A few days ago Mike asked me to write up a small race report of my first Ironman experience; so I wrote a book:

Background: Work hard, party harder!

If someone told me a year ago that lazy fat me would attempt anything in the likes of long endurance sport nonsense, I would’ve immediately stopped ordering them shooters! Maybe I was an okay casual cyclist at the time; did the normal weekend warrior stuff: 94.7, Argus, Nissan MTB events, even attempted a hungover iFlex short duathlon or two for laughs and giggles.

Then one day while watching the 2012 Olympics, I sadly had to accept that I don’t really fit the typical champ cyclist profile (never mind that of a runner!) But I saw a Chad and Cameron undiscovered, so… I went swimming!

Checked out some Total Immersion clips on YouTube and started floating and splashing about in the gym pool… I needed help.

Heard from the experts that Mike Moriarty from M.A.D. Multisport will sort me out quickly. Best advice ever! Learned to swim properly in August 2012. And then, of course… The next natural evolutionary step: Triathlons!

So, I joined Mike’s triathlon club. My cycling was already somewhere, my swim improved quickly, but I never ran for longer then a couple of km’s during the past 20 years! Mike took me to the field and chased me around. He thought my running looked promising. I thought I was 18 again, and then… Crack! I badly stretched my left posterior tibial foot tendon! From then on I limped and shuffled through some shorter and standard triathlons (5150, BSG, 11Global, JoburgCity tri, etc.), relying on decent swims and good rides to finish respectably. Even by some miracle got provincial age group colors for standard triathlon

One night, after a couple of shooters, someone silly mentioned “Ironman”. I gave him some water and aspirin, and… Entered the 70.3 – two months or so away!

Coach Mike worked out a personalized program for me, and 70.3 was soon done and dusted. It was hard, but super fantastic! 6:30h and that nice medal later, I realized I was hooked – I needed more!

Got them new shoes and became a Bolt myself. And then, while secretly sprinting (Coach warned me not to)… Crack! I pulled my left hamstring tendon at origin – Yes, that 6 months+ injury nobody dares talk about! Regardless, one night someone slurily mumbled “real Ironman”, I slapped the bastard, and… Entered full Ironman – two months or so away!

I diligently did my at-the-crack-of-dawn training as worked out by da Coach. Was also joined by one or two of those super achiever athletes from M.A.D. living in my neighborhood. I now know that I was welcomed more for bodyguard purposes   But it was cool and worked out brilliantly. I gained alot from training with people better than myself – Special thanks to hardcore Nicole! You go girl!

Some long club rides, dam swims and brick works were weekend highlights, including that mad M.A.D. double Suikerbosrand ride! But still my hamstring dilemma hampered my overdue run training. The physio rubbed, the doc scanned, and eventually I got the go-ahead for easy running only. Consequently, we took a very minimalist approach… Longest run I ever did before leaving for Port Elizabeth, was the desperate 21 km of the 70.3! But the coach knew what he was doing.  Must’ve been a devilish act, but I even qualified for provincial colors in standard duathlon! :/

 

Port Elizabeth: Wow! What a vibe!

Landed the Friday morning in Ironman city. Banners and flags everywhere! I was amazed to see the level of preparation for this event – It was huge!

A morning orientation sea swim with the coach to acclimatize; a ride on parts of the route; and a short run around the promenade surely beats a Friday at the office!

Then the admin: registration was quick, expo was costly and the race briefing tolerable.

Amazing how proud that stupid orange athlete’s wristband can make you feel! I walked around town like a superhero! Hey, you people, check me out! I’m not here to watch! I’m the real deal, I’m a Rockstar!

Supper at night with the club peeps always priceless, with some last minute advice. I must say it was difficult to eat at Primi without slurping a couple of Jamjars. See, I can behave!

Saturday was “sleeping-in-late” day. Eventually got up to start some prep work on the bike and design my nutritional plan. Prepared my 5 course race meal and eventually ended up with a buffet of colorful Perpetuem and High5 bottle options. A mass of trusted Hammer gels, some peanut-butter-honey sarmies and bananas filled the special needs ‘doggy bags’ leaving 32GI sweeties, Steri Stampies and strawberry cheesecake for desert.

Chilled with some club mates that afternoon, and even took an e-coli risk with a leg of Nandos.

Then it was time to pack and rack – No issues there, made triple sure I had everything in the bags… in the right bags!

