Mom on the run

I’ve been on a desperate quest to find something to help me get some relief from the constant sinus infection.  OK, cutting out white bread made a dramatic difference but I’m still struggling.  At the moment I can’t go to the doctor to get antibiotics – it is too close to Comrades and the antibiotics has a negative effect on your performance and that is something I can’t afford.

So I’ve been surfing the net and googling and everywhere I went I read about oil pulling.  Now firstly it really sounded like an old wives tale and not just that but also extremely, extremely gross.  You pop ‘n table spoon full of oil (any oil but sesame or coconut oil is the best) in your mouth and swish it around for 20 minutes.  Then you spit it out, drink a glass of water and brush your teeth.  So after reading about if for weeks I was just desperate enough to try it out, they claim you have instant relief from sinus.  So I tried it with coconut oil, coconut oil is a solid at room temperature and I almost barfed when I put it in my mouth and had to chew it to get it to a fluid.  The swishing was very tiring on my neck and cheek muscles but I persisted.  And lo and behold, after spitting it out, I had to blow my nose about 5 times but my sinus post nasal drip was gone.  I was still very dubious and waited for Hubby to get home – he also has a horrible sinus infection at the moment.  I didn’t tell him what the oil pulling was supposed to do, I just told him to do it and can you believe it, after spitting it out, he also had to blow his nose a few times and his sinus was gone!!!  I’ve now read some more about this whole oil pulling thing and there is an army of benefits when doing it.  From remineralization of teeth – yes another thing that I’m researching – it is possible to heal a cavity, to cleaner teeth, softer skin, better intestinal health etc etc.  So for now I’m going to keep on pulling oil and see what other benefits there are.

So I went running last night – only 4km’s BUT after the run we always stand and talk a bit and it was then that I realised that I’ve left the potatoes on the stove with the stove on!!  But I thought it would be OK because I did put a lot of water in.  Poor old Zoe – the responsible one was tugging at my shirt and telling me to go home because the stove was on but I just kept talking to all my running buddies.  When we finally did get home, the pot was completely ruined, pitch black and the potatoes was very very crispy but to make things worse, I tipped the potatoes onto a cutting board hoping to salvage the top bits and I plonked the pot down on the kitchen counter.  And guess what?  The pot was so hot that it burned the kitchen counter!!  Arrgghhh I could kick myself!  So now we have a ruined kitchen counter and a ruined pot.  I suppose this will make me save money for that elusive granite top counters that I’ve been threatening to get for about 7 years now. 

Mother’s day was a quiet uneventful day, we went running and Zoe spend the day with my mom.  Actually ideal because it meant that I could catch up on some sleep.  I just can’t explain the tiredness at the moment, I suppose it is quite natural to feel like that with all the training I’ve been doing.

And a few stats on my running for this year:

KM’s ran since January: 1004.1km

Approximate time spend on the road:  111 hours

2 pairs of shoes worn out

No visits to the Physio

Countless vitamin B injections

Lots and lots of fun, heartache and joy on the road with fellow runners.

Well I better leave, I have to finalise the IRP5′s today.

Have a wonderful day!

Since my mom was diagnosed with a severe allergy to all diary she has lost 8 kilograms and she has not had a sinus attack since then.  It is extremely boring though – no chocolate, no cheese, no yogurt, no cappucino’s etc etc etc.

I’ve realised in the last month that I have very bad sinus for about 2 days after eating white bread.  The moment I stop eating it my sinus disappeared.  I was toying with the idea of baking a bread at home to see if I’m only allergic to shop bough white bread but alas no.  I baked a bread on Monday evening – 75% white bread flour and 25% whole meal and I had a piece on Tuesday morning.  Well let me tell you, I sound terribly sick – I’ve got such a bad sinus attack.  Blocked nose, sore head and streaming eyes.  So after having one slice of white bread I suffer for about two days – so not worth it.

However it makes me think about allergic reactions we may have to food that is not so noticeable.  How many infections, aches and pains can be linked to a food allergy.  How many of us may turn in healthy happy  human beings just by looking at our diet.  How many of us are overweight purely because of a food allergy?

I do think I may have to visit the homeopath for a complete allergy screening to see what else may influence my quality of life and dropping a few kg’s won’t be frowned upon either.

So yesterday morning I was running AGAIN – yes I know, running is consuming my life at the moment but in 28 days it is all over – Comrades will be over.

