April 29th

Greetings and Happy Spring!
At least I imagine it to be springtime there. Here it is definitely fall, though probably closer to winter. The temps at night are pretty chilly, but thankfully when the sun is out, it’s not too bad. Apologies for not writing more frequently. I always intend to, but then find something else to do. I’ve also been journaling more frequently, so I feel as though I have less to tell you all, even though that’s clearly not the case.

The first quarter of the school year just ended before Easter. Because Easter was so late this year, the first quarter was unusually long. I was definitely ready for a vacation. Ever since I arrived in Lesotho and heard about the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town, I knew I wanted to run it. Last year we registered too late; all 14,000 spaces had been filled. This year we registered much earlier; there was no way I would miss the race two years in a row.
The marathon is always on the day before Easter. There is an ultra marathon (56km or about 35 miles) and a half marathon (standard 21.1km or 13.1 miles). I opted for the half, even though I’ve run two full marathons before. I was concerned about training and just how painful an ultra might be. Part of the tradition of this race (for other volunteers at least) is renting a car and driving from Bloemfontein to Cape Town (look on a map… it is a long distance). So on Wednesday morning last week, we made it to the border by 6am, were in Bloemfontein by 8, the airport by 9, McDonalds at 10 and on the road to CT by 11. We drove and drove… and drove some more. We were 8 altogether, two cars full of very excited runners and supporters.
We had two cute little cars, not too much leg room and even less trunk space, but we had music (iTrips must be one of the best inventions) so we were fine. I was one of the registered drivers (one of the few manual drivers) so I pulled the car around to load it up, turned it off and went inside to get the copilot and passengers so we could take off. We loaded the trunk (very full) and piled in, only to find out that the car would not start. I tried everything. I jiggled the steering wheel; I gave it a little gas as it was starting; I turned it completely off, locked the doors, unlocked the doors, crossed my fingers and tried again. Nothing. Finally, after a frustrating couple of minutes, I went back in to the desk and explained the situation. The man who had showed me where the car was came back out and said he’d take care of it. He tried everything I did and then started fiddling with the fuel hose (I think? That’s what a friend said it was at least) … still no luck. We went back in and the manager behind the desk said, “Forget about that one, I’ll upgrade you, free of charge, so you won’t have to worry about your car starting when you’re actually on your trip.” SCORE! UPGRADE! We were pretty psyched, imagining all sorts of large vehicles with ample leg room and some other super fancy features. Ha. Boy, were we wrong. The upgrade did indeed have a little more leg room and definitely more oomph than its predecessor, but noticeably less trunk space. It was a tight fit, but we made it work (story of Peace Corps, really) and got on the road.
The drive was long. Very, very long. We made only a few stops for gas and snack breaks and still only made it to Cape Town at 11pm. Now, I’ve never really lived in a city. I grew up in suburbia, went to school in very rural Iowa and currently live in a very rural village in Lesotho. I have never been a city driver. However, I was behind the wheel and had to find our hostel… let’s just say I learned city driving pretty quickly. I managed to stay on the correct side of the road (the left side) and go the correct way on one-way streets. We only got a little lost coming in to the city, but that was easily fixed. Parking was another story though. To park in front of our hostel was about R10 at night, or R9 per hour during the day. We ended up parking the cars a 30minute walk away, in a sort of residential area. This way we didn’t have to worry about being towed or spending a fortune (parking ramps were definitely not any cheaper).
The next day we spent primarily in town. We walked around, taking in the sights and sounds. It may have been because we’d all been in Lesotho so long, but everyone loved Cape Town. It has anything anyone could ever want. There is a beach not too far away, a huge mall (not quite MoA, but still, very large), plenty of outdoorsy things to do (Table Mountain or other hikes), nice bays and Cape Point not too far, Robben Island (regrettably we didn’t make this trip), penguins at Boulders and so much to do and see in town as well. The food was phenomenal. We ate like kings and queens. I think my favorite meals had to be Mexican (frozen blended margaritas!), sushi (real sushi, not the kind Kimiko and I make, which is also delicious but without fish), and a restaurant called Eastern Food Bazaar. EFB had every kind of eastern Asian food imaginable, in generous portions for very reasonable prices. The menu spanned the whole back wall and the restaurant was the length of a city block, but in the middle, so there were two entrances. It smelled amazing and tasted even better. The chefs prepared your food before your eyes and then you took it and sat down at a table to eat. We all left incredibly full but very satisfied, and willing to go back the next day. There were also a couple nights we ate in – one night we made pizza and another (the pre-race night) pasta. Those were also excellent meals even though they are common for us in Lesotho when we get together.
