SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE 15KAY 7TH MARCH 2009.

SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE 15KAY
7 MARCH 2009.

Thursday morning 5th March 2009. I had been away for the week and happy to be able to run in the morning. Gerald was off to Cape Town to support Pat as she cycled her 10th Argus Cycle tour. I heard that Mat Damon, the famous ‘Bourne Identity’ actor, would be cycling the race this year. Adrienne would be in Johannesburg for a Diving Competition and so I asked who would be coming to run at the beach on Saturday morning. There were a few takers but no real enthusiasm for the run.

That morning I ran with Earl, Susan and Adrienne up Church road to 12th avenue and back down Water road to 6th avenue where we collected water at the filling station. Theresa ran past. She enquired if I would be doing the Sportsmans Warehouse 15kay on Saturday and informed me that if I was, then I would not be passing her as I had done at the last 15Kay. I had not known about this event. Earl & I chatted and decided to take part in the race rather than going to the beach.

Later that morning I called Tim and asked him if he would join us. He seemed quite keen and I arranged to pick him up on the way there. Friday evening; Ally had a ‘sleep out’ at the church and she also had a party with a friend (Meghan) on Saturday morning. I dropped her off at the church with a little goodie bag, her mattress and sleeping bag. Earl called to say that he was working late and would probably not be keen to run. I am almost always in bed early as I become so tired in the evenings that I really cannot stay awake. Friday evening was no exception so I awoke on Saturday morning early, feeling fresh and ready for a good run.

I have this new GPS gadget and set it for Tim’s house. I passed Earl’s house but when he emerged in scants I knew that he would not be coming for the run. I drove on to where Tim was staying in Mangold Street and he was waiting on the corner. Tim and I have run many races together and yet have drifted apart over the past three years. It was really good to be going to a race together again. In fact we were able to catch up from where we left off as if there had not been the break. At Sportsmans Warehouse we paid our R25 and entered the race. At the car we chatted to Malcolm Figg and Tony Boardman. Tony had taken a year’s break from Running and was also pleased to be back into the sport. Malcolm is also back into running races after a long break.

We lined up at the back and started really slowly. We ran the first kay in 7.5 minutes. We had seen a number of Achilleans (Moff, Tom, Gareth, Peter P) at the start. Erna, Sonja and Willie (MPRG) were there. Tim soon complained that the pace was too slow and we started to move through the field. We chatted to whoever we came across. This is one part of running that I really enjoy. Chatting to people for just a few seconds and receiving a bright and positive response, makes running such a great experience. One particular runner had a bright blue pair of Saucony’s on that he had bought the previous day at the Brian Bands shoe sale. This reminded me that I should go there after the run as my shoes were approaching the end of their running life.

We passed Theresa. “Oh No” she exclaimed. “Its you!” As we passed her she realised that it was Tim who was pulling me and urged him to: “Run me to the ground”. The 7kay mark seemed to come quite quickly and Tim started to look agitated as the pace was too slow for him. For me, we were running at 5.30min a Kay, and this was a good steady pace. By the ten kay mark he realised that he still had plenty of energy and surged ahead.

We had run the first half of this race with the easterly breeze behind us and uphill. The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. The weather was overcast but still very hot as we ran out bound. During the inbound half the sun pushed the cloud cover aside and we began to really overheat. The watering tables were wells stocked and regular.

The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. I was pleased that Tim had gone off as he was running just that half a stride faster than I would have liked. I saw him disappear into the horizon and tried to maintain the pace that we had set. I saw Leslie ahead of me and tried to catch her. She was really running well and I realised that I would not be able to reel her in. But, just then, we came to a water point and she took a quick break to drink her coke and this enabled me to pass her.

I then carried on as fast as I could. I now saw Erna ahead of me. Erna runs with the MPRG in the mornings. I ran as hard as I could even into the finish area but could just not catch her. She finished just ahead of me. A number of Achilleans were running in the opposite direction. I had run as hard as I could and there was no way that I would have been able to continue. Bob and Tim had already collected their cool drink. Tim had run the race in about 78 minutes and I was something like five minutes behind him. In the last five kays he had run a minute a kay faster than me.

