An Epic Training Trail

Ok so we are planning on doing the 3 passes trek in Nepal during April, this means we need to do some high altitude training, well that's according to our leader anyway. We planned to do a 5 day hike with 3 nights on top of the Drakensberg, essentially above 3000m. To say the planning was plain and simple would be to belittle the effort of co-ordinating the long weekend between probable Nepal trekkers, potential Nepal trekkers and others.... On the day we planned to leave, the group of 8 became 7 and a second group of 5 became 2. We had planned to get a lift with Mark ( and John - who pulled out) with Corlius (aka "Our Leader") and then the Pretoria bunch going in Johann's Fortuner. We met at Marks and decided to rather take our new Corsa Ute as it would use a bit less fuel and Mark would then jump in the Fortuner. We drove down to Mnweni cultural center, with a Nandos break in Harrismith, pitched out tents, had a really nice Pepper Pot followed by a restful night on our new self inflating mattresses in out tent. Liz and I had previously done the Mnweni marathon in 2008, so knew the cultural center and some of the route from that experience.

This shows our route

Day 1 Start at 1276m end at 2107m ( or maybe 1807m according to some sources- Why oh why did I not take my hiking GPS with?)
We packed up, Liz and I had opted put of communal catering, so just loaded our packs up and watched as the other 5 shared out their rations. While filling in Mountain Rescue register I used my fishing scale to measure the pack weights. Most were between 20 and 22 kgs except for Johann who's pack was too heavy for my scale, probably around 28kgs. Off we set at 7:30, Corlius and I were doing a good pace, when Mark called to us, Liz's boots had broken, the heels came off That meant we had to turn back! All this planning and preparation, what could we do? An hour into a 5 day hike and we were going back.... As we walked we sought answers, Pietermaritzberg would be maybe 3 hours each way, we were not that keen on joining the second group who were going to do a shorter route the following day. We walked back a lot faster than we had walked out. When we got back at 9:15 we were told there may be some boots in Bergville, 35 minutes away, we jumped in the Ute and searched for the co-op. On the drive out I decided if we could get back by 11:00 then we could catch the others before the cave. They only had one pair of size 8 boots, not ideal as Liz takes a 7, but either take it or miss out maybe 3 pairs of socks would help. We got back to the cultural center at 11:01, we tried to get a lift along the road but other than letting someone drive us in my new Ute, and leaving the keys with him, we were stuck. So we restarted day one at 11:05, 500m down the road, we came across a Police van who offered us a lift. He took us just past where we were at 8:30. Knowing this part of the route helped as we set off in earnest to find GrassCutters cave. At about 2pm we looked down from our route to see the others had gone along the river and were taking some strain with the boulder hopping. We ended up joining them for a swim in some amazing pools, just after the Mnweni / Icidi river split. They could not believe that we had caught up with them, I must say it was a surprise to us as well. We still had about 6kms to go the cave, this proved quiet tough as speed in the berg is slow, mostly the path was non existent as it is a remote and un-hiked area. Eventually Mark and I got to the cave at about 5:30, Herman was last to arrive at 6:30, he was not a happy camper, Dorette had actually enticed him along the way for the last hour or so, the mark of a true hiker. Mark worked out that the group had done about 16km, Liz and I added about 3.5 ks to that. We toasted the evening with some Black Grouse. Liz as usual managed to prepare an amazing meal, what a treasure she is. The cave was really big although there was not too much flat sleeping area but we coped. We had water, and Liz managed a cold shower in an adjoining overhang.

Day 2 start at 2107m end at 3050m
We woke to a beautiful morning, Johann decide to take Herman back and try and do a easier hike. It was Herman's first ever hike and being a circular route , with no real shortcut/escape routes, it made sense. He had struggled with his pack and had a sore knee. Johann and Herman actually went back and met up the other 2 first time hikers, they joined up and went off to Sentinel and did a much easier hike of their own - at least they could enjoy it. Most berg passes take around 3 hrs, we had about 4ks to the base of the pass and then the climb. We managed to get off "path" quite badly although we were not sure how or why! We started to fear not getting up the pass before dark, lots of bush wacking can be hard work. Eventually we go to the final really steep last 2ks at around 2:30pm and as there was now nowhere to camp, we expected poor weather and realising we could probably not finish the trail if we did not go up, we started up. Being an idiot I offered to go back and help if I got up before any others. We had to climb up about 700m before sunset. There was lots of heavy weedy bush at the base which is really hard going, this was followed by some pretty hectic boulder hopping, then a much more accommodating grass section.

