I stepped outside into what looked like a dark and stormy day, kind of how most nightmares start. My mood and thoughts on the other hand were the complete opposite.
I felt so calm and confident for this race, I had improved so much over the last year, and this was going to be awesome!
I walked from the hotel to the swim start, jamming to some tunes. Checked my stuff in transition as I sang along to Flo Rida, got my morning pep talk from Eminem and had Mick Jagger cheering me on for my warm up, I was Ready to Rock n roll!!

The swim started, I ran into the water with the same grace and awesomeness of a Baywatch star. I may have even done a hair flick although you wouldn’t have seen this because I ran into the water so fast and also because I was wearing a swim cap. 
I didn't fear the cold one bit, part because of the warm up swim the day before and mostly because I needed a pee, 
I’m not the greatest swimmer so thinking of it as a 1.9km course is kind of daunting so I always break the swim up by buoys in my mind. I tell myself focus on the first 200m and then take it bit by bit. 
My mind keeps repeating similar things over and over again. 
Just keep swimming Just keep swimming
Breath
Okay blow out some bubbles...
ooo look bubbles
Jeez I'm swimming fast
I'll be bleak if I see a shark
I'll swim faster than the shark
Flip this swim is taking forever
Aaah I'm swimming sooo sloooow
Am I even swimming in the right direction!?
Just keep swimming Just keep swimming.

I really felt like I was having the best swim of my life. I put my head down and just kept going. Until I stopped to take note of where I was and realized that I had swum waaaaay off course :/
I would have told the group of people swimming around me that they were swimming in the wrong direction but they seemed so focused so I decided not to disturb them. I corrected my course and swam as hard as I could back to the buoys and to the finish of the swim.

Despite going off course I’m really happy with my swim. Swimming is something I had feared so being able to power through without any feelings of anxiety was a huge milestone for me.

Out the water and onto the beach. I felt like I was storming Normandy, stopping only to give a slight pose for the photographer. I felt energized coming out of the water and did my first hill sprint of the day going from the beach to transition.

Transitions are still something I need to work on, I have a tendency to talk to the people around me… but I cut my time down from 15 mins in 2015 to 7 mins in 2016! Next year will be sub 4 for sure 

My bike started out fast and furious. The wet road and rainy conditions made me a bit nervous but once I got into a good rhythm I was happy… Until the sensor for my monitor stopped working so from then on I had to guage my speed by how I felt.

With my hair blowing in the wind and some serious peddling going down I was making good time on the course until my lower back started cramping. I tried to ignore it and push through but it got worse so I got off the bike, did some stretches and carried on. At the turnaround point I got off to stretch out my lower back again and have some snacks.
I had some serious time to make up as it took me 2 hours to get to the turnaround. 

On the way back I cycled my butt off, I flew to the 60km point and then my back started cramping again so I pushed it away in my mind and tried to focus on the ride but had to stop and stretch out again at the 72km point. The last 18kms were a huge struggle, I had slowed down dramatically and each pedal was a battle. I just kept telling myself to keep moving forward, don’t think just go, slow down if you have to but get into a rhythm and stick with it. 

At transition I snacked up, put on some sunscreen and started running.
My legs were happy to be off the bike and got into a good pace up until the first hill where my quads started cramping so I decided to walk a bit… by a bit I mean I walked the whole hill up to the aid station.

Then like a knight in shining armor Jess ran past me and I thought to myself I’m going to keep up for as long as I can. We kept a solid pace up bunkers and all the way around the far end of the course. I held on up until the Wimpy where she ran ahead to finish 2nd place in her age group and I hobbled on for my 2nd lap. 
The 2nd lap of the walk… I mean run was a bit slow. I landed up doing a lot more walking then I should have and drinking lots of coke. Eventually at the turn around point I found it in me to start running again properly, which I did until the finish.

Although Ironman 70.3 is a massive physical feat to contend with, it is the mental challenge that I found myself fighting the most on Sunday.
The sport is a rollercoaster of emotion. The thoughts in your head when are on the swim, the bike and the run are completely different. Going from the one to the other brings a slight relief but it brings a whole new world of pain and power.
The thoughts in your head when you are standing at the start line, to when you are standing on the finish are completely changed. Your thoughts about yourself and what you are capable of are different at the start and finish of the race. 

