LYNETTE S RACE WORLD PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE IN THE MAKING EAST LONDON 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA 2015

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1 LYNETTE S RACE WORLD PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE IN THE MAKING In 2014 I decided to give Ironman 70.3 East London in South Africa a go as a professional triathlete. This being my debut race I went without any expectations and managed to finish 7 th overall in the pro ladies and 1 st South Africa lady in a time of 4:59:59, just breaking 5 hours! I was quite happy. Racing as a professional is definitely different to racing age group. It can become very tactical and obviously the competition is fierce so there is not time to muck around anymore the pressure is on! This is my job, I race for a living. Suddenly eating, sleeping, training and racing had new meanings to them! As a professional athlete you are required to purchase a pro license or card after you qualify as an elite. You either have the option of buying a license for one event or the option of buying a license for the entire year for all Ironman sanctioned events. In 2014 I opted for only the one event being 70.3 East London as I had my eye set on a different set of goals being Long Distance World Championship in China in September. I wanted to race for South Africa as an elite and I wanted my Protea Colours. Goal achieved! Run leg 70.3 East London 2014 Towards the end of the 2014 I had new aspirations and I decided it was time to find myself a new coach one who could support me on the road ahead. Previous years I worked with the likes of Lucie Zelenkova, Lindsay Parry and Claire Horner. They are all superb coaches whom I respect and by whom I have learnt a great deal. I was however looking for something very specific in a coach and I did eventually find that missing link - Andre Bekker from 5 th Dimension Coaching. Andre is not only my coach but also my mentor. I have learnt a great deal in the few months I have worked with Andre not only as a protriathlete but also as a coach and an individual. I am a very goal driven individual and Andre understood this and so we got planning would be my first year racing abroad as a professional, it was the year to gain experience and to train hard! If I managed to qualify for Zell em See 70.3 World Championships, well that would be an added bonus! Our game plan for 2015: Myself and my coach Andre and his wife Julie 70.3 East London January 70.3 Putrajaya Malaysia April Reside in Boulder Colorado June August 70.3 Boulder June 70.3 Racine Wisconsin July 70.3 Timberman August Training Peaks Boulder CO EAST LONDON 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA 2015 My race season would be as I arrived in Boulder in June and the races leading up to then were training races East London 2015 did not go as planned at all! The week before the race I was attacked by two men who tried stealing my car. This event caused for some bruised ribs and a fair amount of trauma. Nevertheless I was adamant to race so I went to East London with my best support crew my parents; bruised and all. My mother had also gone in for a gall bladder removal operation the week before and she got clearance to travel to come watch me race at East London. Little did we know that things would quickly turn pear shaped the night before my 2 nd pro race. My mother was rushed to the nearest hospital in East London by my dad during the middle of the night because of extreme abdominal pain. My mother is a tough cookie. It s pretty rare that she ever complains about something. This Run leg 70.3 East London 2015

2 was different she was experiencing a whole new level of pain! I hardly slept. Seeing my mom in that amount of pain the night before my race was not exactly pleasant. We found out that the adhesions in her stomach ruptured and she could die if they did not operate! I did not want to race. My dad said that I should race, that my mom would want me to race so I did. They operated on my mom the morning of my race. The race start was bit of a blur but I remember as I was running up to T1 (transition) I searched for my dad as I knew he would update me on the condition of my mom. He said the operation was going well. That put my mind at ease a bit as I was about to tackle the bike leg. My dad was between the hospital and the race trying to keep me updated and also supporting me. The remainder of the race well not exactly my greatest performance. I wanted to quit all the time. All I could think about was my mom. The race was a struggle from beginning to end emotionally draining to say the least. I had no fight in me. But I was determined to finish for my mom. I finished 9 th pro lady and 3 rd South African lady in a time of 5:28. My mom s operation was a success. We had to extend our stay in East London until she was strong enough to travel back home. But she was going to be OK. My best support crew My parents PUTRAJAYA 70.3 MALAYSIA 2015 Malaysia, Kuala Lampur. It was extremely hot and humid. I arrived in Malaysia with my parents 10 days before the 70.3 event long enough to acclimatize and to settle into the 6hr time difference. My dear friend Marinda Engelbrecht joined us the following Monday to race the 70.3 in Putrajaya with me. The hotel we stayed in at Kuala Lampur had a 25m pool which made me very happy as it made swim training convenient. As for cycling well, there s no way I could cycle in KL. If you attempted cycling in KL chances are you could become part of the road! I stuck to cycling indoor not ideal but it would have to do. I had to run really early as it just got to hot and traffic was a nightmare. I arrived back at the hotel drenched in sweat after each run. It was very important to keep hydrated and to spend a lot of time in the heat to acclimatize. 