And another day down... Linda and Andre landed up hiring a car for the rest of the trip. I am so jealous and the two of them have some amazing plans up their sleeves. I wish I could show you the size of their car - it's big enough for another 6 people and still not quite sure who they are planning to pick up en route??? Although, with two big bike boxes like theirs, they had no choice. So, Gatiep en Meraai (aka Linda & Andre) are heading down to Sydney with Sheila (their Garmin) and Bruce (their humumgus car).
Very sad to say goodbye as Linda and I have really spent the last 7 days together almost 24/7 as we shared a room in the apartment too. Andre has been amazing and looked after us all the way. We had a truly amazing time and Linda & I bonded as though we have known each other forever. We laughed so much about the silliest things and were like two peas in a pod.
Tonight has been quite an anti climax although I know that in 48 hours I will be home with Mark and the girls and I cannot wait. I landed up at a local Chinese Restaurant in "Chinatown" for dinner & had the most delicious Mongolian Beef - yummy yummy yummy! My room tonight is as big as our bathroom was in the apartment and my bike box and I are going to be very cosy. I fly at 14h00 tomorrow (06h00 SA time) to Perth and then leave at midnight for Jhb. Going to be a long long trip.
The experience has been one in a million and I am very proud to have had the opportunity to represent SA at such a prestigious event rubbing shoulders with some of the best triathletes in the world. This is just the start of things to come for me...
Look forward to being home and catching up with most of you when home
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
COUNTDOWN...
I am sitting at Brisbane airport with 5 min left on the internet so herewith a quick update. Watched elite girls race yesterday afternoon and what a show! They are quite something, so strong and powerful... and the finish was so exciting. Emma Moffat, an Aussie won, and the crowds went ballistic! It was such an amazing finish to watch.
Last nights function was short and sweet as we were just too tired to party. Lots of kit swopping with other countries which was quite awesome! I got a pair of Brazilian running shorts as not many people were overly keen on our kit. Crashed in to bed early and woke up bright and early to do some last minute packing.
Am now waiting for my bus to take me to Bunk Backpackers where I am spending the night before flying home tomorrow. Going to explore a little bit of Brisbane this afternoon before my very long journey home... back in Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon
HASTA LA VISTA...
Last nights function was short and sweet as we were just too tired to party. Lots of kit swopping with other countries which was quite awesome! I got a pair of Brazilian running shorts as not many people were overly keen on our kit. Crashed in to bed early and woke up bright and early to do some last minute packing.
Am now waiting for my bus to take me to Bunk Backpackers where I am spending the night before flying home tomorrow. Going to explore a little bit of Brisbane this afternoon before my very long journey home... back in Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon
HASTA LA VISTA...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
REST DAY (FINALLY)
Feels so good to not have to train, but Linda, Andre and I decided that a gentle coffee/recovery ride @ 07h30 this morning would be a great idea & it was. We rode along the coast and then stopped en route for a cappucino and muffin & photo shoot. We were in our SA tri kit and took the moment to take some pics with the sea in the background - really awesome! Unfortunately my camera seems to have the better pics and I can't link it up to load them so you will have to wait and see...
After a hard days work yesterday, Linda and I decided that we deserved a bottle of bubbles to celebrate. It did not touch sides, but tasted great being drunk out of our water bottles in the jacuzzi & disguised as a "recovery drink". Moments later we were joined by our elite/ pro males Hendrik & Erhardt - what a treat! When some of the younger girls started arriving in the teensy weensy bikinis, we decided it would be a good time to exit and get ready for our night out. Dressed in our frocks and looking rather glam, we headed towards Surfers Paradise for dinner. The area is like a mini Vegas with loads of activity and a Condom King shop every 50m. We soon realised that we were both old enough to be mom to most of the young girls on this "strip" and that the shorter the dress and the higher the heels, the better off you were or weren't? - quite an eye opener! I was absolutely zonked after dinner and so headed home with Mike (the oldest member in our team - age 67). Linda and Andre braved a night club and got down and boogied.
Tonight is our final party - The Great Big Aussie BBQ and medal ceremony. So sad that all of this is over so quickly after all the build up, but this has been an incredible and amazing experience! I am very chuffed with my results and did my best I could do & had the opportunity to actually enjoy my race. Looking at the results, I see how close we all were in time and I know I gave it my all. Definitely want to do lots more work on my run now and make sure that I get it under 45min every time.
