantry Bay, Sea Point to finish at the soccer stadium. 

The last three kms were hectic, the soles of my feet were in pain, they were burning (?)!  Was lovely to see Thérèse & Noma again as I ran into the stadium. Gave me that tiny boost to finish strong(ish). 

Tried to keep my pace below 07 mins a km at the beginning. Then tried keeping it at 07:30 a km towards the end.

My body & legs are now sore! Mind & soul ecstatic!

Time: 02:22. 

Recommendable: definitely 

Book: Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, Karen Kingston

Definitely not a typical business book. I was intrigued to find this book on my Mom's bookshelf. Have been wanting to learn more about Feng Shui for some time, so was very happy to find this book. 

The book might not be everyone's cup 

of tea. I quite enjoyed the different view of things. Especially liked the focus and importance of de-cluttering. This has given rise to MAJOR spring cleaning in my office and house (still in progress). Really enjoying the process. 

8/10

Race: Hout Bay Super Spar Chappies Challenge, 15kms [helpers run]

03 October 2015 - As this is our club's run, it is a bit frowned upon not to help out on the day of the race; so a helpers run was organised for the day before.

It was quite misty and wet, we were all sopping by the end of the route. I am so grateful to be living in such a beautiful part of the world.

Below is the media release I sent out after the race:

They came they saw and they conquered the Chappies Challenge

Just over 1000 athletes set out to participate in one of the most enjoyable road races in the country*, the Hout Bay Super Spar Chappies Challenge, this past weekend. Runners had a choice between a 10km or 15 km route that took them along the very scenic Chapman’s Peak in Hout Bay.

“We are incredibly pleased with the number of athletes supporting our race,” says Gregson Lubbe Hout Bay Harriers Chairman and Financial Manager of Openfield Marketing. "The money that gets raised from this race, gets invested back in the development of runners from Imizamo Yethu, who are performing incredibly well on the athletic scene this year. Having said that, it is important to note that our development program is not only aimed at elite runners. We try to make running accessible for anybody from the impoverished Hout Bay township, who would otherwise not be able to run in licensed races or be part of an official running club.”

Lubbe adds, “This is the only other race on the running calendar that includes this stretch of road; the other being the Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, which is 56km. This gives runners the opportunity to enjoy a race along Chapman’s Peak if they aren’t up for an ultra-marathon yet”.

Winner of the men’s 15km was Nedbank runner, Sityhilo Diko in a time of 51:02. Candice Hall from Carbonniers won the ladies 15km in a time of 63:22. The men’s 10km race was won by Lwandile Lange (K-Way VOB) in a time of 37:56 and a visitor to South Africa, Anna Koziskova, was the 10km ladies winner in a time of 40:38.

“The race would not have been made possible without our generous sponsors. We would like to take the opportunity to thank Simon van Nimwegen from the Hout Bay Super Spar for their generous support each year. We are also very grateful to the City of Cape Town, Western Province Athletics, Hout Bay Emergency Medical Services and the Department of Transport and Public Works for all the support and assistance throughout the day. We would also like to thank Hout Bay Dental Studio and Tintswalo for keeping the runners hydrated at their water tables and to Peninsula Beverages for the refreshing Coca-Cola at the end of the race,” says Lubbe.

To end off the fun day, the lucky draw prizes were generously sponsored by Cape Point Vineyards, Snoekies and Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Congratulations to everyone that participated and conquered Chappies!

For more information about Hout Bay Harriers and the Hout Bay Super Spar Chappies Challenge follow us on Facebook.

The Hout Bay Harriers meet every Tuesday evening at 18:00 and run between 5 and 10 km from the Hout Bay Yacht Club.

   

Caption: Nedbank runner, Sityhilo Diko completed the Hout Bay Super Spar Chappies Challenge in a time of 51:02.

  

Caption: The Hout Bay Super Spar Chappies Challenge one of the most enjoyable road races in the country*

[High resolutions photos available. Photographer: Bradford Lubbe]

*Runners World survey 2013/2014

Book: Shackleton’s Way – Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell

 

 

To be honest I did not know much about Sir Ernest Shackleton at all. In fact I thought he was one of the two guys that raced to get to the South Pole first, and was interested to learn more. [Needless to say, I know now that it was Scott and Amundsen.] With that said, I have indeed learnt a lot more.   

