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

 

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.

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

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!!!

-------------------------
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.

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

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.

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

 

More Morning Runs

Hi Hillbillies,

Is there anyone keen to run on one or more of the following days: Monday, Wednesday Friday?

There are Hillbillies who cannot make the Tuesday and Thursday morning runs but who would still love to run with the Hillbillies.
Same idea - meet at Great Westerford 5:30am on Monday and/or Wednesday and/or Friday, plan the route in advance or just wing it in true Hillbilly style!

So who's keen - let the other know so that we can co-ordinate!

I'm up for some of those runs, most likely some of the Wednesday runs (in addition to the regular Tuesday/Thursday runs)
Maybe Monday or Friday on weeks where the past or upcoming weekend's don't have major (i.e. LONG) races.

Linelle has mentioned that she is very keen for Monday/Wednesday/Friday if she has company - its always more fun to run with company!!

So please let us know who is keen for some or all of the M/W/F runs!

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Thursday, 13 January 2010, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/63195346

Thank you Charlene, Dy and Jen for joining me this morning for a wonderful run. A bit windy, yes, and heavy legs from the high mileage these last few days, but a good run nonetheless.

I'd plotted a new route yesterday - something just slightly different to our regular runs through Rondebosch neighbourhoods. Without travelling to other parts of Cape Town for a change of scenery, or running a half marathon each morning, we've only got so much 'back yard' to run in, and it can get boring quickly if its just the same roads over and over again, so these past few months I've been using Google Maps and any other tools I can get my hands on to plot interesting new variations on the old routes, while still keeping the distance reasonable. I hope the others will agree with my opion that we've discovered some lovely new route lately, even if its just one road down from our usual route.

But I digress. This mornings route is the point of this email - yet another slight tweak on an otherwise common Hillbilly route.

Route Profile

We started up Main Road heading towards Town - we didn't notice much wind but it turns out we had lovely tail-wind pushing us along. Over Belmont and down Campground, we really noticed the strong head-wind trying to push up back up towards the Rondebosch Common. But we were soon out of the wind again, heading along Sandown Road, all the way down to Milner on the far side. Mostly a flat road with slight down-gradient, and just a little bit of a climb towards the end. It was just 3 Hillbillies at this point - Jen had bid us farewell just before Sandown, opting for a shorter run back via Newlands Cricket Grounds.

From there we headed down Milner towards Avenue de Mist, then to WPCC for water. The tap was only just giving out water, but luckily more than enough for the 3 of us. Refreshed, we hit the brick path through WPCC, heading towards Ave de Mist once again. I often wonder how the names for the roads in certain areas came about, and this is one of those areas: our next road was 'Lochiel' - was it named after a person, or does 'lochiel' have a meaning???

Route Map

But no matter, because we soon found ourselves back on Sandown. For all of 5 meters, before turning down the next oddly-named street: Oakvale. Oakvale led us to Riverton, passing Syfret Road, and soon we turned onto Silwood. Very soon we were headed around yet another corner, but this time the Rondebosch Common was visible just up ahead. Last twist for the day: we're heading around the Common to add just a little extra mileage (by this point we were barely at 6.5km, so off we went.

Then it was finally time to head back to Westerford - directly into that head-wind!! The whole last side of the Common was into the head-wind, and it was really pumping by this time. The route back was a no-brainer - the sheltered Liesbeek River Trail! We just had to survive another crossing of Belmont without being blown back 2 days...

Somehow we made it, and were soon cruising down the Liesbeek River Trail. No cyclists this morning, but there were a couple of people out for a morning stroll. An uneventful end to a peaceful morning run, Hillbilly-style!

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Thursday, 13 January, 05:30

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4228976

I hope everyone is recovered from Tuesday's run and ready for Thursday??
Here is a recommended route, but suggestions/changes are welcome. It's flat, and around 11km long - a good recovery run.
Meet 05:30 at Great Westerford.

We start at Great Westerford, and run up Main Road towards Belmont. Over Belmont and down Campground, we turn off onto Sandown Road and run all the way through to Milner Road. Right onto Milner, and then right onto Ave de Mist, we stop for water the WPCC before getting back onto Ave de Mist.
From there we head up Lochiel, back to Sandown Road. Right onto Sandown and then immediately left onto Oakvale Road, and then left onto Riverton, left onto Silwood and right at Links, we find ourselves on Park Road at the bottom of the common.

