Its 8PM, I’ve just walked through the La Lucia gym turnstile- ready for day 17 of the May Madness challenge. (A punishing 31 days of cycling every day; 1 hour Monday to Friday, 3 Hours on Saturday and 1.5 hours on Sunday.) It has been a difficult week, juggling a long commute to KZN, tight deadlines and 2hours of training a day. I hop on the Wattbike and start my hour long active recovery session following yesterday’s tough interval set. The session is easy and long enough to allow me to ponder over why I put myself through the stress of triathlon...
Like many good stories, it all started with a wager- a challenge to complete Ironman PE. At the time, I had only done 2 small triathlons- both with minimal to no training. I was in bad shape, not having trained seriously since school. Completing an Ironman was a distant fantasy. For a month, I trained by myself but quickly realized that I didn’t have the expertise nor the discipline to go at it alone. Through a friend, I joined a Whacky Wednesday track session and met Trav. I signed up the same day- that was 6 months ago…
I have pushed my body and mind further than I thought possible. In turn, I achieved what, in my mind was unachievable. My progress and development changed my personal challenge from, “Can I complete Ironman?” to “How fast can I complete Ironman?”. I get a real high from competing, and love that aspect of triathlon. There have been many other positive spinoffs that have resulted from my joining the club; Weight loss, positivity, confidence and good health.
In the end, what gets me out of bed before 5AM six days a week is none of the above… It’s the “gees”. The MTD Joburg family has a formula that incorporates competition, banter and encouragement. I do it to push myself with a bunch of mates who are as crazy as I am- and I love it!
See you all out there…