What a wonderfully inspirational book on leadership and how to be a leader in the very precariously uncertain environment of the Antarctic, with lessons to be learnt and implemented today.

Shackleton was an incredible leader who kept the spirits high of his team and the importance of a sense of humour despite how dire their situation seemed.

The book focuses on Shackleton’s values, how he chose and hired an outstanding team, created a spirit of camaraderie and getting the best from each individual. Leading effectively in a crisis and forming teams for tough assignments and finally overcoming obstacles to reach a goal and ultimately leaving a legacy.

One of the passages that summarises Shackleton’s view on life and leadership:  

Shackleton once summed up for a friend how he viewed life and leadership. “Some people say it is wrong to regard life as a game; I don’t think so,” he was quoted as saying. Life to me means the greatest of all games. The danger lies in treating it as a trivial game, a game to be taken lightly, and game in which the rules don’t matter much. The rules matter a great deal . The game has to be played fairly, or it is no game at all. And even to win the game is not the chief end. He chief end is to win it honourably and splendidly. To this chief end several things are necessary. Loyalty is one. Discipline is another. Unselfishness is another. Courage is another. Optimism is another. And Chivalry is another.”

Recommendable: 8/10

Race: Sanlam Cape Town Marathon 42.2kms

20 September 2015 – “I ran a marathon” – these are words I never thought would be uttered from my lips.  A year ago I had only ever run one half marathon (Two Oceans), and had thought to myself that I should maybe look at doing two this year (2015). That was until I started chatting to David Wheeler at Karen Hartley’s birthday party last year October. After a glass of red wine and clearly some ‘Dutch courage’, agreed to do Landmarks half marathon early in November with him. I had been quite daunted to get over doing another half marathon after that initial one. That’s when the slippery slide of longer races started. Realising that a half marathon was not quite as hectic as I had thought, the next big challenge I set myself was the Bay to Bay (30 kms) at the beginning of the year. I did for quite some time say to myself that was that, I wouldn’t run anything further than 30kms.

Famous last words…

Not too sure when exactly in the year it happened, something short-circuited in my mind and I thought, “mmm…a marathon…, why not?” even though the side kick had a dim view and said that I was not quite ready to tackle it, I think this spurred me on even more to enter Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.  My main thing was to tick it off the list to say that I’d done it, as well as proving to myself that I could.

After downloading the Asics App to help with a training program, more or less sticking to it; running at least three times a week and having Graham’s guidance and company through the longer runs we were pretty much as ready as we could be. My main aim, besides finishing was to finish within five and a half hours. This seemed quite possible with a seven hour cut off time. It is so weird how 21, even 24km runs become training runs. My favourite training run is still running from Hout Bay to Camps Bay, the run back is tough, however we get to run the ‘home stretch’ down Suikerbossie.

The morning of the race slowly crept up on us, and before we knew it, it was race day. Umpteen Gu’s in hand, a sturdy breakfast of health bread with honey and a cup of coffee I set off. Thérèse, Matthews, Admire and Noma all drove together. Parking was not too bad, we parked along the main road just past  Mouille Point – a bit of a walk to the start.  On the way met up with quite a nervous 10km running lady who could not stop talking. Arrived at the pen area, loo stop and headed to the start. Graham had given a lift to the other runners, so we did not start together. Saw him in the sea of faces behind us, unfortunately he did not see me. My strategy was then to wait for him at the first watering point and run together from here; we couldn’t have trained so long for the marathon and not end up running together. Fortunately he caught up with us quite soon.

The weather could not have been more perfect; a bit chilly and overcast – no wind. It warmed up quite a bit later in the day.  It was incredible to have Table Mountain as the backdrop at the start. What I love about races is that it takes you on routes and paths that you would never get to see or run at any other time. One of the paths was along the MyCiti bus route.

We started the walk / run strategy fairly soon (run for 9 minutes, walk for a minute)– for the life of me I can’t remember exactly where, whether it was around the 20km mark or perhaps much sooner. It was as we passed the Grand Parade area. It felt quite silly to start walking; was feeling quite strong at that stage. Graham did advise that it was in preparation for the later kms that awaited. I must admit that it was great. We followed the same strategy for John Korasie (30kms) and we only started it quite late into the race (we wanted to run Red Hill as long as possible before stopping – which was great) I was gagging for that minute each time; having started the walk/run strategy sooner, made it a lot easier throughout. It really was quite a surprise that the kms passed quite quickly.

