2020. The longest year in triathlon history. Littered with rescheduled races, cancelled races, new rules and restrictions for racing, masks, sanitisers, lockdowns, curfews, training limitations, no refunds, partial refunds, frustration, uncertainty and fear. Covid-19 came like a thief in the night and turned the whole world upside down. If you were not affected by this,
*Picture credit: Nikita Loreggian, facebook As an athlete, race day nerves fly out the window as soon as the start gun goes off. Adrenalin kicks and then off we go. As a coach, race day nerves almost lasts 24 hours. You pitch up when transition opens. Nervously checking your phone for messages from within transition.
"I made it!". Usually the first thought I have when reaching that mount/dismount line after the bike leg of a triathlon. The thought of getting out of the saddle and stretching my legs and back properly after 180km's on the bike is something to look forward to, even if it means that next up is
Ok, so the vomiting finally ceased at about 15 weeks. I made a note in my diary about it. It literally says "You felt like crap for 15 weeks, rethink child no 2". I have officially moved into the second trimester in the creation of Coach Junior (Ok, so while writing this, I am technically
Please. Make. It. Stop. It is just after 2 am. I am on my knees in front of the toilet, dry heaving the living daylights out of my body. Again. I lost count of how many times my nausea had me running today. This cannot be normal? So I grab my phone and literally punch
So my 2019 racing season did not really pan out as I was hoping or training for. End of 2018 I won my age group provincially and was training to compete on national level early the following year. I was excited because I had a new training focus for 2019. Then Coach Junior happened.... Supporter
The last day of the training camp is always the best. I save the toughest workouts for the last day, would love to say something truly scientific about it, but I am just a sucker for a last bit of torture. We made some adjustments in the week and changed the last run of the
Port Elizabeth Ocean Swim I prefer the ocean above any lake, river, dam or in fact, above any water that has a slight colour of murk. I have claustrophobia and small enclosed spaces freak me out completely. So being in a wetsuit that presses around my chest AND putting me in water where I cannot
It's 4:00am, Nduna is blanketed by a layer of mist. Whenever I come here, I am stunned by the raw beauty of this place. It takes my breath away every time I look out over the valley before me. I make myself a cup of coffee and take time to enjoy watching the zebra's and
The Infinitude Coaching Tribe at Nduna Lodge.Front: Gerard Hung, Estelle Gilbert, Pieter BadenhorstBack: Louise Strydom (Coach), Jacky van Heerden, San-Mari Badenhorst, Carin Badenhorst, Andrew Crocker, Jarryd Irvine (Coach)Photographer: Andre van Heerden Our triathlon season is from September to June, so most of my athletes have to train over December holidays anyway, so why not get