Peak fitness it certainly was not, neither quite nightmare status. On Sunday my running partner (who shall remain anonymous) and I were locked in a scene from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Remember the scene where Toby McGuire is left in the desert after hitching a ride in the open top. Yip we were left in a weird place best described as “bat country”.

Skyrun is just around the corner so a solid get fit (or Opf…) session was deemed necessary. Neither of us had checked the weather forecast (we are still used to the cool temps – so how warm can it be?) Schoolboy error!

I was tagging along for the ride and not too worried about logistics or directions. I was happy to follow others. What started out as a pleasant stroll up a shady Kasteel’s Poort finished as a scorching trek across the vast Silvermine oven both of us lost in our own bubble. Check out Garmin Connect for the GPS route here.

We pushed the pace despite the temperature. I was grateful that I chose a wide brim hat for our outing. My partner was wearing only a Buff as a bandana. I noticed that my sweating had slowed considerably in the heat of the day. I noted the signs and tried to force down H2O despite not wanting to. Every stream was a haven for cooling us down.

As we descended into Echo Valley, 20 minutes from the end, things started getting weird. My partner who had me in stitches earlier with songs and hilarity all of a sudden hit a cramp and then got that million mile stare in his eyes. Not good, not good. I got him to lie down with feet raised. Dizziness and nausea. We sat in the middle of the path. A little gel or some sugar would have done the trick here but I needed to do some real negotiation to get him to eat an energy bar. I could see it was a struggle. Minutes later we are able to stand and stumble on. We reach the road and see a girl who is shaking, bicycle in hand, blood starting to ooze from one hand. She had just been knocked over by a car who had not bothered to stop! My friend just gave her a big hug and said that he had a tough day too. Down and down to the Main Road in Kalk Bay in search of sugar and caffeine mixed in a bottle of Red Top. Sitting on the pavement, street children swirling like vultures, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. Hare Krishna disciples handing out sweets to tired travellers. Finally we find our car. Sit down again, mixing whey powder out of a big tub with some other secret ingredients thrown in for better recovery. I don’t ask any questions. Tyres screeching as we speed off out of this bubble, stereo blasting.