Restaurant - The Blend - City of Cape Town

11 April 2014 - After a meeting in Cape Town CBD, my colleague and I popped into "The Blend" to have a quick bite to eat. The Blend was right next to where our meeting was. It is quite a small quaint venue.

Food: They don't have a huge food selection, but they have a variety of sandwiches, my colleague opted for the chicken mayonnaise and I the BLT. The chicken mayo's bread was a bit hard, but we asked whether it could be toasted. I really enjoyed the sandwich - the "lettuce" bit was replaced with basil, and the bread was on deliciously sesame encrusted health bread. Very tasty.
Drinks  - we both opted for sparkling water - but they are apparently renowned for their coffee.

Service - they were very friendly.

Value for money - I did not pay, so cannot provide feedback on this.

Recommendable - not bad for a quick stop. I won't go to town specifically to hangout here, but it works for a quick lunch break.

Rating - 6/10

Race - Old Mutual TwoOceans Half Marathon - Cape Town

19 April 2014 - This was my first half marathon (21.1kms) ever. What an experience!

Leading up to the TwoOceans it had become a weekend ritual to meet up and train with my fellow Hout Bay Harriers running friends - one Sunday we ran from Hout Bay to Bantry Bay (15kms) and took the MyCiti bus back (those training for the ultra had the stamina to run back!) Another Sunday we did Southern Cross Drive in the rain, with the last Saturday before the race doing  a Harriers tradition of a 'hot dog run' from Hout Bay to UCT (12kms). 

The start - 16 000 21.1km runners!

I will admit that even though  I was a lot fitter than I had been at the beginning of the year - I had been travelling a lot in the last month making training a bit more tricky and on my last trip home, had picked up a scratchy throat and sniffles. I was nervous about my fitness levels and whether I was going to make it. My aim was to finish in two and a half hours, but when I realistically thought about it, realised that all I could and should do is aim for sub-three and a finish would do.

Nomawethu - greatest running buddy!

They say it is the most beautiful race - and it really is. The beauty of the City's lights and outlines of the mountains as you come over Edinburgh Drive at dawn and the supporters and "gees" really does do wonders to keep the runners going - especially up the gruelling Southern Cross Drive. 

Sweet end of success

Then there is the sweet sweet end of realising that you've made it! Seeing your running buddy and that can of Coke - bliss.

My time: 02:37:32 - super super chuffed and incredibly proud.

Rating - 11/10 and definitely something that should be on everyone's bucket list.

Race - Spar Ladies Race 2014 - 10km - Sea Point

06 April 2014 - Today's race went considerably better than the last one at Sea Point (Lighthouse Ten), I am definitely more of a early morning runner than a late afternoon one. Still did not make my 1 hour goal, but I am fairly happy with my 01:08:something time.

They say it is "The Most Beautiful Run" (I did think this was the slogan of the Old Mutual Two Oceans -?-), and they are not wrong, it was an amazingly beautiful, warm, clear morning. There is something incredibly exciting about early mornings, the freshness and promise of what the day holds is something that I am very grateful for - what a way to start the day and a race!

There were apparently a record breaking 22 300 participants today - what an operation! I was impressed with the communication throughout the registration process, how smoothly it went on Friday when we collected our amazing goodie-bags, and even received an early morning 'wake up' text.

The first two kms went incredibly quickly, so much so that I did wonder whether the signage was correct; the last km definitely felt the longest. 

What I did miss was the cup of Coca-Cola at the end, nothing quite quenches your thirst like that cup of Coke - we got water, which was appreciated, but I will make a note for myself to drink Coke en route next time.

Book - Oprah - Kitty Kelly

On my mission to align myself with inspirational people, reading as many biographies of inspirational and influential people are part of achieving this goal, especially women who have made their mark on society. Oprah Winfrey was the first inspirational lady that came to mind. All I really knew about Oprah was her successful show and that she did a lot of social upliftment investment projects, so I was keen to learn more about the force and dynamism that is Oprah. When I recently saw that she had launched her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) – I was intrigued to find out more about the driving force and everything that is Oprah. I am eager to learn more from someone that has despite challenges been able to catapult herself to such amazing heights. 
When I ordered Kitty Kelly’s “Oprah”,  my very first reaction when I started reading it was disappointment that it was the “unauthorised” biography. But I thought, let me give the book the benefit of the doubt, and not judge it before reading it. I also then rationalised that it would / could then provide an unbiased, unsentimental view of Oprah.  To a certain extend it did this, but there seems to be an underlying bitterness that comes through from the author – my sense is that Oprah did not want to endorse this for whatever reason, so the tone is very factual, but could be construed and as I read between the lines, as unpleasant. I also question the people that did give interviews – their loyalty and integrity is questionable.  I am not at all surprised that Oprah signs strict NDA and confidentiality agreements with everyone she engages with, she is protecting herself and her brand. It comes across that people are happy to tap into her generosity and ride on the Oprah name for their own gain, but quick to turn on her when things don’t go their way.

