Bellies full from the previous day's carb-loading with 10 other compadres, Maegan and I jumped up and down to stay warm as we waited for the starting cannon. I never thought I would sing the South African national anthem with quite so much vigor just before 6am, in the dark, in the middle of Main Road with 14,000 other people...but I did. And I loved every minute of it :)
The boom from the starting cannon shook the stage and we set off on our journey around the beautiful place that I have come to know as Cape Town. Then first 45 minutes of the race took place before the sun woke up, but even still, there were supporters all along the route clapping, cheering, and blowing air horns to lift our spirits. The first 2 kilometers were pretty rough, but after the 2.5 mark, I was good to go.
Maybe this is a good time to stop and let you know that I have never run more than 10 kilometers at a time in my entire life. Most of those 10Ks happened to be on flat ground so attempting this hilly half marathon was certainly something a bit more difficult than previous done. But as any runner will tell you, there's something about the vibe, the spirit of the runners alongside you, the epic beauty of Cape Town that keeps you pushing forward.
At 11K there's something that Cape Townians like to call, Southern Cross hill. If there was ever an epic hill, this is it. 1.7 kilometers of straight uphill at the halfway point in the race took more than physical stamina to overcome. As I tried to run "into and not up the hill" (thanks for that advice, Josh), all kinds of runners were encouraging and pushing each other up to make it to the top. After reaching the summit, the runners high kicked in and I felt like I could do anything.
The rest of the race was a windy route through the 'redwood' forest of upper Cape Town. Watching the sunlight rise on Table Mountain, changing from orange and pink to soft yellow and ultimately brilliant sunshine kept my mind off the fact that my feet were throbbing and knees were aching. They weren't lying when they touted this race the most beautiful marathon. IT WAS GORGEOUS!!!
As I rounded the last corner, the entire cityscape came in view and hundreds of people had come out to cheer on the last few kilometers. Turning down the last stretch, I saw 8 of my good friends chanting my name which gave me the much needed push to finish strong. I have to admit, I did get a bit emotional after crossing the finish line and I was congratulating my fellow runners left and right with, "We did it!!! We did it!!!"
It's still hard to believe that I ran 21 kilometers last weekend...and that it was all over before 9 in the morning at that! I had an amazing group of friends supporting at key points along the route and great girls to train and run with. I can now cross this one off the bucket list, but I think I'll just have to sign up for the next one in Kysna in July.... :)
Note: Fret not, I'll have pictures up as soon as I get them.
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