GETTING LOST

This is a long story, but I'm only going to give the short version:

Friday was a public holiday (Day of Reconciliation) so why not run a race? The race on the calendar was the Guguletu 10km, well I headed off to Khayelitsha!!!!!!!

Stupid Stupid Stupid, well after driving around the township the penny dropped and I raced off to Gugs and stopped with minutes to spare. Don't worry I was stupid again as I didn't jump out the car and rush to enter as I thought I still had time, but the race was about to start...
I didn't hear the gun, but as I got to the start line the last of the back markers had already headed down the road... 
I wasn't the only guy running late and was joined by another guy as I weaved my way through the back of the field. I wasn't racing only running for a sub 40 and points for our club competitions!
At the 2km mark a asked a guy our time, 8:40, Mr. Garmin read 7:37. The race was now on, I needed to break 39, so I kept running people down untill 5km when I was on time 18:44.


Now I should be tell you a bit about this race, it is run though Guguletu, which some-one discribed as a middle-class township, so the houses are brick (unlike half the houses I had driven past in Khayelitsha). The kids all come out to watch and get sweats from the slower runners who run with bags of sweats just for them. A lot of fun.


Mr Garmin kept me moving and I crossed the line in 38:18 as the finishing clock ticked over to 39:20.


Race One finished...


Saturday was Mitchells Plain Half. I wanted to run fast and in years gone by this was a very flat route, so... Maybe I souldn't have run the 10 the day before, but when standing on the startline it's all to late. Today I was racing the clock and not for a top 40+ place, but as I set off I watched the top guys pull away from me and only 3 of them were 40+. I found myself running in no-mans land as we reached the beach road. I was a little fast to 5km 18:10, but I hoped I could hold it...

Race route

So do you see the 10km mark? yes it's right by the sea, and yes we were running on the beach for 1.5km!!! I tried to keep my pace up at the sub 3:50 mark, but those 2 km just didn't happen, and that effort seemed to wack me. That said I caught the 3rd placed 40+!!! I thought it would be a good race heading back, but once back on the road he left me for dead!!! and i was left to fight the miles alone...


Out on the road I don't look at Mr. Garmin for distance, but watch the km boards. Sub 80 was still on the cards, but the 77 I had wanted was left suntanning on the beach!!! (OK maybe that sould say fishing as there were only a couple of fishermen there.)  I worked hard those last 3km to finish with 79:53... 


Need to get training if I want a 77 next year...