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When I look back at this time last year I noticed a few changes that took place without me knowing it.

Here are a few things that changed.

Things I never knew:

The difference between Low and High GI.
How many Calories in a Kilojoule.
How many calories I burn in an hour.
My resting and Max HR.
There are 4 different HR training Zones.
Your Bike Max Heart rate is not the same as your Run Max Heart rate.
How a Heart Rate monitor works.
The frame on a TT bike is different to a road bike.
What time it is light and what time it is dark every day.
When the days are getting shorter or longer.
How important wind resistance is.
How long it takes to dehydrate.
What affect the temperature has on performance.
Why you take supplements during racing and training.
There are about 20 different massages you can get a spa.
What it means to recover after racing.
You should keep your cables clean on your bike.
What the tyre pressure should be on your bike.
How to fix and service your bike.
There are different running shoes based on your feet and how you run.
1001 ways not to chafe.
There is a difference between a swim wetsuit and a scuba wetsuit.
You can’t do a Triathlon in a scuba wetsuit.
There is a cadence in cycling, running and swimming!
The difference between weight training and bodybuilding.
To improve your running pace per km by 1 min can take a year.
I now know my Chemists name, her husbands name and their kids.
How easy it is to bribe yourself if things get really tough.
How a small reward can keep you going the whole week. In my case (Granadilla yoghurt). I buy a tub on Monday and I am only allowed to have it on Sunday after my run.
How many excuses you can come up with NOT go out on a Friday if you know you have a 5hour bike the next day.

How things have changed:

I know the exact amount of days until Ironman, but not until my Birthday or Christmas.
Getting up at 5am is considered “sleeping in”.
My grocery bill has doubled.
I take more tables every morning than I have ever seen someone taking in hospital.
I check my weight once a week where in the past I checked it once a year.
I know my exact fat %.
I am trying NOT to loose weight.
My supplements cost the same as my groceries per week.
I use to have one pair of running shoes and one set of running clothing; I now have a closet full of kit.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to walk into a running or cycling shop without buying something.
I have been to the Doctor more now than ever and I am healthy, only to have him check if I am healthy.
I have a Dietician and I don’t have an eating problem.
I read the ingredients of everything I buy in the shop now.
I don’t eat any fast food or processed food.
I am more concerned about my training session tomorrow than what to do at work.
I can’t wait for my rest days and when they arrive I feel like I am losing fitness every minute I don’t train.
I plan my holidays around my training program. Travel on rest days.
When I see someone training I feel guilty because I am not, even if I just finished my session.
If I see a cyclist I slow down and ride far around him. I check out his bike and what gear he is riding in.
When I see someone running I check their form to see if I can notice how fast they are running.
If it says “Triathlon” on TV, I am already taping it! And I don’t delete it either after I have finished. In case I want to watch it again.
If it says Ironman on it, I have to buy it!
I taped my first Ironman and have shown it to everyone I know even if I am not in one picture.
My bikes are now in the house (Living room) and not in the storeroom anymore.
I have more water bottles than plates in my house.
I know the names of all the Pro Triathletes and I know their splits from the last races they did.
When I tell someone I have done an Ironman, the first thing they want to know is when I am riding the Argus or running Comrades?!?!?!
I buy 5 different magazines (Tri, running and cycling) every month and read them from cover to cover.

Someone once told me “If you train for Ironman, Ironman will absorb your life” I now know what she was trying to tell me.

Good luck with IM 2011. 









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Xterra World Champs 2010
Race Report

The atmosphere at your very first World Champs is like nothing else. Beforehand, you think that you’re going to be a complete wreck, just raw nerves. But at Xterra Maui, the vibe there puts you at complete ease and you can’t help but be completely relaxed about the upcoming ordeal. The original plan was to calm myself down before the start, so I could actually race properly. But the game had changed, so I needed a new plan. In true Keith fashion, I just winged it and went with the flow.

