Author: Modern Athlete

TSHELI’S EXPERIENCE: ‘I WILL PERSIST TILL I SUCCEED’

On 23 January this year I completed Ironman 70.3 in Buffalo City. I had a feeling of accomplishment, pride and joy crossing that finish line. I rested for two weeks and contemplated the full Ironman; 3.8km swim; 180km cycle and 42.2km run. I had never swum, cycled or run that far before! I spoke to my mentor and friend, Stuart Hoy, who is the owner of an adventure lifestyle company called LIFESTRUCK that inspires individuals to change their lives, and in his usual positive way, he told me that I could definitely achieve it. I also chatted to my friend Kennedy Tembo, who was doing Ironman, and we decided to train together. The whole thing sounded crazy, but I decided to go for it.

Kennedy and I found a swim coach, Adrian Goate, and he was excellent! Adrian was patient but firm and really gave us focused attention. Our cycling training involved early morning rides and longer rides on weekends. My running included finishing my first marathon in 4:30 and my first 50km in 5:40.

March consisted of three weeks of very intense training. I began to feel exhausted and just did not want to train anymore. Andre Steenkamp, who services my bike, gave me some good advice and said I just needed to enjoy my first Ironman and that it was better to go to the race under-trained than over-trained. That really gave me renewed motivation. It had been a real challenge trying to manage my work schedule and the demands of being a single mum, a daughter, friend, cousin and niece, and still finding time for myself.

The weeks I truly enjoyed were the two weeks prior to race day when we tapered. It allowed me to remember that this was fun. It also allowed me to refocus and remember that this is a personal goal I had set for myself. Then on 7 April I travelled to Port Elizabeth with my mother, Thandi, and my son, Jemelle. Many things scared me – I looked at the buoys in the sea and the distance seemed so far! We attended the briefing session, which did not settle my nerves. There was so much to prepare and so many rules!

RACE DAY
On race morning we picked up Kennedy, who duly informed me that I had left my wetsuit at the house, but my mother had called him to alert me. Thanks mom! It was a beautiful day in PE. The windy city was just the friendly city. The beach was swarming with participants, about 1700 of them. The commentator asked all the ‘virgins’ to raise their hands. That would be me; I was number 1576. I had butterflies in my stomach.

The national anthem played and the music flowed through me. Finally, it was time. The canon fired and the race began. I walked slowly towards the water. The first 300m seemed to go by quickly. The next 780m was extremely long. I heard loud splashing noises and saw the lead swimmers rushing past me as they completed the second lap. Blimey! I was still on my first lap. Then I remembered a quote that I had read: ‘If you have made it to the start line, you have made it through the most difficult part, the training.’ I ran onto the beach and got ready to swim my next lap. ‘I can do this’, I whispered to myself. I finished the swim in two hours.

ON DRY LAND
I ran to transition and saw my mother, Jemelle, Andulela, the ‘powerful sisters’ (Zolashe, Nomonde and Nosipho) and Lungi (Zolashe’s son) cheering for me. I smiled, and set off on the long 180km bike course. In the first 15km, I had support yet again. My mother’s childhood friend, aunt Nomkita had gathered with a group of her friends and they cheered me on as I cycled past. The second 60km lap was the most difficult. I had to dig deep into my soul. I prayed, I chanted: ‘I will persist till I succeed’, 1576 is an Ironman’. I sang songs and ate fruit cake and GU. I finally finished the cycle in 7:16. I knew I was getting closer to accomplishing my goal.

The first 14km of the three lap run course felt okay. The next 14km felt like HELL. I walked a lot. On the third lap I decided I was going to run to the finish line where my family and friends were waiting. Again I prayed and repeated; ‘I will persist till I succeed, 1576 is an Ironman.’ But this time I did not eat or drink anything. I was sick of it. As I ran onto the red carpet my son Jemelle joined me. I held his hand and we crossed the finish line together, with my time 15:21. The commentator announced that “Matsheliso Lujabe is an Ironman”. I put my medal around Jemelle’s neck. What a phenomenal experience!

