Taking my car for a drive

There is one thing that I do very little of in Parys: drive. I usually ride my bike around town - or walk, or run - and so I only use my car if I'm heading out of town or if I'm transporting people or kayaks. I even go grocery shopping with my Qhubeka bicycle, using tie-downs to strap my shopping bags on the rear carrier.

Yesterday, I needed to move my very dusty car from the driveway and realised that it had been over a week since I drove it. It was sluggish to start and so I took it for an out-and-back drive on the R59.

I love not having to drive my car - another selling point of living in a small town.

20 of '40 Days of Running'

Today marked halfway in my '40 Days of Running' annual birthday game.

20-days ago I set off on the first of my 40 consecutive runs with a touch of post-travel blocked/runny nose. I took it easy for the first few days, slowly kicked the bugs and ran a good time at parkrun this past Saturday. This week has gone well and my legs and lungs are ticking over easy. I haven't put in much more than 4-6km/day and I'm feeling good for it. I'm looking forward to a longer run on Saturday.

I've also been pretty good with my yoga efforts. In the first two weeks I did three to four self-practice Ashtanga sessions each week. Sun salutations for warm up, standing postures and finishing sequence. I could feel the cobwebs dissolving.

Last Friday I attended my first yoga class in a long time. I'd heard about classes in town. Timing was right and off I went on my bicycle. I loved it. It isn't Ashtanga, but it is yoga and it is fabulous.

The class had a good pace and I felt at home immediately. I enjoyed the variety of postures and focus on breathing. I was back there yesterday (Tuesday). I should be able to make most of the Tuesday-Friday classes regularly. My classmates range from my age to late 70s (she just does much of her own thing) and they're all very friendly and welcoming.

Hip-hip-hooray and three cheers for 20 more days ahead.

Blood donation can be competitive

Here in Parys, the SANBS mobile unit comes on the second Tuesday of every month. Since I've been living out this way, I've been to the Potch permanent clinic once and this mobile clinic once (now twice).

The local Parys Gazette newspaper reported on a Rotary initiative; a blood donation competition between Parys and Viljoenskroon, a nearby town (reportedly bigger than Vredefort, smaller than Parys), for this past Tuesday, 12 July. As I was due to donate, I was in! I love a good competition.

The SANBS people set up in a local church hall from 1pm and yesterday morning I told Kyla and Ruben about the competition. Ruben came with me last time; Kyla wanted to come along this time to see what blood donation was all about.

The afternoon passed - filled with work and activities. I had forgotten completely about donating blood! 

Around 17h30 I went out for a run. 30-minutes later I was home and just as I was about to step into the shower I remembered: Blood Donation!

I quickly checked the newspaper. 13h00 to 19h00. I got dressed and, accompanied by Kyla, we drove up to the church hall. 

I was delighted to see all but one of the eight-odd beds full and it seems that the turnout yesterday afternoon was good - definitely over 100 donors. I hope we beat Viljoenskroon.

As always, the SANBS people are friendly and efficient and I even bumped into a young chap that I met previously. SANBS often hand out gifts to donors and their winter gift is a navy and white scarf with a red stripe that runs the length. It is light and warm and I'm wearing it right now.

Thank you SANBS. Always a pleasure.

A writing adventure

Writing just happened to me. Looking back writing was always in my veins. When my post-graduate supervisor, Professor Kramer, used to say, “Your papers are very well written”, I didn’t think anything of it. A few years later, writing became my work.

I've generally written for magazines and clients in the adventure / running / outdoor industries but I'm keen for new challenges - writing content on other topics.

I'd never considered myself a 'ghostwriter', yet writing media releases for clients is very much ghostwriting because my name rarely appears on published releases, whether in print or online. 

I recently wrote a number of blog posts for a client. These appear under their name, not mine. And I love it! There's a satisfaction in looking through their blog and picking out the pieces that I've written. 

At the moment, I'm changing my focus and putting out feelers for writing-only and copy editing commissions. If you're in the market for a writer, please drop me a note.

You'll find examples of my writing as well as services, rates and contact details on my 'writing stash' website - adventurelisa.wordpress.com (note the wordpress address).

Looking back - over a 20-year period, I have written:

• Scientific papers (cell and developmental biology)
• Voice-over scripts (for Drifter Adventure Zone on Supersport)
• This AdventureLisa blog (over 1,100 posts!)
• Blog content for clients
• Website content – news stories for www.AR.co.za and FEAT (www.featsa.co.za) (hundreds and hundreds of posts)
• Newspaper articles
• Newsletters – hundreds of them!
• Product specifications and descriptions
• Product reviews
• Magazine columns (for GoMulti and Runner’s World SA magazines)
• Magazine features
• Gear Editor for Runner's World SA
• Magazine supplements – for Runner’s World as well as the running section of the Men’s Health Buyer’s Guide
• Book co-author with Jacques Marais of ‘Adventure Racing’
• Content contributor for Jacques Marais' book, ‘Trail Runner’s Guide’
• Text content for Wouter Kingma's large-format, coffee-table book, ‘2008 Abu Dhabi Adventure Race’
• Event reporting – website content and media releases in the role as media director of the event and visiting media
• Media releases – products, events, athletes and brands
• Website editor and designer (I am proficient in HTML, CSS and WordPress)