In my book, a new year should mean new things. I woke up slightly less hungover than last year (see post) and cracked open a pure white pair of Nike socks which contrasted nicely with last night’s filth still clinging to the soles of my feet (couldn’t get a taxi from the Waterfront so I walked home in flip flops). Sadly I didn’t have new shoes to run in. Well I do, but I’m hoarding those for THE RACE. I’ve currently got 4 pairs on the go. No.1: The new, pristine and untouched ones for THE RACE. No. 2 The ones I ran THE RACE in last year. No.3 My normal shoes (that used to be race shoes) which I wear on your common-or-garden training runs and No.4 the ones for the gym which also sport fetching holes. These, as you can see, are ordered precisely by the amount of action they’ve seen. Today I’ve selected pair No.2 which have 200km in them and are considerably more bouncy (they even squeak on my bedroom laminate!) than pair No.3 which are pretty much dead.

The weather also played nicely as it was raining when I opened a gummy eye to look out of the window, and by the time I’d got my kit on a good deal later it was cloudy. So being a creature of habit, off we go up Signal Hill, and this year I even manage it from the flat. In fact I tore up Kloof Nek to a (potential) best of 26:41. I would like to think that it was my (semi) new shoes that bounced me up the hill, but its more likely last night’s booze that dulled the pain of screaming lungs.

Running notes
Route: My flat to the end of Signal Hill and back
Height climbed: 240m
Time started: 12:30
Total time: 1:40
Total distance: 15km
Weather conditions: Cloud and some sun
Temperature: 24˚
Runner’s condition: Hungover (though not completely incapacitated)