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Thank you...and you...and YOU!

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:13:39 +0100

On Sunday, 8 January 2012, I will run the Bay to Bay 30km race. It is a breathtaking route from Camps Bay to Hout Bay, and back to Camps Bay, with 60% of the route having a view of the stunning Atlantic Ocean.

It will be my first 30km race, and also the longest I have done thus far.
Besides being beautiful, the race is also very tough. The route map and profile is shown below:

(picture credit: Aashiek)

The reason for this post is to say thank you to everyone who has been there for me through this journey. Even if you have played a very small part in motivating me, supporting me, offering advice, asking for advice, kicking my ass, or adding your 2c in the smallest of comments or just asking how the training/running is going.

The work has been done. Months of training has all come down to this. The long runs, the speedwork, the cross-training. I have to now trust that the training was enough and that it has worked...especially the workouts that I really didn't feel like doing, like getting up super-early for a Sunday long run when I'd rather sleep in, or dragging myself to the track for speed training when I'm exhausted from a day's work, when it's hot or the wind is howling, and I just know that those 400m repeats are going to hurt! And when I know that if I don't go, nothing will really happen. Nobody is waiting for me there, nobody is standing there forcing me to do it, and nobody will really give me grief if I skipped the workout. I could even try to make myself feel better by saying that I was tired. But I knew that...deep down, I would know. Deep down, you always know! And on race day, the difference between being able to push through a wall or not could come down to that one workout that you skipped, that could have acclimatised your body to dealing with heat, wind, tired legs, or whatever it is you have to overcome at that very moment.

The race starts at 6am and the cut-off time for the 30km is 4 hours. I will be aiming to complete it in 3:45. Having said that, I would be more than happy with finishing in any time UNDER the 4hr cut-off, so a 3:59:59 will do too :)

To everyone else doing the race as well (the 30km or the 2x15km relay), I wish you everything of the very best! May the breeze be at our backs and may our legs be stronger than the ruthless hill of the mighty Suikerbossie. Most of all, may your spirit carry your body to the finish and cross the line with a smile on your face. Whatever you do, DO NOT give up...because:

PAIN is TEMPORARY...GLORY is FOREVER!

Okay...30km?

BRING IT!!

Adios 2011...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:55:44 +0100

2011... Wow, what a year!

From the vibes I've been getting over the past few days, I know that a lot of people reading this may not have had a good year. A lot of my close friends have had a horrible 2011, and for you I sincerely hope 2012 marks the beginning of a new dawn.

As far as my life is concerned, I wouldn't necessarily say that it has been good or bad. I am grateful for every single experience of this year, because it has taught me valuable lessons about myself and others, about people in general, and most of all...about my friends and who the true gems are.

Some of the things I will never forget are:

The amazing achievements of my friends & family. Some of them have completed their first ultramarathon, some their first Two Oceans 21km, some have started running (included here is my Mom who started running 3 months ago and has since lost a whopping 10kg), some their first cycle race, some their first Ironman, some their first 5km or 10km race, some have started their own fashion line, and some a combination of the aforementioned. I am so extremely proud of each and every one of you!

The strength of amazing people I am honoured to call my friends. From overcoming cancer, to coping with debilitating illnesses in the silence of their own privateness (I don't know if that's a word!), to being the support and strength for family members who are going through life-threatening illnesses. I draw strength from the amazing people you are despite whatever hardships you endure.

Running alongside legends. Legends of the international arena and legends of my own life... I appreciate the latter even more than the former. This year I have had the honour of running alongside people and friends who have been my inspiration for a long time, and to be 'coached' and assisted by them in a huge way. That has played a major part in where I am in my sporting journey today. I am honoured to have had that opportunity.

Meeting AWESOME people. I have had the opportunity to meet people I've met online in real life, and it has enriched my life enormously. I never thought that an online platform life Twitter would play such a huge part in my existence. I cannot begin to explain how much I love you guys!

Knowing whom I can depend on. There have been a few very rough patches this year, and those are the times I was shown who I can depend on, who will come through for me and who I can trust to be there for me when I need a friend.

Appreciating my health. I've missed out a few goals this year because my health wasn't up to scratch. Some of them have caused my most heartbreaking experiences in a long time. Despite usually following a very healthy diet and supplementing, I was reminded again that my immune system is inherently weaker by nature and I need to take extra care of my diet, especially since I put my body through a vigorous year-round training programme. Drastic measures...they have been taken! My cupboard is stocked with superfoods and I have now become accustomed to the taste of green juice :)

My running achievements. I have stayed injury-free and I cracked 2 of my major running goals this year, namely: running a sub-2h30 half marathon and running a sub-60min 10km. I am by no means a fast runner. These feats have been achieved through a huge amount of discipline, consistent training, a structured programme, and MOST of all...amazing people who support me and had unfaltering belief in me. I urge you to also surround yourself yourself with people like these, they are critical to your success in any endeavour.

