Jan
14
Introductions
Filed Under Training Adventures
Well, for my first blog, I thought it might be nice to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me!
I am of course, over the moon to have been accepted into Team TBB, especially since I thought that Coach Sutto would just laugh at my initial e-mail and hit the delete key instantaneously, thinking who the heck is this nobody from South Africa? He still does have the odd laugh at me I am sure, but what I do know is that he has given me the chance that I have wanted so bad for so long and I don’t care about the rest!
I was born and bred in the town of Benoni in South Africa, which is basically an old mining town about 30km from Johannesburg. Benoni is unfortunately known for all the wrong reasons, like supporting the wrong rugby team and in general for being a little backward, and so we are often the brunt of national jokes! YET! Films have been made about the town, and the Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron is from here too!
My parents were both immigrants to the country in the 1960’s, my mother being French (Paris) and my father German (Hildesheim). So as you can see, I am a bit multicultural, but I definitely inherited an affinity for fine french cheeses!
My sporting backround is probably not the most stellar, as where I come from, sports was really just for fun! I do, however, recall the competitive streak in me, having always wanted to swim more lengths than my sister of our pool at home, or stay under water longer! The fact that she was four years older was never a factor for me!
At school I was never a sports star, the fact that I have always had poor vision meant that I was pretty useless with any game involving hand – eye co-ordination. Given that I was always the last kid to be picked for the team, I decided to try all sports anyway, but the ones that I could do by myself were the ones that I tried the hardest at.
In high school, I discovered that I could actually run quite well over the longer distances that nobody else wanted to run, and so started my athletic career. Although it was never very serious, being good at something certainly made it more enjoyable!
I went on to study at Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, specialising in Political Science and International Relations, with an Honours degree in Politics. You must understand that it was the ’90’s back then, and in South Africa, politics was cool then! I am still going to pursue my career in politics when I grow up, so that I too, can get driven around in a luxuary air-conditioned German car!
I was 19 when I did my first triathlon – a fun event organised by the local gym where I used to go and check out the boys! It is very funny to think now, that I came out the swim third last that day, wondering how it was possible to keep on swimming into reeds! It was always the thought of ‘what if I could do better?’ that kept me motivated to keep trying and doing races.
I have since done many, many, races all over the globe, yet am still no closer to getting a “real” job! My question is “why?” is a “real” job as much fun? How does a “real” job compare to the feeling of winning the “real” big race you have always dreamed about?