Those wanting 8.5km head back to great Westerford here, while those wanting 11km run around the Common before heading back.

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 11 January 2011, 05:15

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62941774

Thanks Hillbillies for your great company on this killer route!! I hope you guys enjoyed the run as much as I did, despite all the downright evil hills we climbed.

We started off on a high note: UP Dean Street!
From there we had a breather along Newlands Avenue, Jen flying along, setting a blistering pace. It looks like your holiday did you loads of good, you're running stronger than ever, Jen!

Route Profile

Downhill along the M3 towards Shell for water, as our next water stop would only be at Kirstenbosch, Jen left us here to do a somewhat saner route. Charlene, Dy and I we just insane enough to continue along the planned route - which I found out later the others hadn't really checked out in detail in the email, and actually had no clue what they were in for this morning!! But sometimes surprise is a good thing. This morning was one of those times - if the others had known what was planned for this morning, I might have found myself running alone!!
No, that's not true - us Hillbillies eat the hills for breakfast!! Thanks guys for braving the hills, especially so close after Bay2Bay!!

Okay, so on we went from our water stop - along scenic Fernwood Ave and up good old Boshoff. Down Rose a short ways to Kirstenbosch Drive, and there the real climb started - 2km up Bishopscourt/Canterbury, all the way to Kirstenbosch [Top Gate]. Here we stopped for some much-deserved water and a short breather. I tossed my tap water that I'd been carrying along in my water bottle, and filled p with fresh, clean Kirstenbosch water - always something to look forward to!

From Kirstenbosch we reversed our usual route and ran up Klaasens towards Monterey. At the intersection Dy was okay with tackling Monterey, Charlene had no clue what this 'Monterey' was all about, and when they looked to me to make the call between Moneterey and Gloucester, their fate was sealed: we'd be going up Monterey Road!!! I love those hills, and will never turn down the opportunity to tackle them if I'm in even half-decent shape!! If I turn down the Bishopscourt hills mid-run, then you know I'm really not doing well...

Route Map

So off we went, down Klaasens for a bit until the 'dreaded' Monterey Road came into sight. 'Head down, don't look up, keep moving'. That's the only way to tackle this hill. So that's what we did, and soon found ourselves at the top of the hill - and still alive!!! We managed to keep moving, eager for some down-hill, and quickly found ourselves on a steep descent down Forest Ave. Just when the descent got even steeper we turned off onto Upper Primrose, to complete the final 'leg' of the circle that would take us back to the Klaasens Road intersection.

Upper Primrose is nasty road, in that its deceptively flat and easy at the start. And then you round the find bend in the road, and realise that you're climbing. Then you look up and see the climb ahead of you to reach the intersection!!! If you're not expecting that short but steep climb, it can really knock the wind out of your sails!!

But we're Hillbillies, this was just another breakfast-snack for us. So up the hill, and over, for a much-deserved and eagerly-awaited descent along Gloucester Ave, and then back onto Canterbury, for a steepish drop (we often run UP Canterbury, and it's definitely a challenging climb, but it honestly feels steeper on the DOWN!)

But no worries, because we soon reached Hillwood Ave, where we climbed again for a short bit, before getting back onto Forest Ave (very very close to where we left for Upper Primrose) and decending all the way to the M3.

By this point we'd been without water for 5km, so decided to head down to the Shell again for water instead of following Bowood. We'll tackle that one next time.

From the water stop, it was same-old-same-old back home: Alster Ave (where I forgot to restart my Garmin after pausing it for water, so I apologize for the 'short' log here, we actually ran a good 500m further than the recorded distance); Kildare Road, Mains Street; and a few meters down Dean Street.

All in all a challenging but refreshing run. My quads are a little annoyed with me now, but they'll get over it. The rest of me loved the run!!! Thanks for your awesome company this morning guys, I would not have survived those hills alone!

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Thursday, 6 January 2011, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62160705 

Thank you Hillbillies for your fantastic company this morning!!

We had a great turnout today, with 4 Hillbillies running - Charlene, Chris, Rob and myself.