Slogging along on a hill asking myself why I do this and why I submit my child to getting up in the morning and being cold and miserable – yes it was exceptionally cold in Johannesburg yesterday morning,  a lady started to run next to me.  Now my first thought was: “How can I get rid of her?”, I really do not feel like being social and talking to somebody.  However she started to ask about Comrades, she has never done an uprun and is nervous about it – I had to giggle to myself because even though it is my fourth Comrades this year I still feel very much like a novice.

And then we started to talk about why we run and how we started to run.  My stock standard story is always that I decided to run Comrades to loose weight and I ended up gaining 2kg’s.  Anyway her story had me in tears with goosebumps all over my body.  Her daughter was 23 when she died from an asthma attack.  Yes the lady left work the morning and at 11 her husband phoned her telling her that he think their daughter is dead.  She jumped in her car and drove home and when she turned the corner, the coroners wagon, the police and an ambulance were standing in her driveway and that is when reality hit.  Her only daughter was gone.  And like she said with that realisation her whole future was gone as well.  She’ll never be a bride’s mother or be a grand mother and hold her grandchild or experience any of the other milestones we so take for granted.  Anyway I was in tears.

Then I asked her how her husband was coping and she told me very matter of factly that her husband died 5 months after her daughter because of a broken heart and he lost the will to live.  And then just to make it even worse her mother died of a heart attack on her husband’s funeral!!  Ok so now I’m a blubbering wreck and I still had to run 15km’s!!

And then she started to tell me how she started to run after her husband’s death and how it saved her.  How it dragged her from the deep dark hole of depression and how it is now as important as breathing.  And how she loves how it makes her get out of bed to train and go to races and how wonderful it is to talk to other people and be uplifted by their stories.  How the running has made her aware of other people’s problems and she has now actually started a charity that gives fabulous shoes to girls in orphanages, because her daughter loved shoes so much and all girls should have at least one pair of fabulous shoes.

And so once again – I was moved beyond words during a run and once again I’ve realised how important it is to open your heart to other people and not be grumpy and try and get away from them!

Have a lovely day and cherish your kids, even when they drive you insane.

So I picked Zoe up to take her to the party, a few moments of total panic because Google Maps and Wayze declined that there is an address like that.  Finally had to phone my mom and she could give me the approximate location of the estate.  Great big houses in massive gardens but right under the big electricity pilons – I don’t know if I want to live so close to those type of wires.

Anyway I digress, Zoe was the last one there and she latched to my leg and didn’t want to let go.  So here I was with a 6 year old wrapped around my leg and smiling like a fool at all the grannies watching their grandkids.  What an uncomfortable situation but I also realised that I’ll have to leave or Zoe will stay at my side the whole time and what is the use of that.  So I checked out the mom, and saw that all the granny’s were keeping a beady eye out and I left.  Yes I know it was extremely difficult to do but I also realised that Zoe needed me to leave.  Longest 90 minutes of my life while I was away but I think it was good for her.

So now we have crossed the bridge of going to parties alone.

It is another 39 days left to Comrades and I’m now sick and tired of running, previous years I always had a week off here and there due to injury but this year it has been running all the time.  I’m exhausted, but luckily I know that I’m not the only one feeling like that – everybody that run the Comrades is at that stage now.  We are done with the big races, and it is now only maintaining our fitness until D day.  And then resting for 2 months and getting fat!

I promised my one friend that I’ll knit her a baby blanket when she falls pregnant.  Well she is pregnant now but she is such an overachiever that she is pregnant with twins!  So now I have to knit two blankets.  The one is done and I’ve started with the second one.  It is actually nice to knit now that is cold, it keeps me warm.  ANd now Zoe has ordered a blanket as well, only she wants a bigger one.  So I suppose the time I normally spends running will now be spend knitting a big blanket for Zoe.  Definitely a labour of love.

I thought I’ll be cool in Zoe’s eyes until she is at least 10 but yesterday proved to change that perception.

She received an invite to a birthday party.  The invite was only given yesterday and the party is today.  OK already a lot of questions are popping up – surely there should be more forewarning.  Then the mommy says that she’ll pick the kids up from school and you can just collect your child from their house at any time that suits you.  Excuse me – I don’t know you from a bar of soap and you want to take my 6 year old daughter to your house in your car packed full of other kids?  Did I read this correctly – are you mad? 

So I said no – you are not going.  Zoe pulled a lip and folded her arms, saying that all her friends are going (sounds like a teenager?).  So I phoned hubby to consult – he is also saying no!  But not just no – a few descritptive words and then no.

