The sun was trying to get through the clouds.
I arrived early and registration was a breeze. It was a bonus to have the race close to home as traveling time was only 10 – 15 minutes. Most runners sat in their cars waiting for the start. The wind was just too cold to stand around outside. The race started at 6:30 and I waited in my car until 6:24 before making my way to the start.
Waiting for the start.
There was a medium size field and I’m sure the cold wind and clouds had a number of runners stay at home/in bed rather than venturing out for a 15km run. The start was uneventful as was the rest of the race. I wanted to run comfortably the whole race and that’s exactly what I did.
Not long after the start.
The venue is close to my parents’ house and I was happy when the route went in the direction of some very familiar roads. Soon after the start we ran on some parts of the road I used to cycle to university in the eighties. This was a pleasant trip down memory lane!
I cycled this road to university in the eighties.
The memory trip didn’t end here as we made our way through the suburbs towards a more industrial area. Here we joined some of my old running routes. From 7km to 12.5km we ran on the route I used when I trained for my first race in 1981. I ran thousands of kilometers on these roads through the nineteen eighties. This was fun!
On my old running routes.
Long gradual hill. I've run up here countless times.
Once we reached the top of the hill in the photo above, the rest of the race was flat and down for a very comfortable finish. I was feeling really good. The rest and low mileage after my gallbladder infection was certainly good for my legs. I had to force myself to just relax and not push too hard during the last few kilometers.
Flat...
A nice medal for a nice race. The race organization was superb and I had a very pleasant run down memory lane.
29 comments:
Looks like a great time - memory lane is always a great place to visit. Glad your recovery is going well and you will be building up for your goal race soon. Have a great week!
Nice job on the 15K Johann! God bless the 1980's:) I bet it was fun to run by some of your old routes! It looks like a beautiful day for a race! Yay, for feeling back to 100%....you will be ready for that November marathon!
We purchased a new computer yesterday and it is finally up and running...total shocker!! You are my first blog that gets a comment:) I am off to work! Have a great week!
Nice job...great to hear you are recooping so well!
Finishing strong is the BEST feeling ever. Congrats.
Nice run, ones like that are great for the confidence!! Happy to read that you are feeling much better and ready for the marathon in November.
So much fun to get to run in familiar territory. And it looked like a nice course--going up and then finishing down, what more could you ask for? Good job!
How cool you ran on the training route for your first race - 19 years, wow!
There's nothing like running on familiar routes, I love visiting the places where I've run before. So comforting!
Great job finishing your race feeling strong and not tired, way to go!
Memory lane runs are so awesome - I'm sure you were flooded with tons of fun memories! Great medal :).
Its always nice to run on some familiar ground. great run and bring on the marathon :)
pretty nice medal to add to the collection!
Awesome race, and nice to go back to some old places. You can also count on a mall called "The Southgate Mall" to be in practically every city in the world...
A trip down memeory lane is a great way to get back into the race game.
I love races in familar/special places.
I bet you had another 35-45 miles in you still. ;)
great to hear you're all better, memory lane runs are the best!
i reckon you were just getting into your stride when you hit the finish line johann!
looks like a great run. what i'd do to be back in SA...
I love running on familiar streets, what a wonderful race day for you! Congrats!!
how cool is that?! a run down memory lane =)
It sounds like a good race in many ways. I like the medal. I always enjoy your pictures of races.
15K is a perfect distance race! Nice confidence builder for the Nov Marathon...
-Derek
Where's the rocks and bushes and wild animals? It's so 'suburban' and not what I'm used to from your blog. (not that there's anything wrong with suburban cause that's where I do my running/racing) I was just talking about you at running this morning to Andrew my friend who's signed up for Comrades next year. Have you done it before and if so have you got any words of wisdom?
Cool stuff! I always marvel at the amount of pictures you take during your races. Maybe I should do a helmet cam at my next tri....hhhmmmm....
Yay! I'm so glad that you back 100%. How cool that you ran old routes and past old haunts :)
Great pics as usual!
I love small races and it's even more awesome when they support a good cause.
It's good to see you back out there racing, I was so worried about you.
I'm so glad the race course held so much sentimental value for you.
Glad to hear that you raced so well - nothing like a good experience to build confidence.
I had a down memory lane run earlier in the year, the Callies Legends in Germiston. Great to reflect on how far we've come.
Very cool! Great RR. Thanks for sharing with us!
What a great way to spend a race...traveling through your memories! Nice job!
Glad you're a 100% again.
Looks like you didn't see the girl racing in sandals, eh? Make sure you take a pic of her every time you see her :-)
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