I actually managed to miss the start of the race by a few seconds, because I was waiting for the countdown and the cannon. Turns out that our end of the beach couldn’t hear the commentator, and so we couldn’t hear the countdown. We’re all standing around, waiting for Kahuna Dave’s voice, and suddenly the whole field jumps in the water. Maybe it was better that way; it didn’t afford me the time to get nervous.

The swim was good, I started off to the right-hand side of the course (it was anti-clockwise), so that I could hopefully have some clearer water. It went exactly to plan. I had exactly one punch and two kicks in the water. I count that as a success! The rest of the swim I was in completely clear water, and working steadily. I didn’t push it too hard, because I knew I needed strength for the bike, which is always my strongest leg. 23mins and 54secs later, I was in T1.

The bike leg was quite something. I started riding about 3 and a half minutes after my age group leader and in fifth place, so I had a bit of work to do. Once I was up and riding, I was happy. This is what I knew how to do. In fourth place, was Tayler Seavey, the Californian deaf athlete. As I rode past, I looked at him and gave a thumbs up, and received a fat grin in return. After the race I chatted with him (via his mum), and a nicer guy I haven’t met!

Within about 5kms, I had caught the U19 frontrunner. The section was on a very rough and technical uphill, real mountainbiker stuff. I saw everyone walking up, and so I decided to just smash it. This is where the Geax Siguaro really came into play for the first time. Everyone in front of me slipped up when they gave it a bash, but the only thing standing in my way was my own power, and the guy lying in my path 4m in front of me. I made it around him, and in the process I turned to my left and saw, across the road, Leandro Glardon of Switzerland walking his bike up the section. I knew then I was in gold position, and the race was mine.

Just after that section, Shonny Vanlandingham caught me and I knew if I stuck with her, then I would really have the advantage. The rest of the bike leg was just a flat out racing affair. Never once did I hold back, I was always riding just a little bit over the edge. The downhills are so vicious that you can’t pedal, you just hold on for dear life. Here I trusted in the equipment. I knew that my bike was capable of beating the course, even if I wasn’t. My Chris King wheels just cruised past other riders, without even trying. I would be freewheeling on the downhills, and up the other side while still going much faster than any other rider. The secret race service my dad and I did on the hubs was working like an absolute dream! No other hubs could do half the job of a set of Chris Kings. Of course, the hubs alone weren’t the only part of the success. My tyres took all the beating from the Maui lava rocks, and then some, all the while just laughing it off. If there is one tyre made for Maui, it’s the Geax Siguaro. The amount of people sitting on the side of the track, with punctures and split sidewalls was quite astonishing.

When it came to The Plunge, the ultimate downhill in Xterra racing, I went at it no holds barred. One finger on the Hayes Stroker Gram brakes and off I went. It was intense! I have never hit a downhill at such speed in my life. Split second decisions were needed, or I risked being shipped off to hospital with no face, thanks to Maui’s very own Haleakala volcanic rock. The ground under the wheels can be compared to giant icy death marbles, coated in slick razor blades. Some serious stuff indeed. It took all my skill, and then some, to race down the volcano. The new Race Face Turbine chainrings combined with my Gore Ride-on gear cabling made shifting from middle to big blade a complete dream, super smooth. Hit the top of the climb, turn the lockout and pro-pedal off and prepare myself for The Plunge. Jump here, float off that, drift this corner, mash the big ring there and go beyond any limit I have. I knew if I was to win this, I would have to pull out a Caveman and destroy everyone and everything in sight. Low air, big gear, no fear!

Once I made the bottom, legs all full of lactic acid from more than ten minutes of holding on for dear life, I was happy to sit down and spin it out on the bottom few miles! Never have I been so happy to have a quality, butt protecting saddle like the Fi’zi:k Antares! The last stretch I hit a high cadence to get the blood pumping for the run. (This tactic courtesy of Shonny herself)

T2 was crazy. The crowd at Maui is something else. Words can’t describe running in with my bike at my side. Something like running into a stadium. And over it all, all I can hear is one vuvuzela and my dad screaming at me that I’m in first place, but I must go faster. Little did he know of the pain I was in, and the pain I still had to endure…I still think of that run with some trepidation. Brutal is an understatement.

