This morning, as promised, I spent my Sunday running in and around the Johannesburg Zoo in the Gerald Fox Memorial 1/2 Marathon. Firstly, I must give Mother Nature a big hug for really showing what she's made of today. It was BEAUTIFUL- the sun was shining, the morning weather was warm, the birds were chirping, the sky was blue...I mean, what else could you ask for in a spring day?! If I had to rename the race, I'd call it the Estee Lauder fun run. Spring really showed its best and brightest...every single plant must have been in bloom, because the air smelled so sweet! I overheard several other people comment on how good it smelled outside! Now that I've paid my respect, let's get down to the business of the race: AWESOME!
While waiting around for the race to start, I got into my regular pre-race routine: listening to my bad ass playlist, watching other people warm up...you know the deal. The event was very well attended...the crowd was thick! One guy was dressed in a seemingly cumbersome costume. From behind, he looked like a tick. Just thinking about it made me cringe and reminded me to check Couch Potato #2, who was at home in Lesotho holding down the fort! The front of his costume cleared up the mystery: he was a rhinoceros. There was a shirt complete with a race bib taped on his half tick/half rhinoceros getup. Interesting.
The planned start time for the race was 7:00 am, however, as things sometimes go...the race started at something like 7:05 am. And we were off... Oh my! The first 5km, as usual, were pretty difficult for me. I've found that it takes about 30 minutes for me to get into a race. Until then, I start to regret that I decided to run, and often consider cutting out of the 21.1 km for the 10km...but you know I didn't! These first 5 km, which I completed in 30 min, were particularly difficult for me (did I mention this before?) since I had not run all week due to terrible spring-induced allergies. To combat the thoughts of quitting, I turned up my uber motivational pavement pounding playlist and kept it moving.
The course wove itself through the neighborhood surrounding the zoo. It was a lightly hilly course, but there were a lot of low incline streets mixed in to give runners a break (Thank you Gerald Fox organizers for not being cruel like the Lesotho Tourism Board folks!). At about 6km, two 20-something guys ran up next to me. Using their outside voices (read: loud), all the while huffing and puffing, they looked at the distance marker and said, " Oh good, only 2km left to go! Can you imagine having to run 21 km?" That was particularly irritating, especially for those of us (read: me) who were trying to do a whole lot of positive self talk not to turn off with the 10km runners. I really wanted to say, 'You actually have 4km left to go, and yes, me and everyone else around you can imagine running 21.1 km...because we're doing it...so shut it up!' But the nice Southern lady that my mother raised me to be (said because she's reading this blog) would not allow me to be so rude. I completed 10km in just under 1 hr. On that note, I might actually run a 10km one of these days just to see what my time is, cause I always lose track when I'm running longer distances.
The course was comprised of two loops around the zoo...kind of. The second lap incorporated a few additional twists and turns. Part of me loves lapped courses, because you know what to expect the second go around. The other part of me enjoys a good distraction. I must have been distracted enough, because next think I knew, I was taking a turn into the zoo. On my short tour of the zoo grounds (approximately 1 mile of the course was actually on the compound), I only got to see Zebra and a whole bunch of Homo sapiens. Clearly I must have been in Southern Africa too long, and been on one too many game drives to be able to say, "I only saw Zebra". I love my life, by the way!
When I reached the finish line, I looked down at my watch and got a shock. I shook my head and wiped my eyes to make sure I was seeing clearly. My time for the Gerald Fox Memorial 1/2 Marathon: 2 hr 13 min! I new Personal Record! Woohoo! That's over 15 minutes off of my Lesotho run from last week, and well you get the concept of a personal record...I did it!
Oh man! I feel so good! The angels who were sent to watch over me during the Lesotho race must have known that they needed to give me a little break this time around! Thank you!!!
Well...now that I've told you the story...after having driven 4.5 hr from Joburg immediately after the race...well...after I took a shower and all...I'll leave it at that! Oh, but before I do...what a great way to get pumped up for next weekend's race...in Ethiopia: The Coca Cola Race Series 7km! Woooooooooooohoooooooooooooo! I'm going home! Yessssssssss! Ok...I've gloated enough...I know!
So until next time...put one foot in front of the other...and keep it movin'!
Yours in (feeling great) training,
Dani
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