I run because I can.
There are many out there that are unable to
run due to illness, mobility issues and a myriad of other reasons. I am
fortunate enough to be able to run, so I do.
Running is definitely not for everyone, but
don’t knock it till you try it.
Oh crikey that sounds like such a cliché,
but WTF, it’s true!
True
Story
Although I tell my kids (who are not so
young anymore, i.e. 21, 18 and 13) that I was once a fighter pilot in the Air Force
this is not totally true. No, I was not a fighter pilot; however, I was in the
Air Force – the good ol’ South African one. This was way back in the late 1980’s
when national service was compulsory – we were essentially “vrywillig verplig”
to serve our country.
I was unfortunate enough to serve out my 2
years national service at the Hoedspruit Air Force Base in the 514 Squadron –
sounds fancy and frightening, but we were essentially security guards! Although I was what was known as a Guard
Commander – a corporal – I did security.
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| Cpl. Schuleman |
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| Lt. Dan |
Being young, fit and healthy I liked to
visit my girlfriend … often … she stayed in White River, so it was not just around
the corner and without a car hitch-hiking became my mode of transport. It just so happened that on a weekend I
decided to go AWOL (absent without leave) to visit my girlfriend our commanding
officer (I’m thinking Lieutenant Dan
from Forrest Gump, but it wasn’t) decided to do a roll call. On my return from
my weekend’s sexcapades I was summoned to Lt.
Dan’s office.
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| My 20km ran/walk around AFB Hoedspruit |
My punishment: a 20km run (I walked) around
the inside perimeter of AFB Hoedpsruit and 3 weeks hard labour. After the 20km I knew for a fact that I hated
running/walking and my 3 weeks hard labour turned me into an awesome gardener …
I planted grass around the squadron bungalows for those 3 weeks.
The lesson I learned from that experience … go AWOL, get laid and you don’t need to do security duty anymore!
PS. My girlfriend back then is now my wife
(of almost 20 years)
OK, back to the present day … and my Berlin Marathon training.
I started running with my phone using the
Runkeeper app to help track my distance, pace and splits.
It’s a bit of a pain, but works reasonably
well, except for my pre-Wanderer run of 9km, where the Runkeeper app somehow
lost where I was and the GPS went off-kilter. Had to manually fix it
afterwards.
The week itself was not great – my wife was
admitted into hospital for an operation (C5/C6 discectomy and fusion – don’t
worry I also had no idea what this was until I Googled it). She’s out now recovering at home, but between
this and work my training was not the best.
I did manage to put in the necessary mileage (+1.68km), but the effort was
lacking.
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| Matts and Bronwyn |
Friday, I managed to attend a wedding, sans
the wife. Good ol’ Matthias Kempgen tied the knot and it really was an awesome
affair. Wishing Matts and Bronwyn many happy years together.
Before the Wanderers Half Marathon on
Sunday I did a slow 9km warm-up (this is when my Runkeeper GPS went haywire)
and I managed to get to the start of the actual race with 5 minutes to spare. The half marathon itself was really well
organised and also had a great turnout.
It was the first time I ran with a camera in an attempt to capture some
pictures while I was running (in preparation for the Berlin Marathon where I
plan to take pics along the way too).
Not so easy, but turned out to be a really good morning – ran some of
the way with Shaun, another #ShoOops Legend!
Wanderers Half Marathon
So week 12 of training I had planned to do
69km and managed to complete 70.68km (this is also my highest mileage week for
my 17 week training programme). Week 13 of
training has commenced (just over a month to the Berlin Marathon).
Happy Running Folks!
