Rainy day runs

Have you ever sat in your car very early on a cold morning, looking at the start banner of some or other race, steaming up the windows while the rain is pouring outside, thinking to yourself, "you have to be crazy to be here right now…" In fact, probably all non-runners, including your family, will consider you stark raving mad.

On one such occasion, haven pre-entered for a half marathon, I remember us sitting there with the car's heater on full blast, just looking at each other. We knew exactly what the other one was thinking. But as more people were leaving their warm, dry, protective cars and making their way to the start, we realized (as my mom always says) "you won't melt". And what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Besides, we knew very well how we would feel two hours later, having completed the 21km run as apposed to bailing out and going home.

So we stepped out the the car and into the rain, joining the rest of the runners huddled together under the start banner - a seriously sorry looking bunch. As we got wetter, everybody started to see the humor in the situation. The gun went off and we were on our way. After about a kilometre we were soaked to the bone. Every now and again one had to dodge the puddles in the road, while others were going all out, jumping and splashing in them like crazy.

And then, after 10 minutes, the rain suddenly stopped! The remainder of the race turned out to be one of the greatest runs weather wise that we could ever have hoped for. Cool and overcast with the sun peeping through the clouds every now and then. We could run ourselves dry and I was thinking to myself that all the participants who decided to rather go back home to their warm beds must be so disappointed with themselves.

But that's life, and the choices we make - to this day I am glad that we chose to be part of the crazy bunch!

Oh budget, where art thou?

Race entry fee:
$120.00.
Buying a commemorative T-shirt:
$59.00
The burn of the air in your lungs as you clear that hill at the 25km mark:
priceless.

Yes, its difficult to measure, in monetary terms, the value you get out of a running event. Looking back at the past decade, few things have left a deeper impression in my memory than the wonderful, tough and enjoyable races we've been fortunate enough to be part of.

I love official running events. Whether its a midweek 7km fun run, a big city marathon or some far-off, exotic trail run, there's something very special about entering for an event, training and preparing for the big day, arriving at the start with all the other entrants, dealing with the butterflies in your stomach just before the start gun, interacting with the helpers and officials along the route, and finally the thrill of crossing the finish line, preferably with music thumping and the announcer reading out your name and congratulating you on a race well run (even if you finish hours after the elite racers who sprinted across the line earlier in the day).

Yep, running events are great... And whatever you pay for an event, looking back in time you're probably going to chalk it up as money well spent. Unfortunately, and increasingly, many of these events aren't cheap. City marathons get more expensive each year, and the big trail running events in particular leave a significant dent in your wallet. Even more so if, like us, you're a couple who both run. And often there are additional costs, like paying for transport to the start/finish of a point-to-point race, or paying for commemorative clothing (and admit it, you really want to own that official technical Tee from the big off-road ultra that you battled several hours to conquer).

Then there's the magic of experiencing an international event - who doesn't fantasize about lining up for the London, New York or Athens marathons, or taking on the Western States 100 Miler in California, or for that matter doing something crazy like the annual Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling event in England. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but one that could have a disastrous impact on your finances.

Spending money on an addiction is not something that can be soberly justified. A smoker is not suddenly going to cut down on cigarettes to free up some grocery money; a coffee aficionado is not going to switch to instant brew to help balance the budget. They'd rather give up something else.

And so it is for us running addicts too. My old work pants are surely still good for another season - I'd rather spend that $50 on next weekend's half marathon. I don't really need that new running top and socks to match my running shoes - if I run a couple more races in my faded old running clothes I can invest the money I saved in my Running of the Bulls savings account. And come to think of it, settling for box-wine every now and then is not so bad if that means I can squeeze another marathon into my budget. And if I take up barefoot running I may even save the expense of new trainers every few months!

At least that's me. How do you manage your running finances? Ever cut corners to free up some money for a special event? Taken out a loan to do that too-good-to-miss multi-day endurance event? Or are you one of the lucky ones who have not succumbed to the temptation of organised events, and who are content with a solitary long run on the weekend on some lovely back-country roads?

