Walks to the rocks to watch the sun setting over the ocean…
The breathtaking Misty Cliffs…
My favourite beach, Noordhoek…
Eating way too much yummy food…
Spending the day taking in the beautiful wine farms…
See you next year Cape Town!
I guess I’m like most girls who grew up mesmerised by movies such as The Horse Whisperer where the gorgeous Robert Redford, who plays the title role of a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, is hired to help an injured teenage girl and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.
So when KK surprised me with a guided horse ride along the beautiful Noordhoek beach, I was thrilled!
Having never ridden a horse before in my life, I was incredibly nervous. KK and I were joined by two other girls and we all got kitted out in helmets and shoes before being given a brief lesson by our guide. Then the horses came out…
My horse was a magnificent dark brown stallion called Raka. It was roughly 1.4 meters to his back and his legs were massive and strong.
Off we went, first taking the streets to get to the wetlands which would take us to the beach. The sound of the horses’ hooves trotting on the tar was spell-binding. It was even more stunning when we got to the beach and hearing the horses wading through the waves.
This is unfortunately where my fairy tale ends…
About 90 minutes into our ride, Raka started becoming restless and I was struggling to hold him. He just wanted to go! On a couple of occasions, the guide had to shout out, “pull the reigns!” but to no avail as Raka wanted more. As a safety measure, the guide held on to my reigns because she feared that Raka would gallop off. I was relieved because I could feel that he was not happy and it was as if a rubber band was being stretched under me, ready to let go!
The problem started when we got to the wetlands and the path was not big enough for two horses to walk side by side. She had to let him go. Within minutes, he jumped away and without warning, threw me off! (KK’s version of the story is that I fell off but I’m going with my version).
I got the fright of my life! I jumped up so quickly and luckily, was unhurt (yet). The trainer managed to catch Raka and calm him down a tad, but recommended that we swop horses. Great idea.
I woke up the next day and felt like a truck had hit me. Ouch, my body ached!
I still love horses. I am still fascinated by them. I would even go as far as recommend the same horse ride on the beach because it was so beautiful. The experience was a ‘wow’ moment in my life. Noordhoek beach is absolutely breath-taking.
But as for horse riding, this might have been my last ride on a horse for a very long time. I think I’ll go back to day-dreaming about them… and about Robert Redford of course. 😉
It was the Saturday evening after the Two Oceans race and KK and I were enjoying a celebratory supper at Col’cacchio’s overlooking Camps Bay. All around us sat other runners, glaringly obvious by the fact that they were wearing their running shoes adorned with race chip, warm K-Way running tops over their Two Oceans t-shirts, but mostly by their conversation. The restaurant was a buzz of nattering about the race. Both the half as well as the ultra marathon.
As they devoured their pizza’s, runners were recalling the start where E-seeded runners managed to slip into C-seeded pens; they were giving their in-depth analysis of the new route and whether or not it was easier than the old route; some were recalling the drummers up Southern Cross Drive, while others were gasping at how the 56km runners had survived 6 hours in the rain.
It was a minute by minute, km by km, pizza slice by pizza slice analysis of each step of the race, where they had gone wrong and what they would’ve done differently. And trust me, they talked for hours, sometimes going over the same topic repeatedly as if they couldn’t talk about it enough.
If only life was like that. If only we had more time to stop and analyze what was going on in our lives, the up hills, the down hills, the times we got things right but also the times when things seemed too tough to carry on. What pulled us through? What were the highlights? The lowlights? How did we tackle issues in our lives? I don’t think we do that often enough (or even at all?)
If only we were able to analyze our lives more regularly, the way runners do after each and every race, maybe we’d be able to stop ourselves from making mistakes, from getting hurt, we could make the necessary changes. But we’d also stop more often to enjoy the good times while we were able to and celebrate our victories. We don’t do that often enough. Runners do.
So even though I decided not to run the Two Oceans Half Marathon, it was a spur of the moment decision to partake in the 5km race, held on the Friday before the big races. The weather in Cape Town had started to turn and so, instead of heading down to the beach, we went through to UCT.
At 14:30 in the afternoon, the race started and approximately 3 000 runners / joggers / walkers / prams (and a Bokkie) ran out of the beautiful UCT grounds and down University Drive on what was aptly named the Two Oceans Fun Run. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect! The vibe electrifying. The laughter contagious. What a fantastic afternoon and run! I had so much fun! My time: 39 minutes. I’m thrilled.
Turn the clocks a mere 19 hours forward and as majority of the field were approaching the half way mark of the 21.1km race, sheets of rain, mixed with nasty winds, started to pour down! 
I sat on the grandstand, waiting with clean, dry towels for KK and the rest of the running gang to come in. But as the rain came down harder, and the spectators scurried for shelter, I somehow missed KK’s finish and spent the next 45 minutes trying to find him. Drenched and freezing, when we did find one another, he proudly announced that he had managed to run a PB! 1:49 … Awesome babes!
I guess this year’s Two Oceans was one of those that runners will never forget. One that is so gruelling and tough for some (who really feel that they earned that medal) and yet refreshing and invigorating for others who sailed through and achieved fantastic results.
But between you and me, as we drove home in the rain, passing the unlucky few that had missed the 3 hour cut-off, in my heart I was somehow relieved that I did not run. My heart broke for those who did not make it as I’ve experienced that disappointment before. But I knew, with all that congestion in the E-batch, the rain and the lack of mental mojo, I would not have gotten over that finish line in time.
I was thankful for the fact that I ran my 5kms, I enjoyed it. And I’m learning that with my runs, that’s what matters most.
But I will be back. I know I will…
Keeping up with the Walkers... 