I somehow made it through three races this year with no clear “plan” other than to walk/run at least three times a week and to give it my very all on race day. However, I no longer want to simply focus on doing “17 races in 2017“. I want to become a better runner and to work towards my equally important goal of completing a 10 km race in an hour. So, I am now going to be a bit more focused and have special goal races where I hope to PB and then use other races as training runs. On that note, I am very pleased to officially launch my 8-week Diacore 10k Training Cycle. The Diacore Gaborone Marathon (10k) is scheduled for the 7th May 2017 and is the biggest race on Botswana’s race calendar – a quote from their website states, “As an AIMS and IAAF certified event the Diacore Gaborone Marathon is a qualifier for Two Oceans, Comrades, Commonwealth and Olympic games. It is also widely renowned as one of the flattest and fastest routes in the region.” 

I last did the Diacore 10k race in 2015 when I was working my way back to basic fitness after the birth of my second child. With no training, the plan was to take it easy and walk/jog with my dad who was 70 at the time. However, as it turned out my dad obviously had other plans and I ended up playing “catch up” for most of the race! In the end, we finished within a minute of each other and he proudly told people “My daughter is half my age but we finished together!”  He is running it again this year and let’s just say… it is payback time! 🙂

As part of the training for the Diacore and to keep tallying up the 17 races, I have scheduled two races before the Diacore: the Lady K 10k Trail Run on the 9th April and the Palapye 10k on the 30th April. So this is definitely going to be an exciting few weeks of training, racing and blogging! 🙂

Week 1

“Dear Husband, I regret to inform you that your coaching services will no longer be required. However, I will still expect you to run as fast as you can so you can return to the track and take photos of me as I cross the finish line! Kind regards, The Gaborone Runner.”

And that is how Week 1 started! I fired the husband, and got a new coach – the lovely Nicola, from Running Happy. I had not even considered online coaching before, but after my new PB, I explored it as an avenue to improve my running. I contacted Nicola who did a very thorough assessment of me and by the end of the week I had a tailored plan in place. So although I didn’t log any km this week, I found a Coach and some direction!

Week 2

Monday: Having taken the whole week off, I was eager to get back into things. I was a little bit tired from work, but managed an Easy Run, 2.73 km, 7:58/km pace. This was followed by quite an intense pilates session where we did a number of new moves. It was so intense that by Wednesday I still felt some soreness in my abs and leg muscles.

Tuesday: Another exhausting day at work but there is something about having a coach and a plan… not as easy to skip a workout! 🙂 So I begrudgingly put on my shoes and off I went! Look, even my dog seems surprised! 🙂

I did a 25-minute Easy Run, 3.11 km, 8:03/km pace. I struggled a bit as my legs felt super heavy but the feeling of completing those 25 minutes was amazing. When I got back, my kids were very happy to do some stretches with me!

Wednesday: I did a Steady Run with my cousin Tapiwa (5 min Easy, [1 min Steady; 2 min Easy] x 3, 6 min Easy). We managed 2.91 km, 7:47/km pace. I felt really good and we chatted the whole way. This was followed by my one-hour pilates class which I always love doing after a run.

Thursday: I wrote in my post-workout notes to Coach Nicola that had it not been for her, I would have happily taken the day off. But I knew I had to do my Conditioning Exercises (squats, clams, lateral band walks, lunges) to strengthen my glutes and hips and after my little session I felt so good!

Friday: 

Saturday: I started my Long Run in the late afternoon after a busy day with the family so it got dark very quickly and I had stupidly worn black clothes! So I spent half the time straining to see my watch and dodging cars, and the other half getting startled by the barking of dogs that I could not even see. But I managed my 5.05 km, albeit slower than normal, 41.34 min, 8:12/km. I was ecstatic that I had actually gone for my run so I did not appreciate my watch reminding me that:

Sunday: I ended the week by going for my hike up Kgale Hill, 3.94 km, 1:16 hrs, 256 m ascent. It felt so good to touch that pole at the top.

It was a great end to a successful week of workouts. But now the cold that my husband and kids have had on/off for the last couple of weeks has finally hit me. I thought I had escaped and I am praying that it doesn’t disrupt the next couple of training weeks too much. Hope you all have a phenomenal week of training! 🙂

(I am linking up with Courtney at Eat Pray Run where you will find links to others blogs sharing their training plans this week. I am also linking up with Tricia and Holly for their inspirational Weekly Wrap. And for the first time I am linking up with the Jess’s (Jess Runs Atlanta and Jess @ The Right Fits) for their Week in Review. Reading the blogs on the link-ups gives me so much motivation, so please check them out too!).