Runners Pasta recipe - try it, you'll love it!

This recipe by chef Graeme Shapiro, was published in a Runner's World from 2004. We've made it many times and it really is a lovely meal!

The RECIPE
500g fusilli or fresh taglierini pasta
250g basil pesto or olive tapenade
200g artichoke hearts
150g kalamata olives (remove stones first!)
150g roasted peppers
2 handfuls (30g) fresh basil - torn into pieces
100g pine nuts (or slithered almonds) - toasted (pop under the oven grill for a few minutes)
100g sun-dried tomatoes (preferably marinated) - finely sliced
250g cooked bacon - dice into pieces (smoked salmon/smoked chicken breast/tuna are other great options)
200g goats cheese or feta - crumbled into pieces

Method
Place the cooked pasta into a large bowl, add the pesto and toss through to coat the pasta. Add the rest of the ingredients. If you are serving the pasta warm, add the cheese last just before serving. Garnish with fresh basil or parmesan/pecorino shavings.

"This dish has amazing versatility and is great eaten warm or cold and invites one to play around with the idea that the dish is what you make of it," says Shapiro. "You can decide to add or subtract ingredients at will, such as anchovies, cherry tomatoes, fried mushrooms or soft boiled eggs. Remember, when cooking pasta you need lots of rapidly boiling, salted water. No oil is necessary and you don't place a lid onto the pot - it will boil over! When cooking pasta, don't forget to stir the pot from time to time. Fresh pasta from the refrigerated section of a supermarket takes only about 4 minutes to cook".

Eating on the run - is it rude to say no?

I'll never forget, years ago, chatting to a good friend (lets call him Pete) while running with the back-of-the-pack gang at one of those massive Johannesburg summer races, when the subject turned to eating on the run.

Pete had a very amusing "principle" on the subject: it's rude to say no when a friendly spectator or helper offers you something to eat during a race. As a result, he obviously had his share of weird eat-and-run anecdotes - fish and chips (offered by a spectator with a huge toothless grin) on the Cape Flats, home-brewed beer from a shebeen in Soweto, church-bazaar fudge in a small Karoo town, and a generous helping of Old Brown Sherry presented by a group of very jolly, scantily-clad students during the sub-zero temperature Rhodes Run. Luckily for Pete, he had a strong constitution, and most of these culinary delights were handled without any adverse consequences.

I am similarly blessed - I very seldom experience problems from eating the odd sausage, or downing a tot of schnapps during a run. Thus I try to also stick to the 'Pete principle' - it's just good manners, see? In fact, I quite enjoy coming across something new to eat on a run. I'm not sure how I would handle a whitebait fritter 30kms into a marathon, but if it's presented I'll probably give it a try. The worst food experience I've had was when I did the Ottosdal Night Marathon some years ago, and couldn't resist a couple of cinnamon pancakes an hour before the start. It felt as if I was running in thick oil, and ended more than half an hour slower than anticipated. But maybe I was just having a bad day anyway - I shouldn't blame the pancakes until I've tried it once or twice more, just to have a scientifically verifiable result.

Some years ago, Wouna and I did the Cape Odyssey race in South Africa - a multi-day stage-run covering about 200km off-road over a 5 day period. Each night the organisers set up camp in a new location, providing food and accommodation to participants between the different stages. To their credit, we were extremely well looked after, so much so that, for example, we were treated each morning to a huge breakfast including cereal, yoghurt, fruit, eggs, sausage or bacon, and toast. The organisers of the Cape Odyssey are also responsible for the famous Cape Epic multi-day cycle race, and the story at the time was that these big breakfasts were very popular with the cyclists, as it's more possible to cycle on a full stomach - you don't bounce as much as you do when running. Not being much of a cyclist myself, I wouldn't know, but I would be interested to know how the cyclists out there feel about this.

