I arranged to collect the Handsome Masha at 5 since it was a good hour's drive to Wellington, where the race was being held. I got lost trying to find his house in Plumstead - the street names are small and illegible, and I didn't have my glasses on. Finally found it a little after five, which meant that by the time he got into the car I had heard the 5 a.m. news bulletin - Osama bin Laden had been killed by US forces. I guess it is one of those things one will always remember - I remember exactly where I was (driving back from Worcester on the N1 near Bellville) when I first heard news of the 9/11 terrorism. The Masha hadn't heard so we discussed the implications for a while as we headed north and then north east to Wellington. He has Islamic routes but is not a practicing Muslim and his views are normally a good mix of politics, philosophy and religion, which I find useful.We decided that OBL's death was probably not great news, given the likely reprisals on countless innocent people, not to mention travel delays to people such as us!
For once I took the right turnoff from the N1 (the R44) and before we knew it we were there. Well, in Wellington anyway. The trick is then to find parking which is reasonably close to the stadium. We finally opted for a recreation park. I was worreid about getting out so tried to squeeze the car (which isn't very large) into a space up on the perimeter, an action which elicited a rather loud (as in meant to be heard) and sarky comment from the fellow standing next to the car alongside of "Moenie worry as hy jou motor scrape nie - dis niksnie!" (Don't worry if he scrapes your car - it's nothing). I got the hint and moved along about ten spaces, till I found another (better) spot next to a park bench also on the perimeter. We arranged to meet at the bench after the race.
Then it was a careful application of "glide" to the inner thighs, get the chest strap, earphones, Blackberry and pouch sorted out, check and double check that the car was locked and head for the start, along with a gazillion others. We passed a number of portable toilets, each with an accompanying long queue. By the time we got to the start, I needed a loo myself, having had a cup of coffee en route. There appeared to be about 10 cubicles and around 30 people in the queue. This can't take too long, I thought. Well it did! The queue crawled along. I had lots of time to spare but it really was tedious. We had finally made it to just about the front when a friend of the bloke in front of me in the queue approached and informed us that this queue was for the ladies' toilet - the men's was "over there" and there was no queue since it was a "standing arrangement". Which it was - very quick, in and out. There are definitely some advantages to being male, even if one cannot multitask.
The race was ... well it was a pretty normal half marathon - usual frustrations, usual challenges. I was doing pretty well until around 13km despite some ups and down, with laps all under 6.30, many under 6 minutes (which is good for me). One then climbs about 100m in the space of around 4km, and my lap times went south - all over 6.30, some over 7, one over 8. One then drops those same 100m altitude in the final 4km, but by that stage I felt so stuffed that the best I could do was keep up a 6.30 so eventually clocked in at 2:18, just slower than my 2 Oceans (despite the quicker start). So not a great race - just ran out of energy.
On the other hand the race had many positives. I really enjoyed listening to Eagles, Elton John and Mannfred Mann while I ran. Not sure if it slowed me down or sped me up but it made it more enjoyable. I enjoyed the countryside, which really is lovely, with the farms around you the and mountains above and in the distance, the smells of woodfires, but also of cattle manure and once or twice things cooking. The little kids at the side of the road shouting "Hou bene hou! Hou bene hou!" which I guess is best translated as "Keep going legs, keep going". A female prison warder as we passed the Wellington prison, who spotted a colleague (I presumed) running, let out a loud shriek and careered after him, caught him up and fondly slapped him across the back of the head - he didn't seem to mind. She was rather large and very loud. And herself phoning me at around the 13km mark to ask if I was OK - that was a first. In-between puffs and gasps I managed to get out that I was.
The finish line eventually appeared and I gratefully accepted my medal and Pepsi and phoned herself to let her know that I was still alive and that she should hold off with the funeral arrangements. I made the mistake of sitting down on the grass to recover and very nearly couldn't get up again. I watched the runners and walkers coming in - some looked happy, some looked in pain, some just looked blank - I expect I looked like that. I didn't spot the Masha so made my way back to the car and had just got comfortable on the bench (Masha had the keys) when I heard a familiar voice say rather loudly "Now who's f**king crazy idea was it to run this race? Must have been yours!" - the Handsome Masha had returned.
We compared times, commiserated with each other about the toughness of the event and decided to head home. I somehow managed to fold my rigor mortis like legs into the car and we set off. It was not a comfortable journey but we made it home OK, just in time to go out again for herself's birthday lunch. Fortaunetly, P:rincess Firstborn now has a drivers licence, so I handed her the keys, got into the back with herself and pretended to be Prince William - ride on, James!
I think next year I may skip the Safari. Nice race but just wasn't ready for it.
| Title | Safari |
|---|---|
| Sport | Running |
| Start Time | May 2, 2011 7:13 AM |
| Distance | 21.23 km |
| Duration | 2h:18m:23s |
| Avg Speed | 6:31 min/km |
| Max Speed | 4:36 min/km |
| Calories | 1797 kcal |
| Altitude | 147 m / 256 m |
| Elevation | 121 m ↑ / 121 m ↓ |
| Heart Rate | - / - |
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