Career. The financial crisis has hit SA, and retrenchments are a-plenty. A few of my friends have been affected as well. If you have a job that you enjoy, appreciate and look after it. If you have a job that you hate, look around for something else. Better yet, start building your own future that is independent of working for a boss. Life is too short to spend most of your waking hours unfulfilled. One of the things I am most grateful for is that although it has taken me a while to reach this point, I am now in a job that makes me happy.

Give back, but be careful ... Giving back to society is a very important part of fulfilling the human spirit. So get involved, not having money is not a reason not to. The great poet Kahlil Gibran said: You give but little if you give of your possessions. It's when you give of yourself that you truly give. The feeling you get afterwards bears testament to that. BUT be careful who you give your valuable and precious time to. If you end up feeling unfulfilled and used, you were in the wrong space.

I wish you everything of the very best for 2012. May it be a year that, when you look back upon your life, it stands out as one that you will never forget. Go live the life you love!

To 2012...upwards and onwards...

135 Minutes for Brony...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:41:09 +0100

On 12 November 2011, I will run a sub 2h15 half marathon.

There...I said it.

Who is Brony and why is her name in the heading? I will get to that soon enough. Right now I will first give the background to the plan for 12 November.

I am a runner. Although not too long ago I could literally not run 2km, the bug bit me when I went to spectate and second for a friend at the 2010 Two Oceans ultra-marathon. I will not rehash that story now, but you can read about it here.

Right now I would like to introduce one of the biggest influences in my running career (although he doesn't even realise it), and that is my friend Morné. When I started running (and by that I mean building up very nervously to being able to finish a 5km fun run), I really didn't enjoy it much. After me and my sister, Fadeelah, did both our first and second 5km fun runs, I told her that running is not for me and I don't think I will continue. It was just so, SO hard. I really could not believe how people could run 10km, never mind anything more than that! So in a way, I (kind of) gave up.

However, this was the same time that I found Morné on Twitter. We know each other from when we were both studying Electrical Engineering at Peninsula Technikon way back in 1999, although most of our contact was in the computer labs back in the days of mIRC and Webmail (yes it was THAT long ago). Having said that, we both spent an awful lot of time in the computer lab. *cough* mIRC *cough* If Morné wasn't in the lab, chances are he was either out playing squash, out on the balcony smoking, or somewhere out in Cape Town out meeting girls he'd met online. Hehee. Sorry to give your game away buddy, I'll stop now. LOL

We hadn't had any contact since then, until somehow he found me and sent me a tweet and we started following each other. The person I found was somewhat different to the one I'd known 10 years ago. At this time, he was busy training for the 2010 Two Oceans 56km and 2010 Comrades Marathon, and he tweeted about it A LOT. I was so inspired by his training tweets that, unbeknowest to him, it woke something in me. I remember one specific day he tweeted that he'd done a 20km training run before work. I just thought "OMG if he can do a 20km run before work, and solo, then why am I complaining about training distances that are way shorter". He made the early mornings, long training sessions and relenting races sound like fun, and I wanted some of that too! So started my journey to becoming a serious runner. Today he is an Ironman (he completed the 2011 *Ironman South Africa race in April), so most of the time I just refer to him as Ironman.

My next few major milestones were also inspired by him. I will go further into detail about this in another post, but just to list them, they are:

My first half marathon - suggested I do 2010 Milkwood half marathon, even though according to me I would not be ready to make it within cutoff. I was wrong, and I did make cutoff.

My first sub 2h30 half marathon - suggested I attempt this at Two Oceans. I had been struggling to break this time & I didn't think Oceans would be the race I would achieve it. Again, I was wrong.

My first successful, planned 9:1 - 2011 Gun Run. Planned a run/walk strategy for me that got me in at a PB of 2:19:36

Next, we are planning by far the hardest project yet. Morné will run the Realtors International 21km race in Big Bay with me on 12 November and we will aim to finish in under 135 minutes. *EEEEKKK*

As anyone reading this will know, I am terrible at doing regular blog updates. I have been meaning to announce my plan to run the sub 2h15 half marathon with the Ironman for the sole reason that I want everyone who knows me to hold me accountable to that commitment. Somehow, I couldn't find the words to formulate this plan into a blog post.

After I read a blog post by my dear friend Bronwynne, I was so happy that I didn't announce my plan yet. Bronwynne's post can be found by clicking HERE. Please do take a moment to read that, and then do hit the "Back" button to come back here.

Brony, you are a light in my Twitter timeline every single day. And on the few times that I have met you in person, I have enjoyed your company tremendously. It doesn't even feel like we see each other so seldom, because through the openness of your tweets you let us all into your life. I am truly blessed to have someone like you in my life, and I want you to know that I appreciate you.

I want to dedicate my sub 2h15... my 135 minutes of running... my biggest running achievement thus far... to YOU.

Morné and I will not be wearing a ribbon, we will not be raising funds for Ulcerative Colitis or Enteropathis Athritis. But we will carry you in our hearts for every step of the gruelling 21.1km, that I promise you!

I know now that the reason I couldn't bring myself to write a blog post before about my plan was because in a way it felt a little selfish. I don't know why, but it did. Now, doing it for something bigger, for something more than just myself, I feel a strength and conviction in my success far greater than I did before. It just makes sense to do it for this cause. I have to do it, there is no room for failure, I am doing it for Brony.

