The long run to freedom...

Hello, sweet friends! I write to you today--my debut on this blog--as an official survivor of the 2009 Two Oceans half-marathon. Wooohoo!! I have blisters on both sides of each feet, a sunburned cheek, and knees that forced me to swallow a few Aleeve before I sat down to write this...but I am alive. And very proud of myself! Those of you that know me best know that I grew up a volleyball player--that & that alone was my sport. And then one magical day in seventh grade, I began going on short runs in my fancy forest-green Adidas windbreaker (ha!) down Clay Street...mostly just to catch a glimpse of my current crush, Wes Flowers, playing outside with his pet dog. But surprisingly enough, when my crush on Wes faded months later, my love of running did not. In college, I completed my first 5 & 1ok runs, and now most recently my first half-marathon. I have never thought of myself as a "runner"--I don't have a runner's body & I certainly haven't been in the game for very long, but I will tell you this: after running this half, my stereotype of "runners" has been shattered and re-defined. When a 70+ year-old man ran past me full-speed up Southern Cross drive and a 200lb.+ woman jogged alongside me for a few k's before eventually running ahead, I decided I had to let go of those pre-conceived notions of what a runner is to me. Anyone can be a runner, and today that anyone is me.

My goal was to finish the grueling 21.1 kilometers in under three hours and I did just that--crossing the finish line, hand-in-hand with Ali, at 2hours & 55 minutes. There are different time brackets for medals and if you come in after 3hours, sorry pal--no medal for you. Hence my push to finish in the 2hr mark. In between 2 and 3 hours gets you a bronze medal, so that's what we got. Your time is hardly counted after 3hours, as everyone is busy preparing for the first of the ultra marathon (56kilometers) runners to finish. This was Ali's fourth year running the half & to be truthful, his worst time yet because he was a sweet boyfriend & stuck with me the whole time. When I wanted to die the last 2ks up the hill to UCT, he was still trotting alongside me whispering "come on! almost there!" So! I am happy to have completed this great dream & journey. It was also so nice to see a few familiar faces along the way--Lyndsay (a fellow REACH tutor) was handing out water sachets with her church group & cheered us on, and my best friend Namita's house was actually ON the running route, so she was sitting at the edge of her driveway with a cup of coffee yelling our names as we ran by! I stood out a bit since international runners have bright orange running names & numbers, and just as I was about to cross the finish line, the announcer says "and here we have Rebecca Ponder from Norway!!" I had to laugh--I had asked for Ali's help with 2 long braids this morning, so apparently I looked Norwegian with them..a compliment I happily took!

This race was such a test of mindfulness & inner strength--certainly that more than physical. Had it not been for the jabbing stitch in my right side (I think I over-hydrated) or those painful blisters on my feet, I could have done a few minutes better. But I won't complain! Ali & I were two of 20,000 runners and not until about 5ks into the race did the "pack" thin out enough for us to actually have breathing room to enjoy ourselves. There was a full moon Friday night, so we were able to enjoy the beauty of that over the mountains as the sun began to rise around 7:30--halfway thru the run. Ali forgot to tuck his camera into his shorts, so unfortunately we don't have pics of us actually running the race--just a few of us recovering with our medals afterwards. So please enjoy what we have to offer below! One half-marathon down, many more to go...

Lots of love- Becca & Ali

pic: painful feet dotted with blisters...
pic: Norwegian braids! This is for all of you doubting Thomas' that didn't think I could do it...
pic: The crowds at the finish line, with the University of Cape Town in the background
pic: Proud owner of four of these medals!

Two Oceans Half Marathon!

Ladies and Gentleman,

We have a lift off! Almost...


It's the night before the big Two Oceans Marathon. Half Marathon here we come! And for those who don't know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles (21.1 km's) long. Are we anxious? Nah...never. Us? Nah... We're way beyond anxious! Becs is frantically sorting out the last of her "Two Oceans Race Mix" on her IPod. And me. Well, I'm just trying to breathe easy, and telling myself that I'll be ok.

We collected our registration packs today. It basically means that we had to pick up our Race numbers (all runners need those), T-shirts, loads of Race advertising from sponsors (Puma & Old Mutual), and odd bits and ends. Officially 19 862 runners have entered for the Race (the ultra -56km - and half marthon combined). And interestingly the official Two Oceans Race magazine notes that some 39 690 litres of Coca Cola, and 750 000 sachets of water will be distributed on Race day! What!?

Anyway. We have to get to bed. 04h15 am is waky waky time. We'll get up, get dressed, have a nibble (peanut butter toast for me, not sure if Becs will have anything), and be at the starting line before 6am. The Race starts at 6am. Crazy, I know. We'll have three hours in which we can finish the race. That's if we want a medal of course. And of course we want medals, even if it's a Bronze medals!

I'll be taking my camera along to catch some action during the Race. Will post some of the pics here, so be sure to check back on Saturday afternoon.

Wish us luck!





Alistar

I will not die an unlived life...

Dear friends,

Today is an emotional day for me. I'm not sure why yet. Maybe tomorrow I will know why I was so emotional today. Every so often I go through these patches in my life when I slow down, when I want to be left alone, and just be with 'me'. Now that sounds pretty normal to have times like this in one's life. No?

The only trouble with that is that it's slightly harder to just be emotional, or even sad within relationship. Or rather, that's how it is for me. It's on days like these that I have to make sure that I stay present within myself, enough to be able to show up in my relationship with Becs. So what do I do?

Well for starters, I have a collection of poems and inspirational sayings that I draw on every so often when I am sad, or down. And today, the one that comes to mind is this fantastic poem by Dawna Markova titled, I will not die an unlived life.

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

Dawna's poem silenced me when I first read it. It shook me to my core. It reminded me of the beautiful gift of life and love. And before I start getting soppy, let me also say that it has offered me many opportunities to pass it on to and inspire others.

So, in my emotional state, I am reflecting on how I can be "less afraid, more accessible." Can I trust enough that somehow things in my life will work out right now? And if I am more accessible, does it mean being transparent about my fears also? Maybe. So what am I so afraid of anyway?

I'm afraid of living fully. I'm afraid of dying young. I'm afraid of fighting with my girlfriend. I'm afraid of letting my parents down. I'm afraid of being on a boat on the open ocean. I'm afraid of being overly enthusiastic about things that excites me. So there you are, and there's many more.

So this poem then is apt for today. It's apt because it asks of me to not "die and unlived life." If I allow my fears to constantly be my 'Achilles heel', will that not prevent me from 'living'?

So maybe all of this writing was necessary. And maybe there is more. But this is it for now. You can be sure that I'll have another day like this. When that happens, it will be the next installment of "Ali's Life"!

Until then, peace and love!


Alistar