​The truth is anything is possible; you just have to work for it. 

This race seemed to pop up so quickly after the festive season. After being way too indulgent into the Christmas feasts and the inconsistency of training, I felt as if those few short weeks in the New Year were the first time I had started training for East London. Albeit I have only been a member of Trifactri for a few months I still feel that I only had those two weeks of training for this race.

Being in east London and being surrounded by the Trifactri group really seemed to settle the nerves. I had a good chat with some people at the Friday dinner as well as the guidance from our incredible coach, Lucie Zelenkova. This was all I really needed to get myself into the right mind space for the race. 

The day before the race arrived and it was Bike check-in time. This must have been my favorite experience. I felt so excited standing in the centre of transition being surrounded by a buzz of athletes who were all racking their bikes and sorting through their transition bags to get everything ready for the race. The team had all decided to meet and rack their bags at the same time so I had the company of all my good friends, I really did have so much fun talking and making jokes while standing around in transition. This was the point where I felt confident and ready to race this big boy. I had a big goal set ahead of me, to finish in 5 hours, and I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy to achieve that time but I felt it was possible and that’s all I needed. 

Race Morning arrived all too quickly, heading into transition in the morning with the wind blowing I started expecting a tough race ahead. After the bike was ready, I headed out and down to the beach for the swim start. I chucked myself right into the first batch to head off. I did decide to hang back a bit in the batch though because I know I’m not a strong swimmer. The idea being that I wouldn’t be swam over in the water, which seemed to work successfully. Then before I knew it I was running down the beach towards the sea. I dived into the freezing water with grey skies up above with the wind howling, the race had begun. 

The first half of the swim felt grand with the current and chop in our favor as we swam out to sea, I had almost decided it was going to be an easy swim until we reached the furthest buoy and had to turn around and head back to the beach. The second half of the swim became a battle with a consistent pattern of stroke, stroke and swallow. There was no breathing in that choppy water. To make matters even more exciting it had started rain while we were swimming back, the cold water had also started to take its toll, and my hands were so cold I wasn’t able to close my fingers. I found this whole experience quite amusing given how easy it was swimming out. Despite the conditions I eventually I made it back to the beach in a time of 33 minutes, which is what I had expected so I was feeling good. 

I chose to run quite fast up to transition to make up some time and to try warm the body up a bit as the fingers were now complete useless due to the cold. Thank goodness for excellent volunteers in the transition tent who literally did everything for me, they really helped me get through that first transition quickly. 

It was now time for a great bike. I felt so strong cycling out of town with the legs there and the weather cool, even with the rain, I was happy. My entire ride consisted of me repeating to myself something someone had said to me the previous evening before the race: “Give that bike Horns!!!.” Boy, but I did. I pushed so hard the first 45kms I was surprised I had it in me. I was so confident although I think this is where I blew my legs, and I ended up riding the last 45kms home saddle sore. That was no pleasant experience. I had to alternate between standing and sitting the whole ride back, which hurt. None the less I managed to come in from my bike with a time of 2hours 53minutes, which left me feeling happy.

I dashed into transition chasing time and yet again I had the most unbelievable help from the race volunteers, this left me with another speedy transition and I was out beginning the run.

With my swim time and cycle time fairly on track I needed a good run if I was to finish in the desired time of 5 hours. This didn’t seem too daunting as running is my strong point. But it was just a mere 3km in and I was hurting. My legs felt like jelly, I was tired, and it was at this point I decided that this Half Ironman was a tough one and the run had only just begun. After dragging myself up bunkers hill twice, which felt like climbing a mountain twice, it was the road home. That last stretch felt great as I ran down the beach road heading towards the red carpet. The finish line came all too soon and the race was over, leaving me with a time of 5hours and 18minutes. A time I’m really proud to have achieved for my first time on the course. I definitely think I could have done better but this is the exact reason why I know I’ll be back again next year. 