Brony, you have lived with this crippling disease for 12 years...
It is 12 days until we take to the road on 12 November for our 135 minutes...
I DEDICATE EACH DAY FROM NOW UNTIL THEN TO A YEAR OF YOUR PAIN

You are beyond amazing, to have achieved the success you have in life, your career, your running and your personal life despite this, and to do it in silence, not even telling your friends who love you and who want to support you. Please know that you are not alone, that we are here for you. I cannot even come to give you a hug or to wipe your tears when you are in pain and when you need help because I live almost 2,000km away from you. But this I can do, and this I will do.

During the race when the pain sets in (and it will), when my legs and feet become heavy (and it will), when it feels like my lungs are not big enough to gasp all the oxygen that I need to fuel my body (and it will), when my heart beats so fast that it feels like it wants to jump out of my chest (and it will), when my body says 'Enough!' (and it will)... when any and all of this happens I will think of you, of your strength, of your courage, your unwavering spirit and your positive attitude, and I will depend on that to fuel me. I will also depend on Ironman to kick my freakin' ass if I slack, and I will trust that he ignores any profanities that may emanate from my lips during this ass-kicking operation.

Physically, I am not where I wanted to be in terms of training right now. I was on track and doing great and working like crazy for the past few months, up to the point that 2 weeks ago I almost felt over-confident that I would be ready. Karma struck and I was brought right down to earth again. I lost a solid week and a half of training due to illness and I also missed a 10km race on Wednesday that was part of my training program. This weekend past was to be my last long run before I shorten it next week for the taper. On the bright side, I felt really good on yesterday's (Sunday) long run. This coming week will be my final week of build and speedwork before the race. I sincerely hope that I am prepared for the task so that I don't let those who support me down. Although cutting 5 minutes off your 21.1km personal best does not sound like a lot, any runner will know that it is indeed a mammoth task. Mental toughness will play a much bigger part than normal this time. But Brony is strong and brave...so I must be strong and brave.

Another person that has been amazingly instrumental throughout my training since Two Oceans is Daryl. I'm quite sure that if he was in Cape Town, he would be running alongside myself and Ironman on the race as well. Somewhat of a speed demon on 2 legs, Daryl is also an excellent coach. Although we have never had a single coaching session together in person, technology has come to the rescue and he has been invaluable in terms of guidance and advice on my speed training, and the results are definitely visible in my recent race times. Okay now don't all run to Daryl for coaching now hey...he has 3 hyperactive kids to look after that takes up his time!!

Lastly, I want to invite anyone else who wants to join us for the half marathon for Brony to do so as well. You are welcome to join in, and you don't have to do it in 135 minutes if you are not at that level. Faster or slower will be perfectly okay, and there are lots of seats available on our 135 minute bus. Even better... I would really appreciate some roadside support near the end and at the finish too. The cheers of a crowd and screaming supporters have a way of injecting renewed energy and zest into the legs of a weary runner.

Ooh ooh ooh...a little birdie mentioned that he might even do a #tweetmyrun :) *side-eyes my second*

So there you have it...
12 years
12 days

12 November
BOOM!!

PS. I just found out that the Realtors International event has a 6km Fun Run as well. Walkers are welcome too. So...who's coming?

*Ironman - an ultra endurance event consisting of a 3.8km open water sea swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run

Happy Birthday Abdurahmaan

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:55:28 +0100

Call it an essay... Call it a birthday card on steroids... Call it what you want...
I'm calling it a birthday wish for my "little" brother

I won't embarrass you on the internet with baby photos.
Oh wait...maybe not baby-baby photos, but what would a birthday post be without a few snaps of when you were little, back in the days when you wanted to be a power ranger? :)

So here they are:

Awww... HOW CUTE!!

I'm writing this post because I believe someone reading this will be inspired by the story.

My brother, Abdurahmaan, was born on 7 September 1991, and during birth the doctors damaged a nerve in his shoulder. Now in case this point is not obvious to you (it certainly wasn't to me), a damaged nerve is a lot worse than a broken bone. Broken bones heal relatively quickly, whereas nerves take a lot longer, and sometimes do not repair themselves at all.

My mother was given a series of exercises that she had to do with him at *every* nappy change, which involved taking both his arms, raising it above his head & pressing it into the bed (or other surface he was lying on). The baby, Abdurahmaan, used to scream and cry in anguish every time this was done.

Imagine how hard it was for Mom to continue doing this a few times a day, every day, when your baby is looking at you and crying as if to say: Mommy, why are you hurting me so?

But it had to be done, because the alternative was far too dire. The exercises were to strengthen the arm enough so that he could have a simple operation after 2 years. If it wasn't strong enough, a more serious operation was needed, in which the chances of damaging the nerve even more and losing the use of his arm for good was very high.

So fast-forward 2 years...the exercises were successful and he only needed the simple operation. After that, the arm would be in a cast for a further year or so (I think it was 18 months).