Just about then I realized with a cold sweat and a chill down my spine what was about to happen… A very very long day ahead. I must admit, I felt nervously excited,  but always worried about that flippen run… It’s all about that flippen run!

Had a couple of cokes and a laugh with the coach in a dodgy pub while pretending to watch rugby. Swallowed down a good solid carb meal, then headed off to bed early. Trying to sleep that night was an Ironman challenge of its own!

Race morning: Stress morning!

Had my regular wholewheat Pronutro and Milo for breakfast, grabbed my swim bag and set off to the start area. I was nervous. I did many events before, from Argus to stage races to SA champs, but this time it was different – It was a fun exciting nervousness! The morning on the beach waiting for the start was amazing! From the sunrise, the music, the nervous giggles, the photos, the big crowd, to that cannon bang – everything was crazy fun! Candidate for best weekend of my life!

Swim: Like a lake

I started the swim confidently. It is the one event I know I’m best build for. I’m heavy, because of some fat yes, but also because of a strong muscular upper body, girls! With good buoyancy and top horsepower I welcomed the waves. I secretly hoped for a rollercoaster, but the sea was calm. Focussed on my technique and tried to slip on others without crashing into their feet. The slapping, bumping and kicking were extreme, as to be expected. Perhaps a good place to release built-up road rage I must add!

Running out on the beach for the second lap was lekker. The crowd made all the difference. I went back in with purpose, I felt like a salmon on heat! Second lap was faster, even with the sea more swelly. I kept a steady fast pace and focused on style, sometimes even fighting the temptation to spurt a bit flatout. Luckily we did quite a lot of open water long distance swims in training, so I knew how to keep calm and carry on.

Swim result was 1:10 for the 3.8 km.

T1: What’s the rush?

A big weakness: I’m a slow transitioner. I get lost, I loose things, I forget things, I do stupid things, I sometimes even try to chat with the focused serious people!

I am just slow!

Anyway, tripped over my wetsuit, got dressed in M.A.D. bike kit, sprayed a can of Techniblock all over the place, filled my pockets with calories, grabbed my stud, mounted it like a pro and off we go!

Bike: Not a pain in the…

I was never scared of the bike part as we did a number of hard long rides the weeks leading, so it felt more like routine.

My strategy was to go easy and judge the pain on the first lap…I aimed for a pace a bit above 30 km/h. Second lap was to be enjoyed, and my last lap’s goal was to beat my first lap’s time. It all worked out fine – I had very consistent and similar lap times, apparently thats ideal for the event.

Still it is a long, sometimes boring ride, and the gatvol scale peaked after some hours.

We were blessed with good weather! The wind was nothing for PE, the sun not too hot and no rain. Perfect for a rookie like me!

The first part of the lap was a short steepish climb, followed by a rather consistent uphill for 12 km or so. Not too bad, but still hard on the legs.

First ride after learning to use my aerobars, so the downhills out of town were fun and fast. The stretch out the back to the turn-around was long but interesting. Spot teammates on the flip side and yell at them was the name of the game. The piece back to PE was my least favorite. The rough road surface nearly convinced me to install dual suspension on the road bike for the next time round.

It was great fun hammering it down via the big crowd at the coast! I knew I shouldn’t, but went all showoff time trialling for those couple of kilometers. Then it was all regrets up the climb again at ice-cream bicycle pace.

All and all I really enjoyed the ride. Equipment was perfect, nutrition went down well and the scenery beautiful along the coast.

With the ride-in I was obviously a showoff again and thus a bit too fast. Had to grab fists full of Shimano, but still screeched way over the dismount line! Bike time was a fair 5:57. I went into transition satisfied and driven, but full of hatred and fear for that run! It was always about that flippen run!

T2: Take a nap

Second transition was funny, I enjoyed the tired desperate sarcastic humor in the tent. I just had to uplift the discouraged souls with a joke: “Hey guys, I have a splendid idea! Lets all get up, go back into the sun, and run a marathon!” Crazyness!… But this time it was no joke.

Transition for me…It went…slow!. I was not lus for the run. I was searching for things to do, just to delay the inevitable. At least the 13 minutes I took was faster then Mike’s nearly half-an-hour!

 

That flippen run: Shutup!

The start of any run is always hell for me. My legs rebel, my heart rate scares the mercury and I pant like an overheating St. Bernard.