The run started out okay. I was told by the pros not to run quickly at the beginning, so I could save my energy for the rest of it. I couldn’t have run fast if I tried! We started by running back on the bike course, so I could see the bikers finishing their ride as I was starting my run. Of course, I was looking out for my competitors. I saw one guy, who eventually finished third, and he was a ways back. So I wasn’t sure of the time difference but I knew I had a decent buffer. The first four miles of the final leg  are all uphill, in the searing Maui heat. Even walking hurt. There was no respite once the downhill started, because it is just ridiculously treacherous underfoot, loose volcanic rock everywhere. By this time, a few older competitors had passed me, but one ran at what was my usual kind of pace for a race, so I decided I would pick it up and run with him. On my own, there is just no way I could’ve done that. I needed someone to help me along. We ran together all the way until the last mile, when my knee collapsed on me. Once we made sea level, it was time to hit Big Beach. This one mile slog, on the softest sand you will ever experience, was absolutely killer. All I could think about was making it to the trees on the other side, but they took their time arriving! Once I made it, I had an inkling of how much trouble I was in. I couldn’t bend my legs to climb over the logs (jumping was way out at this point), as cramps threatened. I had to keep my right leg completely straight. I had no idea at this stage that I had a fractured foot, and that my knee had to compensate for it’s weakness. All I knew was that cramps were a serious threat, my leg couldn’t hold my weight and that even walking was difficult. The last 2kms was a complete haze of pain. One last stretch of beach, some clambering over rocks and finally onto the grass leading up the bricked pathway to the finish line. Seeing the finish area, with the screaming crowds, my dad and more importantly, the finish line, was the ultimate painkiller. Suddenly I could stand straight, I could have a longer stride, and I could jog. I could even run. There was my dad, screaming at me, blowing the vuvuzela and madly taking photos. I ran up to him, grabbed the flag and ran with it above my head across the finish line. I had no thoughts about where I finished, I was just happy to survive!

One hour later, with two litres of saline solution in my arm, three ibuprofens, two bags of ice and who knows how many bottles of water, Gatorade and packets of Gu Chomps forced down my throat, I was in a coherent state of mind and could think about it. I just won World Champs!

I would just like to take the opportunity to thank the people who made the dream come alive. First and foremost, my parents William and Susan Keith. Without them and their support (especially financial! Hahaha), I would never have made t to Maui in the first place. More supportive parents you’ll be hardpressed to find. Then to Claire Horner, for training me and making me the World Champion I am today. What a crazy taskmaster! It’s Claire’s way, or no way. I really had no choice in winning, because you absolutely can’t say no to a person like Claire, as I’m sure you all know. Truly an amazing coach! Then to Kent Horner, for inspiring me and pushing me in the brick sessions and at Xterra Knysna. Kent, it was great training with you mate! To Jean Degenaar, my swim coach down at Strand pool. When I started swimming with her in May, I couldn’t swim 1km without being proper tired. That first week of swim training (my first ever) was the first of many painful sessions. I’ve improved my Xterra time by over 8mins since then, and hopefully I’ll carry on.