My last year’s season ended up only in December and I needed long break after that. I did almost nothing for four weeks, except occasional runs now and then. We went to Czech Republic to enjoy European Christmas with my parents and my sister. And I had awesome time there. Nothing can beat proper Czech Christmas with all those homemade cookies and Gluhwine at Christmas Market. Just all this eating and drinking meant that I was carrying bit of extra weight and missing some fitness 
But still, I couldn’t miss 70,3 East London. It was my 9th time racing there and I always enjoy whole weekend and experience with my athletes and friends. It wasn’t just a race for me; it was road trip to East London from Joburg, team dinner, team warm up, race and after race activities – yes, famous after party at Buccaneers
My first race of the season is done. Not a result I wanted but still glad I went.
It itself wasn’t great. As pro ladies we had separate start – 5minutes behind pro men and 10minutes ahead of all age groupers. 
I had great start and run into the water, yay after 200m I was leading the race...until dolphin Jodie Swallow just pass me like I am standing still. Well Luc, just settle into your rhythm, you can swim, swim is easy for you.... it should be easy...No it’s not easy...I am really not enjoying this...someone touching my feet all the time...just keep swimming....where did those waves come from....this is not a swimming this is a hell....just keep swimming...shame if this is hard for me what about rest of the people...just keep swimming....yay its almost done....WHAT – 3minutes behind Jodie...not a good start 
Bike – wind rain lonely roads for first half. Trying to convince my legs to go, just go, just stay with them, it’s not that bad. Why I can’t keep up...I shouldn’t eat all those Christmas cookies, now it is hard to get up those hills...but wait for downhill...I will be faaaaast...maybe...Or maybe not...off the bike in 6th position, not where I want to be. Let’s run!
Run... yes I can run, cadence...posture...run Luc run...oh no, I can’t breath...ma asthma playing with me again...just another step...No I need to stop, some volunteers running towards me if she should call ambulance...No no, just little rest. Well my race is over...Now I just need to try to get to finish line – run, walk, run, watching where all my athletes are. Come one guys, you need to push, I am enjoying watching the race and all the people. All the volunteers are amazing. It is actually fun. Yeah Luc you are racing as a pro, it shouldn’t be just fun, you should be faaaast too....next time.
Finally finish line, quite special moment running last few kilometres with one of my exathlete Chris. Now I can sit and relax and chat to everyone...or maybe not, my lunges decided to tighten up and here it comes...asthma attack...stretches...and medical tent...well, that was less then glamorous ending 
 I finished as a 7th pro lady in 5:10.
But despite all of this I had great weekend. It was amazing to help people to reach their goal and guide them to podium finishes, PBs or even just finish. I had 25 athletes racing. It was once again bonding time with lot of people and learning that this sport is about more then just performing. I am extremely proud of every single Trifactri athlete, from Desie and Kirsten not only winning but dominating their age group. Big improvements from Magda, Jess, Richard, Andre, Gavin and everyone else to ever inspiring Jonny “Hardcore” and Robs and special first ever half of Claire.
Thank you guys for letting me to be part of your journey of this beautiful and tough sport

I started training 5 months before my first race day, 24th Jan 2016 IM70.3 Buffalo City, statistically the second hardest IM70.3 in the world they say. Had I known the latter before I raced I probably would have made sure I trained consistently for the entire 5months. In fact, the intensive training I did in the last 2months leading up to the race left me with shoulder, knee and ankle over-training ailments so I knew it was a stretch to begin with that I was going to make cut-off. I had never run more than 10km’s and my cycle per/hour averages were cutting it fine. Rule 1: Train consistently. 
 
Race day came, I arrived at transition check-in and realized I forgot my water bottles in the hotel freezer. Luckily my number one supporter (aka husband) was able to go back and get it for me. Rule 2: Arrive at check-in early enough to make mistakes and fix them. The weather was overcast and drizzly but at least not cold as we lined ourselves up in the self-seeded time slots on the East London Orient beach. It felt like eternity waiting for the pros to finish and the participants ahead of me to start. Eventually my time came, I gave my two fellow friends on either side of me a hug, we reminded one another to get ready to start our watches and we stood amped and ready for the man-made gate to count us down to our start. And go! The swim started, it was very wavy at some point and I wondered how many people were getting sea sick in the water, but quickly put that thought out of my mind. When my feet first touched the ground I saw 40min on my Suunto watch – I was chuffed with that and thought I’d done well. Rule 3: Know exactly what time you start in self-seeded starts. I ran up the beach through the cheering crowd and I heard my family cheering for me – whistling and going wild it was inspiring, my dad shouted for me and I detoured to close enough to the sideline to give him a high-five. I had done 1 out of the 3 disciplines and I was feeling good. Up to the transition point I ran… Then walked, it was a steep hill after a long swim.
 
