Spikes

Not running spikes - that's for the kind of distance I'm built for. Perversely, I'm training for the kind of distance that I will never be competitive at. A first class distance runner weighs roughly half what I do. No - I'm talking about quills.

I ran on the mountain last night - the regular Thursday trail run. I'm not sure it's right for my training plan, but it's a great run, in a group, and the scenery is awesome. The problem at the moment is that Cape Town's summer is a little slow getting started. Someone told me last night that the rain we have had in November so far is twice the normal amount for the whole month. Next week is due to be brighter, so hopefully I'll be putting on suncream instead of a rain top. Anyway, I watch my feet a lot when I'm running because I'm clumsy. A friend who trail runs a lot told me that he has never seen a snake in years of running in the mountains, and I believe him. He's probably passed hundreds, but you can't afford to take your eyes off where you're going.

Like last night: as we were going along, I spotted a huge porcupine quill in the path, so stopped to pick it up to show the kids. Of course, at that point we were running on a single track. You need to keep an eye open for protruding rocks or roots, but nobody expects a six foot Pom to stop and bend over suddenly. I nearly caused a pile up. I wonder if anyone has ever been banned from the pack runs?

The quill has gone with Jen for show & tell today, so it was worth the near disaster. She has disguised it in tinfoil so that she can unveil it at an appropriately dramatic moment.