After running my first Half Marathon, I am ready for my next challenge – the Lady K Urban Obstacle Course on the 28th July 2018.
I took a 3-week break after my Half Marathon – it wasn’t meant to be such a long break but I struggled with some ‘post-race blues’. I had planned and talked about my goal race for months so when it was all over, I felt a bit…lost. It was when I wrote my Race Recap that I felt motivated to run again. So I’m back and I have new and exciting challenges lined up! I have registered for my next Half Marathon – the HILLY Soweto Race in South Africa in November. Before I start work on that though, I am going to train for a 10 km Obstacle Course Race – a team event I am doing with Tapiwa, Elisa and Ditiro. 🙂
According to this article, ‘Obstacle races are unique because they combine running and strength components in a stop-and-start environment. It can be incredibly challenging and disorienting to “pure” runners who aren’t used to this type of racing.’ In terms of training, it highlights that you need to run a lot, build well-rounded strength and increase your overall athleticism including agility and coordination. The running I can handle but I really need to work on the other stuff. So I am going to incorporate a lot more gym classes plus strengthening exercises at home like squats, skipping, push-ups, planks and pull-ups. As part of my training, I’m also doing two 15 km races, one in June and the other in July. So I’m in for a fun and exciting winter! Here is my FIRST week of training:
Monday, 4th June: Easy Run, 40:47 min, 5.21 km | 1xmin Skipping | 5 push-ups | 2 x 20 Squats. I drove from work to the CBD for a run with Tapiwa. It was a great run considering I had not run in 3 weeks! It felt really good to be back in the game. I also started a new home routine of skipping, push-ups and squats.
Tuesday, 5th June: Gym, The Grid, 1 hr | 5 push-ups. My legs felt sore after my 5 km run the day before but after putting the kids to bed I did a gruelling HIIT gym class. It was a torturous whole body workout but it felt GREAT. Our hands were shaking so badly at the end that we struggled to get a photo that wasn’t blurred.
Wednesday, 6th June: 1xmin Skipping | 5 push-ups. My whole body was in such pain from Grid Class but I managed to do my 2 minute home routine.
Thursday, 7th June: Treadmill, Incline, 34:15 min, 5 km | 1xmin Skipping | 5 push-ups | 2 x 20 Squats. It was a crazy day at work but as soon as I got home I hopped on the treadmill for a run. I made it a bit harder by increasing the incline for each km.
Friday, 8th June: Rest Day. This was an exciting Blogging Day!
- My friend Taffy guest blogged a great piece for me, “Healthy Soup and Stew Recipes for Winter”.
- I was also really excited to be interviewed by Coach Nicola for her blog “Running Happy” on what I have gained from online coaching.
Saturday, 9th June: Long Run, 1:03:17 hr, 8 km | 1xmin Skipping | 5 push-ups | 2 x 20 Squats. When the alarm clock when off at 05:20, I turned to Ditiro and said, “Let’s call off this run”. He momentarily agreed and then said “But what valid excuse can we use?” That quickly got us up and we had the most amazing run with Tapiwa. It was freezing but so refreshing. It gave us such a high and Ditiro’s take home advice is, Never cancel a run from the comfort of your bed. Haha! Well, I am SO glad we got out there.
Sunday, 10th June: Kgale Hill Hike, 1:58:15 hr, 5.44 km, 281m ascent | 2 x 20 Squats. The Kgale Summit is the highest point in Gaborone and is a very popular weekend hike, attracting quite a few tourists too. The Hill overlooks the whole city, the Gaborone Dam (the city’s main water source) as well as the Kgale Quarry (shown below). Kgale is also the site of the PPC Kgale Hill Challenge which is a 15 km race I will be doing later this month. The race starts at the PPC Botswana Office, passes the Game City Mall and winds around the Kgale Quarry, up the Hill and back to the Office.
I haven’t hiked up Kgale in so long so it was a very tough climb for me. It’s quite a rocky path but it gets to a point where it is paved and I tried to run as much as I could on this section. It wasn’t much but it was a good start. It felt really good to get to that summit!
Mileage this week: 23.65 km
Mileage this training cycle: 23.65 km
Mileage for Year 2018: 344.75 km
Gym Classes this week: 1
Grade: A (Solid Work – a very good start to this training cycle)
Do you suffer from post-race blues? Have you ever participated in an Obstacle Course Race? What else should I do to train for an Obstacle Course Race?
To keep myself accountable I am linking up the inspirational Holly from HoHo Runs and the fabulous Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home
The Gaborone Runner 
Very solid week!!! Yes, after every marathon, I had some post-race blues, even after the ones where I did really well. I just think that after all the training and anticipation, there’s such a let down after being done. Which is why you have to sign up for something else!!! Looking forward to following your training–I’ve never done an OCR!
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I remember getting the same feeling after final school exams – almost an anticlimax after all the studying! So glad to be back at it – have my running back packed for my run after work today!