LESSONS LEARNT
Ironman is the most difficult physical challenge I have ever undertaken. It has taught me that you have to have an awareness of self in order to understand how far you can push your mind and body. I learnt that you have to run your own race, at your own pace, and understand your own strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, I learnt that if I persist, I will succeed.

I was the only black African female that participated in the race – I hope that more will be inspired to join the triathlon sport. Will I do it again? Absolutely! Not only will I do it in South Africa again, but I hope to do a couple internationally.

COMRADES HERE I COME!
What’s next? Well, 2011 has been a year of ‘firsts’ for me; my first Ironman 70.3, my first marathon, my first 50km, and my first full Ironman. So why not add one of the toughest ultra-marathons in SA? The toughest thing about Comrades is that I will have to use the same muscle group for 89km. I know it will be painful, but as with Ironman, my aim is to finish this awesome race.

Thank you to my mother for sharing this journey with me, even though it scared the wits out of her, Jemelle for telling me to continue even though it took away significant mother-son time, Andulela for always supporting me, all my family and friends, Kennedy, for being a good friend and the best training partner, Stuart Hoy, Justin for babysitting me through Om Die Dam, the powerful PE sisters, Lisa Zaidel, Terry (Xterra) for the wetsuit and support, strangers that were interested enough to give tips and chat, and to Michelle Pieters of Modern Athlete, a fellow ‘virgin’ Ironman 70.3 and Full Ironman finisher, for taking an interest in my story.

KENNEDY’S EXPERIENCE: ‘NOTHING WAS GOING TO STOP ME!’

My decision to do Ironman came on 18 January while I was in my hotel room in Harare, just after my friends at Lifestruck had done the Ironman 70.3. Their stories fuelled the desire inside me to take on the challenge – after all, Ironman had always been on my bucket list. Thinking about it now, I realise just how much I took on. I couldn’t swim. In fact, I could only ‘doggy paddle,’ and even then the dogs would probably beat me hands down! My once-a-week bike training was just not good enough. The only strength I had was in running. I had been on a work assignment in Harare since August, so there wasn’t much time for proper training. I didn’t have my bike in Harare, so only rode on weekends, which meant running was the only proper training I could do, as well as some gym work at a small gym near our hotel.

SWIMMING NIGHTMARE
A colleague and friend Lizelle Pauw kept assuring me that the swimming is just a small part of the whole race, but I couldn’t swim a lap at the end of January, so how the heck was I going to pull off 3.8km two months later? I watched YouTube swimming videos and practised in the hotel’s swimming pool. The pool was not long enough, and trust me, it took guts to swim there, surrounded by people having drinks and business meetings around the pool!

In February I moved back to Joburg after finding another job. For the first time I could concentrate on my swimming and cycling. I met Adrian Goate of Aqua Athlete, who promised to try his best and get me to a level where I would be confident enough. I couldn’t ask for more than a coach who had already done the Ironman himself.

A LOT OF FIRSTS
I was a novice in all senses. People told me that I was either brave or crazy, but I decided nothing was going to stop me! I was getting ready for the most gruelling undertaking that I have ever done. As a runner, it was a big challenge to try fit all three disciplines into a week’s training programme. I soon found myself doing the brick sessions in the mornings and swimming in the afternoons. I never enjoyed swimming in a squad at the gym because I was the slowest and could barely finish a lap or two, while I was in awe of them going on and on without stopping! Needless to say, I questioned my Ironman decision, but my swim coach was always there to motivate me.

With my first dam swim, I felt claustrophobic because of the dark water and the tightness of the wetsuit. It took me a few weeks before I had enough confidence to swim the 1.3km loop and eventually the entire 2.5km length of the dam. But soon I started loving the freedom of the open water and hated the confinement of the gym pool.

