Race: Muizenberg Monster, 10kms

27 April 2015 - What a gorgeous morning! This was the first 'Muizenberg Monster'. As per the correspondence we received, we were the 'guinea pigs'.  There were three different beach run distances; 6, 10 and 20kms. Thérèse, Michele and I did the 10km. We were not too sure how busy the registration would be to pick up our numbers so we arrived quite early. Not too many people so it was very quick & easy to get our numbers. It was quite chilly and a bit windy. The super entertaining MC that was also at the Cape Point Run was the announcer as well. 

Thérèse, Michele and I ran together for the first seven kms, then I could just not keep up. At the three km mark we took off our shoes to cross an estuary. Ran barefoot for the rest of the way. It was amazing to watch the sun rise over the mountains. What a way to start the day! Weather was perfect, not too windy, light breeze-beautiful!

At the five km turn around point we received a blue elastic band.  As with most races the last km was the longest! The last 200 meters was strangely incredibly windy!  

The sand was interestingly quite hard. Instant pedicure! It was lovely to run on the beach with the waves lapping over your feet every now and again. 

I started timing myself two minutes before the race. When I stopped it, it was 01:06 so am very happy with my time and it includes taking off shoes, crossing the estuary twice and stopping for a photo. 

There was no water or medals but it was not missed at all. There was a delicious ice cold Coke at the end. 

Would I do this race again, more than likely yes. 7/10

Book: Lady, You're not a Man!, Apurva Purohit

This was a fun book to read.

The business world has traditionally always been a man's world with a doting wife at home.  Thank goodness times have changed! What I did not realise when I bought the book is that it was from an Indian businesswoman's perspective. It is a fairly new book, first published in 2013, but what is interesting is that from this book it is clear that South Africa is leaps and bounds ahead of India when it comes to women in business. Yes there are areas on SA that are still quite traditional but on the whole we have come a long way.

I like the authour's personalised way of writing. There were one or two Indian references that I was not too familiar with but it did not distract too much to the rest of the content. 

Recommendable: 6/10

Race: Leapfrog Gordon's Bay, 21.1km

WINDY! is what I was warned about this race. It's just about an hours drive from Hout Bay, so not as far as I had initially thought. When I arrived it was very windy, and I thought, 'oh boy!'.

Registration was pretty much standard, but the tog bag area seemed a bit chaotic. Luckily made it just in time to hand in my bag and make it to the start. Wanted to go to the loo before the race started but it was announced that the race was to start in two minutes time, so I did not want to take a chance by missing the start.

It was great to run with Graham again, we had not run for quite a while, as we had different training regimes leading up to Two Oceans.

Gordon's Bay is beautiful! The wind was really not as bad as it was in the morning.

The route goes through a residential area, through a business area, then along the beach front - beautiful! then backs up on itself back to where we started. I did get quite tired with just more than half way to go and by then I really needed the loo. No porta-loos along the way and all the toilets along the route were locked. At the turnaround point there was a garage and I could go for a quick pit stop. I did tell Graham that I should not have stopped because that is all I then wanted to do, and did start wondering whether I could walk the rest of the way to the end. Graham did wisely say that this was good practice and an opportunity to work on my mental mettle. I did continue, but the speed was dramatically slower than earlier. But am happy with myself for carrying on.

I was totally shattered when we finished, 02:32 - not too happy with the time, but it does include a pee-stop, ....aaaand it was a very flat run, so I suppose not toooo bad. I am definitely not a fan of flat runs. Give me hills any day of the week!

At this immediate point of time, not too sure whether I will do this race again...

(Well done to Martin (left) - he came third in the junior division!)

Restaurant: Bocca, Cape Town, Bree Street CBD

10 April 2015 - This was unexpectedly lovely. After a wonderful afternoon of being pampered at the Milk & Honey Spa next door, we headed to Bocca for a glass of vino and a bite to eat. It's lovely, but on quite a busy intersection. Witnessed two near accidents, fortunately nothing serious happened.

FOOD: Before 18:00 they only serve pizzas. They have the most divine bases and delicious toppings. One (in background) - had salami, olives and mint pesto (and another ingredient I would not remember. The other (foreground) - spicy pork belly, feta and a number of other ingredients I can't recall right now. We shared the two; delicious! They complimented each quite well. They also have a seafood one, which I was quite tempted to try, however the ingredients are soaked in garlic, and I had a couple of meetings over the weekend. Will definitely like to try it when I know I won't have any meetings planned.

