The Two Oceans weekend started off with no sleep. Not even an hour. You see, it was the eve of the Easter long weekend, and my preparation for the 4am bus departure was somewhat interrupted by a horde of Crackling consuming naartjie war participants – commonly referred to as Rhodents. When they finally gallivanted out the door to the Rat, I could begin. I hauled out the second largest suitcase I own. The rule is: I will bring along as much as I can carry. And this immaculate 21st birthday present had wheels. (Good thinking, Mom!) My peaceful and lengthy shower ritual was later interrupted by two Rhodents who had abandoned ship and turned to me for a sober drive home. I am by no means complaining because the ride home in my Toaster was filled with hilarious conversation and silly drunken accidents. By 2am there was no point in going to bed. Needless to say, I missed the whole Garden Route and only emerged from a death-like slumber after half way. The first thing I saw was a GIANT chair and led a group of Rhodes athletes to climb it. We made it:
The giant chair somewhere between Knysna and Cape Town
Me after climbing the chair
The actual race started off on a freezing cold morning. We were up at 4am lacing armpits with deodorant and stomachs with gooey oats. Despite staying about 5km from the start, we ran into a parking disaster. Eventually we settled for an illegal parking on an on-ramp to the highway. Quick photo of Rhodes vests in black bags:
Rhodes athletes at the Two Oceans (trending black bags!)
and off we went to the starting area.
I started right at the very back of E-seeding (which is the back of all backs) with the Malawian twins: Kerry and Tracy – fellow first time Two Oceans half marathoners. With music blaring, I danced to keep warm in my black bag. Then, ready, steady... WAIT...1 minute – we started walking... walking... walking... After the clock ate FIVE MINUTES off my time, I skipped under the starting banner and pushed play on my ‘running songs’ playlist. I know that iPods not actually allowed, but saw it as a safety net and something I was more familiar with than a half marathon race.
It really did not feel like 21km – what with dodging through slow pokes on the road and all the excitement on the side of the road, there wasn’t much time to pay attention to getting tired. Not even the notorious Southern Cross Drive could match my training hills in Grahamstown. What a pleasure! They call it “the most beautiful race” but I didn’t see much of the scenery. I was too focused on passing the set of takkies in front of me. Every now and then a random spectator would identify my iconic purple Rhodes running vest and shout “GO RHODENT!” to which I replied “whoop whoop!!” With about two kilometres to go, my eye caught a sign floating the crowd. It read “Toenails are overrated!” With renewed motivation I kissed my deep red manicured toenails good-bye and raced over the finish line.
The Two Oceans' finish at UCT at around 8h30.
2:22 – Looks poetic on paper and is not bad for beginners I suppose. As I sip warm contents from my Two Oceans mug, I stare at the winding route printed on it. At times like these, one persistent thought never fails to prickle my thoughts: “I can’t wait to do it again next year!”
The results are published in the Cape Argus the day after the Two Oceans. See my name:
SCHOEMAN, MEGAN RHODESU 23 F 2:22:54
My race number. This now lives on my bedroom door for inspiration.
No comments:
Post a Comment