Race: Voet of the Wine, 10km Kuilsriver

24 May 2015 - This race was all the way out in Kuilsriver. It started at the Zevenwacht Mall, a group of us (Darren, Matthews, Admaya, Martin, myself) left Hout Bay at 06:00. We got there at 07:00 so there was more than enough time to register (R40) and drop bags off at the tog bag area and go to the loo. 

It was drizzling & grey perfect for running. The first two kms were quite flat and not too scenic. I managed to run up the first hill. We headed towards Zevenwacht Estate on undulated paths. Saw my fellow club members pass me and I just thought 'oh boy, there's still a steep uphill  coming' as we were running down and they were running up *argh*. I really did try to push myself but annoyingly I walked on hill number two and three. I also knew that I was not going to make my sub one hour when at the 5km mark we had already run for 35 mins. 

Running past the old Cape Dutch building with all the autumn leaves from the oak trees on the ground was really quite beautiful. We then ran past a dam and back the same way we came. 

The last two kms felt quite long, but a fellow runner I had met at the Jive race (Ronald) caught up to me and we ran to the finish together. 

Unfortunately they ran out of medals so I did not get one. But not too phased by it. 

I enjoyed the car ride getting to know the team mates better. 

My time was 01:05:45. Would I do it again? Most likely to try and beat my time. 8/10

Race: FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN, 12kms

This was the inaugural FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN. Apparently it took three years to put together. There was 10 000 participants, quite impressive for a first race. All FNB account holders got free t-shirts, lovely way to get the brand out there. The race took place from Milnerton to Bree Street in the CBD. Therese and I left at 05:30 and headed to town where we parked. Busses were organised from the Parade to Milnerton. We got to the start super early, note to self is to leave a little bit later next year. It was really quite chilly and I had not dressed warmly enough. Either leave earlier or take warmer clothes and drop it off it off at the tog bag area.

I LOVE the large puppets that were walking around!

 

The race started at 09:00. Initially it was going to start at 10:00 - am very pleased that they moved it a bit early. In fact, would not have minded to start even earlier.

 

It was a beautiful run. A slight uphill at the start, then through the dock yards, it was flat for majority of the run. Therese and I started off quite fast. There was a lot of entertainment along the run, which was great! There was another incline as we went through the Company Gardens, honestly never realised the uphill before. At the 10km mark my feet started burning and going barefoot was a tempting thought. Needless to say, I persevered through. There was then one last incline as we headed to Bree Street where the race ended.

 

At the end we each received a medal and limited edition Coca-Cola (which I polished there and there!).

 

My time: 01:16:43 - quite chuffed with it, as I had hoped to make it within 01:20.

 

A lovely race, which I will be keen to participate in again.

Recommendable: 8/10

 

 

 

Book: The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. It was recommended in one of the other books that I had read, so was very pleased to stumble upon it at the Princess Christian bookshop in Pretoria.

It is all about Gretchen Rubin's experiment of doing things a bit differently, making small changes to be happier. As she says, it is not that she was unhappy or depressed, but wanted to explore whether she would be happier by making small changes. Each chapter is a month of the year where she implemented changes.

I like her conversational writing style. The book really resonated with me, ultimately everyone is on a path in search of happiness. Gretchen did not want to go on a sabbatical or go to India to try and find herself, but did get a lot more joy out of things that she did on a daily basis. As she says, everyone's happiness project will be different, however there definitely are a couple of things that she did that I am trying and keen to explore further. For example, she really likes children's literature and started a children's lit book club with her friends with a similar interest. I have no intention or desire to start such a book club, but it did get me thinking about the books that I grew up with. So, the last time I visited my Mom I brought "Brolloks & Bittergal" by CJ Langenhoven back home. I must admit that I am looking forward to re-explore the book. Although with that said, I am quite shocked at how macabre the book is after just reading the first page but more on that another time.

The other daily small change that Gretchen did was to get eight hours sleep. I am trying this, but have not been all that successful. The other thing that she reminds herself to do is to "be Gretchen", I am also using this as a guide to "be Regine", and to focus on what I truly want to do and what I really like, not what I think I should like or should be doing.

Over the last couple of years my life has become a lot more goal orientated, which I really enjoy - isn't it terrific to tick things off the to do list? Someone had told me that you should not have resolutions, because it is not something you stick to. However Gretchen explains it quite nicely by saying that you "hit a goal and keep a resolution". One of the things that I want to do a lot more of this year is to laugh, be spontaneous and to have fun. You can't really have these as a goal, it's not something you can tick off, so I like the idea of having it as a resolution, something which is ongoing.

Some of the things I am already doing that she writes about (*air punch*), e.g. tackling a nagging task. Ever since reading Tim Ferriss' The 4-hour Work Week, I have been scheduling my diary differently to focus on one task that has been on the 'to do' list for way too long before going through daily e-mails. I feel a lot more productive, and I can attest to the fact that ticking off that nagging task definitely contributes to one's overall happiness. The other thing is to enjoy the moment and to be more mindful of the present moment. Another thing is to stimulate your mind in different new ways. At the beginning of the year (again after The 4-hour work week) - I set myself a goal to learn Xhosa and have a five minute conversation at the end of the year. (So far, this is going very slowly, I have however invested in an audio book and am enjoying the challenge of getting my tongue around all the different clicks.

The days are long but the years are short - why would / could / should we not all strive to be happier every day?

This is a highly recommendable read. 10/10

Race: Jive Slave Route Challenge, 10kms - Cape Town

10 May 2015 - This was the second time I ran this race, the first time was in 2013, not too sure why I missed it last year. It has become one of my favourites. I just love the atmosphere and buzz of the city centre early on the autumn morning and seeing Table Mountain and Signal Hill in all their glory, the beautiful colourful houses of Bo-Kaap and then running through the Castle as well. It's not an easy race, there are a number of hills and one incredibly crazy hill through Bo-Kaap. I don't think too many people run up it however a couple of the top Hout Bay Harriers did say that they managed to shuffle up there! Today, a day after the race, I can definitely feel that uphill in my glutes. 

After the first time I did the race I heard a lot of people speaking about the 'koeksisters' at the top of the hill. I totally missed it last time, so made a point to get one this time round - after all it's part of the whole experience. So, at the 7km mark at the top of the steepest hill I think they could find in Cape Town, you get a 'koeksister / doughnut' looking thing. 

They changed the route slightly, instead of going through the Castle quite early on in the race, you run through it right at the end before the finish line. I thought this worked quite well, a lot less congestion than everyone trying to navigate to go through those narrow passages at the beginning. 

There was a bit of queue to get signed in at the end of the race, but according to my phone's Runtastic App, I ran it in 01:09 minutes.  I had a look at my 2013 time, and I completed it in 01:18, so am quite pleased with the improvement and I did admittedly stop (unnecessarily) long at the top of the hill to get the perfect koeksister shot (top of page).

Race: Wings for Life World Run, Franschoek Valley 11.45kms

Annoyingly I did not get as far as I had hoped! In fact I did not even get as far as last year so a bit frustrated with myself. Just as I got into it, the car caught up and the race was over.

My annoyance out of the way, it was a beautiful race! Considerably hotter than last year's ice cold, rainy conditions. 

Last year we started at 12:00, this year we started at 13:00 and there was considerably more participants. Last year there was around 400 (in SA), this year over 1000 (about 33000 across the globe in 33 different countries). We all received a SA flag when we arrived, which was very festive. 

Personally I thought I had gone faster, but the numbers don't lie. I did enjoy it, so beautiful to see the magnificent mountain backdrop all the way. 

Time: 1:14:41 

Distance: 11:45kms