The 2013 National Triathlon Championships were held in East London.

It was my first national competing in the Sprint event (750m ocean swim, 20km cycle and 5km run)

The water was a cold temperature of between 15-17 degrees and so I decided it was a good idea to use my wetsuit it was the first time I had ever raced with one, although I had practiced taking it off over and over again I had not taken into consideration that I would be racing with a timing chip on my ankle, a tricky obstacle which I learnt from in the first Transition when I lost a good minute because I couldn't get my wetsuit off over my timing chip.

I worked hard on the cycle and had probably my best cycle yet!

I went on to the run feeling good and I knew I could make up a good few positions as it is my strongest discipline  by the end of the first lap I had caught up to 3rd place in my age group and then halfway through the second lap something terrible happened, I am still not sure as to what caused it but Ivstarted feeling extremely nauseous and had to stop to be sick, I was devastated to watch to 2 girls pass me while I was being sick in the last km of the race I stood up and pushed on but i had nothing left.

I was disappointed but put it all in to perspective: I have only been competing in Triathlon for 1 full year, I still have next year in this same age category and I tried my best on the day and I enjoyed it :)...

So I came home with 5th place in the country :) all in all I am happy with my result.

It was awesome to race against such strong athletes!

Thank you to everyone for all the support over the weekend it really means a lot!

The Midmar Ultra was on the 3rd of March at Midmar Dam in Howick.

I had a great race to finish 3rd in the U20 age cat (I normally race 16-17)

The course was a fun one, The swim was a bit cold but i managed without a wet suit the swim was followed by a longer cycle then normal and a lovely run through the Midmar Park, it was great to race in my old home town and I was lucky to have the support of my team and Sponsors! GU Energy were waiting at the finish line to hand out Gu Brew to all the finishers!

Thanks to my team mates and Max and Sarah from Team Jeep and the all the guys from GU for the support during the race!

The Cycle Fest was an awesome 3 day event held at Cascades MTB Park , Pietermaritzburg.

I unfortunettly could only attend the final day on Sunday as I was on a National Triathlon Training Camp.

The race organisation was world class and the numbers were amazing considering the shocking weather and MUD!

#MAXFACTOR

I raced the 2 hour relay with teammate Jessica Alcock, it was a really fun race through the mud! 

Thanks to Powasol for the awesome prizes!

MJ

I SURVIVED 2012...

Credits to Darren Goddard for the image above

When looking back on 2012 I definitively think of it as a year of many experiences,  exciting races, wins, failures, amazing support from friends and family and learning how to deal with the tough stuff life trows at you!

One of my biggest highlights of 2012 was receiving my Provincial Colours for 6 sporting codes,  Athletics (400m & 800m), X-country, Triathlon, Duathlon, XC Mountain biking and Track Cycling.

Its was what I like to call my experimental year of discovering what I am capable of in various disciplines.

But I can confidently say Competing in 6 national Championships in less than 12 months is definetly not an ideal race schedule.

I learnt a ton of skills and especially how to deal with the pressure of traveling out of province sometimes for 5 weekends in a row!

All of this would definetly not have been possible without the support of my family, coaches, sponsors, teammates and friends!

Thank you all of you!

Team Jeep South Africa thank you for your amazing encouragement, the last two years on the team have been unforgettable and I look forward to proudly wearing the Team Jeep SA Colours for another year, it truly is a privilege!

A huge thank you to my Co-sponsors Gu Energy and Salomon Racing for your support throughout the year!


2012 Results:

ATHLETICS

TRIATHLON

• KZN Provincial Championships: 1st place
• SA National Championships: 4th place
• SA Junior development team squad selection
• Selected race ITU Africa Cup in Zimbabwe

• KZN Provincial Championship: 1st place
• SA National Championships: 4th Place

• KZN Provincial Championships: 10th place
• SA national Championships: 61st place (250 in the race)

• KZN Provincial Championships: 1st place
• SA National Series Champs

• KZN Provincial championship: 5 golds
• SA National Championships: 3 Silver medals and 2 gold medals

It truly was a great year!

2013 is sure to be a more focused one!

Enjoy it everyone!

"LIVE WITHOUT LIMITS" - JEEP

Wow what a great experience!

I was extremely excited to be chosen to represent the South African Junior Triathlon development Academy in Zimbabwe at The ITU Africa Cup!

It was my first international competion outside of South Africa and being in my first year of racing Triathlon I was even more thrilled!

I arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday the 15th of November after traveling the whole day, Flying Durban to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Harre, Zimbabwe and then caching a 6 hour bus drive to Troutbeck where the Race venue was and where the team was staying.

We were all up early on Friday, put our bikes together and checked the cycle route out.

It was a tough one! much more climbing then what we South Africans are used to! The first half of the lap was up hill and then we came flying down it on the way down! Definetly exciting!

The swim route was great! We were to start as a wet start (floating in the water) which I had never done before :D

I was happy the water was just not cold enough to be wetsuit swim as a prefer not racing with one due to lack of experience in the area of racing with a wetsuit.

The run was also very hill but I enjoyed it a lot!

After a fun filled day of experiencing what Zimbabwe had to offer we were all ready to race!

RACE DAY

17th November 2012

I was really excited to race!