38deg heat plus humidity on top of that can quite easily make you lose your sense of humor! It so happened that the Malaysian Grand Prix was the weekend before my race. My dad is a Formula One fanatic so guess where we went on the 29 th of March yes to the Malaysian Myself and Marinda sightseeing Grand Prix! This event was the same day as Ironman South Africa and I had 20 athletes racing this prestigious event so between watching the Grand Prix at the circuit I was also tracking my athletes! The grand prix was exhilarating and we had great seats so we got to see the cars and drivers up close. It did however feel like I was sitting in a sauna as the sweat was dripping off my skin even while sitting in the shade of the pavilion it was 39deg. I knew Marinda and I were in for a very challenging race day! Marinda arrived and settled in. I was happy to have her there. It helps having a friend who understands pre race nerves and everything else that goes along with it. Marinda was there to qualify for 70.3 world championships which meant winning her age group and this was my first international pro race we both had a fair amount of pressure! The 70.3 race course was outside KL in Putrajaya a beautiful city. Marinda and I arranged with the concierge to take us to Putrajaya on the Wednesday for us to swim and cycle on the race course. As we arrived there we went to register and we did our walkabout at the expo. I was very impressed with how organized the officials were. Registration Myself and my mom at the GP was quick and efficient. The expo itself was impressive. Of course Marinda and I had to do some splurging so between the two of us we bought a fair amount of triathlon goodies! After registration we went for a cycle. The route we cycled was flat and fast and the road surface was superb. It was nice to get a feel for the route but both of us were very nervous about the heat and humidity we were feeling. After the cycle we had a swim. The water felt like a boiling pot and I felt like a little frog being incinerated. Nevertheless we both felt more at ease having done a ride and swim.

3 On the Friday we moved hotels from KL to Putrajaya. The hotel was rather Majestic Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel. This hotel seemed to be quite popular as there were a few triathletes popping out left and right. We did bump into other South Africans Andre De Beer and his wife were both staying at the same hotel. Marinda and I used the rest of our time to acclimatize by doing some sightseeing, sleeping or napping and catching up with our family back home and in my case my athletes. The race organizers were quite on top of things as everything was marked out clearly and every hotel had a bus schedule either leaving from the hotel to transition or to the expo and if you had an athlete band you were able to use the buses free of charge. Supporters were also well accommodated as they too got bands to use the transport available. Myself and Marinda race day Race briefing is always exciting as I get to attend the pro-briefing. Sometimes I get to meet real legends such as Craig Alexander in Malaysia. It is always an honor to share the course with world champions. The Saturday before the race we did our pre-race bike and run before breakfast. I couldn t believe how hot it was. The entire time while biking and running I was thinking of strategies to keep cool during the race. Later during the day we took our bikes in to rack. I was racing with Campaq Boras tubbies, so deflating them in the heat was a definite must do! Last thing I wanted was to arrive race morning with a popped tubby! After we racked our bikes it was an early dinner and off to bed. Race day was upon us and yes you can imagine it was quite warm. Marinda and I had our breakfast mine is always Future Life. I have a tendency to struggle eating the morning of the race so Future Life goes down easily. My parents were also up. The hotel had arranged that athletes could have access to the buffet from 5am the morning so it was ideal for my parents. It s quite a long day for them too. Being a supporter is rather admirable. I am truly grateful to have my parents attend some of my races. It s always nice to see a familiar face when you are suffering! Marinda and I greeted my parents who would join us later on the course. We hopped on the bus and were taken to transition. It was still dark outside and the moon shone bright. We went to check our bikes and also packed our transition area and made sure all our equipment was in order. After checking everything I usually take a walk around transition making sure I know where all the exits are. I generally do this