The Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI Programme was thrilled to see our visually impaired athlete, Helen Webb, complete her first ever triathlon at the 5150 Bela Bela, and she says it was a fabulous experience!
I guess I had a pretty typical first triathlon in a lot of ways. I surprised myself by not drowning, I didn’t drink on the bike, I took way too long in transition, I bonked on the run… But I did these things in a slightly different way from the average novice triathlete. I completed my first triathlon tethered and ‘tandemed’ to my guide, Anine Kukard, and I could not have asked for a better race. The weather was perfect, the crowd and athlete support for us was amazing, and the beer at the Spur afterwards was cold. What more could a girl ask for?
The swim was my favourite part, because I have struggled to swim for 15 years, but swimming tethered to a guide has given me the opportunity to overcome my terror and just relax in the water. Swimming is very disorienting to people with low vision because we are so reliant on our hearing, which we cannot use under water. Then, I have a lot of work to do in transition. My brain recognises objects in a different way to a fully-sighted person, and I really struggled to lay out my things in a way that was easy for me to find things. I also need to get used to drinking from a hydration pack, which I was using for only the second time, because I cannot get bottles back into the cage on the bike easily.
The run was extremely frustrating, because I couldn’t get a mental picture of the route in my head – it felt like running around in circles for an hour. Despite these challenges, it was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I cannot wait for the races to come leading up to IRONMAN PE. Thank you to the many people who made this race possible for me!
Helen is attempting to become the first South African visually impaired female triathlete to attempt IRONMAN South Africa in April 2017. We still need to find a suitable guide, equipment like a Tandem bicycle, and sponsors to assist with costs. Please follow Helen at www.facebook.com/HelenWVIAthlete and any assistance would be appreciated.
COACH’S CORNER
BY DTT COACH DERICK MARCISZ
Dare to Tri once again participated in the popular 5150 Triathlon in Bela Bela, with 19 finishers out of 19 starters, including six novices, for yet another 100% DTT success rate. Our squad was led home by Jaryd Otto in a fast 2:35, which was a five-minute improvement on his Germiston time, and our visually impaired athlete, Helen Webb, completed her first ever triathlon. Congratulations, Helen, you are an inspiration to all of us that sometimes take lining up in tri events for granted. We also had a few athletes taking part in the inaugural MiWay Cape Ultra in the Cape Winelands in September
Meanwhile, most of the other 52 DTT athletes on the programme are training for the upcoming events on our DTT target list, to which we have added the newly announced MiWay Durban Ultra to be held in March 2017:
1. Global 11 SUN CITY – Olympic & Sprint distances, 15/16 October 2016
2. Trinity Sports Series – Olympic & Sprint distances, 6 November 2016
3. MiWay Midlands Ultra – Half Iron 1.9km/90km/21km & Sprint distance, 27 March 2017
4. Trinity Sports Series – Olympic & Sprint distances, 15 January 2017
5. 70.3 East London – 1.9km/90km/21km, 29 January 2017
6. MiWay Durban Ultra – Half Iron and Sprint distances, 6 March 2017
7. IRONMAN South Africa – 3.8km/180km/42km, 2 April 2017
Modern Athlete Dare to Tri IRONMAN Workshop
Sunday 30 October, 9:30am, Jeppe Quondam Club, Bedfordview, Johannesburg
It’s five months to go to the Ironman African Champs in Port Elizabeth on 2 April, so join us for a talk on the proven Dare to Tri IRONMAN programme. DTT Coach Derick Marcisz will outline the training required for the next five months and you will also hear from DTT athletes that have comfortably finished IRONMAN using the DTT programme. Entrance is free, everybody is welcome, and refreshments will be provided.
Sign up today!
Join the Modern Athlete Dare to Tri Academy for the 2016/2017 Season for just R1265 once-off payment. You will receive expert coaching and group training from when you sign up till IRONMAN PE in April 2017. DTT has a proven track record with a 98% finish rate at all triathlon events, and you cannot get this level of coaching, including coached weekend group training sessions, for this period of time at this cost anywhere else.
Go to https://daretotri.canbook.me/e/view/10091 and follow the prompts to register.