In T1 I grabbed my red Bike bag and changed – I had pre-packed my gels in my Trisuit before the swim to save time in transition but geesh I still had a lot to think about. Pain tabs check… Oats bar check… Tissues check... Slowmag’s check… PVM bars check… Have all my gels check… Helmet, gloves, cycle shoes check. Oh wait, put cycle shoes on before you leave transition. Rule 4: Don’t take so damn much into Transition. And onto my bike I went – my sisters had lined up a bunch of cheerleaders and they were all shouting my name as I rolled down the Esplanade road, I was having fun! Feeling strong I rode the first 45km but also taking heed of what so many had told me, “don’t push too hard in the beginning because you must save some for the last two hills” I pushed but also kept some back. I wouldn’t shout it out too loud but I actually didn’t find the first half as grueling as I expected. Granted we had good weather conditions with the sun only coming out about 2hrs into my ride, maybe it was all the training I did in the Garden Route over December or maybe I just didn’t push as hard as I should of, averaging about 17km p/hr for those first 45km’s. In any case at the half way point I realized if I did not pick up the tempo I was not going to make the cycle cut off so I pushed hard. It motivated me overtaking people – we were all friendly but at the end of the day I think we pushed each other by competing with one another. It’s a good thing I saved some for those two last hills, they were tough. I mounted off my bike and as I entered T2 a guy passed me and I heard him telling the other volunteers to close the gates, I was the last one in. Thank God I made it, 4hr22min according to Suunto.
 
In T2 one of the volunteers offered to help me, she must have seen I was a tad frazzled from the cycle. We threw out everything in my Run bag and then she started asking me questions, Pain tabs do you need these? Knee guards? Sunblock? Oats bar? Tissues? Chews? You do know they have Aid stations with gels right? Oh my word she confused me so much, now I had to try and think about what she was asking me whilst I’m trying to rush to decide whether I’m wearing socks or not with my trainers. Rule 5: Don’t let anyone distract you off your mission even if they have good intentions.  As I exited the T2 transition tent a chirpy polite guy popped up from a bike, “Hi” he said, “I’ll be with you until you pass the person in front of you”… What?? I barely heard that as I was rushing by but I thought he said until I pass the person in front of me. I ignored it and started running towards the Pier. The next thing I know, here is this guy on his bike next to me with a big sign on the front of his bike with big bold red capital letters reading “The last finisher”. I nearly died of flush embarrassment right there and asked him to go away.
 
I struggled to the Pier, I was hot and tired and my cadence was so slow. One of my training buddies came up behind me just as I was about to reach Esplanade street, she must of seen I was struggling and encouraged me to “pull all the strength from the tips of my feet, from my finger nails, from my eyelashes – pull all that power and put it into the run”. I nodded and mustered up the strength to tell her I can’t talk while I’m running but what I was thinking was I’m going to make this, I’m just exhausted right now. I could barely run those first 2km’s. I watched my average reach 7,9km’s p/hr and in my delirious state I somehow managed to convince myself that I was going faster than the 9.5km p/hr run I had planned. I popped a High5 gel and a coke at the aid station and then tried running again. I couldn’t.  I did what I had in training and aimed to run to a pole then walked to the next. And so it went until I saw my family cheering for me on the side of the road – I started jogging, my two sisters started to run alongside me but at this stage I was properly exhausted and angrily shooed them away, I was getting emotional having them around as I knew they’d see I was feeling weak.
 
