In the meantime, I have been running my longest distances up to date and I really enjoyed that! The pride I felt afterwards is just so amazing & rewarding! So just before my peak weeks started, I hit a serious patch of self-doubt. That was not a nice place to be. That just reminded me once again of one of the reasons I’m doing this: to get the knowledge and experience to be able to help my coaching clients better. After some serious mental adjustments and a few good talks to valued people, I attacked my peak weeks head on. I got the best advice from my biokineticist coach Rowen:

Me: “Coach, I have some serious self-doubt about the upcoming peak weeks. Have I done enough to be ready for it?”

Coach: “You cannot prepare for peaking, peaking is preparation for your race. Take it day-by-day and km-by-km.”

That was by far the best advice I ever received! Valuable lesson learnt.

So I am currently in my 3rd peak week and have 60km left before taper. Hard work ahead, but almost there!

I had mostly fun up to now, mainly because I aim for a ‘level-10’ experience in every single workout / run. Like sprinting up and down the stairs and around the Voortrekker Monument in km 24 of the Springbok Vasbyt race just to get done already! It was tough, but great! It amazes me how much easier tough terrain gets when you train on very tough terrain – like my all-time favorite Hedianga. I just LOVE it there!

With that said - everything gets more intense – the fun, the pain, the bad runs, the joy, the tears. The only nice thing about bad runs is that you can be sure that a few good ones will follow! Definitely a ‘Law of running…’

One thing that was really determined to end this journey for me came from an unexpected place: headaches. Oh my goodness, I woke up almost daily with debilitating headaches. Unfortunately, there’s no time for doctors at the moment, I just had to push through and deal with it. But it sure drains my energy and mentally I just had to push way harder. And in case you’re asking for a friend – Grandpa pills seems to work best (after a meal). I think it is due to the caffeine content and the fact that it doesn’t make me drowsy. But God forbid that I get those on any of my race days. And if I do – I’ll just deal with that like I dealt with all the other challenges so far.

I realized my body goes through different phases. From water-retention, to being bloated. From nothing sore or stiff, to a 5min foot stitch or a knee pain. Luckily nothing lasts too long. There’s just no time. One rest day per week is all I really have, so I discovered a lot of quicker ways to recover! Mainly day-time naps! I don’t think there’s anything better for recovery!

All the strength training has left me as strong as a horse and I am delighted to say that with almost 400km done so far, I don’t have a single niggle or injury. I will forever believe in strength training for runners! Just make sure you find a coach that knows what he / she’s doing. Go for a proper body assessment before you start and get the right exercises for your body’s needs and make sure it is race-specific. I will forever be grateful for the role Rowen played in my fitness. And I have to add: so far our plan is working very well! I am strong and injury free. Now, I just need to focus on doing the taper right and also add a bit of speedwork!

Another great thing about this journey is that I discovered the best running mantra yet: “This is what I do, I run!”. It really pulls me through tough times when I keep repeating that in my head! And with good reason, because THIS IS WHAT I DO: I RUN!

‘Till next time…