Was great to be able to go out late on a Friday. Not many people about at 8:30am, was great.

Running notes:
My house – Kloof Nek – My house
Distance: 8km

Got there later than usual, finished later than usual and was a bit late to work. Public holiday tomorrow though!!

Running Notes:
Route: Bottom of Bellevue Street – 5 x 600m hill repeats 
Distance: 6km

Was raining when I went out, raining whilst I ran and raining when I got back. No wind which was fortunate.

Running notes:
Route: My house – Kloof Nek – 2 laps of the reservoir – My house
Distance: 10km

Same training, different day.

Training notes:
360 Training

Collected some germs from a diseased colleague at work last week. Had a bit of croak yesterday but today incorporated full on sneezing, sniffing and a cough. Shouldn’t have run, but I’d miss out on the mileage this week, so I walked the hills.

Running Notes:
Route: Cable station – End of Tafelberg Road – Cable Station
Distance: 10km

Last week my sister sent me this – perfect for today’s entry:
Today’s motto: Even if you fall on your face you’re still moving forward

I fell on my face this morning in spectacular fashion – two cars even stopped to check I was alright. I usually fall maybe once a year in training when I get tired, but today’s was probably the best one yet. I don’t even know what I tripped on but I was running fast downhill on Camps Bay Drive and the momentum combined with my lack of concentration due to a hangover and not much sleep meant I left quite a bit of flesh on the footpath and gained quite a bit of grit in my arm. By the time I’d rolled over and checked my legs (an injury now could literally put me out of the race) and then my nail polish (manicure yesterday) blood was running down my arm. I even entertained the thought of turning back for about  half a second until I realised I’d already run 6km so I might as well finish the 21km I’d set out to do. And now I’ve got the biggest dressing to show everyone tomorrow at work!

Running notes:
Route: My house – Kloof Nek – Camps Bay Drive to 7/11 – Kloof Nek – Signal Hill – Kloof Nek – My house
Distance: 21km

Didn’t run yesterday as I was on a low mileage week. I also tweaked my knee at work just getting up from my desk and I can still feel it. Not happy about that, and I’m trying hard not to let it freak me out. Wanted to do Centurians this morning as I’ve not done it since before Christmas and it is a tough 20km run up from UCT, through Cecelia Forest and back to UCT via the Two Oceans route (always good practice to run the M3 section). Weather was gorgeous, knee held together.

Running Notes
UCT – M3 – Kirstenbosch Top Gate – Cecelia Forest – Constantia Nek – Cecelia Forest – Kirstnebosch Gardens – Rhodes Drive – M3 – UCT
Distance: 20km

Not much to add under this one apart from I pushed the last one hard and had to sit down at the top to catch my breath. Getting much cooler in the mornings now.

Running Notes:
Route: Bottom of Bellevue Street – 5 x 600m hill repeats 
Distance: 6km

Really pleased. It’s a rare thing for me to go sub 23 minutes for 5km (only managed it once last year) and to improve my PB even by a fraction is fantastic considering it has stood since 2008. Now I need to smash it again before June 1…

Running notes:
Route: Wakame – turn around point – Wakame
Distance: 5km plus a 1km warm up
Time: 22:47

Much the same as last week. Felt a bit ill afterwards.

Training notes:
360 Training

Nice run this evening on Tafelberg Road. Lovely clear evening and the weather was perfect.

Running Notes:
Route: Kloof Nek – Cable station – End of Tafelberg Road – Cable Station – Kloof Nek
Distance: 12km

Had a bit of a lie in this morning and only got back after lunch 🙂

Running notes:
Route: My house – Kloof Nek – Signal Hill – Kloof Nek – My house
Distance: 15km

I’ve come to realise that 50% of the training is psychological. I didn’t need to do 10km this morning, could have stayed in bed an extra hour and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Getting up in the dark when you can’t face another run, day after day is half the work. Teaching the mind to cope with exhaustion and not stopping is what gets you the medal, because when everything goes to hell at 7okm, that tough little voice you’ve been training is the only thing that will hold you together.

Running notes:
My house – Kloof Nek – 1km over the top – Kloof Nek – My house
Distance: 10km

Ouch. Getting up this morning at 4:45am was not fun as I’d only got home from work at 11pm. Shuffled my way round 13km this morning mostly in the dark. Bleurgh.

Running notes:
Route: My house – Kloof Nek – Camps Bay Drive (Fiskaal Road) –Kloof Nek – My house
Distance: 13km

I could see them sweating gently in the mirror at 360. Nope, not my biceps, but my knees. If my knees were sweating then you can only imagine what was happening to the rest of me. Bit of a toughie today.

Notes:
360 Training