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.

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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 :)

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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!!

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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.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Morning Run: Tuesday, 1 February, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies!

 

I hope everyone had a good weekend??

Did any Hillbillies run the Kloofnek Classic Half Marathon yesterday?? A toughie but wow what a run!!!

 

I ran, and I saw Tanja and Kari along the route. All looked strong and showed the rest of the runners how the Hillbillies tackle hills!!

 

But back to the business at hand: tomorrow morning's run - meet 05:30 at Great Westerford. I'm not sure of the route yet, but I'm thinking around 12km, hilly??

Does anyone have any special requests for routes, or suggestions?? Else I'll come up with something between now and tomorrow morning :)

 

Take note of the later start time - its still dark at 5:15 lately, with the sun only just out at 5:30, so we're slowl transitioning towards 'winter times' again. Later start means slightly shorter morning runs, but we should still be able to fit in a good 12-14km on Tuesday mornings.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 25 January 2010, 05:30

Thank you to all the Hillbillies who joined us for this morning's run!!

A recovery run for those who had a busy outdoors weekend, and just a good old leg-stretch, start-the-week-off-on-a-high-note run.

Route Profile

We had a good-sized group this morning, with Rob re-joining us, and regulards Dy, Jen and Angela.

We set off up Dean Street with the idea of taking it slow and recovering from the weekend's activities, but were soon moving at a decent pace. Along Newlands Avenue I was working hard to keep up!

At the M3 intersection, Jen and I opted for a flatter, easier run, while Dy and Rob were itching for some hills, so we split into 2 smaller groups and off we went.

Jen and I enjoyed the downhill stretch along the M3, taking it as a good opportunity to catch our breath again after the quick start. Easy along Protea Road, we headed to our water point at the Engen on Main Road. This was a great chance to stop and catch our breaths again, as we'd somehow kept up quite a pace all the way, despite both been tired from some very hilly outdoor activity over this past weekend. I guess when you have such good company you forget that your legs are tired and really surprise yourself!! Just goes to show how much is really all in the mind!!!

Route Map

Except for a minor argument with a sign-post (forcing the retirement of a t-shirt), the rest of the run was relaxed and uneventful. We wove through the Rondebosch neighbourhoods, up and over the Belmont railway bridge and then followed the Liesbeek River Trail back. I ran right past then entrance to the Trail, after saying that it would be nice to run along it. On complete auto-pilot I was just running. Jen saved the run by pointing us back in the right direction, and we finished our run along the scenic Liesbeek River.

Back at Great Westerford, we decided to wait for Dy and Rob to get back, and hear about their run. We were curious as to how they were doing, with Rob 'taking it slow' and Dy sure to give him some competition up the hills. Jen and I had a great chat, and eventually Dy and Rob appeared at the far end of the parking lot. Both drenched in sweat, looking tired but extremely happy - good run!!! Both were saying how the other pulled them along. I think they make a great team!!

A brilliant run in all, and awesome company!! Thanks Hillbillies!!!

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I had such a good time this morning (and my tired, sore legs needed the stretch), that I'm keen for another run tomorrow morning. Short and easy, just a bit of time on the legs.
If anyone is keen to join, I'll be at Great Westerford at 5:30 (I'll send out an update email later on if anything changes, but for now the plan is 5:30 at the usual spot)
Distance: 5-8km, depending on how everyone feels.
Route: meandering around the Rondebosch area, something like this: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4252912:

From Great Westerford, we run down Boundary Road past the Sport Science Institute and the rugby stadium. Keep along Boundary until the T-junction and turn right into Dulwich. Second left onto Ednam, then second right onto Rouwkop (away from Main Road - we want to explore the suburbs here!) Rouwkop becomes St Andrews at the bend, which leads all the way along the railway line to Belmont. Up and over Belmont, we turn down Queen Road and onto College, following through to Campground Road. Next we turn onto Sandown, then right down Lochiel to Avenue de Mist. We stop for water at about 4km, at the WPCC, then back onto Ave de Mist till we reach Stanford, where we head right. At the bottom of Stanford we turn right onto Keurboom, and follow along to St Patricks/Squirrel Way pedestrain robots. Here we take a left onto St Patricks, and then immediately right onto Water. Follow Water all the way through to Heatherton (where the road crosses over the canal), and up to Palmyra (a slight hill here). Palmyra leads onto Mariendahl which leads to Campground and back to Main Road. Avoiding traffic, we head onto Letterstedt and follow the railway line again past the back of Newlands cricket grounds, past Sport Science again, and back up Boundary, under Main, and we find ourselves back at Great Westerford about 8.5km later.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 25 January, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies!! I hope you had a great weekend??

Well done to all those who ran Red Hill this past weekend:
Josh, Tanja, Charlene, Angela, Kari (Dy: I know you were kind of considering Red Hill, did you run??)

As a result, tomorrow morning's run will be a recovery run - slow, with just a few old-favourite hills. Emphasis being on slow!! (I'll probably end up walking up half of the hills, so no-one has to worry about being too slow for the group!

Here is the proposed route for tomorrow:
Our old favourite: Glastonbury Road. The one we love to hate: http://dean-street-hillbillies.blogspot.com/2010/05/stats-tuesday-11-may-2010-0600.html

Being a shorter Tuesday run, we'll meet 05:30 at Great Westerford (240 Main Road, Rondebosch) and run about 10km.
Those wanting longer are more than welcome to start earlier, or deviate from our route, or organise a separate 'Tuesday long run' for tomorrow - as per the Hillbilly custom, simply 'reply-to-all' on this email to let all of the other Hillbillies know what you would like to run and gather some running partners for your route.

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Dean Street Hillbillies