And just like that, it’s SPRING! My favourite season – granted, Spring in Botswana, literally lasts a few days, but for purposes of this blog, let’s pretend it lasts all of September! I love this time of year – even though Botswana’s winters are tame compared to other countries, we do get lows of 1 – 2˚C and with our houses not built for the cold, it feels terrible. This winter in what I think *might* have been a first, it even SNOWED in Johannesburg which is just a few hours’ drive south of us. It’s extremely dry so the landscape looks brown and drab, not to mention the toll this takes on our hair and skin! Losing my mum during winter four years ago, just added another layer of misery to this season. So, Spring (which starts on 1st September in these parts) is the perfect time to shake off the winter blues and spring into action with a renewed sense of purpose, energy and focus. In today’s blog, I’m spring cleaning my fitness goals – no drastic changes, just updating some and refreshing my routine for enhanced motivation.
September is Spelt S-T-R-O-N-G
1: Run the UB Half Marathon: After my disappointing Half Marathon in Phikwe in July, I immediately started training for the UB Half Marathon scheduled for 24th September. Looking back, I probably should have taken time off to regroup, but I felt strong and didn’t want to lose the momentum I’d built in the year. But four weeks in, and I feel so uninspired! There was one week where I actually didn’t run, I just questioned everything, including: Why do I even bother? But I’ve had a good sulk, remembered my why, and I’m committing to staying focused, wearing my brightest colours and having a strong race at UB. Phikwe showed me I’m very far from a sub 2:15 Half which is my goal for 2023 but I will try to get as close as possible to 2:30 again. This will be my 4th Half this year (out of the six planned) and my 13th Half overall.
2: Build Upper Body Strength: When it comes to strength training, I lack discipline. But I do know it makes a huge difference to my running. So, this September, I’m going to be focused with my strength work – 3 times a week for at least 15 minutes at a time.
3: Do a 30-Day Pilates Challenge: When I started running back in 2017, I did it alongside Pilates classes. I absolutely loved it – with the downturn of the economy it became a bit of a luxury for me to afford. So, I stopped going BUT when I stopped, I lost my core completely! So, using the basics I know and online resources, I’m going to try a 30-Day Challenge. This goal is about adding an extra layer to my fitness regime, and I love the idea of a streak-type challenge. I will keep sessions to about 15 – 30 minutes, depending on the activities I have on the day.
4: Eat, Sleep and Drink Better: My fruit and vegetable consumption really goes down in winter. So, this Spring I’m going to stock up on fresh, local, in-season produce and take advantage of the local farmer’s markets and my mother-in-law’s incredible garden to make it more fun and inspiring. I really lose credibility when I force my kids to eat their veggies and I somehow sneakily avoid it! They are old enough to catch on to me! Alongside this – time to get back to hydrating better and sleeping on time:
- Drink 1.5 – 2L of water a day
- Sleep between 9 – 10 pm
- Improve my eating habits (less chocolate, healthier snacks, more salads, better portion sizes)
- Schedule two health check-ups: gynaecologist and dentist.
5: Hit the Trail: I love hiking, but it always seems like such an event to get to great trails/ paths. But this month, I’d like to try a slightly ambitious goal – FIVE hikes to kickstart my journey to more hiking/trail adventures. This month has a public holiday, so I think it’s doable!
Just writing down these goals has left me feeling quite energised and excited to continue my fitness journey. October is my birthday month so at the end of September, I’ll be back to share some fitness activities to celebrate that month – I’m thinking of doing another international race… But of course, in between, the blogging continues – I still have to share my Phikwe Half Marathon, some thoughts on the ongoing Spar Community Challenge and a whole lot more!
What are you looking forward to this new season? Are any of you SPRING cleaning your fitness routine? Any new challenges? Any races on the schedule?
I’m so excited to be linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday. Hop on over to their blogs and others and be inspired!
