Well my first big run since my calf accident also has the distinction of being the last big run before I head out to Nepal next week.
Three Peaks is really not for everyone.
As I started out at 5:00 on Saturday morning, we had to weave in and out of the 24 hours party people congregating in Long Street, watching all these funny people in lycra and backpacks heading up towards to mountain.
From the start, I found that my heart rate was way too high for the pace I was running at, and I started struggling to breathe.
Heading up Devil's Peak was quite a slog, and I started feeling headachey and short of breath. It's funny how your mind takes over and can become a huge asset or more of a liability than actually just not being fit because immediately I started thinking about bailing on the race. Touched to top of the beacon and on the descent I found myself alone on the trails. Its a very unique race in some respects because of the limited number of entries, you can run large sections of the race without seeing another runner for a long time.
I made up my mind to do the second peak, so that come what may I would have at least gotten a good training run under the belt. I must admit that I think felt worse trekking up through Deer Park than I did going up Platteklip.
The weather across the table top was quite eerie, very misty and very cold, and thankfully I started seeing other runners start appearing out of the mist on the way back from Maclear's Beacon.
A strange thing started happening on my way back to Platteklip, I felt my energy levels start to pick up and descending the gorge, I started feeling a little bit like my old self, and I started passing people for the first time that day.
I took the path down passed the wash houses and by the time I hit Orange Street, I somehow started feeling back in the driver's seat and made the decision to see this one through. The slog up through town to the German school is never pleasant but I ran street lamp to street lamp and hit Tafelberg Road sooner than expected.
I decided to take the steeper, shorter route up Lion's Head and then scramble up the chain section to the peak rather than running around and doing the stairs.
Touching THAT beacon was AWESOME. I started cramping a little in my quads on the way down, but on the slightly flatter gradients, I found some better running legs and managed to put my third Three Peaks to bed. Suffice to say that i fell asleep very very early on Saturday night. But happy.
