Sunday, 30th March 2008

For many of us this coming Sunday's run will be a recovery run, so we'll take it nice and easy. We will join the Sunday Stars who are running approximately 13 km, starting at 7h00 from the Zoo parking area in Rondebosch (just off the road that leads up to Rhodes Memorial). This will be a slow and relaxed run.

The Sunday Stars have a very well organised Coke truck arrangement. People are expected to bring a 1.5 litre Coke (the one in the returnable bottle) which gets handed in at the start and gets used during the run. You will get the opportunity to drink Coke or water every 3 km or so.

Two Oceans:

Well done to everyone who participated.

I won't give results in this email as they are available on the two Oceans website: the link is http://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/portal/ and then click on Results. One can look up results by club, age category or individual.

There were some notable achievements, however. In the half marathon there were quite a few of our runners who came in under 1:30, including Judy Everingham in 1:28:25. In the Ultra James Wynne was the only VOB runner to get a silver medal with a time of 3:58:21. Dean Ollis missed a silver by 6 minutes, but I've been told his wife gave birth the night before and he had had a long night. Our ladies did exceptionally well: four of them, JoJo Thomas, Karen Little, Rachel Shuttleworth and Tania Anderson made up the ladies team which won the Two Oceans Women's Open team event.

All the best,

Gerry

Two Oceans: Easter Saturday, 22nd March 2008.

The hard work is done and we can look forward to a few days of resting the body and preparing mentally for the race. The build up and training for a big event such as Oceans is seldom perfect, and in the circumstances we give it our best shot. That reminds me of some sound advice Eric Bateman gave at the Two Oceans social last Tuesday, namely, to prepare and make one's excuses in advance…

I would like to wish everyone a successful and enjoyable Two Oceans.

Andrew Bell's formula for planning your race

Some years back Andrew Bell came up with a formula for planning how to run the race: it is based on the data of how most runners actually run Two Oceans. I'm including it here because several people commented last year that they found it very useful:

Decide on a realistic target finishing time, then divide the race into 4 x 14km sections, and plan to run the 14k splits as follows:

Up to 14k: 23.61% of target time;
From 14 to 28k: 23.70% of target time, cumulative (0 to 28k) 47.31%
From 28 to marathon mark: 26.30% of target time, cumulative (0 to 42k) 73.61%
From marathon mark to finish 26.39% of target time.

These percentages take into account both the terrain and some fatigue setting in.

The Comrades Road Show, Tuesday 18^th March

Tomorrow evening the Comrades Association are holding a road show at the VOB clubhouse starting at 7pm. Everyone attending will receive a free training programme for a 9, 11and 12 hour Comrades finish. There will also be a number of lucky draw prizes, courtesy of the Comrades Marathon sponsors. Entrance is free and the show is expected to last about 90 minutes.

The pasta evening on Thursday, the 20^th March

The Oceans pasta evening takes place at Karen and Graham Little's home on Thursday evening from 7pm onwards. If you intend coming, please contact Karen to let her know how many are in your party, and what food you are bringing. Her contact nos. are 083 261 8849 (mobile), 021 712 6981 (landline), or kglittle@mweb.co.za (e-mail).

Karen's address is:

50 Ladies Mile Rd, Bergvliet.

If you are coming from the M3, proceed along Ladies Mile towards the south-east (i.e. towards Main Rd), and after the circle (the intersection with Firgrove Ave) you will see a service road parallel to Ladies Mile Rd on the left. Karen and Graham's house is on that service road.

All the best,

Gerry

Sunday, 16th March 2008: 6 days to go.

Sunday's run

Opinions differ widely on the distance to run on the Sunday before the race, from no more than 10 to 12 km, to the Two Oceans virtual coach's advice of a long slow distance run of two hours.

Another factor is that VOB runner Denis Nixon's family is organising memorial runs of 5 km and 10 km on Sunday, starting at 8h00. Denis was brutally gunned down in his home about a year ago. The family's invitation to this inaugural run is attached.

Therefore we'll do a run of approximately 12 km, starting at 6h30 from the Constantia (Alphen) Kwikspar. We should be back at the Constantia Village complex by 7h45 at the latest; anyone wanting to do one of the two memorial runs will get to the start in the Le Sueur meadow well in time.

Sportsmans' Warehouse discount evening

On Thursday the 13^th, Sportsmans' Warehouse in Tokai are holding a discount evening from 6pm to 9pm. I believe that one will get discounts of 15% on all running goods, and 10% on any other items.

Pasta evening on Thursday the 20^th March (two days before Two Oceans)

Karen Little has graciously offered to host the traditional pasta evening at her house from 7pm onwards. The pasta evenings are a great deal of fun and just the thing to get you into the right frame of mind for the race. You will sense the excitement and anticipation that your fellow runners are feeling. You will get really motivated.

If you would like to attend, please let Karen know how many of you are coming, and what food you intend bringing. Also bring your own drinks.

Karen's contact details are:
Home: 021 712 6981
Mobile: 083 261 8849
Email: kglittle@mweb.co.za

and her address is:
50 Ladies Mile Rd
Bergvliet

I hope you are staying healthy and injury-free.

Gerry

Sunday, 9th March 2008: 13 days to go.

It's the Argus Cycle Tour on Sunday, so we're a bit restricted with regard to running routes. Dave Spence, the Two Oceans virtual coach, for this Sunday recommends a 20 km run at an easy pace on an undulating course. The route I've selected includes running the last 8 km of the Oceans route to the finish at UCT while one is still feeling fresh, to reinforce positive feelings about the race. The arrangements are that we:

Meet at: Constantia (Alphen) Kwikspar, Constantia Village shopping complex
Start at: 6h00
Distance: About 20 km
The route: From the Kwikspar we'll take a shortcut to Southern Cross Dr, up Southern Cross, along Rhodes Dr to Kirstenbosch top gate, along Rhodes Ave and Union Ave to the UCT rugby fields, down to Main Rd, Rondebosch, along the footpath next to the Liesbeek River, through Newlands Hiddingh, along Newlands Rd, Tennant Walk, Wolfe St, past Victoria Hospital and back to the cars.

I hope that your hard training is showing dividends, and that you are all feeling strong.

Gerry