Can you believe I haven’t blogged in over a month! I’ve had a lot going on with work – many stressful moments but thankfully some great opportunities, so I’m not complaining! But it has meant I haven’t been on my blogging A-game, so a catch up over coffee is long overdue and what better way to do so than by linking up with Coco from Running with Perseverance and Deborah from Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date – a link-up they host the first Saturday of each month. I’m having a cappuccino from my favourite place in Gaborone, The Daily Grind! What are you having to drink? How have you been? And how’s your family?
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how excited I am to be hosting the #9x9SpringChallenge for the third consecutive year. I started this Challenge in 2020 when my mood plummeted as I relived my mother’s painful 3-month cancer journey and her loss the previous year. Throw in an unexpected 2-week lockdown in August as well as pandemic anxieties at the time, that winter wasn’t the best time for me. So it was almost with a sense of desperation that I looked forward to Spring that year which starts on 1st of September for many countries in Southern Africa and Australia. The Challenge involves running 9km every day for 9 consecutive days in bright gear and looking for signs of Spring along the way! In the first year, we had 15 runners and as of now, we have 104 runners participating – 88% are female, half are in the 40 – 49 age group, and we have runners from eight different countries – Australia, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with a handful from Germany, UK, and the USA who are bidding farewell to summer. If you’re keen to hop on the Spring Train, it’s not late – visit this link to sign up!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I had my worst-ever performance in a Half Marathon this past Sunday. I can’t even blame hills, there were none! In fact, it was such a great route in a small metropolis, Mogoditshane, which borders the city. I will give you a blow by blow account soon but what I loved about this experience was it reminded me that a Half needs consistency and hard work, especially if you’re looking to be comfortable out there. I took a chance running this Half and suffered the consequences BUT I’m happy I did – first of all, its 21.1K in the 2022 kitty, secondly, I had an awesome morning with friends, and thirdly, I’m grateful for all the lessons. Have you ever had a poor race performance you know you deserved?!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you one of my good friends Tshire ran Comrades on Sunday and did so well – running 90km in 9 hours! A couple of weeks before she headed to Durban for the event, she invited me and a few of her girlfriends to run 22.5km with her for her final long run. We all dressed in black and she added a touch of Comrades yellow. It was a tough but heart-warming run with everyone digging deep to get the distance done. In the end, we managed a total of 120km between the five of us! Afterwards, Tshire treated us to a one-hour yoga session with Sammy from SLV Yoga House in Phakalane, and we completed the perfect morning with cheese cake and other treats that Tshire had made for the occasion. In case you are wondering, yes, I will be featuring her on the blog to share her Comrades Story!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how proud I am of my kids – aside from school P.E., they never run but this past weekend they participated in the Spar Community Challenge 5K event and they did amazing! Kaia managed an amazing 35-minute run and Thiwa, 42 minutes. Kaia ran with her friends and Thiwa was accompanied by my good friend Arifa (who writes my Physio’s Corner) and she was very entertained by his stories of Steve Urkel from Family Matters. After the first km, he (ever the great negotiator), convinced her that they would run 200m and then walk the next 200m, which he maintained for the whole race. Meanwhile Ditiro finished his 10K in a whopping 42 minutes! I think it’s safe to say I’m the slowest runner in the family! LOL!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that Zucchini, my very cute but naughty pup, chomped my Garmin charging cord. But that’s not the worst of it. To replace it, I had to pay P695 (US$53)! I searched online for what it would cost overseas and it was half the price. I think that upset me even more. My dad-in-law is actually in the US as I write this but I was so desperate I couldn’t wait for his return. But yes, swiping this was a very painful exercise. This may be my last cappuccino for a while, LOL! Has your dog ever chomped something valuable?!
I’m so happy to have finally sat down and blogged something! Thank you for having coffee with me. I’m also linking up with these fabulous bloggers, My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday!
The Gaborone Runner 
Oh my gosh on that cord! Scooby doesn’t get into much trouble, but when we first got him he chewed my Mom’s glasses! They were pricey to replace.
I love your 9X9 challenge — especially the bright colors!
Thanks for joining us for coffee!