DRINKS: I had a wonderfully tasteful glass of Chardonnay - the proper full bodied, oaked-type.

SERVICE: On the ball, efficient and friendly.

PARKING: It's in Bree street, so no dedicated parking.

VALUE FOR MONEY: It's pricey, each pizza is about R100. Our bill was R364 in total.

RECOMMENDABLE: Yes! 7/10

Book: Crazy is a Compliment. The Power of Zigging when everyone else Zags, Linda Rottenberg

This was a wonderful birthday gift from my team. What a fabulous read! I battled to put it down once I started. The author, Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor shares amazing entrepreneurial stories from across the globe. She says that she did not want to write another business / entrepreneurial book - there are already so many out there, but wanted to write something different, which I think she succeeded in doing very well.

I liked her description of different types of entrepreneurs (Gazelles, Skunks, Dolphins and Butterflies), as well as the different types of personalities (Diamond, Star, Transformer, Rocketship). There is a wealth of information and examples that are shared. It's not just about starting your own business, but also about employees being innovative and entrepreneurial within a business.

There is also a section on mentors, and how you should not just have one, but have a whole array. 

Besides being a special gift, it is definitely a book I will re-read again. 

Recommendable: Yes, 10/10

Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni

This was a different type of business book. Instead of a lot of business gumpf, it is written as a fable. 

I read this book for a number of reasons, one is that I am exploring different types of writing styles and this one came highly recommended and secondly one of our ten building blocks to building a reputation is the importance of Human Capital and the role that employees play when it comes to building a reputation.   If you don't have a solid team in place and on your side, one which is built on trust, not afraid of conflict, committed, accountable and results-orientated for the whole team, you'll have a problem on your hands. 

This is a very quick read. I downloaded it on Friday and completed it by Sunday afternoon. You should finish it in a couple of hours if you read it in one go. 

Recommendable: 7/10

Race: Old Mutual Two Oceans, 21.1 kms

04 April 2015 - It's incredible to think that it is already a year since the last Two Oceans! It feels like we trained and prepared a lot more last year. I had a training program printed out and all. This year I must admit that I felt s little bit more blazé so didn't train as much as I should've/could've.  With that said I have already completed three 21's this year so far (and the Bay to Bay!).

Although I suppose I should not be too harsh on myself. As part of our training we did do a run to Bantry Bay, Southern Cross and also the annual Hot Dog run the weekend before. 

I was super happy that I had been bumped up a seeding from E to D, which meant that the race started at 06:00. I was a bit worried about cutting the time fine as we left Hout Bay at 05:15. But fortunately had enough time to hand my bag in at the tog bag area and catch the last bit of the National Anthem. 

What I found quite interesting was that the first set (A,B,C) got a loud gun shot to set them off. We got a wishy washy pfffft and a lot of people around me also wonders 'is that it...?'  

My favourite favourite part is reaching the top of the M3 and seeing the lights of False Bay. There were a lot of watering stations along the way. 

Along the way it was wonderful to see Michele at the bottom of Southern Cross and Lew along Rhodes drive. Seeing a familiar face does wonders to boost one's energy. Compared to last year there did however seem to be a lot less support along the way, the weather definitely played s big role. 

Towards the end it started to drizzle, wonderfully cooling. 

I am super stoked with my time of 02:31:15, seven minutes faster than last year. 

Salon: Milk & Honey Boutique Spa

Have I found the answer to my search? Through a friend I was introduced to GoGlam. The way that they work is that you pay a monthly fee which entitles you to five treatments during the month. Initially they were at both O on Kloof in Bantry Bay and in Bree Street, but when I arrived at O on Kloof on Friday for my manicure I was informed that they were now only at Bree Street. I wasn't overly excited about this, but it all worked out well.

