Time really does fly when you are having fun!
How three weeks had flown by beats me, and the idea of lacing up the running shoes and going back on the road depresses me.
Yes, it has already been three weeks since we ran the Comrades Marathon, and already the new season is in full swing for some.
Just last weekend, Faranani Running Club hosted their maiden Winter Challenge 10km race.
As if that was not a wake-up call for one to return to running, fliers of the Tembisa Mile 10km race abound on one’s social media platform.
The Soweto Marathon entry window is already closed.
Fortunately, the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt has helped one ignore all the nudging to go back to running.
But such has been Bafana Bafana’s showing at the biennial continental showpiece that pounding the tar road would have perhaps come in as a handy diversion.
That poor showing in the defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in the opening match was a reminder of just how low we have sunk as a footballing nation.
And while many celebrated Friday night’s 1-0 victory over Namibia, discerning football fans will know not to raise their hopes unduly, lest they get their hearts broken in the next match.
Oh, the pain of being a Bafana fan! It is worse than the pain of being a running addict.
With the post-Comrades rest now over and races springing up all over the place, one is going to have to be very choosy as to which races he or she takes up.
The goal – as usual – will be to earn early qualification and seeding for next year’s edition of the Ultimate Human Race.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is presently the most ideal race at which to do this.
Taking place on September 15, Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label Status race is fast and flat, and therefore conducive to one running a PB and thus booking a spot in Comrades as early as possible.
But one has to get ready, and that means braving Gauteng’s bitingly cold weather to go for training runs – often early in the morning or late afternoon.
Am I ready? Not at all.
To be able to complete that monster of a race – no matter the time – is no small feat, and those of us who are able to have a lot to be grateful for. https://t.co/CEPutapV1P
— Matshelane Mamabolo (@Tshiliboy) June 11, 2019
There is some encouragement, though. I am taking a leap into the unknown. For the first time in my three-year long running career, I will be pounding the road in shoes other than Mr Price’s Maxed.
I will be racing the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in Asics’ Gel Four Five Ones.
They are pretty shoes, and felt pretty light upon fitting and during that 8km run during the Discovery/94.7 Rhythm Run’s Speed Lap at the Kyalami race track.
But will they carry me through the 42.2km distance comfortably?
That question can only be answered via proper long runs, and that can only mean that lazy days are over as I have to start putting them to the test.
The Asics people also recommended the DynaFlyte3, a very cushy and comfortable shoe. But I find it to be a little on the heavy side compared to the light Maxed I am used to.
The Gel Four Five One it is to be then for the Cape Town Marathon.
In football terms, four-five-one is a pretty good formation that works well in attacking and defensive formation when the right players are picked.
I hope the shoe works just as well for me and helps me get that very good sub-3 come September in the Mother City.
First though, I need to get out of post-Comrades break mode – a three-week break that, sadly, has felt like just a few days.
@Tshiliboy