When Ps John first mentioned starting conditioning in the morning at the Nature Reserve… let’s just say it was a growth moment for me.
This conditioning journey has really been an amazing one! God has shown me His glory in ways that my mind did not think was possible. I’m not a stranger to pushing my own physical limits, but this type of physical exertion really tested my mental capabilities. I am so glad we are on this journey in conditioning and I am so expectant for where God is going to take us!
MiConditioning Events
Alzu: Tour de Farm 2022
ALZU: Tour de Farm. 5 November 2022. This is my second Alzu race while being at MiXchange and I can honestly say that they couldn’t be more different… but to fully understand what I mean, I’m going to have to give you a few of the details of last year’s Alzu.
Last year, I was a VERY beginner rider! When I say beginner, I mean I was borrowing someone else’s bike, I didn’t have my own kit to wear so Caitlin kindly offered hers to me and I was still riding in tekkies at the time… but best of all, I signed up for the 20km, which I thought was practically as difficult as a stage of the Tour de France. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the fastest ride.
Race to the Sun 2022
I signed up, with Dani, Sunelle, Bradley, and Kaenan, to do the first half of the 160km Race to the Sun in Sun City on the 7th of May 2022. Es and I teamed up, agreeing that I would do the first half and she would do the second. To this day, I can say with complete certainty that it was the best race that I have ever done. The collective greatness that we experienced in our little team was amazing! This was a turning point in our relationships! When we got to the halfway mark of Race to the Sun, it was our finish line and I’m sure that we could have just continued going. The welcome comity of the team was really the best way to end a race. Best race ever!
Sun City Ultra Sprint 2022
Now that you’ve heard of my best race (Race to the Sun), you can now hear of one of my most challenging races… the day after.
I signed up to do the Sun City Ultra Sprint, which was a 600m swim, 20km ride, and 5km run. Easy stuff… or maybe not so easy. We had just raced Race to the Sun the day before… as you know, best race ever. When I say that I have never been so nervous to start something, I can certainly tell you that I am not exaggerating. Seeing that water before going in literally took my breath away. I had to constantly remind myself that this was ‘fun’. After the fight of my life in the water (that is an exaggeration), I was very happy to get onto my bicycle. Starting the ride was an absolute breeze. I met an elderly man who rode next to me almost the whole way to the turning point, he said “I know this isn’t a team sport but isn’t it mightly easier to ride with someone to talk to?”. At the turn, he continued straight as he was competing in the Ultra Triathlon and not just the sprint. Let me tell you, I could have used ‘someone to talk to’ in that headwind on the way back and even more so up the Everest of a hill. Coming into the transition area with everyone cheering was an unforgettable moment. My dad, who was more invested in the Ultra than any of the athletes made quite a scene when he saw me… it may seem very extra… but that’s just dad. I’m not going to elaborate on the run, I’m just going to say that it was tough but I made it.