FIVETRIBE

This morn dawned bright, clear and crisp. The kids were not impressed with being told to be ready to leave for Stellenbosch by 0830 on this public holiday. The mood was quiet and somber as the 8 of us squeezed into the 7 seater car. We don’t do this often but today I just couldn’t face going in 2 cars. Neither Kev nor I are prepared to drive a minivan for the very odd occasion all 8 of us go anywhere together; in those instances we usually take both cars.  The run was beautiful. Picture perfect views - windless and pristine. The kids all ran well - Levi at his usual blistering pace coming in the top 10 finishers. I never do see him once that gun goes off. We came in about 15 minutes behind him. The girls are super keen now to start training for the Gun Run 5k in October. This will be our third year doing it and some PBs are in view for them.  Levi is planning his 10k debut - he will run with my brother as I won’t keep up with him! I am enjo...

Before you call the parenting police I think you should know I didnt make them do it. I swear I am not taking out my fitness frustrations on my offspring okay? Honey begged me to put her through a crossfit / bootcamp circuit and before long all three of them were hoofing it around the garden having the time of their lives. I, of course, sat on a chair in the sun yelling commands and counting. Ah, the good life of a personal trainer! ;-)

Some of you may know that I had a rather unpleasant experience at the gym this week. I wont go into details - suffice to say I did some of that *introspective* stuff that I do occasionally and have decided to adopt a new approach to my training. I think its best described with pictures.... No more of this: But keeping this in mind.  :-) Am looking forward to a new season of training - the kind where I manage to breathe, walk, speak and NOT see stars for hours afterwards.

Been a weird week. My body is at odds with itself, my runs/crossfit sessions earlier this week have been an awful slog. I had to talk myself through each and every minute of them. Not a nice feeling. I am not sick or anything but when I woke up on Monday with a fever blister I knew all was not well. So....today I took a rest day : Went and had coffee with a mate. Enjoyed a 45min deep tissue massage to ease some stiffness. And finally off to the pharmacy for a B12 shot to wake up this body! I routinely get B12 shots when my body begins to rebel. (once every 6-8wks) I find them to be extremely effective and only mildly uncomfortable. I have to confess that todays shot left me in acute agony for a minute or so. I have NEVER had such a painful jab - clearly this was a b-a-a-a-d batch. The nurse said everyone has been complaining....hopefully I will get an *extra* kick from enduring that blerry burn. Been a lovely way to spend the morning, all things considered. Off to have a qu...

It would seem we have reached yet another milestone in our family.   All our children can now ride bicycles.   Albeit with varying degrees of skill. Practice, I believe, will bring more enthusiasm and alacrity. Today we surprised them all with their new bikes. (well, 1 was new, 2 were pre-owned). Honey chose her bike and chipped in ALL her birthday money (R600)  to get it! I was very surprised as she hasnt always been the most enthusiastic rider. I figured if she was that committed to it she deserves a chance to prove her enthusiasm. (besides, its black, so eventually Hooli will get it and he really couldnt be any MORE enthusiastic!) Honey asked me why they are getting bikes now. They have had their birthdays already and it is too soon to be Christmas presents. I told her the bikes are Lets Get Active presents. She had a good chuckle at that but seriously? I think every kid should ride a bike for as long as possible and it just panned out that *now* is the right...

Winter has arrived with a flourish in Cape Town. Pouring rains and howling winds have sent many running for cover. Must say I am always amused at the way capetonians respond to winter...its always with such surprise, like : WHAT?? Its raining! Omicat, what are we going to do?  Definitely have to drive 30km/h and stop for no reason to try find the windscreen wipers. I dont really mind winter as long as I am able to avoid being whiplashed by rain. The combination of gale-force wind AND rain kinda makes me grumpy. I plan my days carefully. Underground parking always taken into consideration. That being said I did not go run today. There were breaks in the rain but I just dont have warm enough running gear. My little skorts and tank tops will NOT suffice.  I went into New Balance today to get some winter stuff and almost fainted at the prices...long running tights R350, long sleeve winter running tee R250 and water resistant running jacket R450.   I have to say tho...

Was woken early to the sounds of a small person using my bathroom. :-(  Hooli's tummy still isnt lekker. Thankfully he is well in all other respects - eating A LOT, drinking and full of energy. This is making it tough for me to keep him home though cos he is getting very bored. I am just not happy to send him back to school,for his sake and the sake of his classmates. Doc has recommended taking him off all diary again as sometimes, after a bug, a bout of lactose intolerance can occur. It this doesnt work I will haul out the antibiotic big gun. Really hoping to avoid that. For now we use Petrolyte, Reuteri and Rehydrate! The weekend was a bit miffy. I think my head was a bit done in from a hectic week with kids/husband occupying all my time. Am not a FANTASTIC nursemaid long term. Not one minute on my own in 7 days can make me loopy. And dangerous to be around. Sunday arvie saw me flip out a little and my family scattered into various corners of the house - trying to be invisibl...

Someone unfortunately made the mistake of referring to me as a gym bunny. I have to say this phrase HIGHLY offends me. Lets take a look at Urban Dictionary's definition: a female with more ti*ts than knowledge about exercise, who wears the most expensive gear out there, and only goes to the gym to "do abs" and cardio. That is *so me* isnt it? Anyone who has ever seen me at gym will know the truth.....  

That is pretty much what has been happening this long weekend in Mcgregor. Snoozing and running. With some eating, chatting, technology sharing and child entertainment scattered inbetween. It has been truly blissful, the weather is pretty warm but not unbearable. The kids are pottering around, watching tv or swimming. The best part of my weekend has to be the running. With my man nogal. I havent run in a l o n g time. My knee injury followed by the vertigo saga put paid to that passion of mine. I have started slowly and its been awesome. Running here in Mcgregor is such a different vibe to city/suburb/treadmill running. I feel like I could run forever. :-) It also helps to have discovered the most amazing app called imapmyrun . This app lets you record your workout details, including duration, distance, pace, speed, elevation, calories burned, and route traveled on an interactive map. You can even effortlessly save and upload your data to any of the MapMyFITNESS web...

I love this picture that my man surreptitiously snapped as we left for our run last night. Honey is showing a keen interest in fitness and exercise. She even came and did a workout with OMS and I during the school holiday and loved it....in fact she wants a 'fitness party'. :-) Am wondering how much it is to do with the actual exercise and how much it is to do with spending ALONE time with me, engaging in something she knows that I value . Either way I love this time with her; it is yet another fabulous opportunity we use to talk about life and growing up.

Monday - and a new start in a few areas: 1. I start my 10wk online studies with UCT distance learning crowd, GetSmarter. I am doing the Internet Marketing module which covers everything from web design&development to SEO, analytics and copywriting. Me thinks I am going to *love* honing my humble skills. 2. I also need to build in a few hours a week to help my bloke with his renewable energy business. The company is on *explosive* point and he really needs admin, capturing help. Nothing brain taxing but often it is the grungey everyday stuff that oils the wheels for the important stuff. 3. I have found the most *amazing* skincare range that has changed my skin completely. It's like I have had a facial peel or something. I strongly recommend checking out RegimA . I have an amazing skin professional that did an analysis and then sampled me on a day and night cream aswell as a cleanser. I didnt have to fork our large sums of money until I was SURE the product worked. Within 3 day...