My first duathlon!

run/cycle/run –  2.5km/10km/1.25km

Sunday morning was freezing in Vanderbijl.  I was trained to stay positive and told myself that it wouldn’t be so cold higher up in Gauteng, but I was wrong.  It was extremely cold next to the Germiston lake.  My greatest supporter, my mom, drove me there.  We were one of the first people to arrive.  We had the opportunity to look around and get my race pack while it was still quiet.

First up were the little ones:  kids aged eight to twelve years.  They were so brave!  All the grownups had the same thought: if they can do it, I can do it as well.

I enjoyed watching the other athletes.  I paid attention to the transitioning part, because I didn’t know how to do it, so I just copied them.

I started at ten thirty.  Only a few meters into the race, I wanted to turn around and withdraw because my legs were already tired of all the standing around.  I didn’t rest them before the race.  However, I was in the race and I wanted to complete it.
It took some time for me to get into the rhythm of running, but it warmed me up so I could remove me windbreaker when I transitioned into cycling.  I never thought that I could run with my bike – usually I can hardly hold it upright when I walk!  I had no problem cycling, so here I made up most of my time.  The people that passed me in running, I passed again in cycling, with a big smile!  Coming back to the transitioning, I got confused as to where the exit was.  My legs started to feel like jelly, but there was no time for dessert!
Running in a corridor towards the end, I started smiling and shouting: Yes, yes, yes! I finished it!

I completed my first duathlon in fifty nine minutes and got my medal and I am so proud of myself!

But it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.  Doing two sports back to back in a race asked for a different kind of endurance, but it was all worth it in the end!

The next event is on the 24 May, and if all goes as planned, I’ll be there for my second medal.

By Deon Labuschagne