To Rob Cunnington at Cycles Africa with all his support, and with products that made me faster than everyone else. Chris King hubs, BB and headset, Race Face Next SL crank with Race Face Turbine chainrings, and Hayes Stroker Gram brakes. Anyone who knows anything about Chris King, knows that they are the world’s best. Look after them, and you’ve got the best product you could have, for life. Race Face speaks for itself, being a top super dependable brand. Hayes brakes are simple and easy, with oodles of power and they look damn good to boot! The Gore Ride-on cable housing made shifting so smooth, I couldn’t ask for better gear changes. Definitely the hardest wearing and fastest kit a mountain biker could ask for! Absolutely world class gear. To Anthony Nash from Nsquared Distribution, for his generous gifts of a Fi’zi:k Antares saddle in custom colours and as many Geax tyres as I need. Needless to say, I didn’t go through many! They’re the toughest tyres on the market, and laughed off the challenge of Xterra Maui’s legendary lava rocks and Kiawe thorns. Those bad boys make our own kameeldorings look like grass..no matter what the bike course threw at me, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Geax Siguaros could handle it. If anyone is ever going to ride a mountain bike in the future, these are the tyres for you. No matter the terrain, a Geax is your best friend.

I have to thank everyone who knows me, and many who don’t, for all their support in the days leading up to my race. It was fantastic having my dad read all the emails and sms’s he received wishing me good luck. Especially the Warthogs, they’re quite a verbose bunch! Finally to Tim Jenkinson, my favourite riding partner and a great friend/partner in crime, who said (four days before Xterra Grabouw) “Oh come on Mike, you can do it. You can run fast, you’re damn good at biking and you swim like a brick but who cares? Let’s do this thang!” And the rest, as they say, was history…

Taiwan 70.3

After a very stressful few weeks of work, we eventually got onto the plane off to Taiwan to race our last 70.3 event for 2010.

Now, as some of you know my dad Paul Kinsley, (aka PK) has an extremely short temper and is not the most patient in situations!! This always comes out when travelling, and i remember on all our travels when we were younger, my mom, my 2 sisters and I would literally chase my dad around the airport while this grey streak of hair would fly around from one terminal to the next, arguing with anyone he could speak to, ranting and raving even if everything was perfectly on time and there was actually nothing to argue about!

Anyway, the reason i tell you this story is, many years ago i promised myself that i would never marry someone as impatient as PK! When Kent came along I was extremely happy to notice that his patience was actually incredible and he was the complete opposite to PK... that is... until our trip to Taiwan...

As we arrived in Hong Kong it was like dejavu – me running after Kent while he marched in a complete huff over excess baggage that they insisted we had to pay. In Hong Kong no one breaks the rules and because we were 5kg’s over our weight limit we were to pay and there was absolutely no way we would get out if it!! There was literally smoke coming out of Kents ears as we were forced to pay R1000 in excess baggage.

When he eventually calmed down, we went off to find some food – this was to be the last proper meal i would actually eat for the next 7 days!

We arrived in Taiwan, Kaosiung International airport. Our shuttle was waiting and off we went to Kenting where we would be staying.  I could visibly see Kent’s entire body relax as we stopped at our hotel... Yoho bike hotel resort & spa... a gorgeous hotel, but what made Kent absolutely hyperventilate was the bike shop together with work shop and bike spa (well actually a wash bay for bikes, but they called it a spa) available to all hotel guests.  We were given 2 towels to clean our bikes, and in the hotel room there were special racks on the walls for our bikes! The soaps/ shampoo etc all had little bike stickers on them... it was every cyclists dream! our bedroom complete with bike hooks and cycle pictures!

our hotel

On the first day we were there the wind was really strong, we commented to one of the staff members and his answer was “o, you come in windy season, this is a good day”... Other than the wind, we had 4 wonderful days at Yoho bike & beach resort. The roads had a special bike lane so we got a few nice rides in before race day, we tried to shop but there wasn’t much to shop for, we ran and we had a short swim at race venue.

The food... mmmm, every meal time was a complete gamble. My husband gave me at least one disapproving glare every night as i spat food i could not swallow into my serviette at least 3 times per meal! I tried really hard to like something, but after attempting cold fish with funny looking gravy, vegetable soup that tasted like frot fish; squiggly little things that i think were squid legs, bean sprouts, some grass looking vegetable... and more, i just couldn’t handle it any longer! I resorted to mari biscuits! an entire pig on a spit - ears, eyes, tail, the works! 