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Oh goodness! My husband had a case where the dog had consumed his owners glasses and needed to be operated on! 🤣🤣 My new cord is now well hidden!
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Yes, I was just thinking about you as I showered this morning- ha ha, that sounds weird. My shower curtain has a map of the world on it and I was looking at different cities in Africa (phew- there was a good explanation for that.). Glad you are back to blogging again!
I love the spring running challenge! It’s funny to be reminded that September is spring for the other half of the world.
Congratulations to your kids!!! They did amazing! And I’m looking forward to hearing more about Tshire’s experience running Comrades.
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🤣🤣🤣 This made me laugh out loud and love that you have a shower curtain of the world! I hope Gaborone is written prominently!
I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog but so happy to be back!
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Congrats to your kiddos and hubby on their races! I love when the whole family gets in on the running.
I have had a similar half experience and so get what you’re saying about the consistency and hard work. There’s always a lesson in those experiences!
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They’ve resisted running for so long so I hope this experience helps to spur them on!
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You know I love your 9X9 Spring Challenge! And, it’s a given all the bright colors have my heart 😉 Congrats on all the runners you’ve rallied to join in on the fun! That’s incredible!!! Also, way to go on the family of runners in your household…you and your hubby are setting fine examples of fitness 😉
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It’s such a balance with kids – trying to encourage (but not force in case they hate it!) but I hope if we keep it fun, they will choose to keep fit with these different activities. The 9×9 is one of my favourite challenges of the year and this year everyone is going all out with their outfits, poses and chasing flowers!
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Oh no on the charging cable! Luckily my dog is small and can’t reach mine. Although he’s also not destructive. Now, wanting to go out every 15 minutes around dinner time — I just closed the door on him!
WTG for your friend! And wow, she really treated you.
I was beginning to wonder what was up with you. I’m hoping to run a half in a couple of months, but my time hasn’t always been my own so I’ve made peace with the fact that I might not even run the whole thing (well, I will run/walk). We’ll see. I’ll just be happy to get there!
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And I honestly thought she was over the destructive phase — I guess my cable looked too tempting! And she just left it there in two pieces like she knew as soon as she bit it that she’d done something really wrong, LOL!
I really hope you get to do that Half. I know how much it means to you. So continue to do what you can with the time you have and if you go in with that mindset of having fun and getting it done, you will have an amazing time out there.
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Thanks, Shathiso. My sister just let me know the aide has to take up for more dental work. 😦 It’s not great for me, and it’s really not great for my mom, but we’re lucky to have someone so I guess just grin and bear it.
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Oh, man! Zucchini!!! So once upon a time I had a pug named Molly who was super attached to me and had separation anxiety. We found out the hard way when I moved into my now-husband’s townhouse and left for a long day of a work event. Molly, all 11 pounds of anxiety, ATE the baseboard around the door, about 12″ of carpet, and the arms of his (hideous) leather couch. Like ripped the seams apart and pulled the stuffing out. Hated the couch. Loved that dog.
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OMG!!!! Molly! Haha, makes me feel better about Zucchini and the cord, LOL!! But what a way to get rid of the couch that you hated – EPIC!!!!
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It is a challenge to sit down and write.
I’ve decided that I need to start carrying a notebook. Gotta start somewhere getting back on track!
I love how the new Garmin watches use a unique connector. Not.
Hopefully they did this to make the watch more waterproof? Or maybe they are following Apple’s lead with the crazy expensive cables?
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I really don’t get why they need unique connectors and cables!!! Seems like a money making scheme to me! And I’m no engineer, but seriously, why does it need to cost so much!
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how exciting that your spring challenge is going so well! I share your passion for bright colors and fun photos. We cannot expect every race to be a personal best but it is disappointing when it happens. Moving on!
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I absolutely all your colourful outfits!🥰
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I’ve missed your blogs! Glad to hear all is well and how exciting your challenge has grown so much! Yikes on the Garmin cord. Ozzy isn’t bad with chewing but our previous dog Carlo was horrible. Congrts to Tshire and your kiddos! Awesome!
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Thank you Marcia! I’m so excited about the challenge! Today was Day 7, so two more to go and we’re home and dry!
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