Tsamina mina Zangalewa Cuz this is Africa

Hello weekend full of sporting adventures. Perhaps I was feeling a bit nostalgic for good old MRun, (shout out to all my awesome runner friends back in Michigan who ran 182 miles across the entire STATE this weekend in under 30 hrs!) but for some reason I was channeling the outdoorsy vibe. It started with Saturday, when I decided to tag along with some Hout Bay Harriers for their long training run in preparation for Two Oceans. They had planned out running 40ks of the race route, from Newlands to Hout Bay, and the offer to wake up at 4:30 and be running by 5:30 seemed too tempting to resist :) Who would say no to running thru Wynberg in the darkness with nothing but glow in the dark silly bandz and the odd street lamp to light your way trying not to get run over by the early morning mini buses? We reached Muzinberg (center photo) just as the sun was beginning to rise, giving one of the most breathtaking views I have ever experienced on a run. No wonder why they call Two Oceans the "most beautiful marathon in the world." Nearly a marathon run before 9:30, ideal way to start a beautiful day.

Day two of our outdoor adventure series came with watching the prologue of the Cape Epic, often described as the Tour De France of mountain biking. Its a 5 day challenge where (for a price) you can rub shoulders with national champs and olympic medalists while trying not to die (literally) as you make your way along some of the most challenging trails you can find (the route designer is actually referred to as dr. evil). For the race spectating, we made sure to situate ourselves in the middle of a really technical single track bit and were definitely not disappointed with the near spills of the novices and the epic maneuvering of the pros. This is a race where it is all to common to walk away with a broken clavicle or extremity impaled by sticks. Really enjoyed seeing a Colorado jersey amongst the competitors, made me think of all the Whiners back home! Yay Americans! But seriously, still amazed at how intense everyone is over here. Michigan "trails" have nothing on these suckers, and anyone off the street knows what you are talking about when mentioning Two Oceans or Comrades (another really famous ultra marathon). I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to adjust when I get back home where there are no cliffs/ mountains/ oceans/ rocks/ intense feats of sportsmanship to break yourself on. I will probably have withdraws big time.

Sarah's South African Tour of everything hardcore continues... :)

Saw the waves but not the tide/ I couldn't stay, I don't know why

I have decided that all my weekends need themes, just to keep them straight and maintain some OCD in my life. If I had to choose I would refer to this past weekend as the weekend of the waves. Starting with Friday I was part of a crowd wave IN A REAL LIFE WORLD CUP STADIUM! Not going to lie, I was a little homesick for the Big House, I kept waiting for the speed up/ slow it down/ split the wave signals. Sigh. It was pretty great though, the stadium was amazing and we had tickets for the 3^rd row! Some things to note about S. African football (soccer) 1. Stadium food here is ridiculously cheap. We should look into this. 2. Vuvuzelas are just as annoying in person as they are via television. I don’t think they stopped blowing those things once. 3. Cheerleaders here… have capes?

The following morning some friends and I took the train to Muizenberg (suburb of Cape Town, about a 45min ride via the lovely public transit) for some more waves, this time the ocean kind. Or the really cold/ salty kind. Same thing. A girl we know lives there and teaches surf lessons to the local kids, so we were able to use wetsuits and boards for free. They don’t call it the surfing capital of Africa for nothing, there were seriously a LOT of waves. I just tried not to think about sharks. I did manage after a few tries to get into a lunge on my board while catching a wave. I say mission accomplished.

After we had our fill of being wrecked by waves and salt, we had a little picnic on the beach with our new friends. Good thing our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, we had meant to buy enough food for us plus our surf friends, but once we got back 4 local kids that often take surf lessons showed up too. Thankfully R230 ($32) was able to satisfy 10 hungry bellies. The kids here are so great, it breaks my heart to think that if we hadn’t given them food they might not have eaten until dinner, if then. After lounging on the beach a little while longer, the sun went away and the wind picked up (per usual) and we decided to warm up at a place called the Coffee Sha-Bean where we got the thickest hot chocolate I have ever witnessed. My little plastic spoon stood straight up in the mug! I will attempt to recreate this at home, but something tells me this is just the magic of Africa.