June Newsletter

Comrades results
With the big race all done and behind us, it is with great admiration that we want to congratulate all who went the distance!  We are also very pleased to announce that all Fitness From Africa runners finished again this year, including two silvers, ten Bill Rowan medallists and 6 novices! 
Each race every year has a myriad of stories and we have included two of them below for your enjoyment. The first by Sergio Bazzo who undertook 87km in his home-made sandals, breakthrough victory for him and kick in the shins for shoe manufacturers!  The second by Keith Reynolds who got a solid and very well deserved silver medal after 24 attempts at the distance!
And then a special mention of Sasha who entered for the first time this year.  As for a few others she didn’t have the perfect start, to the extent that the 12-hour buss came past her at some point!  I can only imagine the despair that that could have caused.  True to character she clawed her way back to finish the race with just over 10min to spare!  Well done Sasha – you are an inspiration and have showed what fighting back is all about!!

Fitness From Africa Results Comrades 2011:

Comrades 2011 Race Day report (Sergio Bazzo)
Probably my most anticipated Comrades to date, it was number 10 and I was going to be running in my Huaraches!!
Post Comrades 2010 to Dec:
 The plan was to focus on speedwork and to break 40min and 90 min for 10 and 21.1 respectively.
Although training was consistent I never applied myself to the task at hand and subsequently never got near to attempting to run the desired times.
Jan 2011 to Comrades 2011:
On the back of the above mentioned plan I was now supposed to break 3 hours for the marathon. Training was again consistent but lacked true focus. The result for the marathon was rather surprising in that I missed a marathon PB by 40 odd seconds without really trying. The Vaal marathon was a true pleasure, I never once felt exerted or out of my comfort zone.
On the back of this surprise I continued to train consistently and did speedwork on an irregular basis, mainly Thursday TT and some hills on Tuesdays.
I did my best not to miss the Sunday long run and when I could not manage the Wednesday long run I simply split the mileage and ran twice a day.
Total mileage for Jan 2011 to Comrades 2011 was 1700km, I think about 400 Km short as prescribed by my programme.
Taper:
The taper went well and I felt refreshed in the week leading up to race day, I was apprehensive but I felt confident and ready.
Race Day:
I was confidently nervous on the morning, settled down nicely in the B starting pen. Great seeing Marcel and chatting to him before the gun.
Good solid start, felt good. Was not too obsessed with checking pace chart every 5 k split, just kept going.
Fields hill and Botha’s hill have always been my nemesis on the up run, this year I took them in my stride and felt good going into Drummond.
I approached Inchanga with caution and was not scared to walk for 30 paces when I began to tire, it too passed by well.
By now I was behind on my goal but I was enjoying the run and my feet and huaraches were also doing well.  I hit 2 bad spots where I felt a bit dizzy, I recognized it to be low blood sugar so quickly downed Gu and on both occasions recovered within 2 km’s.
The last 20 k’s where tough, I was tired and my quads were starting to pain on the downhill’s ( my nemesis again), I literally looked forward to each up- including Polly’s.
Runners would pass me on the downs only for me to pass them on the hills. Strangely enough I found myself thinking that about running 2012 whilst doing the last 8 k’s, and for the first time I had a sense and belief that I could run Silver in 2012
The rollercoaster lasted until the end, what a great feeling to cross the line, I got a bit emotional as I stood still for about a minute and just let the thought of having my green number sink in. I reflected on the hours that have gone into this day and more importantly the people in my life who have allowed me to live my dream.
My green number really crowned a great year for me. My quest to run in Sandals was fueled by the book Born to run. I was captivated by how simple running is and running in sandals simplified it even more.
I literally fell in love with running all over again.
2012 here we come!
Sergio


Comrades 2011 (Keith Reynolds)
Start of the event
I got to the start relaxed after having arranged a lift with other runners that were staying in the rooms next to us.  Only issue was fighting my way through to the tog bag area – minor. Started at the right pace (not too fast but not slow).  I was prepared to lose time on the bigger hills knowing that I could comfortably keep to and below the average on the flat and downhill sections.  Decided to stick with Energade and supplement with potatoes and bananas based on the fact that this was what I used when I ran my (previous) best time in 1989 and I didn’t have any problem then (no other gels or anything like that).
Middle of the event
Kept focused on enjoying the race, reminding myself that all the work had already been done (2055km from Jan) and that the interim Goals such as a sub 3 hour marathon had been achieved (my motto for the year was “believe to achieve - achieve to believe”).  Most of all I reminded myself to trust the program (coach).  I gained around 5 minutes in the first third of the race and went through halfway ahead of schedule and feeling very fresh.  Didn’t really take note of it but knew I was leaving many athletes behind.
Gained another 5 minutes on the second third of the race and knew that I was going to make the time regardless of what happened.
End of the event
(Last third) I “knew” I was the first runner for the second biggest club in the country (Irene).  This was one award I hadn’t ever achieved before (including while at much smaller clubs).  I also knew that I wasn’t prepared to throw my race chasing this prize but rather focused on the main goal. It was amazing passing the supporters tent in the club lead with 25 km to go.  Saw my wife at around 15km from the end but was in a good stride and barely greeted (but acknowledged).  Felt a twinge of cramp at about 13 to go and worked out that I had enough time to manage a walk/run strategy to the end.  Took my time up Polly’s with the slowest 2km of the day but wasn’t stressed about it at all, knowing that I had more than enough time available and hit cruise control to the finish.
What did I enjoy most about the event?
1) Having the inner “knowledge” that the goal was very realistic and not one just hoped for.
2) How “easy” the hills became despite having very little hill training (Saudi Arabia is very flat)
3) Being able to run comfortably at 4:30 m/km pace during the final kilometre!
Goals for next year?
Get the “Down” silver!


Knysna half marathon
If anyone has a "spare" entry for the half marathon, please contact brendan@fitnessfromafrica.co.za

Midnight training
So you think training for Comrades is tough!  One of our athletes, Gigi Tsang, is busy preparing for her first 100miler, the Washie 100!  Training in Dubai brings with it a few challenges though.  Not so long ago Gigi rounded up a few training partners to complete a 55km training run. Due to the heat in Dubai this time of year they started the training run at 10pm at a temperature of 39ºC, and finished after 3am with the temperature still in the thirties!

Celebrity treatment
With the racing scene slow this time of year it's probably a good opportunity to sort out niggles and imbalances that might be hampering your training.
Belinda Waghorn (Comrades gold medallist) is a physio therapist with special interest in the following: Sports Injuries, Upper and Lower Back Pain, Shoulder and Neck Pain, Orthopaedic conditions, Exercise Therapy and Massage Therapy.  (Randburg region - 083 678 5855)
Letshego Moshoeu (SA Survivor Runner Up) is a Biokineticist who specialises in injury prevention, rehabilitation, management of chronic diseases and disabilities, sports testing, weight loss, strength training and wellness (Fourways and Lonehill region – 072 227 4022)