What was wonderful, was to see Noma along the route! So special to have her cheering us on!

The Rotary Club of Newlands helped with the marshalling; sadly I did not see too many. Saw Tony van der Lith on the back of a motorcycle; Jana at the Sunflower Fund watering station along the Rondebosch Common. Terry at the Sahara Park – where he cheered us along with his vuvuzela! Saw Jenna at about the 38/39km mark and Graham Lowdon in the beer tent afterwards.

It was quite something to reach the 30km mark and to know that it was the furthest I had ever gone, and then again at the 40km mark.

As we made it onto the field, it felt quite surrealistic to think that we had made it.  What a feeling! I won’t lie, felt quite shattered and a bit dizzy. Luckily other wonderful team supporter – Darren brought us some water.

Time: 05:42, so not quite the 05:30 I had hoped for, am still SO impressed and proud of this achievement and grateful to my body and mind to have seen it through.

Before retiring to the beer garden for an ice cold Coke (a beer was tempting, however didn’t want to take a chance with a weary body and still having to drive home) – I took off my shoes and I had the biggest blister on my big toe ever! Clearly had not ‘Vaselined’ as well as I thought I had in the morning.

Strangely I was not so hungry as I normally am after a run; a km from the end at John Korasie, I could eat a cow and couldn’t get the Boerewors roll into my system quickly enough. Took me some time to get my appetite back; may be all the Gu’s and Coke along the way.

I’m not put off doing another one, in fact I would love to do the New York marathon in 2017. Now to get back to the drawing board to see how I can improve on my 10km times. [At this stage, Ultra and Comrades are not on the cards at all – I’ve learnt to not say never, so I am rather saying - chances are slim  – and fortunately didn’t make the cut-off time for qualifying.]

Very proud to say that I am now a marathon runner. 

 
 

Race: Satori Camel Run 16kms (10miler)

This is the third time that I have participated in the Satori Camel Run. It is definitely one of my favourites, possibly because it was one of my first races that I took part in when I moved to Cape Town. The route has changed quite a bit from the first year when we ran up Cape Point Vineyards (that has stayed the same), then went up part of Chappies, then through Monkey Valley, along a part of Noordhoek beach through a farm back to the start area.

 

Today’s race was quite different, sadly no Monkey Valley, Chappies, Monkey Valley or Noordhoek beach. Instead we got a second major hill at Cape Point Vineyards – H E C T I C! The views were however totally worth it. Even got to see Flamingoes along the way.

 

 

 

It was a very warm day with a berg wind and the air was quite dry, so I think a lot of people took strain. There is no water along the way, so fortunately I had invested in a water bottle yesterday when I collected the race numbers at Sportsman’s Warehouse. I am not a fan of running with a belt; however I would much rather run with a belt than having no water. 

There were quite a number of Hout Bay Harriers that ran. Super proud of the team; Chippy, Francis and Reuben won their age categories; and Matthews, Jacques, Francis and Reuben (below) won the team prize.

My time was not great 02:13, however actually quite happy with it. The last time I did the race I did it in two hours, and there was only the one hill.

I do like that we don’t get medals at the end of the race, we all get buffs.  

Tough race, I will however definitely be back!

Race: Reutech Solutions John Korasie 30kms, Simon's Town

Isn't it strange how things pan out; a year ago, I had absolutely no intention of doing more than possibly two half marathons this year. If it wasn't for Dave Wheeler who got me through the Landmarks half marathon last year, I probably would still have thought so. It was after that specific race that I then decided to set myself a huge challenge of the 30km Bay to Bay in January. To be honest I did think to myself that it would be back to halves and tens after that race. That was until I decided that I should get at least one marathon under the belt and ticked off the list;  no better one than Cape Town Marathon [at this stage the thinking is Cape Town marathon and at least one other one like New York or London.]. So, training for 20 September has started in all earnest. 