My first goal was to reach 4 km. Sounds silly, but I felt that I had to get into the double digit percentages asap. Even that first 4 km was already somewhat of a flop. It was the start of a war of wills: That constant battle against the temptation to walk! I called a ceasefire and decided to allow some walking only in the “litter” areas at the water tables.

But the peace didn’t last forever… On the second lap my running declined into a mere shuffle with undisputed random walks, and kilometers went down very very slowly. Still, when in sight of the M.A.D. gazebo, frisky running was always compulsory!

I enjoyed some brief club member company from time to time, also caught up with the Coach for a stroll into the sunset.

And then: I finally got my own last lap white hairband! Suddenly the nitro kicked in, and the turbo too! The last lap was still a long slow horror of agony, but I jogged through it all, even the warning signs of left hamstring pain and cramps didn’t stop the horse from galloping back to its stall.

I must admit, I really dislike running. I never for even a single second felt any form of fun or great happiness during that flippen 5 hour run – Except for the ending! That was amazing! Sprinting through the home-stretch spectator tunnel was the biggest highlight of it all. The red carpet “You’re now an Ironman!” celebrity treatment was really cool too. But my finishing time the coolest! Expected 14, but finished in 12:43 hours!

Pain no gain!

Proudly grabbed the medal and T-shirt, but then the tiredness kicked in. I tried to eat my complementary Spur burger, but it didn’t blend too well with all the gels in my system. I crashed a bit at the M.A.D. gazebo, then painfully started the admin process. Collected the race bags, searched for the bike in the dark and then struggled all the way to the far car with the bags flapping and jamming into the spokes. Gonna hire a helper next time! I had to get showered and into bed soon – My flight back home was stupidly booked for that same Monday morning!

That night the Ironman killed Sandman – A nightmare of uncomfortable dull pain in the legs for a final goodbye!

What a fantastic weekend!!

F.A.Q:

Was it worth it? Absolutely! Priceless!

Will I do it again? I really hope so, maybe one day in Nice, France; Klagenfurt, Austria or Zurich, Switzerland. Imagine that!

Am I getting the Ironman tattoo? Mmm.. No, I brag enough verbally.

Worst moment? The thought of not discovering triathlons earlier in life. But Hey! It is never too late!

Favorite moment? The strange proud nerves at the start, then also witnessing Coach hugging Stephan!

Still drinking shooters? Party hard, work harder!

Next goal? Some drunk whispered something like “Comrades is tougher then Ironman”. May his soul rest in peace, and then…

Stay hungry, Stay foolish!

 

Bernhard Westra

 

The best way to describe my 2013 SA National Long Distance Duathlon Championships in two words is that it was a total disaster!!!  Leading up to the race there were a lot of things that were not in my favour, but most notably a chest infection of sorts which I simply could not shrug off, no matter how many Corenza C’s and Airmunes that I consumed in the week running up to the race.
After about 10m into the race I was already at the back of the very small field, and after about 50m into the race I knew that I was going to have ‘a very long day in the office’.  As I was finishing my second of eight 2.5km laps I was already being lapped by someone that resembled Usain Bolt.  My running time actually turned out to be OK because my time was sub-01hrs 50mins, which is good for my skill level, but at the same time my strength was diminishing rapidly.  My bike was extremely easy to find for reasons obvious to any experienced ‘back marker’ triathlete, but by the time I got onto my bike I was already ‘finished’.  I did the bike route in not much faster than a meager 26km/hr.  By the time I got to the second running leg I was near death and could barely muster anything much more than a walk, let alone a slow shuffle.
They say that golf is the best leveler of man because as soon as you think you have mastered the game it brings you back onto your knees… well, the long distance duathlon did just that to me.  Picture a 20km and 10km running course set out entirely on and around a sports field and in front of a stadium where all of the rest of the victors and supporters are enjoying prize giving… and watching painfully as Norbert is desperately dragging his near death body meter by meter on the sidelines just trying to survive the ordeal!!!
I finished the race with the timing kit already packed up.  Got an encouraging hand shake from a friendly lady that I’m told is the chief of TSA, slumped onto a grandstand seat until I had the strength to make my way to the back seat of my car which Rose had brought as close as possible.  She packed up everything for me and drove me home.  I lay on the back seat from Potch to Pretoria not able to move.  Got home, had a bath and then slumped into bed.  I didn’t have the strength to move, let alone sms anyone interested of my race experience.  I picked up a flaming hot fever in excess of 38°C – it felt like I was on fire – which Rose and Claudia fought down by wrapping wet towels and cloths around me.  It was sheer hell!!!
Eventually my fever seemed to break a bit and I was down to 37.5°C.  I was able to fall asleep and have a reasonably good night’s rest, although sweating quite a lot.  Today I feel a lot stronger again, albeit still with the chest infection.  I will now duly rest (from exercise) for a few days.
Reflecting on what I can understand from your personal 2013 Ironman experience, I am sure that you can relate to a lot of what I have described above.
In the end, though, I finished the race.  Never give up… never, never, never…!!!
Thanks for asking about my race, Coach.  I appreciate it very much!