Route Profile

Rob had a warm-up run from home, and joined us at Great Westerford just as we were about to set off. Perfect timing Rob! And Rob even had an interesting new route suggestion - a partial merge of 2 of our old favourites. Welcome back Rob!

We set off up Dean Street as usual, but slowly. Caught our breath back along Newlands, and we were feeling great by the time the M3 came into sight. So early in the morning - and still school holidays - we had no traffic troubles cross the M3.

We sailed along Boshoff Avenue, for a change following it to the very end at Rose Street. Left into Rose as usual, but instead of heading across to Kirstenbosch Drive as has been the habit (to either head towards Canterbury, or Stone Church), we continued on past the link-road and down Riverside back to the M3 - strange feeling running down here and still feeling so fresh, this is usually nearing the end of our runs!

We stopped for water at the Shell - we were all hot and thirsty by this point: hot day yesterday followed by an uncomfortably warm night, we started our run at 05:30 in 23degree weather!! Summer is most definitely here!

Route Map

From the water-stop, we decided to follow the Liesbeek River Trail for the short section towards Bucksburn Road, which lead us out onto Protea. Across a pleasantly deserted Main Road, we picked up steam heading over the Newlands railway bridge, the guys leading for a while. Past the cricket grounds and through the cul de sac, Chris broke away and headed back home with painful blisters on both feet. Charlene, Rob and I continued, feeling alive and overjoyed to be back on the road.

At the Campground Shell we stopped of for a [warm] water break, and here Rob bid us farewell. Charlene and I set off again.

Quick and easy over the usually-busy road, along Belmont, up and over the railway bridge. We opted to follow the peaceful river trail (except for a few kamakaze mountain-bikers flying along the trail) and avoid stinky old Main Road. Crossing the back end of Arbor Road we saw the last mountain biker, and from there we had the trail to ourselves.

All too soon we reached the Main Road underpass and found ourselves back at Great Westerford where Chris was already waiting.

-------------------------
All in all a great run! Thanks Hillbillies for awesome company along the way!

Following Hillbilly tradition, I have plotted an interesting new route - still sticking to our regular stomping ground, but with a few twists.
Here is the link:http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4218609 - this is a cool site I discovered yesterday, and spent a few minutes playing with this morning. As with Google Maps (which I usually use to plot our routes as it gives a fairly accurate distance estimation), I can plot an exact course along the roads, but the added bonus is the elevation feature - you can see the predicted elevation graph underneath the map, updating as you add to your route!! Awesome!!!

In case the route has too many twists to be clear, it goes something like this:
Starting up Dean Street, follow Newlands Avenue to the M3 (2km). Left down the M3 till Fernwood Ave, which leads to Boshoff (3km). Follow Boshoff till the very end at Rose Str, down Rose to Kirstenbosch Dr, and right into Bishopscourt Dr. Continue over into Canterbury (5km), all the way to the top at Kirstenbosch Top Gate (7km). From Kirstenbosch along Klaasens Rd, and onto Monterey (good old Monterey!). At the wendy-house/security-shack (9km - the worst of the climbing is over, mostly downhill all the way home!) head down Upper Bebington, then second left onto Upper Primrose. Just past 10km we get back to the Klaasens Road intersection, and here we take Gloucester (yes, somewhat in reverse of our usual Monterey route). Gloucester leads back to Canterbury. Down, down, down along Canterbury until we reach Hillwood. Right into Hillwood, then left into Forest Ave (12km). Cross over M3 and follow Bowood all the way through to Cavendish Str (14km), then follow Cavendish as it becomes Kildare. At the circle turn into Mains Str (15km), and back to Great Westerford. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4218609

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Sundowner 10K 2010

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60402154

Brilliant Hillbilly turn-out at last night's Sundowner 10K race!!!!

Allen, Angela, Charlene, Chris, Dy,  Josh and Tanja!!!

Well done to all of you, you did the Hillbillies proud!!! Even though this was a flat race, the Hillbillies seemed in their element, flying through the crowds and putting the marker boards behind them in quick succession.

Chris and I spotted Josh and Tanja at pre-race registration, and chatted a few minutes before making our way towards the start. Tanja joined the main crowd at the starting line, while Chris, Josh and I stood a little off to the side where it was slightly less crowded (apparently there were record entries yesterday, with over 2000 entrants!). After the gun went off we lost Tanja in the crowds and didn't see her again during the race.

