Race: Spookhill 15km, Somerset West

27 June 2015 - It is not every race that the last km sneaks up on you. Generally it is the last km that is the longest. That is perhaps what has left an incredibly positive vibe towards this race for me.

The uphills are HACTIC! The first one starts about 4kms into the race and it is relentless! Was super happy to see Graham at the start of the race so we implemented the run/walk strategy up the hills. The last run I did was the UWC 10km at the end of May and only a couple of club runs on a Tuesday evening, so I could feel that my fitness was not what it should be, but surprisingly it went better than I had thought it would (not up the hills though!). There is a very interesting part at the top if the hill an optical illusion, you think you are going uphill but actually it's downhill (or vice versa). What was also fun was the ghosts along the way, people dressed up as 'spooks'and decorated the trees with little ghosts. 

The downhills were wonderful! Lovely recovery time after the hills. There was one hill after the lovely down run, but the run/walk strat worked a bomb. 

At the last watering stop I thought we had another 3 kms to go (had not kept track) and was over the moon when Graham said we had 1km left!

Our time 01:48. Definitely not a record by any means, but still super happy with how it went. At the 5km mark our time was 33 mins. Not bad including a hill and lots if walking by that point. 

Will definitely be back. 

Race: UWC fast & flat 10km, Parow

30 May 2015 - What a WET race! Must say it was gorgeous running in the rain. 

It is known for being a fast & flat run. Must be honest that did initially put me off as I am not a fan of flats and only decided on Thursday that I would participate. 

Earlier in the week someone asked me whether I was addicted to the endorphins. Probably. But I think I am more addicted to reaching a goal and ticking it off a list (followed by an air punch). My goal this year, which I decided needed to happen this month, is to run 10kms in one hour. Was really disappointed for missing it last Saturday at the Voet of the Wine. 

At the 5km mark today I was at 30 mins on the dot, last week I was at 35 mins, so I knew there was an improvement. 

It's not the most scenic route, but you really couldn't see much with all the rain anyway. There was a part that reminded me of one of my morning runs in Chicago last year near the hospital area. 

I pushed myself to run faster. Super happy with my time of 01:00:45. 

Will probably do it again next year to try and beat my time. 7/10