 

In Ironman and 70.3 events worldwide, a certain number of qualifying slots are allocated to each race. The number of slots depends on the size of the race and are spread out through the different age categories depending on how many entries per age group.

To qualify for KONA (full IRONMAN) or 70.3 Worlds (1/2 IRONMAN) is not easy.

Garron Mosley came 3^rd in his age group and in so doing has qualified for 70.3 World Champs 2013 in Las Vegas. His take on how it happened….

 

Race Week

After a tough November, December and January to get back to where I thought I should have been this time last year we decided not to taper much but go as hard as we could on tired legs.

I was meant to fly down on the Wednesday and spend some time out of the office for a change and hopefully relax a little pre-race. “1 Time” changed those plans so ended up driving down Thursday after work to Aliwal North and then East London on Friday morning. Long drive but somehow relaxing nevertheless. Big thanks to the lads in the office for keeping the calls to a minimum!

Made sure I registered and went to race briefing on Friday so that I would only have to rack the bike on Saturday. Met up with the M.A.D. athletes and supporters after race briefing for a drink and headed back for an early night.

Saturday was very relaxing and left bike racking until as late as possible, ( note to self, great idea! ). Quiet, well balanced dinner on the beach front and an early night.

Pre Race

Was up at 4:00 on Sunday morning, was staying just outside East London so it was about a 30 minute drive in. Pre-race nutrition was the standard formula, Furture Life ( the new high protein option ), an S-Way protien shake and a slice of toast. Bottle of High 5 4in1 for the trip into East London and on the beach.

Met up with the M.A.D. athletes on the beach and started to get that warm fuzzy feeling of excitement that I was back and doing what I love doing so much. Went for a quick 400 meter warm up and just felt good.

Walking into the pens I remember Petro Steyn calling my name and on turning round she said one word, Focus!

Swim    31:04

After a quiet 15 minutes focusing on the beach, we were off. The swim was nothing special but very comfortable, I managed to get into a great rythm despite the fact that I did feel there was a fairly large swell. Spotting was a little difficult due to my lenses fogging up but trusted the fact that the lads around me didn’t have the same problem. At the 1km mark I was feeling good, breathing well, so I thought I’d push a little the second half. Had 30 minutes and a few seconds when I hit the beach so was happy enough as I felt good.

T1         3:42

What can I say, as fast as possible but the bike was racked at the other end of the transition exit and running through racked bikes was a little tricky.

Bike     2:47:05

My plan was to take the first half of the bike easy and work hard on the way back. There were a few guys in my age group that came flying past me on the way out, but I stuck to the plan. I tried to maintain as constant a pace as I could. After about 30km’s the race started to come to me. I held back as much as possible until the turn but from then on I thought game one. Ride back to transition was great, felt really good and except for one uphill stretch maintained a great rythm. Nutrition on the Bike was double what I would normally do. 1 bottle of high 5 4in1 was in the cage and I took a bottle at each of the aid stations drinking as much as I could before getting rid of it in the liter area directly after the aid station. Also had 3 GU gels mid stations. All in all a good ride although 10 minutes short of what I would have liked to have done.

T2        2:20

Not sure who the volunteer was but she was great although I ended up with 6 GU’s in the back pocket! Uneventful but as methodical as possible.

Run      1:35:38

Saucony Kinavara’s, not sure they should even be legal! Brick sessions during training proved to be very positive but its only after a 100% bike that you can really tell if they are as good as I thought they were going to be. Simply put the best shoe I have ever used. From the first step of the run, until the sprint to go sub 5 I felt in control . Thanks to Willem for his advice 3km’s from the end when I was doubting if I could go Sub 5. Finished 4:59:47 was hoping for a little faster overall but was very happy with the position.

