Just another week...

This week had many ups and downs and twists and turns.

At the Sports Science Institute:
> Had a blood sample drawn before and after running for an hour outside (in the heat of the day!)
> Participated in a submaximal test to measure recovery rate
> Heard Tim Noakes lecture on Sir Roger Bannister, including a 20-minute video clip and the reading of a letter that Bannister sent Tim last week

Running
> Did a beautiful run from Clifton Beach to Sea Point early on Wednesday morning. Got to run along the seawall with the brisk ocean wind and in the shadow of the morning sun thanks to Table Mountain.
> Did a 15km run that looped from Constantia Village up along Strawberry Lane, past a few ofthe Constantia wine farms, along the Tokai forest and back to Constantia
> Juliet and I had a great time on these runs, all in preparation for the quickly approaching Two Oceans 1/2 marathon Click here for more details...).

Fun fun fun
> Had Rob and Nell over for dinner, which I cooked, and made Rob eat a vegetarian meal which he actually enjoyed. We sat outside at my little outdoor table and managed to hook up a system where we could simply shake a broom which we wedged into a tree, and then the tree would move and activate the motion sensitive light! Quite clever.
Rob and the broom, our clever system to keep the motion sensitive light on!

> Thursday evening I went downtown and learnt how to salsa, rumba and mambo. It was held at this Latin bar, and the instructor was very charasmatic, a prerequisite for trying to teach people how to dance.
> Saturday we headed out to Stellenbosch in the morning and then went to four wine farms for tasting. Lovely setting and such a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Here are the links to the various winefarms that we visited: Boschendal, Zorgvliet , Grande Provenence, La Motte

Somewhere between Stellenbosch and Franschoek

Nell and I at Boschendal

Nell, Mike and I at the first wine farm of the day (11am)
I think this photo is funny because Mike is the only one looking at the camera

> Sunday I went mountain biking up in the Tokai forest. Stunning views coupled with intense heat, but a great place to be and spend a day. I was lucky because a classmate from Sports Science took pity on me to not only lend me his second mountain bike, but also have patience as we teetered up the mountain, and not laugh too loud as I tried to stay en route coming down balancing my running shoes on the clipless pedals. Understandably, my arches don't feel so great today. With so many things to do in Cape Town, that after quickly rinsing off most of the dirt, we went and spent the afternoon at Glen Beach. Great day.
Here's me at one point during the ride, a quick rest.

Another shot on the hill...if you look closely you can see Jamie in the shade.

The other big highlight of this week is that Avaleigh, a great friend of mine from university has booked and paid for a ticket to come and meet me here. We are in the process of planning all of the things we are going to do, but they will include a 20-day overland tour, driving the Garden Route, and spending time in Cape Town to see the various sites. Click here to read up on the awesome 20-day tour that goes up the west coast of South Africa, and through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe/Zambia.

That's all for now...
Anna*