We spent the next day (Friday) at Kalk Bay, visiting the delicious bakery there and walking along the beach, taking in the sights. There was also a bookstore that lured us all in (until we caught a glimpse of the prices!). We had lunch there at a nice little restaurant – lots of pasta with seafood. Kalk Bay is also home to the original (yes, the very first) Fish’n’Chips place, called Kalky’s. We looked at the line and the runners agreed – greasy food maybe wasn’t the best option the afternoon before a race, so we opted for the café instead.
Saturday was the big day. The alarm went off at 3:50am. It was kind of cool how all four of the runners got down from the top bunks simultaneously, grabbed clothes and shoes and water, and headed out to get ready. We met in the kitchen for breakfast and coffee and stretching. It was a very entertaining breakfast, as people who had been out the night before were passing through the kitchen on their way to bed. They were all very confused as to why we were awake and especially as to why we were dressed as if we were going to run a marathon (I can’t imagine why!).
We left the hostel right on time, about 4:45am and headed to the parking area we’d found the day before on our drive-around. It was a little ways away from our hostel, so I was really glad to have the cars. We called a couple other friends who were staying with their parents and met up with them as well so we could start the half marathon together, while the two running the ultra split off to get ready. The half started at 6am and the ultra started at 6:25. The cannon went off at 6am sharp, and we didn’t even cross the starting line until 6:05.
I ran a pretty good race. It definitely wasn’t as fast a time as I wanted, but I still feel pretty good about it because there were so many runners I spent over the first 10k (half of the race) simply trying to pass the people I knew I was faster than. There was a substantial hill about 2/3 of the way through the race, and I continued to pass people here. I want to believe that was my altitude training kicking in, but I really can’t tell. The last 3-4km were a bit rough; it seemed like the last 5 or so were all gradually uphill, which really hurt after I had been pushing myself so hard the first part of the race.
I finished in 1hour, 59minutes. I’m pleased with sub-2 hours and know I could have done better if it weren’t for all the people I had to try to pass early on in the race. All in all, a fun time, though the crowd did not cheer nearly as much as that of the Twin Cities Marathon.
After we met up with other friends who’d finished, the big group of us went to the International hospitality tent, where we were served lasagna, sandwiches, salad, bread, fruit and whatever we wanted to drink. It was a nice post-run meal and a good chance to meet some of my friends’ parents who had come to visit them and see them run, as well as see Lesotho and Cape Town. Then, a handful of us made our way back to meet up with the ultra runners as they were on their home stretch. We ran with each of them for maybe a kilometer or two, to boost them on towards the finish line. Both were in pretty serious pain but they both finished in great time.
The rest of the day we relaxed and walked a little to try to ease up the soreness and stiffness. That evening we had dinner with all the parents and volunteers who were there at a nice Portugese (I think?) place. I don’t remember much from that night except that the food was good and I was incredibly tired. When we got back to the hostel, I took a quick nap and told my friends to wake me up when we were going to go out. Instead, I woke up at 2am with my contacts in and my clothes on. The room was dark; my friends had already gone to bed. I obviously missed the fun. The next morning when I asked them why they didn’t get me up to go out, they said they tried and I got really sassy and told them to leave me alone so I could sleep. Ha! Ultimately, I think that was the better option.
Sunday was kind of crummy. It alternated between drizzle and light rain the whole day. We drove down towards Cape Point and saw the penguin colony at Boulders (near Simons Town). Penguins have long been one of my favorite animals so it was incredible to see them so close! I have more pictures of penguins from the trip than everything else combined (I unfortunately didn’t take many photos). We piled into the cars again and were off to explore Cape Point. It ended up costing more than we wanted to pay, so we just found a little beach to walk around and take some pictures, pretending like we were at the point.
We had Eastern Food Bazaar for dinner and then went out on Long Street. It was so fun to be out after dark and see people other than volunteers and Basotho! Monday was the last day in Cape Town, so we had to make it good. We’d seen an advertisement for all-you-can-eat sushi and decided that sounded like a good lunch option. When we got to the restaurant, we realized it was only between 6 and 9pm, for dinner. We had sushi anyway, and headed to the waterfront to see the mall and other sights. We had draft beer at a nice Belgian restaurant and brewery, and watched people at the pier. I went with the Swazi volunteers around the mall before heading back to the hostel to get ready for Mexican food for dinner.
We went out again on Long street on Monday night, since it was the last night there, and had McDonalds at 3am. Oh, the joys of civilization! I realize the above is just a very brief summary of my trip and I do hope to write more, but the generator just turned off and I want to save some battery for the weekend… plus, the chief of the village and all the teachers and male students are outside, trying to deal with a man who apparently just tried to kidnap some girl and marry her. Cultural differences indeed!
I’ll fill you in on that after I figure out what’s happening. Until then, I hope all is well in the States and in your lives.
My love from Africa,
-Katie