PEOPLE » MICHAEL & LAUREN CANNON
to eat very healthy foods like salads,
quinoa, protein and lots of veggies and
fruit. When training at this intensity
people often think you can eat whatever
you like, but that’s not true at all. Mike
and I try to be as disciplined as possible,
without being obsessive.
After one weekend in your home
I put on weight. What’s in your
delicious peanut butter balls that
you find time to bake? And what food
keeps you healthy in your busy lives?
MC: We like snacks. The kids are quite
bossy and demand a constant supply of
baked treats.
LC: The protein peanut butter balls
were an experiment to trick the girls into
eating breakfast on the run, however it
backfired when Mike and I hoovered up
most of them. They’re a nutritious mix
of peanut butter, honey, vanilla essence,
desiccated coconut, ground raw oats
and protein powder. Mike and I tend
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Lauren won her 30-34 AG at
the SA National Triathlon
Championship, while Mike (top)
was third in his AG at IRONMAN
African Championship.
OUR DURBAN COURSE ADVICE…
SWIM: If the weather plays ball, you will have a beautiful swim in the Indian
Ocean. But if the wind picks up, the swell can get quite big, especially for the
inlanders. Whatever happens, stay calm, choose the right line and enjoy it.
BIKE: The bike course is fast, but has a few cheeky bumps to get through,
especially on the way out towards the turnaround point. The course is definitely
faster on the way back to town, if the wind isn’t too much of a factor on the day.
Keep it hard and steady and make sure you get your nutrition in. If you get your
nutrition wrong here, you will suffer on that run.
RUN: The run course is flat and should be fast. But it is actually a tough run. The
concrete surface is quite hard on your legs, so make sure you wear comfortable
shoes. Take the first few kilometres to get into a rhythm and then kick down.
Make sure you stay hydrated and cool from start to finish or the Durban heat will
get you. That’s why we do a lot of our run sessions at midday, to get our bodies
accustomed to racing in the heat.
FINALLY, enjoy the day. The Durban crowds are fantastic and will keep you going.
Everything in our household is run on a
tight schedule, but as long as we keep on
top of it, we are perfect.
MC: What makes it easier, is that our
training programmes are aligned, as
we both have the same coach, Richard
Lawrie, allowing us to train together.
Typically, we will wake up around 4am
and then play ‘Ching-Chong-Chah’ to
see who makes tea. We then head out
on our ride, have a quick coffee on the
way home and then get home to two very
excited little girls. I then head off to work
and La takes the girls to school. La and I
will try and meet for a lunch-time training
session before she fetches the girls from
school and begins her action-packed
afternoon with them. I find it difficult to
train after work but, if it is required, I get
it done either with La again or boringly on
my own and then head home as quickly
as possible to relax, watch Barbie and
listen to all the stories from the day.
Your staircase is a mural of race
medals, including a crazy 02:36
marathon, national-level swimming
and many wins in all three sports.
MC: I think the thing that makes us stick
out as a couple is the fact that we can
both still achieve some decent results