Ironman for smile
6 years into the sport of Triathlon and I’ve decided that the time has come for me to do my first Ironman. Most people ask me if it has been tough living in PE and not having done an Ironman. To be honest it really hasn’t been. I made a decision early on when starting Triathlon and I generally like to try my best to stick to the decisions I make. I decided I would like to be doing Triathlon for at least 5 years and would need to complete a minimum of 10 x Ironman 70.3 distance events before entering the Biggy. I now know a great deal on what it takes in preparing for an event like Ironman and I am very happy I made that decision. It is only over the past 2 years that I have really started feeling my body maturing and I’m still not even sure if it is ready for the crazy training that is to come.
At this stage I have completed 15 Ironman 70.3 distance events and have got a fair amount of training/racing experience in my body that will hopefully assist me towards a great result in my first Ironman. The itch really started at Ironman this year and I am now more excited than ever to be on that start line on April 2nd 2017 (Day after my birthday. Yes I know).
Being under Claire and Kent’s guidance has been tremendous for my racing and coaching career. I have learnt a great deal from the both of them. Claire has managed me like a machine over the past 3 years and I am super grateful for all her input and for getting me to where I am today. I have now given Kent the opportunity to work with me up until race day. I am very excited about this and after them getting to know me over the past few years they both seem to think that Ironman is my distance. Of course I hope they are right but all I can focus on now is putting in the work and doing my best come race day.
There was a huge stirring in my heart to do it for something more than just personal achievement. Ironman means massive sacrifice. Although I have never done one I do still have an idea of what it takes as I have coached athletes to the finish line and have done some rather big weeks of training myself. I feel that if athletes are not careful enough then it can so easily become a very selfish journey that’s all about ME and meeting others expectations. I by no means have full victory in this & know I also need to be careful but it is something I remind myself of often and there seems to be progress with each and every race. I do understand that one does need to stay very focussed when training for an event like Ironman but I also believe that there is a place to bless others whether it be inspiring, encouraging, motivating or even giving back to those that are far less fortunate than us. I decided to join Smile Foundation because I want to try my best to do just that. Knowing that a team of Ironman Smile athletes will be working together to raise money for such a great cause really makes me feel as though there is a much bigger purpose behind my/our Ironman journey. The Smile Foundation is a South African Charity that assists children with any type of facial abnormality, to receive free corrective Plastic and Reconstructive surgery within South Africa.
My goal is to raise as much as I can for the charity but to also try my best to enjoy as much of my journey to the start line as possible. I know it’s going to be a brutal one and there will be many days when I’m feeling down and out. That’s when I will remind myself why I decided to take on Ironman South Africa 2017.
Wish me luck and see you there!
