13 September 2011

Weekend Recap (and 1st Race Recap!)

It seems like lately all of my posts are in the form of weekend recaps - I really need to get back into my normal blogging routine!  I always have the best intentions to blog and then once I sit down I get so immersed in catching up on all of your lovely blogs that I never end up posting on my own!  Does that ever happen to any of you?

Never the less a lot of fun stuff actually happened this weekend and I'm excited to share everything with you!

Friday wasn't all too interesting, but I did manage to make it to the gym and then Jurg and I went to Piatto to grab dinner and do some studying.  I was so excited when I discovered that they had jalapeno poppers as an appetizer on their menu that I let out a little squeal of delight!  They are one of my favorite foods and one of the things I always make sure I eat when I'm in California :)  Unfortunately these ones were extremely spicy and couldn't compare to the American ones, but still better than nothing!

Saturday, I went to the Fairway Spa in Randburg for what I thought was going to be a quick trim (haven't cut my hair in almost 6 months - yikes!).  I ended up leaving with a cut, color, hair masque and pedicure!  While it's not something I can afford to do often, I must say it was so nice to treat myself for an afternoon after having such a hectic past two months at work (and it gave Jurgen a break from having to dye my hair for me :)


That night Jurgen made his famous spaghetti bolognaise and we loaded up on carbs for the morning's race.  I started getting serious pre-race jitters that night because I haven't run 10km's in one sitting in over a year and normally only do about 3km's on the treadmill a few days a week.  Plus, the whole week prior I hadn't been on my game and had been struggling to make it even the normal 3km without stopping.  Still, I was excited to see what the morning would hold, especially with all the support and encouragement from Christine and Christy (thanks ladies!).

The next morning we were up early and on our way to the race venue by 6am.  The race was at 7am and we had to scramble to find where we could check our sweaters and personal items - so much so that we almost missed the start!  We jogged quickly to the starting line, found our place in the middle of the pack and then the whistle blew within about 30 seconds. #closecall

I felt good throughout the beginning of the race, but it was difficult to get past people and I kept getting boxed in.  I lost Jurgen within about a minute of starting and never saw him again until the race was over.  I felt pretty good up until kilometre three and then the race started getting a little "hilly" and the sun started really beating down on us.  I started feeling tired, but kept picking people running ahead of me and trying to pace myself behind them.

Around kilometre six I started feeling much better and really found a comfortable pace.  I noticed one girl who kept passing me and then falling behind me over and over and so I decided to stick with her.  Around kilometre eight we veered into the zoo and from there I knew the finish couldn't be far so I picked up the pace.  I ended up crossing the finish in 57:50 minutes which I was really happy with :)  Due to all of the hills I thought that I would have for sure gone over 60 minute mark so I was very happily surprised to see my time!  I will definitely be signing up for more races - there are two in October which I'm already thinking about :)

Jurgen came through a few minutes later and then we spent a couple of hours checking out all of the animals at the zoo (our race entry included free admission!).  It was awesome because all of the animals were really active since it was so early and the zoo had just opened.  We even had a "close encounter" with a brown bear who jumped against the glass and scared Jurgen so much that he fell backwards!  Unfortunately, I had left my camera in the car though - so no evidence pictures :(

After looking at a few of our favorite exhibits we rushed home to catch the South Africa's first game in the Rugby World Cup.  We braaied (South Africa version of a BBQ) good old fashion hamburgers and kicked back to enjoy the game.

Please excuse my completely dead once lotus plant in the corner

South Africa played Wales and was able to pull off a win!  It was a close game (17-16), but I'm glad they were able to take it in the end - going forward they will need to up their game though if they want to stay in the competition. 

America also played (yes America has a rugby team), but it was during my race so I missed it.  They lost to Ireland, but apparently put up a good fight and really surprised everyone.  I'm really looking forward to rooting them throughout the rest of the competition.


That night Jurg and I wrapped up our weekend by taking our work to the Design Quarter and grabbing a quick dinner.  It was the perfect way to end our "more busy than usual" weekend and get ready for the week ahead :)

How was your weekend?

PS: Sorry this post is so lengthy and congratulations if you made it this far - in the future I definitely need to split up weekend and race recap posts into two.


8 comments:

  1. america has a rugby team!?!? no kidding....

    i am still shocked!!

    it looks like you had a great weekend! mine was ok...didnt do much of anything just some hiking :) next weekend im coming to SA for some of your pasta!

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  2. mmm i LOVE cider!! wish i could have some! well i guess i can have some apple cider with no alcohol soon here cuz it's fall! haha

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  3. Congrats on the race! Joburg altitude is no joke and I'm very impressed with your time :)

    Sunday morning's rugby was waaay too close for comfort hey! I needed numerous glasses of champers and orange juice to keep me calm :)

    xxx
    T

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  4. Sounds like a successful weekend! I seriously admire you for running a 10k...Maybe I'll be able to do that someday.

    And we all need pampering every once in a while. I definitely went and got an impromptu massage after work last Friday to ring in the weekend. It was necessary.

    Hope you're having a fabulous week my dear!

    xoxo,
    Joelle

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  5. For someone who hasnt done a 1okm in a year thatis one seriously good time!!!! Congrats!

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  6. Congrats on the race, Jenna! That's awesome :)

    Also, good job on pampering yourself - it is important to do that everyone once in awhile!

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  7. "In the future I definitely need to split up weekend and race recap posts into two" - YES! You rocked it girl! Come back to the states and lets run some race together!

    PS: I really wish I could go to South Africa with my sister!

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  8. CONGRATSSSS! So proud of you! Oh and now I'm craving some of that spaghetti. What a fun and productive weekend. I have a busy weekend ahead of me...

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Thanks for the love!