It was only a few years ago that he could only lift his left arm halfway up (compared to the right), so he must have worked damn hard on his own to become the near-superstar sportsman that he is today! And that is why I am so extremely proud of him.

Three years ago my sister and I bought him a cricket bat for his birthday. He was very excited about this and asked my Dad if he could play cricket and join a club. He did, and it didn't take long for him to become the star bowler for his team. At the end of the year, even though he has only played for less than 3 months, he was awarded the Player of the Year award. YOWZERS! We were proud and shocked at the same time. Imagine the performance he had to display to get that award as a newbie...!

So 2009 came. Weekend after weekend he was called out to play. I say "called out" because most of the time he was asked to play for a team that was not even his team in the club. And while I initially thought it the teams were comprised of age groups, I soon realised that he was playing in teams of adults of my Dad's age sometimes. It was not uncommon for the Coach to rock up at our front door on a Sunday morning and desperately plead for Abdurahmaan to come and play because they were a player short, or they needed a good bowler. He always humbly obliged.

We were lucky if we even heard of his stellar performances.
I remember a conversation my Dad had with him once. Dad told us about it afterwards. It went something like this:
Dad: So, how did the match go?
Durie: It went okay.
Dad: Did you guys win?
Durie: Yes we did.
Dad: Did you take any wickets?
Durie: Yes
Dad: How many wickets did you take?
Durie: I took 6 wickets

*GASP*
So the dude took 6 wickets and Dad had to drag it out of him with 4 questions?
If that was me I'd come screaming into the house shouting: "We won, I took 6 wickets"
Had Dad not cross-examined him, we might never have known about the 6-wicket haul!
But that's just the way he is.

At the end of the 2009 season, Fadeelah and I accompanied him to the club's awards evening at Newlands Cricket Grounds because my parents had another function to attend. Their team finished at the top of the 1B league (I think it was called that!) Once again he walked away with an award of note... the coveted Sportsman of the Year award. This time the award was based on a lot more than just performance, it involved judging on all levels of sportsmanship, and again...across all the teams in the club.

At the end of the 2010 season, be received the award for Best Bowler in his team.
Although there is a "Best Bowler" award for every team in the club, they also meantioned that he took the most wickets for the season across all the bowlers in the club.

He also swims a lot better than I do (laps in the pool and swims in open water) and one would hardly notice the difference in arm strength now in his day-to-day activities. When I hear panting coming from down the passage at night when it's quiet, I realise it's just brother-dearest doing his sit-ups, weights and other exercises in his room.

Moving on to another sport... RUNNING!!

Fadeelah and I had started running and I asked him if he would like to also join us. He immediately agreed that he would like to. His very first race was a 21.1km half marathon. This was not ideal, but it was the first race that came up since he started running and he did the Darling half marathon in under 2h30m. The next race was a 10km flat race, and he asked me what time he should aim for. I suggested that he should try to aim for a 60min 10km, but if he didn't make it for under 60min then it was also okay. As long as he finishes in under 90min. At the time, my best 10km time was around 75min.

When I finished the race, I was astounded to find that he had finished in 49min. Apparently he "tried" to run 6min/km, but couldn't manage to run so "slow". That's very funny, because I have "tried" to run 6min/km many times in a 10km race, and I also usually can't, but usually end up on the other side of the mark, not the faster side. LOL.

A few months later, he finished the Landmarks 21.1km half marathon (which is very tough) in under 2 hours.

My sister and I love having him with us at races, but we hardly have that luxury because he plays soccer, cricket, and when he has time, he runs. The Knysna half marathon is one such time that we're lucky to have him with though. Here he is finishing his 1st Knysna 21km in 2010, way before his 2 sisters were anywhere near the finish line, and after his 2nd Knysna 21km in 2011.

This lean machine is a far cry from the little kid below when we visited Knysna many years ago with the family. I'm not going to take a guess at how old he was in this picture, but I think it must have been roughly 15 years ago...

Those were the days he used to get annoyed with me if I kiss him a lot and hug him too long. These days he actually allows me to give him a nice, long hug. :)

So today is your birthday my boy. You are more than a head taller than me now and I can't believe you grew up SO fast. You were our little baby and now you are extremely far from a baby.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...
I LOVE YOU

And to anyone else reading this, the reason I laid out his sporting achievements is to point out that with hard work and practise, you can achieve anything you want to. It takes work, guts and perseverance to attain glory.

The Slave Run

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:46:07 +0100

It was a clear, crisp, Sunday morning. I needed a long run. I didn’t have anyone to run with. But that was okay…because I’ve decided to take my Blackberry along, and when I #tweetmyrun I’m never really alone. I have my Twitter friends with me, even though some of them might be cosy in their beds on the other side of the country.

This would be a very special run, because I would do the route that I’ve worked very hard on for my club’s race in June, but never had the opportunity to run myself. It was the Slave Route…a run strategically passing many historical slave landmarks of Cape Town, which some of us walk past every day, yet don’t even know that they are significant. I park in front of the City Hall in Darling Street and as I gaze across the street to the Grand Parade, I witness a splendid sunrise. The Grand Parade is the site of Jan van Riebeeck’s Fort de Goede Hoop, where the slaves were first housed.