I had a great swim, coming out the water in 3rd position which was great for me! (the hard training really paid off)

 I was having a comfortable cycle in 4th position and I was waiting for the run to try and jump up the field of competion. Unfortunetly I was led into the transition when I still had one small lap of 1.2km left on the cycle, I tried to resist but was firmly led that way, I instinctively thought that there must have been a change in the course and followed instruction to enter the transition. I soon realised on the run that i had indeed been led the wrong way, but I gave it my all on the run which is my strongest discipline, I didn't travel all that way to not try my absolute hardest!

I crossed the line in 1st position but my team manager and myself went straight to the official and explained what had happened...They apologised to me and I guess it was also a rookie mistake from my side.

I experienced my first DQ next to my name on the results. I was really upset because I had been training hard for this race and I was hoping for the podium to dominated by SA, luckily my teammates took 1st and 2nd, they raced so well and I am very proud of them! 

I'll be back next time!  

It was amazing to watch SA's elite athletes in action as they raced later in the day and supporting the rest of the team really made it a special memory despite my race result.

The race was a big learning curve for me, and so was the whole experience! 

I learnt to travel by myself, to support and be supported by an amazing team and I was able to experience a beautiful country at VERY high altitude! 

I would like to Thank Triathlon South Africa for allowing me to experience racing outside of SA and for all there support along the way!

Well done to all my teammates!

SA dominated the podiums!

I traveled back to SA on the Sunday, feeling content and full of experience, I can not wait for the 2013 season!

13th October 2012- Clover Inter provincial Athletics Invitation Meet,Bloemfontein

 20th October 2012-Prisma Comms Athletics Championships, Pretoria

Weekend two in a row of racing out of province and I could feel I was a bit tired but still in very good form to race... I was interested to see how I could preform on the track for a second weekend at high altitude.

My first race was the 800m at 2:30pm, a very hot day and I had been at the stadium since 7am with the team.

I placed 2nd in my heat, I think I waited just to long to attack on the final bend and it was the closest finish I have ever been involved in.

The girl who won the 2nd heat ran a faster time then our heat and I was placed 3rd overall as there was no final.:)

My 400m was amazing, I felt really good and I was so EXCITED to race so late at night for the first time! I was thrilled to take the GOLD Medal!

My Medals :D 

I am very pleased with my performances from the last two weekends on the track and I am looking forward to the new season!

 

Despite arriving home at 8pm last night after traveling for 16 hours back from holiday in Mozambique i felt surprisingly really good today. (must have been that Portuguese Roll carbo-load :P )

I had an excellent swim, and felt really good going out on the 22km cycle, but this was soon ended when I rode into a pothole about 2km from the start of the ride and punctured my front wheel, disapointed i ran with my bike back along the course to try and get a tube and pump, luckily my coach spotted me and organised me a new wheel which I made sure I put on by myself.

After losing a good 15 minuets I decide to just give it my all and at least to get a very good swim and run splits.

Thanks to everyone who supported me today!

2012 SA XC MTB Series CHAMP

This race was definitively a learning curve for me!
I was so ready to race hard and to do well in my home town... I was feeling strong & excited!

This feeling was soon lost when I crashed out within the first 200m of the race!
I was overwhelmed with panic & I got back on my bike as quickly as possible,  I had lost valuable time which I intended to catch up...I was in Last place.

I could feel that I was sore, especially in my neck from where I had fallen hard onto one side & my legs which had been bruised & scraped.

But I didn't give up, with adrenaline pumping at full blast around my body I rode as fast as I could, often stumbling or slipping on obsticals which I would normally find easy.

I did however manage through pure determination to catch up 5 positions in my age group in the first lap.

By the end of the second lap I was lying in 2nd position & which I was holding onto with everything I had but half way through the last lap I was over taken and I had nothing left in me to fight back...

I just held onto 3rd position and was overwhelmed with disappointment at the finish, mostly because I had put so much pressure on myself to take the Gold.

Now I look back on it as something to learn from and what not to do when you crash.

I am very Happy to take the Overall National Series Win for 2012 !

Thanks to all of you who supported me through out the race and kept me going!

What a hectic weekend!

Traveling over 18hrs by car on Thursday evening and arriving on Friday afternoon, where we found the race venue and got a local to show us the route, which was very fast and mostly flat on both the run and cycle route.

On Saturday I was up bright and early to go and test out the course on almost race conditions as my race would start at 8am on Sunday morning!

Saturday Course Trial Ride

Sunday Morning, RACE DAY!

Up early, it was FREEZING between 4 and 8 degrees :0

But I was ready and nervous for my first Duathlon National!

On the Start line

In the run I stayed in the top three most of the way but then dropped off the speed just before the transition, I could feel my running was not up to speed (as a result of being off running for more than a run because I had sever blistering)

I caught up a lot on the cycle and maintained my position on the final run.

I placed 4th which I was very happy about considering it was my first National Duathlon & 2nd Duathlon ever!

Thanks to my Province (KZN) for all the support on the weekend!

  

A lovely event held in Howick & hosted by my home town, in the trails I love :)

It was probably the best 20km route I have ever ridden!

I was happy with my win in the woman & 4th overall but I mostly just had a lot of fun!

The first 12km were quite tough with a lot of climbing, But once I knew I had past that I flew down the last 6km of some of the best single track I have ridden in ages!

Well done to the course builders, really making it a special ride...

  

Well done to all who competed!

To my team mates, Patrick Belton, Cam Wright, Courtney & Devin Smith, Sharlene Magilveray & JP van der Linde. 

Who all had excellent races!

I am really looking forward to National Duathlon Champs in 2 weeks time in the Western Cape!

Will keep you updated.

MJ :)