On the 12th May 2019, I ran the Diacore Half Marathon, my fourth and my fastest! 🙂 And then I disappeared from the blogging scene!

Fear not! I’ve still been running and Facebooking regularly but for those who are keen blog readers and have missed my posts, I’m so sorry! I’ve had such a crazy and chaotic few months balancing work, family, friends, school activities and running that blogging kind of fell by the wayside. However, I am back and I have so many exciting things to share. But you know I hate leaving unfinished business so let me start by wrapping up my final weeks of Diacore training before I move onto all my race recaps and what I’m up to now!

Week 7: Excitement Building

Monday, 29th April: Easy Run, 5.03 km, 37:07. This was quite a comfortable run around the neighbourhood. But I set off quite late so my last 2 km were a lot faster than I had intended (07:08/ 06:48) just so I could make it home before it got too dark.

Tuesday, 30th April: Upper Body Workout, 20 min. I turned to my favourite HASFit Tribe for an awesome arm workout. Again, my focus should really be on my legs but my arms need to look good in a tank top, right? 😉

Wednesday, 1st May: Rest Day.

Thursday, 2nd May: Easy Run, 5.01 km, 34:25 | Pilates, 1 hr. I really didn’t want to run. Everything in my body and mind just kept yelling, “Don’t do it!” But with 10 days to Race Day, I felt I didn’t have much choice. So I threw on a nice outfit and hit the road. What a pleasant surprise! It was awesome. With an average pace of 06:53 min/km, it was such a strong run. My legs were just “in flow” and with a heart rate average of 157 bpm, I wasn’t even over-exerting myself. It was such a confidence boost. Really uplifting.

I also did a pilates class shortly afterwards where we used the resistance band which I really love. I feel I get so much more of a stretch when using it.

Friday, 3rd May: Rest Day. 

Saturday, 4th May: Interval Training, 6.82 km, 49:04 min | Pilates, 1 hr. I did 400 m x 10 intervals with 1:30 min rests. Although I was really excited about this run, I struggled to find any real speed. My first interval was the fastest one at 02:08 minutes (compared to 2:00 min two weeks ago). But my heart rate peaked at 178 bpm so it was certainly a good effort even though my interval times were slower than usual.

After this, I headed for my second pilates class of the week where we used a fit ball as well as two 1.5 kg weights. After speed training, it felt good to stretch things out. It was also fun to go with Ditiro although he always shows me up with his good form and strength!

Sunday, 5th May: Easy Run, 12 km, 1:27:19 | Upper Body Workout, 20 min. As this was my last long run, I decided to run a section of the actual Diacore course. During Half races, my energy and will-power wane around the 15/16 km point. For Diacore, 15/16 km is in the CBD area. So I incorporated this as part of my long run today. Wow! It was such a great run. My legs felt strong and I even stopped for a selfie with Ditiro in front of the Three Dikgosi Monument. As I ran up and down the CBD streets, I visualised myself on race day and had such excitement thinking about it. That’s when I knew I was ready for this race. I was so pumped I even celebrated with some strength work at home.

Week 8: Race Week (and Maranoia!)

Monday, 6th May: Rest Day.

Tuesday, 7th May: Easy Run, 5.14 km, 37:06. I managed an easy morning run as the kids were still on school break. I think this is the day my excitement turned to maranoia. I felt as if I was coming down with a cold – scratchy throat, heavy head… So from this day forth, I wore a scarf around my neck even on days that were really warm.

Wednesday, 8th May: Interval Training, 4.14 km, 28:19. This was the shortest interval session (5 min x 2 intervals) of the training cycle! I found it quite amusing that the combined warm up and cool down time was longer than the actual workout!

Thursday, 9th May: Pilates, 1 hr. I was pleased to make it to another pilates class and this time we used a small ball and the pilates ring as props.

Friday, 10th May: Easy Run, 5.06 km, 36:55. After 8 weeks of training, it was finally the last run of the cycle, an Easy 5. I still felt I had a scratchy throat and when I told my mum, she said quite gruffly, “It’s just nerves” to which I was strangely comforted. 🙂 Nothing like a mum’s firm tone to get you back on track. Just two more nights of maranoia left.

Saturday, 11th May: Rest Day. Pilates Fitness Botswana was running a special Mother’s Day posture analysis session and I was only too happy to join in although it is always a shock to learn how much work my posture needs! Later that day, I got my kit ready.

Sunday, 12th May: Diacore Half Marathon, 02:28:42. After 8 weeks of consistent training, I ran the dream race. I’ll be back with a detailed race recap but for now let me leave you with this message I put on Facebook, “I found I lost myself a little bit when I became a mum. Running really helped me find myself again. So how incredible is it that today, on Mother’s Day, I ran my fourth and fastest ever Half Marathon in a time of 2:28:42, crushing the 2:35 Goal I had set for myself and taking me to a 09:46 min PB!!”

[Fortnightly Mileage: 64.4 km |Diacore Half Training Cycle: 245.43 km | 2019 Mileage: 514.11 km | Gym Classes: 3]

Thank you to my friends, family and blog readers who have been amazing on this journey. It has almost been 2 months since that race, but I still find myself smiling about it. Crossing that finish line in that time has opened my mind to all the possibilities out there. I have found myself even more committed to chasing seemingly impossible dreams.