Not very far down the road I pass the south-western corner of Darling and Buitenkant Streets. This corner was once a slave Whipping Post…a place of torture & execution. There was a post to which slaves and convicted persons were tied when receiving corporal punishment.

Immediately after, I pass the Castle of Good Hope on the left. It was built by the Dutch / Jan van Riebeeck in 1666 after their arrival. It was erected as a 5-pointed star, and is the oldest surviving building in South Africa.

Continuing down towards Keizergracht Street, I realise that clearly this run is going to take me a while just because of the sheer beauty of the scenery. As I look to my right, I couldn’t help but stop to admire the majestic mountain catching the rays of the morning light against a clear blue sky. St. Marks Church is next on the slave landmarks list. Built in 1867 in District Six, it has served the Anglicans of that community since then until the present day. The church is now situated on the property of the CPUT campus.

My route turns opposite the Holy Cross Convent, a Catholic primary school, part of the Archdiocese of Cape Town, that was blessed and opened in 1916.

For a few kilometres I run through a site that arguably has some of the most painful memories of our beautiful country. The place? District Six.

The area was named The Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. It was originally formed as a community for the freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants. It was a lively centre with good links to the city and the port, and was Cape Town’s most mixed area. It was then declared a “whites only” area in 1966 by the Group Areas Act of 1950.

In 1970 it was razed to the ground by bulldozers after the forcible removal of its 60,000 inhabitants. In the process, over a century of history, of community life, of solidarity amongst the poor and of achievement against great odds, was destroyed.

The government renamed the area Zonnebloem, but ongoing protests successfully dissuaded developers from taking work in the area. Nothing was built and it remains a barren landscape. Today, disagreements over the land are still ongoing.

Overgrown cobble roads can still be made out near to the plaque that serves as a reminder of what happened and the promise of its abolishment in the words: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER AGAIN…

Okay okay that’s enough sadness for a while now. Let’s continue exploring the beauty of Cape Town.

I continue through my journey and pass the National Parliament and the SA Jewish Museum, then turn into Orange Street for a short bit and turn into Government Avenue.

A haven for squirrels (and let’s not mention the other rodent-spottings) this road is the entrance to the Company’s Gardens, leads to the SA Museum, and also leads to the SA National Gallery and the back entrance to Parliament.

It's a beautiful, pedestrian-only street that I always enjoy running or walking through. It's tranquillity has got to be experienced first-hand in order to appreciate it. Huh? What was that? Did I mention the word 'tranquil'? But what is that I see a bit further down Government Avenue?

*runs closer*

Oh Em Gee it's the army! The man with the big gun tells me not to come any closer...and I obey :)

I think they were having a briefing before going to whatever function was going to happen here...

Chairs and a podium laid out next to the rose garden between the Gardens and the museum told me that a fancy government 'do' was about to take place soon. I was happy to just run hastily through there because after running for many kilometres without drinking anything, I was looking forward to my planned water-stop in the Company's Gardens.

To my horror, my planned 'water-hole' was dry! After asking someone if they knew of another tap in the gardens, and following the directions thereto, that water fountain was dry too! :(

Still sad about the lack of water, I pass St George's Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop in Cape Town. The cathedral replaced a church built in 1834 on the same site.

The sun was starting to shine quite strongly now, and knowing that I would be heading into Bo-Kaap soon, a I knew a plan was to be made to get something to drink or else I would not survive the Bo-Kaap hills.

I decide to skip the Long Street / Loop Street loop, but I do know that Long Street houses both the Palm Tree Mosque (Built in 1780's as a house with a prayer room) and the Old Slave Church with SA Mission Museum (SA Missionary Society was founded in 1799 to spread Christianity to the slaves)

So quickly a Plan B was made, and luckily for me, the Auwal Mosque in Dorp Street was open. This is the oldest mosque in the country. Its history dates back to 1794 when the Muslim faith was brought to South Africa by slaves imported from the East. The property was owned by Salie Coridon of Ceylon, a freed slave.

I had a drink of water there, and actually find it very apt that this site would be my sustenance to continue on my 'journey'.

If I didn't know what was coming, I would start to think that Dorp Street was hilly. But ALAS I know this route far too well to be fooled by this climb. Although I can't see it right now, I know what awaits me when I turn the corner just a few hundred metres ahead.

The end of Dorp Street leads to a left turn into Pentz Street.This is THE HILL that turned seasoned runners into walkers on race day...the one that separates the MEN from the BOYS!

With names given to it such as Jou Ma se Heuwel, Dead Man Walking, and Dead Woman Crawling, the stretch is only 250m long, but the vertical climb is a whopping 80m!

I was tempted to skip this one, but I knew that would be cheating myself in so many ways. So I endeavoured to trot up slowly. Thinking that if I run slowly enough, I could maybe run the entire hill, was clearly wishful thinking. Halfway up I surrendered and walked the rest of the way, with a bit of help from the railing at the side of the road.

