Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 105, April 2018 | Page 27

MULTISPORT
on the bike, so I bailed after four hours. It was my
first ever DNF, having never understood how people
cannot finish a race, and I found the emotional pain
of pulling out far outweighed the physical pain, so I
questioned my decision. You sometimes see pro’s
bailing a race in order to save themselves for another
day, and I never wanted to fall into that category.”
With all that training done for Ironman SA, Annah
decided to put it to good use and went to race
Ironman Brazil. She had a much better day out,
finishing seventh in a brilliant 9:04, just two minutes
behind the fourth-placed woman, but she returned
to a life turned upside down. “I moved to Cape Town
to start my current job that same time, so my house
was packed up and moved while I was in Brazil. I
arrived back to a new life and new job, and had to re-
establish myself. In Joburg, everything was close and
familiar; now I had to go find everything.”
Another win at the
MiWay Midlands Ultra
Meanwhile, she was doing a lot of travelling,
racing five Half Ironmans around the world from
July to September, and that made things still more
challenging. “My bike was damaged twice in one
month and all that travelling was emotionally draining,
but what got to me most was not seeing the results
of my hard work, which was a bit demotivating.” Then
she went to Ironman Taiwan, arriving a week early to
acclimatise, and felt a niggle in her calf, but decided
to still race. “I felt in great shape, and typical athlete,
I thought it was just in my head. I had a good swim,
but running up the beach I heard a pop and felt my
calf go. I couldn’t believe it, so just walked slowly to
my bike. I had a great ride, climbing to third position,
but 3km into the run I realised I was going to do huge
damage and bailed. Nobody can believe I got through
the bike leg with a torn calf!
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
The one good side to the injury was that it allowed
Annah time to settle into her new job and home. “I had
begun to feel like a mother who feels guilty for working
and not spending enough time with her kids. I also
realised that I have been lucky in life – what I put in has
always been reflected by the results – but 2017 was the
first year I didn’t see that. I think every athlete needs
to go through that, and it was a period of emotional
growth for me, so I came into 2018 feeling much more
positive. I realised that four plus five equals nine, but so
does six plus three. In other words, there are different
ways of getting to the same result…”
Bolstered by her positive new outlook, Annah retained
her title at the recent MiWayLife Durban Ultra, and
looking ahead, her goals are to race Ironman South
Africa and a few other 70.3 or full events in order to
get enough points to qualify for Kona. “I’m thinking
about heading to the USA for Ironman Texas, because
it’s also the North American Champs, so it’s a high-
scoring event,” she explains. Her other goal is to
qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs, which
will take place in South Africa this year. “I tend to do
better over longer distances than that, but I still want
to give it a good go. I’ve noticed that there is a lot
of excitement about the event building amongst the
international pro’s, and everybody I know is taking
up slots for the event. The added bonus will be how
easy it will be to get to the race, instead of the usual
long trek.”
Another factor counting in her favour for 2018 is
that Annah is clearly in the form of her life. “People
keep asking me what I’m doing differently, because
my whole body has changed, but it’s thanks to
consistency and progression over time. I do two
sessions of training in the mornings, then put in a full
day’s work, followed by a third session in the evening.
It’s hard, but I always feel amazing afterwards, and I
always remind myself of these words: If you choose
to sit on the couch, remember it is your choice, so be
OK with it. Or get off the couch.”
“My goals have steadily changed, from just finishing
my first tri, to beating certain times, to beating others,
to qualifying for Kona. When I turned pro, I asked
Raynard, on my best day, do I have the ability to win
an Ironman and finish top 10 in Kona. His answer
was yes. I won’t be pro for the rest of my life, but I am
willing to risk failure as well as open myself to great
success. I want to walk away feeling I left my greatest
race out on the course. I haven’t done that yet.”
Annah is looking stronger
than ever in 2018
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