I had heard Dorette saying to Mark that a friend had told her about a cave just before the top, this really lifted my spirits!! As Liz neared the top she angled across to have a look, she confirmed that it was possible to spend the night in the unnamed cave, there was drip for water, and some space for sleeping. I dropped my pack and headed back to help Dorette and Mark, it was not much only a 100m or so , by this time Mark was carry both packs in relays.

Mark pitched his tent just outside the cave as he was scared of heavy wind in the nek of the pass. We made it to the cave where I just got on my mattress and passed out what a day only about 6 or so Kms but wow. Liz force fed me soup, biscuits and some muscles along with a few swigs of Black Grouse I had when I arrived. Liz was quite worried about me during the night but I awoke refreshed in the morning.

Day 3 start and end at around 3050m
I saw the start of the sunrise from around 3:30AM, as the sky started to glow. A beautiful morning, Ginger tea went down well followed by some Muesli, Liz had some amazing Ginger and Cardamon Biscotti, they were really scrummy. Not knowing if Wimpey was or was not coming we set off to get to Fangs pass for 1pm , our suggested meeting time. Walking on top of the Berg is very deceptive, it is far from flat as one expects. We tried to traverse as much as possible so as to minimise climbing and to make effective use of any height gained. We got to the top of Fangs pass at 1:05 which was pretty good timing, had a quickish snack lunch before getting our first dose of rain. So rain gear, all of us used different methods. Corlius had an orange water proof bag which went over his pack, making it totally water proof, a good idea I thought, but then he needed a rain jacket. I find I sweat too much in these so I use a poncho as does Liz and put a simple pack cover over my pack as well, this proved tricky with a tent and our self inflating mattresses, but after a few episodes I sorted it out. The one problem with ponchos is wind but we did not have too much so that was fine - maybe I need to rig up a strap to tie the back of the poncho to the pack. The rain came in shorts episodes so it meant much stopping and starting as gear went on and off. Mark was pretty good at suggesting the best routes to follow as we hardly ever found a path. We were heading for Pins cave, when Corlius and I saw what looked like a path and a cave so we headed down a cutback. Rather look at a map when changing direction, but the temptation of end of day was just too much. Liz and Dorette watched from afar as we came to our senses. Oh well back up we go. That was when the mist arrived, we tried to follow some cairns, and eventually found one which probably led to Pin cave, Mark went down but was not impressed with it, it was smaller than last nights cave and no water. We tried to enter some GPS co-ords but as we were getting cold and the mist was getting thicker we set off in search of a campsite, then the rain starting. As we we came over a ridge I saw some flat areas and we decided to pitch our tents ASAP. Liz's fingers were cold so could not help much with the tent. We tried to keep packs etc dry but... Another problem with ponchos is when I take mine off it invariably gets wet inside, I need to think about that one. Eventually we got the tents up, packs inside, one cannot swing a peanut let alone a cat. We managed to cook some Thai chilli soup, which went down very well. Corlius set off to find some water and came back saying that there was a cliff so no water. Mark managed to rig up some pots to scavenge water running off from the tent, kudos to him. He would definitely be on my Survivorr team. I heard cow bells as I dosed off to the sound of raindrops.... or were they Basuts around our tent, who cares I'm tired.... are those cows? no its coming from the other tent, its snoring...

Day 4 start at 3050m end at 3150m

A 6 am rise confirmed our location, we were 3m from the edge of the escarpment, people have walked off the edge before, how close were we to doing that!! When we left Pins cave we had walked back to the escarpment and not towards Lesotho as we thought.. We had muesli, rusks and tea ( thanks Mark) , then packed up and set off to find Mpongwane cave. Corlius took the low road, the rest took the rim path and we walked, there was some drizzle, I was getting a bit grumpy through lack of water, when Mark saw some down a slope and filled a 6L MSR bag. Spirits were restored. It was good to see the Mnweni cut back as we skirted around. Previously doing the Mnweni marathon we had gone up Mnweni pass , crossed the source of the Orange and gone back down Rockeries pass,so some of what we saw today was familiar. It was pleasant walking, not much up and down, most contouring round. As per usual we stopped for lunch albeit a bit early, Corlius was complaining that we had missed too many meals! Sitting drinking some tea it started raining, this did not last too long but then mist came in. We were about 1 km from Rockeries when we set off keeping each one in sight as much as possible. We got to the top of Rockeries but could not find a cairn... Mark and I decided to scout around leaving the rest waiting for us. Mark had previously been to Mpongwane cave, albeit in 16 years ago.. We were about to give up when we found the cave, and found the path leading to it. We walked back along this making sure there were enough cairns to make the return journey easier. On our way back we heard Liz banging a cooking pot , which is really a good idea as the sound travels far. We eventually got everyone to the cave with the most amazing view, even if it was all misted in. Around 5:30 pm the mist cleared a bit and we had an amazing view of Mpongwane peak which was about 150 m away, photos to follow at some stage.