Erna and Sonja had earned themselves Silver Medals. Tim and I had decided to leave straight after the run. I dropped Tim off and went home for a shower before heading down to Brian Bands to purchase a new pair of Aisics. I am a reluctant shopper and it is seldom that I am prepared to spend time trying our shoes or clothing. This morning I had brought my old Aisics and the sales assistant brought me exactly the right size and fit. I was very happy with the pair that they sold me and so bought two pairs.

Tim called to say that he had left his wallet in my car so I dropped it off and then collected Barbara, went back to Brian Bands and bought her two pairs of Adidas running shoes as well. Barbara is in the process of becoming fitter and we plan to start an evening walk run according to a program that she has. I had to spend some time in the office to prepare for the week ahead. Later that morning, I collected Ally from her party from Debbie Derry’s home and we went back to Brian Bands for the third time and now bought her a pair of Tennis and a pair of Running shoes exactly like the Adidas that I had bought for Barbara but just one size bigger.

I had to prepare for a hiking meeting with Nigel, Colleen, Mike & Barbie Perks f or our planned Fish River Canyon hike later this year. At the meeting we had a general chat about preparations. We will have to know our travel plans as we need to book in advance. Barbara & I spent most of the afternoon watching Stormers and Bulls Rugby.

Sunday morning.
We started off early. Barbara reading her book and me doing my writing. Mike Perks was giving the message, talking from Matthew he spoke about being greedy and taking from life rather than giving of yourself. He told us of a friend who gave him a quote: “I climbed the ladder of success only to find out that when I reached the top, the ladder was leaning against the wrong building”. The person who said this had been the joint MD of OK Bazaars at its height of success.

So the question that Mike was asking is “What is success?” Is it Power, Money, Material goods, Popularity etc? Or is Success a product of your soul and the activity that makes up your soul? Mike tells the story: The man runs up to the funeral as he is a little late for the service and asks of the person standing next to him: “So how much did he leave”? And the answer he receives is: “Everything!”

After Church we went to Nippers at Summerstrand. The West wind was blowing after a week of Easterly. The east wind had brought up big swells and being in the water meant that we were fighting cross currents and a strong pull as the waves formed. The surf was not uncontrollable and the U10’s had a great time with body boards. We had nearly 20 U10’s with Lynne, Marius and I as coaches.

Clint took the handful of U14’s. I saw him having quite a hard workout himself. Deon & Andrew coached the U12’s. Serrano was there with Matthew Derry and Mundy practicing Flags. They gave us a few tips and we watched them going through their paces.

The U10’s had a really good workout both on the beach and in the sea. By 12.30 looked like they had had enough for the day. A Nippers practice like this is excellent exercise for young children. They run, swim and board, using all their muscle groups and never over heating. They take part with their peers in a fun environment and seem to be keen even when stretched over their limit. Taking board rides in white water, that has the strength that we experienced today, enhances their confidence and ability in the sea. For the coaches it is sometimes quite scary, as we see children being swamped by huge waves, only to emerge gasping and spluttering with a wide grin of achievement.

At East Cape last week I mislaid a pair of Summies Shorts and found Luke Hepburn’s cap in my bag. The club has also mislaid the Black Plastic box containing the First Aid Kit.

After Nippers we stopped off to visit Ron & Lynne. Ron has been fixing up the Sanyong Musso and we hope that it works out that we can purchase this vehicle for Wildcliff. He has had a number of things fixed. After an AA test he has found that the Electric Four Wheel Drive does not work. It is possible to change to FWD manually by adjusting nuts, but the defeats the luxury of electronic assistance. Once this is fixed we should be able to obtain an AA clearance and the vehicle will be ready for sale. We stopped off at P & P for Pizza Bases and made ourselves delicious Pizzas and a vegetable bake for lunch.