ARRIVING IN THE WINDY CITY
Nothing was more stressful than trying to remember all the stuff I needed for the race, i.e. wetsuit, helmet, cycling shoes, bombs, tubes, goggles, etc. When I arrived in PE three days before the race, my first sea swim was intimidating and made me realise how small I was in the greater scheme of things,. When I saw the distance between the first and second buoys, it intimidated me even more. I settled for a 300m loop and eventually I got out in one piece, but with a massive headache. I had survived my first swim in the sea.

The day before the race I call ‘Bluebottle Sting’ day. After a few metres in the water I felt an unpleasant burning sensation on my left palm, and a lifeguard took me to shore for vinegar treatment. Luckily my body responded well to treatment and soon I plunged into the water again. The rest of the day was spent packing, unpacking, packing again, unpacking and eventually packing the transition bags and their ‘cousins,’ the special needs bags.

RACE DAY
This was the day that we had been training for and looking forward to. With a loud bang of the cannon, I started my swim right at the back, knowing my weakness. I just kept pushing the water with full extended strokes, as per my swimming coach’s advice. During the short run on the beach between the laps, I was told I was an hour into the race. I knew that if I kept up that pace, I would go to bed that night as an IRONMAN, and I finished my swim in 2:02. Today, I believe that this was my Ironman moment!

ON TO THE BIKE AND THE RUN
The second lap of the bike leg was the most painful as my body really started feeling the effects of being on the saddle for so long. I was looking forward to the running leg, although I had no idea what it would feel like running a marathon after 180km on the bike. I finished the bike leg in 7:35 and started my run at a good pace, lapping hundreds of people in the process. My speed started dropping around the 30km mark, but with 3km to go the adrenalin started pumping and my speed picked up. I could see the finish chute where I would be told: “Kennedy – You are an Ironman!” When I hit the red carpet I called for my daughter, who finished the race with me, and I was an IRONMAN!

This experience will remain with me for the rest of my life; the spirit of the race, the physical and mental challenge, and the finish. No one will take this away from me. I now feel confident that I can achieve anything life throws at me. And now it’s time to focus on Comrades, where I will race for my personal best this year.

Training for Ironman is a physical and mental test, and the people around you who offer priceless support and encouragement make a huge difference. Thank you to my wife, Aliko, for her endless support, my swimming coach, who single-handedly got me through the 3.8km swim, my mentor Lizelle who was more determined than I was to get me to be the Ironman that I am today, my buddy and brother Justin Webster for sharing the fruit cake, seat post and tri bar tips, tri-videos and priceless advice, my training partner Tsheli for always being there, Stuart for his support, and special thanks to Nora, Francois (a fellow Ironman) and all who shared their experiences with me. I couldn’t have done this without you all.

In 1983 Bruce Fordyce won his third Comrades Marathon in a record time of 5:30, but this year’s finish will forever be remembered for the manner in which the last gold medallist finished his race. When Colin Goosen entered the stadium in ninth position his legs simply did not want to carry him any further and he collapsed twice inside the stadium. It took him three minutes to finish the last 500m and he was overtaken by another runner to eventually finish in tenth position. By the time he crawled over the finish line, everyone who was watching was close to hysteria, urging him over that final threshold. This image of a top runner desperately crawling to gold captured the imagination of the country and encapsulated the spirit of the Comrades Marathon in one epic moment.

The man himself still remembers that day like it happened yesterday. “I had a lot of self-belief and thought I could win the race, but my exuberance and youth got the better of me and I went out way too fast, reaching halfway in 2:47! In the last 20 to 30km, I was so out of it I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing. I didn’t even recognise my wife. I fell for the first time about 5km outside the stadium and when I ran into the stadium my legs gave way again, but I managed to get going again. I knew I was in a good position but didn’t know exactly where I was placed, and when I fell again about 30m from the finish line I realised I was going to get there faster if I just crawled on all fours. I just wanted to get to that finish line and only heard afterwards that the next runner was about seven minutes behind me, so I could have taken it a bit easier!”

