Weekend Long Run: Saturday 19 February, 05:30

A number of Hillbillies have mentioned that they're keen to go for a run this weekend sometime, those not running the Peninsula Half Marathon on Sunday.

I've plotted a 20km run, with some hills but nothing too drastic.

 

Those keen to join me, meet 05:30 at Great Westerford. Bring a small water bottle along, as the taps are few and far between along this route. Follow the link below to see the suggested route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4298078 

 

Route description:

We start at Great Westerford as is Hillbilly tradition. Up Dean Street, follow Newlands Avenue and then down the M3 to the Shell for our first water break (top up bottles here, 2.5km mark).

From here we follow Fernwood Ave to Boshoff, to Heath, to Kirstenbosch, to Bishopscourt Drive. Bishopscourt merges into Canterbury, which we'll follow almost all the way to the top (watch out for cyclists along here, its a popular road and they tend to fly down the hill!!) We detour up Klaasens Road to Kirstenbosch Top Gate - fill up water here, cause its a long way to the next water point (7.5km mark)

Now we have a short stretch along Rhodes Ave (M63). There's a wide shoulder on the left for us to run on. We take Hohenort Avenue (from the top - a bit of downhill to enjoy!) and follow all the way through to Alphen Drive and finally Constantia Main Road near the M3. We pass under the M3 and then head up Alphen Hill Road, stopping at Victoria Hospital for water (there's a secret tap in the parking area!! 13km mark)

We leave Alphen Hill Road at Wolfe Street, and run past Maynardville Open Air Theatre, continuing along the same road till we reach Main Road.

We don't like running along Main Road - too much traffic - so we'll detour through Auburn or Indian Road to Salisbury to Kenilworth Road. Over the railway line, to 3rd Avenue. Follow 3rd all the way to Chichester, over and through to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria Road goes to Palmyra, then off on Mariendahl, to Campground, Main, and back to Great Westerford.

-------------------------

Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 05:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/68382215

Apologies for the late stats-posting. But better late than never!!

Yesterday morning we ran to up to Rhodes Memorial. While always a thoroughly enjoyable route, we do tend to question our sanity on the way up. And big-time question the sanity of the person who suggested this route - me...! But once everyone is at the top, cold water splashed and sipped, all is forgiven, and we can all enjoy the view and look forward to the lovely down-hill awaiting us.

Tuesday morning was still dark at 5:30 - and it seems to be staying dark for longer of late. A few Hillbillies are running with flashlights in the mornings, although we still run most of our routes in daylight.

Route Profile

We started our run heading down Main Road, past the Rondebosch Police Station and then we started climbing. 4 Hillbillies - Charlene, Dy, Jen and I. Then from Grotto Road we climbed. And climbed. And climbed some more. Up through UCT Middle Campus. Under the M3 subway. A slight break over the UCT sports fields (and the Two Oceans finish venue - almost time!) before climbing some more up the stairs to the ring-road. Another slight break heading towards the Rhodes Memorial gates. Locked at this time of the morning, but the turnstile is always open for pedestrians. Good for us - no traffic, we'd have the road to ourselves!

As expected, not a single vehicle sharing the road with us on the way up, we didnt' see a cyclist until we were headed back down a little later (and even then he turned onto a trail long before reaching us). And this time no gunshots in the distance!!! (the last time Dy and I ran this route there were some clowns firing shots out of their car up and down the M3 - thankfully no stray bullets along Rhodes Memorial Road, that wouldn't have been too much fun...)

We made it to the top without any fuss - Dy leading the pack, Charlene hot on her heels, and Jen and I following some distance behind. A lovely cool drink of water from the tap at the top, we looked out of the sunrise but the clouds were too thick. It was pleasantly cool though, for which we were all thankful, especially after the tremendous heat waves that have been passing through lately - some morning's we've starting running in mid-20's temperatures, approaching at the end of some of our early morning runs!

Route Map

And so we went down, down, down back towards sea-level, enjoying having gravity on our side once again.

We sped along the M3, Dy still in the lead (whatever you had for breakfast yesterday morning was really working!) About half-way down the M3 Jen took a tumble. After a few moments to assess the damage and catch her breath, she hopped back up and promptly took the lead!! She led us all the way to the Shell where we stopped for water once again. The pace was a little easier from this point on. Everyone a little tired and a lot cautious.

From Shell we headed for for Protea Road, and up towards Main Road. Here Jen bid us farewell and headed back to Greate Westerford, while Charlene, Dy and I continued on past Newlands cricket grounds - passing a burnt-out car along the way. It looked to me like the left-overs of an Opel Cub, the old round shape like I used to drive many years ago. No, wait, 'left-overs' is too generous for what was lying in the front parking lot/display lot of the Jeep/Chrysler dealership. It was more like the toasty frame of an Opel Cub with wheel rims welded on. The Jeep closest to it seems to have gotten a taste of the action too, with its front licence plate curled and smoke-stained.

But moving on from that little distraction: the rest of the run went smoothly. We passed a people as we ran past the cricket grounds, up Campground, through the neighbourhoods of Rondebosch and over Belmont. The plan was to take the Liesbeek River Trail back from here, but it was roped off and had piles of construction sand heaped in the way, so we headed along Main Road instead. By the time we reached the next possible road to the River Trail, we were all tired and opted to just continue straight back to Great Westerford.

A few minutes later we arrived. Tired but happy with a good hard run. 14km and some change, a good way to start the day :)

-------------------------

Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Tuesday, 8 February 2011, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67227859

Another awesome Hillbilly run, thanks to Charlene and Dy for joining me, and pulling me up those hills. I seriously would not have survive that without you guys! Actually, I probably would've chickened out of that particular route if not for you guys!!

