I am an Ironman (well, half thereof)

On Sunday 17 January I completed one of my biggest challenges as I crossed the finish line of the
half Ironman, made up of a 1.9km sea swim, 90km cycle and 21km run.

In fact, the challenge began about a year ago when I broke my ankle in a freak accident and I thought my running career was over. The worst of it I am an Ironman (well, half thereof) was that I thought I’d never
be able to run the Two Oceans again.

So last year I was a supporter at the Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 South Africa in East London, watching from the side lines in an ankle brace and on crutches.
Well, four months later I completed the Two Oceans for the 17th consecutive time, although I only made
the cut-off by about 15 minutes.

After that came a dull patch in my sporting career when I lost interest in sport and began enjoying the ‘rest.’ In July I decided to get onto the scale and was shocked to see I had picked up five kilograms. It was then that I decided I needed a new and bigger challenge before I lost
control of my weight.

So, in August I began my running and in that same month I decided to take part in the half Ironman. Of course I soon realised I had a lot of work to do for the swimming part as I have never been a keen
swimmer.

Actually, while at school, I was sent to the shallow end with the other ‘weak’ swimmers to go and play!
I signed up as a member of the the DSG aquatics centre and began my first swimming session in the indoor
pool under the guidance of the school’s coach and former SA swimmer Tudor Lacey.
I started on 300 metres (with a rest every 25 metres) but before I knew it I was swimming over 1km and then up to 2km straight.

As for the running and cycling training, I have been running forever and cycling for the past three years, so it was just to build up fitness after my break. I managed to get in two sea swims as training so I kind of knew what to expect.

Race day quickly caught up with us and there I was lining up in front at Orient Beach with over 1 000 other
swimmers in my section. The swimming leg was as expected (lots of waves) even though everyone said that it was too choppy – well, hallo… that’s the sea.

I started to drift away from the pack, keeping away from the kicking and pulling, and before I knew it I found myself swimming near the boats! I quickly made a short left and headed back towards the buoy.

With the women and older guys starting 10 minutes behind my group, for me it was seeing how long it would take before they caught up with me.

Well, this happened within the first 1.2km of the race as a few women, followed
by a local entrant, came streaming past.

Eventually I made it back to land and attempted to run to the transition area. I managed a hobble and got the kit and then: the race began.

From the start of the cycling leg to the turn around, I pretty much stayed next to the white line as I made my way past the swimmers (and no cyclists).

What a great feeling to pass a local cyclist on one of the early hills. I managed a steady pace to the turn and, while some said that it was easier on the way back, it was not, with just as many hills and strong wind.

The last 20km I began to relax and start preparing for the run. Back into transition and onwards I ran. As I passed the finish area, James Cunnama SA came in to finish second overall, while I had just completed a few hundred metres of the run.

I managed to keep around a pace of 4 minutes and 45 seconds for the first 10km before I started to take strain and looked forward to the finish. As I looked for familiar faces, I only recognised my training partner while she was sprinting past so fast it looked as though she was chasing someone (I’m still wondering who).

I crossed the line and quickly glanced at the clock and watched as the minutes ticked by to see if I had beaten her (as she was in the batch who started 10 minutes behind mine). As soon as ten minutes was up I broke out in a giant smile.

As it turns out, I was one of the slowest 150 in the swim and finished 531 overall, meaning I overtook over 1 000 participants along the cycle and run AND I beat my training partner by just under 90 seconds. As for now, I’m in the pool, learning to swim like a fish.