After the great hike we had the previous day, I was pretty keen to get some running in. We had gone on a nice evening walk, and scouted some potential run routes. First thing Saturday morning, I got my kit on and we head out.
The run began with a short dirt road, where instead of keeping cats and dogs as pets, buck, donkey and ostrich were pets of choice. It really is a different world.
After the warm up, the fun really began. I'd found a route that was a foot service path between farms, crossing over a stream and looked decent length. The first half of the run had a consistent gradual incline, and as runners know that all adds up. One particular thing about this run was the amount of thorn bushes present, and the amount of dodging that needed to be done in order to avoid injury. We can call this "agility work" :P
There were loads and loads of these foot paths, so I switched between them with the main goal of heading up and around back to our residence. As I got near the top, I was promptly stopped by what seemed to be a small town. Not wanting to have another trespassing incident under my belt, I saw there was no way around and headed back.
The route was now downhill, so I took full advantage and did some great speedwork. Trail running at speed is fantastic. The coordination needed to make sure you stay on your feet, the dodging of obstacles, the quick changes in direction when needed - all adds up to the reasons why trail running is the best.
A short while later I was back on the sand path and decided to hold a steady pace until the end. I managed to hit a great max speed of 3:41min/km, and was an absolutely fantastic run. Running in nature is irreplaceable.
