Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 43

Another top step on the podium for Anel
WALK
THIS
WAY
By Anel Oosthuizen
LONESOME RANGER
The past few weeks my training programme picked
up in mileage drastically as I prepared for the National
Championships in Germiston – more about the race later –
and I did the longest set of my sporting career. This gave me
a lot of time to think... and thus this column was born.
The long, sometimes lonely
training sessions are all for
race day
Pro’s and Cons
So during one of those long LSD sessions by myself, I thought of a few pro’s and
cons of training alone that I want to share with you. These are things that I have
experienced by training alone, and how it has affected me personally.
1 It gets really boring: After doing a load of base training earlier in the season, I
can truly testify to this. Not having someone to talk to can get to you if you are out
on the open road all alone. The upside or ‘pro’ to this is that you get time to think.
A lot of time. As I said, that is how this column came about.
2 You get to focus on your own pace: This is definitely a pro for me, as I don’t
feel like I am getting held up by anyone, nor am I holding anyone else back.
3 Not all that safe: I must admit that this has affected my training a lot, as I only
have a few designated relatively ‘safe’ places that I train at. Therefore, training
alone has limited my options, or perimeter, of places to train.
4 Socialising: Making new friends on the track or road is just as important as
making friends away from walking. Training alone doesn’t always allow this for me.
5 I get to train whenever I feel like it: Having a full-time job together with two
training sessions a day means I have to plan my week very carefully, according
to my routine. Having to try and fit someone else’s schedule with mine is almost
impossible most of the time, so training alone allows me to train whenever I get time.
These are just some of the pro’s and cons that I could think of that have affected
my training. I still prefer training alone most of the time, just because that was the
way I grew up in the sport, and that is what I feel gives me the motivation in races
to push myself. Because this is the way I train. It truly comes from within.
Off to the Champs
With all that said, and all those LSD sessions done, it was finally time to compete in
the biggest athletics event of the year in our country, the SA Senior Track and Field
Championships. It was held in Germiston this year in April, and the race walking
course this year was a 1km loop. Having to race at altitude made quite a difference
to me – and not in a good way!
Anel in action
at the SA
Senior Track and
Field Champs
A
thletics is known for being an individual sport, and as an athlete growing
up, I never joined a training squad, except for occasional training camps
with international athletes. I have always just trained by myself. Me against
the clock. However, lately I have been joined by a few runners every now and then,
who were getting ready for the Two Oceans Marathon. This opened me up to a
whole new dimension of what it would be like to have a training partner or squad to
train with daily.
Going for gold was my main goal, and enjoying the race every step of the way
was the other, and with both boxes thankfully and happily ticked, I could proudly
step up onto the top step of the podium for a seventh consecutive time. It takes
teamwork to bring all of it together, and working closely with my coach, Kent
Horner, these past six months has been incredibly informative, and has opened
my eyes to a whole new way of training. So here is to truly enjoying training, either
alone or with friends, and reaping the benefits when we race!
There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want
to go far, go together.” It was the strangest thing reading this right after I spoke
to a friend about my preferences of when I like to train alone versus when I prefer
company.
As a race walker, it has always been difficult to find anyone that trains at my pace.
There are almost no other race walkers in George, so my only other choice of
company has always been runners. I always seem to be too fast for the ‘slower’
joggers, and too slow for the serious runners. This is also part of why I have always
trained by myself – I tend to always end up in that middle spot of being alone
anyway. This still happens today, especially in road races.
Nothing beats a great hug when
you’ve just won an SA Title
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Race Walker Anel Oosthuizen is a multiple SA
Champion and Record Holder, and represented SA in the women’s 20km at the
2016 Rio Olympics.
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