The temperature shocked my lungs…mass respect for this chick sans suit! The swim course was 3 laps of 500m. I had to take the first lap stroke by stroke. I knew I was physically able to complete the course but it took all my mental fortitude to overcome my feelings of panic and doubt. When my fingertips hit the sand the first time, I was filled with relief but then instantly filled with fear. There were two laps to go. I sprinted back into the water. One down…two to go. The s

Underwater running time! I felt like Pamela Anderson, floating along the beach in slow motion…well, minus her famous upper body bounce. I had just stepped on an underwater treadmill at LiquidGym, an underwater gym, and with the belt turning at a slow jogging pace, I bounced slowly up and down as I floated between foot strikes. “Try not to bounce,” said Katie, my personal exercise physiologist for the session. Right, I was supposed to be running. With my Baywatch attitude in c

Standing amid a sea of time trial bikes and aero helmets at bike check in, I suddenly felt like a roadie with a pair of running shoes. I felt overwhelmed, unprepared and majorly in over my head. I was the new kid on the block and, as I watched people move about transition with precision in preparation for the race, I felt like it. At least finding my bike during the race would be easy, I figured, since it seemed like the only road bike on the rack. I had arrived in Ottawa for

On the menu is the standard duathlon distances of a 10km run, 40km bike, and a 5km run. The course will be in the heart of downtown Ottawa and will pass by the stunning parliament buildings and venture into the province of Quebec using the bridges over the Ottawa River. Not only is it exciting to compete at a world level on home soil but it will be amazing to compete in the city where I completed my undergraduate degree.  I always tell people I started cycling in South Africa