Sunday 25 March 2012

An Epic Jozi Run

On Wednesday 21 March 2012 I did the "Run Jozi" running race. I did it, expecting it to be something fun and different...but it turned out to be so much more than that. The daily news that that we are exposed to everyday is constantly filled with the negatives things that happen in our city and country and we are very rarely notified about happy events, or good people who are making a difference.


This "Run Jozi" reminded me that the people of South Africa really so passionate about their country and the people they share it with and they have so much love to share. As myself and 9 999 other people ran through the streets of Johannesburg we were cheered on by hundreds of supporters who had come to share in the amazing experience. These supporters were not only friends and family of the runners, but mostly random people who lived in Joburg. There were children had come out of their flats in their pyjamas, who were standing on the side of the road shouting "Run, Jozi, Run" at no one in particular, while trying to high five the passing runners. Families had decorated the balconies of their flats and were busy waving South African flags and blowing their vuvuzelas to motivate the runners. One supporter was standing on the side of the road shouting "motivation...motivation...motivation" while another was advising the runners that she knew a short cut to the end if anyone didn't think they could make the full 10 Kms. As I watched the enthusiastic supporters shout, scream, chant and sing from the side lines for the full duration of the race...it restored my faith in human kind and reminded me to change my outlook on my country and my fellow South Africans.

My personalised Nike Run Jozi t- shirt
This event was sponsored by Nike and it was honestly one of the most well organised events that I have ever been to. Everything ran according to schedule and Nike went out of their way to make the Run Jozi event successful in every possible way. They paid attention to every detail, like giving every runner and supporter a waterproof poncho before the race, as it started raining. There were huge screens with motivational sayings placed at the start and finish lines, as seen below.


Nike had organised various entertainers to keep the runners and supported entertained and motivated before, during and after the race. These included the gum boot dancers below, people on stilts, jugglers, comedians, DJs, drummers and motivational talks from famous South African athletes.


Before the race started the crowed of 10 000 people sang the national anthem with such pride that it gave me goosebumps, and then the count down began.
Click Here to see a video of the start of the race.



As we ran over the Nelson Mandela bridge it changed colour and fireworks exploded in the sky above me and from this moment until the end of the race it felt as if I were not just a mere mortal, but someone GREAT who was about to make history :-) I think this was the exact objective of the race...and it was successfully met!!!



The race ended at Mary Fitzgerald square and we were welcomed to the finish with a medal, fireworks, a DJ and the most delicious smelling (and tasting) food, although any food probably would have gone down well after 10km of running.

Part of the incredible fireworks display at the end of the race


A quote from Nike at the end of the race was..."If you pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone and finished the race with more respect for yourself than before you started the race, then you can consider it a good run." And that about sums up the whole "Run Free, Run Jozi" experience!!!

Saturday 17 March 2012

An App Worth Obsessing About...

So I have recently gotten into the whole road running thing...and I've been having such fun running races on the weekend and training for them during the week. One of the most difficult things is that it is so difficult to train if you don't know how far you are running. Fortunately I was introduced to an amazing app called "i Map My Run"

This app helps you to record all the details related to your run, including:
  • The distance you ran
  • The amount of time you ran for (as well as your time per km and km per hour)
  • The amount of calories you burnt during your run
  • The route that you ran, as well as a summary of the inclines and declines

This is an example of what the app looks like

The "i Map My Run" app even talks to you while you are running to tell you how far you have run and the time that it has taken you. After you have completed the run, you can post all your running details on facebook, for your friends to view.

If you're not a runner and prefer cycling or hiking, there are also other similar apps that you might prefer, such as "i Map my ride", "i Map my Tri", "i Map my Hike" and you can view these on this website

Monday 12 March 2012

Picture Perfect :-)

Over the past weekend I did a beginners photography course, through a company called Photographix International, that I had bought on Wicount (one of the most incredible online buying sites, that I have become unashamedly addicted to.) It was a two day course, where the first day covered all the theoretical knowledge we needed to know about different types of cameras, shutter speed, aperture, composure of pictures etc. The second day we went to the Walter Sizulu Botanical Gardens in Roodeport (which is like a piece of heaven on earth), where we got a chance to put our theoretical knowledge into practise.

Below are some of the photos I took at the Botanical gardens 


 









It was such a beneficial course, especially for someone like me who loves photography but fears the complexity of it. If you are interested in checking out the photographer who runs this course, Brendin Olivier, or his website, click Here for more information, or contact him on 071 545 8881.  

Monday 5 March 2012

Dragon's Blood Chocolate Cake

The Legend of Dragon's Blood Cake- This cake is incredible...life changing in fact...so life changing that it has been named "Dragon's blood cake" to scare off anyone undeserving of its amazing taste. 
When we were young and would go to parties or functions where this cake could be found, the adults at the party would tell the children that this exact cake was made from Dragon's blood. When we found out this shocking news we stayed well away from the cake...which, as planned, meant that there was fewer people for the adults to share the cake with. As a child this story was scary and freaky but now as an adult (who has tasted Dragon's blood cake), i think it is more ingenious and understandable:-) 
  
WARNING: This picture does not even nearly do this cake justice... 
 
Ingredients and Method:

Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup cocoa
115g margarine/ butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 t bicarbonate acid
1 t vanilla essence

  1. Sift flour and sugar together in a bowl and mix them. 
  2. In a pot on the stove melt together boiling water, cocoa, oil and margarine
  3. Add this to the flour and sugar mixture and beat well with an electric mixer
  4. Add lightly beaten eggs and yogurt to the mixture
  5. Finally add bicarb and then vanilla to the mixture
     6.  Grease a large rectangular oven roasting pan with spray and cook or oil/margarine
     7.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake it at 180 degrees for 30 Minutes

Icing
115g margarine
2T cocoa
2T yogurt
2 cups icing sugar
1 t vanilla essence
     
  1. In a pot melt together the margarine, cocoa and yogurt.
  2. Sift in the icing sugar and vanilla. Mix this in well
  3. Take the icing off the heat as soon as it is mixed
  4. Pour the icing over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven
  5. Cut the cake into squares :-)
  6.