Chris and Josh were planning a quick run, I tried to keep up with them for as long as possible. They wove through the crowds and quickly pulled ahead: by 1km I'd lost sight of them completely. But I found Allen, and we ran together much of the way. Allen was flying along, and really helped pull me along at a good pace.

Route Profile

About 3.5km in we reached the first water table. It was a lovely cool evening (the first time I've ever run this race that it has not been a real scorcher of a day!) I was extremely thirsty by this point. Running past the first water station, the helper had just given her last water sachet to the woman in front of me, and was still digging for more when I flew past. Next helper was turning around to talk to his buddy as I ran past him, pulling the water out of my reach as I ran past. I was debating turning around and grabbing a water packet from him when I noticed another helper ahead. And as luck would have it, he was just finished digging a handful of sachets out of the supply and handing one to the person ahead of me, so I plucked the next sachet out of his hand as I flew past, yelling a heart-felt 'thank you' at him.

That water was just what I needed. After Tuesday's run and Sunday's long one, I was still a little tired, and flagging fast at this point in the race. A few small sips of water give me a much-needed cool down and energy boost and I managed to keep going at my 5m15 pace. I didn't think I'l be able to keep it up, but for the time being I was okay.

Route Map

By 5km turnaround at the pool, Allen was looking strong and I was wondering when I'd be forced to take a walk-break. I saw Josh flying along about 700m ahead, already past the turn-around and on his way back. Chris wasn't far behind him, maybe 200m at this point. Around the corner over the grass, and Allen and I were now part of the 'back' crowd. Seeing the hundreds of people still heading for the turn-around (some looking strong but some obviously taking strain) gave me the boost I needed to keep moving. Halfway point is behind, I could do this, I could keep up this pace till the end, but it was going to be a lot of hard work. Allen was looking so strong I decided to stick with him.

Soon Allen was surging ahead of me, but I was happy enough to stay behind as long as I kept the gap less than 50m.

Finally, at around 7km mark, I dug some energy out from some unknown reserve and surged ahead to pass Allen. I know Josh and Chris were long gone, probably almost finished by now, but I was on track for a 55 minute 10km - not a PB, but the best 10km time I've run in a long time.

Next challenge: stay ahead (a bit of incentive to keep moving). Allen, I have to say a huge thanks to you for motivating me along the route! If you weren't there to challenge me I probably would've taken it easier and finished a couple of minutes slower.

By 8km I saw Chris just up ahead - his ITB had flared up again and he was forced to take the last few kays slow. He still finished under an hour though, which was brilliant!! Well done!!!

1 mile to go, I was ready to find a quite spot and just sit down. But I can't do that, gotta keep moving!!!

1.2km - I can do this.

1km - slowing down for a slight hill leading towards V&A: push harder, go go go!

700m - hill over, easy on the down, don't want to trip now

300m - flat and nearing the finish

And then finally there's the queue at the finish line: I'm stopping my timer the moment I hit the queue, I don't care what the 'official results say', they're going to be way out, I'm keeping my own time on this one: 53 minutes and 55 seconds: if I can find my 2008 Cape Town 10K results I can find out whether or not this was a PB - but either way its close!

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Tuesday, 21 December 2010, 05:15

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60245223

Thank you to Charlene and Dy for joining me this morning for an interesting run through the Rondebosch area! Even though the morning was extremely hot (22 degrees before 6am!), we had a good run, taking plenty of water breaks along the way.

We'd all run on Sunday out in the Tygerberg area, so were all in the same boat with slightly tired legs. But that didn't stop us from running a quick pace - apparently we're all stronger than we think!

Route Profile

We started out at Great Westerford with me getting stuck in the gym after dumping my gym back in the lockers. Head to the door to join the others outside and the door won't open!!! Press unlock button, but no *click* Great, now I get stuck in the gym until someone else triggers the door lock release from outside, which at 5:15 in the morning won't be anytime soon. Building security is still asleep. The others' cellphones are either at home or in their cars, so calling them won't help. What do I do????

Well it turns out that the lock-magnet sometimes jams, and a hard enough yank on the door will release it. So I escaped from the gym 5 minutes later and rejoined the others outside to start our run.

