back on the wagon

So i apparently suck at blogging. I'm in South Africa for like 42 days and I've got exactly 1 post through 10+ days of being here. I already decided to give it up, but thanks to some inspiration from reading some friends' running blogs (shout out to tush, ocm, and smitty g), I decided to give it another shot.

From now on this will be more about running with a little bit of other stuff ("life") on the side.

Here we go (again)...
After recovering from my cold, I started up running somewhat in earnest last Sunday. I had a solid first week of training considering the fact that I haven't really done much running at all since December and some complicating factors (to follow). Several important things I've learned about running in Durban:

1. It's winter here. Apparently in the southern hemisphere their seasons are reversed. Just like the hot and cold water taps are on the wrong sides of the faucet and the toilet water circles in the opposite direction, they got this one backwards. Fortunately, winter in Durban means lows in the mid-50s. Unfortunately, it means that the sun doesn't rise until around 7:30am and sets by 5pm. Which wouldn't be a huge problem except...

2. The streets around here aren't particularly safe. Basically everyone I've talked to here has stressed the importance of being wary when walking around Durban, especially in the dark. The crime here is certainly problematic. One of the workers at the bed and breakfast where I'm staying got beat up last week on his walk home from work. Muggings are commonplace. This, in combination with the fact that I'm still not totally comfortable with the layout of the city, means that I'm running early in the morning rather than in the evening after work. Work starts around 8, so I'm getting up around 6am every morning to run.

3. Durban is extremely hilly. Extremely. There is not a single road I've found that continues flat for more than 100 meters or so. And everything is asphalt and concrete. This means that either a) I'm going to come back in sick shape at the end of this trip, or b) I'm going to come back with several stress fractures and bilateral tendinitis. Actually, there is one beautiful flat stretch of road right along the beachfront, which is no more than 3 miles away from my house. However, reaching it requires running through the city center, a very high crime area that I've been warned by multiple people to avoid completely. That said, I'm going to have a tough time staying away from such a promising place to run.

Anyway, so I got solid runs in Sunday-Friday of last week, starting with 4 miles and then consistently hitting 6. Because of the hills, even when I try to run easy I end up winded by the end. Or maybe it's not the hills. Maybe it's my complete lack of fitness. Either way, I'm into a routine.

P.S. I just realized that I've been trashing on Durban a lot. I actually really like Durban. All the talk of crime is true but probably overstated, and there are a lot of cool people here, and great places to see here and things to do. Day to day I feel safe and haven't really ever been in a situation where I thought something bad might happen.