The day I had been training for had finally arrived. It was that inevitable day of taking on my first triathlon race. Sure, it was just a sprint race, but to me, it was a whole lot more than that. It was the culmination in a few months of rigorous intense training, hours spent smelling of chlorine, tan lines (yes I get them), orange flavored gel breath and the consumption of a lot of oats and honey. Trying to remember all of Johan ‘JB’ Bronkhorst’s advice from the day before, I checked in my bike, hung up the bike and running transition bags and then casually made my way through to the Trifactri team Gazebo. Familiar faces were all about. A lot of supporters had travelled up from Johannesburg to Sun City and everyone knew it was my first race. The questions and comments had been flying about, ‘are you ready for this?’, ‘just have fun’, ‘don’t forget to smile for the cameras’ etc. I nodded in nonchalant approval. Those butterflies that were floating about, suddenly felt like gigantic bats fluttering about in my belly. Breaking my nervous concentration, I was tackled by Lucie, with a very big good luck hug. “You will be fine Kish, trust your training,” she said in her distinct Czechoslovakian accent. I took one more deep breath. Out popped my awfully happy looking coach Jess, with an equally big reassuring hug and a comforting smile. I was nervous, but a lot calmer after seeing the coach. She knew that I knew this would be a challenge for me. We took the dreaded walk down to the pre-race briefing, at the water’s edge. Some last minute advice was passed on from the Jess, with some additional motivational words from Werner, Karl, Niel, Neil, Johan, Aminda, Paula, Kirsty and Monica. To be honest, I was so zoned out, I cannot actually remember what they said, but I am certain it was positive (I listed you all here because I was actually aware that you said something, I am just not sure what, but I appreciate it none the less). It was time to start. “Don’t forget to fill your wetsuit with a bit of water,” I heard, but thought to myself, I’ve been so nervous I am pretty sure my wetsuit is filled already. I took the walk into the water, slipping on a rock and cutting my foot in the process. No pain. No glory. No turning back now. A quick look back at Jess and I felt fully confident that she had prepared me for this situation. I was ready. Quitting was not an option. Jess had put in so much effort to get me to this point, there was no way I would ever let her down. I thought to myself, ‘you got this Kish, you have tackled far worse challenges, you know what to do, and it is just like riding a bike’. I burst out laughing. A few months ago, I didn’t know how to cycle. In fact, a few months ago, I didn’t know how to swim. Now I was lining up alongside 900 people to swim for the first time in an open water race. I chuckled loudly. I must be crazy! The race had started. Having watched and swam with Lucie, Jess, Craig and Ty, who move through the water like a hot knife through butter, I felt more like a plastic spoon. I got the job done, but force was required, friction was felt and slicing through that ‘butter’ was not perfect. I did what I had to do to survive. I did have a far better than expected swim. An unfortunate ten minute delay in Transition One for a technical issue put a dampener on my race. However, a good bike (with some encouragement from Jade) and a good run after that made me smile a bit more. It was not my best performance, but I finished my first race and I finished strongly. I was both relieved and happy. I would definitely learn from the mistakes I made in this race. I was so grateful for all the support from the team. I would not have done what I did without the team and coaches shouting for me every step of the way.
This is what Trifactri is all about, support each other, share lessons learnt, stand by each other in those tough training times and be there for each other through the successes and disappointments. Trifactri have the highest standard of coaches and are arguably one of the best upcoming triathlon clubs in South Africa. Head coach Lucie Zelenkova is not just a phenomenal professional triathlete, with an amazing race record. She is a coach of the highest order, having coached a number of athletes to world champs or straight into Kona. If you are coached by her and follow her process, you will improve beyond your own expectations. She is a top level coach, but as recently as a few weeks ago, proved that she is still a top level professional triathlete at the Challenge Taiwan Long Distance Race. I, like many others watched in awe at Ironman PE as Trifactri coach Des Dickinson (a lady who has Kona behind her name), aided para-triathlete Helen Susannah Webb to cross the finish line. It was sheer inspiration for anyone who ever wanted to do a triathlon. She assisted Helen whilst still coaching many athletes to complete their own Ironman race. Then there is my coach Jess. I praise her a lot already, but she deserves it. I have swam with her, run with her and cycled with her. Among her many honors, she recently won the Trinity Germiston Standard Triathlon. I have learnt more from her than anyone else in this sport. She is patient, persistent, motivating, strict (don’t get her angry with red stuff on training peaks), always there for you and always pushing you to be better. If you are starting out in this sport, I would strongly recommend calling Jess up, she will take you from nowhere to somewhere very quickly. Trifactri have an equally diverse group of athletes, with varying goals and achievements. I have absolute admiration for every single team member, from those tackling their first few races to those trying to obtain a Kona slot. You learn something from everyone. Since joining, the team has made me feel at home within the club, whilst continuing to guide and assist me with getting through my first race. For a long period of my life, I took sport very seriously and I am at the stage of my life now, where I still want to be competitive, achieve some new personal bests, but still have loads of fun. Something I am sure Craig, Eugene, Des, Johan, Roland, Eralda, Aminda, Audrey, Bev and Ralf will testify to. This team gives me that opportunity.
I am equally inspired by some of the accomplishments of my team mates. At the recent Sun City Ultra, I saw Jimmy, Nicola, Johan and Geoff do exceptionally and ridiculously well, only weeks after cruising through their Ironman race in PE. I watched as Ryan dominated his first race, or the likes of Mark and Alastair do their first half, both finishing off strongly. I saw Janine, Sam and Bev, blow the Ultra course away, reminding everybody moms CAN DO EVERYTHING. I watched as Paula, injured before the race, knowing full well she could barely run, brave the sprint race and finish. I saw my weekly track pace partner (the lady I chase around painfully every week), World Champion Kim Dovey, one of the most humble ladies I have ever met, remind everybody why she is the champion that she is with a stellar performance. I saw my old high school mate, Trifactri team member Kirsten Schut, make her race come back after a horrific injury and still win her age group. I saw my friend Jade, who has worked tremendously hard over the last few months, absolutely rip through all her competitors, winning her age group and finishing second overall - just behind pro triathlete Annah Watkinson. These are just a few stories that inspire, drive and encourage me to do more, to want to achieve more and to always tackle more challenges, pushing my limits to the maximum with the Trifactri team. So why join a triathlon club like Trifactri? You have coaches who will push you beyond your expectations, if you commit to your training. You have team mates who will push you to be better, whilst making sure you still have fun. Triathlons are an individual sport, but undertaking any races with a solid team like Trifactri backing you, you will achieve a whole lot more and you will never feel alone!
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Authors:Where Trifactri athletes get to tell their side of the Swim, Bike and Run Archives
May 2018
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