Good to be writing again. It's just so hectic that I don't get around to putting fingers on the keyboard. But, here I am jotting down a few words. So far I have had a great year experience wise...not only experience in the wisdom sense, but also in the 'it is an awesome ride so far' sense. Never have I had such a great time with my boy and also never have I enjoyed sport as much as I do now. And to see Wessel have this much fun is just the best thing ever.
At the Gauteng triathlon champs he comfortably won his age group. He did have a tough time with the swim and obviously came out of the water almost stone last, but he had a very strong ride on the bike and just had to hold position on the run. He is currently 12 years old and competing in the 12 - 13 age group. Thus he will be competing in the same age group next year, but have a better chance at the title. He is preparing for a tough SA Tri Champs later in March because of the children being a year older than him, but it will be a very good experience and a big challenge. It will be key to first have oodles of fun and secondly to learn as much as possible.
The South African Cycling Champs went really well. I am so proud of him for bringing home two silver medals. He was the only child in his age group to stand on the podium for both the time trial and road race. The time trial was very impressive. Because it was his first time trial against the clock we weren't sure how to approach it. We got it wrong for the first 3km and he went out a bit too slow. He also didn't follow the shortest route and he stuck to the left side of the road riding through every puddle of water and heap of gravel. I was driving the back up vehicle behind him, but he couldn't hear me shout because of the 20m gap and wind combination. I also only noticed cracks in the Zipp 404 tubby rear tyre and decided to let him ride with a normal rim. He learned a lot that day and, all of the above concidered, to still only lose by 17 sec was a very very good result against a guy competing in his 3rd SA Champs.
The road race was on a very flat course and with Wessel not being the fastest sprinter in the world, I knew that this was going to be a tough one. There was a slight hill about 11km from the finish, but with their gear restrictions and light body weight a break was just impossible. Four riders managed to break away and had a sizable gap as they approached the finish, but the winner was just too quick. Wessel miss timed his sprint with a few meters and he just couldn't glue himself to the winners wheel for a pass. I was still very impressed that he was able to drop the the third guy during his effort to latch onto the front guy.
Athletics. The track and field is almost at an end and he will be competing in the Provincial finals this weekend. I am very impressed with his times, but during the last race I noticed that he was looking tired. I am tuning down the training a bit and giving him a rest now. It should be fun and thats how I will keep it. He hasn't got the leg speed to be a factor at SA's on the track so we will rather focus on the Tri- and Duathlon races. We will use the 1200m over the weekend as speed work for SA Tri Champs on the 20th.
Tianari did very very well in the 1200m as well. On the last lap she was pushed by another athlete and she stepped inside the track. She was given a red flag and after the race her medal was taken away and she couldn't proceed to the Provincial finals. Her and my heart was broken and many tears were shed. She is so talented and came this far without training one step! I love you my girl and just keep on being the the ray of sunshine that you are...
With all the triathlons, athletics and cycling races the children are competing in I don't get to training myself! This weekend I am missing the long ride AGAIN! But, I won't choose training above my wife whom I have not seen a lot over the last 4 weeks. I will just wait for this month to pass and then decide from there. In the mean time I am just ticking over the kilometers and see what the future brings. I only have another 6 - 9 years with these little dudes in the house and I want 100% time with them.
All the best out there with your ventures. Good luck to all my buddies out there competing in Ironman events and also in the Cape Epic. May the hours of training pay off and may it all be worth it at the end. Keep up the hard work.
Be strong. Live hard.
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