ROAD RUNNING
surged , I had never seen her so strong before . Then I knew she was also not there to run behind me , and just follow what I was doing .
MA : Irvette actually pulled away from you and opened a sizable gap , and it looked like your chances of winning were gone , but you came back . What happened there ?
GS : At the bottom of Chappies , I simply did not feel good … I ’ ve experienced dark patches before , but usually much closer to the finish , and this was probably my darkest patch ever in my running career . I couldn ’ t see , because my eyes were really blurry , which I know is to do with glucose levels , and that lasted from about 41 kilometres just about to the top of Constantia Nek , almost five kilometres .
I have always said , you must not underestimate Two Oceans , because it just three and a half hours , not a whole day . Because it ’ s short , you can ’ t bargain on going through a bad patch and still having time to recover , but I just tried to take in energy . I had an extra gel in my crop-top and I took that , as well as another one I grabbed from my seconding team , but mentally I had to tell myself to keep going … Just that morning
I had said to Duncan , you don ’ t have to worry about me not finishing – I will finish , no matter what – but just wait for me at the finish if things don ’ t go right today . He just said , don ’ t say that …
MA : Wait , did you go into the race thinking you may not finish ?
GS : Yes , but let me explain . At the beginning of the year I had a race that didn ’ t go well , but since then things went well , no injuries or illness – the way my coach explains it , everything was in balance – and I managed to run my highest mileage ever in my career in training . It never felt like I was straining . So everything was going well , until two weeks before Two Oceans , when I ended up with a head cold while up in Joburg . Not serious , just in my head , but it knocked me out for a bit , so I had to skip my last training weekend before the race , and I was on antibiotics for three days . The doctor told me the antibiotics would leave my system by Saturday – the day before the Two Oceans Ultra – so I was counting down the days !
Luckily , I got better when I arrived in Cape Town the Tuesday before the race , because it was sunny and warm . Even my mood improved as I rapidly improved , and by Thursday / Friday the symptoms were disappearing . But you won ’ t know until you are pushing your body to the limit if something is still wrong . Overall , during the race I felt fine , other than the rough patch on Constantia Nek , and I do not know if that had anything to do with the cold , but just like I improved after my cold , it was the same with improving after my rough patch . When I got to the top of the Nek , I felt right again , like myself . I got through it … but I wasn ’ t sure how far behind I was .
MA : When you caught Irvette with two kays to go , did you say anything to her as you went past her ?
GS : I just said , “ Well done , Irvie ,” and I don ’ t remember her saying anything . She told me later she didn ’ t expect me to come past her , and she was so shocked that she couldn ’ t respond , but we both agreed that without each other , neither of us would have broken the record , because we really pushed each other so hard . You can ’ t do that without competition like that , especially at that late stage of an ultra-marathon . I wouldn ’ t have surged like I did from the top of Constantia Nek if not for chasing her … I think I would have been happy in the lead ,
24 ISSUE 150 | www . modernathlete . co . za