FFA Update February 2011

Two Oceans half marathon
With entries filling up for this popular race so quickly this year, we have a number of members desperate to get into the race.  If you know of anyone who may have entered and is for whatever reason not doing the race this year, please let us know if you are willing to pass on your entry.

Member feedback
Thank you to members who responded to our pop quiz regarding bailing events as well as the Power Band question.  Here is what they had to say:
Bailing a race
I’ve only bailed on one race in 10 years.  In that case, it was incredibly hot and I was seriously dying – I quit after 80% of the triathlon was finished, because that race was actually just a training exercise and I had got what I needed from it.  That’s what I told myself.  I still wish I had of persisted though.
In general, there have been many times where I have felt like quitting in a race but have forced myself to push through and invariably the bad patch has gone away and things have improved.  There have been a few times where things have not improved, but persisting has meant that in subsequent runs when I have felt like quitting, I have been able to draw on my mental strength “bagged” from the previous times I have not given up.
Sven
Bailing a race
I’ve only ever bailed out of one race – the City to City in 2001. I went into the race very ill & should never have started it.   It took me longer to recover from my illness after attempting the run than if I had never started in the first place. I think one should be cautious before entering a race if you have something wrong & if during a race something happens that can affect your ability to run afterwards then bailing, as hard as it is, is a good idea. 
Anne
Power Balance wristbands
Submitted by Belinda and taken from the Australian Power Balance website:
In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility.  We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund.  To obtain a refund please visit our website www.powerbalance.com.au or contact us toll-free on 1800 733 436.  This offer will be available until 30th June 2011. To be eligible for a refund, together with return postage, you will need to return a genuine Power Balance product along with proof of purchase (including credit card records, store barcodes and receipts) from an authorised reseller in Australia.
This Corrective Notice has been paid for by Power Balance Australia Pty Ltd and placed pursuant to an undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission given under section 87B of the Trade Practices Act, 1974.
There you have it!  Probably the greatest modern day Mentalist since the tailor of the emperor’s new clothes!

The need for speed!
Some of our members took to the Ruimsig athletics stadium early in January to test their fitness levels after the December holidays.  For many it was their first outing on a tartan track and doing this 5000m time trial was quite new!  The times were most encouraging and definitely rewarding after a hard stint of training.
Track time trials offer a valuable opportunity to test your current levels of fitness since the route is flat and the splits are far more controllable than on the road.  It also helps to tire the legs out just a little before the Sunday long run and simulates the way you feel after the first half of a marathon or ultra event.  I used to do these regularly in the nineties while training with Comrades gold medallist Israel Morake.  The two of us ran scary times at RAU and joined up again for some long slow distance the next day reminiscing about the successes of the day before!
Just like some of the other Comrades heroes of the eighties and nineties we would also venture out on training runs that include the Westcliffe staircases.  By including a couple of hundred stairs in your training routes every now and again does wonders for leg strength, not to mention for the head!  During the next few months we will also schedule some of these legendary sessions into the Fitness From Africa program. 
If you are keen to join us for any of these sessions then please diarise these dates:
Date Time Session Venue

Fitness From Africa massage course
Our next sports massage course will take place from the 21st February.  Sessions will be held on two consecutive Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 19h00 to 21h00. 
FFA Sports Massage Course Outline:
• Benefits of sports massage
• Anatomical relevance of massage
• Physiology and sports massage
• Importance of sports conditioning to the masseur
• Setting up of the massage environment
• Application of Swedish massage techniques
• Instruction of sports massage techniques
• Evaluation of massage needs of the sportsman
• Physiology and development of sports injuries
• Contraindications of sports massage
• Stretching and foam roller prehab techniques
The course will take place at the Lonehill Exercise & Sports Centre on 21, 23 & 28 of February and the 1 March.  The cost is R950 per person.  Contact us to register.

Struggling to find time to train?
At the beginning of the year we all have ambitions of doing things better this year.  Not letting another year slip away and wonder where all our goals and targets went wrong.  For me personally my desire is to get a handle on my time and to pursue the important things harder than ever before. 
Our church is currently discussing the concept of Reinvention of yourself and how you can and should embrace change.  Instead of seeing yourself as a victim of change you should rather be a master of change.  As a rule our life could be shaped either my priorities or pressures.  How do you take charge of this though?  Try to complete the following questionnaire as best as possible and you will be wonderfully surprised as to how you can better apply your time towards those things that give you pleasure without compromising your responsibilities!
1.What are your 3 most important values?
2.What are the 3 things in life that are most important to you?
3.What 3 skills or abilities are you best at?
4.If you were forced to take an extended period of time off from work and you had the money to do anything you wanted, how would you spend the time?
5.Who are the 3 people, living or dead, whom you most admire?

I hope this helps you to gain some introspective insight at the start of February and to raise the bar in the year to come!!
Happy training!!