So there's the monster, and the proof that I conquered it, albeit how slowly. After all... THERE'S NO SHAME IN WALKING!

I was now in the heart of the Bo-Kaap, an area inhabited mainly by descendants of slaves who were brought here by the Dutch East India Company in the early days of the settlement.

Running down Voetboog Rd (named after a ship that brought slaves here from the east), the views of the city and the mountain are breathtaking and awe-inspiring! If it doesn't take your breath away and make you forget about the pain in your legs, there is something not right with your anatomy. I took the picture below from the highest point on my run.

From this point onwards there is a very welcome stretch of downhill as I pass a few more places of historical significance, and turn left into Chiappini Street. Here my eyes are once again treated with beauty in another form...COLOUR!

I continue to the end of Chiappini Street and turn left into Somerset Rd, Green Point. As I continue down Somerset Rd I approach another landmark that, when I think of what happened there in history, sends shivers down my spine!

The place I speak of is The Gallows or Gallows Hill, site of the current Gallows Hill Traffic Department, or more commonly known as Green Point Traffic Dept.

The Gallows is where slaves, especially those who dared speak out against their masters, were publicly hanged. The site was situated on a slight hill and therefore clearly visible from the town as well as the harbour, so the hangings served to warn slaves of their impending fate if they should commit a similar offence. Some slaves were even executed at the Castle, their bones broken one by one and their bodies then dragged to Gallows Hill, where they were hanged again.

*shudder*

I continue down Somerset Road on the beautifully paved walkway, cross into Beach Rd, Sea Point and run on the promende toward the Mouille Point lighthouse. Opposite the lighthouse I turn and enter into the newly-constructed Green Point Urban Park. The park is a wonderful family picnic area that I believe absolutely everyone in Cape Town has got to explore. It features an outdoor gym, biodiversity garden, wetland park and many other features.

The park is part of the Cape Town Stadium Precinct, and the whole area is situated on a place that was once known as the Green Point Common. Farmers used the Green Point Common as a grazing area for cows in 1930, and before that (in 1899) it was used a military camp at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War.

Luckily for me, the water fountains in the park were free flowing, so I could grab my last drink of water before the very last section of my run.

I continue through the park, down the stadium precinct, past the Cape Town stadium, under the raised circle and back down Somerset Rd. Just before I enter the "Fan Walk", I pass the St Andrews Presbyterian Church on the right.

Waterkant Street (Fan Walk) > Adderley Street > ...

Towards the end of Adderley Street, I turn left at the Slave Lodge, which was one of the main residences of the slaves, at the corner of Adderley and Bureau Streets.

About 100m later I turn left into Parliament Street and step off the road onto another very significant landmark...Church Square

This square used to have a tree on it, called the Slave Tree, but today has been replaced with marble monuments called the Slave Tree Plaques.

The significance of this site, and tree, is that this is the place where the slaves were bought and sold. Owners used to bid on the individual slaves like goods at a market.

I spend a few minutes here...pondering silently. As I look at the marble monuments a bit closer, I see that it contains names...names of the individual slaves that were auctioned off here.

The reality of the history hit me at that moment more than any other time before. These slaves had names, they were people like you and me, and our family and friends. They weren't just a random *group* of people that we speak about like an event from a textbook. Eleondra van Madagascar, Maria van der Kaap, Louis van Mauritius... these were individuals, people uprooted from their homeland, stripped of their dignity and identity, and given a new identity based on who their 'master' was.

From there I had less than a kilometre left to get back to my car in Darling Street.

A 17km tour through history... left me with a lot to appreciate... and a gaping hole in my belly.

I believe that I deserved the sushi snack I rewarded myself with...

Thank you to everyone who made this blog post possible, for your assistance and encouragement to write it, and to actually get it done. And a HUGE HUG for always keeping me company on my long runs, ensuring that I might be alone...but never lonesome! YOU ROCK!

South Africa 2010

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:31:18 +0100

On 15 May 2004, the headlines of the BBC Sport section read:
"South Africa has won the right to host the 2010 World Cup finals after holding off the challenge of Morocco"

It was one of countless headlines involving the subject after it was announced at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich that South Africa would host the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament... the biggest sporting event on Earth!

What followed was a nation divided with mixed feelings about the country's ability to host the tournament, the concerns about crime, housing and poverty on the one hand, and some excitement on the other about the magnitude of such an honour. Then came the fights about the stadia, the negotiations with residents and traders complaining about the infringement of the 'monstrosities' on their living, the fears about nothing being ready on time and about cancellation of projects. On the sporting side, there was also the issue about Bafana Bafana not having a decent coach, and when they eventually found one, and paid him a monthly salary close to the GDP of a large SA city, they fired him less than a year before the World Cup kick-off. One thing was certain... this would not be a tournament devoid of drama!

But as the year 2010 grew closer and dawned upon us, the mirror- and window flags went up, excitement mounted and the country rallied behind Bafana Bafana like the rodents running after the Pied Piper...

And from 11 June until 11 July, the world danced to the beat of Africa!