The run itself was pleasantly uneventful, with little traffic out at that time during the holidays. We started out up Main road - no hills today! Over Belmont and around the Rondebosch Common, which seemed unusually long this morning. We noticed the heat almost from the start, and enjoyed the odd breeze that came our way.

By 5km we were done with the Common and heading towards the Shell for some much needed water. The water was warm but wet, we all drank and splashed our faces to cool off before setting off again, this time for Sandown Road.

Sandown took us all the way through to Milner Road, and shortly thereafter we doubled back up Ave de Mist, towards the WPCC grounds, where Dy suggested another water break - its great when someone reveals a new tap along an old favourite route! And this time the water was cold too!!!

Refreshed, we headed off through the WPCC, changing our route slightly from the original plan - that's what's so nice about these morning runs: we improvise routes as we feel like it, often coming up with interesting new routes to add to our ever-growing repertoire. Emerging from the far side of of WPCC, we headed towards Squirrel Way to rejoin the original route along Water Road, along the canal.

Route Map

A short but fairly steep climb (the only real 'hill' of this route) led us back to Palmyra Road, but we quickly turned off into Mariendahl and headed towards Newlands cricket grounds (hmm, I'm sensing a cricket-theme to this morning's run!). Up and over the railway bridge (the digital display on the Carecross building confirming the hot morning, clocking in at 22 degrees already!), we hit Main Road for a short while, before turning off again into Letterstedt to view some more of the area's landmarks: SAB, Newlands train station, Springbok pub, Sports Science Institute.

Then suddenly we're heading down the subway under Main Road, dashing back up in front of Great Westerford, and 11.4km later we're done. Hot, thirsty and tired, but feeling great! A shower and some coffee and I'd be ready to face the day ahead.

-------------------------
Thursday we'll do 11-12km, easy paced but with a few hills. The current plan is to follow our old favourite route up Glastonbury and through Kirstenbosch Gardens. Probably the scenic route along Klassens Drive. Meet 05:30 on Thursday in front of Great Westerford (and I'll try not to get trapped in the gym and keep everyone waiting again!)

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 21 December, 05:15

Hi Hillbillies! I hope you all had a good weekend??

Thanks again to those who joined me on Sunday for the Tygerberg 30K training run, and well done to Dy for completing her first 30km and for running so strong the entire way!

Tomorrow morning will be a recovery run - slow and flat. We'll try to keep the distance to around 12km, the aim being to warm up our sore, tired legs, and give them a good stretch at an easy pace, without any hills - we'll save those for next week (*evil grin*) - I included a route-suggestion for next week with the previous email/weekend run stats.

Tomorrow morning we meet as usual in front of Great Westerford (just look out for the small group of runners underneath the trees at the little centre-island in the Great Westerford parking lot)

Time: 05:15

Distance: +- 12km

Pace: very easy

Profile: FLAT (the railway bridge on Belmont is the biggest 'hill')

Route: http://bit.ly/eSI8KZ

From Great Westerford, we run up Main Road, along Belmont and around the Rondebosch Common (Campground, Klipfontein, Milner, Park) We then head down Sandown Road towards Milner, up Ave de Mist, past the far end of WPCC and up along Oakhurst Ave, back to Campground Road. Down again towards Keurboom, we turn right int St Patricks Road, into New Road which becomes Water, and follow the parallel the canal till we reach Heatherton Road. Short bit along Palmyra to Mariendal, under the Newlands subway, then follow along near the railway line behind SAB and past Sports Science Institute till we reach Boundary Road. Under Main Road and we're back at Great Westerford.

View Larger Map
-------------------------

Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Tygerberg 30K Training Run, 19 December 2010, 05:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60166246

Wow, what a perfect morning for a run it was yesterday!! Overcast and cool, hardly a breeze, very little traffic.

Charlene, Dy and her friend Kerryn, and I, all set off from Parow just after 5am on Sunday morning, all in good spirits and looking forward to a relaxing run and some fresh air. Dy was tackling her first 30km.

Route Profile

We started out at quite a quick pace, with Kerryn leading the group, lots of spring in her step. The rest of us followed but at a slightly more reserved gait - there was a long road ahead of us and we wanted to save some energy for the hills ahead. It was great watching Kerryn skip and float - she was clearly enjoying herself, and isn't that what running is all about: having fun?!?!

