RAC City Lodge Tough One 32km
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Imagine this ...
I am part of this crew, this crew that lives for riding roller coasters. We love it so much we are at a theme park every Saturday morning and 2 days every week. Just practicing our roller coaster riding skills. Some are less scared than others, some have been on all the rides, while some repeat the same rides.
So I feel the heat and decide to step things up a bit and try something new. Have you seen a scared girl in a rollercoaster line crying but her friends are having none of it, telling her she's getting on the ride. That was me on Sunday!.
For the whole of last week I was that girl in the line. I was a nervous wreck, I didn't know how Sunday would pan out. All i knew was that I had to finish that race.
The week passed, Saturday came and went. I couldn't even sleep that night I think all I had was 2 hours of sleep and it was a very light sleep. I will not write about the drive and the nerves before the race, all I will say is that it was very cold in the morning. I thought it was winter again and I was wearing short shorts.
When the start gun went off I was prepared for hills and hills and hills. The first 2 km's of the race there are steep hills and by this point it is so congested you can not stop and walk you must keep pushing. I felt strong during this part of the race I was just thinking about the 30 or so kilometres I still had to run. I also bumped into Boxer and Ashraf. For a while in my head I thought I could keep up with them.
Before the Brightwater Commons, this was where the first big hill was and I ran the shit out of that hill. I apologize for the profanity but you must know that I ran that hill if it was the last hill that I ran in my life. With every climb there is a fall right?
With every uphill there is a downhill, downhills are not my friend. They hurt every part of my body. For the first 15 kilometres it was a game of climbing hills and controlling my body on the downhill, but also increasing my pace so that I can make up for the time lost on the uphills. I started with my cousin but I lost him twice along the way. So I was alone most of the race, so I really had to have deep conversations with myself. I had to say "Atli, suck it up, you can do this".
What I did not know was that the Real Race is the second part of the race. This is where all the hills show themselves. I climbed and ran as much as I could up until the 22km mark. At this point I was tired but not tired. I was critical but stable!
All of a sudden I was on a bus. I have no idea where I climbed this bus but I was on it and I singing "easy, easy wena". I absolutely love being on a bus I enjoyed it so much. I took off my earphones and switched off my phone. The spirit of the people gets me going I fell off the bus though towards the end I was too tired. At 31 km's my crew mates called out my name telling me to wait for them. We finished together and throughout the race I was wondering where they were and they found me :).
Would I do it again? YES, Definately. I sit here typing this out knowing that I finished a hilly 32km/20 mile race.
#RunRevolution
When the start gun went off I was prepared for hills and hills and hills. The first 2 km's of the race there are steep hills and by this point it is so congested you can not stop and walk you must keep pushing. I felt strong during this part of the race I was just thinking about the 30 or so kilometres I still had to run. I also bumped into Boxer and Ashraf. For a while in my head I thought I could keep up with them.
Before the Brightwater Commons, this was where the first big hill was and I ran the shit out of that hill. I apologize for the profanity but you must know that I ran that hill if it was the last hill that I ran in my life. With every climb there is a fall right?
With every uphill there is a downhill, downhills are not my friend. They hurt every part of my body. For the first 15 kilometres it was a game of climbing hills and controlling my body on the downhill, but also increasing my pace so that I can make up for the time lost on the uphills. I started with my cousin but I lost him twice along the way. So I was alone most of the race, so I really had to have deep conversations with myself. I had to say "Atli, suck it up, you can do this".
What I did not know was that the Real Race is the second part of the race. This is where all the hills show themselves. I climbed and ran as much as I could up until the 22km mark. At this point I was tired but not tired. I was critical but stable!
All of a sudden I was on a bus. I have no idea where I climbed this bus but I was on it and I singing "easy, easy wena". I absolutely love being on a bus I enjoyed it so much. I took off my earphones and switched off my phone. The spirit of the people gets me going I fell off the bus though towards the end I was too tired. At 31 km's my crew mates called out my name telling me to wait for them. We finished together and throughout the race I was wondering where they were and they found me :).
Would I do it again? YES, Definately. I sit here typing this out knowing that I finished a hilly 32km/20 mile race.
#RunRevolution
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