There was an amazing rainbow , this whole sighting only lasted a few minutes. It was really good just having a relaxing afternoon. Liz once again prepared an amazing rice dish with Pink Salmon and fresh Pepperdews ( Thanks Paula). I demolished a 200g Cadbury's wholenut, as we had coffee and prepared for bed.

Day 5 start at 3150m end at 1276m
It was really misty and with a slight wind the mist filled the cave, our sleeping bags were getting damp!!! Out with some emergency blankets, at least they are waterproof, the crinkling sound was a bit irritating but at least we were dry. The others decided at about midnight to rather put up the tent in the cave, we seemed to be protected by their tent so got away without doing so. Mark dug a trench to keep the drip from running under our groundsheet. Overall a bit of a disrupted night but a good one none the less. The views over Natal were amazing with clouds and sunlight making some amazing sights. We finished as much food as we could and set off for Rockeries pass.

Even easy passes are tough in the Berg, we had some amazing views on the way down, Liz was protecting her Soleus which had flared up over the last two days. There was lots of water everywhere, amazing waterfalls, just protruding out of the rocks. We discussed how difficult it is to describe the beauty of such passes and agreed, if you want to see it you need to feel the pain. It is quite a steep descent down the pass followed by a long stretch (about 6km) in a valley before arriving at a village where we expected to meet up with Johann. We had told him 1pm but we only got there around 14:20, by which time he had returned to the cultural center in case we had come down a different pass. In our crossing of the river we ended up very split up, Liz and I followed the same path we did in the race, and were not exactly sure where the others had got to, they having crossed the river in Amphibians whereas we had to remove boots. Eventually we all met up the bridge, Dorette and I decided to walk on, Mark and Liz followed, Corlius headed for the Shebeen. About 2kms down the road we met up with Johann coming back for us, we carried on walking while he went back to the bridge for Corlius. We all got collected on the way back, I stood on the towbar and held on to the roof rack for the last bit.
Never trust anything you have not tested, I put a roller cover over the back of the Ute which was supposed to be waterproof, well crackerbread became sponge bread, our dry clothes were soaked, now I now why money is made with indelible ink, my wallet was soaked. No problem we still managed a quick shower and set off for Nandos( Harrismith) after a good hot burger we continued to JHB. we arrived home around 9:30pm , most of our kit was wet, we were tired, but had had an amazing experience...
Roll on Nepal.....

Kaapsehoop 42.2 5/11/11

Ok I will try and keep this post short.
Liz and I both wanted to qualify for oceans early rather than leave it late. We heard that Kaapsehoop was a nice fast downhill race....

While we were doing Two Oceans this year, Liz's sister went to stay in Kaapsehoop with daughter where they went horse riding. I suggested that we get that place and that Di comes with to transport us around and that we take both our moms away for the weekend. The 5th Nov beingout 17th wedding anniversary, after numerous proddings Di contactec the "horsey" place, they were fully booked. Oh well can that then....
All of a sudden Di comes back she has found accommodation, it's rustic,no electricity, ok we book.

Di goes to a mine, hits a warthog and damages her car, ooops. Then we hear her son will be writing a University entrance exam and she wants to be there for him.No second!! Then the rain starts in Kaapsehoop,4x4 not essential but good ground clearance is.

Pierre who we are to be staying with, suggests he fetch us from Kaapsehoop and that we leave our car there. He will give us a lift to the 5:30 start. Pierre's brother has a heart attack , the funeral is on Friday, he will arrange for Leon to take su to the hut. Leon falls off a horse on Thursday and damages some muscles in ribs etc, he needs a few weeks to recover. Mariske will come fetch us.

