April 1998. As a 'bulletproof' 21 year old, or so I thought, I was hellbent on getting a silver medal at the Two Oceans Marathon in my maiden attempt. Sub 4 hours for an event that includes the climbs of Chapman's Peak and Constantia Nek, not to mention the jarring downhills and road camber is a tall ask for even the most accomplished of runners. And almost out of the question for a novice in his early twenties.
You see, I grew up in a generation who watched the likes of Fordyce, Plaatjes, Mtolo, Yawa and Temane tear up the roads in the 1980s and early 1990s. The running boom of those years was focused on running to your best abilty compared todays boom of 'lifestyle running.'
Take a look at the Two Oceans results up until the mid nineties. Look at how many English and Afrikaans sounding surnames finished under 4 hours. You may be astounded. Compare that to today.
This mentality wore off on me as keen youngster determined to emulate his older peers and mentors.
Cruising comfortably at just under 4minutes/km through the first 10km of the 1998 edition, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of my right knee, which worsened from then on forcing me to hobble/walk from the 28km mark onward.
Upon crossing the line in a shade under 6 hours, I wondered how I could have been so stupid. The niggles I had felt in the previous few weeks were simply ignored as exactly that: niggles. All part of being a runner, right?
After consultation with the legendary orthopedic surgeon Dr. John May, I was diagnosed with ilo tibial syndrome (ITB). What! Me? Injured? Never!
Upon realisation that I wasn't so 'bulletproof' after all and was prone to such injuries like everyone else, I was struck by the realisation that I been doing all of my running on tar roads facing the oncoming traffic. The camber had done it's trick indeed.
After 6 weeks of no running but maintaining my usual cycling but adding lots of walking/hiking, stretching and strength work I decided to approach my running in slightly different, but purposeful manner.
I started with 15 minutes of slow running four times per week starting and finishing at the Cecilia Forest car park. Working government hours in Mowbray at the time afforded me the luxury of doing this on the way home from work. 15 minutes became 20, then 25 until I was running 1 hour four times a week exploring every path, trail, jeep track and back route spanning Cecilia Forest, Kirstenbosch and Newlands Forest. Every run was a new adventure on a different route. Coupled with the severe terrain, I attained a new level of running fitness without even knowing it.
Toeing the line at the Knysna Forest half marathon 6 weeks after that first 15 minute foray into the unknown, I wasn't sure what to expect. Starting conservatively, I was struck by how fluid and effortless I felt. By halfway I had picked up to race pace without much extra effort at all. Something was working!
Needless to say, I crossed the line in a new PB time (80 minutes) in state of euphoria and confusion, which I soon pieced together into a realisation: my motivation was pure.
My seemingly unstructured 'adventure' runs had got me into fantastic condition because my main focus was exploring new routes over new terrain. The fitness came naturally due to the uneven and ultra hilly surface as well as my intuitive approach of running on feel.
The moral of the story?
Look up the word 'intuition' in the dictionary.
Release the shackles of a robotic, regimented training approach and let your intuition guide you. Get out of the rut. Explore new routes and put some adventure into your fitness program whether you are a cyclist, runner, triathlete or daily walker.
Read this article posted last year at our friends at www.crank.co.za about one of my all time heroes and a truly inspirational character:
