Run

Hmm. Yes. In one of the worst kept secrets ever, it seems that I have inadvertently signed up for the Two Oceans Half Marathon this weekend. By that, I don’t mean that I signed up this weekend. No, I signed up ages ago, when this weekend didn’t actually exist and I thought that there were seventy-four different ways in which I could weasel out of actually running 21.1km (13.1miles) up, down, up, down and up the hills of Cape Town.

It seems now that that belief was somewhat misplaced.

That first lump is Edinburgh Drive, which I’ve been training up and down for the past couple of months. The second bigger lump is Southern Cross Drive, which I once drove up. So what could possibly go wrong?

I’m still not 100% sure why I entered. Part of me thinks that it may be due to my subconscious, which, subconsciously approaching a milestone birthday, thought that it was either now or never, in which case, I’m confused as to why it didn’t just take the never option.
Again, maybe having just come out of hospital, I needed to prove something to myself or someone else.
It could just be that I was drunk. After all, I don’t actual recall signing up – only getting the confirmatory email.

Yes. That was probably it.

Any road, I’ve been running around the Southern Suburbs a bit over the last few weeks and that’s pretty much what I will be doing on Saturday morning as well. In the dark, in the cold and in the rain. I can’t imagine that it will be much fun.

I really don’t understand the whole running thing. When I switch on my endomondo, it counts me down and then tells me

Release Your Endorphines!

where

Go.

would surely suffice. Yes, it’s got me fitter, but I don’t “enjoy” it. I don’t sit at work looking forward to my evening run. And if there are endorphins being produced then it would seem that they are being slaughtered by my internal and illiterate Japanese fishermen just as fast as I’m churning them out.

I’m built (and always have been) for shorter, faster runs. I’m a sprinter, not a runner. I’m a lover, not a fighter. So Saturday will not only be my longest run ever, but it will also be my longest ever run. Yes, I’ll probably still stick in a few five and ten km runs each month from now on, but it’ll be out of necessity to keep fit, not with any goal in mind. For me, running is like gym in that respect. (That gym post remains a great read, by the way).

My first aim was to finish on Saturday. Training has shown me that I can actually “aim” for “a time”, so I will now be “aiming” for “a time”. I’ll probably let you know how I get on sometime over the weekend.