Anyway, we were off, heading down Plattekloof Road, enjoying the flattish 'warm-up' stretch. The first couple of kays were fairly uneventful - we were finding our rythm, stretching our legs and having good conversation. We started noticing the slight gradient increase from Richwood, and slowed our sub-6m00 pace a little to prevent an early burn-out. By now we'd left Parow, Plattekloof and Richwood far behind and the rolling hills of the Durbanville Wine Route lay ahead of us.

Overcast as it was, I was getting quite hot by this point, there being no wind to cool us off. But I was so grateful for the cloudy conditions!! The weatherman had promised a hot day ahead, and I wanted to be home by the time the sun started beating down.

By the time we were passing km #12, we were feeling the gradual but steady incline. At least the Hillcrest olive farm was just ahead, somewhere around the 13km mark. The hill wouldn't last forever, and we managed to keep moving. Finally at around 13km we saw the white wall of the olive farm, and knew that our first break was just ahead. I was running with Kerryn at this point, with Dy and Charlene not far behind. Kerryn sped ahead to the water point while I was happy just to keep running at this point.

We regrouped around the tap, filled our bottles and splashed water on our faces to cool off. The mist was so thick over here that we couldn't see the top of 'Big Mama' hill looming ahea - all we could see was an incline disappearing around the corner and into the pea-soup mist. Some of us knew what was ahead, having run this route before, but others were here for the first time. I cautioned the others to take it slow and easy and beware of the false top: not so much an issue in the mist, but on a clear day you think you can see the top of the hill and plan accordingly, only to find at the 'top' that there is still some climb left.

So up 'Big Mama' we went, Dy and I taking the lead, Charlene and Kerryn hot on our tail. We took it slow but steady, and before we knew it we were at the 'top' sign near Ntida. After all that climbing, the downhill ahead of us felt fantastic!! Legs still strong, spirits high, we floated down past Bloemendal, towards Tygervalley area.

Route Map

At the robots we stopped to regroup, then set of on the slightly undulate drop towards Kenridge, passing a couple of runners heading up in the opposite direction. We spotted 2 sites of leftovers from what appears to have been quite serious car accidents - loads of glass and bumper fragments and who knows what all else. Kerryn spotted 2 wooden crosses on the right-hand side of the road and went to have a closer look, while the rest of us continued on towards the Kenridge BP, eager for a break.

Refreshed and once again regrouped, we set off to tackle the next hill - 'Oops': first sister of 'Big Mama'. 'Oops' officially runs from the bottom of Jipp de Jager until the top at the Golf Course, but Van Riebeekshof Road is also a bit of a climb, a bit of a pre-Oops warm-up.

Not quite a km later we noticed the gradient evening out - 'Oops' conquered! There was still a little post-'Oops' ahead from the Golf course to the Engen, where we stopped to regroup once again, fill our water bottles, and re-energise on some ice cold Coca Cola.

Then it was off once again, to tackle the next sister: 'Ouch'. Ouch indeed - she's not very long or steep, but following so soon after 'Oops' she's quite a sting in the tail (or in our case, our abused hamstrings!) But slow and steady wins the race (or conquers the hill), and we were soon cresting 'Ouch' and looking forward to a long descent towards Hendrik Verwoerd Drive.

Refreshed from the downhill, we mentally prepared ourselves for the last sister: 'Eina'. As with the previous 2 sisters, 'Eina' isn't particularly long or steep, her biggest weapon is her location - 25km into the run, after 3 tough hills, she deserves her name!! But the key to conquering any hill is to know your enemy (or as my friend Paul would say: "The hills are your friends") and chew the elephant one bite at a time. So we step by step we made our way up 'Eina'. First get past the church. Now past Eksteen Road robots (which thankfully played along with us). So far so good, now to get past the Protea Hotel intersection. Great! Now admire the view and slight break in gradient before tackling the last stretch along Lover's Lane to the Hannes Louw Road intersecion.

*phew* climbing done! 'Big Mama' and her 3 sisters have been conquered yet again. The reward: a long downhill cruise before reaching McIntyre Road, De Grendel in sight, our cars just ahead.