Total    4:59:52             3^rd in age category 35-39

Summary

In the end an awesome day with a wonderful group of people. There is still hard work ahead before IMSA but 70.3 showed me we are on the right track. A massive thanks to everyone for the support leading up to and on the day. It’s great to know we all have the backing of a wonderful team! 

 

70.3

What an awesome experience for a first time!! the Vibe, excitement, set up, radio Algoa hype,  everything was awesome and well organised.

PRE RACE

Having never done more than Olympic distance races, Niall and I decided that we needed to do a “Bucket List” which consisted of something More than we had done before, and so Half Iron man was the target, not just the Ultra, but it needed to be the Sea swim race.Also all those other MAD mates that said ” its very do-able!” you can!!

After reading as much as possible, I realised I needed Coach’s input as to a programme of distance, time, when and how much training would actually be enough, as  interestingly enough, most reading matters say “get a coach and avoid overtraining”

So, the entire December holiday just outside EL, was spent exercising Mostly doing the sessions as Bricks, early in the am before the heat set in for the day, and sleeping and basically being the party poopers for falling into bed at 8.pm ish. Of course, don’t forget, it is all mostly hills around this area!

 

WARM UP

2 weeks to go and I felt so nervous that I thought I was ready to pull out, dreaming, sleeping, every waking moment in the 70.3 !!! Driving down  on Thursday with all the others, I think I finally accepted that it was going to happen, whether I liked it or not. Algoa Radio station was all about the race and preparations and the excitement build-up. Staying with family away from the venue, also gave some normality to the situation, but clutching my programme, I did what coach had prescribed. Friday – we donned the wet suit and set out to sea, thinking that we would only do the short swim to get a feel for the sea, but then at the first buoy, Niall said he was going on and “what ever he can do, so can I” so we did the whole swim.

I think the briefing, was very inspiring, although with very strict rules. Getting the whole setup thing in transition was hair raising, but on race day, made organised sense.

One seemed to spend a helluva lot of time going to and from the venue to register, see the expo, Friezland milkshakes, do the bike check-in thing, and remembering which bag to put what into, but, just seeing all those bikes in transition is an awesome sight to behold.

 

RACE DAY:

After having to get to transition before it closed at 6.15 to do final checks and orientate oneself, we headed off to the beach,

 

SWIM:

ALL the ladies and old men were in wave 5 for start at 7.30 and in the pen at 7.15. I think there were about 500 or more of us.. (not sure of exact numbers but a lot).While waiting to enter the pen, we got to see the first men and women out of the water, and that was also the last time we saw them close up. Sadly the first casualty was also stretchered right past us, and most of us did not need to see that, but we stayed focused and set off in a very wavy sea… when up on the top of the swell, you quickly had to spot the buoy, and so just put my head down and did the zig zag to all the way around and did not drink too much sea. All in all I actually enjoyed the swim and felt pleased that I had done the Friday swim in calmer waters, as it proved that I had already “been there and done that” on race day.

 

T1

Apparently I had forgotten that I was in a race, and so spent over 11 mins getting dressed and chatting and having Riaan’s protein drink ( was mid morning snack time you know!) before remembering that I needed to get out on the bike.( also I was sooo scared of the bike)

 

BIKE

All that talk of hills had me scared out of my wits for the bike, but suddenly all the MTB training that we did in Dec paid off and after overtaking plenty of peoples up  Hemmingway’s, and remembering coaches” just go easy and spin it out”  plan, and so chatting and enjoying the ride, halfway was soon upon us with no refereeing giving me a card of any sorts. The wind swirled from different directions the whole way out, but amazingly decided to face us head on all the way back, so no easy freewheeling on the way back and top speed on the downhill was only 45 km per hour ( I have got to 76 top speed  before) that’s fast for me!!!! Also the way back is not all downhill like the profile says!!!

 

T 2

Not so much breath with which to talk,, so  only did 8 mins in T2 this time, but still managed Riaan’s Protein shake.

 

RUN

As most of you know, this is my downfall, but I have been putting in the hours and had a run/walk plan, which worked very well for me, and I even made it up!

Bunkers both times with this plan. As I turned for the last 5 km, I realised that I could have gone a bit quicker as I was feeling good and if I had realised sooner, then I might have made a plan to get in under 7 hours, but I was elated with 7h14. I just need to find waterproof shoes so that I can sponge and keep cool without getting “granny wet feet”

 

OVERALL

The vibe, support of MAD on the corner, family, and friends and locals along the route, calling your name as though they knew you personally made it an incredible experience, once finished, I realised that my old bod had not let me down throughout the training and the race, and had coped with everything I had asked of it, and it was only the mental that puts the spanner in the works!! But now I know ” anything you can do , so can I”  maybe slower, but it’s possible, and as a 1st timer, I had a blast!! and will most certainly do it again.