We arrive there on Schedule and are transported in a game viewing vehicle to our hut. As we drive along I realise that the hut is the same one I hiked to 20 years ago. What a coincidence! I had told Liz about the amazing view from the hut, so we had been back there once after that.

Ok so the caretaker is Mozambican and onbly speaks Portuguese, we manage to sortout everything, Pierre arrives back from the Funeral in JHB. We had some Humus, my favourite pre-race snack followed by a good meal prepared by my amazing wife Liz. A good bottle of Blank Bottle the Spaniard helps to calm the fears. Liz feels nauseous which is not good.

Off to bed we go. Its a downhill race, but I can't find my kneestraps , not sure if they do anything but the fear of change is high. Nothing I can doabout that now.

3:32 the cock crows, 4:02 the cock crows, 4:05 the alarm goes off, up we get. Happy Anniversay dears are shared. Was that rain we heard, yes it was, the grass is nice and wet. 4:50 we head off to the start. It was great to park literally 10m from the start. Liz sorted out her Tog bag, we were still not sure how we would be getting back to Kaapsehoop from Nelspruit,but who cares....

As we line they announce that a deckoutside one of the restaurants ahd collapsed, probably during a brief shower when tooo many people crowded on to the deck. Some entrants would not be able to do the race, they were waiting for an ambulance to take the injured to Hospital. Just under 1000 entrants to the marathon. Lookinga round I did see a couple of walkers that I know.

Off goes the gun we are on our way, it was great to start right in the front of the field, thanks Liz.Within a few km's we get a light shower which is not too bad, but with quite steep roads I was wary of slipping. We went about 4km down a road, just to turn around and go back up. I had settled on a plan to average 7:15 for the first 10km or so, realising that this up hill was a good opportunity to warm up nicely before accelerating. At about the 5km mark I was overtaken by Melanie ,a racewalker that I know from my track work, I discover that this is her first marathon. She is a lot quicker than me on 10km races so I was not sure what to expect. We walked along quite nicely on a levelish section, as soon as we good to the steep down she dissapeared, I was very wary of leg damage going too fast downhill, so ended up going at between 6:30 and about 6:45. I gradually got my overall pace down to 6:58 and was hoping to keep it there as long as possible. Basically if I could would walk at 6:58 then my pace would stay at 6:58 if I did 1 km at 7:40, my final average would go up to 6:59, so I needed to walk as close to 7:00 so as to keep my final pace below 7:07. If the distance is accurate then this is true, every extra 100m adds on 42 seconds. Amazing the maths one does on races.

I worked out tha 5 hrs is 300 minutes so for each 14km to go it is 100 minutes. As it is a count down race, this works well. I went through 28 to in 99 mimutes, 14 to go I was at 196 minutes, so I knew I was on track. But at around 14 to go we hit some quite stubborn hills, they do not look too bad on the profile but they sure felt bad. It was round about here that I caught up with Melanie, her form was looking tired, as I passed her I encouraged her to keep going at that pace. It started getting quite hot now and I took a Sylvasun to prevent Sunburn , but had not put on any suntan lotion, I have the marks to prove that.

As long as I could keep my pace below 7:07 , but I knew some hills were coming so I just kept on going. I really pushed as hard as I could in those last km, but I was really tired, then they made us walk right around the darn stadium and then added some more uphill to the finish. I saw Ken from CSIR and wondered if I could catch him, as I entered the stadium I hear 1 minute to cut off, how far must I go in the stadium? fortunately only a few steps to the finish. I had made it, 4:58:57, which is really my pb because Elands was 4:59:45 or something. Liz finished in 4:10 ,not quite the sub 4, she was not very complimentary about my choice of an easy race. Guess I got that bit wrong

We eventually phoned Pierre and he a came to fetch us, quite a bit of his way but what else could we do. Not sure but now we can enter two oceans. This was also my first marathon in Stability shoes, I wore my Kayanos.
I have also just had dry needling in Gluteus Medius as well as my Hamstring. I have been stetching my Calves as they have been very tight.
Since the race I have had really sore glutes, Shins and calves. I am however feeling much better today.
This shows the relative profile between Elands in Blue and Kaapsehoop in Red.

Shoes Bloody Shoes

Ok so here we go again.
My Nimbus 12 collapased at about 200k, the inner left heel is flat and the shoe is leaning like the tower of Pisa. This I presume is what caused my arch pain on Comrades.