The perseverance, determination, hard work and pain that go hand in hand with participating in the Comrades were all encapsulated in that one moment. But for Colin it only confirms that there is no such thing as giving up. “You must never think you’re beaten. You never know how it’s going to end and must keep on going, no matter how tired you are, until you reach the finish line. We don’t realise just how much our bodies are capable off.”

A LONG COMRADES HISTORY
What makes Colin’s gold medal even more incredible is that he only started running three years before winning that gold. It all started when he left the air force to further his studies. His mates told him he would never be able to run the Comrades, so he set out to prove them wrong. That was only two months before the race, but he finished 57th in 6:25. “Long distance running didn’t really feature as a sport in high school, so I only discovered at Comrades that I had talent. I have my parents to thank for my genes, because I have always been fairly light and have a natural running gait. Running changed my life – up till my first Comrades, I was always a wild child. It gave my life direction and has helped me immeasurably in my personal and professional life.”

After that first Comrades the deed was done and Colin was hooked. The next year he returned, this time going for the win. “I trained helluva hard and thought I’d win it. About two months before the race, I got shin splints, but I simply slapped on some cortisone and ran anyway. Things went perfectly until I reached Cato Ridge and I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other because of the pain. I basically walked the rest of the race and finished in 9:22. I learnt a lesson that day to never try and run with an injury!”

Colin went back every year after that and added 24 silver medals, two Bill Rowans and three bronze to his gold. His tally of Comrades medals is certainly one of the most impressive, and though he has slowed down a little since his early running days, he still ran a 7:28 last year at the age of 50. This year, he says he’ll be taking it ‘easy’ and is only aiming for a sub-8:00. “My single greatest achievement is probably the gold medal, but it is a greater achievement that I’m still enjoying running as much as 30 years ago. I’ve never ever stopped running since I started and still love every minute! My family regularly tells me I’m crazy for carrying on running, but I want to finish another 20 Comrades for a total of 50.” This means that if he stays injury-free, he’ll run his 50th when he’s 70 years old!

GOLDEN MEMORIES
In his long relationship with the Comrades, Colin has acquired some great memories along the road, and although the race in 1983 is special, he says one of his most memorable races was in 1997 when he ran with his wife to help her finish her first Comrades. “She’s always given me great support and I never thought she’d run a Comrades, but then she ended up doing 10! Of my 30 Comrades, the one I ran with her was by far the hardest, as we were on the road for 10 hours.”

Though he has a soft spot for the Big C, he has run countless other races, including 10 silver medal times at Two Oceans, more than 150 marathons (with a PB of 2:26) and at least another 100 ultra-marathons. Colin has since ventured into cycling and canoeing and has finished three Cape Epic races and a couple of non-stop Dusi’s with his children, but running remains his first love. “Running is special because you can go out for 30 minutes and feel like you’ve had a major workout, but you can also go out for four hours and never stop talking, unlike cycling where there’s no opportunity for banter. The banter between runners is a very important part of our sport and most people who have run with me will tell you that my mouth moves almost as fast as my legs.”

EXPERT ADVICE
Colin’s most valuable advice to all runners is to never give up. “I believe you have to finish what you started. Once you’ve bailed, that sets a precedent in your mind and you’re more likely to pull out of another event. Your body is capable of much more than you think. The best advice I can give to Comrades novices is if you feel you can’t keep going anymore, get a litre of Coke, sit down next to the road for 15 minutes and finish the Coke before you make a decision on bailing. A year is a long time to wait to make matters right, whereas to sit for 15 minutes is a lot shorter to get going again.”