The Gaborone Runner 
Happy Spring to you! I’ll live vicariously through you as we spiral toward fall and winter, which lasts way too long in this part of the world. Looks like you set some great goals for September!
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So grateful our winter is much shorter!
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Finally spring! It’s the best month.
I’m excited to see where your international race will take you to.
Today, I did my quarterly review of my habits – and my goals for the next quarter looked very similar to yours: good sleep, healthy eating and effective cross-training.
Are the Jacarandas already blooming or is that a pic from last spring? I’m anxious I will miss them when we return to Cape Town!
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Spring, love, love it! It has such a refreshing feeling! I’m thinking of the Om-die-dam Half Marathon in Hartebespoort, SA. It’s close enough for it to be doable, and Kaia would have finished her big exams for the year, so the trip would be a small treat for all her hard work. Crossing fingers it’s possible! The Jacarandas haven’t made an appearance yet! This is from last year but expecting them maybe in 2 weeks? Hopefully soon…as they are my fave! When are you back?
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Ah, near Pretoria! That sounds really nice, I’m sure your whole family will love it.
High time for us to get back for the Jacarandas! We’ll be back on 7 October, so still about a month to go.
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Oh, you’ll have plenty of time! I think they stop around November 💜
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Lots of great goals.
Mine are races races races.
Fall colors and more hiking.
Continue to hit the gym.
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Thank you! Excited about this “renewed” energy and focus! Can’t wait to see the fall colours on your photos! Love the range of oranges which we don’t really get here during fall.
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Can I just say I’m envious you’re entering the spring season and I’m on the verge of exiting summer? Like you, I’ll have to draw on my bright colors to downplay the changing weather, LOL. I love all your goals & objectives… best of luck with everything!!
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I knew you’d be envious as you’re the ultimate summer gal! But I’m so glad to be rid of winter. Such a dreary season. Wear those colours my friend!
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They are all great goals! Good luck with them. Spring can be really brief here, too — and sometimes we just skip it & go straight into Summer. You just never know.
Sadly no races on the horizon (I don’t know if you caught it, but Bandit is in heart failure, and between him & my mom, it’s a difficult season so to speak).
I do love Pilates, but it’s always so hard to get it all in there, isn’t it? I shoot for about 3 x week, and the same of strength training. Doesn’t mean that always happens!
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Was so sorry to read about Bandit’s heart failure but love that you are keeping him as happy and comfortable as possible. So understandable that races have been the last thing on your mind with everything going on. But glad you’ve still been running and walking as much as possible.
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Thank you! We did learn this week he’s only in the beginning stages of heart failure, so hoping for more quality time with him. He’s a relatively old dog so that’s not unexpected.
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You have some great goals! I used to do Pilates classes alongside running and really loved it. Covid of course put an end to all studio classes and now I’ve just kind of gotten used to training on my own schedule.
Best of luck with your upcoming half marathon! I have a 10M on Oct. 1 and am still debating a November race. Between college visits for my high schooler and our home renovations, there may not be much time for racing.
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I wish we had more 10 milers here! I find it such a great distance to race! Good luck with your training for that in the middle of everything else!
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Interesting that you are heading into Spring while we are heading towards Fall. I love Fall! I love your goals! For me it is to make it to the next few weeks of school and take care of myself. I am spending way too much time with work.
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Self-care is so important! Hope you find that balance very soon, my friend.
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Love that you’re taking some time to intentionally tighten things up. We don’t really get spring here, either.
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So happy I was able to really reflect on what needed tightening!
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Thank you so much for sharing your spring goals. You’ve inspired me to write mine down as well. Just curious, will you be running the Soweto half marathon this year?
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Please do! Spring is such a wonderful time to renew or refresh our goals, especially as we build up to Christmas! I won’t be doing Soweto this year! I retired after doing it 3 times as I want to try other races in SA, LOL! Thinking of doing the Om-die-dam Half end of October!
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