I spoke to my Biokinetitcist, took some videos on the treadmill etc. My arches do not collapsed when walking, well we only went to about 8min/km, but I do have a bend in my ankle, which is causing me to land on the inside of my left heel. I got an appointment to see the Asics rep, he looked at all my shoes and well I now wear GT2160s which are stability shoes. The change over is quite hard as I am feeling muscles I never knew I had. Hammies are stretching, shins and calves feel it, Glutes are a bit tender, thats after a 8k, 15k 11k sequence. On Monday I tried my old Nimbus 11s( done nearly 1300k) for a change. Liz says she can notice how much more stable I look when walking, it also looks like it may have an impact on my stride length which has been going down since January, but is now gradually going up again.


This image shows how my stride dropped after two oceans until Comrades. My pace is pretty closely linked to my stride.

I have done another session of speed work at Tukkies where I average below 6:30 min/km for my hour , I nearly completed my 23 lap. Next time I should make it. I also set a goal for doing a sub 6:00 minute km which I achieved the other day, I wonder when I will do a sub 5:30km, I suppose that dreaming is good for one.

We are doing a 25k race on Saturday and I will be using the GT2160s, I need to somehow work out a routine to alternate between neutral and Stability which helps me become more accustomed to the added support. My problem is that it looks like all my neutral shoes are collapsing!! so that means they will offer me less support than if they were new.
I may need to find some stabilty shoes with less support so as to gradually change over. Lets ee what happens on Saturday.

Comrades 2011

Well well Comrades 2011 has come and gone.

It is always interesting doing a race where the start and finish is far apart, especially 90kms, and when both of you are doing the race, all sorts of logistical problems arise. Liz has some amazing friends in Hilton who she has known for 27 odd years. We have all become good friends over the years and enjoyed some really good times together. The last 4 or more Comrades we have stayed with them. As this was an up run we decided to stay the night before the race at a hotel in Durban, 1km from the start, the Friday and Sunday were to be with Nicky and Myles in Hilton. While travelling down to the race we called ahead to tell Nikcy we would be a bit late, only to find out that she had been involved in a accident, where a horse had basically knocked her over as she led it over a pool of water. She had bitten her tonque quite badly and had some facial injuries. This did not auger well for Liz and Nicky to natter all night catching up. Nicky was struggling to talk and Myles was trying to limit her answers to Liz's questions. Nicky had very kindly offered to take us to Durban on the Saturday but fortunately we managed to arrange a lift with some other friends Gerhard and Carmenn.

We collected our goodie bags and numbers from the smaller Expo at PMB , the shirt is great the goodie bags are not as good as some previous years. We were a bit dissapointed overall this year in the organisation of Comrades, eg changing from Coke to Pepsi 3 weeks before the race, repeated requests to update details that had not changed etc. The webtimes actually showed us going from PMB to Durban which confused our supporters who were following on line.

G & C collected us at the finish venue, it is always a good idea to familiarise oneself with the finish as a on the day when tired it is really easy to get lost. We then proceeded to the start to get a better idea of where Carmenn could drop us off in the morning.

We checked in to our hotel then did a walk along the beach front to de-stress and loosen up. I had my customary Guinness and Liz had some Famous Grouse as we watched the sunset from the 23 rd floor of the hotel. The sound of the waves are very soothing and comforting. We went to the restaurant in the hotel for dinner Gerhard and I had rump and baked potato with veggies, Liz had a Chicken salad and Carmenn a Chicken Schnitzel. We then retired to an early bed. Well we still had to sort out some of our running things, I glanced at Barcalona giving ManU a hiding. I have not been sleeping will lately , this night was not too bad, but getting up at 3:55 is not so great. If we had stayed further away we would have got up much earlier so I wont complain too much.

I was in H batch which is the last batch ie for the really slow athletes. Liz was in F (make mental note to ensure she gets a D batch next time) while Gerhard had somehow managed to get into D batch by doing a sub 4hr marathon. Liz and my batches were based on last years Comrades time.

I did not feel as emotional about the start as I did last year, probably due to work pressures, frustration for the Comrades organisation etc, as well as some apprehension over the up run. I set out with a race plan of getting my overall pace below 8:00 min/km as soon as possible and hopefully then getting it down to 7:40 and then trying to keep it there as long as possible. Because a gps does not take elevation in to account, race distances and GPS distance will vary, this adds to some severe mental calculatiosn to be done enroute. I worked on a distance of 89km in my calculations and not the offical 86.9km, that way I would not be caught short! The difference in average pace between 89 and 87 ks is 15 seconds which is quite significant,7:56 or 7:41. In my mind I was hoping to do a sub 11:30 which equated to an average of 7:41m/k.

