I’m currently training for the Gabs 1/2 Marathon on the 10th March 2019. This will be my third Half but the first of the five Half Marathons I have planned this year. I have done this event twice before, in 2017 and in 2018, but both times I did 10 km.

Week 7: A Personal Best!

Monday, 11th February: Easy Run, 5.01 km, 34:23. Not all runs are great, but this run was FANTASTIC. It was just supposed to be an Easy Run, but when I set off I was so surprised at how much faster “Easy” felt. These are my splits (min/km): 07:03/ 06:42 /06:45 /07:02 /06:48 and it took me to a 2 minute 5 km PB! I was over the moon!

Tuesday, 12th February: Strength Training, 30 min. I had a good session at home. I first focused on my legs (mostly glutes and quads) using a resistance band and then moved onto my arms using dumb-bells.

Wednesday, 13th February: Tempo Run, 8.11 km, 57:55. I was really nervous about this run so I decided to make it fun by taking the whole family out to the Agricultural College Grounds. I ran while my husband and the kids cycled. My aim was to alternate Easy with Tempo using 2 km intervals. This worked very well and I was really happy with my overall average pace of 07:09 min/ km. Another solid run and a real confidence booster!

Thursday, 14th February: Strength Training, 20 min. I was not really in the mood for a workout it being Valentine’s Day but I managed some arm work, again using dumb bells before enjoying a lovely dinner prepared by my husband 🙂

Friday, 15th February: Rest Day.

Saturday, 16th February: Long Run, 16 km, 2:04:49. With two good runs in the bag this week, I was actually looking forward to this run and the fact that I would be joined by Elisa for the first 5 km, made it seem less daunting. The cool weather made things easier as well. My music player didn’t work though so the 11 km after Elisa had gone were pretty lonely! I’m experimenting with my fueling options and at 13 km I was dying for an energy boost and took a gel. It worked well but I definitely could have taken it earlier as I was pretty knackered by the time I took it and it seemed to be a case of “too little, too late”.

Sunday, 17th February: Rest Day. 

Week 8: Powering Through

Monday, 18th February: Easy Run, 5 km, 37:24. I’ve been meaning to try out Gaborone’s first “parkrun” since it started last year but was not quite sure what to expect. This community run is held at the Gaborone Golf Club every Monday at 17:30. It is free and timed, with an online system that stores all your weekly stats, including how you place in your category be it age or gender. I ran with Elisa again who was also trying it out for the first time. We had so much fun on the course and when we got to around 4.5 km, Elisa exclaimed, “Are we done already?!” We hadn’t even noticed the time fly by, LOL.

It was such a nice change of scenery from running on the road. There were so many people (I think they reported a turnout of 190), all at different levels and abilities.

For anyone in Gaborone, I would highly recommend this run. Super fun and organised, friendly crowd, good energy, safe and once you are done, the traffic has died down a bit so it’s a less stressful trip home! To register and for more information, visit here.

Tuesday, 19th February: Pilates Class, 1 hr. We did a lot of work on our core and legs and it felt like a class that was designed specifically for runners. We used the pilates ring and a block and these both added a new level of difficulty.

Wednesday, 20th February: Tempo Run, 10.01 km, 1:10:26. Another Wednesday, another tempo run. This time 10 km. I felt the same nerves that I had last Wednesday, but told myself that the worst that could happen is that I run a slightly shorter distance. But not only did I manage the full distance, I did it in a faster pace (07:02) than I did the 8 km run last week. AND this is my fastest time since my knee injury in May 2017! It is also my third fastest time ever for 10 km! Somehow, consistency and patience seems to be paying off!

As I came to the end of my run, this beautiful sunset seemed to celebrate with me! What a great day.

Thursday, 21st February: Rest Day.

Friday, 22nd February: Rest Day.

Saturday, 23rd February: Long Run, 18 km, 2:21:06. This was the longest distance in this training cycle. I was so happy that most of my girls could make it, everyone doing different distances. I was on my own for the last 6 km, but at that point I felt I was well on my way to making the distance. This time I took a gel at 12 km (before I felt like death) and it worked much better! It wasn’t the nicest of flavours, but it did the job!

I was exhausted by the time I was done. But also strangely nervous. Although I managed to get through quite comfortably, it was a reminder that a Half Marathon is not easy!

Sunday, 24th February: Rest Day.

Summary: I’ve had some solid runs in the last two weeks and I’ve pushed through nicely on my long runs. My new shoes seem to be broken in now. They’ve been comfortable for most of my runs although they felt a bit tight towards the end of the 18 km. I’m excited that the big race is soon here. But I’m also a bit nervous. For my first two Half Marathons, I never put a time goal as the most important thing for me was to finish. But I’m playing around with a time goal now, 2:35. I think it’s achievable but it means shaving off 6 minutes from my current PB…

[Gabs 1/2 Training Cycle: 210.67 km | 2019 Mileage: 210.67 km | Gym Classes: 1]

On The Blog: Here are some of my recent blog posts, enjoy!

• Five Great Lessons from Soweto
• Keeping Fit While Raising Young Kids

To keep myself accountable I am linking up with the inspirational Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home.