Seeing our cars still safe in the parking lot, we were still just shy of 29km, so we headed off down De Grendel towards the traffic circle, left towards the atletics track (but not quite insane enough for a 'victory lap' around the track) and back around the circle before finally heading into the parking lot to finish our morning run.

Kerryn was waiting for us when we eventually finished our run (she'd been struggling with painful hip flexors for more than half of the run, so she headed straight for the finish line and a good stretch while we clocked up a few hundred meters extra, to bring our mileage total up to 29.4km. Close enough to the 30km goal, without overdoing things and still keeping the run fun.

Huge well done to Dy for completing her first 30km run!! She ran strong all the way, and pulled the rest of us up the hills. She even had enough energy left to run the final 3km at 6m00 per kay and just under, and rev up to 5m30 pace for the last 500m!! Fantastic!!! You'll breeze your first official 30km race Dy!! Well done and thank you also to Charlene and Kerryn for your great company the whole way! I hope you guys enjoyed the run as much as I did??

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

Here's a suggestion for next week Tuesday's regular mid-week Hillbilly run (28th December, 05:00): http://bit.ly/gDaUfe - kind of the Two Oceans Half Marathon route but with a few minor Hillbilly twists, and about 18-19km in total, including a scenic detour through Kirstenbosch Gardens (Google Maps unfortunately does not have record of Kirstenbosch internal paths and walkways so I can't plot that bit of detail):

We'll start at Great Westerford and head down Main Road towards Wynberg. We follow the Two Oceans Half route pretty until we reach Kirstenbosch Top Gate, where we enter the Gardens (water at the Gardens entrance) and wind our way down to the Tea Garden entrance (more water if needed). From there we follow Kirstenbosch Drive to Bishopscourt Drive, cross the M3 into Struben, follow Bowood to Eden to Protea to Kildare and finally back to Dean Street. Not many water points along this route, so please bring a small water bottle along. Friends welcome too! It's holiday time for many people by then, so hopefully we'll see some new faces join us next week? Feel free to call or email me if you'd like details of next week's runs, or just pitch up on the morning and join us.

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Thursday, 16 December, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies,

Even though tomorrow is a public holiday, there will still be a regular Hillbilly run at 05:30. Something flat and easy-paced to taper for this weekend's Tygerberg 30K training run. I'm thinking around 8-10km.

The only catch is this: if no-one lets me know that they'll be joining me (I know that some of you are going out of town on holiday or running the Gugs race) then I'll assume that I'm running alone and run from home. If I know that someone will be joining me then I'll go to our usual meeting spot at Great Westerford and we can run from there.

For those going away or starting their holidays this afternoon or weekend, have a happy holiday season, and keep running :)
For those staying home - I'll be running every week as usual, and sending out emails as usual.

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

Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 14 December 2010, 05:15

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59671663

This morning was the long-awaited and much-feared 'Rhodes Memorial Run'

Dy, Jen and I were the only Hillbillies insane enough to tackle these hills at such an early hour, when most people are still at home, dreaming of sleeping late during the upcoming December holidays...

Route Profile

We set off down Main Road (nope, once again no Dean Street - we'll have to reclaim our namesake soon!) at a fair clip, eager but a little nervous for the mountain ahead. Jen had a busy day ahead of her delivering mouth-watering cookies she's spent so much time and effort baking these last few days and weeks. I'll be exercing all my self-control not to dig into my batch - they're Christmas presents not lunch!!! Christmas presents, NOT lunch!!! So far so good, this evening I hide them away or wrap them up so I won't be tempted.

Back on track, the thought of cookies kept me moving, because yes, I will most likely end up keeping at least one pack for Chris and I. Sorry, but I haven't got the willpower to give away ALL of my cookies as gifts...

Okay, try again - back to the run...

Starting to warm up, we hit the first hill going up Grotto Road. And steamed up strong and steady. At the top of Grotto Jen said goodbye to complete a slightly less insane route (although the hill ahead of her when she turned back was quite something!), and Dy and I headed onwards towards UCT and the M3 subway.

