...and so many hours spent in the trails with Andy Chase looking for the elusive 'bonk'...many hours spent on cold
mornings swimming 100's with Ryan Skinner...many icy mornings spent running the
trails around Avis dam...always reminded what Patrick de Goede says 'run, but appreciate your surrounds'...and so the months
of preparation started!
Genevieve Weber Michel and Marco De Vincenzo and Natalie Tissink shout at me...dress warm...put on more clothes..so I don a cycling top and waterproof jacket I purchased in Norway...I can't seem to drink or eat but know I must put in some nutrition...I haven't eaten since 04h30 this morning...!
The initial climb I
overtake walking/slipping athletes and am so grateful for our terrain in
Windhoek...we're comfortable in anything rugged...the rain makes me smile since for us it's a novelty and it'll distract me from the
pain...I eat a date bar...and concentrate on keeping my Epic 29er upright as
every branch grabs at me in the wet...I've gotta pace myself...1500 m of
climbing left on the bike...join a bus and stick with them...the special needs
Water point comes all too quickly! My cleat has come totally loose on the last
long downhill...so I try not to panic and get it tightened by Gen before I
speed off with pizza and hot cross buns and Perpetuem on board...we're doing
way too little single track...and way too little climbing! I'm anxious as we go
through the Kms...either I've got the course wrong...or I'm over cooking
it...the climbs are steady...but manageable...I must drink cos the cold weather
makes the thirst stay away...no sweating in this wind...but I've got to get
calories on board...the mud makes the braking hazardous and the steering
precarious...but here is where my strength lies...and I take a biker every few
Kms....the rivers we cross break the monotony...but the many road and fence
crossings don't add to the challenge...eventually we're at 78 Kms and I can
hear the music of T2 in the distance...the sun is coming out...I'm an hour
faster than I planned..but I'm feeling good...hopefully the ankle holds on the
run!
...and so into T2 I ran...under the ever watchful eye of TSA...the rain fell softly and was a relief as it kept the afternoon cool! I was proud that I'd remained disciplined on the bike and shoveled down the nutrition...too many IMSA lessons lighting up in the back of my mind...the top guys will be finishing soon...man, how they've conquered this course...all the time keeping it 'in the red'!
3 loops Dave...keep focussed...concentrate on landing properly
on that left ankle...and so I donned my Saucony peregrines...well used to the
awesome trails we have here in Windhoek...I just started at a slower
cadence...focussing on my form instead of the fatigue...remembering what 3
times IM World Champion Crowie Alexander says' you WILL feel like giving up
somewhere on the run...but you MUST push through and surprise yourself with
your finish'...and so the climb/scramble up 'the wall' to a district road atop
La Roche Estate...from there it's a slow uphill drag for a Kay before a
precipitous 3 km drop into the vineyards below over loose gravel...which I
traverse carefully BUT roll over my ankle AGAIN! The pain makes me wince and
grind my teeth but I push on...endurance events have taught me that
pain/discomfort is relative...it's a chess game between what your body can
throw at you in chemical signals vs what your frontal lobe can suppress with
reward or manipulation! It makes any painful sensation seem like par for this
course! And so I push to the water table and reward myself with a minute's
walk...
I slowly complete the lap through the vineyards...but fear the
climb up 'the wall' as the cramps start to threaten their arrival...all the
time grateful for the friends and my wife climbing to the lonely corners of the
run course to cheer and offer distraction...the weather changes between rain
and sunshine...and so do my emotions...focus...there are still guys out on the
bike...maintain perspective....!
I use the time to pray..to be grateful to my Creator..for my
wife...my kids...my friends...my health...my vocation...the water table comes
quickly now...only sponsored drinks...a 'no fly zone' for me...a lesson learnt
2 years ago at IMSA when my stomach imploded..and almost left me crawling! So I
just drink water and eat a banana...wishing for the magical Coke I use at most
endurance events...
We get rubber bands on our wrists after completing every
loop...little armbands of triumph that we ALL treasure..they are not bright
like at IMSA but skin coloured...so I surreptitiously glance at the wrists of
every athlete I encounter just to check! That competitiveness never leaves...it
helps drive us on!
On my final lap I'm encouraged by a hand on my back..just keep
going he says...I check his wrists and see NO bands...he smiles and asks what
lap I'm on...I say LAST...and feel energy surge into my body as I accelerate
ahead of him...no guilt felt here...I just swam and biked harder, that's all...
The last few Kay's are tough...the ankle is really throbbing but
numbed by that sense of accomplishment that overwhelms every endurance athlete
heading down the home straight...I've exceeded my expectations...and smile as I
finish the last Kay...as I scan the crowd...I see all my fellow gladiators that
step into the endurance arena again and again...we see each other at the start
line of impossible events that fill us with fear, trepidation and angst...events
that make you taste mud, sweat, blood and tears...endurance adventures that
make you get up early on cold mornings months before...that make you sacrifice
carbs and endure through injuries...so we can share not in a podium, but in a
mutual respect...built on pushing your mind past what your body can perceive
possible...built on a camaraderie of suffering through whatever gets thrown at
you..built on a brotherhood of reliance on bone,muscle, talent but ultimately
on a stubbornness that drives all of us endurance athletes to conquer
ourselves...and so the acknowledging nod...no times matter in this space...no
excuses either...the stripes are testament enough!
Will
I be back...definitely! Will I hurt and struggle...most probably! Will it break
me...never!
Dave
Weber
After a great first year racing in the professional category in 2016, I was amped for the 2017 season. Feeling stronger and fitter and more in the "right head space" - I had done some great training over December spending many many many (and many more) hours on the bike - I loved it. My swim was starting to click, I was starting to understand the phrase "feel the water", and my running was strong
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