Wet & muddy start to da race , we went off ata mellow pace for da first 65kms , we only had 3 ladies so we hada make sure we didnt wear em out too much coz we needed all of em to finish wit at least 3 guys for time.
After da 2nd big climb Qhubeka came hauling passed us & it wasa bit ofa bun fight till da 1st stop as we caught otha teams left in der wake, oh dat is also wer we lost Master P for about 60kms 😎
For da next 100kms we battled pumping winds, rain, sun, slower teams, rain & did I mention da crazy wind 😱 but da team ,directed by Franco & Hewan ,worked like champions wit Steve & Tiny Paulie controling da pace up da hills & Mat, Neal, Hewan, Nick, Fanco & myself taking up da helm onda flats & decends keeping da girls outa da winds.
After da 165km stop we were ready to slaughter wat was left of da legs to get our win. & even wit da rain pelting down & zero tail wind we slaughtered dos legs- helping da ladies where we could & smashing da last few hills. Master P had regrouged wit us jus before da 1st stop but he was da first soldier to fall during dis echelon & Mat was next to sacrifice himself pushing up one of da ladies. Unfortunately my explosion was less spectacular as I popped silently up da last hill & became absolutely useless to anyone. I proudly watched da monsterously strong team finish just inda distance. I couldnt walk but it was all worth it 👍
Da girls , Kirsten, Heidi & Lise were such Trojans- dey neva complained, always looked strong & flip- rode away from 3 pretty damn strong guys on der own team 😉
We won da mixed catagory & I got my bubbly 😊

The special thing about DC is that it's a team event. It is so awesome to bond and ride for your team as apposed to our usual races that are individual and pretty selfish.  I would have pulled out 5 times if I wasn't part of a team that I didn't want to let down.

In 2014 I rode for team UFO and we came 3rd mixed in a time of 5:54 in great conditions.  This year I rode for the same team....

The 'team' had their mind set on a time 25min faster than last year chasing another particular mixed team !!!!

We stayed in a guest house in Montegue, the rain poured all night and those of you that know me... I have a rule against riding in the rain. So as I lay awake listening to the rain I felt my anxiety levels rising. At 4:30 my alarm goes off, try to put on the light and there is no power in this little guest house.  So we are now getting ready, pinning numbers and packing bags in the dark ,cold and rain.

I was not happy.

Get to the race, 5 minutes before we had to be in our pen one of my team mates is trying to pump my tyre and unscrews the valve so now I have a flat tyre at the start. Quick fix, he screws the valve back in and we are on our way.

This rattled me just a little more!!

We head out like bats out of hell.... The team that we were hoping to beat started 1 min behind us and after 20km they hadn't caught us... Made me think we may have been hauling a bit hard!!  I felt horrible, my legs were dead, could barely hang on to the group and it felt like I was riding thro mud.. And we had a monster of a head wind which didn't help.

Eventually at 50km I went over a bump and was so happy to feel my wheel rim. My tyre was flat again. The valve was leaking all the time and I was riding on a half pumped tyre for the first 50km.  Maybe this was why I was struggling. It Gave me a glimmer of hope that things could change!

Anyway, the rest of the team rode on and 3 guys stayed back to help me change my tube and chase back to the group. Which we did.  Suddenly I felt like a million bucks. Amazing what a pumped tyre could do.  I also had a stern talking to myself to pull myself together and stop being a baby.

After the compulsory 120km stop I felt so much better, the next 40km was pretty much balls to the wall , it was windy and cold but I loved that 40km until the next compulsory stop.

The last 40km is survival 'go til you blow'. It started pouring with rain, cold windy rain,everyone is tired and snappy and just doing the best they can to hold on. The team really did work well together to look after each other and help when they could.

Finally the finish line, pure heaven!

5 minutes faster than last year in horrible conditions. Could we have asked for more?! No where near the team we were 'chasing' who won the mixed category but we did win the fastest FULL team across the line which is awesome since this is a team event. But a time of 5hr50 only gave us 6th place in a very competitive mixed category.

Until next year... I WILL BE BACK!

JOJO XXX

​Ironman Malaysia done. One of the hardest races I ever done. Very hot and humid without any cloud cover and challenging bike course. 
 Swim in almost 30degrees water, I was first out of the water by almost three minutes. Hold the lead till 30km of the bike but then really struggled. Throwing up everything I drunk or ate and just pedaling to finish. got off the bike 13th and last two places immediately in transition. So I thought I will just enjoy the run here. Turned out that I felt good on the run and started picking up some girls who were ahead of me. And then cherry on the top was sprint finish at the end of the race with Katharina Grohmann. Didn't think I still have some sprint speed in me:). Happy I didn't give up on the bike and run my way to 7th place

Rode to da start so I could warm da diesel engine nicely
Stuck wit da bunch
Avoided 2 terrible crashes
15kms to go i got bored so sat infront, 
only 4 guys came with me then crossed 
da line in 1st :)

I joined Trifactri in September, with a goal to start doing triathlons, and I completed my first olympic distance triathlon last weekend - the Germiston 5150.
 
