A tough day ’ s riding at the Cape Town Cycle Tour |
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Not wanting to sit back and do nothing , I decided that I was going to ride the 2022 Cape Town Cycle Tour . This , coming from a chick who has never sat on a bike before ! So , December was Bicycle Boot Camp time for me , and I ’ m proud to say that from December till April , I completed four 100km-plus road races as well as Cycle Tour .
I found the cycling so hard and foreign , and to be honest , I hated it , but I had committed , and I refused to lose face . The Cycle Tour was ridden in the worst weather imaginable , and was probably the worst four hours of my life , but I did it . And guess what ? Now I love my bike ! Lessons learnt : Never be afraid to try new things , never stop learning and pushing your boundaries , and things you find difficult , soon become easy with enough practice and effort . It ’ s such a cliché that we ’ ve all heard so many times before , but you just have to do it , to experience it , and actually know what it feels like .
Back to Running Again
Sometime during my cycling efforts this year , running road races started coming back , and another highlight for me was running the Dis-Chem Half Marathon in January . It was the first official post-pandemic road race in Johannesburg , and oh , what excitement and what joy ! To run in a pack again , seeing the streets lined with runners of all sorts . Did I mention that I love to run ?
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At the end of April , I embarked on a little 10-day trek across the Karoo . It ’ s something that I ’ ve wanted to do for a long time , a sheer physical effort , living the simple life with the basic necessities and no distractions – notably no cell phone . Miles of emptiness and an environment of extremes , surrounded by raw beauty and a harshness only found in Africa . I was in my element , take me back tomorrow ! Oh , and I came back physically stronger , and have since run some of my best road races .
Comrades training then commenced in earnest , and I had high expectations . I travelled down to KZN to do the Fordyce Fusion Training Camp , and for three days , I could pretend I was an elite . Overall , my training was on point , and I was sure I would achieve my goal . However , there is nothing like running to humble a person and bring one crashing down to the ground with a thump !
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Oh , the irony of managing to dodge every germ and bug , as well as the dreaded COVID , and then to wake up on Comrades race day not feeling quite right . Before we were even 15km into the race , I knew something was up when I started getting sick , and I can only describe the rest of my run as a tortuous stagger from water point to water point , and a sheer test of mental strength . At the Runzone water table at 60km , when I decided I could not go on , someone gave me a handful of tablets that I gratefully |
Rounding It All Off
So , instead of Comrades being the end of my running year , I had to enter another marathon , to redeem myself ( which incidentally , it did not ), and then I entered Ride Joburg and the RAC Tough One . Ride Joburg was my best day out on my bike , exactly 11 months after I first decided to learn to ride , and I was so happy with my time , and thankful that the race went to plan . Meanwhile , the Tough One was run specifically so I could get the special Run / Cycle combo-medal – something I would not have been eligible for a year ago .
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Juliana during her 10-day hike across the Karoo |
The Karoo hike involved a lot of steps ! |
But now it really is time for a break . We ’ ve come full circle , and in my mind , everything is preceded or precluded by a running event or happening . I ’ m just forever grateful I can still run , and that I have the health and opportunities to do so . I will continue to live my life in the best way I know how , and celebrate each glorious opportunity given , as tomorrow is guaranteed to no-one … which is why I dedicate this piece to the memory of those loved and lost during these awful past two years .
Who knows what will transpire in the coming months , but one can only hope and pray for a better 2023 . Hopefully , the end of masks was the manifestation that we have turned the corner .
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Images : Courtesy Juliana Ambrosi |