Running partner Graham suggested that we do John Korasie 30km as a training run, which was great as the intention was purely to get kms on the legs. I was a bit worried, because for Bay2Bay we had quite a rigorous training program beforehand; after deciding to train together when we did the AVBOB 15kms, we ran 21 kms the following weekend, 26 the next and then did the 30km.  With John Korasie, the training had not been as well planned [although Graham had just had a very successful IronMan that he completed]. 

On a last minute, Therese decided to join us, which was fantastic! Her first 30km. The three of us ran together for the majority of the way. The weather was perfect for running, cool, misty with a bit of drizzle. We cut our time a bit fine to park, register, go to the loo [the latter we did not manage to do] and lined up a couple of minutes before the race started. 

The course starts at the Naval Base (where Cape Town Peninsula Marathon ends), and veers up Red Hill. It is quite an uphill, which didn't feel quite as hectic as I thought it would be, and was quite impressed that we didn't stop.

I had my trusted Gu's that I had at 9kms and at 20kms. After 15kms we implemented the run / walk strategy of running for 9 minutes and walking for 1 minute. Jeepers does that minute fly by! There were some wonderful meandering downhills. A really beautiful race. 

Therese did really well and completed in 03:40! We came in at 03:47, I am super chuffed as it was a minute faster than Bay2Bay. 

Must admit that I was really hungry by the time we reached the finish; boy did that Boerewors roll go down well!

Race: Totalsports Women's Race, Stellenbosch 10km

10 August 2015 - A beautiful clear crispy public holiday. When I left Hout Bay the temperature was 9 degrees Celsius. When I got to Stellenbosch, it was 4 degrees!

I left a bit later than anticipated, so had 20 minutes to walk to the start, get changed and hand in my tog bag. So started a lot further back than I would have liked to, which meant a frustratingly slow start.

Unfortunately still no sub 60 minutes. Terrible time in fact of 01:18!

Beautiful race, and as far as I can remember this is the third time I've run it.

Lovey bracelet instead of a medal.

[side note, did a 15.9km run with the club yesterday up Chappies]

Boek: Brolloks en Bittergal, C. J Langenhoven

Sjoe, ek is verbaas dat hierdie 'n kinderboek is! Op bladsy een word ons vertel dat Skoonlief se ouers vermoor was deur Brolloks een aand terwyl hulle geslaap het en dat hy haar ontvoer het en in sy spelonk aan gehou het!


Dit is 'hectic'! En mens vind eers op die nippertjie uit of Bertie ooit weer terug getoor gaan word van 'n likkewaan tot 'n seuntjie. 


Hoekom het ek 'n kinderboek gelees? Ek het so 'n ruk terug  "The Happiness Project" gelees; een van die dinge wat Gretchen Rubin van geskryf het is dat sy kinderliteratuur geniet en selfs 'n kinderliteratuur leesgroep begin het. Ek het geen behoefte om so 'n groep te begin nie; maar was nuuskierig om bietjie te kyk na die boeke wat ek as kind gelees het. My Ma het al my boeke gehou, so dit was maklik om een te kies. Ek moet bieg dat ek GLAD nie die storie van Brolloks en Bittergal kon onthou nie, dus dit gekies. Nie heeltemal seker dat ek die boek sal aanbeveel vir kinders nie.  Ek het dit nogal geniet om iets heeltemal anders te lees; ek is nie seker dat ek heeltemal reg is vir Jantjie Slang nie, miskien Kallie en die Sjokolandefabriek?

Race: McKenna Scott, Pinelands 10km

02 August 2015 - A crispy Winter's morning; beautiful full moon (actually Blue Moon) start to the race. The race was quite flat. I had really thought and hoped that I had broken my one hour goal, alas, not yet. Very cute medals, Bella would love it!

Restaurant: Pescarne, Hout Bay

This restaurant has recently changed ownership (again). It was originally an Ocean Basket when I fist moved to Hout Bay, and has been through numerous changes. It is now a Greek restaurant, right next door to Hout Bay's other Greek restaurant (Spiro's), the menu is quite different. They have amazing Winter specials.

FOOD: We have been back twice, and both times Mark and I had the same dish. I had the Rump (500g), with the most delicious wine based sauce perfectly cooked and Mark had the Eisbein, both served with a choice of sides; we opted for chips both times. Really delicious.