Colin is a member of Saints Athletic Club in Pietermaritzburg and regularly helps other runners in his club to prepare for Comrades by helping them set realistic goals and preparing them for what they can expect. “Runners should have a clear plan for race day and should be realistic about the goals they set for themselves. Their goals should be based on their marathon time in the current year, not their marathon PB of four years ago.” For him, the most difficult part of the race is the loneliness at Harrison Flats and the realisation that sets in at this stage that you still have 30km to go. But he says this despondency is overshadowed by the wonderful atmosphere at Hillcrest and the feeling when you reach the top of Polly Shortts and know you’re almost home.

Of course the race has changed a lot since 1980 and Colin says one of the things he misses most is that you can’t have your own personal second any more. However, despite all the changes and no matter how many times he has done it before, Colin still gets nervous when he lines up on race day. “I still get goose bumps when they sing Shosoloza. When you’re standing there everyone is united and everybody has the same goal, it’s a wonderful atmosphere!”

“The Comrades is special to me, it’s the place where I realised I have talent and I would never have started running if it wasn’t for the Comrades. There are many ultra-marathons, but only one Comrades and it’s the one event where even if you’re not a runner, you still want to get involved. In South Africa, if you tell someone you’ve done a 2:30 marathon, they don’t really care, but if you’ve finished the Comrades, then you’re an athlete. It defines South Africans’ dedication and perseverance and our special relationship with ultra-marathoning.”

I am a relatively new runner and am amazed at the camaraderie between runners, whether they know each other or not. I had a prime example this morning on my training run. For the most part, when doing my training, I’m focussing on keeping on going, I’m not too focussed on what or who is around me. This morning, a very nice gentleman who was also running started chatting to me. It was really nice to have company on my run for a change and I was in fact quite surprised that I could actually run and chat relatively comfortably.

It turns out that my new friend has to curtail his running (he’s a long-time runner) for a time due to health reasons, so we have now arranged to run together sometimes and it’s a great arrangement for both of us. I get company on my run and he gets to make sure that he doesn’t overdo things, because he is running at my pace not his usual pace.

So I’ve discovered that not only is running good for your health, fitness and weight-loss, it’s also great for your social life! It was really great to meet you today, John – CAROL WARD

Thank you, Chrissie!
Finishing my first Ironman was awesome: The crowds, the noise, the red carpet, the lights, the sense of achievement and the commentator calling out my name, saying “you are an Ironman.” It really was an epic feeling. But for me, equal to crossing that finish line was getting my medal.

As a ‘seasoned campaigner’ in canoeing and running, I literally have hundreds of medals, so it wasn’t just about getting the medal. What made it really special was that it was world champion Chrissie Wellington who was there to give me my medal. She didn’t just give me my medal, she said hello and well done, she hoped that I had a good day and happily told me (after I had asked her) how she had had her best day ever.

Chrissie smashed the records on that day, so Chrissie, big respect for that, and I am sure you did have your best day ever. But even bigger respect to you for being there for us after your awesome day, and most especially for being so friendly and sincere. Your special touch at the end rounded off an awesome day for me, too. Thank you! – CLIVE EVANS

Well done, Fran
In April 2011, Modern Athlete published an article titled Inspired to Run. It was an article about Fran Venter, a 40-year-old Cape Town woman living with cancer who was given the opportunity to fulfil a dream and was invited by Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, to run the Virgin London Marathon. However, the requirement for her entrance to the race was a R100 000 donation to the charity of her choice.

The NavChallenge presented by Glider on 5 February 2011, along with Virgin Active and many other generous donors, assisted Fran in raising R110 000 for the charity of her choice, Ma Afrika Tikkun. On 17 April 2011, Fran successfully completed the marathon in 5:14. A huge well done to Fran on a fantastic achievement and a heartfelt thank you to all that so generously contributed!

Check out www.raceinterface.co.za to find out about the next NavChallenge to be held on 6 August 2011 at the Hermanus Wine & Food Fair, and how you can continue to support Fran. The NavChallenge is a three-hour orienteering race open to both mountain bikers and trail runners. – KERRY ROSETTENSTEIN