But now my dilemma – I was not allowed to go to “staying awake” through the night things at the church and I wasn’t allowed to go to holiday’s for university students while at university, parties in high school was a big no-no and I always felt left out and uncool when the other kids spoke of the things they did during these events and I really really do not want Zoe to feel like that.  I hated it and I stil feel although I’ve missed out on so much during my high school and university years.

So what to do.  After numerous discussions with Hubby we have decided that I’ll go and pick Zoe up from school and I’ll take her to the house.  I’m also going to stay there until she and I feel comfortable enough and then I’ll leave, if we don’t feel comfortable – Zoe will leave with me or I’ll stay until the end of the party.  We explained all of this to her and it seems although she understands and is happy with the compromise.

Let’s hope everything can be resolved this easily when she is a teenager.

And then another birthday party on Saturday at Spur – I’m actually happy about that because at least it is a public place and I can lurk at a table closeby if parents aren’t allowed!

And then just one other thing – the Discovery Vitality scheme is really so good, if you get the points and keep your side up.  We had to buy quite a lot of things from Builders Warehouse and I bought clothes at Cape Union Mart last month - well my cashback for this month is over R600 and then I also get double points for everything I buy from Pick ‘n Pay.  Great!

Brrr – winter already!

So my doctor has put me on a new contraceptive pill.  He claims that is will make me run faster, have a lighter period as well as drop a few kg’s of weight.  It sounded like a bargain to me and I said let’s go for it.

But now I’m on day 14 of the pill and since yesterday I’m a blubbering mess.  My whole face is full zits and I can’t stop crying.  Yesterday morning I started to cry when I heard about the Boston marathon bombings, cried the whole day at work about it, and then I got home.

And the neighbours told me off for giving Jack a hiding because he has ripped another pillow apart.  No they didn’t tell me off, they ripped me apart like Jack did with the pillow.  Telling me I’m animal abuser and teaching my child to be an animal abuser etc etc.  That brought on another crying episode that has not stopped yet.  I’m still crying this morning.  I actually loaded Jack in the car to take him to the SPCA because I can’t have a dog if I can’t discipline him. Zoe was hysterical, I was hysterical and this bloody cold hearted woman just looked on. 

Ohh yes – she told me that they took pictures of me giving Jack a hiding and they are taking it to the newspapers.  So if you see a newspaper article about this horrible blond woman giving the poor defenseless dog a hiding – that is me.

I’ve had it.  I just don’t know how what or where anymore.  I think I need happy pills. 

This event is just too close to home.  I’ve been in tears almost the whole morning.  The time the blasts occur – very very close to the time I ran on Saturday morning.  The little girl that is one of the vicitms – waiting for her dad to finish and also running races – just to close to Zoe’s age and Zoe’s activities.  How often do we stand next to the finish to wait for each other to finish with Zoe next to us.

I keep on going onto different websites and looking and reading and obsessing.  And I try to imagine how this is going to change the running community and the races.  How do you keep thousands of runners and thousands of spectators, helpers, and volunteers save on Comrades day for example – 90kilometers of people – it is an impossible task.

Take away the spectators and what will be left of running – nothing – no runner can run the Comrades or Two Oceans without the support from the people next to the road. 

We now have instead of the joy of running we have the fear of running..

What type of “human being”  builds a bomb full of ball bearings knowing that those ball bearings will rip into people’s vulnerable flesh and their lower extremities – the people around a marathon all have a love for the sport in some manner and so many of them will now have to learn to life without a limb or an eye or worse of all a loved one.

I can’t comprehend, I don’t want to understand and mostly I’m ashamed to say that I’m part of the human race. 

I’m leaving now to go and cry again.

Cape Town was great as always – we ate too much, tested too much wine, chocolate and beer.  Ohh that new place – The Spice Route – next to Fairview is to die for.  Their little chocolate and coffee place smells like heaven.  I sat there while Hubby and our friend was tasting beer and it was so peaceful to sit there with my hot chocolate shot and breathe the air full of chocolate and coffee flavour.

Two Oceans marathon was amazing – I’ve never ever had such a good run – the exact opposite from last year.  The wind was hectic and scary but everytime I was caught in one of the gusts I just giggled and soldiered on!  My best time as well.

