2011 Surfers Marathon is Tomorrow!

So yeah.

Tomorrow is the day.

I've been quietly confident that I would manage the Surfers Marathon, if not comfortably, then at least in one piece.

Because I am no athlete, I have developed and devised a Race Plan to suit myself. I know I don't stand a snowball's chance of being anywhere close to the front. In fact, if there are any kinda halfway serious drinkers in the top half of the field, they will be somewhat inebriated before I even get my sights fixed on the Nahoon Clubhouse.

Terry, who has 13 Surfers Marathons behind her, wrote an awesome blog post full of hints and tips for those who are running or walking the Surfers for the first time.And poor Basti has to memorize it all cos this will be his first Surfers!

My aim is to finish the Surfers Marathon. That's all. If I am able to improve my time over my first Surfers in 2008, then I'll be even more pleased.

Kwelera Mouth to Gonubie: Fast trot on the gravel road, and then catch the first track down to the beach. Carrying on on the gravel is slightly longer, and dumps you onto the beach quite a distance from the waterline, and lotsa loose sand between. Mostly walking along here, sand kills me.

At Rainbow Valley, on the rocks, I'll pick the pace up a bit, as I'm generally happier on hard stuff. I'm hoping to pass at least a few of the people that would have passed me earlier on.

Crossing the Gonubie, this is a no-brainer, use the ropes.

Gonubie to German Bay: Once out of the river, I'll start shambling and shuffling onward, trying not to lose too much time, or too many places. This was my favorite part of my last Surfers, and hopefully it will be good for me again.

German Bay to Nahoon: Now this is kinda awkward, because I really have no recollection of the first half of this stretch! I do remember that we were moving well from before Bonza Bay. Terry was taking a bit of strain from having to babysit and molly-coddle me through the first stretch, but even so, we had a comfy pace.

First time around I had a time of 2hrs 11 min. To equal that I need to add a few minutes for that extra loop just after the Gonubie River, so, a time of 2hrs 20min will still be okayish. However, if I can do 2hrs 11min again, I will be extremely pleased.

On a side note.
Terry found a blog today, written by a gentleman from Port Elizabeth. I also went to have a look at it, and am now following Peter Giddy. Peter is very athletic, and is clearly passionate about running and swimming. i kinda like them both, and Peter's style is down to earth, and easy reading. Kudo's Peter, thanks for a great blog!

Weather tomorrow? Upper 20's, humid, and a not too strong North East wind. Cooling in the late afternoon with a sea-haze, and possible drizzly/rain stuff about 6pm-ish. I did go into the predicted weather in an earlier article. I have not consulted the Met Service, as there are loads of conflict, and none have been quite accurate.

Right Now?
I stopped work on the new Wavecrest website a little earlier, and am just chilling now, before going to bed early. For Terry and myself anything before midnight is early. Today has been hydration and protein day, and tomorrow morning it will be several small snack things, and loads of fluid. The heat of the past few days has been a bit concerning as regards hydration, as I seem to just sweat it out.

Why do I want to do the Surfers Marathon if I moan so much about it?

I'm doing this to prove to myself that I can, no other reason. And its my birthday present to myself :)