Only 12.5km, but what an exhausting run - the Hillbillies earned their names many times over this morning!!! I think I'll have a word with the maniac who suggested that route. Wait, that was me... Okay, I've scolded myself, I'm sorry!!

But you have to admit that it was a fun - and scenic - route too!! We arrived back at our cars tired and sweaty but all with big smiles :) We're just suckers for punishment aren't we???

And for a change I have some backup on my hilly route selections: http://www.modernathlete.co.za/editors_column_comments.asp?Entry=71 "The hills are your friends!!"

:)

But back to business, here are this morning's stats:

As for the route itself: we started at Great Westerford and headed up Dean Street for the first hill of the morning. It was still quite dark at 5:30, but not quite mid-winter-pitch-dark just yet. But the mornings are definitely breaking later already...

We started out at a comfortable pace, of which I was glad, as I can still feel Saturday's hot run in my legs somehow... Along Newlands Avenue a nice recovery, and then downhill along the M3 to the Shell for some water.

Route Profile

So early in the morning, crossing the M3 was quite easy, and we soon found ourselves motoring along Fernwood Ave towards Boshoff. From Boshoff, along Heath to Riverside, we were heading up Kirstenbosch Drive way too soon, or so it seemed. Kirstenbosch Dr sees the start of the second hill - all the way up to Bishopscourt Dr, over into Canterbury, and then up, up, up to Glastonbury Road. Dy and Charlene were flying up Canterbury, while I was doing my very best to keep them just within sight while I plodded my slow way up behind them. Enjoying the fresh air (my lungs kept demanding more and more as we climbed and climbed!) and slowly brightening morning. It wasn't too long before we were at the 'top' at Glastonbury Road intersection, where it was time for a well-deserved walk-break to catch our breath back. Just a few moments, then it was off again towards Kirstenbosch, dodging the light traffic that was just starting up.

At the actual top of hill #2, we stopped for a very well-deserved (and much-needed) water-break. Cool, fresh, sweet, clean Kirstenbosch water!! Definitely my favourite part of the run! After a brief breather, we made our way slowly across the road, then started an easy jog up Klaasens Road. We were soon undulating again, but these hills were more just a break in the 'flat' than anything else. Then a lovely descent to then Klaasens/Gloucester intersection, were we did the not-so-smart (but fun!) thing - we turned right towards Monterey!!!

As with all hills, the key to tackling this near-vertical (but thankfully short) monster is to take it one step at a time. And remember to breathe!!! And before we knew it, we were approaching the top, and yes, all still alive!! The group was very quiet by this time, everyone giving priority to getting air into their lungs rather than waste precious oxygen trying to pant out a conversation.

Now for some good news guys: this is the very highest point of the route, the hills are now over!!! Well done!

And then we looked down. And down. And down.

That road dropped even steeper than we'd been climbing. All the way back down to the M3. I was slower going down than up, afraid of gravity playing tricks and tripping me up. Charlene and Dy seemed to enjoy the downhill though, and soon were well ahead of me, and gaining. I contented myself with just making it down the hill, I'd catch them at the M3 robots.

Route Map

Eventually we all made it back down to sea level safely. We had a brief wait to cross the M3 - morning traffic was picking up steadily by then, and the exhaust fumes not smelling all that great. So as soon as we could, we dashed across the M3 and into Struben, and then finally out of traffic onto Bowood for a peaceful trip down to scenic and spacious Eden Road. What a relief - and what a view of the mountain in the early morning light!! Man, I'm going to miss running in Cape Town!!!

Too soon Eden was over, and we were dashing across Protea Circle, past Vineyard Hotel and up Kildare. To round off our lovely run, we hit Mains Street from the right side (pun intended!) to avoid the morning school-traffic, and breezed back home, dodging a few pedestrians along the way.

Strangely, we'd seen very few runners out and about this morning. Could the later sunrise be scaring them off?? Two Oceans is just around the corner, you'd think there'd be more runners than ever doing semi-last-minute 'cramming' for Oceans?!? Much like the cyclists are doing for the Argus right now - wow, there were a lot of cyclists out this morning??? Most flew past us at break-neck speeds, especially going downhill. But almost every single cyclist greeted us with a smile this morning :) Now really, is there a better way to start off your day than that - a great run filled with many friendly faces and scenic neighbourhoods???

Thank you Hillbillies for making this morning's run so great!!

-------------------------

Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 8 February, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies

Please join me at 05:30 tomorrow morning for an easy-paced run, with a few Hillbilly hills, through scenic Bishopscourt and Claremont neighbourhoods. It's darkish still at 5:30, so bring a torch or just be careful where you run. We should be treated to a beautiful sunrise though!!

 

Route suggestion: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4276485

Distance is around 12.5km

 

Route description:

Starting at Great Westerford, we run up Dean Street (hill #1), along Newlands Avenue and down the M3 to Fernwood. Stop for water at the Shell (2.5km), we then run along Fernwood towards Boshoff. We then take Heath off Boshoff over to Riverside, and onto Kirstenbosch Drive, heading towards Kirstenbosch. Onto Bishopscourt Drive, we continue straight onto Canterbury for a long hill (hill #2). At 6km mark the hill flattens out for a bit of a break before the final climb up to Kirstebosch Top Gate (6.5km) and our next water break. From Kirstenbosch we head up Klaasens Road to Monterey (yes, that road!) for a short but steep climb (hill #3), followed by a long downhill along Upper Bebington (becomes Forest Avenue), all the way down to the M3 (10km). Crossing over the M3, we run along Struben to Bowood to Eden Road, over the Protea Circle and along Protea Road to the bend. We stick to the straight and transition onto Colinton Road. Turn onto Kildare, then Main Street and back to Great Westerford.

-------------------------

Dean Street Hillbillies