DRINKS: First time I had a coffee milkshake, served in an elegant thin glass, very sweet - delicious! The second time I had a delicious glass of Pinotage. Mark just had coffee.

SERVICE: Very good and attentive.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Definitely, especially the Winter specials. My Rump was R95.

RECOMMENDABLE: Absolutely.

RATING:8/10

Restaurant: The Oak Terrace Alfresco (Peddlars), Constantia Valley

July 2015 - Thanks to load shedding, our anticipated Saturday afternoon ritual of a hamburger and a movie at Blue Route Mall did not pan work out as planned. En route home we stopped at Peddlers.  I have often driven past this place when going to Tokai Forest. I thought it was going to be "hoity toity." Inside there are three different dining experiences - there is the white linen formal setting, there is a pub and a lovely eating area outside called, " The Oak Terrace Alfresco", we opted for this one and sat under a beautiful tree.

FOOD: We went with the waitress' recommendation of hamburgers. We had the cheese and bacon burgers. Very tasty, however as Mark said it is the basting that gives the burger the taste, the patty is actually quite bland.

DRINKS: We both opted for beers. Mark had a Guinness and I had a Birkenhead Honey Blonde beer, very tasty.

SERVICE: The service was good.

VALUE FOR MONEY:  Average

RECOMMENDABLE: Yes, would like to go again.

RATING: 7/10

 

Book: Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh

This book reminds us to live in the present moment and to be mindful in absolutely everything that we do, be it sitting, eating walking, or even doing the dishes being on the phone or driving. 

Something that I did find quite humerous, or perhaps, intrigued by, is more apt, is that a 'breathing room' is recommended (page 45). As the author says, we have rooms for everything else, bedroom, lounge, television room etc. in this breathing room, the author suggests decorating it very simply, and not to be too bright. You may want to have a small bell, one with a beautiful sound, a few cushions or chairs and perhaps a vase of flowers to remind us of our true nature. Every time you feel a little upset, you know that the best thing to do is to go to that room, open the door slowly, sit down, invite the bell to sound, and begin to breath. The following bit is where it becomes intriguing, "Suppose your husband is irritated. Since he has leaned the practice of breathing he knows that the best thing is to go into that room, sit down and practice. You may not realise where he has gone; you were busy cutting carrots in the kitchen. But you suffer also, because you and he just had some kind of altercation, the anger translated into the movement. Suddenly you hear the bell and you know what to do. You stop cutting and you breathe in and out. You feel better, and you may smile, thinking about your husband who knows what to do when he gets angry he is now sitting in the breathing room, breathing and smiling. That's wonderful. Suddenly a feeling of tenderness arises and you feel much better. After three breaths you begin to cut the carrots again but this time quite differently..."

Erm, not too sure that such a 'breathing room' would really be adopted and work in our home. I do however really like the idea of breathing through moments of anger. 

Race: 32nd Momentum Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon 2015, 21.1kms

 

This was a lovely race. I had entered quite early in the year and had it on the backburner and only got my backside in gear in terms of planning for it last week. I found a really nice apartment in Sedgefield via AirBnB. Initially I was quite happy to drive through by myself, then I saw a post on the Western Province Athletics Facebook page saying that someone had a spot on their bus available.  I was very thankful not to drive on my own, as I had been in Johannesburg the previous day, which had started really early to catch the 05:30 flight and only got home at 23:00, so was quite exhausted.

 

Beautiful Sedgefield

The drive was quite long, but it was festive to drive with a bunch of fellow runners and I caught up on my crocheting, writing and sleeping. The only snag with coming on the bus is that I had no transport here, Uber has not reached Knysna yet. Fortunately the owner of the AirBnB accommodation was willing to fetch me once I had collected my race pack and was registered. I had also phoned Knysna tourism to find out about shuttles between Sedgefield and Knysna and they were able to put me in contact with AfriZone (?) backpackers who had organised a shuttle for the morning and I could get a seat on there. The lift back from the race was organised by the owner via the Sedgefield forum, so well sorted all round on the accommodation and transport front. The main item that I did not cater for sufficiently was food. I had thought that there would be a shop or restaurant within walking distance; not in Sedgefield. The restaurants recommended also don’t do deliveries. F O R T U N A T L Y Mark packed me the  most amazing picnic bag of snacks for the road, so I had a steak & kidney pie and crisps that I could tuck into for supper.  

