Berber at IM SA

I had serious beef with Ironman South Africa... previous attempts in 2021 and 2022 had not given me the results I had come for. But this year, I decided to set things right with this race. And again, this race tried testing me. It was rather windy, and we had a very choppy swim, which made for my slowest Ironman swim split ever; and I was very surprised to come out of the water 3rd in my age group - usually, I am quite the median swimmer and have to work my way to the front throughout the rest of the day. On the bike, I quickly climbed up to 2nd place and created quite a buffer with the #3 just by keeping my head down and fighting the winds, and not feeling let down by a much slower swim and bike split than predicted - I knew that I had to keep racing my own race, despite the winds, and not try and push the pace too much and blowing up. On the run, things started off really well, and my pacing was on point, with pace and heart rate exactly where I wanted them to be. But as things started heating up, something must have been off with my nutrition and hydration; I was feeling sleepy, barely sweating despite the heat and effort, and at the end of the second of four laps, my body shut down. The third lap became quite the mental and physical struggle. Luckily, by walking and taking care of myself at the aid stations, I found a new gear for the last lap, and I managed to finish strong and with a smile. Not the perfect race, but I'll take it: 2nd in my age group, 5th age group female overall, Kona qualified, and some great lessons learned!