It was an exciting weekend away for me – travelling alone to somewhere I’d never been before. I’m sure my husband thought I’d get lost! Fortunately my flight to Durban was on time, my accommodation in Hilton was perfect and I found the race venue, at Midmar Dam, with ease. I could now relax and focus on my race.
I met up with coach Dave when I got there so it was nice to have a friend and some support!
Registration, route recce and practice swim were all done on Saturday, so on Sunday morning I felt fairly relaxed. However, an hour before the start of the race, the dreaded announcement was made that it was a non wetsuit swim. Oh joy!
Coming out of the water 29th lady and 11 minutes after the leading ladies wasnt ideal but fortunately I didnt know this at the time and I was concentrating on my own race plan anyway.
The bike route took us through some beautiful lush countryside, almost making me feel like I was in the UK. The road surface wasnt very good so it was a case of dodging pot holes and the rumble strips as well as traffic (there was no road closure). The course had been changed from previous years to include some monster hills. It was hard to keep a rhythm with all the gear changing but I felt great and maintained a good average speed for all 3 laps.
I came into T2 in 5th place, with the second fastest ladies bike split. Fortunately the run was fairly flat as the heat (33c) and humidity was going to make it tough enough! The run was another 3 lap route; out and back. At least it gave me a chance to see how far ahead the other ladies were. I was very grateful for the cold water sponges at the water points so I could drench myself to try and cool down.
I was very happy with my race, finishing 5th and becoming the 35-39 SA long distance champion.
A very friendly and well run event. Definitely a race I’ll do again!
Swim (1.9km): 00:39:03
T1: 00:00:59
Bike (90km): 02:46:50
T2: 00:00:50
Run (21.1km): 01:40:28
Total: 05:08:13
Women
1. Caroline Koll 04.55:26
2. Corinne Berg 04.56:35
3. Dianne McEwan 04.59:38
4. Riana Robertson 05.01:14
5. Jenny Nel 05.08:13
