Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas and other tales.......

Christmas was a quiet affair.  We usually go away at this time, but since we were both feeling a wee bit tired, we stayed home.  

After a morning of phone calls to family and friends, I did my stairs, Stuart went for a run and then I got lunch on.  This year we decided to to stockings only, and I was well pleased with my Bruins t-shirt!





Turning to another topic, I signed up for the Two Oceans Half Marathon in Cape Town on Saturday 23rd April!  The marathon is out of the question, as it is an ultra and I do not have sufficient time to prepare for it.  Also, Cape Town is very hilly, and this takes some strong preparation - who knows, maybe in 2012.....
It was quite an emotional experience when I received my email confirmation that I am runner number 58668!  I am not usually this excited, but I was out of my skin!  I guess doing my first race at home really does have quite a deep effect on one.  My mum, as you can imagine, is thrilled, and has already told all her friends.  They have all said they are coming "to watch me".  Since the race starts at 6am, I told her I will take everyone to brunch afterwards at the Waterfront!    
I have only told two of my friends in Cape Town that I have signed up for this, and I know that are coming along too - I shall inform the others this week!






Anyway, amidst all the excitement I also took a quick look at the route, as I cannot quite remember all of it.  Starting on the Main Road in Newlands, the first 10 kilometres are flattish.  Once you hit the bottom of the Southern Cross Drive, kilometres 11-17 are sharply uphill and you go from an elevation of 100m to just under 200m.  Then kilometres 17-21 are undulating and you finish on the rugby fields of UCT, my alma mater.
                                                                                    






All I can say is that it is hellishly uphill - even though you do have breathtaking views of Cape Town.  There are some parts of the Southern Cross Drive that you can only do in first gear (in a car), so I am looking forward to a jolly time.  Anyway, I am still super excited, and any advice you may have is most welcome.  Since this is my first race in CT, you can imagine I might want to put my best foot forward.......

14 comments:

  1. il natale è decisamente sopravvalutato, se potessi partirei il 20dic per tornare il 10gen... magari per correre una maratona (ma non questa, è troppo faticosa)! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. The route looks marvelous, but the hills! Oh my! You are brave :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Yogi: Si sono pienamente d'accordo! Quello che e' la fine per me e l'ultimo dove bisogna fare qualcosa in tutti i modi. Ormai, sono crescuitella, e non mi fa influenzare da queste cose piu' - ma non dimentico le mutande rosse -eh porta fortuna! Se parti per Citta' del Capo il prossimo Natale, arrivi in mezza estate, e tutti al mare - sopratutto il giorno di Natale.....

    @ Julie: Thanks! I have to say though, your tri looks amazing, and since I am very scared of deep water, I am in awe of your swim! You are totally going to rock it and the tri!

    ReplyDelete
  4. buonissima idea il natale in sudafrica, chissà... e mi porterei anche le mutande rosse per capodanno! :))

    ReplyDelete
  5. How wonderful! I so admire your courage. You're going to run a great race.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad you had a good Christmas! Staying at home sounds perfect to me.

    Two Oceans Half! Exciting! This is really awesome. You'll be great, but the most important is to have fun. I'll be running the Easter 100 in JHB that weekend (100km in three days, 48, 33, 19). One day we'll run a race together for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I freak out every year in my first open water swim or two. I think it's more the wetsuit than the deep water, but I have to say, I can't think about what might be down there in the depths or I FREAK MYSELF OUT!

    I know you'll do great at this race!

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Yogi - Non te ne penterai.......

    @JK: I hope so - I can see stairs climbing is going to on the agenda long after the Empire State Building event!

    @Johann: Yes, it was perfect! I will be emailing you for some advice re the 2 oceans...ek is nou n' bietjie bang as ek dink aan hoe styl al hierdie heuwels is......

    @Julie: I am going to start swimming again this year (took last year off), this MUST be manageable right?!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good luck in your half! Can't wait to read all about your training. I'm doing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington DC at the beginning of April and it will be my longest race thus far :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. How cool is this Natalia! Super!

    We will be doing our half in the same weekend. My first half is on Eastern Monday. Guess we will train "together" to work to race day :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sure you will have a great half marathon - Good luck with the training

    ReplyDelete
  12. Natale a casa non è poi così male anche se qui in tutti i cinema proiettano "Natale in Sud Africa". Certo che te la vai a scegliere dura la gara "in casa"!!!
    La Befana ti riempirà di doni quella calza?
    Buon anno Natalia a te e famiglia.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks guys, and I look forward to following all of you in 2011. Happy New Year and wishing you an injury-free year.

    Stefano, non lo so che mi portera' la Befana, perche' non sono stata molto brava. Vorrei che mi portasse un PB, ma mi sa che dovrei aspettare l'anno prossimo!

    ReplyDelete