My Two Oceans Half Marathon Journey!

Earlier this year I decided that I would try by all means to do something different at least once each month. I came across a friend’s Instagram post about the Two Oceans Marathon and thought I would challenge myself and register for the race, it was early January at the time and I figured that I would have enough time to prepare myself as I already had been training from the previous year. At the time of registering, the race was already full so I decided to give it a miss but none the less continued with my regular training.

I was super excited at the end of January when I got an email telling me that due to some cancellations I had managed to move up the list and now I had a spot! I was super excited as I knew things had just got real and I had to be fully prepared for this. I had always been running 10 kilometer races but I had never in my life completed a half marathon so this would definitely be a first.

In hindsight I realised that I required way much more preparation for this half marathon than I actually had put in. My training consisted of 5km runs during the week and the weekends usually 10km runs with the ladies in our running club. I also made sure that I also studied the route that we would run for the half marathon so that I trained appropriately. Thankfully, the management of the Two Oceans is super organised so once my registration was complete I would receive weekly health tips advising on what to do and what not to do before a marathon or half marathon, I was super impressed!

At some point in February as my work load increased, I found myself doubting I would be able to do the race as I was unable to put in the required time. To add onto that, I had an earlier knee injury which had not quite healed but was almost there or so I thought. Fortunately, I have colleagues that have run several marathons, one of note was Veli, who has taken part in The Two Oceans Ultra, Berlin, New York and Boston marathons, he was key in keeping me motivated to go forward with this race such that the day I made the purchase for the ticket to Cape town it was him that talked me out of the nervousness and was standing by as I clicked on the buy ticket icon! From that point I knew it was real and it was happening and I was going to go and run the Two Oceans Half Marathon!

The days turned into weeks and before I knew it , it was the week of the race. There was so much going on and again I considered pulling out, thanks to additional encouragement, I made it onto the plane. I was as ready as I possibly could, I had my running gear, running gels and everything else and most importantly I was on that plane!

There was so much excitement on the trip to Cape Town as a lot of people were travelling for the race. I felt proud of myself that I had made it this far but the bigger challenge lay ahead of me. I calculated what my average speed had been from practice and roughly how long it would take me to finish the race. My average per kilometer was 7.5-8km per hour and I figured I would make it in the 3 hours 10 minutes given to complete the race so I lay my fears to rest. I had looked at the map to see where the inclines were so that I knew at what stage I would need to slow down or add the speed, I had it all figured out in my head, I was good to go.

The morning of the race arrived, I was nervous! But remembered in my mind the quote that says It’s not the finish line that matters it’s having the courage to start that matters, at least that kept me going!

I went to pick up my running buddy Pam and we set out on our way. We made it smoothly to the start of the race. The energy and buzz was just awesome, as the start gun went off for the half marathon, the DJ cranked up Katy Perry’s Roar. In my mind I was glad that I had had the courage to come through and I was finally doing this!

And so the race had begun! It was early in the morning at 6.10 am, but at least the weather was kind and it was not cold or too hot. We paced ourselves so as not to run out of energy. The best way to tackle a half marathon is to tackle it in bits. From the maps, we knew where the tough spots were and we knew where the key markers were, so the key was to at least target to get to each marker and set the next target as the next marker or incline.

Main Road

This was the first part of the run, though mostly flat, the traffic was a bit slow as people were still kind of excited, people walked a bit, this was the warm up stage, I kept going back to my morning run where it always takes up to 2km’s to fully warm up and start running.

Edinburgh Drive

We made it from Main road and the uphill started and that’s when the chit chat stopped from most of the runners, it was becoming serious at this point, again we paced ourselves, did a run walk and capitalised on the downhill along the 5-6km mark. From this point it was fairly flat. It was a smooth run into Constantia and through Parish Road.