 

 

 

TOTAL	POS.	NAME	SWIM	BIKE	RUN
4:59:52	3rd	Garron Mosley	31:05	2:47:06	1:35:38
5:31:03	34th	Frank Kienhofer	36:33	3:11:19	1:37:34
5:33:03	5th	Nicole Driver	36:22	3:04:59	1:44:38
5:33:59	36th	Stephan Steyn	33:46	2:55:32	1:57:20
5:42:24	48th	Riaan Steyn	37:11	2:58:00	1:58:54
5:50:41	32nd	Willem Germishuys	40:30	3:01:50	1:57:31
5:57:34	86th	Kristian Fesel	38:54	3:01:11	2:08:35
6:05:07	101st	Kegan Murphy	30:59	3:04:45	2:21:52
6:08:30	24th	Drazen Milos	38:14	3:08:38	2:12:03
6:15:30	16th	Hanneli van Tonder	40:23	3:24:17	1:59:34
6:20:29	21st	Cindy Bessel	42:16	3:16:42	2:09:14
6:23:19	43rd	Niall Hogan	44:06	3:23:35	2:01:08
6:26:23	160th	Bernhard Westra	35:16	3:21:23	2:14:40
6:26:42	14th	Yvonne Brenner	39:26	3:23:56	2:09:37
6:53:16	49th	Renate Fesel	39:19	3:54:53	2:08:37
6:59:36	42nd	Natalie Thayer	38:50	3:24:05	2:40:05
7:00:24	43rd	Gerda-Mari Smit	44:18	3:39:51	2:21:01
7:03:51	57th	Joey de Mendonca	43:50	3:27:25	2:30:10
7:14:32	12th	Prudence Hogan	44:27	3:42:03	2:27:44
7:14:36	154th	Michael de Mendonca	53:45	3:24:05	2:42:50
7:25:27	272nd	Gerald Jansen van Vuuren	47:01	3:42:30	2:36:20
7:39:48	170th	Roger de Mendonca	57:52	3:27:22	2:51:07
TEAMS
6:35:55	49th	Johannes&Amelia Geyser	39:42	3:45:15	1:57:59

IRONMAN 70.3 AUCKLAND

6:23:36

Craig Gribb

44:35

3:00:38

2:30:41

 

	Week 1	Week2	Week3	Week4	Week5
Monday	31	7 4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym/run Stadium	14 4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym/run Stadium	21 Own training   Coach East London 70.3	28 4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym/run Stadium
Tuesday	1	8 Own training   Coach townships	15 Own training   Coach townships	22 Own training   Coach townships	29 Own training   Coach townships
Wednesday	2	9 430am Bike MacD   4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym Stadium   6pm Run time trial	16 430am Bike MacD   4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym Stadium   6pm Run time trial	23 430am Bike MacD   4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym Stadium   6pm Run time trial	30 430am Bike MacD   4pm Jnr + beginner bike Stadium   5pm Drills/gym Stadium   6pm Run time trial
Thursday	3	10 5am Bike Pretoria   10am Swim Hillcrest   2pm Schools   530pm Swim Midstream	17 Own training   Coach East London 70.3	24 5am Bike Pretoria   10am Swim Hillcrest   2pm Schools   530pm Swim Midstream	31 5am Bike Pretoria   10am Swim Hillcrest   2pm Schools   530pm Swim Midstream
Friday	4 430am Bike MacD   11am Swim Delville   330pm Jnr + Beginner Bike Stadium   430pm Drills +off road run Stadium	11 430am Bike MacD   330pm Jnr + Beginner Bike Stadium   430pm Drills + off road run Stadium	18 Own training   Coach East London 70.3	25 430am Bike MacD   330pm Jnr + Beginner Bike Stadium   430pm Drills + off road run Stadium	1 430am Bike MacD   330pm Jnr + Beginner Bike Stadium   430pm Drills + off road run Stadium
Saturday	5 6am Heidelberg BRICK MacD’s to HBerg 60k/Run 30min/ Bike 20k/Run 30min/Bike20k/Run30min	12 6am B MacD to SBos + SBos   1pm Swim Homestead Dam	18 Own training   Coach East London 70.3	26 Own training   Coach off	2 5am Brick Germiston   9am Transitions Stadium   1pm Swim Homestead
Sunday	6 7am Jnr + beginner bike Elgro Cntr   11am Swim Homestead Dam	13 7am Jnr + beginner bike Stadium	20 Own training   Coach East London 70.3	27 5am Brick Germiston race route   8am Jnr Bike + transition Stadium   11am Swim Homestead Dam	3   CGT Champs Germiston