I admire Orpah, she has achieved a lot – she set her mind to being successful and did not let anything or anyone deter her from this goal. She gets a lot of criticism in this book, with a half-hearted attempt in the last chapter to recognise and acknowledge the strides and inroads that she has made globally –

Say what you want about Oprah, she has achieved A LOT

Recommendable – no, it was like swimming through syrup – I will also be taking it off out of our team’s library

Rate – 2/10

Race - Lighthouse Ten - Sea Point

Wow I am unfit, and it is frustrating! I had really hoped to improve my 10km time, especially as this is a flat run. For some or other reason this felt like the longest 10kms ever. At the 5km mark, my heart sank as I realised that it was only the 1/2 way mark and we were already up to 40 mins (I had done a time trial the previous night at Harriers, and my time was 00:33:38 for 5kms, so I was really disappointed). The run towards the turnaround point was hard, every time I thought that we would be turning around, I would see runners ahead with no sign of turning around - it was tough! I pushed myself not to stop - I was so annoyed with myself for stopping during the race on Saturday, so I had the words of Jim Collins' Great by Choice in my head - have a steady pace instead of spurts of speed and then slowing down. This seemed to help especially the last two kms that went a lot better; I also seemed to pick up some speed towards the end, but my time was horrendous - 01:15:something, five minutes slower than Saturday's race where I had walked, faced strong winds and an uphill!
With all that said though, it's a beautiful run, nothing quite beats watching the sunset as you run along the promenade!

Restaurant - Limnos Bakers - Claremont

Limnos Bakers - rather LimNO's. For the past couple of weeks I have been incredibly diligent to eat healthy, which pretty much entails no sugar or wheat, reduced portions and running. This morning my body said to me - time out!-feed me-now!-don't go past start-go directly to somewhere selling fresh carrot muffins. I would even go so far as saying that a carrot-cake-cup-cake would do (with the necessary icing and nuts of course!).

In between meetings, I was ecstatic to see Limnos Bakery in Claremont directly opposite where I had parked. Fate was clearly agreeing with my body's request for something decadent. I keenly looked for something resembling a muffin, but was told that they were still in the oven; I was more than happy to wait as I had a bit of time before my next meeting - mmm an oven fresh muffin! Bonus! After a couple of shouts to and fro to the manager (?) - I was told that there were no muffins in the oven. I then spotted a carrot cake - and rationaled that carrot cake is very similar to a bran muffin and even has additional carrots in it. The waitress confirmed (again with the manager - shouting to and fro) that the carrot cake was fresh. Oe nothing beats a fresh piece of moist carrot cake. Yes, I would go for that with a cup of Earl Grey tea. Sadly, no Earl available - only Rooibos and Ceylon tea. Fine. A Caffe Latte then please.  One of the (many) irks that I have is a piece of cold, old, dry cake - I did eat it - but told the waitress that it really was not fresh and that they should not sell anymore of it. When I asked for the bill, she brought it, but then disappeared out of the shop (?). I did raise my concerns with the manager, who then after I had paid - half-heatedly offered me something else, and said that the waitress should have replaced it. Anyway, R45 later for a dry piece of cake and Caffe Latte -is actually quite reasonable if it was a situation where things were fresh and delicious, however it was not, and the experience was very meh; I think that there are nicer places to go to in Claremont.

Recommendable? Not at this stage. Will have to give it another chance to be fair.
Rating: 4/10

Race - BNP Paribas Cadiz Milkwood Run - Kommetjie

 

02 March 2014 - Today was the first race for 2014 and the first official race wearing the pink Hout Bay Harriers shorts! What fun! I just realised that I should have joined a club much sooner - the camaraderie is incredible, and it is so nice to see fellow club runners before and after the race.

The weather has not been great - there was a hint of drizzle early in the morning, which I really don't mind - actually I prefer it as it keeps you refreshed, however, the wind was not playing along.

The race started at the Soetwater Lighthouse in Kommetjie - en route there this morning, with the sun just cracking through the clouds over the mountains, I was just again so incredibly grateful for living in the most beautiful part of the world.

The first couple of kms consisted of a gradual uphill (frustratingly I walked a bit during the middle of the uphill) with a pleasant downhill - followed by a flat stretch towards the end. I had not really noticed the wind that much until the we hit the flat stretch - wow, a brick wall of wind really slowed progress down.

My time - 01:10:00something - not quite the under one hour yet - but I am convinced that as soon as I shed a couple of kgs, and keeping the training up - I will get there!

I really liked that instead of getting a medal, all the participants received a tree.

One of the guilty pleasures I have after a run is a deep, warm bubble bath. I fitted my compression socks after the bath - in the past I wore them while running, but quite liked changing it up and wearing it afterwards - for some or other reason a very comforting feeling.