Anyway, for the runners with sensitive stomachs these breakfasts were obviously a total waste - each morning you saw them nibbling on a piece of fruit, or a bit of yoghurt and meusli for the more adventurous, staring longingly at the five course breakfast laid out on the table.

Not me, though - I made sure that I sampled everything on offer, with the result that I probably ended the five day run weighing more than I did when I started. Sure, the first few km's each day was quite tough, with my body being unsure whether it should put more effort into digesting my breakfast or nursing my tender leg muscles. But other than that everything was swell, and no one could say that I didn't get my money's worth!

Many people aren't that lucky, and have to pretty much start watching their diet days before their big run. It also often takes a few very uncomfortable and even painful experiences to know what you can or cannot eat during a run. Which is why the more sensible principle, advocated in every running magazine article on nutrition, is to never try something new during a race that you haven't tested in training. During the Odyssey, Wouna experienced a pretty severe reaction to a well-known brand of carbo-fuel that we had never tried before, leaving her stomach feeling heavy as a rock for more than a day. Also on this race, we discovered her favourite and most effective race-food to be a nice, fresh, crunchie Packham pear. We have since also found that strawberries are an excellent pre-race snack, causing no adverse effects during the run. Like me, she'll never say no to a nice, well-salted piece of boiled potato either. Thus Wouna's very simple and effective eating-rule has become "No space foods - keep it fresh and natural!".

So what do you like to eat during a run? Can you handle what comes your way, or do you have to decline the roadside offers? And what's your take on space food? Do carbo-loading shakes, oxygen tablets and protein recovery drinks work for you, or do you rather prefer fresh fruit and berries?

Please join us!

Wow, the first post in a new blog ...

Always a daunting proposition, isn't it? Almost like the first run after a long lay-off. You want to do it, you know you're going to feel much better once you've done it, but still you can't help coming up with all kinds of clever excuses for postponing until tomorrow.

As a master procrastinator, I know all about postponing. If you ever need a reason for putting something off until tomorrow, just ask me - I will give you five excellent excuses without pausing to catch my breath!

But lets not get distracted - back to the task at hand. I am hugely excited about this blog, and I really hope in time others will share my excitement.

How often have you picked up a running magazine with inspiring cover stories like "Running your best 10k", or "Getting back to running after the Christmas break", only to find that, even though it seems to be aimed at Joe Public, its really filled with technical mumbo-jumbo from Professor Personal Best, or Olympic triathlete Sally Super Sprint, involving things like VO2 max, lactate threshold and aerobic capacity - enough to make your head hurt so bad that you feel like rather lying down and postponing that big run until tomorrow.

With this blog, what we hope to do is share the experiences of normal, everyday people who love to run. Who run because its fun, and who enjoy the endorphin rush that comes for free. I'm not fast. Heck, I'm hardly average. But I know that even if I go out and run five kilometers at a seven minute pace, I've achieved more than 90% of the population who's biggest exercise achievement for the day is walking from the car to the office (or from the office to the canteen, whichever is further).

Jog around the Blog is a for everyone who loves running, simple as that.

For those who love stepping out for an invigorating early morning jog, but finds getting out of bed tough as hell. For those who love the burn of cold air in their lungs, irrespective of technicalities like fartleks, negative splits, or 90% race pace. For whom a black (or missing) big toe nail is just part of your look. For whom sharing war stories with the back-of-the-pack gang at races is as important as clocking up a new PB.

Whether you prefer the solitude of a daily lone run, get energised by a weekly run around the neighbourhood with regular running buddies, or love hitting some far away mountain track, we sincerely hope you will find something of interest on this blog.

And more importantly, it would be swell to hear your thoughts and opinions, to make this a lively and exciting community for runners, joggers, wigglers, wobblers, shufflers and walkers of all abilities.

Well, there you have it. The first blog post for Jog around the Blog. That wasn't so difficult, was it? So what are you waiting for - I managed a whole blog post, so get those smelly running shoes from under the bed. No more excuses.

And when you get back home, sweaty and with that silly post-run grin on your face, we'd love for you to let us know how it was.