 

Plans for big bike week are as follows:

Sat 8.               6am. Bike MacD’s Parkrand to Suikerbos +/- 40k
7:30. Bike Suikerbos                                       57k
3pm. Swim Homestead Dam, Wilge Rd, Benoni

Sun 9.              8am. Bike Race. Stonehaven, V/D Bijl.          60k
10am. Bike back to Boksburg.                      110k

Mon 10.           8am. Swim Homestead
9am. Bike race i/vals as swim/bike brick       40k
3pm. Bike crit type set.Stadium                    40k
5pm. Run drills and core

Tues 11.           5am. Bike Klapperkop route + hills               60k
9am. Swim Buffelspoort Dam
10am.Bike Buffelspoort                                 90k

Wed 12.           9am. Bike Cradle. Valverde Hotel                 120k
+ Run off the bike                                20/30min
5pm. Run drills + core
6pm. Run Time Trial                                       4/8k

Thur 13.            5am. Boschkop loop x 2                                 100k
10am. Swim Hillcrest
2pm. Run Klapperkop off road                     60min

Fri 14.               6am. Bike MacD to Heidelberg
50k Bike/20min Run/20k/15min/10k/10min

 

This is my last race report of 2012.

When things do not always go as planned (I am pretty used to that), you get tougher and tougher and wiser and wiser. So I am pleased to be writing this report as a tougher and wiser (hopefully) athlete…

But back to the race…

Pre-Race:

I was pretty excited for this race to try a few things out and test where I actually am. It was the last race of 2012 and I was planning to go out with a bang… (which I did!)

We had just come off a hard training block and I was feeling super excited and strong before this race. My coach and I had some things I have been working on mentally and physically and I was very keen to try these out in this race. I had a lot to prove to myself.

Warm up:

I didn’t do a full bike warm up as I didn’t want to risk it in the rain and wet roads; I took a small cycle just to see where transition was and where the route went from transition.

I did my normal run warm up, intervals and drills, and was feeling ready to go!

It was raining, cold and wet. The race organisers decided to make it a wetsuit legal swim, which I was actually pleased about because it would give me the opportunity to do a warm up in the water without getting too cold.

I put my XTERRA wetsuit on and I walked transition every direction (twice.)- just to make sure I knew where I was going ( I have direction problem sometimes), with this being a sprint race every millisecond counts.

Swim:

The swim consisted of a 750m loop, in the Vaal river.

My swim was amazing!!! (Usually my worst discipline and the one I stress about the most) I started strong and got around the first 2 buoys first, in front of Kate Roberts, then…. I got tired. I slipped down behind Kate and Vicky van der Merwe, next to Carlyn and Tayla I think. I managed to hold that pace until the end and got out the water only 4sec behind Kate. (The rest of the girls in the field were not too far behind us either) I was feeling in control most the way. And was a lot happier about my swim this race. I was confident for the rest of the race. My head and body were in the right places. J

T1:

It was a long run from the water to our bikes, which I like, it gives me room to make up time or put time into others. I ran past as many girls as I could racing to my bike, everything went pretty smoothly, and I got my wetsuit off and helmet on pretty quickly and exited transition just behind Kate and Carlyn. I pushed my bike passed them both with the intention to jump on and go like I normally do, that did not happen… my foot slipped off the shoe and I stumbled a bit, losing a few seconds I got on my bike and charged immediately to make up that time.

Bike:

The bike route was wet. It was a 20km route of an out and back loop with one section leading us around a small loop through the suburbs. The bike was expected to be dangerous (with lots of potholes and plenty rain), but I was confident as I usually can handle myself and my bike in the rain so I was not worried.