The naysayers were still around here and there, but their voices were drowned by the sounds of Shakira and R. Kelly.
Shakira sang, and we listened...
Today's your day... I feel it
You've paved the way... Believe it

The Fan Walk in Cape Town was a permanent party on match days, Soccer City was abuzz (literally!) with the sounds of the vuvuzela, Twitter crashed due to the tweet count jumping up to 3 million tweets per second (compared to the usual 750k / sec), and the Fan Parks brought together a people that hasn't been so united in it's entire history. Yes, more united than when we broke free from Apartheid, more united than when Nelson Mandela was released, even more united than when we won the IRB Rugby World Cup. We hugged random strangers and jumped up and down together when our team won, we cried on each other's shoulders when they lost, we stood united against the world when they condemned our beloved vuvuzela, and we went into a mini depression-like mental state when the tournament was over. What would we do with ourselves now? What would we tweet about? What would we DO?

But 2 months have passed since the final whistle was blown, and surprisingly, the world has not ended...

South Africa 2010... more than 6 years in the making has COME... and GONE...

And whatever happens from here on forward... we can proudly say that we have successfully hosted the greatest tournament on Earth.

KE NAKO

I Am Runner...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:49:47 +0100

ROAD RUNNING... it is my newfound passion and source of inspiration... and a true testament to the amazing machine that is the human body!

Being a bit of a fitness junkie, I have always had a very intense love of gym and sport in general. But the one piece of equipment that was never my friend was the treadmill. I hated running. The treadmill was something I used when I needed to warm up and didn't feel like using any of the other cardio equipment, and I never stayed on it longer than 5 minutes. Road running was even less of a consideration. I could not imagine myself doing the same thing for close to an hour at a time or more. The very thought of it made me cringe with illusions of agonising boredom.

Then, late last year, my sister and I decided to take part in a 5km women's road run just for the heck of it that took place on Women's Day (9 August). But because I had never run that distance before, I was forced to confront and overcome my long-lost hatred of the treadmill, get my ass on it and train. I had to run baby, run! My gym sessions became almost exclusively running sessions, and I had to force myself to fit in other activities for strength training and conditioning. After the race, I felt a tad lost in the gym, because suddenly I felt that my sense of purpose for training was gone. I now no longer had any tangible goal to work towards.

So in October we (my sister and I) ran another 5km race... this time the KFM Gun Run. A tiny shift happened in me that day. I started to enjoy running, and everything that came with it. I told my sister that next year we HAD to do the 10km version of the Gun Run.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2010, we discovered that one of our friends (Naasief Mohamed) is an avid runner and was in fact running half-marathons regularly, and was even starting to run marathons too. So we started running some regular races with him. He left us coughing in his dust and was nowhere to be seen while we were running, but nonetheless we took part in the same race. I was falling more and more in love with it as the weeks went by. On 28 March 2010, I reached a milestone when I completed my 1st race which had a cutoff, within the cutoff time. The race took place at my alma-mater, UCT. It was 10km and the cutoff time was 1h30. Here's proof of my feat...

A week later, Naasief was to run the Two Oceans marathon. It was to be his very first ultra-marathon. The very thought of Naasief running 56km around Cape Town left myself, Fadeelah and Quaseem (his brother) in awe! Just studying the course made my head spin and my jaw drop. We were so excited for him and couldn't wait for race morning to cheer for him on the route and at the finish. We became his self-appointed cheer-leading squad. Whatever happened that day, we were already so very proud of him! I had to stop myself from sending excessive amounts of good-luck messages, I mean I didn't want to freak the poor dude out before the big race ;)

Race day came and we first went to cheer for Quaseem at the finish because he did the 21km half-marathon. By the way, Quaseem did this without any training and still finished more than 20min before cut-off... Well done dude! :) After that we hit the road to find Naasief and do our wild and crazy cheering thing, shouting our lungs out in the streets of Hout Bay...

And WOW... that turned out to be one of the most inspiring days I've experienced in a long time... the spirit of the Two Oceans half- and ultra- marathons is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

The MUSIC, the CLAPPING, the DANCING, the CHEERS, the TEARS, the JOY, the CAMARADERIE, the STRENGTH, the PAIN, the DETERMINATION, the FIELD OF DREAMS - the place where dreams are both realised and shattered, the bang of the CUT-OFF gun, the HEARTACHE we feel for the runners that don't make it, the runners that make it with all sorts of DISABILITIES, the SPURRING on of the crowd, the mere ENERGY of the crowds...

And most of all...
** THE TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT **

It is something that can never, ever be experienced by sitting at home and watching it on TV. You have to be there, and when you are, you have to have a heart of stone to not be touched and utterly blown away by the experience. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have been a tiny part of that.

Here is a picture of our champ just before stepping onto the "Field of Dreams" - the home stretch! He made it in an excellent time of 6h34m34s. And yet he still had the strength to smile and run to the finish line with the SA flag I handed him...

(picture taken by Fadeelah Kenny)

I have been inspired to run the Two Oceans half marathon myself next year. In fact, later this year myself and Fadeelah don't plan to run the Gun Run 10km like we agreed last year... NO, we will be running the full 21.1km!