Race day arrived and the wind was of course howling! It made a gail force 50km South Easter look mild!

Taiwanese people are new to triathlon so there were a couple things on race day which made quite a few international athletes raise an eye brow in question. The swim course was a straight out and back route – around one buoy and back the exact same way – little did the organisers realise that 1000 people would all be swimming into each other as they turned to come back again! The wind didn’t make things easier and with the hectic swell and choppy waters many athletes had to be rescued!

The bike route had plenty of twists and turns on roads that were not closed to traffic/ people or dogs! In one 90km ride i hit 4 pot holes; yelled at 5 people to get out of the way and had a pack of dogs chase me down the road for about 400m! At every pot hole at least 3 bottles would pop off peoples bikes so swerving to miss the bottles became part of the race course too!

The run was from one point to the next slightly up hill and straight into a head wind!

Coming from a life saving background, Kent reads the water really well, so at race start he watched carefully before making a decision. Run left was all he said to me. The gun went off and Kent and I turned left and sprinted along the beach, while everyone else went straight into the water. The idea was towards the left of the start was a hectic rip out to sea, so it was a much quicker line. The poor Taiwanese people were shouting in broken English to us... “no no, you go the wrong way – swim that way” they all looked extremely confused as we continued to run past the crowds and into the water further down the beach. swim start the day before. It looked nothing like this on race day!

Kent had a great swim and got out the water 3^rd. He was on the bike with the top 3 guys and the 3 of them opened up a nice gap.  My husband always amazes me – the harder the conditions the better he races! He seems to take bad conditions as a challenge and he just seems to soak it all up and get stronger! off the bike and onto the run the guys set off for an incredibly challenging 21km route making it even worse with the head wind. Kent hung on for 5^th place, with only 7minutes separating 1^st to 5^th place. Kent was happy with his race – on a better running day he would have placed higher, but the important thing is that he is close and it will just take a bit more time before he manages to pull off a podium... hopefully in South Africa! Kent outside our hotel

While my husband was loving the wind and pot holes and racing for top positions, I wasn’t having it all my own way. The choppy water made me incredibly sea sick, so i felt rather grim getting onto the bike. Everything i tried from gels to sweet and even juice made me feel even worse, and, instead of relaxing, calming down and re gathering my thoughts i just became more stressed and uptight which made me even more sick. I am not sure if it was entirely caused from the water or from the bad food during the week, but after 90km i felt rather awful!! Like a real chick, i just burst into tears when the pack of dogs started chasing me down the road!!

I started the run easy hoping to find my stomach again and at least enjoy my run.by this stage i was way back in the field of girls, but if i could at least finish strong i’d be happy. This was not the case and after upset tummys, more vomiting i was forced to call it a day and pull out the race.

With tired legs, a broken heart and an extremely broken stomach, I walked back to the finish to find Kent. Kent took one look at me and he knew not to say a word. He handed me a coke and took me back to our hotel room where i again burst into tears and started with the whole “what if” story!

As we continue our races around the world, with much thanks to Greg and Sagitta for getting us to these places, i suppose bad races are going to happen. I have learnt one thing... when we go to the Far East again I need to pack my own food as well as a sea sickness tablet and an immodium!! I have also decided that when the wind blows at 50km/hour i won't cancel an open water swim session or make a ride shorter – training in these conditions can only make us stronger for those revolting races that are sure to creep up on us once in a while!

Back home my darling sister made us a chicken roast with HOT gravy, roast potatoes and vegetables – i felt like i was in heaven!! We’ve had a hectic week back at work, and falling asleep at the computer has been quite common for us both while trying to get over our jet lag.

From Monday we plan to hit the training again for the next 10 weeks before we race 70.3 South Africa. We have a few smaller races planned – double century – watch out Cycle Lab – mytrainingday has a hard core team!!  Kent will probably race Blouberg energade, and i might race Jailbreak depending on how the training is going.

