WEEKEND 28TH MARCH 2009
I had a rough week with travel to Mthatha. Monday I had been doing some catching up in the office and then Tuesday morning I left for Mthatha. It is a tough drive of just under 500kays. Feeling tired I had stopped in Komga, a little village the other side of King Williams Town. I had myself a sleep of well over 30 minutes and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the second leg of the drive. I met Julia in Bradlows and we prepared for the meeting the following day.
Wednesday morning we had all of the Financial Managers at the Green Park Lodge for a meeting and some training. This went down well with them and it was a really successful day. I had planned to be back in PE on Thursday but Julia wanted me to accompany her to Flagstaff. We left early on Thursday morning and drove to Port St Johns and then Lusikisiki and left to Flagstaff. This is a small town near to Kwa Zulu Natal.
We spent the morning there and had quite a productive morning. The problem with visiting a shop that is as remote as this one is, is that one should spend a lot more time in the shop. A remote shop will receive far less attention than one in the city but often is the shop that needs most of our time. We left the shop after 12.30pm and retraced our way back to Mthatha. The road is very hilly and cell phone reception is virtually non existent.
As we drove we received intermittent calls but in particular we received a call from Maria telling us that Alfred had an accident in Peet Booysen’s car in East London. He had been using the car to fetch his own car when he collided with another car and Peet’s car was a write off. He had a passenger and they were both hurt but recovered within a few days. Peet then asked if I would come to East London to fetch him and take him home to PE. I agreed to do this and arrived in EL after 17.30 and then we drove through King where we picked up a hamburger and then home. I dropped Peet off at around 21.30 and arrived home at close to 22.00. It had been a really long day with over 10 hours of driving about 850 kays.
Friday morning I was up early for a short run and then Ally had a sports day. I waited in the car, reading until 08.30 and then watched most of the mornings activities. I watched Ally as she took part in High Jump and was amazed to see her reach a third position on the podium. As far as I know she has not been practicing for high jump but did well anyway. Then she was in a 100m sprint event and came fourth against strong competition. Barbara took over the afternoon session and I went to work. Ally had a 1.2kay run where she came third with Kristie Vaughn second. Both of them benefiting from the endurance swim training. That afternoon Ally attended a birthday party of Matthew Mc Gillivray and Kristie Vaughn. From what I heard later they had a great time including a treasure hunt which went from one home to the next.
Donald brought them down to the beach later that afternoon. Meanwhile I had a busy afternoon collecting Ally’s swimming and her Nippers trophies that had been engraved. Then I took Barbara’s lap top to have anti virus installed, collected my new Office lap top from Nicky and then went to the computer repair place and paid R1500 for the repairs to my own desk top, for the installation of the anti virus and for them to install Windows. They did not install any programs so I had this done by Greg at the office and he installed Office Works.
We had to meet Clint at the beach for Nippers Interprovincial Training and Capping. We met Ally there and had a good session with the team including some sprints and a couple of swims. After this we all met at the clubhouse for a talk by Alec Riddle on Motivation for the Interprovincial Team in Durban. His wife had prepared the venue and it really looked good. Ally was presented with her Cap and T shirt. The shirt is long sleeved and has the insignia of Eastern Province Life Saving as well as the individual names of the competitors. It looks really good and will stand out at Nationals. We braaied and then headed off home.
Saturday Morning I had arranged to pick Tim up at his home at 05.15 and we drove through to Jeffries bay where we met up with Bruce. A group of us climbed onto the back of his truck. Tim, Moff, Graham Nel, Shafiek, Keith Bayliss, Colin from Crusaders and tom Boardman. Some of the ladies, Sue B, Grizelda and Paulette, accompanied Bruce in the front cab. Bruce drove us up to Humansdorp where we paid the R30.00 to register for the 21kay that would take us back to Jeffries Bay. Seems crazy and Colin asked the question: “and so why do we do this?” I suppose it is the challenge and I remember Graham Botha asking the same question of the same race many years ago and his answer was: “Because we can!”
We were soon lined up at the start. Met up with Rob from Selbournians. Rob is a really keen runner and he has a plan to run 40 two Oceans 56kay events. He did the Ironman last year and says that he wants to do the paddle from PE to EL this year. He has never paddled before but has faith in his ability to meet challenges. The Kouga Kus race starts with a short up hill through the town of Humansdorp and into the main street. Then we turn right onto the old main PE - Cape Town road. This race should be a down hill event but once we were out of town we appeared to be doing more up hills than down’s.
Tim & I had started at the back of the field and had slowly passed a number of people including Bob and Ken. We saw Paulette and Shafiek along the road. Shafiek was not feeling well with Flu and had to miss his first league race in many years. I was aware that I was running too fast. But I was enjoying chatting to Tim and knew that I would be slowing down when we reached the half way point. The first 7kays was easy going. I may have been puffing and panting but I was having fun.
We saw Leslie M and Graham N ahead and agreed that we would run together until we passed them. This was at the 10kay mark. Graham took the time at 53 minutes. This was Tim’s cue to move on and mine to slow down. The next two or more kays is uphill to the big circle where the new shopping centre has been built. I walked and jogged this and confirmed to myself that I had been going far to fast for the first half of the race. After 12kays there is a bit of downhill and I was able to pick the pace up a bit. I was very aware, however, that I was being caught and passed by many people and was just waiting for Bob and Ken to make some cutting remark as they caught up to me.
It was at the 15kay watering station that I heard Kenny’s voice asking, most condescendingly, if I was all right. The three of us ran on and down to the main road that comes from PE and then made a right turn back to the finish. There had been a tail wind from the west and now we had a bit of a cool head wind. As we turned in a westerly direction we seemed to be running slightly up hill. There is a gradual slope going up to the village.
We passed the 18kay watering point. I have run many races with both Bob and Ken and know that they have this tactic of not slowing down at watering stations. They grab and go and then after about 100m they may slow down slightly. So I did the same. But in doing so must have overdone it a bit as I left them behind me and they had a bit of running to do to catch me. We passed the 19kay mark and it looked like a long uphill ahead, but to my surprise and delight there was a marshal showing us to turn left and down to the beach front road.