I won't lie, I was a little blasé leading up to the race. After all, when you look at each discipline on it's own, it doesn't look that daunting. Swimming has never been a concern for me, I cycle more than 40ks at least twice a week, and I have run marathons before!
 
BUT....add them all together, stir in 35 degree temperatures and some serious wind, and voilà, not so simple after all! 
 
Firstly, standing at the the swim start is nerve wracking, no matter how strong a swimmer you are. Suddenly, telling yourself that you swim double this distance twice a week isn't so comforting, and those buoys look faaaaar away. It doesn't help when the commentator keeps announcing how bad the conditions are. Thank you very much, but we can SEE the waves! At least I came out the water WELL hydrated....
 
Secondly, nothing can truly prepare you for transitions. Sprinting out the water and getting on a bike without really getting your breath back is pretty crazy, and I can't even begin to describe the feeling in my legs the first few hundred metres of the run. 
 
So my first triathlon humbled me, but it only took half an hour (to get the feeling back in my legs and to demolish a Spur burger) before I was thinking about the next one. They are addictive like that.
 
Thank you so much to the Trifactri team and my coaches Jess and Lucie. It was tough, but would have been so much tougher without you guys!

To say that I was surprised to crack a slot for Kona this year would be an understatement so it was quite a surreal experience looking out the window after 36hrs of travelling and watching the island come into view. I had a smile on my face like no other, and I hadn’t even hit the island yet.
A lot of this is going to sound a bit clichéd, because I guess most people experience some of the same things, but Kona is Kona, so here goes…
I was lucky enough to get there 10 days before the race, so I really had a chance to acclimatize and enjoy the actual Kona “experience”. It really is an amazing place. It pretty much turns into an athlete village with sports shops taking over normal shops for the weeks. It’s amazing to see. And let’s not forget the “freak show” as coach Lucie Zelenkova calls. Kona is not the place to be if you have any insecurities about your own body… I did feel brave enough to show some saffa pride at the world famous underpants run though… Thanks Des Reilly for organizing the skivvies…
I could go on for days about the trip itself, but at the end of the day it’s all about the race…
Preparation had been decent and I was happy with my form. I had been quite vocal about what I wanted to achieve, (schoolboy error or just happy to have a crack at a goal… you choose). Conditions seemed decent to start, so I was looking forward to a good day.
The swim start is Hectic to say the least… jostling for position, creeping bunches, and more than one kick… and the canon hasn’t even sounded yet… Game on….
Swim itself was decent, pretty much close to what I had hoped for, but then I experienced a first for me in triathlon, and realized very quickly that I was mixing it with the best in the world… I arrived in transition, and there wasn’t space for me to change it was so full… Being an above average swimmer this brought things home very quickly to me, I had swam 61 mins in a non-wetsuit sea swim and the transition tent was FULL… As I said Game on…
The bike…. Contrary to what Lance said, for me Kona was all about the bike… Brutal conditions is still the best description I have heard… Hot like you can’t understand, and a headwind all the way home… The strength of the cyclists out there is phenomenal. I thought I was biking out of my skin, but I had no fear of a mistaken drafting penalty because I literally couldn’t keep up with anyone… What an awesome place to ride a bike though even in the hectic conditions. Sadly, I was actually biking out of my skin and there is a small crater next to the road somewhere at about 160km on the bike… The run was going to be interesting…
I started the run positive thinking that I could recover and get into it. I was very wrong. Back to the heat, it’s unrelenting. No matter how much ice you put in your hat or how much cold coke I drank, I was destined to walk a lot of that run. BUT then the good part started… Realising my race was done, I chose the next best thing… support everyone else… Hell, I was in KONA, this is hallowed ground… make the most of it Craig. I joked to the spectators and volunteers… Managed to steal a hug form my roomie Desi Dickinson and shake hands with my Team mate Desmond… Couldn’t catch Corinne Berg because she was too focused, but managed to shout for her and cheer on Annah Watkinson and James Walsh to their amazing podium positions… It was awesome even in my darkest hour… To the Saffas I missed, apologies I was suffering at the time….
Alii Drive really is something else purely because of the mystique it holds… Small punt for Paul Wolf and his team, our local spectators in PE are probably even louder and more encouraging and you realise how good we have it back at home, BUT Ali Drive is Ali drive… What does Annah say???  Those last 8 seconds… She is so right!!! That feeling crossing that specific finish line is indescribable.
I didn’t have the race I wanted, but it was undoubtedly one of my life experiences. A lot of people sacrificed plenty and supported me unbelievably to get me there and I appreciate this like you will never believe. Too many names to mention but they know who they are. Thank you for allowing me to experience a dream come true.
Kona… Till next time ;-)