Tomorrow we leave the hotel and I spend a night in Brisbane before flying home on Tuesday. Can't wait to see Mark and the girls...
Will post some photos as soon as I am home...
Thank you all for following my journey and for the awesome support
After a hard days work yesterday, Linda and I decided that we deserved a bottle of bubbles to celebrate. It did not touch sides, but tasted great being drunk out of our water bottles in the jacuzzi & disguised as a "recovery drink". Moments later we were joined by our elite/ pro males Hendrik & Erhardt - what a treat! When some of the younger girls started arriving in the teensy weensy bikinis, we decided it would be a good time to exit and get ready for our night out. Dressed in our frocks and looking rather glam, we headed towards Surfers Paradise for dinner. The area is like a mini Vegas with loads of activity and a Condom King shop every 50m. We soon realised that we were both old enough to be mom to most of the young girls on this "strip" and that the shorter the dress and the higher the heels, the better off you were or weren't? - quite an eye opener! I was absolutely zonked after dinner and so headed home with Mike (the oldest member in our team - age 67). Linda and Andre braved a night club and got down and boogied.
Tonight is our final party - The Great Big Aussie BBQ and medal ceremony. So sad that all of this is over so quickly after all the build up, but this has been an incredible and amazing experience! I am very chuffed with my results and did my best I could do & had the opportunity to actually enjoy my race. Looking at the results, I see how close we all were in time and I know I gave it my all. Definitely want to do lots more work on my run now and make sure that I get it under 45min every time.
Tomorrow we leave the hotel and I spend a night in Brisbane before flying home on Tuesday. Can't wait to see Mark and the girls...
Will post some photos as soon as I am home...
Thank you all for following my journey and for the awesome support
THE BIG DAY
Today was the day and my oh my, what a day it has been! It all started @ 5am this morning with a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, a cup of coffee and some last minute carbo loading.
Linda and I hopped in to the taxi at 05h30 and took a rather expensive taxi ride to the start. The transition area was electric with everybody doing their last minute bike checks and laying out kit for the bike & run leg. It can be all quite intimidating as you see all kinds of very serious looking bikes and people & you have no idea who they are or how fast they are. Sometimes the fancy gear is all they have...
We had a 20 min walk down to the start for the swim as the swim route was 1,5km in one direction i.e. no turn around point. My age group wore light blue caps & as the clock ticked, so we moved closer and closer to the start line. There were 3 age group starts ahead of us as well as the para triathletes. I had an awesome start to the swim and an awesome swim so got off to a very good start. I was 11th out the water. Then in to transition to grab our bikes and head out on a 40km (2 x 20km laps) bike route. In age group races you are not allowed to draft/ slipstream and can get penalised and or disqualified if you are caught. We were very lucky to have both sides of the road closed for us so there was plenty of room for moevement. There were loads of spectators along the route so that made things really special too. I had an awesome bike ride and loved every minute of it. I came off the bike in 13th position and then back in to transition to load my bike and put on my running shoes....
I had a great run and felt good, but just was not good enough to keep the rest of the competition at bay. They are seriously strong and run like crazy so I ran and watched one and then another and then another just pass me by. I still had a great run though and landed up finishing 33rd overall in my age group which I am very chuffed about!
The race and experience was amazing and so difficult to describe in enough words. There were spectators everywhere and just running down the blue carpet under the finish line as they called out my name was so special. I totally loved the whole experience...
Linda and Andre also had great races and are both very happy with their results. The race was totally about you and how you felt and not about finishing in the top 3!!!
We are finally taking a break and have bought a bottle of bubbles to celebrate tonight...
Running out of time, but will post more news tomorrow after our breakfast ride along the coast. Thanks for all your wishes and sms'es etc, support has been amazing!!!
Linda and I hopped in to the taxi at 05h30 and took a rather expensive taxi ride to the start. The transition area was electric with everybody doing their last minute bike checks and laying out kit for the bike & run leg. It can be all quite intimidating as you see all kinds of very serious looking bikes and people & you have no idea who they are or how fast they are. Sometimes the fancy gear is all they have...