I never saw the 20kay marker board but it must have been about here that Tim came back to fetch me. Ken had run ahead & I could see that I had no chance of catching him. Bob was a few meters behind me and I knew that if I gave an inch he was come charging past me. So Tim and I ran as fast as I could over the final kay and I finished in well under two hours. Tim had run the 21 in a bit over 100 minutes. We were both very happy with our times.
Back at Paulette’s truck we found our track suites. I had to be at work this morning and Tim & packed up to leave. Sizinso (85 Minute 21kay) came with us as he also had to be back at work. He works at Pick & Pay in William Moffet where he is a merchandiser. He has been employed here for 9 years. He used to work at a grocery wholesaler called Beecham. In his words: “When Mandela came to power they became scared and packed up and left”
When Sizinso had to apply for a new job he decided that being born in 1951 made him appear too old so he lied about his age saying that he was 10 years younger. It appears that Pick & Pay retire their employees at age 60 so he has two years to retirement. And is looking forward to being able to train seriously. This is from a man who runs the two hours from Motherwell to work each day. He has a small kit bag on his back or else leaves work clothing at his place of work. He showers and then after work takes a taxi home. That is if he is satisfied with the morning session. If not then he runs back home again. We dropped him off at P & P where he would spend the next 8 hours, on his feet, at work. I dropped Tim off and after a shower also spent a few hours at work. But this was sitting at a desk.
I received this really complementary email from Graham Channon:
"Hi Peter,
Well done on your performance at Kouga Kus 1hr 44s, that really made me sit up, you must be fit and on the comeback trail? Putting it into perspective that is a 4hr 40m Two Oceans and a silver at Comrades.
Regards,
Graham."
However this is what I heard at the registration of the Two Oceans Half:
I registered and then met up with Bruce, Robin and Graham N. Graham wanted to know where I had passed him on the Kouga Kus 21kay. I knew that I had never passed him. But the results apparently showed me in front of him. Bruce informed me that the results were wrong and that my time and Tim’s time had become mixed up. My time should have been 1.53 and not 1.44.Ooops! As the kids nowadays say: “My Bad!”
Saturday evening Ally made arrangements to meet her cousin, Jasmin, at the movies. Barbara dropped her off while I watched the Sharks beat the Brumbies in Durban. It was great rugby with plenty of tries being scored. I was surprised to learn that Andre v d Berg was one of the older members of the team. At 35 he is the oldest however it seems like just the other day that he started his rugby career in PE. We collected Ally and Jasmine from the Movies and dropped her off at her home. This evening was to be a Power Out evening as everyone who cared was supposed to switch off their lights for an hour. We did so and promptly fell asleep.
Sunday morning I was up early and fetched Riana Green to meet Andrew Jonas for a Beach Front run. We started off at 05.30 and ran up Walmer Boulevard, along Strandfontein and down Admiralty way. As we were running we saw adverts for the political party COPE. Mvumi Dandala is one of the leaders of this party. Mvumi opened the church buildings about 10 years ago when he was Bishop of the Methodist church of SA.
I remember him telling the story of his Grandfather who worked in the mines. He would have to go down deep into a mine shaft under really horrible conditions. Somehow he had learned to write his name when asked to complete a form for Identification Purposes. As a result one morning when one of the boss boys was off ill and the mine boss asked who could write down the names of people going down the shaft, Mvumi’s grandfather said that he could write. The shift boss then allocated the job of recording names to him. This meant that the Grandfather never had to go down the mine shaft again. Mvumi remembers his grandfather telling the children that it was critical that they learned how to read and write to avoid having to go down the mine shafts. And so began Mvumi’s studying and his career as a Minister in the Methodist church and now more recently his political career.
We had a stunning run this morning. We ran at an easy pace which was kind to me. I had tired legs from the Saturday run. As we were nearly finished we came across Tim, Earl and Theresa. They had started at 06.30 and were just starting their run. After the run I showered and was ready for church. Jonathan spoke in church and one thing that he mentioned that caught my attention was the fact that the Greeks were philosophers, known for their deep thinking, ethics and values while the Jews were considered to be people led by a set of rules and a code of conduct. In our own business we can easily be misled to think that either way is the right way. However there is probably an answer somewhere in-between.
Nippers this morning was an excellent way to end the season. I was able to do some training with our small group of U10’s going to Durban. We have 6 in our age group and there were only four there this morning. I took the four out on Malibu’s for a paddle to the Pollock rocks. Marion is still very nervous and wants to clutch onto me for support. John and Lynn assisted me. After this we did some sprint and some flags and body boarding. We now felt we were ready for the Durban Challenge and allowed the Nippers some free boarding time.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS MARCH 2009.
ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS
MARCH 2009.
Friday 13th March 2009.
Barbara & I had been planning for some time that we would spend the weekend at Bushman’s River Mouth with Charles and Ingrid. On Friday afternoon we heard that Ally had been selected to represent Eastern Province at the interprovincial competition that is held on the morning that the Nationals start in Durban.
We had planned to be at Bushman’s for the weekend but as Ally would be having a Team Practice at Kings Beach on Saturday afternoon we decided to cut our weekend short. I had left work at about 14.00 to watch Ally’s athletics. She had two events. I missed the first in which she came fourth. It was a sprint whereas Ally’s real strength is in the longer endurance events. Then she was in the relay where their team came first with a good margin. The event had been an inter school athletics meeting between St Dominic’s, Victoria Park and Clarendon. Ally’s friends; Amber and Meghan did well in their events.
We left for Bushman’s on Friday afternoon. During the drive I was able to make a number of arrangements for the following week. Cell Phones can really bring your office to the car. As we arrived at Charles & Ingrid’s caravan cottage we immediately opened a couple of Grolsch beers that I had bought especially for this occasion. We lit the fire. The fireplace was the one that Charles & I had repaired the last time that we were here together. The bottle of the Grolsch beer is the best part as it has a “Swing Top” seal top that can be reused. Ingrid promised to give me her Ginger Beer recipe. The Grolsch bottle is ideal for sealing Ginger Beer.
