Last week’s hill training showed me that my hills aren’t big enough, hard enough or painful enough. Finishing the tenth repeat at seven incline (after doing the other 9 at five) sadly demonstrated I was slacking. So its outside for you Carpenter.

Cape Town is a city of hills, and there are plenty to choose from, but if you really want to be sadistic you’ll pick Bellevue Road. This teeny cut through from Gardens is the highest junction opening out on Kloof Nek Road. Its so $£@*! steep I can only drive up it in second gear, and everyone drives down it with their foot on the brake. Yes, you’ve guessed it, this is my new hill repeat venue.

So there I am at 6am wondering whether I should venture out in the dark (I’m looking for a decent excuse to go the gym and not Bellevue Road) when I tell myself I only have to do it the one time, and back to the gym next week.

So I get outside and I feel good, I feel good all the way past De Waal Park and I feel good when I reach my nemesis. ‘Hurumph’ I think, this is unusual. I begin at the top stop street and run to the steps. Not bad, down I go (I need steep down runs to strengthen the legs). Up, down, up, down, up, down etc. I cannot believe this, I actually enjoyed it, and I didn’t even walk.

Running notes
Route: My flat to Bellevue road, a ton of hill repeats and then home via Buitengracht
Height climbed: A lot
Time started: 06:11
Total time: 1:10 ish
Total distance: Don’t know because my nike+ ipod is rubbish
Temperature: 20˚ and a stiff southeaster
Runner’s condition: Good
Song of the run: Eye of the Tiger (If I had it!)

That is the second furthest I have ever been. Nice little jog around the Peninsula until I left a blob of my DNA on the road to Noordhoek when I stacked it again (hell, it wouldn’t be a long run if I managed to stay vertical the whole way would it?). I lost the good runners on Chapman’s Peak (no surprise there). Ended up in the sea at Hout Bay after debating with Wiebs whether it was safe from parasites and god knows what else. We jumped in anyway and kept our mouths shut.

Running notes
Route: Start at the Chapman’s Peak Hotel, over Constantia Nek, through Constantia over the M3 and meet Main Road. Turn right through Lakeside and on via Muizenburg, Kalk Bay and Fishoek. Turn right at the circle and on to Noordhoek, over Chapman’s Peak Drive and back to the Hotel
Height climbed: ?
Time started: 06.30
Total time: 5:00 (about 20 minutes for stops)
Total distance: 46.5km
Weather conditions: Southeaster straight in the face from Main Road to Fishoek
Temperature: 27˚
Runner’s condition: Bitching

Got up too late again, burnt my shoulders, burnt my nose, burnt that patch of skin where my hair is parted, great racer-back tan line, but that lie in sure was nice.

Running notes
Route: My flat to Kloof Nek, Signal Hill and back to Kloof Nek, up to the cable station, back to the flat
Height climbed: 350m
Time started: 09:12
Total time: 1:54:22
Total distance: 19.24km
Average pace: 5:56 min/km
Temperature: 28˚
Runner’s condition: Fine

I had a great view of their backs up Chapman’s Peak this morning. Nothing like being the last man on a mega hill. Sue, Caroline and Robert are all seriously experienced hill/trail runners so I did have to suck it up and try to keep the distance between them and me as small as possible. At one point Robert was a small pin prick in front of me on the hairpin bends, so the gap was a bit on the large side. Still I’m pretty good on the downhills and beat them all back to the Chapman’s Peak Hotel. Nothing like a bit of competition eh?

Running notes
Route: Chapman’s Peak Hotel via Chapman’s Peak Drive to Noordhoek, loop in Noordhoek and back
Height climbed: 400m
Time started: 06:03
Total time: 2:50 with about 20 mins break for drinks etc
Total distance: 29.7km
Temperature: 24˚
Runner’s condition: Fine despite having to get up at 4:45am

I tried to take a half day in lieu of the Joburg trip which involved sleep deprivation, and an average working day of 17 hours on Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday (welcome to the world of the creative pitch). When I made the fatal mistake of just ‘quickly’ checking my emails on the way out for my 8km time trial and 40 minute jog. Well, after three crisis telephone calls, and much stroking of design feathers I got out at 11.30am, and went to the reservoir to run laps which was my intention two hours earlier. Oh hell it was hot (had I left my brain in Joburg as well?) I had to get back in the car after two laps of said reservoir because I couldn’t see through the sweat which was stinging my poor dehydrated eyes and drive to the gym. Nightmare. This welcome but irritating break clearly skewed my results (which I am still pretending I could have done by myself) and by the time I finished I was in such a huff I didn’t even bother with the other 40 minutes.

Running notes
Route: Reservoir and gym
Height climbed: Flat
Time started: 05:05
Total distance: 8km
8km time trial: 39: 58
8km average pace: 4:59 min/km
Temperature: 32˚ (probably less, but it certainly felt like it)
Runner’s condition: Dessicated from evil Joburg flights
Song of the run: You’re S*@” and You Know You Are. Okay I don’t have this football chant on my ipod, but it would have been fitting.

This morning I woke up at 1753m above sea level. Yes, I’m in Joburg this week lucky me. In fact I consider myself even luckier that I had the chance to run through Fourways for an hour and a half at 6.30am dodging the worst rush hour traffic in the world. Those ‘poor’ peeps in their Lexus Hybrids certainly weren’t going anywhere fast on William Nichol this morning.

I was surprised (between gasps for breath, and the onset of altitude sickness) to see a bit of wildlife in this city of 10 million souls. Wafting above the sprinklers and perfectly manicured lawns which are concealed behind concrete walls and electrified fences (strong enough to keep an elephant out and the rich egos in) was a clutch of weaver bird nests. I love weaver birds.

Running notes
Route: Fourways – have no idea where I started or where I went
Height climbed: 30m
Time started: 06:23
Total time: 1:30:27
Total distance: 15km ish (Nike+ had no juice)
Average pace: 6:00 min/km ish
Weather conditions: Warm and humid
Temperature: 25˚
Runner’s condition: Suffocating