The Long Run
Dear Diary
2 weeks Hohenort 15km - 14th January
3 weeks to Bay 2 Bay 30km - 22nd January
4 Weeks to Firgrove Challenge 15km - 4th February
6 weeks to Cape Peninsula Marathon 42.2km -19th February
14 weeks to Two Oceans 21.1km - 16th April
‘Happy holidays'
I love morning runs. Despite it being holidays where the temptation to kick the alarm is strong, I'm better for it. The endorphins are sustaining and so uplifting. The club is closed until January so we are left to sort ourselves out to choose times and routes. I love it! New routes mean new perspectives and new mountain and sea views to die for. It really is such a privilege living in such a beautiful town with such easy access to oceans and trails. It takes a few days to get into routine of getting up before 5h00 and once that body clock adjusts its like clockwork.
I have chosen different routes so that we would be exposed to different hills and terrains. It has been such fun. Quite a bit more hilly than we are used to but a GREAT week. This week promises to be interesting as we prep for Bay2Bay at the end of January
Training for the week
Tuesday - 8.0km. We started outside Chardonnay Deli in High Constantia and hit the trails in Groot Constantia. It was more hilly than anticipated as we continued up and up and didn't take very long to build up a proper sweat. I'm pretty sure we could see Beau Constantia at one point before we turned back. Everything is so lush and not a breath of wind. The vines are green and leafy and mountains majestic, tall and provide the most beautiful backdrop for the vines and dirt tracks. Sky was an absolute champion and managed the full 8km. We got plenty walks in as well given the hilly bits. and we still stops for regular loo breaks. She drinks water so beautifully out of the squeezy water bottle thingy. The glorious thing with holidays is that there is plenty time to socialise afterwards! Coffee at Chardonnay afterwards was a real treat as got to chat to a few ladies that I would have missed on the run.
It was my first real trail run with the Asics Trabuco 10 and they are an absolute delight. The shoes are grippy on the dirt and my feet were roomy and comfortable for the duration of the run. That is a sign of a great fitting shoe! The colour is an olive green so not my best shade of green but I'll take comfort over style ANYDAY with a running shoe.
Wednesday - 8km. Out and back on Chapman's Peak for Dom's 40th. The plan here was to include a few faster segments. However, once we started on Chapmans Peak all speedwork plans went out the window as it was incredibly steep for me! Uncle Hennie shot up like the hill with flames coming out of his shoes leaving me gasping for air at the back. This is a great hill to test oneself on every few week to gauge improvement. The views are spectacular on both sides, you can smell the sea air all the time and Sky managed super well.
We cooled off afterwards in the ocean. It was FREEZING! Sky was NOT interested in cooling off. The iciness of the water is so cooling and relieving on tender muscles that even though my legs were aching from the cold, I went back in a few times more to cool down. I started showering in cold water a few months back so I'm not unfamiliar with cold water, but, the Atlantic is icy, icy, crampingly cold. You really have to breath through it and into to it!
Coffee and breakfast at Beach Bar afterwards. Holiday running is the BOMB.
Thursdays - Hill repeats 6.7km
One of the roads that scares runners the most is Southern Cross. And honestly, its not that scary. So, this week I opted to break the stigma around Southern Cross with hill repeats. And everyone managed extremely well! Poor Candice was shocked when she realised what we were doing and where we were going! We met at Vida CV and went out from there along Parish and ran up and down Southern Cross. The idea is to run for 2 minutes up and then back down for 2 minutes. We chose a fairly tough segment and ran 8 segments. There was some huffing and puffing along the way but everyone did brilliantly. Next week we will try again and push for 10 segments.
Coffee and pics at Vida for us winners. Clearly I missed the memo on the CTM t-shirts.
Saturday 24km
Saturday's long run started out super early, at 5am, to beat the beachgoers and holidaymakers that descend on Muizenberg and the rest of the False Bay coast over the new year period. It also gave us a headstart on the heat! We were quite a few ladies and even two gents joined us. Given that we had planned for a super long run, I was surprised at the turn out. The 24km route ran from Muizenberg along the main rd and turned near Simonstown at 10.5km. The wind really picked up after Fish Hoek and pelted us. The stretch past Glencairn beach was particularly bad as we got sandblasted until we passed the beach! There was sand everywhere. Once we turned, we ran back towards Kalk Bay and turned up Boyes Drive.
The route went from manageable to tough real quick and the stretch along the top tested me in every way. Two angels, Natalie and Tania, met us on the top with Coke, Lay's and Fizzers. This was so welcomed.
Boyes Drive is a 4km stretch with a short sharp escalation that continues to climb and climb for nearly 3km and eventually levels out for a welcomed downhill until we turned down Old Boyes. Aren't long runs supposed to be easier than this? I questioned my reasons for running, fitness, weight, age and everything in between. I really need to get fitter and stronger! Despite all of this we finished 24km and were welcomed back by our clubmates before heading to the beach for a cool down and a cup of coffee.
What a great way to end of 2022!!
Wishing you many happy kms in 2023!
XOXO
Haylee
Top tips for the week:
Training in the morning ensures that you won't miss your daily runs in the holidays
Intentions for the upcoming week:
Include more strength training
Upcoming runs:
Here is my list for the rest of the year and some others you might like.
Hohenort 15km 14 January
Bay to Bay 30km 23 January 2023 (0)
Firgrove Challenge 15km 4th February
Cape Peninsula Marathon and Half Marathon 21.1km 19 February 2023 (2) Two Oceans Marathon 21.1km or 56km April 2023 (10) (ENTERED 21.1km) SAFARI Half Marathon 21.1km May 2023 (1)
Festival of Running July 2023 (1)
World Rowing Masters 21-24 September 2023 (0)
The Gun Run 21.1km September 2023 (3)
Cape Town Marathon 42.2km October 15th Sunday 2023 (1) (entered)
Istanbul Marathon 5th November 2023
Fueling:
32gi Sports Chews, Endure Sports Drink and Hydrate for running/snack fuel
HMT Vegan Protein - post run recovery. I loved chocolate for years and now love combining the strawberry and vanilla flavours. Takealot: https://tinyurl.com/25n6s7d6
HMT L’Glutamine - amino acid replacement and before bed to aid recovery. This stuff is the bomb! Takealot: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ep5nb.
Invest in your own Rock Rabbit and get 20% off: Haylee20
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