Thank you again to everyone who has made our overseas trips possible.

Claire & Kent

 

 

Bloemfontein (aka Syracuse)

We arrived in Syracuse, New York which is actually nowhere near New York but actually closer to Toronto... needless to say it was pretty chilly there! All hotels in Syracuse are scattered along the highway and look like sleazy motels with huge American truckers driving in and out... i felt like i was in Bloemfotein - the only difference is, we just flew 24hours to get there! 
I tried extremely hard to be relaxed and calm but the PK (my dad) in me always comes out mildly when i land up in a strange place!! The hotel room looks over a parking lot and a building site and there were NO windows that open - just aircon!!
The food!! Oh my - Kent and i love our food but we looked completely anorexic compared to the Americans! Our first dinner consisted of a MASSIVE salad drenched in dressing & plenty of cheese; steak, a potato the size of 4 South African potatoes, beans, bottomless lemonade and non stop savoury scones - that was just the main meal - we didn't order any starter or dessert - that was just the extras that came with our steak!  The second Kent put the last savoury scone into his mouth, our waiter would just put 2 more onto the table!
It seems like South Africans have the idea of small amounts = quality food; here is completely different - the more you get the better the restaurant!
Breakfast consists of waffles & doughnuts!! When you ask for fruit they look at you strangely!!
What to do in Syracuse... well - top of the tourist list is the Cinema!! The closest tourist attraction is Niagra falls which is 200km away.
I was a little horrified with this really strange little town until we got on our bikes yesterday.
We managed to find the most amazing lake right in the middle of the town. Around the lake is a road especially for cyclists/ runners. There are absolutely no cars allowed and so we had the most gorgeous 30km ride on smooth tar roads right around the lake not coming across a single car.

On day 3 we hired a car... Oh my word I have never seen such a funny car in my life before - Kent called himself Postman Pat. We drove down to race venue which was the most beautiful drive into the countryside. Lots of forest and so green. There are gorgeous wooden houses with not a single gate or fence along the road. The race itself was at a massive lake called "Jamesville Beach" - this was not actually a beach like we know it - rather a big lake with about 50m of beach sand on the bank.

Race 1: Syracuse New York 70.3 Half Ironman
We woke on Sunday morning to pouring rain – Eikk!
The garmin came out and off we went in our little Posman Pat car, filled to the roof with our bikes, wheels and plenty of warm clothes down to race venue.
2200 athletes and a HUGE transition greeted us as we arrived at race venue. I don’t think Americans know what small means!!
First things first – body marking... mmmm this was going to be interesting – rain jacket, jacket, long sleeve top, another long sleeve top all off – the lady looked at me and in her heavy American accent “wow, you’re really dressed up there where are you folks from...” South Africa...!! No ways – this must be like the north pole for you!”
We always think the grass is greener on the other side – but I have to say that the international races we have done this year are no competition for our 2 South African Ironman races. Race start was delayed by 15minutes, there was no road closure/ pasta party/ prize giving/ TV coverage/ after party dinner & awards etc... We can be extremely proud of our SA races – trust me if you’re looking to do a better race – don’t go looking further than your front door step.
Kent was out the water with the front few guys. They headed off onto an extremely hilly bike course. The wet roads and heavy mist didn’t make it easier! After the 1st 20km everyone spread out and he unfortunately lost sight of the first 4 guys. Kent rode on his own for 60km with no one in front and no one behind him! Eventually 2 other guys caught Kent so a small group of 3 finished the ride together and set off on the run. The run was a long straight run from point to point, through town to the finish – no turn arounds or u-turns, no hills, just straight flat road for 21km – how boring! Place 5th, 6th and 7th continued to throw intervals at each other, with Kent eventually sprinting for 6th place in a time of 4:08.
I didn’t have a bad swim, and got out the water in about 8th place. The bike suited me perfectly with plenty of hills so I slowly managed to work my way up to 6th – positions 4th through to 9th all stayed together for the entire ride. This was quite strange as its usually the guys who all stick together. It’s been the first long distance race i’ve ever done where the girls have stuck together and its been the guys who have been spread out. Except for 1st and 2nd girls, we all got off the bike within 2minutes of each other and set off on the run. I had a strong run, but i could not catch the top 5 girls. 1st to 7th place girl was only a 10minutes difference... i finished in a time of 4:38.
Kent and i were both exhausted after the race, the first race of the season on a fast flat run completely smashed our legs... the only thing i could think when i crossed that finish was... “how on EARTH am i going to do another race in 7 days time!!”
Race prize giving was nothing close to our South African awards dinner. A bunch of athletes stood at the side of the finish line, the announcer called the winners up, and that was the end of that! Our “awards banquet” was the sum total of 15minutes!
At 12pm we finished the race, by 4pm we had driven back to transition, back to our hotel, packed both bikes, done a load of washing, been to prize giving and made the 4:10pm movies! (oh and Kent washed his bike in the bath of the hotel room – so far we haven’t had any rude emails complaining about all the grease that was left behind in the bath!!”
Monday morning 6am we set off for Augusta. By 12 we would be there... how wrong we were....In true South African airways fashion our beloved airlines country had not communicated with American airlines and so all our inter continental flights were INVALID! To cut a long story short we missed our 8am flight, eventually got hold of our travel agent, who got hold of SAA who cleared everything up! We eventually arrived at our hotel in Augusta at 8pm in 35 degrees heat!