Southern Cross Drive

If ever there is a tough part to the half marathon it is at this point that the casualties begin. This is by far the toughest stretch all uphill for at least a 5km stretch. This uphill stretch starts from the 11km mark and peaks just after the 15km mark, my aim was to get to this point and so the toughest strip began. It is at this point where you do not hear people talking apart from the spectators that keep you going and cheer you on. This is purely a mental game, one has to be mentally strong to get through this part as the fatigue also kicks in quicker because its uphill. I decided to pace myself and for a greater part this was a fast walk and not run for me. I realised that while my training had included inclines, it had never included inclines stretching as far out as this but I had come this far and was going to do this. After such a long struggle with feet stinging I made it to the top of the hill! My strength was depleted but I had to press on. At this point my battery had run flat and I had no idea as to how much time I had left but the aim was to get to the 18km mark before the cut-off as I knew I could finish from 18km.

Rhodes Drive

Just after the 16km mark going downhill, I stumbled and landed on my knee, I was in the most excruciating pain. The spectators encouraged me to continue going and I limped on for a bit and my mind gave up, I couldn’t go on. I had done my bit. At this point I was 2 hours 16 minutes and 8 seconds onto the race and I had just about another hour to finish the race. 

In hindsight I do wonder that if I had pushed would I have made it but at the same time I look back and I am proud of myself that I made it that far into the race. This experience taught me to endure, and to try. I left Cape Town with a medal but one thing is for certain I will definitely be back in the next round! The fact that I made it that far into the race gives me the determination that next time round I will finish. I will be going in much more prepared this time round and I will definitely be bringing home my medal to show it!

#100Happy days - Thought Diaries

I have come to the realisation that I suffer from FOMO….Fear Of Missing Out, or maybe I am just a liker of things, I choose the latter. Being the social networker that I am, I recently came across the hashtag #100Happydays and being the curious one I decided to find out what it was all about.

I soon discovered that it was basically a photo journal (on Instagram) for a hundred days showing what makes you happy or what keeps you going on a daily basis. I even discovered that there is website dedicated to this #100happy days phenomena http://100happydays.com/  I guess in my mind I’m like better this than the Nek Nominations that did the rounds the other month.

Going through the hashtag goes to show how much we as human beings seek happiness, through other people, through things and through life experiences. The ultimate goal is to be happy and stay happy but is this really possible in the world we live in? I started this challenge a couple of days ago and I must say it is a challenge indeed to be happy all day with so many daily pressures.

What is this hashtag teaching me? (yes, there’s a lesson to everything, well that’s what I think anyway…). Despite all that happens in a day there will always be at least one thing in a day that makes a person smile and have at least one happy moment and for that one moment we need to be grateful.

In today’s fast paced world, it is so easy to overlook the little things that keep us happy. Many times we are not grateful for the basics that we have and we are constantly looking out for more other than appreciating what is there, call it human nature if you like. We even need a hashtag to prove we can be happy for so long…..

So, what is my point…be grateful on a daily basis because there always will be something to be grateful for, be happy in the moment, live in the now and appreciate each day with its joys and challenges, for tomorrow is not always guaranteed J

 

Mind Games

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you;

you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”

― James Allen

I am of the firm belief of that quote above. Just as the saying goes, you are what you eat, you are what you think. Such a coincidence that I was talking about my love for all things African in an earlier blog post…….The Universe as it seems was conspiring to send me out to discover the African continent. My line of work as it seems, has allowed me to start discovering Africa, more so doing business in Africa. On a recent trip, I found myself in the city of Lusaka in Zambia. I found myself in awe of the level of development that has taken place in our beloved neighbour. Long gone are the days of the notorious hyperinflation that once plagued this nation. Instead, there is a steady flow of investments and things are generally moving upwards for this great nation. I was truly humbled by the warmth and the level of respect I received from the warm, beautiful people of Zambia. My point being…I spoke about and thought about my appreciation for all things African and now this opportunity of seeing the continent seems to be falling into my lap…….

The same line of thought can apply to anything you want to achieve…If you think about it and put your mind to it, it can happen, even Lupita Nyongo can attest to that with her Oscar! So going back to the fitness journey, February was a really tough fitness journey month in the sense that I hardly had time to put as much effort  into it as I thought I would. I didn’t make my running challenge or 50% of my classes, the truth is I could have made the time but I didn’t why?….because the mind was not in it, instead I chose to chill instead and wish myself fit….but alas that doesn’t work. To get anything done or put a plan together, one needs to have a positive frame of mind and positive thoughts, which alone can do wonders (Please note that ‘thinking’ with no action = zero result or worse result).

