GOING FOR GOLD

Last Saturday was the "Leapfrog Gordon's Bay 21.1km Race" which doubled as the Western Province Champs... And I was going for GOLD!

In the weeks leading up to the race I would have been happy with a Bronze medal, but as Saturday came closer, so did one of Cape Town's famous cold fronts!!! And on Saturday if you had any double as to why the sailors of old called the Mother City "The Cape of Storms" you just had to but waking up in the dark on a Saturday morning with a cold front rolling in...

With weather like that (and cross country in the afternoon) my chances of gold improved!!! No I wasn't going to be running faster, I was going to be on the start line, the question was how much of the competition was going to be there with me?

Lining up 5min before the gun went off I pulled into the front row and it looked like only Graham was there...

I would love to say: The Race Was On. But Graham is in another league and could beat me by more than 5min. I took off at the sound of the gun and went straight to the front! The rain had taken a break, but the wind was pumping... from behind, and I wasn't going to be left behind... My lead was short lived as the youngsters passed me with easy. The wind at our backs wouldn't last long as we turn left and went around the block and now the race had started, the next 8km would take us into the teeth of the wind to The Strand.

I had spoken to my friend Kent before the race and he was looking to run the same sort of time as me, so as we ran round the block he joined me. The leaders were long gone and ahead of us was a group of 4 guys with Will (one of my athletes) and Graham (the leading 40+). I was the bus driver of of our group of 4...

I had no 40+ guys chasing, so silver was mine for the taking, so I was racing the clock, which ment one thing: I was setting the pace as the km headed into the wind... km after km I powered on. My speed of 15years ago is long gone, but I'm as strong as ever and a little gale force wind wasn't going to slow me down...

5km 17:45 (that did include the start with the wind) next 5km 18:10, this was the 5 that things started to happen... the group ahead fell to pieces losing 2 guys leaving only Will and Graham. My group lost the 2 hangers on leaving only Kent tucked in behind me. We weren't alone for long as the 2 guys from up front joined us,.

Then I looked up and Will had dropped Graham... No ways was this possible... was there trouble, was he injured? As we caught him I pushed on trying to leave him fighting alone before the turn for home. I was going for GOLD...

I pushed, hurting the guys trying to stay in my slipstream, but Graham didn't drop, he wasn't injured he had stopped to tie a shoe lace then slowed up for us. We turned and with the wind at our backs I turned to Kent and told him to go, I had done all the work for him to run a good time... He and the others took off, while I just plodded on. 18:17, I lost a bit of focus on a little loop we took and my pace dropped. 17:50 for the 5km to 20km and then 4:17 for the last bit 76:23!!! my fastest time in 6 years, While I was 10th over the line I was 2nd 40+, the silver medal was mine.

This is were I should be posting a picture of that silver medal round my neck, but I left long before prise giving and will have to wait before I get my prize money and medal...

67 Min for Mandela...

Today is South Africa's, Nelson Mandela's birthday, and at the age of 94 he's got a few years on me... Now for a man who has everything what do you give him? Well knowing that people from all over the world want to give you presents, you let it known what you want; and what does the great man want?

He want your time... He gave 67 years of his life to the service of his people, so what he asks for is that you spend 67 minutes of your time serving others. With Dawn at home again, after spending the weekend in hospital!!! I had the day off and and come the afternoon Dawn didn't need me, so I had a bit of time on my hands. Therefore time to run...

The program said: Easy run, so I thought why not 67 minutes, and to make it count I took a cheque, which Dawn needed paid in for work, and set off. After dropping off the cheque I headed to Bishopscourt. I thought it a good idea to run past Mandela's Cape Town house (he wasn't there)... After waving happy birthday I headed on past Kirstenbosch. Watching the running time the distance home I was trying to work out the right route home so I would have my 67 min...

Sorry about the 1 sec

Ok I had so I had to run around the block!!!

UNDER THE KNIFE

Were does one start a post like this?

Maybe I could start by telling you it's not me going under the knife, but it was my wife last week...