Augusta, Georgia (the land of “yull" & women with large boobs)
For those who don’t know, Augusta is where the masters golf is held each year. The airport had a putting green in it and other than golf there isn’t much to do here other than eat! We counted within a 500m stretch of road 7 different fast foods & restaurants!
Every American you speak to says “ yull have a good day now”. We decided to go to Hooters! It was actually my idea – i was dying to see all the American girls with their bright orange hot pants and massive boobs! Every waitress was gorgeous and they all bat their eyelids sweetly as they sit down next to you to take your order, whilst strategically placing their “chests” rather close to the man’s face! Oh my, and EVERY American loves to say “you’re very welcome”!!

 
Broken bike, crashed car
We soon figured out that it was probably not a good plan to ride on the roads here – it would be like riding through the middle of Sandton at 5pm! So we found ourselves a group which rode just outside the main town. The guys looked at us quite strangely when we arrived with our fancy helmets and racing wheels, but we set off onto some relatively quiet roads. After about 15minutes of riding i heard some horrific grinding coming from behind me... Kent’s bike wasn’t sounding too good. We stopped, waved good bye to the group and Kent attempted to fix his bike. Travelling isn’t much fun with bikes as somewhere along the line the bike always lands up getting a knock on one of the flights.
We didn’t have much luck in fixing it and the noise coming from the wheel was horrific. Kent grabbed on to my top and I attempted to pull him while he free wheeled... yes – you read correctly – I PUSHED MY HUSBAND!! I was smiling from ear to ear – and Kent, well, he wasn’t too happy with the situation!! After a couple km’s we realised that this wasn’t working too well, so we decided that I would ride back to the car and come and collect Kent.
On my way back now in our gorgeous Dodge Calliber with my bike in the back in search for Kent on the side of the road. What happened next is quite a blur to me, but as I was turning left a truck came up the back of me, skidded to miss me, but hit me on the back side of the car, causing my car to skid about 100m down the road. The truck was rather large carrying 3 other cars, and what made matters 100 times worse is Kent was standing on the side of the road watching the entire thing happen before his eyes. Our beautiful "Duncan the Dodge"  had been completely crunched! (sorry Duncs)
Being a typical girl i just burst into tears – just my luck- driving in America for 4km down the road. Kent was at the car in 2 seconds flat – he was as white as a sheet, i was quite concerned that he was going to punch the truck driver!
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to dial 911... the police sheriff arrived in 10minutes, he looked at us strangely when we said we were from South Africa and we were here for the half Ironman! He filled a statement out, and within 20minutes we were back on the road again with a very beaten up car and 2 extremely shaky South Africans.
Ironically, crashing in America is a whole lot easier than crashing at home! The rental car company exchanged cars for us, the sheriff dealt with the statement and so far (hopefully we won’t be lumped with a large bill later on) we haven’t had to pay out a cent. At home we would have to stand in a queue at the police station to get a case number, we’d find out the truck driver doesn’t have insurance and so you’d be lumped with a whole lot of admin when you didn’t cause the crash in the first place!!

