You may have noticed that of late my journal entries have been a little thin on the ground. This is because somewhere between last May when my IronMan saga began and today, somebody has clearly sneaked into my life and stolen all of the free time I used to have.  

Today for example I got up at 4:30am, was on the bike just before 5:00 for a hard 2 hour hill session and then it was a quick shower before breakfast (taken on the run) followed by the rush hour commute into the office. Straight after work it will be down to the track at 6:00pm for an hour of group torture Claire Kinsley style, before I finally get home again at about 8:00 o’clock tonight. 15 hours after I left. 

And apart from variations in the type of sessions, this routine happens every day of the week except on Friday when I only have an early swim session in the dam. Thursday evening is particularly fun as I get to run the 22kms home from work. 

And do you know what? I am loving every moment of it. Near our home is a pass that meanders through the outlying wheat fields of the Boland region here in the Western Cape and riding there in the early dawn light is a privilege that I wouldn’t get to experience if I wasn’t committed to my goal. Watching the birds of prey rising on the first of the early morning thermals is enough to make even the most jaded of cynics whoop for joy. 

Yet best of all is coming home after a hard training session and seeing my wonderful wife at the door with a huge smile on her face keen to know how the training session went.  

I was told at the start that having a partner who buys into the scheme on day one is perhaps the single most important thing anybody who plans on doing IronMan can have. Although she must feel terribly neglected, (something she would never admit), she still remains my biggest fan and you can’t buy that.