We had ourselves a wonderfully relaxed evening chatting about old music and the “good old days”. Charles told us of when he went to Germany as a 25 year old man. He arrived at a train station almost penniless. As he arrived there seemed to be some kind of political rally on the go with a lot of people shouting and loudspeakers blaring out slogans. He thought that he has arrived at a re-gathering of a Hitler rally when a man came up to him and told him to hurry up and get to the supermarket before it closed for the weekend.
It seems that at that time there would be absolutely nothing open for the rest of the weekend. Charles walked through the supermarket, horrified at the high prices of the food and eventually bought himself a huge loaf of bread that lasted him for a month. Amazing what you do when you are forced to make a plan.
He was with Volkswagen at the time. He was earning 700 D Mark at the time of which 500 was taken up in rent. They were given lunch vouchers and he gathered up the left over pudding vouchers and stashed squashy puddings in his pocket for the evening meals. While he was in Germany he had met a Yugoslav woman who did not speak any English. He spoke only the bit of German that he had picked up while he was there.
The two of them were offered a weekend away and ended up travelling on train over the Easter weekend to some posh hotel. They had the equivalent of R30 for the weekend and so had to be extremely careful as to what they bought to eat. They ended up going to a fish market where the fish was being auctioned. The sellers would offer samples to prospective buyers and Charles and his friend went from auction to auction trying to scrounge samples which they put in their pockets for a meal later. It was stories like this that kept us up till late that night.
After two of these Grolsch beers and two glasses of wine, I was talking nonsense and ready for bed. Barbara woke up first and I heard her taking Digby for a walk. She sat outside reading and then it was my turn to wake up. After a wash and shave I felt a whole lot less groggy and went for a short run to get my circulation going.
Back from the run I had a shower in their outside shower. It is a little shower cubicle that is situated behind the caravan. The passage to the shower is open air and has a tree growing in it. You share the shower with the local spider population and have to clear the leaves from the floor to stop the flow of water from damming up. This gives one a lovely sense of freedom as you are almost showering in the open. They have hot water in the shower. The run, hot water and soap was just what I needed to make me feel a whole lot better after the two glasses of wine which I should never have drunk.
We sat talking and enjoying the morning. Charles mentioned how long it had been since we were able to just sit and not have to do anything. We went for a walk on the beach. As we returned from our walk, Ingrid met up with two of her friends who were swimming. This looked so good that Charles and I decided to jump in the river.
We had seem some canoeists paddling in the river but the tide was going out and it appeared quite dangerous to be in a river that was flowing as fast as this was this morning. I swam out to the middle of the river where the pull outwards was the strongest. Here I was able to float being pulled towards the sea. I then swam towards the side of the river and experienced something quite extraordinary. The pull of the water reversed and I was now able to float upstream.
I tried this a few times to make sure that I was not imagining the phenomenon. But each time I was in the middle of the river I would be pulled down stream but when I swam towards the side of the river I would be pulled back up stream. The friends of Ingrid who had been swimming confirmed this. They said that people would float down with the outgoing tide and then float back upstream in a kind of reverse rip.
After our swim we made a breakfast of eggs on some of this delicious bread that Ingrid had bought. But as we had to be back in PE by just before 14.00 we packed up and left just after 12.00pm. Ally had stayed overnight with Amber. We collected Ally, Amber and Meghan. We met at Kings Beach. Here Paul Lynch and Clint chatted to the Nippers and read out the various teams for the events. They had given each child a fair number of events so that there would be an even spread.
This afternoon we spent 90 minutes of hard training. Some of the youngsters had either been in Gala’s or training that morning. Amber had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the gala in which she participated. I went out on a Malibu a couple of times and was pretty exhausted after that.
The Nippers started off with an Iron Man individual and then Clint sent them into the water over and over again; swimming and boarding combined with running. They should have been totally exhausted. But when Clint said training was over and they could now have free time the Nippers then went back into the water and continued with boarding and swimming.
Later that afternoon we watched the Stormers at Newlands score 8 tries in a match that they won against the Lions. Percy Montgommery never ceases to amaze me as he continues to make a really meaningful contribution to the Stormers back line. Schalk Burger scored one of his few tries. Jean De Villiers, the Stormers captain, is a joy to watch as he has this permanent grin on his face and appears to really enjoy the game.
Sunday morning I met Andrew Jonas at Hobie Beach and we ran the beach front and Strandfontein road. About 12kays of fun running. Andrew & I spoke about church and it turned out that he was attending the Anglican church in 9th avenue where there was no Sunday School or youth group. I invited him to join us and I saw him at Walmer Methodist later. After church we rushed down to Nippers.
An easterly had been blowing and the surf was quite rough with big, uncontrolled waves. We took the U10’s for some body Boarding and swimming. A few of the younger group did not want to venture into this wild looking surf but after a little encouragement they enjoyed catching some really stunning waves. Fortunately we had Roger, Andrew, Marius, Lynne and John assisting.
The U14’s went out on Malibu boards. I saw Ian charging out in front but he must have become involved in a battle for strength with one of the biggest breakers of the day. He managed to snap one of the unbreakable soft Malibu board in half. The U12’s also had some hard swimming and boarding under the coaching of Deon, Hannes and Roger.
It is not safe for the U10’s to be in conditions like this unless there is a lot of individual attention. As it was we had a number of these youngsters disappearing under foamy water with us completely losing them for a few seconds. The U10’s did a few beach sprint relay races and then I had to call Ally away from their practice as we had planned to take part in the Biathle at Happy Valley. At that time Ally, Amber and a few other U12’s were running heats to determine who would be in the beach sprint relay team at Durban. They had to run three or four times and each time it would be Amber and Ally coming in first together. I would not like to have to make the selection between the two of them.
We arrived at Happy Valley as the first event was underway. There was a small group of participants. Thomas and his wife Liesel were the only adults joining me. I came third in the adult group. Ally was in the last event of the day and I told her to not push herself as she had just come off a hard Nippers workout. Ally started off the first run slowly but when they came to the sea leg she rushed in while the others were a little hesitant. This gave her a solid lead for the second run and she was able to win her event.