We managed to (kind of) keep talking up the UCT path, kept running all the way to the subway/M3 underpass (and thinking back to my first few Rhodes Mem runs where I was reduced to a barely-moving walk by the time we reached the first campus-road!) and had a walk-break and much needed breath-catch heading under the M3 and up the stairs towards the UCT sports fields. We hit the sports fields running, nice and flat, before hitting the stairs up to the main campus ring-road, yes, running all the way. On towards Rhodes Memorial, a bit more climb before a very welcome downhill towards the gates at the bottom of Rhodes Memorial access road.

Here we stopped for our first water break - you may not feel like you need water at this point, but trust me you'll appreciate the hydration before you're half-way up the next 'hill'!!!

So off we went, through the turnstile, as the main gates were closed (no cars and less cyclist-traffic, brilliant! Although we did dodge a few mountain-bikers charging down the hill, and later a few struggling up).

We'd barely started up the hill when we heard a couple of bangs that sounded scarily like gunshots in the not-too-distant distance. A couple of singular pops, one after the other, a short break, then a few more pops - what was going on???? I'll admit that I was a little freaked out here, Dy and I both eye-ing the trees around us in case we had to dive for cover. I kept an eye on the road to make sure the source of the noises didn't appear behind us. Silence. Then suddenly a few more 'pops' but the source of the noise had moved beyond us by this point, probably on the M3, heading towards Town from the sounds of it. *phew* relief!

Route Map

And wow, we're nearly at the bend in the road, which means not that far from the top!!! And we're still running. And sort of talking. The kind of talking where you gasp in a breath of air and puff/speak on the exhale. Then suddenly the gradient lessened and we could see the first little downhill ahead, followed by another gradual uphill, then parking lot, water and awesome view!!!

Once at the top of this daunting climb, you realise that it isn't actually all that bad. It's survivable (and that includes dodging speeding mountain-bikers) And the water at the top is so cold and sweet and refreshing, you almost forget about the long climb just barely behind you.

Heading back down we faced a fairly strong head-wind, but it soon died down when we reached the more sheltered lower-lying roads, running next to the M3, past Newlands Forest/Reservoir and beyond the Newlands Avenue traffic lights. Light traffic let us cross to the other side of the M3 quickly and easily, so that we were ready for some more water when we reached the Shell.

From here we detoured via the Liesbeek River Trail - just a short stetch at this point, coming out close to Protea Road. Up Protea, past our Engen-water-point and over Main. We were passed by 2 guys really motoring towards the cricket grounds - both doing their own thing but running pretty much the same pace. They were flying! We weren't doing too badly ourselves at this point either, and as Dy so rightly pointed out: neither of those guys had Rhodes Memorial in their legs! We were doing extremely well, clocking fairly comfortable 5m45/km pace.

Short-cut through the dead-end road that eventually reaches Campground, up into my neighbourhood (but not quite past my house - I didn't have my house keys on my anyway, so I didn't have to option to run home and catch up on some sleep!) and towards Belmont Road. We raced over the railway bridge and survived a sharp turn into this end of the Liesbeek River Trail - a lovely long stretch that would take us all the way back to Great Westerford. We only had to dodge 1 cyclist today, and he was taking it slow and enjoying the fresh air (we've had some close calls in the past with cyclists speeding along the very narrow trail).

Splits

The last kay or two was hard work, we'd been running hard since we reached the flats and were ready for a break. But so close to the finish we kept pushing, somehow clocking consistant 5m30-5m40 pace, with a few dips into the 5m15 region. Don't ask me how, but we did it!! We didn't even have to stop to dodge the 2 guys pushing their shopping cart along the path - I noticed the guy not pushing was moving alongside the card, and started yelling "excuse me, can we squeeze past please, sorry, excuse me, thank you, thank you" with Dy joining in as we squeezed past the cart, the second guy having heard us and quickly jumped back behind the card to make room for us. I wonder what they must have thought seeing us sprinting down the path, just for fun!

Then suddenly the Main Road subway was looming ahead. Under the road, then push up the very last hill into the Great Westerford parking lot. It took a few seconds for us to catch or breath again, but wow did that feel great! 14.6km of awesome running!!! Now that's how to start your day!!

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

On Thursday I'll be running slow and flat, a bit of a taper for Sunday's long run along on of my favourite route out in Bellville/Parow area. 5:30am, probably 8-10km.

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

Dean Street Hillbillies