Blog Archive
I’ve resurrected my blog after a long break. Feel free to browse among my older content.
My Left Foot
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the...
Pleasure, Pain & Pride: The story of a DNF
Nothing prepares you for the overwhelming range of emotions you will experience at an event like Ironman 70.3. And nobody prepares you for the (un)likelyhood of not finishing – probably because nobody expects to walk away with a DNF.,,
Just one more sleep!!
Take four friends, one epic road trip that lasted almost 16 hours and two cheap-ass hotel rooms, and what do you get? Ironman 70.3 Race Weekend, of course! Three sleeps to go... We arrived here on Thursday night, having decided to spread the load over two days before...
It’s come down to this…
I'm busy with the last bit of preparation before Sofie, Radesh, Megan and I leave for East London tomorrow morning at 4am. Our road trip is the culmination of six months' worth of hard work, blood (literally), sweat, tears, laughter, fun, panic attacks, cycle races,...
Top tip: breathing in choppy water
9 days to go until Ironman 70.3 (EEEEEEEEEEK!!!!) and I have had a few rough open water swim sessions lately which really sucker-punched my confidence. But I came across this clip which provides some awesome tips on how to deal with choppy seas. I'm hoping for some...
Smiles, Tears, Lessons & General Madness: A Year In Review
The past 364-and-a-half days have been one of those extra-large-value-pack-mix-bags of fun, laughter, tears, frustration, love, life lessons, friends and much more. Here are some highlights: Da Son started Grade 1 and Da Chick went into Grade R. Being a year apart...
Flying the #EmbarkTri Flag on Reconciliation Day
16 December is more than just a public holiday; it also happens to be my grandmother's birthday (happy 88th birthday, Ouma!!). And yesterday, for the first time in many years, I missed my gran's birthday party to participate in two races with her on my mind. Race 1:...
Thursday Motivation: I CAN
In 39 days I'll be known as Race Number 2712 when I line up in Wave 5 of the 1.9km swim at the 2013 Ironman 70.3. Following the swim, which I must complete within 1 hour and 10 minutes, I have to cycle 90km (4:05 limit) and run a half marathon (3:15 limit). That's a...
Race Report: Jailbreak Tuffy Escape
A dream finally came true for me this past weekend when I had the opportunity to participate in the Jailbreak triathlon out at Brandvlei Prison, situated on the Brandvlei Dam between Worcester and Rawsonville. Before I got bitten by the tri bug, I used to listen with...
I have finally realised…
... that there is a way to get some kind of stroke rhythm in the water. It came to me earlier this week when Sofie and I met for a morning session at Sea Point pool, and I was trying to get my head around relaxing and breathing and focusing on my stroke and and and......
Die Burger Cycle Tour wrap-up
To most, this is just photo of me on my bike, riding along some arb road, doing some arb cycle race. But I remember the exact place where this pic was taken. I know exactly how I felt. I dared not look around or speak to anyone. The only thing on my mind was the...
Emotional Rollercoaster
Coach Evil Steve promised us two things the first time he met us: The friends we were about to make on this 70.3 journey would stay with us for the rest of our lives. We would experience a rollercoaster of emotions as the programme progress. He was right on both...
Monday Inspiration
This vid really speaks to me. I hope you are inspired by it too. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDmt_t6umoY]
Revenge of the Tri Nerd
OOH - this blog post is WAY overdue, but things have been a little hectic at work and in training. Stay tuned for a wrap-up of this past weekend, coming to a PC near you in the next 48 hours. First things first... I have a very important message: Last Sunday was...
Feeling like a superstar
Can somebody hand me my cape please because I feel like a freaking superhero!! The morning started like most canal mornings. I drove to the Waterfront at warp speed because I was running late. Arrived, sniffed the air to get a feel for the stink level (conclusion:...
Why Egg-Mayo is a NO-NO
I've been fretting about this blog since Saturday. After all, what can I say about my disastrous opening tri for the season without sounding like a total whiner? For most it was a great race. In my case it turned into a bit of a non-event. In a nutshell: I had a...
Training Update: My swimming progress
While most of you will be snoozing tomorrow morning, I'll be getting up at 4am to pack my stuff, collect Sofie, Meg & Radesh and go road trippen to the other side of the Huguenot Tunnel where we will join the rest of our Embark training group to participate in the...
Thursday afternoon inspiration
As I'm so inspired by this amazing account of how yoga changed one man's life. Watch it; it's truly awesome. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448&w=560&h=315]