MARCH 2009.
Friday 13th March 2009.
Barbara & I had been planning for some time that we would spend the weekend at Bushman’s River Mouth with Charles and Ingrid. On Friday afternoon we heard that Ally had been selected to represent Eastern Province at the interprovincial competition that is held on the morning that the Nationals start in Durban.
We had planned to be at Bushman’s for the weekend but as Ally would be having a Team Practice at Kings Beach on Saturday afternoon we decided to cut our weekend short. I had left work at about 14.00 to watch Ally’s athletics. She had two events. I missed the first in which she came fourth. It was a sprint whereas Ally’s real strength is in the longer endurance events. Then she was in the relay where their team came first with a good margin. The event had been an inter school athletics meeting between St Dominic’s, Victoria Park and Clarendon. Ally’s friends; Amber and Meghan did well in their events.
We left for Bushman’s on Friday afternoon. During the drive I was able to make a number of arrangements for the following week. Cell Phones can really bring your office to the car. As we arrived at Charles & Ingrid’s caravan cottage we immediately opened a couple of Grolsch beers that I had bought especially for this occasion. We lit the fire. The fireplace was the one that Charles & I had repaired the last time that we were here together. The bottle of the Grolsch beer is the best part as it has a “Swing Top” seal top that can be reused. Ingrid promised to give me her Ginger Beer recipe. The Grolsch bottle is ideal for sealing Ginger Beer.
We had ourselves a wonderfully relaxed evening chatting about old music and the “good old days”. Charles told us of when he went to Germany as a 25 year old man. He arrived at a train station almost penniless. As he arrived there seemed to be some kind of political rally on the go with a lot of people shouting and loudspeakers blaring out slogans. He thought that he has arrived at a re-gathering of a Hitler rally when a man came up to him and told him to hurry up and get to the supermarket before it closed for the weekend.
It seems that at that time there would be absolutely nothing open for the rest of the weekend. Charles walked through the supermarket, horrified at the high prices of the food and eventually bought himself a huge loaf of bread that lasted him for a month. Amazing what you do when you are forced to make a plan.
He was with Volkswagen at the time. He was earning 700 D Mark at the time of which 500 was taken up in rent. They were given lunch vouchers and he gathered up the left over pudding vouchers and stashed squashy puddings in his pocket for the evening meals. While he was in Germany he had met a Yugoslav woman who did not speak any English. He spoke only the bit of German that he had picked up while he was there.
The two of them were offered a weekend away and ended up travelling on train over the Easter weekend to some posh hotel. They had the equivalent of R30 for the weekend and so had to be extremely careful as to what they bought to eat. They ended up going to a fish market where the fish was being auctioned. The sellers would offer samples to prospective buyers and Charles and his friend went from auction to auction trying to scrounge samples which they put in their pockets for a meal later. It was stories like this that kept us up till late that night.
After two of these Grolsch beers and two glasses of wine, I was talking nonsense and ready for bed. Barbara woke up first and I heard her taking Digby for a walk. She sat outside reading and then it was my turn to wake up. After a wash and shave I felt a whole lot less groggy and went for a short run to get my circulation going.
Back from the run I had a shower in their outside shower. It is a little shower cubicle that is situated behind the caravan. The passage to the shower is open air and has a tree growing in it. You share the shower with the local spider population and have to clear the leaves from the floor to stop the flow of water from damming up. This gives one a lovely sense of freedom as you are almost showering in the open. They have hot water in the shower. The run, hot water and soap was just what I needed to make me feel a whole lot better after the two glasses of wine which I should never have drunk.
We sat talking and enjoying the morning. Charles mentioned how long it had been since we were able to just sit and not have to do anything. We went for a walk on the beach. As we returned from our walk, Ingrid met up with two of her friends who were swimming. This looked so good that Charles and I decided to jump in the river.
We had seem some canoeists paddling in the river but the tide was going out and it appeared quite dangerous to be in a river that was flowing as fast as this was this morning. I swam out to the middle of the river where the pull outwards was the strongest. Here I was able to float being pulled towards the sea. I then swam towards the side of the river and experienced something quite extraordinary. The pull of the water reversed and I was now able to float upstream.
I tried this a few times to make sure that I was not imagining the phenomenon. But each time I was in the middle of the river I would be pulled down stream but when I swam towards the side of the river I would be pulled back up stream. The friends of Ingrid who had been swimming confirmed this. They said that people would float down with the outgoing tide and then float back upstream in a kind of reverse rip.
After our swim we made a breakfast of eggs on some of this delicious bread that Ingrid had bought. But as we had to be back in PE by just before 14.00 we packed up and left just after 12.00pm. Ally had stayed overnight with Amber. We collected Ally, Amber and Meghan. We met at Kings Beach. Here Paul Lynch and Clint chatted to the Nippers and read out the various teams for the events. They had given each child a fair number of events so that there would be an even spread.
This afternoon we spent 90 minutes of hard training. Some of the youngsters had either been in Gala’s or training that morning. Amber had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the gala in which she participated. I went out on a Malibu a couple of times and was pretty exhausted after that.
The Nippers started off with an Iron Man individual and then Clint sent them into the water over and over again; swimming and boarding combined with running. They should have been totally exhausted. But when Clint said training was over and they could now have free time the Nippers then went back into the water and continued with boarding and swimming.
Later that afternoon we watched the Stormers at Newlands score 8 tries in a match that they won against the Lions. Percy Montgommery never ceases to amaze me as he continues to make a really meaningful contribution to the Stormers back line. Schalk Burger scored one of his few tries. Jean De Villiers, the Stormers captain, is a joy to watch as he has this permanent grin on his face and appears to really enjoy the game.
Sunday morning I met Andrew Jonas at Hobie Beach and we ran the beach front and Strandfontein road. About 12kays of fun running. Andrew & I spoke about church and it turned out that he was attending the Anglican church in 9th avenue where there was no Sunday School or youth group. I invited him to join us and I saw him at Walmer Methodist later. After church we rushed down to Nippers.