We had a 20 min walk down to the start for the swim as the swim route was 1,5km in one direction i.e. no turn around point. My age group wore light blue caps & as the clock ticked, so we moved closer and closer to the start line. There were 3 age group starts ahead of us as well as the para triathletes. I had an awesome start to the swim and an awesome swim so got off to a very good start. I was 11th out the water. Then in to transition to grab our bikes and head out on a 40km (2 x 20km laps) bike route. In age group races you are not allowed to draft/ slipstream and can get penalised and or disqualified if you are caught. We were very lucky to have both sides of the road closed for us so there was plenty of room for moevement. There were loads of spectators along the route so that made things really special too. I had an awesome bike ride and loved every minute of it. I came off the bike in 13th position and then back in to transition to load my bike and put on my running shoes....
I had a great run and felt good, but just was not good enough to keep the rest of the competition at bay. They are seriously strong and run like crazy so I ran and watched one and then another and then another just pass me by. I still had a great run though and landed up finishing 33rd overall in my age group which I am very chuffed about!
The race and experience was amazing and so difficult to describe in enough words. There were spectators everywhere and just running down the blue carpet under the finish line as they called out my name was so special. I totally loved the whole experience...
Linda and Andre also had great races and are both very happy with their results. The race was totally about you and how you felt and not about finishing in the top 3!!!
We are finally taking a break and have bought a bottle of bubbles to celebrate tonight...
Running out of time, but will post more news tomorrow after our breakfast ride along the coast. Thanks for all your wishes and sms'es etc, support has been amazing!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Less than 24 hours...
WOW is all I can say about last nights opening ceremony, I just wanted to cry! Our green and gold tracksuits stand out so beautifully and lots of cheers were being shouted for us. We landed up having to do a little run to catch up with the team in front of us and that really got the adrenalin going. There were two "army officers" dressed up with pink feathers hanging out their boots and bums and pretending to order us around and show us how to march - was hilarious! So amazing to stand on the big field amongst all the other athletes and see it all happening. And then the Kiwi guys did the Haka (shirts off) - oh my goodness, that was amazing - the whole field went quiet and all you could feel was the "boom boom boom" of the HAKA. The Australian team has 1000 members and the American and British are not too far behind either. It all just makes you realise how small fry our races are and that we are now up against the rest of the world. It's going to be an experience to remember...
We had great fun at the pasta party last night and the Aussies were trying very hard to get us to party... that's their way of tiring out their competition, but we did not fall for it.
Linda and I woke up bright and early and headed out along the "Spit" for a gentle ride with a couple of short sprints. Felt great!!! Thereafter straight in to our run shoes for a quick "fartlek" run - nice and strong. Looks like our swim is going to be a non wetsuit swim as water temp sitting above 22 degrees. Still quite chilly, but will only be allowed a wetsuit if it drops under 22 and not likely at this point. We did a little non wetsuit practice round at lunchtime and feels so much better - the wetsuit can be quite restricting. No wetsuit will be a great advantage for me!!!
Heading back to hotel shortly for a rest and feet up and then back to venue around 4 to rack our bikes where they will spend the night. Spag bolognaise for a carbo loading dinner and then early to bed - we need to leave the hotel @ 05h45 tomorrow morning - VERY EARLY START!!!!
I am ready and am going to do my best and try to enjoy it at the same time. So, when you are all still sleeping @ 11h23pm tonight, think of me diving in to 22 degree water and then roll over and go back to sleep. Hope to update you some time tomorrow..
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
2 DAYS TO GO...
64 South Africans walked down in their SA tracksuits to dinner last night - what an impressive sight! I was proudly South African last night - that's for sure! Dinner was at the local surf club and after a good helping of fish & chips and a glass of Aussie red wine, we quickly made our way back to the hotel to hog the jacuzzi. I had such a good nights sleep after that & apart from waking up to Linda falling out of bed (mattress and all) at 5, I managed to sleep until 08h30 this morning - what a treat!!! Stayed in our PJ's until 11 & had a really chilled morning. The whole team walked down to registration and had lots of cars hooting and people greeting us as we all headed down - feels so good!
That nervous adrenalin type feeling is finally there after registering and getting our race pack. The same feeling you get at the Argus/ Knysna Half/ Two Oceans Expo when you register for that big race. Luck is definitely on my side - I found a 5c coin & a ladybird came to sit on my shoulder...
Emma Snowsill (Olympic Gold Medallist) was interviewed in the expo tent this afternoon and was autographing a poster. She is tiny and as one of the guys said "so delicate" that it's hard to imagine she is such a brilliant triathlete. I was very excited to see that she rides the same make bike as me, FELT, another something to make me feel good and positive.