I turned the corner and hello Bunkers Hill. I walked, and even though I had passed the guy who was in front of me and lost the guy on the bike it wasn’t long until he was with me again. By this time everyone else who was on their way back from the first loop of the run could clearly see the guys sign board and that he was “with me”. They shouted encouraging cheers of “you can do it” and all I remember thinking was, “I know I can do it, I am going to do it, I just want to damn well do it within the cut-off”. Suunto was reading about 7,2km p/hr I was still silly enough to think that was okay. Rule 6: Remember your race strategy. On Bunkers Hill, Allan (the guy on the bike) and I had enough time to get to know one another since I walked. I was wondering when he was going to fall off the mountain bike going as slowly as me but he was so sweet, telling me he’d make sure I would finish, he’d be with me till the end, stay hydrated, keep my body temperature down by using the sponges at the aid stations. Having Allan around was embarrassing but he was cool. A the top of Bunkers Hill I got some energy and I decided that downhills are my strength so I was going to push to make up some time, I did and by the time I got down the hill Allan wasn’t by my side anyone. Yes I wasn’t last. Woohoo I saw my mom on the side of the road and she was so excited. She ran with me for much longer than I knew she could handle but I loved her for it. Later my husband, Dad and sisters cheered me along – they were going wild,  my one sister ran with me for a couple of hundred meters.
 
Shortly after this I realized I was going far too slow and I was not going to make cut-off if I didn’t go faster – Allan was back with me. I firmly told him that I needed to make cut-off and I need his help, he needs to not allow me to slow down. He agreed. I agreed to myself that I was going to finish the first loop to the Pier and then give it all I’ve got for the second. And I did, I was back on track with a 10km p/hr average and then when I looked again at my watch I was shocked. Battery dead. Shit. I felt like my wind had been knocked out, I had no way of tracking myself. Rule 7: Set your watch GPS settings to low accuracy to extend the battery life.
 
When I reached my family about 3km’s later I asked them to sms the tracker to see if they could help me figure out how much time I had to cut-off. Allan, I and now 2 other last finisher contenders made our way up Bunkers Hill. I was pushing, nothing was going to get in the way of me making the cut-off. The other participants started to get fewer and fewer on the road, always encouraging me along. The aid station volunteers were so jolly and encouraging, the drinks were mostly cold and the gels were always available. At the top of bunkers hill at my turnaround point a group of Sterling High School boys started to run with me, Allan stayed with the last finisher. Those Sterling boys did such a great job at motivating me, we were all clear on one thing, I had to make the cutoff and somehow we got word that I had 30min for the last 5km’s. I could do that, it was downhill for a large portion of that. So they chanted and shouted out motivations as we jogged down bunkers hill and along Esplanade street. We reached my family and I shouted out to my husband, “how much time do I have babe?” from the information he received I had 15minutes for the last 2km’s. I was tired but I was confident I could make that. For those last 2km’s we ran in unison, the Sterling boys, my husband, my sisters and I. Them shouting, “IronWoman, IronWoman, IronWoman, When I say Claire you say Bear, When I say Claire you say Bear”. It was great comradery, we were all running in unity and I was within our 15min cut-off, I was going to make it. I caught sight of the red carpet – I saw an athlete about 100m’s in front of me go through the finisher line and his time appeared on the screen above. He didn’t make cut-off. I’d know soon enough what my official time was, I started to sprint with everything I had and I left my comradery group behind – I sprinted up that final red carpet stretch and looked above to see my time as I crossed the finish line. I was ready to experience the relief and zeal of finishing IM70.3 Buffalo City within time. And then it happened – I looked up and like in a movie the world slowed down as I read my time on the screen, 08:35:43. I didn’t make it. I missed the cut-off. I missed the cut-off by 5min 43sec. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t make it.
 
Unfortunately the nature of the race is that if you don’t make cut-off you don’t receive a medal or a finisher t-shirt even if you finish the race. You walk away with the experience and a bouquet of flowers. I don’t even think it’s actually fair to say you an IronMan. Its heart wrenching but that’s the nature of it – I guess that’s why it’s so revered because it’s tough and not everyone can make the cut. In any case – reflecting back I can say I enjoyed my race thoroughly overall, the spectator supporters, the efficiency and excellence of the organisation of it all, the volunteers, my family’s support, the gruel of the race, the manner in which it makes you pull out the innermost strength to conquer. It was one of my most rewarding experiences and I will be back. In retrospect in the beginning I was not even confident I would be able to finish the race, I knew I wanted to complete it and make the cut-off but I was never sure I would in-fact be able to do it with my ailments. I put my trust in God to help pull me through and He did, I was blessed with good weather, no serious body aches and great support. I was able to complete the race and next time I’ll make the cut-off. Rule 8: Commit to your goals and conquer them.