An easterly had been blowing and the surf was quite rough with big, uncontrolled waves. We took the U10’s for some body Boarding and swimming. A few of the younger group did not want to venture into this wild looking surf but after a little encouragement they enjoyed catching some really stunning waves. Fortunately we had Roger, Andrew, Marius, Lynne and John assisting.
The U14’s went out on Malibu boards. I saw Ian charging out in front but he must have become involved in a battle for strength with one of the biggest breakers of the day. He managed to snap one of the unbreakable soft Malibu board in half. The U12’s also had some hard swimming and boarding under the coaching of Deon, Hannes and Roger.
It is not safe for the U10’s to be in conditions like this unless there is a lot of individual attention. As it was we had a number of these youngsters disappearing under foamy water with us completely losing them for a few seconds. The U10’s did a few beach sprint relay races and then I had to call Ally away from their practice as we had planned to take part in the Biathle at Happy Valley. At that time Ally, Amber and a few other U12’s were running heats to determine who would be in the beach sprint relay team at Durban. They had to run three or four times and each time it would be Amber and Ally coming in first together. I would not like to have to make the selection between the two of them.
We arrived at Happy Valley as the first event was underway. There was a small group of participants. Thomas and his wife Liesel were the only adults joining me. I came third in the adult group. Ally was in the last event of the day and I told her to not push herself as she had just come off a hard Nippers workout. Ally started off the first run slowly but when they came to the sea leg she rushed in while the others were a little hesitant. This gave her a solid lead for the second run and she was able to win her event.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
NIPPERS EAST CAPE CHAMPS FEBRUARY 2009
NIPPERS EAST CAPE CHAMPS
28TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Thursday afternoon I had been in Kingwilliamstown for the day. On my way home I was so tired that I had to stop at Nanaga for a short sleep. I phoned Warren to ask if he needed my help for loading the trailer as I really did not feel like going out again. But once I had a wash and changed to shorts and T shirt, I was in a better frame of mind and joined the others at Summies. It was Warren, Clint, Johan, Roger, Shareen and I who loaded the Penny Pinchers trailer. Once Terry had arrived we completed the task of loading the Summies trailer.
Friday afternoon I attended a level test with three young Nippers from Summerstrand. Matthew and Jordan were U10’s and there was an U12 as well. Liesel is doing a great job for Summies. It is great to see how someone like her who is new to Nippers is prepared to take on an administrative job like this.
Level tests is a huge responsibility with lots of personal time required and very little thanks given. The parking at Hobie was almost full due to all of the Ironmen doing their evening swim training. The water was really warm and I loved the swim. All of the Nippers did well and passed their tests. There were also a number of Nippers from newly formed Hobie Beach, some ex Seagulls and there were also some Kings Beach Nippers as well.
At this time there was a group who were busy setting out the Arena’s for the next day’s activities. Today was Barbara’s birthday and while we had nothing special on for the evening I returned home as early as I could. Ally stayed over at Jessica as it was her birthday party and she was having a number of her school friends stay for the night.
Saturday morning I was up early for my morning run. I collected Adrienne and we drove down to Hobie beach. We met up with Andrew Barton and Margie Saunders. Our route was up Walmer Boulevard, Strandfortein and Admiralty. I really enjoy these Saturday runs which end up with a swim. The temperature of the water had dropped a bit from the previous evening but still quite acceptable.
After our swim I collected Ally from Jessica’s house and we prepared for the day at the beach. It had been raining but the air was warm. On Kings beach Clint, Varrin, John, Marius, Andrew, Dion, Warren and some other chaps were already hard at work setting up arena’s. Claire had a team prepared to feed the multitudes in the Tuck Shop. Claire was doing this at short notice as Kings Beach club had pulled out of this duty. She had spent the day doing shopping and in preparation. In addition she had collected the Chafe Vests for the Coaches. Varrin was looking quite dapper in his new Chafe Vest and I was keen to put mine on. I was thrilled with the fit. Not only did the Summies coaches stand out but the vests are really functional. Perhaps a little too warm in the sun but fantastic to swim in and they dry off quickly.
It was raining as we were erecting the tents but early in the morning the sun began to shine and it became quite hot. There was a cloud cover for most of the day but I kept my hat on all day as I have experienced the strength of the sun on a day at the beach like this.
We started the day with numbering the Nippers, Barbara did the U10’s, Liesle the U12’s and Mimi did the U14’s. After the Manager’s meeting, Clint explained some of the rules and we did our normal pre-carnival war cry. Rules that would apply today were: one false start and you would be eliminated, failure to be present during marshalling would mean that you would be excluded from the event, no assistance allowed from coaches in the water, Appeals would be directed to Grant who was the referee for the day. Nippers is a stunning sport for both parents and for the youngsters. Tim is a two time Ironman who tells me that, as a coach, Nippers now takes up as much energy and he is happy to have moved from Ironman training to Nippers.
There were not enough officials to run two arena’s at one time so we started with Flags. At East Cape champs we are only allowed 8 Nippers from each age group and gender. This means that we have to choose and that there are many who may be left out. In the U10’s we had 5 girls: Marion who is the longest standing U10 girl, Erica, Tammy, Alexia and Mieka. U 10 Boys we had 14 of which Luke is the boy who has been a Nipper for the longest. We made Marion and Luke, U10 captains for the day. U14’s started off with flags and the process of elimination slowly worked its way through.
Tara surprised herself a couple of times when she found a free baton. Ally was equally lucky a few times. Our U10’s were mostly eliminated early but we had a couple moving through to the next round. Jonathan and Bailey did well with Jonathan winning the event in the final round. Meika and Marion did well in the Girls section.
The U12 girls was really interesting to watch and there was a wonderful spirit even on elimination. It is good to see how these young girls are now able to accept elimination with a smile. Being eliminated is no disgrace but more it shows the character of being willing to participate knowing that elimination is going to happen to every one of about 64 Nippers except one. The U14 boys turned into a final between Luke and Jason with Luke taking the winning spot.