And I am right on track to achieve that, because on Saturday past I shaved a cool 7m37s off my previous best of 10km by running a time of 1h14m35s at my other alma-mater, CPUT Bellville.

I've put it out there, please hold me to it!

To all the runners that crossed the finish line on 3 April 2010, whether it was before the cut-off gun or after, you are truly brave souls. For the preparation that you had to go through beforehand, to the seeds of greatness that you planted by running the course... the world is a better place because you are in it...

To my dear friend, Naasief, your personal achievement has made a mark on many people's hearts, and made all who know you extremely proud. Do continue to make a difference by shining your light. Because as Marianne Williamson says: "...As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same..."

As you go from running the World's Most Beautiful Marathon (the Two Oceans Ultra) to the World's Most Gruelling Endurance Race (the Comrades ) on 30 May 2010, we wish you everything of the very best in the remainder of your preparations. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU...

Appreciate Little Blessings... They Are What Make Life Truly Amazing!

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:18:11 +0100

The spark that ignited the flame for today's blog post came from a tweet (which can be found here). But the story goes back to the 12 or so hours before that. And it just made me realise once more how we can sometimes look at things in 2 completely different ways and the emotional effect will be totally opposite to each other.

On Tuesday, my sister and I were given tickets to go and see Prison Codes at the Artscape Arena that evening, a play set in Pollsmoor Prison. The play details the harsh reality of life in prison. A 'good-guy' (Davy) - happily married, wife pregnant with their first child - is wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn't commit, in fact it was a crime he tried to stop. What follows is the story of how, inside the prison walls, Davy is transformed into someone that he could not have imagined even in his wildest dreams, or rather, darkest nightmares...

I thoroughly enjoyed the play (and would also highly recommend it), and I also enjoyed the beautiful warm evening out in Cape Town. The play ended just after 10pm, and after acting like groupies - taking pictures with the cast and snapping ourselves behind the prison bars - we headed home, and on the way dropped 2 of our friends at home who were also with us at the play.

As we stopped outside their house, Naasief invited us inside. Thinking it would be nice to go inside and chill for a few minutes, Fadeelah (my sister) and I obliged. Little did I know that was was meant to be a few minutes would turn out to be 2.5 hours!

As the clock struck midnight, Fadeelah decided that she wanted to see if she still had some gaming skills and have a quick Starcraft battle session with Quaseem and his friend, who had been lanning (gaming) all night. Naasief and I preferred to chat about real estate, rental agents and recent learning points over some choc-mint ice-cream.

We ended up leaving their place at around 1am... and now still had to drive home!

So fast-forward to the next morning, I had lots of trouble waking up after only a minuscule amount of sleep. I was a tad late for work and still fatigued, and that's when (at 9:19am) I authored the tweet: Note to self: Going to bed at 2am on a week night is not a clever idea any more!

BUT then...
About 2 hours later, as I'm driving back to the office after a meeting... I think... again!

Did I just complain about one night of a teency bit of sleep deprivation?
What was I thinking??

Was I being a total prick and ignoring the fact that:

I had a great evening out with friends

I have awesome friends!!

I was lucky enough to be able to have so much fun on a week night

There are many people in the world that are not as lucky as we are, and have no family or house to go home to (like those in the play). This can lead to a life of crime, gangs and the underworld

The fact that I was tired and had to get up early is because I have a job to go to, many people are unemployed

etc...etc...etc

The list goes on and on and on... and the purpose of this post was not to pen my gratitude list online, but I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying. After my realisation of that, I felt so much better, suddenly wasn't even tired any more and was in fact happy about it. And I realised that for a short moment in time I had another bout of ingratitude.

We have so much to be grateful for every second of every day. And no matter how bad you think your circumstance is, there is a multitude of good to be found in it!

"Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give it" - Dr John Demartini

So...
What meaning will you give to this moment?

What If Suddenly... ?

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:18:31 +0100

What if, what if suddenly,
in a flash of fire and light, you got it!

And among other things, you suddenly understood,
without a doubt, the creative power of your word.

Do you think you'd ever again utter, "it's hard", "it's not working",
"something's wrong with me", or "I don't know"?

Nope, you wouldn't, not ever again.

Extracted from:
Notes from the universe by Mike Dooley

I'm Sorry To Have Neglected You... But I'M BACK!!

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:40:54 +0100

Here's hoping that you're well and doing fantastic...

It has been disgustingly long since I have written a blog post and I am so ashamed of myself for neglecting you for so long.

I have been busy with so many things since my book was launched (and many unrelated to the book itself) that I have barely had time for the things that are important to me, like keeping in contact with my readers.

But since guilt and shame are not emotions that serve me, I will get over it right now and get on with what needs to be done. But this was just a short note to let you know that I'm back, and you'll be hearing from me soon and more often, even if it's just for an inspirational quote or two. And if you don't, feel free to scream at me and remind me of what I said today :)

Wishing you a fantastic week ahead...

Love & Regards
Rogeema

(PS... I hope that you're Living the Life You Love!)