I had felt my left knee a bit the few days before the race and hoped it was just pre race niggles. It took me 8 minutes to cross the start line, my feet startedf moving after 2 minutes , bythen Liz had crossed the start line!! After about 10ks of pretty good walking, my knees were fine, but my arches were getting quite sore- I have had this before but only with New Balance shoes and I was in my Asic Nimbus 12's which should be fine. I was convinced the pain would go away.... The only real effect was that I was taking shorter strides, which meant that my pace was slower. It was not really sore to walk but I did have to walk slower. I saw a number of people on the race that I have seen on previous races, we kept on encouraging each other. It is also really nice to have our names printed on our race numbers as this encourages the spectators to call us by name. I gradually got my pace down to 7:51 and thought that all was well.

Carmenn met me at 33.5 km, it is really good to see familiar faces along the route, she gave me a 32gi mixture which was really great, it was good to have something different from the usual race drinks and also to have a low gi drink for the long haul up Bothas Hill. I severely forgot how long this hill was, it really did not seem so long last year. It is amazing how flat it looks on the profile from my Garmin watch. I found that I was getting slower up the hills, my pace was suffering a bit and I was starting to doubt myself. I knew I needed to go faster down the hill but just did not feel comfortable going faster. I had planned to get to Drummond which is just short of halfway in around 5:40, my official time was 5:45, amazing how much being 5 minutes behind schedule can demoralise you. I was now faced with the problem of Inchanga which is essentially a 8km long uphill. I guess it was around here that I realised there was no way I could do an 11:30. The problem with this is to keep up the motivation to still go fast.

It was at around 50km I met up with Chris Piears from our club, he has just done London Marathon in a Rhino suit, now that must be tough,(www.savetherhino.org) we swopped places a few times, and then I got really fed up as a couple kept on running past me then stopping in front of me, forcing me to change direction overtake them. As a walker I tend to go a pretty consistent pace so many runners use me to pace them. I then decided to push hard up the hill in Camperdown to get ahead of them, and amazingly felt better for it. I kept going strongly and gradually felt better and better. My arches were still sore but seemed to affect me less, or maybe my desire to finish just overrode any pain.
Polly Shorts is a really tough hill being at 78km into the race. It is only 1.8km long but still a toughie because of where it is in the race. As I got over the top I felt liberated in a strange way and started going strongly for the finish.

I knew there was a 12hr bus ahead of as well as one behind me. I did not want to get caught up in them again, they had caused me much stress at around 30km by running past me then stopping to leave me struggling to extract myself from the 100 odd runners who were now dawdling along waving there arms as they do their stretching. With about 4km to go I saw the first 12hr bus ahead and pushed really hard to catch them, then get ahead so I would not be stuck behind them in the stadium / finish / medal collection etc. Passing the Club tents I was really encouraged by the wild cheering from my club mates. I felt really good crossing the finish line, collecting my second Vic Clapham medal and then getting my Back to Back medal for a novice completing 2 successive Comrades.


My race was affected by the pain in my arches, probably brought on by too much traing in New Balance shoes. I may have also started pronating a bit as I have got faster. I will be evaluating the cause over the coming weeks.

I am feeling fine now and am really chuffed to have finished this race, the up run is a pretty tough race.
I did 11:48:53 , Liz did 10:05 for her best time on an Up run.

What a day what a race. Whats my next race - I have no idea.