the day I rack my bike so that I can practice my transitions in my mind before the race. After taking a walk through transition Marinda and I took a walk to the water and calmed our nerves. The moon was shining brightly over the water, it was a beautiful crisp clear morning but hot! I was grateful to have Marinda there. I felt a lot of butterflies for my first international pro race. I took a few minutes and closed my eyes and went through the race from start to finish in my mind. It always helps to calm me. We did our warm up and then gave each other a good luck hug and went off to the start. I was the second wave with the pro ladies. We started 2 min behind the pro men. The swim course was well marked out. You could literally swim the entire way next to the buoys. I did my warm up swim and then we were called to line up as they announced each of our names. We were then sent off a few minutes after the men. The start is always bit of a washing machine as everyone tries to find a rhythm and a pair of feet to hold on to. Eventually everyone settles and then you swim as hard as you possibly can. It s a bit harder swimming without a wetsuit if you are not a strong swimmer but I didn t mind, my swimming was right up there. The water was really warm and the swim did feel long. I existed the water in 6 th place, just off the main pack. I ran into transition and grabbed some water along the way towards my bike. I was on my bike and off I went. I felt good. Legs felt strong. I could see some of the girls ahead of me so I just kept my focus by holding my cadence high and my power at the race pace I discussed with my coach. The cycle was pretty fast and brutal because of the heat. Bike leg The nutrition in my bottles finished quickly so I took bottles at the aid stations where needed. They offered us Gatorade and water, bananas and Powerbar. We did two laps of 45km. The second lap I noticed my power dropping off a bit as I was fatiguing! I was also sweating a lot and therefore losing a lot of salt. I luckily did have salt tabs and electrolytes so I made sure I was taking this on a regular basis. The Gatorade was great to have on course as it was ice cold but at the time I did not think it could perhaps lead to some stomach discomfort later on. I train on 32Gi and I generally get away with having two bottles on the bike but because it was such a hot day out I needed to take nutrition offered on course which can be quite risky if you have not trained on it before. This was my mistake and I would pay for it later! I

4 was gulping down water and Gatorade at one point, clearly pretty thirsty even though I was drinking a lot! I got off the bike in 7 th place. The run was tough. We ran along the lakeside two laps of 10.5km. I was catching the ladies ahead and ran myself into 5 th place. The first 13km went pretty smoothly and I was able to hold a comfortable rhythm. No sign of muscle cramping yippee! The water points were about 2.5km apart and well stocked with sponges, water, ice, bananas and goodies. The best were the water filled buckets the volunteers would pour out over our heads as we passed by it was ice cold, but felt amazing in the heat and humidity! By the time I reached the next water point I was dry already so that just gives you an idea of how hot it was! At around 15km my race suddenly turned sour! My stomach started seizing. I couldn t eat or drink anything and when I tried I would throw it back up. I started walking as I felt nauseas and drained by then the other pros started catching me. I noticed I wasn t the only one struggling as I could see one of the pro ladies that I passed earlier walking too. I went into a survival mode the last 6km and went from one water point to the next just to get to the finish. By the end 5 pro ladies passed me and I finished in 10 th place in a time of 5:07. I was rather disappointed and I knew it was back to the drawing board regarding my nutrition. I felt strong and fit but my nutrition let me down on the day. The race might not have turned out the way I wanted to but it was an amazing experience! It felt good to go hard and to race with the some of the best in our business! It was a pity things didn t go as planned but it is part of the journey of being a pro and this was the year for me to gain experience which I did. Marinda won her AG in a time of 5:25 and got her slot to World Championships so we had a reason to celebrate. I was very happy for her! We both had a tough day out and it felt good to be finish. The athlete s area had ice baths and ice creams, watermelon, massages and they gave us each an ice cold towel to wrap ourselves in to cool off. This felt like heaven on earth! Marinda and I made the most of it and probably spent a good 2hrs just collecting ourselves in Putrajaya 70.3 finish the athletes area. My parents were amazing supporters! I could hear them shouting out times as I ran from swim to my bike, then I saw them at the turn around on the bike course and again twice on the run cheering myself and Marinda along! It was so great to have them there and knowing they were proud of me no matter what the outcome. It was a long day for them so they left for the hotel as we both finished. Our trip came to an end the Monday as we headed