1. Send me a reminder be it via email or text that my appointment is taking place the next day YES, confirmation of the address would have been good.
2. Client card to be filled in - YES.
3. Offer me something to drink on arrival, or let me know where I can find a jug of water (bonus points if said jug has fruit, mint or lemon in it). YES (plus bonus point - apple in the water, and they offered me coffee with the most divine cupcake)
4. Friendly therapists that go out of their way to make you feel special. YES
5. Gives a kick ass medium-strength massage that I feel relaxed afterwards. YES - hand massage, part of manicure was lovely.
6. Gentle relaxing music. YES -classical music
7. Warm towel / blanket N/A - I was not too excited about the plastic bowls but the rest was good and the view is wonderful.
8. Manager / owner introduces them self and asks how the treatment was - NO - there was no one to say good bye to.
9. Value for money YES
10. Location OK - The Manhattan Building seems a bit dodge, but the spa itself is lovely.

7/10

 

Restaurant: Royale Eatery, Cape Town

27 March 2015 - this is one of my favourite restaurants in Long Street. Quite rustic but absolutely divine food. Every time that I have been there the quality has been fantastic.

FOOD: They have quite a variety of dishes, but there claim to fame are their burgers. I opted for their Swiss cheese burger with sweet potato fries. 

DRINKS: Had a glass of wine. To wrap up we had milkshakes, their other claim to fame. They have a wonderful array of flavours to choose from even an avo one! This time I had their Romany Cream one. I thought it would be more chocolate-y, but nonetheless tasty!

SERVICE: Good

VALUE FOR MONEY: Good for the quality and portions. 

PARKING: This is always a problem in Long Street, but drive around the block enough times and you will find something. Just don't park illegally. You will get fined. 

RECOMMENDABLE: Definitely! 8/10

Restaurant: Café Bree, Groenkloof Pretoria

21 March 2015 - this was a bizarre experience. After a wonderful morning of second hand book shopping with my Mom at Princess Christian's second hand book store (AMAZING bargains) in Brooklyn, we decided to stop for mid- morning tea at a nearby restaurant.

At the Groenkloof Centre, there are three tea shops next to each other. We decided on Café Bree.  The whole experience felt a bit surreal...

FOOD: While we were waiting we were served two milk tart-type pastries, which were quite tasty. My Mom opted for a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich served with chips and I ordered their carrot cake muffin. Mine was delicious, big portion, moist and delightfully tasty. (This is not the weird bit). 

DRINKS: This is where it starts getting weird. I ordered Earl Grey tea, but asked for a glass of water almost as soon as we arrived. I was so thirsty, the kind of thirsty where you can't think straight because your tongue is stuck to your palate. I requested the water for us twice, after our food and tea was brought to our table, still no water.  I went to the manager and asked him to please help organise the water. At last one glass arrived (!). Anyway, long story short before being totally dehydrated my glass of water arrived. A couple of minutes later the manager came to our table touched my mom on her shoulder and declared that our meal would be on the house and that our waitress was a bit nervous and shaken after the previous table she served had been rude to her. We indicated that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the food and no need to give it to us on the house. Bizarre. 

SERVICE: Besides taking forever with the water, our waitress was very sweet. The Manager was weird and when we asked to see him to reiterate that we wanted to pay and then at least to thank him, he had disappeared and was not available to see us. 

VALUE FOR MONEY: Menu seemed reasonable. 

PARKING: Ample outside

RECOMMENDABLE: Not sure that I will go back there. The vibe and attitude of the manager was bizarre. With that said every place needs a second chance. 5/10

Restaurant: Woodcutters, Hout Bay

23 March 2015 - We visited Woodcutters soon after it first opened in Hout Bay a couple of years back and it was just OK. The menu seemed quite limited and pricey.

I was not in town for my birthday, and had the Monday off, so we decided to give the place another try and was pleasantly surprised at the food and whole experience.

FOOD: Mark was in the mood for 'egg, steak and chips', but then opted for the Gammon steak, which was topped with an egg and served with baby potatoes and greens. He really enjoyed it.

I had the pork with crackling served with a delicious sticky ginger beer / toffee sauce and crunchy greens. It was incredibly tasty, but very very rich.

 
 
 
DRINKS: Mark opted for a Guinness and I washed my food down with a glass of read wine. What I liked was that the Beyerskloof option is not just a glass, but a 250 ml bottle.

 SERVICE: Friendly and efficient

VALUE FOR MONEY: Very reasonable, especially for the quality and quantity of the food served.

PARKING: We walked, but there are parking bays outside the establishment.

RECOMMENDABLE: Yes, we will be back. 7/10