I joined Thomas as he watched Anka and Mieka. Anka has a great way of taking a baton from under her opponent. On a couple of occasions she seemed to have no chance but came up with the baton in her hand. Even when she was eliminated there was certainly some doubt as it appeared that there should have been a run off but Grant said that she had taken the baton after her opponent. Mieka also did well in the later elimination phases. Thomas made the comment that it was just as well that he was wearing a loose fitting t shirt as he was just bursting with pride.
We then all moved over to the sea where the Iron Nipper competition took place. This is a really tough event and a good swim can make all the difference. Entering and completing this event is not for the fainthearted and we should be proud of every Nipper who participates.
The next event was the Malibu board relay. Shareen had spent the whole morning with the team lists. This is after she had battled to select teams in the first place and now had one Nipper who would not be there and this meant adjusting teams. Also there were a number of U10’s who had to take part in a Gala and were trying to fit both activities into the day. Johan was running between Gelvandale swim pool and Kings Beach. We had four teams in the U10’s and while we did not do well, our teams completed the course and had a great spirit. The Kings beach and Plett U10’s have wonderful teams and may well go on to win Nationals. We have a huge amount of work to be done with our U10 team. We may have to move our practice area in the new season if we are to provide the U10’s with the same quality of training that KB and Plett are giving their U10 squad.
Then came the individual Beach sprint. The event started with U10’s and through a process of elimination which is quite tough, three competitors went through to the Semi finals and then the finals. Jonathan again took honours for the U10 team. Ally did well to make the first round cut. Ally has a great spirit and takes part in every possible event and does not “save herself” for her strongest disciplines.
Finally the day ended off with body board individual and all of the Summies age groups had an excellent participation in this event. As the day ended the rain started to fall. There had been some unpleasant incidents of theft during the day and we heard that a vehicle had been stolen as well as some equipment off the beach. We packed our craft into the KB tent and Clint organised guards for the evening.
The sand, sea and sun has a way of battering the body and after a busy Carnival day we were all pretty shattered. I enjoyed a drink after the event and then was happy to be home for a shower. Our TV at home is giving trouble and so I have been doing more reading than normal. Barbara enjoys these elimination talent shows on TV and Ally was content to find some Internet games to entertain her. That night it rained through the night and we were worried how Sunday would turn out.
Sunday Morning. I was up early and getting ready to leave when it started to rain heavily again. It was only 6am & I called Warren to see if he would be there and we agreed to meet at 6.30. Debbie Derry Sms’d asking” Surely no Nippers?” and my response was: Nippers is for Tough people like Meghan and for even tougher mom’s like you”: Debbie’s response: “So a lie in is out of the question”. I did not respond.
As Warren and I arrived at Kings beach it continued to pour with rain. The walk way to the clubhouse was so deep that I decided to not even try to drive up as I was worried that I may become stuck. We waded up to the clubhouse and found Claire and Clint setting up a tuck shop for the day. Claire was understandably worried as she had catered for 200 Egg and Bacon rolls and 400 Hamburgers plus all the coldrinks and sweets.
Grant arrives and we walked to the beach. Our poor tent looked dirty and bedraggled and was flapping its arms around. The scorers tent was being blown from side to side. I could not imagine the Scorers enjoying being in conditions like that. But the worst of all was the easterly blowing the waves into white water that looked most uninviting. We saw a few blue bottles but that did not seem to be the worst of our troubles. I took off my shorts and shirt and waded into the sea to collect our buoys that had been dislodged and blown to shore.
As more people arrived there seemed to be more and more debate about the options of continuing with the competition. I could not see the U10’s swimming in sea like that as we could not ensure their safety. Surely in all of this; Safety of the children is paramount? However we continued with a managers meeting where Grant explained that if the U10’s could not take part then we could not have a result. This is completely understandable as for example Kings beach is strong in U10’s while Summies is weak in this age group. To leave U10’s out of the equasion gives Summies a huge unfair advantage.
We agreed to talk to the clubs and return at 08.30 for a second round of talks where a vote would be taken. It was decided to go ahead starting with the U14’s in a Run swim Run. The boys went out and it soon became clear that even at this level, safety would be a concern. And at this stage the officials decided that the competition could not carry on.
There were two important Beach events that could be held: the Long Run and the Beach relays. These would be held as fun events. All age groups took part in the long run and this seemed to up spirits of everyone. I saw that a number of people needed to feed their tummies as well and the Egg and Bacon rolls must have been selling well.
Then we held the beach relays. The original sprint arena had to be scrapped as it was full of water and a potential hazard to the runners. We then ran on dryer sand without all the lanes being marked off. At this stage a number of people looked out to the ocean and commented that we could have continued. But what they saw was a easing in a set of waves and swells. However as soon as the sets rolled in we would be back to swimming in conditions where the safety of a Nipper in trouble could not be guaranteed.
The sun began to shine and we all warmed up and I think that it was in a moment of heat exhaustion that someone suggested a coaches beach relay event. Surprisingly this was well received and in no time the clubs had organised teams and they lined up to start the race. Grant was heard to say: “If you adults can’t get yourselves organised then it is no wonder that the Nippers are in disarray when being Marshalled.”
I was hoping that if there was a false start they may disqualify us but no sooner had this thought crossed my mind and some of the teams started running. Then the start whistle was blown. Our team started 20 meters late. And had no chance. But boy did we run. Or so we thought! As the relay ended I saw the group of Summies Moms (Barbara, Debbie, Jacqui and Ingrid) walking towards us with contorted faces. They had laughed so hard at our attempts to look athletic that their sides and faces were aching.
The only person who really was delighted at the East wind was Matthew Mc Gillivray. He was out Kite Surfing and having a ball. The rest of us packed up and loaded trailers. There were many willing hands and we soon had all the kit loaded and ready to be taken home.
A prize giving was held in the Quad of the KB clubhouse and Summies received a number of awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Claire discounted some burgers and we purchased a pack for the afternoon snack. Hopefully Summies did not lose too much. Claire had spent over R7000 on food and provisions. Either we are going to have a great braai one afternoon after Nippers or we are down the tubes in terms of cash.