For the month of March, I have decided to channel my energy into positive thoughts with regards to my fitness journey and practice the discipline I need to get me where I need to go and of course do more as that will ultimately change my tomorrow. My message to you (without sounding or trying to sound like a self- help guru)……think and do positive thoughts and actions today as that will most likely shape your future, practice discipline when you have set out to do something so that you can achieve this particularly if you are on a continuous fitness journey like meJ  (Insanity work out…..I see you!!!!)

Fabulous Feb!

It’s Fabulous February this month! Super excited as it is my birthday month and it is the month of love! So far so good, my fitness resolutions are going according to plan, and the fitness plan has started with a bang in Feb. Special shout out to Papa J for completing his first Warrior race challenge on the first of Feb. 18 kilometres of the very tough black ops challenge! Well done Papa J! #Superproud! I am certain that I probably would not have lasted through all those challenges….one day is one day!

 

January saw me commencing with my new training programme at Dream Body Fitness, it had been a while since I had been there. I started my detox week mid - January and had to do my 7 days of no carbs, no dairy and no sugar! That was tough but managed to detox and came out 2kgs lighter. The purpose though of the detox is exactly that, to clear out the system and start getting the fat burning process going. I survived a whole week of veggie eating and meat eating and egg eating and I must say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but I sure am glad that I am on phase 2 of the plan which still is sugar free but allows me to have fruit, carbs and dairy and also has 2 days of nutritional holidays during the week.

 

For the month of February I have decided to challenge myself and do more as the saying goes ‘if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”.

 

 Last month I had a 50km running challenge which I managed to complete by mid- January so this month I have opted to increase the running challenge to at least 60km and be consist in my gym work outs with no excuses given (Thanks to Papa J I know that certain fitness levels are possible if you keep your mind to it). This is a tough one as I am fully back at work and there are always too few hours in a day to do all the things I would like to. That said, I will continue pressing on….that’s always the key thing with any fitness journey to keep at it despite the challenges.

Being a working mom and fitting in a fitness regime is a challenge I can attest to, but I have learnt to always make a plan and I hope that you do too despite the everyday job and home life that also need attention. What will you do differently this month to improve your fitness levels??? Wishing all the yummy mummies out there a Fabulous Feb!

 

Embracing all things Africa – My random thoughts

There is a saying that says for you to be old and wise you need to have been young and stupid first. If I could write a letter to my younger self the first thing I would probably say is embrace your Africaness and enjoy the beauty that is Africa and most importantly Zimbabwe (for me). For the first time in a very long time, I have come to treasure all things African. Perhaps it is because I am getting older and the priorities of what I value seem to have shifted or perhaps it’s a phase of all things African that I am going through.

Back then in my teenage years, most of us embraced all things from the UK and the States (the West) as the IT culture and as such neglected to look at the beauty of what was our own. More specifically, as Zimbabwe went into economic decline, the populace seemed to lose its identity more with people always looking for hope to beyond the Zimbabwean borders and as such many of us never placed or treasured our country, ok well I speak for myself…..

 

So many years on from my teenage years, I have a different view point of the African continent and all things African. Despite the economic hardships most African countries face due to lack of good governance there is a brighter side to the Continent. Africa is filled with talented and warm people. We have a continent rich in resources, while not properly used for the benefit of the populace we have them all the same. Africa is home to many areas with breath-taking views, my favourite being Nyanga in Zimbabwe, the Western Cape in South Africa and of course Zanzibar. The list is endless and I could go on.

