Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 103, February 2018 | Page 33

IRONMAN DARE TO TRI Here I Come! After many years of running and also serving as race director of several running events, 60-year-old Steve Jackson is set to tackle his first full Ironman this year, with the help of the Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI programme and a nifty bike rack! M y story starts in 1991 when I hit a stationary 18-wheel truck with my superbike, which left me with pins in my left arm as well as broken bones in my right hand, cracked ribs and torn ligaments in my left knee. Then in 1992, I had a lung collapse while experimenting with solvents and paint at work. After some time in hospital with a drain in my chest, I could not even walk from my lounge to my bathroom without stopping for breath, but when I watched the Comrades Marathon live broadcast, I turned to my wife, Angela, and said, “I am going to do that.” She laughed out loud and said, “You can’t even walk to the bathroom and you want to run 89km?” The fact that I had not run a step and was a heavy smoker before the lung collapse did not seem a problem for me. If you set your mind to something and plan properly, you can do it, right? I joined the Vaal Athletics Club and it took me a few years to go from walking around the block to running a qualifier, but I have started every Comrades since 1994, with 21 finishes and a PB of 8:49, and also have permanent numbers at Om Die Dam, Tough One, Suikerbosrand Ultra, Vredefort Dome and Mont-Aux Sources. Angela has supported me from the beginning, suffering through the training and races that took me away from my young family, as well as the night classes and correspondence courses to get my MSc in Production Management from UH in England. She is as much a part of my success as I am. New Challenge However, after 20-plus years of running I was bored, so in 2015 myself and two clubmates decided to try something new, and the discussion turned to Ironman. We could run and cycle, but the swim was a problem, so we contacted the trainer at our Virgin Active gym and arranged for group training sessions. In our first session, Elsabe asked us to do four lengths so she could assess our ability. She stopped us after two lengths and stated, “Clearly beginners.” My first open water swim at Sun City in 2015 was a complete disaster. Nothing could have prepared me for the mass start, or the dark, choppy water. I breast- stroked and walked my way around the buoys! Meanwhile, I borrowed a cheap mountain bike and did my first Rockman Dash tri event, with an only slightly better swim. I then did another Rockman and stood on a thorn before the swim, had a terrible cycle with numerous punctures and riding the last 4km on a flat front wheel, and during the run the thorn worked its way deeper into my foot. The paramedics dug it out after the race, but actually wanted to send me to the emergency room to have it cut out! The New Plan By now I was getting frustrated at my lack of progress, so it was time for a new plan. At the beginning of 2016, I took early retirement and had time on my hands, so I got involved with the Om Die Dam ultra, where I picked up a Modern Athlete magazine and saw an article about DARE TO TRI (DTT) with Derick Marcisz. I had met him through my job at Arcelor Mittal, and this was the beginning of a new plan: Ironman 2017 here I come. Just one problem… Angela agreed to the weekend training on condition I did not leave her without the car every weekend. When I retired, we scaled back to one car and a Harley Davidson each, as our two boys had already left home. Fortunately, I could put my fitter and turner trade skills to work and fitted a bicycle rack on the back of my Harley. If you can’t do it on a Harley, it isn’t worth doing! Joining DTT was the best thing I could have done. It gave me training schedules and group activities, and the group consists of both beginners and experienced athletes, so there is a peer group with which to start the training and the experienced group from whom to get advice. My first races with the DTT group in 2016 included the Bela Bela 5150 and Miway Cape Ultra 70.3, finishing in spite of tripping on a tree root and bruising my ribs. This was followed in early 2017 by the Germiston Trinity Tri (5150 distance), Ironman 70.3 East London and Prestige Ultra Triathlon 70.3. I was ready for Ironman in April when disaster struck. Just two weeks before the race I got an inner ear infection and burst my ear drum, so there was no way I could compete. However, it is not in my nature to give up on a goal, so I adjusted my plan... I just had to add tinnitus (constant ringing in the ear) to the rheumatoid arthritis in my hands, Crohn’s Disease (chronic inflammation of the colon, controlled by avoiding certain foods) and the steel pins in my arm. I have entered the 2018 Ironman and am now in the experienced DTT group – and I will do a full Ironman. Want more info on Dare To Tri? If you are interested in joining the DARE TO TRI programme, go to https://daretotri.canbook.me/dtt-2017 or mail DTT Coach Derick Marcisz: [email protected]. 33