Friendly Face For Friday

After the sad post of Wednesday I just have to end the week with a friendly face good news story.

Most of you saw Smiley on FB and that is also where I saw this little stray the first time. Something told me this was a dog I had to rescue.

So I did and was that a great choice or what?! He is fantastic! Smiley and Spiral have become best friends and are always together.

Until the little fellow clutches out after a busy day...

A truly amazing dog!

Have a super weekend! I will be running trails...yay me!!!

Another day then... for Mr Brown

I had great plans to write the follow-up post to my Super Runner Dad post today. Yes the story continues with what happened to his genes...

But this morning I arrived at work to the sad and shocking news of a colleague that was shot and killed in a car hijacking last night. I am sad and shocked.

Gordon Brown was the nicest person I have ever worked with and respected by everyone for always being so kind, humble and good mannered.

Rest in peace Mr Brown, you will be missed but will stay in our hearts forever.

My follow-up post will wait for another day then...

My Dad The Super Runner

If you know me or have read my blog for some time you will know that my dad is the greatest inspiration for my running. I'm lucky that I grew up with a super running dad!

This past weekend my dad and I browsed through some of his running logs, results and other stuff and I was reminded again why he is such a huge inspiration. He was a running machine!

It's a pity he started running races so late in his life. His first road race was also my first road race. The SABC TV Road Race in 1981. It was a half marathon. I was 18 and my dad was 51.

Even at this race the signs were already there that dad was no average runner. He finished more than 30 minutes before me.

But this is only where his racing started. Dad started running in 1970 because he suffered from low blood pressure. We can all learn a lesson or two from his training. He literally ran 6 or 7 days a week all year round just because he enjoyed it so much. It was only 11 years later that he decided to train for a race.

He didn't keep detailed logs but I can tell you that he puts most of us to shame when it comes to training. I found good and regular log entries for 1985 to 1988. For these four years he averaged 440km (273 miles) per month. That is and average of 5280km (3281 miles) per year.

He mostly ran 7 days per week with a few 6 day weeks in between for reasons not mentioned. He was very serious about his running. In 1982 he completed his first marathon at the age of 52. His time was 03:34. This was the start of some amazing performances.

1st Marathon in 1982 - 52 years old.

JSE (City to City) 50km

Dad's PB's as we could find in his results:

10km - 37:15 (55 years old)

15km - 57: 19 (54 years old)

21.1km - 01:22:45 (56 years old) One of his best records I think. That's a fast half marathon!

32km - 02:15 (54 years old)

42.2km - 03:09 (55 years old) Not a bad marathon for that age!

50km - 03:46 (55 years old)

56km - 04:10 (56 years old)

Comrades (90km) - 09:08 (58 years old)

100km - 10:32 (57 years old)

I just wonder what these times would have been if he ran these races 20 years earlier when he was in his thirties...

If you look closely at the photo below you will see he finishes the Comrades with two bottles in his hands. They were filled with corn syrup. At the finish they were still full. I asked him why he didn't use the corn syrup. His answer: "when you run this slow you don't need anything except water". The corn syrup was just in case something went wrong.

To this day I have not come across anyone who runs 90km on water only. Dad did. He never used anything else on a race. He was just that fit. The only thing other than water I ever handed him during a race was Vaseline.

I remember he once took some Coke on the Pick 'n Pay marathon. What did he say about it...? "It's too sweet and it didn't make any difference."

Dad is now 84 years old. He still works as he doesn't feel ready to retire yet. He is an Ophthalmologist (eye specialist). He is not only my super runner, but also my super hero.

Throwback Thursday - Birthday Edition

31 July and I am 51 years old today!

This is my sisters and brother looking at the new edition to the family 51 years ago. My yougest sister does not look too impressed...

Happy Birthday me!

Challenges

I am registered for some awesome races still this year, but training for them has been full of challenges. Getting into shape is getting harder as the years role on so the steps backwards because of sickness or whatever mishap seems to have bigger impacts than before.

I am very dedicated and was just getting into a perfect rhythm with my training when I got food poisoning after a birthday party last week. Just like that and another 5 days not able to train. But I remain positive and still have enough time to have an amazing rest of 2014. 

I will still shine...even though I feel a bit like the fellow below...

Have a great week everyone!

Age doesn't matter but...

I'll be 51 at the end of the month and I am working towards some awesome ultra goals. Yesterday I was listening to some kids aged 19 - 23 complaining about exercise and effort and whatever else they could. It made me feel quite good.

Yes I'm slow but I can work, run and walk them all into the ground. But it did make me think about a few age related things and even though age doesn't really matter there is a but for sure.

Recovery takes much longer than before. Getting back into shape also takes longer. I think it is related to the fact that getting out of shape speeds up as you get older.

I'm currently building up again after being sick. This is where my body tells me I am not 20 or 30 anymore. Not in what I can achieve, but in how long it takes to get there.

Recovery is certainly taking longer than 15 years ago. Recovery from sickness or after a heavy fall or maybe some other injury or mishap. This is where I feel I am no spring chicken anymore.

Luckily age also brings wisdom and I know from years of experience I must just be patient and persevere. I will get there and I will achieve those awesome goals.

Age doesn't matter, but be wise about it.

Running when sick... or not

Sadly I've been battling with flu and a cough and will only start running again tomorrow. During this time I've been asked quite a few times about running while being sick.

I think this is a common question for runners and most people answer with mention about the above the neck and under the neck rule and so on.

Well, firstly it obviously depends what you are sick with. A bad stomach can certainly down many people while a cold can usually be run with.

I think it is different for every runner. I read an article this morning about how do you know when you are sick enough to stay off work. I loved the answer as it is exactly the same as my answer for the question of how do you know you are too sick to run.

The answer: If you are wondering then you are probably OK to run (or go to work). If not you will know that you just can't. That's how I know when not to run when I'm sick. I just know I can't. If I wonder, I will go out for a short, easy run and see how it goes.

This past two weeks have been very frustrating as I've been battling with especially a sore, burny chest. An irritating cough accompanied this and I just knew I could not run at all. I am feeling ready to run today for the first time and will go for an easy 5km tomorrow.

All part of the fun I suppose...

Happy running everyone!