When Luc asked me to write a race report on my experience of the IM70.3 East London 2016, I had to laugh. Not only was it my first ever DNF, but also such a disappointing day! So in a hope to give some advice, here’s my report:

Everything went smoothly leading up to race day. I was feeling confident and prepared for this race. I was completing all my training sets as provided by coach and I was generally feeling fit. Thursday before the race, I had my bike serviced, charged my battery (as I have electronic shifters) and gave the baby a wash. We drove down early Friday morning…it rained heavily for most of the way.
 
On Saturday we did our team pre-race run and swim and then relaxed for the rest of the day. At about 2pm I washed my bike again (one cannot race on a dirty bike you know)! When attempting to lube my chain, we discovered that my gears wouldn’t shift AT ALL!

So there I was, panic stricken, trying to contact every person I knew to try to assist with the problem. Long story short; nobody in the entire East London knows anything about Campag, let alone EPS!!! Our bikes were to be checked in at 5pm so I knew my race was pretty much over. After pleading with the referees, they agreed to let me keep my bike over-night to try and fix it.

So back at home, we discovered water in the battery area. My wonderful hubby somehow seemed to get things working again at about 9pm. So much for a relaxed day!

Due to my anxiety issues, I started having a migraine as soon as my shifters wouldn’t work. My body completely shut down. I was getting sick repeatedly on Saturday due to the stress, which as you’ll see, didn’t help me at all on race day!

So 5AM on Sunday, I checked in my bike and was ready to go. The body was feeling quite weak after everything, but I decided it would pass. I lined up for the swim, reminding myself that I have done all the training and I now just had to enjoy the experience. 

The first 1KM of the swim felt good, I was in a nice rhythm and the arms were coping. Turned the second red buoy and everything changed. It was like a sudden wave came over me and I felt so sick. Without too much detail, I’ll just say that the rest of the swim entailed a lot of nausea and getting sick. I decided that I would get out of the water and withdraw.

But, as the adrenaline was pumping, I got into the transition tent, fell over (blacked-out), got back up and felt determined that I wouldn’t give up. So there I was, in my tri-bars, legs barely able to turn the pedals, yawning my head off. I had to stop twice to get sick again. So finally at the first aid station, I decided to call it a day. 

Admittedly, I feel really disappointed as I had put so much into this race. I wanted to make Luc proud and show her how hard I had worked. My heart is still broken as I know I am not one to give up easily. 
So all I can say to anyone out there who has ever had a DNF, yes, it sucks! But on the bright-side, there are always other races. And as my team-mate Ty reminded me this morning, “WE DO THIS FOR FUN”. So I recon we can cut ourselves some slack sometimes and just resort to trying again.

I am now more motivated than ever to give it my all at Durban IM70.3 this year. And can I please encourage everyone out there who is too nervous to give it a shot…GO FOR IT! It is definitely worth all the ups and downs!

This is my second East London 70.3 and so far I haven’t been disappointed by the organisation of the event. The volunteers are amazing and they keep the energy levels high from the word go. I really take my hat off to all the volunteers and to all the organisers for pulling off an amazing weekend.  

Our weekend always starts off with a fantastic dinner with our club. Some good carbo-loading is implemented, but everyone stays away from the dessert because you know we’re like pro and stuff. I’m just kidding, it’s actually because coach is sitting right there, so we wait till after the race, because then we can eat whatever we want (in front of coach, because she’s eating the same thing). In my case, it’s tons of ice-cream. 
The Saturday we had a wonderful photo shoot done by the amazing Robbyn. We then did a warm up run which consisted of drills aaannndddd A LOT of sweating, THEN, the entertainment begins. After sweating A LOT we then attempted to put our wetsuits on, because you know the water is a casual 16 degrees, so instead of your whole body freezing, the wet suit helps so that just your face, hands and feet freeze. There are wonderful noises being echoed while everyone is trying to pull their wetsuit over their sweaty bodies. Plastic bags are being passed around, well in Darians case half the bag is still left in the wetsuit. The same drill is pretty much repeated before the race on the Sunday.  

The East London 70,3 not an easy race. You either have WIND and heat, WIND and rain, WIND and cold or just WIND, WIND and WIND, but in this case we had WIND, rain and heat. The weather can always take a turn on the day and even during the race. The wind is always a given but it’s always interesting to see what else might decide to really make our race ‘more interesting.’ 
I’m telling you, mother nature always has a good laugh at us. On race day, nerves were flying and everyone was getting ready to go. The swim started off quite gentle, but then turning back to the beach, waves decided to hit us in the face. The rain started while we were swimming and ended when I got to about 30km into the bike course.