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Very smart to take a break after your half marathon – rest is key! It’s also totally normal to have some post-race blues. It makes sense because you have been training for so long and then the race is over. Training seems so long but then the race seems so short!
You had a great week of training for your upcoming obstacle course race!
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Haha! So true! 19 weeks of training and then it’s all over before 10am on race day, LOL!
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This is exciting! I have done one OCR, almost two years ago. It was on the base where my husband had worked for the Air national Guard. It was almost seven miles in distance and also had a lot military components (and a lot of “battleground” special effects with helicopters flying overhead, smoke bombs, etc.). It was a fun challenge.
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That must have been so exciting! I am really looking forward to it – plus it’s forcing me to work on strength in other ares of my body, particularly my arms.
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Sounds like a fun new challenge to keep you motivated until your next half marathon!
Post-race blues are definitely a real things. You’ve been so focused on this one goal and then afterwards, you don’t have that same focus and drive and feels so strange. That’s why we keep signing up for more 🙂
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It’s a trap! You have to keep signing up for more and more, LOL! I felt so lost. Thankfully, feeling a lot better now and focused.
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I always take off from running for a few weeks after a half or a full marathon. I feel I deserve it..lol.
I have never done an obstacle race but that’s certainly a fun way to keep things interesting. What a great thing to train for!
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I was only meant to take off a week, but a week quickly became 2 weeks, and 2 weeks soon became 3 weeks! LOL! I am quite excited about the obstacle race although a bit worried about my poor upper body strength! I have a lot of work to do.
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I had post race blues after my race last spring. I had a lot of fun that day and didn’t know what to do after that. I signed up for my next race before the week was done.
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LOL! That was me – felt I had lost my purpose in life.
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I definitely had post race blues after a half marathon last fall. Though I think it’s great for us to take the time off and recover! Some of my worst running injuries happened shortly after a race I didn’t fully recover from.
Exciting about your obstacle course race goal! Looks like you got some great training in this week, and that summit looks beautiful.
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You are so right about needing to recover. After my hiatus, I came back on Monday feeling really good when I ran. I am very pleased with last week – hoping to do the same this week!
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SKipping, like running in the rain can be such great reminders of childhood. Congrats on a solid week. The reason Tough Mudders and stuff seem out of my range despite not being “hard” running wise is the obstacle elements. That and I Don’t prefer getting dirty. Good luck!
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So true! I must admit though I remember skipping feeling a whole lot easier! I huffed and puffed my way through the minute of skipping I had to do. Not sure how I will pull off the daily 2xmin skipping I have scheduled this week!
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Seriously. Also, hopscotch is must more challenging
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Imagine! What has become of us?? 😂
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Overthinking things, whereas as kids we just went out and did it
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I reckon you will love the vibe at Soweto! Enjoy your prep and all the events coming up.
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I did the Soweto 10k last year – my word!! The best vibe ever – it’s so much more than just the run, it is truly the whole experience! Can’t wait to try the Half this year although those Soweto hills terrify me! Will you be doing it too?
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Great week! It sounds like you have found the perfect cure for your post race blues! I’m battling the post marathon blues as well and already scouring the websites for my next challenge. I’ve only done one OCR, the Dirty Girl series, which was super fun but not real serious so no real training was required. I think you’re incorporating all the right moves in your training cycle …love the idea of skipping. Never thought of that ..its genius!
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Thank you! I needed a challenge that would force me to get serious about my strengthening and conditioning exercises! I have such poor upper body strength and I understand that the course has several walls and things we have to climb over 😂 Oh dear, what have I done?! Skipping is a truly humbling experience. My daughter laughed at me today as I tried to get it to 2min. So glad you had a fun OCR experience!
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I seriously doubt I could do a solid minute of continuous skipping 🤔
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Give it a go! Start with 30sec for a week and then upgrade to a min. But wait until you are fully recovered from your marathon!
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Sounds like a good plan😉
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I’ve definitely had the post-race blues before! It can be such a let down to suddenly not be training for something. I mean, you’ve just invested months of training and then suddenly, it’s over.
The obstacle course race sounds like so much fun!! I’ve thought about doing those but honestly, I’m not one to want to jump into cold water or crawl through a tube (claustrophobic) so I tend to avoid them. If I could find something a little more mild-mannered, I might be convinced. ha! I think you are going to have such an amazing time, though!
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So true! All I talked about was this Goal Race and then boom! Just like that it was over 😂 I’m so excited about the OCR – and so pleased it’s a team event so we can help each other out along the way. And if it all goes pear-shaped we can have a good laugh about it all 😂
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It’s hard to imagine it is cold where you are when I am suffering in the heat! Oh yes, the post race blues are real. I have them myself because my recent marathon occupied my every thought for months! I have never tried an obstacle event. It sounds like fun, especially with friends. Thanks for linking!
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Haha! That was me a few months ago when you were battling some crazy winter weather! At least it’s nice and warm here during the day. It just gets really cold at night and in the early mornings. And of course our houses are built for the long summer months so it’s often very cold inside the house.
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