 
Race 2: Augusta Half Ironman
The logistics of this next race was a bit of a nightmare – swim start, transition and finish were in 3 different venues! We woke early to avoid the rush.
The guys got going first – Kent was slightly behind in the swim this time around but he managed to have a fast transition and a group of 10 guys formed on the bike. The route was flat and fast, but the pouring rain made racing interesting with plenty of slipping over railway lines and around corners.
Off the bike the guys took off at a ridiculous pace – Kent was running 3:30min/km for the first few km’s but he realised after a while he would not be able to hold that pace. This race was more like an Olympic distance race with plenty of well known athletes sprinting for the first few places. Ironically Kent had a better overall race but he only finished in 9th position – there was only 10minutes between 1st and 9th place!

A strong field of ladies started 4minutes after the guys. I didn’t have a great swim and was quite far back when I finished. Out on the bike a girl I raced last weekend started with me and the 2 of us worked hard to catch the rest of the field. We got off the bike together and headed out on the 21km run... wow – what a race! I have never raced neck and neck with someone before in a sprint race let alone a half Ironman! We were still together after 21km with 0.1km to go! She was clearly more experienced than me with this type of racing – she pulled intervals on me, she slowed down so I thought I’d dropped her; then right at the end with about 100m to go she slowed right down – i was convinced I had beaten her, but with about 15m to go she sprinted past me! I tried so hard to out sprint her but my legs felt a bit like a baby giraffe’s legs when he first stands up – literally all over the place! So yes, another 6th place for me – 3 6th places in 4 half Ironmans! I’m really getting quite sick of this position!

 
Kent and I were both quite shattered! Everything was soaked right through so packing everything up to go home was a real nightmare. My darling husband decided again that the bikes needed to go in the bath – i’d hate to know what the hotel people thought of our extremely grubby bathroom after we’d left. Wet cycle shoes & race shoes don’t smell too good after 2 days of travelling!
I was quite happy to see the end of Augusta – for those of you who watch golf – the rest of Augusta looks nothing like the golf course shown on the super sport! On Monday we left our hotel at 5:30am, and after 2 connecting flights, an extremely rude and grumpy lady charging us $200 dollars for our bikes,  1  16 hour flight and a final flight from JHB  to CT we finally arrived at 15 Ivy Lane at 10pm on Tuesday night!
To summarise our trip has been an eventful one:
1 delayed flight in JHB leading to a missed flight in Washington;
6th places in pouring rain and heavy mist
2 invalid inter-continental flights leading to another 2 missed flights
A broken bike – now fixed
A 911 phone call
A crashed car
A sprint finish
6th & 9th place in pouring rain (again!)
$200 dollar fee for flying with bikes.
A perfect flight back home!
Everyone always says to us “wow, you’re going on holiday for 2 weeks” but trust me, racing in a different country is NOTHING like going on holiday! You will only believe it yourself when you actually go and try it, but our home is wonderful, our races here are wonderful and as much as we all complain about the inefficiency of our country, I can promise you, South Africa is a perfect place to live in!
If you ask would I do this trip again, I’d say yes definitely! The race experience is invaluable, but most importantly we appreciate what we have here so much more.
Next trip – hopefully Taiwan. If we thought America was tough, i think this next one might be even more interesting! At least a garmin in America speaks in English!