The support from the locals definitely helps the agony that every athlete is feeling up that freaking hill and the support continues throughout the run from the volunteers. Yes East London is a hard race but once you’ve crossed that finish line and realising what your body just went through, trust me, it’s worth every minute of the first 45k’s of the bike and every minute up Bunkers Hill. I always love the weekend spent with my family and with this amazing club. Thank you so much to Lucie for all the hard training that got me onto podium. Trifactri achieved great results with podium finishes and personal bests. Congratulations to every athlete that participated on the weekend and thank you to everyone for an amazing weekend, can’t wait for Durban 70.3. Let the eating become better and the training…well um…continue!!  

Not since my debut to the triathlon scene at East London in 2015 had I been so nervous before a race. A full year later and I was again on the beach looking out over the swim course. This year being ready to settle the score with one of the toughest and most rewarding of the three 70.3 distance races I’ve previously competed in. I had been training through the year but only started joining TriFacTri track sessions and Saturday rides just after Ironman 70.3 Durban in August. I officially joined TrifacTri and received my first program from head coach Lucie on 19 October 2015. Since then it’s been dedicated hard work and lots of training. I was confident I was going to get under my 2015 time of 6hrs 9 minutes and 55 seconds. I had to!
 
The sky was covered with large grey clouds and a wind was blowing from behind and across as we stood on the beach. The conditions would make the swim out to the second red buoy relatively easy, but the return leg, past buoy three and four, much more challenging. Being a weak swimmer I knew I would have work to do today. The swim went according to plan, cold and fast out to the far corner as the wind and current dragged us out to sea. After the turn the current was against us and I struggled to get a decent breath of air without swallowing a mouthful of the East London sea water. I felt slow and uncoordinated on the way back as the swells pushed against my head and urged me back. I eventually made it back to shore in what turned out to be my fastest swim yet. This was going to be a good race! Sometime during the swim it had started raining. I could only feel sorry for the soaking supporters as we ran up to T1. 
 
T1 was good. It was also the first time I left my cleats on the bike, so only had to put my helmet and race number on. A great volunteer who seemed more adamant to get the wetsuit off me than even I was, ripped it from my body and handed me a record T1 too!
 
I hoped on Spectre, slid my feet into the cleats and was off. For those who don’t know, Spectre is the name of my beautiful 2015 Specilized SHIV TT bike. It was his first triathlon (owing to the fact that my previous three 70.3’s had all been done on a roadie) so he had lots to prove. 
 
The roads were wet and sufficiently soaked while the rain continued to fall as we travelled to the N2 to begin our ascent to Berlin. In the Tri position and while looking over my right shoulder I unknowingly drifted across the yellow line on the road. Spectre slid out from under me and I plopped down on the road sliding behind him. I was forced to bear the awful scratching sounds of carbon against tar while we waited to come to rest. Luckily the fall was an easy one and the lubricated surface of rain on tar allowed me to slide across the surface relatively unharmed. I hoped up, and with some help from a marshal in a following car Spectre and I were back on the road again. 

​While standing on the side of the road adjusting Spectre and composing myself a slue of friends and training mates came past asking if I was ok. I waved them on. I knew I was going to have to catch them now. The stakes had just risen. With a mental checklist I hit the N2 ready to claim back all the positions I had lost. The wind was in our face on the way to the turnaround point and rain pelted us as we climbed. Spectre and I continued to Berlin and recaptured all the positions we had lost, gained a few more, and unfortunately lost one by being overtaken at about 35km. The return from Berlin back to East London was amazing.
 
I overtook about 5 or so riders immediately after the turn and felt strong as the wind, for a change, was over my shoulder and hurtling me down towards the coast. The ride back was quiet and lonely as there were no bikes in front or behind me. Lining up another rider to overtake took kilometres to achieve. I loved every second of it. I thought to myself, this is how the pro’s must feel, all alone on the road. I achieved a 2:43:35 on the bike, and had set myself a time of 2:40:00. I was still incredibly happy with the time, owing to the windy conditions up to the turnaround point.
 