 

Over a decade ago having hair cornrowed or braided in a particular manner was not so cool, instead, weaves were flying high supreme as they had just come in. One would not even have imagined that young girls or guys would wear anything with African print and consider it fashionable. For me wearing anything with an African print design was probably wearing the long “Zambia’s or Chitenge’s” worn by the older women or our grandmothers for big family gatherings or for being in the rural areas and that is where it ended. Again, there was not much appreciation for local music in Zimbabwe or Africa as a whole as people seemed to embrace all the latest music that came out of the states as being the coolest sound ever. Again speaking the vernacular was not so popular in certain areas as everyone was expected to fluently speak the queens language, as a result we never paid attention to African Literature but instead our focus was on English literature, not that it was bad but I see now that our focus was always getting languages and other cultures right while we neglected our own and never took pride in it.

Today, all the above is different thanks to a generation that decided that we needed to showcase our identity and culture. This generation is one that spent its childhood in Africa and then early adulthood overseas and had embraced foreign culture then realised they had to set themselves apart wherever they were so that people could see they were from Africa. This is the generation that would order the latest music from their countries and would cook the meals that reminded them of home so that they wouldn’t get so homesick and in the process revived African culture in the countries they most likely call home now.

From the early 2000’s local African music has become popular among the ‘youth’ of most African countries wherever they are in the world, people are proud to play loudly the local music and dance to the local dances that go with the tunes. Even international artists now sample music from African artists for example Beyonce sampling a TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie and sampling dance moves from Africa and even incorporating samples from African musicians such as Fela Kuti for good measure in her tracks.

Today, African fashion is showcased in all the fashion capitals of the world with the African print or Ankara designed dresses being showcased. We have designers such as Mucha, Doreen Mashika and David Tlale showcasing showstoppers in African print. Young women flaunt their designer African print dresses while young men wear their African print suits with such confidence and pride and all sorts of accessories that go with it. African women are proud to flaunt their African hair and have all sorts of fabulous hair designs and the hashtag #teamnoweave and #teamnatural have become a common one on social media. We now even use our very own African produced beauty products and export these, for example the famous West African Black soap more specifically the Dudu Osun black soap that is quite big in the US as well. African food now also features as African cuisine on world menu’s with people all over the world trying out and enjoying ‘African food’.

People are proud to speak their local languages and in fact encourage others and the younger generation to speak their local languages. African Literature has never been more appreciated than it is now with people from many parts reading books from Africa’s finest writers such as the late Chinua Achebe, Yvonne Vera, Ngugi Wa Thiongo from the old schools and young writers such as Petina Gappah, Angela Makholwa, Chimamanda Adichie and many others.

 

 

So what’s changed from the 1990’s to now? “You cannot be what nature did not intend you to be, the struggles of life come from trying to be something other than you” – and Africans have realised this. Apart from Globalisation and Africans being global citizens, Africans are learning to support each other on a social level and on a business level and take pride in their rich cultures, and have learned to embrace their uniqueness. I for one, have done just that and love it (took me too long though). Other than the big names of Africa, we also have the smaller people that at times go unnoticed that however do their bit to showcase the talent that we have on this beautiful continent.

Despite all the tough times that Africa has gone through and continues to go through, I can safely say I love my country and continent and embrace all things Zimbabwean as I am Zimbo first then all things African. I hope that more and more African people see the richness in culture that we as Africans possess and embrace and appreciate it and use this to further develop our countries and continent. Lets now wait for other people other than Africans to show us the richness that we possess but let us discover and develop this richness on our ownJ

 

 

 

 

New Year, New Thangs!

Happy New Year! Something about a New Year that brings about new goals and new plans all in the form of new year’s resolutions. As usual, one of my resolutions is always to keep fit and do better from a fitness perspective than the previous year. As a result of my knee injury I wasn’t so enthusiastic about gyming or doing my normal runs as yet although I had gone through my recovery period. I was reluctant to start any form of exercise until l came across an interesting status update on a friend’s Facebook page and I had some motivation to get moving. In a nutshell, Nigel couldn’t have said it better. He said “In life you have to show up for ish. SHOW UP and let God. Action pays not wishing. Stop waiting”.