As much as this is a sudden thing it's been there for years without us picking up the problem! So lets not go back 15+ years but only back to December last year. Dawn's running hadn't been going well for a couple of months, but things looked like they might have turned a corner. So come December Dawn lined up for a half marathon and it didn't go well, her whole body hurt and she ended up running a PW (personal worst!). After a couple of weeks she lined up for a 15km which broke her, at about 8km something went and she should have pulled out and got a lift, but...

Her body slowly came right but her groin was still sore, and after 2 physio appointments she decided that was fine and took a bit of time off, after all groins take a long time to come right. (I thought this was caused by her, now very funny running style!)

Anyway after weeks of limping I sent her to a different physio... It didn't take long for the Physio to send her for x-rays and well a month later THE KNIFE.

So what was wrong, and how did it happen? We can really only guess as to what really happened, but my guess goes like this:

First up it wasn't her groin giving her problems, but her HIP!!! the cartilage in her left hip was, broken and gone... Why maybe it's because one leg is longer than another and that put her pelvis out... (it wasn't straight in the x-ray) Then with years of hard running it just wore the joint out...

On 22 June 2012 I took her in the the hospital for a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing!

This is what you get...

What it looks like...

She was under for about 2 hours and by the time I popped in she was lying in a bed wanting chocolate!!!

They don't mess around, the next day they moved her to a general ward and they also had her up and walking... OK the physio was there and she had a zimmer frame! (she only made it to the door and back, but 2 days later she was in the passage wanting to race (Yes my wife is even more competitive than me!) the other patients on crutches!!!

I took she home on the Tuesday, four day after the surgery.

I was the perfect husband I took a week off work and was at home to be at her beck and call...

Well not really I did have to feed and walk the dogs twice a day, I did have to bring her this and that, I did have to get satellite so she could watch the tennis... Go Roger!

But I did have time to run, and run I did:

Chappies in the back ground

Hout Bay below

I run up the Mountain, I ran down the mountain, I ran on the road, I went to the club and ended the week with 150.7km my biggest week in over 9 years!!!

Dawn doing well and if it wasn't for all the other aches and pains... her wrist, her back, her Neck she would be doing really well...

Next week it's down to a walking stick then 3 weeks later it's all fix!!! Then it's the long road back... yes I've read of people who have run a marathon 4 month after the op, but I think that is stupid. She will head back to the gym when she can drive in a couple of weeks. for starters it will be lots of swimming and cycling.

Go Dawn

So we raced the other weekend, and it was slow... I set out at the right pace that was to slow!!! I needed to be 5-10sec faster for the first km. I was bang on 3:28 with the next 2 both at 3:25, so I wasn't killing myself but I was on pace... Problem, I was alone, those 10 sec lost in the first km left me in no-mans land with a group of 5 just out of reach. The 5km mark past in 17:15. It's a simple out and back race, so while I held the pace till the turn I lost it after we turned. Although it didn't help on the way out, there was a little wind to fight on my own for the 2nd half. Passing 10 km in 35:11 ment I was off pace and the 52:15 I was after, was now unobtainable.

I watched the group ahead of me eat up the km never missing a beat, just pulling further and further ahead. The last 5km was slow 18:32!!! I was finished and didn't even feel up to the extra 5km on the program...

Role on Sunday, with the mountain covered in clouds I set off from home and headed up the Green Belts and up into Cecelia forest (not that there are any trees left) from there it was onto Nursary Ravin. With 80's tunes in my ears I climbed into the clouds and turned Right for McClear's Beacon...

it was wet up there

 That picture doesn't really tell you just how wet and cold it was up there; I had my hat off and it was keeping my phone from getting wet, but I wanted a picture and I wasn't going to get any of the view, as were wasn't a view!!! I got to the map at the top and couldn't see the beacon 10m away...

I didn't want to die on the mountaian so I took the run easy, I was even forced to walk the board walks, they were leathal... as i dropped of the mountain and headed home I ad to stop and get some munchies out my pack I had been out for over 2h30 and with only water to drink I was finished. Winegums did the trick and I ran home finishing in just under 3hours...