The game plan was to hurt the other competitors as much as possible (my coach said so!!) and to back myself up (confidence!!!), so once I was sorted on the bike with my feet in my shoes I went on to try and accomplish this mission. I caught Carlyn and Kate just as we exited the resort (with the rest of the pack on my wheel), about 1km from the mount line. I rode straight past Carlyn and Kate to the front and was riding hard. I made a few attempts during the 20km cycle in getting away in which I was half successful until Andrea Steyn would bring the group back up to me. I was not worried because I knew I was riding hard and I was attempting to do what my coach and I had discussed and planned to do and so I knew that everyone else would be working hard as well. When I did not try attack and get away from the bunch I stayed at the front of the pack and pushed the pace as much as I could. I was really happy with the way I was cycling, I was strong and was confident with the way my race was going and so was more than happy to do all the work up in the front as I was confident in my running ability as well. I felt in complete control of myself and of the race.

We turned the last left corner off the route back into the resort which was downhill, full of broken road and potholes, I was still in front and still feeling in control. Carlyn Fischer now came from the back of the bunch and sprinted passed everyone to the front of the pack. We had to pass over a gate rail and then turn a sharp left corner, I saw Carlyn lifted her bum off the saddle and then pulled brakes because she seemed to be going way too fast around the corner, I saw her back wheel sliding, then saw her hit the pavement, I went wide, pretty sure I would miss her and avoid the accident but then she hit the signpost just off the pavement and bounced back into the road, into me… There was nothing I could do and I remember hitting the ground pretty hard and my left calf cramping. I had every intention of getting up and carrying on. My Coach was right there and had witnessed the entire crash (to my relief) and helped me up, saying I must just make sure I am ok before I carry on. I was in pain… in my hip, in my head, in my back, everywhere. Luckily I was able to walk away from the accident with nothing broken or without needing an ambulance. My coach helped me to a bench where I sat while he went over to try and help Kate and Carlyn. I unfortunately could not finish the race which is heart-breaking on its own…  but more heart-breaking is that my bike was not as lucky as me (my little FELT AR1 steed has now been put to rest LLL)

Overall:

I am really happy with my physical condition at the moment but also very happy with my mental state. I felt more and more like the old me! Ready to take on the world!!! J

I am heart-broken that I had the accident but am proud to say (and even my coach says) that this time it was NOT my fault! J Accidents happen and sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, no matter how good your bike skills may be. The goal from now on… to get strong enough to break away and ride on my own, it seems safer. Haha J

I am taking some time to recover and then will be back to prepare for a good 2013 season which I am looking forward to with some new plans and new goals.

I am very happy to say that I have ended off 2012 stronger, leaner, and meaner than I have in the past 4 years and so I have no doubt that 2013 will be good to me.

To my supporters, M.A.D. team mates and my sponsors, Dunlop Belting Products, Rema Tip Top, Felt Bicycles, Xterra Wetsuits, New Balance, Optimum Running and 11Global, thank you for your support in my career, as without you none of this would be possible. You are helping me keep my dream alive.

I wish you a joyous festive season and a happy and fulfilling 2013.

 

 

 

Elite
Name	Pos	Total	Swim	Bike	Run
Dylan Pivo	8th	1:00:57	9:58	31:14	18:18
Lauren Dance	DNF
Sprint
Iain Peterkin	1st	1:00:32	9:49	30:49	18:21
Brett Rossouw	5th	1:04:08	9:44	32:38	20:11
Sue Peterkin	1st	1:10:05	10:50	35:03	22:21
Garron Mosley	16th	1:12:27	12:14	35:23	23:01
Brian Pivo	9th	1:16:29	12:52	35:34	24:45
Frank Kienhofer	39th	1:17:40	14:43	36:43	20:25
Carna Kriel	6th	1:20:08	12:32	38:55	26:50
Wayne Langridge	31st	1:23:54	18:24	37:02	26:11
Agaath Hazenberg	15th	1:25:21	14:07	40:23	27:02
Aline L’Ange	15th	1:26:31	13:48	41:20	28:01
Mark Mackintosh	117th	2:05:48	16:19	1:15:10	28:15
Juniors
Marco Bonaretti	7th	32:28
Keryn Venter	15th	39:08

 

Pretoria: Saturday 1st.  Bike/run brick from Cafe41 Groenkloof 6am
Sunday 2nd. Own training or BSG V/D Bijl

Boksburg: Saturday 1st. Bike/Run brick from MacD’s Parkrand 6am
Transition work, run drills, abs/core set, jnr bike Stadium 10am
Dam swim Homestead Benoni 1pm
Sunday 2nd.  Bike MacD’s Parkrand to V/D Bijl 4am
BSG race