2 Oceans and Cape Town Easter

What a busy trip!
My fiance Claire finished 2 Oceans in 5:55 in her 1st Ultra- a well earned bronze medal:)

Claire in Hout Bay looking strong

Justin Hand did a 4:20 in his Rockports!!! Madness. Apparently he does have a few blisters. 
It was great to see a South African finally win again. Well done George Ntshiliza. Hopefully you have enough prize money to pay lobola! 
I did 1:30 for the 21, and then ran the last 17Km with Claire (and they wouldn't let me enter the 56km cos I couldn't qualify, so much for not being fit enough... thanks organisers. I am fit!)
We climbed the mountain, in not great weather, spent the night up there, then hiked all around the top and down in glorious weather the next day.

Dave, Claire and me with camera in the secret valley on top of Table Mountain

Then just for good measure, Claire, Dave, Annabelle (Claire's brother and his wife) and I rode the 2 Oceans route in reverse on wednesday.


Dave, Claire and Annabelle at the top of Chapman's Peak Drive

A lot to fit in on my 1st proper Cape Town holiday trip, and a lot more interseting than boring Comrades training that had to be squeezed in between all the other action.

Only a few more weeks of Comrades prep as raceday approaches.  I will have to get out in my new shoes to wear them in!

Cape Town Ahoy! 2 Oceans time

Well for a change I'm off on holiday for a break over Easter.  My fiance and I are heading down to Cape Town where she is taking on her 1st ultra marathon in the form of this years 2 Oceans.

Our training mates Justin Hand, Gary Babich and John Renwick are running the full 56km in Rockport smart shoes! Apparently they are comfy enough and the boys have got a free trip to the race out of it.  So if they've got to go to a wedding in the afternoon, no need to change shoes!

I'll be doing the 21,1km race because I couldn't squeeze a qualifier in with the canoeing calender.  While we are there, we hope to do a hike up the mountain and sleep in the hut up there- a nice change to the training routine.  Praying for some decent weather.
Happy Easter! He died for YOU.

I'll be back in Durbs and at work on the 28th April

Comrades Gold... possibly? Ironman Hawaii... definately

Prodigal Kumalo is looking good for Gold!  He won the Chatsworth Freedom 52Km Ultra in a time of 3.06 over the weekend and is looking fitter and faster than ever.  In 2009 he led Comrades to the 28km mark. In 2010 he finished 11th after coming through 26Km to go in Kloof in 21st.

I'm really hoping he's able to use his experience gained over the last few years, as well as advice from people like Justin Hand, to make a bid for a Gold this year.  Prodigal himself is hopeful for a top 5!

I'll be behind you all the way at Comrades PK! (probably about 4 hours behind...)

Speaking of Justin Hand, he had an awesome Ironman finishing in 9.46 and running a 3.28 marathon after a 5.09 for 180km bike.  He finished 2nd in his age group and has qualified for Ironman Hawaii.  Justin also trained a squad of about 15 athletes for Ironman with a 100% finish for the squad.  Well done to all of the guys and girls who train with us at the track on tuesdays. We are in awe.

If you need shoes, Prodigal is at the Durban Runner in Glenwood, or Justin at the Durban North Runner on Kensington Dr.  Trust me they both know their stuff.

4:30am mornings

With my paddles and MTB collecting dust, I've been out pounding tarmac and spending most mornings up very early and see the sun rise over the Indian Ocean at least 3 times a week.

View from Fields hill on Sunday morning during a training run

Preparing for Comrades is something definately not to be taken lightly (learnt that lesson the hard way in 2009 when injury limited mileage) and with 7 weeks to go its crunch time. I have got one marathon length run in my legs succesfully, and will be doing a 50Km plus run this week to test whether I've got the up run in me this year.
In the practice I have the usual pre-Comrades aches and pains to deal with and am trying my best to help them back on the road.  One thing that is very obvious is how weak gluteal stabilisers contribute to so many running injuries.  In fact, I think I'm going to write an article for the Regents website about it as soon as I get a chance. Will put up a post about it when I do.
Well done to all those who finished Ironman 2010 down in PE over the weekend.  That medal must mean one heck of a lot. Justin Hand, of the Durban North Runner, did 9h46 and ran a 3.28 marathon after a 180Km bike.  Nice effort!  Finishing 2nd in his age group, that means Justin has qualified himself a slot for Ironman Hawaii. The opportunity of a lifetime