This afternoon/ evening we have a pasta party and "Parade of Nations". With over 4000 athletes around, it's going to be amazing seeing everybody parading in their kit.
Tomorrow will be a very early start with a planned short ride & run @ 6 am. The sun is up so early, it's actually the best time to get out there. Have booked a quick leg rub @ 10h45 tomorrow and then we'll watch our 2 Elite/ Pro Under 23 ladies do their race. Our bikes have to be racked tomorrow afternoon already and then it'll be countdown from there...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Britt's Aussie Experience
So, my journey to Aus is well on its way with the highlight of my trip starting @ 07h23 on Saturday morning, 12 September. I am in Brisbane, staying on the Gold Coast and taking part in the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Champs. This is a 4-day event with various races over the next few days.
On Saturday I will be racing in the age group race, 35-39. There are approximately 79 other ladies in my age category representing close on 42 countries so the field is big and exciting!!!!
We are staying in self catering apartments, walking distance from the race & overlooking part of the beach - we could be on the Durban South Coast. The climate and scenery is almost identical, BUT....
it is so much cleaner, organised and of course safer...
We have been doing a bit of training just to keep the muscle memory ticking and it is so amazing to ride, run & swim around here. We swam 1km of the course yesterday & just left our stuff lying on the park bench, clothes, money, credit cards etc. Of course when we got back it was all still there. We had a hot shower in the public toilets and then lay on the grass to get dry. Where in SA do we get to do that???? This morning was a 20k ride and then 15 min run off the bike. They even have bike lanes and the motorists don't try and run you off the road - what a pleasure. The run route we have discovered takes us on a path along the beach and again very beautiful!!!
The event started officially today and we checked out the expo. Bought a souvenir T-shirt and neccesary items, but nothing too outrageous (although we could've gone mad!) We are feeling a little haggard now as been doing a lot of walking, but this afternoon and tomorrow are rest days so will put our feet up and try to chill. I have had a few stressful bike issues, but those are now sorted and behind me so Saturday will come and I will fly...
There are athletes everywhere and there is just a continuous flow of people running and cycling past our apartment - it is amazing & the atmosphere is electric. Lots of fancy bikes & equipment worth lots and lots of money... The Mexicans definitely have the best kit so far and you can't miss them. Their bright pink kit on their darker skins looks awesome!
Anyway, enough said for today as time to go and rest. Thanks for all the messages and support thus far - has been amazing. I miss Mark and the girls terribly, but am lucky to have a great roommate, Linda Els, who keeps me smiling...
Will update you again soon....
On Saturday I will be racing in the age group race, 35-39. There are approximately 79 other ladies in my age category representing close on 42 countries so the field is big and exciting!!!!
We are staying in self catering apartments, walking distance from the race & overlooking part of the beach - we could be on the Durban South Coast. The climate and scenery is almost identical, BUT....
it is so much cleaner, organised and of course safer...
We have been doing a bit of training just to keep the muscle memory ticking and it is so amazing to ride, run & swim around here. We swam 1km of the course yesterday & just left our stuff lying on the park bench, clothes, money, credit cards etc. Of course when we got back it was all still there. We had a hot shower in the public toilets and then lay on the grass to get dry. Where in SA do we get to do that???? This morning was a 20k ride and then 15 min run off the bike. They even have bike lanes and the motorists don't try and run you off the road - what a pleasure. The run route we have discovered takes us on a path along the beach and again very beautiful!!!
The event started officially today and we checked out the expo. Bought a souvenir T-shirt and neccesary items, but nothing too outrageous (although we could've gone mad!) We are feeling a little haggard now as been doing a lot of walking, but this afternoon and tomorrow are rest days so will put our feet up and try to chill. I have had a few stressful bike issues, but those are now sorted and behind me so Saturday will come and I will fly...
There are athletes everywhere and there is just a continuous flow of people running and cycling past our apartment - it is amazing & the atmosphere is electric. Lots of fancy bikes & equipment worth lots and lots of money... The Mexicans definitely have the best kit so far and you can't miss them. Their bright pink kit on their darker skins looks awesome!
Anyway, enough said for today as time to go and rest. Thanks for all the messages and support thus far - has been amazing. I miss Mark and the girls terribly, but am lucky to have a great roommate, Linda Els, who keeps me smiling...
Will update you again soon....
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