Two Oceans 23/4/2011

Tags: None
Well what a race, We drove down, it is 1600km, took our time stopping over enroute. We did a fast 6km on Thursday to get rid of travel stiffness. We went to the expo on Friday, driving the hilly part of the route on the way there , I hate expo's but the vibe is good and gets the adrenalin going at least.
Some friends joined us for lunch, they had fried fish and chips, liz and I had grilled fish and chips. I really do not enjoy greasy fried food anymore. I was too scared to try on my Tshirt, one cannot wear it if one does not finish the race. It was called cherry tomato, but is really orange..
The day of the race dawned and we caught the train to the start, that worked well, this was a recommendation from Malcolm Salida, the person we rented our accomodation from, he is a walker, and came in with us, his wife even picked us up and took us to the station, they were a great help to us. The first 4ks of the half and Ultra are the same, so we had to wait for the route to clear from the half before we strated at 6:25Am.
I was getting more nervous as we heard the 21 singing the national anthem, then off they went...
I bumped into a guy I have met at various races over the years, he claimed he was fitter than before, and would do a 6:30. I was dubious.
It took 4 minutes to cross the line, our races are all gun to gun, so it makes your average pace suffer for the first few kms. At the time I thought I was going too slow, I only really checked my watch at 3km, and my average was about 7:34 , which meant I was actually walking at or below 7:00/km, no wonder my shins were burning. I knew I had to finish around 7:25/km to get a medal. I was about 450m from the start so this also messes with your averages. At around 7km another novice latched onto me, all I know is his name was Andrew, it is good to have your name printed on your race numbers, but sometimes confusing when your name is called out so often. I was really near the back of the field, as I passed various traffic police they were talking about re-opening the road ...

My initial plan was to go as close to 7:00 /km till halfway and then deal with the hills. I also did not want to push too hard as I did not want to burn... When I got to the first slight up hill at around 20km I was at 7:10 and really worried about who I would have to give my Tshirt to. Then I see a sign, 1km ot the first cutoff at 28km, well that got my heart pounding.. I made it by 3minutes. That on the easy half of the race.

We then hit little chappies ( Chapmans Peak) , a hill around 2km long gaining around 100m, I decided to push the hill and poor old Andrew could not keep up, he had been my shadow since 7km, I never saw him again.I find it amazing how I seem to get stronger at this sort of distance into a race. Going up little chappies was great, then we descend about 50m only to climb about 150m over the next 3, on real chappies My Garmin decided not to save my race data so some guesing is required here, it \also did not give me my race time, but average was there. At the crest of 35km I passed the guy who said he was aiming for 6:30, he looked tired. From 35km we go back down to sea level from 250m up, over the next 4km , I found the road camber quite hard in this section, it took a toll on my hamstrings, so I did not push too hard. I went through the marathon mark in 5:09 which was pretty much on track, making the marathon cut off by a few minutes

The climb from 42k to 48km is about 200m. As we started climning I saw Malcolm ahead I got to within 20 m of him when he took off like a shot, I pushed quite hard but never saw him again, once again I made the cut off at the top by about 2 minutes. It was quite confusing as the announcer kept on contradicting where the actual cuttoff was.
As we levelled off for the push to the end, one guy , a veteran with 17 medals claimed we had the medals aoriudn our necks. I was quite harsh on him "it is not over till the fat lady sings" etc. Within a km he was vomiting on the side of the road, I did not see him again, I hope he finished but..
At 6km to go I passed Wilma, Malcolm's wife, she was shocked to see me, was I ahead of Malcolm?
The various spectators on the side of the road changed from it's tight to you will not make it you walk. With the adrenaline pumping hard I pushed hard up the last hill. As I entered the grass end section the crowd was going wild. I could not look at anyone, for fear of tripping on the grass which was pretty damaged from the 16000 half marathoners and the 7200 Ultra marathoners in front of me.
As I crossed the line I knew I deserved to wear the Tshirt, the medal felt really great around my neck, I had made it in 6:58:57, with 63 seconds to spare . I called it a lonely medal, thinking it would be my only one from this race. I have subsequently decided I will do this race again but, must seriously work on my speed. I need to the do the first half of this race much much faster.
I was surpised to find out that I must have passed Malcolm going up Constantia Nek, he finished 30 senond behind me.
What a race! What an experience! I have already startred planning my qualifier for next year.

Two Oceans on Saturday

The nervousness is starting to work on me, the anticapation of my 5th Ultra Marathom is rising, so far the long term weather forecast is good. Lets hope it stays that way.

Shoe update

I was very lucky i took my Skyspeeds back to the sweat shop, and ended up getting a full credit towards Nimbus 12.
The skyspeeds are not designed for my weight, the heel cushioning is very soft and therefore collapsed on me. I know the Nimbus are a bit heavy with a high heel, but i will continue to use them for races longer than 21. They do give a lot of support and feel very comfortable.
Liz is less than impressed with my bright yellow Nimbus 12.
Nimbus 13 comes out in July and I believe they will be a bit lighter.
My right glute is still a bit sore so I am trying some trigger point massaging, as well as stretching, and using the foam roller.
2 weeks to oceans.....