back to South Africa. Putrajaya 70.3 is a must do! BOULDER USA 2015 Run leg I headed to the States on the 31 st May, same day as Comrades. It was a pretty long flight but I finally arrived in Boulder Colorado 30hours later. I had a homestay with Colleen and Darren De Reuck (ex-south Africans) and both phenomenal athletes! Colleen has been to four Olympics representing the US as a marathon runner and holds one world record. How awesome! They have two daughters Tara (8) and Tasmin (20). I grew rather fond of their youngest daughter Tara as time went by. Boulder was such a cool place! Everything worked in the US. Not once did we have a power outage or traffic lights not working. The very first day I arrived at my new home for the next 3 months I was amazed to see kids running on the streets and playing basketball or taking a walk with friends and they were safe. Homes and garages were unlocked and open and everything was untouched! This was odd for me to see coming from a home in SA that looks like Fort Knox! The best part in Boulder was the training of course! Left and right you had athletes training, not only triathletes but pro-cyclists, elite swimmers you name it! You could cycle or run for days in Boulder and come back home in one piece. The cars give you way and don t try taking you out every chance they get. The roads were in excellent condition and the view spectacular! The mountains still had snow on them and the reservoirs and dams Boulder 70.3 with Jeanni

5 were full of water because of the snow melting and running down filling them. Picture perfect Boulder is all I can say! I was hooked. I had two friends from South Africa also in Boulder at the time Jaryd Browne and Jeanni Seymour. Boulder can become quite a lonely place if you are on your own so it was great to have some fellow athletes and friends around. I joined Grant Hollicky s swim squad at Rally Sport gym which is owned by Erin Carson. Wow did I have to swim! Back home I am one of the fastest swimmers in my squad, in this squad I was probably one of the slowest! I had to swim my gat off to keep up. We had a few national open water champions in the squad such as my good friend Joey Pedraza and also as a few ITU and protriathletes like Flora Duffy, Cameron Dye, Richie Cunnigham and Dan McIntosh to name a few. We swam in a 25yard size pool 4x a week and once in a 50m pool called Scott Carpenter. Swim sets were between 5 to 7km long! Ouch! It took me about a week to settle in. Boulder is not much higher altitude wise that JHB but it was dry in Boulder, my lungs were on fire after a few training rides. My heart rate was also higher than usual after the travelling and adapting to the now 8 hour time difference. I had my coach Andre there for the first 2 Racine Wisconsin Lake Michigan with Julie, Andre, Jeanni and Claire weeks as him and his wife Julie were there for Boulder 70.3 before leaving for Orlando where they would be staying for the next few months. Andre knew Boulder already so he showed me around. He joined in on some of my swim squad sessions and we cycled a few times and he would point out routes for me to do when he was gone. Running was however a BIG problem three weeks before leaving for Boulder I was out on a training ride and we were joined by some novices and one of them caused a crash in the bunch bringing me down with it. At first we didn t think the injury was too serious as I did go for X-rays and I was told nothing was broken it didn t feel that way though, I could hardly walk. My coccyx and pelvis hurt A LOT. Long story short the injury was more serious than we thought but by the time we realized this I was already in the US. I had damaged ligaments in my pelvis and coccyx. I was unable to run in all my time in the States. I spent more time doing physical therapy and AlterG running at 30% bodyweight than any actual running. The physio and chiro sessions were helping but I was still unable to run with my full bodyweight for months. I was beyond frustrated and yes I did shed a tear or two a few times. Here I was in one of the most amazing places to train and race and I could not do any running. Training Ride Boulder So plan B. I had to make the most of my time in Boulder as I knew I would be coming back for many years to come, it wasn t over. I made peace with my injury and accepted it for what it was. Andre and I relooked at my races and training and were now both on the same page. I was on the rehab page. I cycled and swam a lot and then I did my rehab exercises that the physio gave me twice a day every day! I had to do water running and I could run on the AlterG. By the time I left Boulder I was able to start running on the road but only for 20min at a time. I was getting better slowly but surely. I made sure to build up connections in Boulder as this was going to be my Racine Wisconsin Windpoint Lighthouse 2 nd home in the Winter months of SA. I become good friends with Dan McIntosh who showed me around Boulder and Denver. I think we tried every coffee shop there was! We also had the most interesting conversations as he was coached by Brett Sutton. This was very intriguing to me so I always had plenty of questions! I also cycled with the Boulder Coaching group a few times; this group was run by Simon Lessing and Darren de Reuck. I met a few other people as well as