That afternoon Barbara & I took our some DVD’s that Michael had given us to watch and we watched TV for a good part of the afternoon. I am pretty useless when it comes to handy man stuff around the house. For example our DSTV has not worked properly for ages and I have been trying to fix it but have had miserable results. But this afternoon I was able to fix a leaky tap. May not sound much to you but to me this was a major triumph. Usually when I try to fix water leaks it ends up worse than when I started, water sprays everywhere and I have to call the Plumber and pay double.
The East Wind continued to blow all of Sunday. Ultimately the Competition was called off for safety reasons. Not everyone agreed but Officials have to make a decision based on experience and a sound knowledge of the ocean and its dangers.
The coaches and Committee will hold a meeting to discuss the upcoming Nationals: Warren’s house in Cathcart Road: Monday 9th at 18.30pm. We would like as many parents to attend as possible.
Peter
4.3.2009.
28TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Thursday afternoon I had been in Kingwilliamstown for the day. On my way home I was so tired that I had to stop at Nanaga for a short sleep. I phoned Warren to ask if he needed my help for loading the trailer as I really did not feel like going out again. But once I had a wash and changed to shorts and T shirt, I was in a better frame of mind and joined the others at Summies. It was Warren, Clint, Johan, Roger, Shareen and I who loaded the Penny Pinchers trailer. Once Terry had arrived we completed the task of loading the Summies trailer.
Friday afternoon I attended a level test with three young Nippers from Summerstrand. Matthew and Jordan were U10’s and there was an U12 as well. Liesel is doing a great job for Summies. It is great to see how someone like her who is new to Nippers is prepared to take on an administrative job like this.
Level tests is a huge responsibility with lots of personal time required and very little thanks given. The parking at Hobie was almost full due to all of the Ironmen doing their evening swim training. The water was really warm and I loved the swim. All of the Nippers did well and passed their tests. There were also a number of Nippers from newly formed Hobie Beach, some ex Seagulls and there were also some Kings Beach Nippers as well.
At this time there was a group who were busy setting out the Arena’s for the next day’s activities. Today was Barbara’s birthday and while we had nothing special on for the evening I returned home as early as I could. Ally stayed over at Jessica as it was her birthday party and she was having a number of her school friends stay for the night.
Saturday morning I was up early for my morning run. I collected Adrienne and we drove down to Hobie beach. We met up with Andrew Barton and Margie Saunders. Our route was up Walmer Boulevard, Strandfortein and Admiralty. I really enjoy these Saturday runs which end up with a swim. The temperature of the water had dropped a bit from the previous evening but still quite acceptable.
After our swim I collected Ally from Jessica’s house and we prepared for the day at the beach. It had been raining but the air was warm. On Kings beach Clint, Varrin, John, Marius, Andrew, Dion, Warren and some other chaps were already hard at work setting up arena’s. Claire had a team prepared to feed the multitudes in the Tuck Shop. Claire was doing this at short notice as Kings Beach club had pulled out of this duty. She had spent the day doing shopping and in preparation. In addition she had collected the Chafe Vests for the Coaches. Varrin was looking quite dapper in his new Chafe Vest and I was keen to put mine on. I was thrilled with the fit. Not only did the Summies coaches stand out but the vests are really functional. Perhaps a little too warm in the sun but fantastic to swim in and they dry off quickly.
It was raining as we were erecting the tents but early in the morning the sun began to shine and it became quite hot. There was a cloud cover for most of the day but I kept my hat on all day as I have experienced the strength of the sun on a day at the beach like this.
We started the day with numbering the Nippers, Barbara did the U10’s, Liesle the U12’s and Mimi did the U14’s. After the Manager’s meeting, Clint explained some of the rules and we did our normal pre-carnival war cry. Rules that would apply today were: one false start and you would be eliminated, failure to be present during marshalling would mean that you would be excluded from the event, no assistance allowed from coaches in the water, Appeals would be directed to Grant who was the referee for the day. Nippers is a stunning sport for both parents and for the youngsters. Tim is a two time Ironman who tells me that, as a coach, Nippers now takes up as much energy and he is happy to have moved from Ironman training to Nippers.
There were not enough officials to run two arena’s at one time so we started with Flags. At East Cape champs we are only allowed 8 Nippers from each age group and gender. This means that we have to choose and that there are many who may be left out. In the U10’s we had 5 girls: Marion who is the longest standing U10 girl, Erica, Tammy, Alexia and Mieka. U 10 Boys we had 14 of which Luke is the boy who has been a Nipper for the longest. We made Marion and Luke, U10 captains for the day. U14’s started off with flags and the process of elimination slowly worked its way through.
Tara surprised herself a couple of times when she found a free baton. Ally was equally lucky a few times. Our U10’s were mostly eliminated early but we had a couple moving through to the next round. Jonathan and Bailey did well with Jonathan winning the event in the final round. Meika and Marion did well in the Girls section.
The U12 girls was really interesting to watch and there was a wonderful spirit even on elimination. It is good to see how these young girls are now able to accept elimination with a smile. Being eliminated is no disgrace but more it shows the character of being willing to participate knowing that elimination is going to happen to every one of about 64 Nippers except one. The U14 boys turned into a final between Luke and Jason with Luke taking the winning spot.
I joined Thomas as he watched Anka and Mieka. Anka has a great way of taking a baton from under her opponent. On a couple of occasions she seemed to have no chance but came up with the baton in her hand. Even when she was eliminated there was certainly some doubt as it appeared that there should have been a run off but Grant said that she had taken the baton after her opponent. Mieka also did well in the later elimination phases. Thomas made the comment that it was just as well that he was wearing a loose fitting t shirt as he was just bursting with pride.
We then all moved over to the sea where the Iron Nipper competition took place. This is a really tough event and a good swim can make all the difference. Entering and completing this event is not for the fainthearted and we should be proud of every Nipper who participates.