Here I was wishing that I’d love to have a well-toned up body and fit into one of my older LBD’s in a smaller size, but there is no way that can happen if there is no action or showing up to my gym sessions. Action in the form of eating right and exercising and showing up in the form of physically going to the gym or starting a run. I decided that I’d start my fitness plan the very next day despite the day being a Saturday. I decided that the longer I’d take to start, the more excuses I would come up with. I managed to get a knee guard thanks to Papa J and on the 4^th day of the First month in the year two thousand and fourteen I got back into the fitness gameJ

The run went better than expected, it was an early morning run before the sun was up and I had Beyoncé playing on my playlist #Flawless.  From the moment I took my first step I didn’t stop, my run was awesome! I managed a 10km run in just about an hour which was my personal best. I am hoping to maintain this level going forward. This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t take any action to start. Nigel’s life lesson can be applied to basically anything in life, if you sit and wish and take no action nothing will happen, life is all about getting out of your comfort zone and trying out new things…..taking action.

 

With the above in mind, the diet plan in our household has been adjusted…..not a single bit of junk food in our house (Sorry People). This in the hope of curbing the unhealthy snacks we sometimes tend to have. We’ve substituted the junk with fruits and vegetables and from the looks of things the Foodlovers market will be our favourite spot soon. Our household is quite the sporty one so eating right is important to us……particularly our new trail athletes in the form of Papa J and his team.

 

As we get into the New Year I certainly hope that we all keep the positive attitude we have and work towards the resolutions we’ve all made and take action to make things happen. 2014, let’s do this!!!

Tis the season to be jolly!

It’s been a very long time since I've blogged, I never would have imagined that the last three months of the year would be as hectic as it was. It was filled with long working nights, out of town trips and with that my gym regime and eating plan almost certainly went out the window! The 13th of December saw my work year come to an end! Phew!

I now get to take it easy and sleep-in in the mornings and catch up with family and friends and of course enjoy the silly season!  For many of us the festive season is filled with good food, good friends, and good company and of course the good summer cocktails and the ever flowing champagne! This is usually the time when eating plans and exercise fall out the wayside because of the carefree air that exists around. I myself have already been party to such and have even got myself a popped knee while enjoying the festive season. My quick weekend visit to the Dr had the Dr shaking his head and exclaiming the silly season has begun and silly indeed I did feel but nonetheless good times were had on that particular occasion.

 

 

It’s almost impossible to stick to a good eating plan due to the nature of the treats that are always out there, however this is also the time where we also have the opportunity to take time and cook a good healthy meal as well. so how does one beat that festive bulge then....it’s simple, eating clean and ensuring one doesn’t overdue the copious amounts of ever flowing alcohol that’s usually available.

Here are a few tips from Mama J to try and beat that bulge:

1. Keep active, this is the perfect time to catch up on that spring cleaning, gardening and take those long morning strolls or even runs in the morning without worrying about the time.

2. Always keep hydrated by drinking lots of water. If you are in the southern hemisphere and it gets as hot as it does, hydrating is the best way to keep you going and most likely prevents you from having unsavoury treats as well. There's always means and ways of making your water look interesting...adding lemon, cherries or berries will add that pop of colour as I love doing.

 

 

3. If you like to indulge in some alcoholic beverages, try and stick to the recommended limits for both men and women, in addition to that always ensure that you do not eat on an empty stomach as that always leaves one with the munchies once you have a drink or two, try to always line your stomach so that you are not only filling it with booze. Sticking to the limit and eating before indulging is almost the best way to not get a hangover ;-)

4. While this one may prove tough, always aim to eat clean, eat loads of vegetables and fruits and avoid overeating when it comes to the all too lovely cupcakes, cakes, biscuits, chocolates and all the other treats out there.

5. Try also to keep to the natural organic stuff rather the eating up the refined foods which most likely have a lot of preservatives. If you are lucky to be me and have the opportunity to eat fresh fruit, vegetables and organic meat like me, then always grab that opportunity as such foods are always high in nutrients.

I do believe that sticking to the above will keep anyone trying to lose weight or trying to maintain a healthy weight in the right direction during the festive season! Enjoy but don't overdo it, after all tis the season to be jolly indeed!!!