6 two other pro ladies Danielle Mack and Lauren Goss who are both coached by Simon and Darren. There were some serious tough cycle routes around Boulder. Jaryd and I cycled up to Ward which was almost a 2hour climb and then pretty fast descends. There was another route which went up to Estes Park which was just as tough! It was also hot in Boulder! It took me a while to get use to riding on the other side of the road and I was able to use Darren or Colleens car to go buy groceries ever so often so I just made sure I followed the car in front of me to stay on route. The rest of the time I commuted by bicycle so this would add almost 50 60km of extra cycling on top of all my other cycling training. Training ride with Jaryd in Boulder During my time in the States I raced or more like participated in two 70.3 events Boulder and Racine I decided to cancel Timberman 70.3 because of expenses as I was still not in any race condition because of my running. It gets a tad expensive flying across the States to race knowing I will not be a contender for any prize money. As I was unable to run the plan was just to swim and bike as hard as I could and then survive the run by walking/running. This was difficult to do especially watching the other pro ladies pass me by on the run. I did both races to get familiar with the routes as both of these races will be on my race calendar for next year. Racine Wisconsin was beautiful. The landscapes were green for days and I was very privileged to stay in the famous lighthouse overlooking Lake Michigan! I had a homestay with Mike and Susan Arts who were the caretakers. Such a lovely couple! I even got taken on a flight around Racine by Mike who had a little Cessna. Heather Leiggi (prolady) and her husband were also staying in the same house along with me. Mike and Susan were great hosts and fed us lots of food and drove us around as need be to register and attend the probriefing. Racine was hot. I met Andre, Colleen and myself after Boulder 70.3 up with my coach in Racine as he was also racing it so it was good to see a familiar face again. Jeanni and I travelled to Racine together and we did our pre-race warm up rides together. Racine 70.3 would be the first for both of us! The route was very much like Boulder 70.3, flat and fast! The water was cold enough for a wetsuit swim and as flat as a pancake on race morning! The cycle route In Racine was a bit annoying as there were plenty of bumps across the road which led to a bit of discomfort on the cycle leg as it kept breaking my rhythm. Overall the races I did in the States were very well organized, both ran smoothly and it was a great experience. I look forward to racing these events next year and hopefully this time I will be in a good shape to compete and be injury free! While in Boulder I also attended a Coaching Summit hosted by Training Peaks at Colorado University. I met some great coaches such as Joe Friel, Dirk Friel, Neal Henderson and Hunter Allen to mention a few. I also attended Training Peaks University and learnt a great deal. It was not only important for me to grow as an athlete while in Boulder but also as a coach. Continually studies and learning is key to success and growth. I can say just as much with regards to my training consistency and patience is key! My time in Boulder was well spent and I certainly came back home more knowledgeable and grateful being able to do what I do. At times it certainly got very difficult being away from home and I longed seeing the people I loved. I skyped my family once or twice a week and that helped me a lot especially during the difficult patches thank goodness for wattsapp too. My athletes also kept me busy so while I was recovering during training sessions I would work on training schedules or catchup with my athletes. Boulder had the best bagels, salmon and almond milk; this became part of my daily diet along with plenty of eggs! Half and half (milk and cream) was also a big hit with coffee! Food is quite expensive in the US so it was difficult to stick to the budget especially having other expenses which I was unprepared for such as physio and chiro appointments. I managed to survive.

7 I flew back home on the 24 th August and I could not wait to see my family and my friends. Home is where the heart is! Boulder was just amazing and I learnt so much! I am looking forward to my trip back next year! Thanks to all my product sponsors Troisport, ISM, 32GI and Environ for their continual support. Then to my new sponsors Alii Sport, RAD and Quintanaroo I look forward to the road ahead! The biggest thanks must however go to my parents Hanlie and Gawie for their unending support and love, to my sisters and best friends Chantal and Ane for helping me during difficult times and my brothers Gabriel and Calvin for a good laugh during skype calls! Also to my coach and mentor Andre for his support and guidance over the last few months and for keeping me sane when my injury issues became too much to bear! Thank you for reading my story all. Till next time. Yours in triathlon, Lynette van der Merwe Professional Triathlete and Coach Troisport Coaching You can follow my adventure on or instagram LILLYTRI