The next event was the Malibu board relay. Shareen had spent the whole morning with the team lists. This is after she had battled to select teams in the first place and now had one Nipper who would not be there and this meant adjusting teams. Also there were a number of U10’s who had to take part in a Gala and were trying to fit both activities into the day. Johan was running between Gelvandale swim pool and Kings Beach. We had four teams in the U10’s and while we did not do well, our teams completed the course and had a great spirit. The Kings beach and Plett U10’s have wonderful teams and may well go on to win Nationals. We have a huge amount of work to be done with our U10 team. We may have to move our practice area in the new season if we are to provide the U10’s with the same quality of training that KB and Plett are giving their U10 squad.
Then came the individual Beach sprint. The event started with U10’s and through a process of elimination which is quite tough, three competitors went through to the Semi finals and then the finals. Jonathan again took honours for the U10 team. Ally did well to make the first round cut. Ally has a great spirit and takes part in every possible event and does not “save herself” for her strongest disciplines.
Finally the day ended off with body board individual and all of the Summies age groups had an excellent participation in this event. As the day ended the rain started to fall. There had been some unpleasant incidents of theft during the day and we heard that a vehicle had been stolen as well as some equipment off the beach. We packed our craft into the KB tent and Clint organised guards for the evening.
The sand, sea and sun has a way of battering the body and after a busy Carnival day we were all pretty shattered. I enjoyed a drink after the event and then was happy to be home for a shower. Our TV at home is giving trouble and so I have been doing more reading than normal. Barbara enjoys these elimination talent shows on TV and Ally was content to find some Internet games to entertain her. That night it rained through the night and we were worried how Sunday would turn out.
Sunday Morning. I was up early and getting ready to leave when it started to rain heavily again. It was only 6am & I called Warren to see if he would be there and we agreed to meet at 6.30. Debbie Derry Sms’d asking” Surely no Nippers?” and my response was: Nippers is for Tough people like Meghan and for even tougher mom’s like you”: Debbie’s response: “So a lie in is out of the question”. I did not respond.
As Warren and I arrived at Kings beach it continued to pour with rain. The walk way to the clubhouse was so deep that I decided to not even try to drive up as I was worried that I may become stuck. We waded up to the clubhouse and found Claire and Clint setting up a tuck shop for the day. Claire was understandably worried as she had catered for 200 Egg and Bacon rolls and 400 Hamburgers plus all the coldrinks and sweets.
Grant arrives and we walked to the beach. Our poor tent looked dirty and bedraggled and was flapping its arms around. The scorers tent was being blown from side to side. I could not imagine the Scorers enjoying being in conditions like that. But the worst of all was the easterly blowing the waves into white water that looked most uninviting. We saw a few blue bottles but that did not seem to be the worst of our troubles. I took off my shorts and shirt and waded into the sea to collect our buoys that had been dislodged and blown to shore.
As more people arrived there seemed to be more and more debate about the options of continuing with the competition. I could not see the U10’s swimming in sea like that as we could not ensure their safety. Surely in all of this; Safety of the children is paramount? However we continued with a managers meeting where Grant explained that if the U10’s could not take part then we could not have a result. This is completely understandable as for example Kings beach is strong in U10’s while Summies is weak in this age group. To leave U10’s out of the equasion gives Summies a huge unfair advantage.
We agreed to talk to the clubs and return at 08.30 for a second round of talks where a vote would be taken. It was decided to go ahead starting with the U14’s in a Run swim Run. The boys went out and it soon became clear that even at this level, safety would be a concern. And at this stage the officials decided that the competition could not carry on.
There were two important Beach events that could be held: the Long Run and the Beach relays. These would be held as fun events. All age groups took part in the long run and this seemed to up spirits of everyone. I saw that a number of people needed to feed their tummies as well and the Egg and Bacon rolls must have been selling well.
Then we held the beach relays. The original sprint arena had to be scrapped as it was full of water and a potential hazard to the runners. We then ran on dryer sand without all the lanes being marked off. At this stage a number of people looked out to the ocean and commented that we could have continued. But what they saw was a easing in a set of waves and swells. However as soon as the sets rolled in we would be back to swimming in conditions where the safety of a Nipper in trouble could not be guaranteed.
The sun began to shine and we all warmed up and I think that it was in a moment of heat exhaustion that someone suggested a coaches beach relay event. Surprisingly this was well received and in no time the clubs had organised teams and they lined up to start the race. Grant was heard to say: “If you adults can’t get yourselves organised then it is no wonder that the Nippers are in disarray when being Marshalled.”
I was hoping that if there was a false start they may disqualify us but no sooner had this thought crossed my mind and some of the teams started running. Then the start whistle was blown. Our team started 20 meters late. And had no chance. But boy did we run. Or so we thought! As the relay ended I saw the group of Summies Moms (Barbara, Debbie, Jacqui and Ingrid) walking towards us with contorted faces. They had laughed so hard at our attempts to look athletic that their sides and faces were aching.
The only person who really was delighted at the East wind was Matthew Mc Gillivray. He was out Kite Surfing and having a ball. The rest of us packed up and loaded trailers. There were many willing hands and we soon had all the kit loaded and ready to be taken home.
A prize giving was held in the Quad of the KB clubhouse and Summies received a number of awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Claire discounted some burgers and we purchased a pack for the afternoon snack. Hopefully Summies did not lose too much. Claire had spent over R7000 on food and provisions. Either we are going to have a great braai one afternoon after Nippers or we are down the tubes in terms of cash.
That afternoon Barbara & I took our some DVD’s that Michael had given us to watch and we watched TV for a good part of the afternoon. I am pretty useless when it comes to handy man stuff around the house. For example our DSTV has not worked properly for ages and I have been trying to fix it but have had miserable results. But this afternoon I was able to fix a leaky tap. May not sound much to you but to me this was a major triumph. Usually when I try to fix water leaks it ends up worse than when I started, water sprays everywhere and I have to call the Plumber and pay double.
The East Wind continued to blow all of Sunday. Ultimately the Competition was called off for safety reasons. Not everyone agreed but Officials have to make a decision based on experience and a sound knowledge of the ocean and its dangers.
The coaches and Committee will hold a meeting to discuss the upcoming Nationals: Warren’s house in Cathcart Road: Monday 9th at 18.30pm. We would like as many parents to attend as possible.
Peter
4.3.2009.
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