Shout Out To The Dirt Diva Today!

Today I have to give a shout out to the Dirt Diva, Catra Corbett. Catra is going for her 100th hundred mile finish this weekend! Awesome and awe inspiring!

And of course Truman will be her number 1 supporter!

Go Catra, you inspire many all over the world.

12 Things About Me

This has been going around on FB and I decided to share it here as well. I was given #12 by AJH from Age Groups Rock for the 12 letters in Johannesburg. So here is 12 things you may or may not know about me:

1 - My wife Anette is my best friend.

2 - I switched from playing rugby to running cross country in St8 (grade 10) because I was too small for rugby and getting injured. I broke my arm in my first cross country race!

3 - I am busy writing a book – no I am not letting out any secrets!

4 - I love nature and animals more than most people can ever understand.

5 - I have run 1278 official races, including 126 marathons and 117 ultra marathons.

6 - On average I buy 4 pairs of running shoes per year.

7 - I love statistics!

8 - Gardening is one of my favorite ways to relax and switch off my mind.

9 - In the 1990’s my resting pulse rate was 34.

10 - Birds and trees play a huge role in why I love nature so much.

11 - I always had dreams of becoming a Vet, Marine Biologist or Game Ranger…Go figure that I would end up in IT…

12 - I love IT!

Life is life...

I always accept life for what it is and make the best of every situation while staying positive. But even my patience can get a bit thin at times. The first thing that causes this to happen is life interfering with my running.

I'm going through a stage like that at the moment and it is not good at all.

My foot is recovering well from the cut it received when I dropped some broken glass on it. Good enough to start running again, but I did miss more than a week because of this.

Then work happened... I spent the whole weekend, and still doing the same right now, analyzing stats from graphs like the one below. Long hours for tonight as well means probably no running tomorrow morning. I hate it when work interferes with my running!

On top of that we've been having some mean storms here in Johannesburg. So bad that our thatch lapa was blown down on Saturday morning.

From Wikipedia for my overseas friends:
(A lapa is a structure that is popular in South Africa. It usually consists of a thatched roof supported by wooden poles. Lapas are commonly used as semi-open entertainment areas. It is sometimes misspelled as lapha. Lapa can suitably be accepted as a variant of the widely known gazebo. 

Yep... life is life!

What shape are you in?

While I'm not able to run this week because of the cut on my foot I can't help to think about the shape I would like to be in and be training for right now.

The best shape I've ever been in was from 1996 – 1998. This was also when I ran all my best times for the various distances we run.

Finishing a 50km in 04:54 - Skinny me!

Now I am 50 years old and that makes getting into and staying in that shape much harder. I’m sure I can get there or almost there but it will never be the same as it was when I was in my prime.

56km Two Oceans in 05:37 - Skinny me!

Yes, there was actually a time when I was not a back of the pack runner. :)

Marathon in 03:49 - Skinny me!

When were you in the best shape ever or are you lucky enough to be in that shape now?

A Silly Accident

The running gods are certainly not with me this year. I am finally back to full training after being sick for the I don't know how many times this year and then I cut my foot!

Last night I was throwing away a broken slate of glass from an old photo frame. The one piece slipped and fell into my left foot. I have a nasty and deep cut behind my big toe. This morning I can barely put any weight on the foot. There goes my training yet again :(

At least it's weekend! Have a good one!

Sadness and Happiness

Yesterday brought some sadness and happiness for me.

Sadness

An old running friend, André Heydenrych, lost his battle with cancer. André is a legend among runners here in South Africa and must be close to holding the record for most races run. Probably very close to 2000 if not a few more. My condolences to his family and all his friends.

Rest in peace André, you will be missed on the road.

Happiness

South African runner Lusapho April finished 3rd in the New York marathon yesterday! Competing against the best in the world and finishing on the podium is certainly a great achievement.

Well done Lusapho!

Have a good week everyone!

Frowback Friday

There is a manager that works with me that has no front teeth. I've known him for nearly three years now and it seems he is not thinking to do anything about it ever...

After a meeting this morning that he chaired I decided to dedicate this "Frowback Friday" to him.

1976 - Primary School Tennis Team

Have a super weekend everyone!