Zoe has this nasty habit these days if things don’t go her way to sulk.  She would fold her arms, lean back and push out her bottom lip. She looks like a real spoiled brat and I can’t stand it.  She did it a few times while we were in Cape Town but I didn’t want to make a issue in front of other people so I left it but on Sunday when she did it again I lost it completely.  I actually feel a bit ashamed because I shouted at her until my throat was sore and my voice was gone.  Well anyway we have now taken her bicycle away – big punishment because she loves cycling and she can only get it back once she is behaving like the well mannered little girl she normally is.  We had a long talk yesterday and I do hope it pays off.  I really do not want to raise a spoiled brat.

How would it feel to be illiterate? I’m an automatic reader – I read everything, posters in shops, posters next to the road, cereal boxes etc.  Can you imagine to go into a shop and not being able to know what is in the boxes on the shelves and not know how to buy dishwashing liquid or soap or anything?  The reason why I’m thinking about this is that Hubby may go and work in Moscow.  Now they have a different alphabet from us so everything will look different.  I wonder….. However it may be an experience of note.  Only a few things to iron out – house, dogs, two cars, Zoe’s schooling, our running – can’t see us running in the snow there, my job.  We should know more today about this whole thing – I actually think his boss had a bit of a knee jerk reaction, so I don’t think it is going to come off but it has made me think about things.

Work is completely mad – new boss and the old boss has now packed and left for Australia.  I’m not too certain about my future here – new boss is actually an old boss and we had some spectacular fights before.  Well I’ll just have to wait and see.

I’ve discovered a link on the Amazon website that directs me to the top 100 free Kindle books on the website.  What joy I “buy” books from this list all the time and it is actually so nice t read books that would never cross the radar otherwise.  I’ve read quite a few gems but I must admit I’ve also came across some very very pathetic books as well.

I better stop now – I have so much to do - judging from the pile of files on my desk I think it is safe to assume that the auditors have left!  Halleluja for that – every year we have new clerks and every year and I have to explain everything again and I swear they get younger and dumber each year!  I know I was there as well and I know it is horrible so I should sympathise.

Have a great week!

I’m like a little kid before Christmas – tonight at 9 we are boarding the plane to go to Cape town.  It is really a whirlwind visit and we are flying back on Sunday night very very late.

However we have already planned the full 3 days we are there.

Things are so tight time wise that Hubby has given me strict instructions not to diddle daddle on the Ultra on Saturday but to RUN so we’ll have enough time to visit the wine farm that produces my favourite wine.  They are not open on a Sunday so we HAVE to go on Saturday.

So yes we are running Two Oceans Ultra Marathon on Saturday.  Currently the weather forecast is prediciting a 40km/hour wind.  And the direction of the wind means that we are going to have a head wind for the first 20 or so kilometers of the race.  So my game plan is to pick a very big guy and tuck in behind him and slip stream!  However slip streaming does not work so well for running!  Ohh well it is worth a try.

Biggest dissapointment?  We wanted to buy Zoe a cupcake at Charlies Bakery – a friend has volunteered to go there on Saturday morning to buy her one and now they are closed for the whole Easter weekend!  Poor little soul was so excited about her Charlies cupcake.  Ohh well – it gives us a good excuse to go for longer next time.

Well I do hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend, regardless of religion.  For me it is most definitely a major religious holiday but I do think it can send a message about love and sacrifice regardless of your believes.

I’ve been following a blog about a girl’s weight loss journey.  She has been on this extremely strict diet since middle January – OK her results are amazing 14kg’s and still going strong BUT you can actually hear the longing in her “voice” for some normal food and she is obsessing about a chocolate or a piece of cake or even a slice bread.

And this has made me think – there is 168 hours in a week.  When on a diet you basically have to think about food, and discipline and eating correctly and cravings for the full 168 hours of the week.  OK granted you do sleep for say about 56 hours of that 168 hours but I do think if you are on a really restrictive diet even your dreams will be consumed by thoughts of food and eating.

Now I don’t diet – I exercise – I do admit that I’m a bit obsessed and I can excercise for up to 12 hours a week, but you don’t need to exercise that much to keep in shape and keep fit.  And when you exercise a natural spin off is that your body ask for healthier food and you do not eat as much junk because you realise it may influence the hard work in the gym or out on the road.  And when I do feel like a chocolate or a slice of cake etc, I can have it because I know my metabolism is high enough to burn it off.

So my question now is?  Why punish yourself for 168 hours a week if you can just do a bit of training for say 6 hours a week and the rest of the time you can relax.

I better get going, I have Zoe at work because it is school holidays and the auditors are here as well.  Have a great day and a great Easter.  I can’t wait to go to Cape Town for the weekend!