I don’t think I can begin to explain how I felt standing at the start line of the Pick n Pay Half Marathon. I had entered the full marathon but downgraded to the half, as I was exhausted just two weeks after running the Johnson Crane Marathon. I had almost sworn off running and honestly felt depressed. Between the two races, I had only run 10 km as I didn’t have the desire to run. But I knew I had to run; I had to get back into it. So, it was a slow 21.1 km race. By the end, I started feeling happier and happier; it wasn’t as hard as I had anticipated.
I have a friend whose words ring in my head: “You can’t just go run a half marathon without training,” yet I am the person who does crazy things like that. But running a marathon without sufficient training is just ludicrous. Needless to say, at this point, I knew my 2018 Comrades journey was over. One thing is for sure about the Pick n Pay race: the uphills are nobody’s friend. Every time you reach the top, there is another hill. But with every race, there is always next year, and I am looking forward to 2019.
As I am writing this now and looking at this picture, I realise that I have achieved so much in the last six months of training again. Being on a weight loss journey, getting fit, and running my own business all take their toll on you. It is all about how you embrace the journey. I trust that in the months to come, as I get closer to reaching my goal weight and as I get fitter and faster, I will look back at this and smile, knowing the emotions I felt here will be replaced by new ones.