I got back into town, slid my feet out the cleats and pawned Spectre off to the nearest volunteer. T2 had a shaky start as my legs refused to warm up. I trotted to the tent popped off my helmet got the run shoes, cap and glasses on and hit the road to begin the run. A record fast T2!
 
Dropping into the run course and heading out to the lighthouse I felt I had started the run too quickly. As I rounded the lighthouse I was faced with all the friends and training mates hot on my heels and making their way to the lighthouse. Whether I started too fast or not became irrelevant as there was no slowing down now. The sun had now eaten through the clouds and made the run hot and very humid. I wouldn’t realise just how hot until I finished the race and got wonderfully sunburnt while enjoying my ice cold Castle lite’s. I set myself a target of around 1hr35 for the run. Knowing the run course from the previous year I knew bunkers was coming, but I also knew that this course, unlike Durban’s run, has lots of recovery. The first climb up bunkers was surprisingly harder than I expected. I knew I had to somehow recover or manage myself better otherwise my second lap of the run would come to a grinding halt at the base of this challenging climb. 

​I turned at the far point of the run and started making my way back to the lighthouse. At this point the others hadn’t overtaken me yet. But the fear of being chased down was still with me. Running back to bunkers I saw them, still hot on my heels. It was imminent now. I had a solid run and at times almost enjoyed it. I continually thought about my posture, about pulling my shoulders back, sticking out my chest, landing towards the front of my foot and not on my heels, looking straight and not down, counting my breathing. This all helped, even if the photos tell a different story. The second climb of bunkers went much better than the first and after getting my second hairband at the far turn I was on my way back to the red carpet. The others didn’t seem to be on my heels anymore, which was a fortunate thing as I had nothing left had they chosen to challenge me to a sprint finish to the carpet.
 
I crossed the finish line with a run time of 1:40:46. Not quite the time I had hoped for, but still incredibly happy! The race was over and my training over the past couple of months had taken me to an amazing 5:03:21!!! And a 17th position in my age category!!! I had bettered my time by 1:06:34!!! Knowing this would be the only time I would have such a huge drop in times I enjoyed the moment and celebrated with those around me. It seemed as if everyone I know had a great race and were happy with their times. The atmosphere was awesome!! 
 
Now its time for the big one! I will be attempting my first ever Full Ironman in April this year. Looking forward to the race, and obviously terrified, I can hopefully have another success story to share on this blog! Until then thanks to all the support I received, to the amazing people I train with who push me harder and harder each week, and to coach Lucie Zelenkova in helping me attain my goal of racing #DirtyFast!!! 

A big CONGRATULATIONS to all our Trifactri athletes the qualified for the Central Gauteng Team to race in the SA Triathlon Championships - we are so very proud of you

20-24 Age Group
James Curtin
Jessica Dignon

25-29 Age Group
Bhavik Ganda
Keren Robertson

30-34 Age Group
Darian Wait

40-44 Age Group
Laura-Beth Eicker-Harris
Rob Heath
Lelani Joubert
Diane Kelway

45-49 Age Group
Desiree Dickinson
Kim Dovey
Andre Piehl

As per the ABP regulations, the athlete was afforded an opportunity to provide documented medical evidence that could explain the irregularities in his blood profile.

Evans accepted the charge of doping and did not contest the findings. 

The ABP is a longitudinal analysis and the suspicious readings were identified over a period of time therefore the athlete’s results extending back to March 14, 2014 will be recommended to Cycling SA for disqualification. 

He will be banned from sport for four years as of March 4, 2015. The athlete has indicated that he has retired from professional cycling. 

Evans, from Plettenberg Bay, has been one of South Africa’s foremost mountain bikers in recent years. 

He represented his country at the mountain bike World Championships each year from 2003-2012, either in the Marathon or Cross Country discipline. 

Evans also won the South African National Marathon Series title for six consecutive years and contested 10 Cape Epics, finishing on the final overall podium four times.

​* WADA has explained the ABP as follows: “The fundamental principle of the ABP is to monitor selected biological variables over time that indirectly reveal the effects of doping rather than attempting to detect the doping substance or method itself,” explains the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In other words, a variety of tests are conducted over time (longitudinal profile) to establish an individual athlete’s biological parameters.