The registration process was very quick and painless, with that said, I think we have been spoiled with the goody bags we receive at Cape Town races – the Spar Ladies race and TwoOceans bags are brimmed to the top, so receiving a shopping bag (fortunately I had packed a running bag just in case) with a couple of flyers and two magazines was quite disappointing.  It’s always nice to get samples to try new products. With all of that said, I do appreciate that the run is not about the goody back. The communication was great, we received mails outlining the process and a check list, that was very useful to make 100% sure everything was ready.

 

It was an early morning start, so was super happy that I had put everything out the night before. The pick-up was at 04:45, happy with that, as I would rather get to the start early than stress about being late. I love the energy at the start of the race, as everyone heads to the start. We were taken to the start in taxis – very well organised. Momentum sponsored 2000 wonderful soft red blankets. Initially I thought that I wouldn’t take one as I had read that the weather was going to be really warm today; boy was I grateful that I took one – it was chilly! At the beginning of the race, they collect the blankets back and any old warm clothes that you may have and then distribute it to the needy. This is a great concept, the only problem is that the officials can’t stop people asking / begging for clothes at the start of the race, the particular system has yet to be refined a bit more.

So once we received the blankets you walk up a dirt path towards the start. It’s eerily quiet and wonderful to breath in the crispy morning air. As everyone headed to the start with their red blankets, it did look as if we all belonged to a cult on our way to some or other ritual, which I suppose we all were!

 

It’s very well sign posted for toilets [toilet town], coffee, tog bags, start. I first handed in my tog bag so that I did not have to walk around it the whole time (it went very quickly), then headed to the coffee tent, where there was free coffee / tea / rusks / bananas / breakfast bars / fruit juice / water and drinking yoghurt (skipped the yoghurt) – this totally made up for the good bag!

I found a piece of cardboard and sat on it as the ground was wet; note to self is to take a plastic bag or something with next time; may not be so lucky to get a piece of cardboard again. After visiting ‘Toilet Town’ made my way to the start. Managed to get fairly near to the beginning. There were 1100 marathon runners; in total the number of runners are capped at 8000!

 

The undulating route is beautiful, really quite something. There are what feels like a million hills, but they are not hectic at all, just as you get tired from going uphill it rolls down. What is different from other races is that the distance markers indicate how many kilometres you have left, not how many you have done. Took this photo at the 13 km mark (i.e. completed 8kms).

 

There is a HECTIC downhill at around the 5km left mark – happy to be running down it and not up! Along the way there was a medical team handing out Vaseline, there were Bar Ones going and slices of orange (skipped them all). Was very grateful for my SuperC’s and for the water and Coke along the way.

I always find it tough when I see a stretch of the race double back on itself; the last part does just this as you run underneath the road, and you think to yourself, oh boy I have to run all this way back as you see the other runners passing you. Fortunately it was OK, I thought it was going to be a slight incline, but it was actually quite flat, if not a little bit downhill. Really tried to push myself, but my legs just did not want to know anything about going slightly faster. Was so happy to see the finish line!

Time: 02:32 – quite happy with it, as I did walk quite a bit during the second half of the race. Something I tried during the race was to get as much oxygen into my lungs, and breathed quite deeply, this seemed to make me (somewhat) less tired and also took my mind off the ups.

 

I really like the design of the medals of the runner combined with an elephant. Must admit that I really missed an ice cold Coke at the end of the race. Pick n Pay had their own brand of cold drink; I opted for water.

After changing into comfortable dry clothes, I needed FOOD. As I was standing in the queue, I saw Momentum’s Multiply VIP tent, and I found a recent e-mail from them and as a member, I was given access.

Downed a hot chocolate, and one of the keen friendly helpers brought me a hamburger. I would have loved a sports massage that was also offered there, but the soonest was at 14:00. It was blissful to sit outside and soak up the sun. I think there were free drink as well, I just could not stomach wine or beer. I made my way over to the Pick n Pay tent, and got some oysters; can’t be at an oyster festival in Knysna and not take full advantage of them. Also got some sushi for supper.

Will I do it again? Most likely, it would be wonderful if there is a bigger contingent from Hout Bay that participates.