Sunday, March 27, 2005

Highlights of SA Trip & Lowlights

Highlights

Waking up on the 20th of March and feeling great.
The 20th of March (the whole Ironman experience)
The Argus
Seeing an ex-girlfriend and realising how much I have changed
Riding around in the jeep.
Cycling with my brother to Cape St. Francis
Cycle to Franschoek and back.
Going sailing on Theewaters dam with Mandy's dad in gut wrenching conditions
Free State Triathlon Champs
Swimming at the stadium pool, and feeling the sun on my body
Romance
Being at home, with homecooked meals and made up beds

Swimming in the dam next to the N1 on the way to Cape Town
Sailing around Greenpoint and Seapoint, watching the sunset, seeing the green lighthouse of the docks rise out in front of the sea and purpling sky
Night out with Hugo at the Shack and Cornerhouse
Running on the beach in Jeffrey's Bay
Arriving at the airport in South Africa and then driving with Alex and his daughter in his Audi A4, to see his new home and growing family
Eating at Hobbit House
South African girls in bikinis
Having my business cards made
Making lots of new friends
Running up Naval Hill with Jacques and Petro
Having my bike fitted with STR's again

The cycle in Johannesburg, to Pretoria, with Alex and his brother in law
The two cycling races to Jagersfontein, especially the one where I broke off the bunch and came first, and the one where I broke in the last km, in the rain, and almost held onto first (behind the fast bunch) but eventually came second.
My two long runs
Going to the farm and Heuwilsig
Discovery Channel
Motorcycle Diaries
Exchange rate changes in our favour
Biltong
Reading the Da Vinci code
Finally investing in a unit trust
Getting a credit card

Running with Allan along the shoreline around Kleinmond
Awesome food, like Roast Lamb on my birthday
Steers and Nando's
Revisiting the pool in Kroonstad where I swam my best race
Watching Juliet's boy swim
Green Man Flashing
Primi meals
Llandudno

The thunder and lightning in the last few kilometres of the Ironman, the black streets, shining in the rain.
Million Dollar Baby
Nationwide Airlines
Getting one of the last slots for the Argus
Dros
Staying at the Humewood Hotel
Red wine
Cafe Rossini at Mimosa Mall
Hearing South Africans around me speaking perfect English
Interview at Xposure

Cycling with Jean
Cycling with my brother to Dealesville
My cellphone (first time I've ever used one for any length of time)


Lowlights

Getting my cellphone stolen out of my bag at the airport
Getting Strep and then a secondary infection
Getting diarhea the day before the Ironman
Missing the race briefing which caused me to lose all the equipment I left in my Special Needs bags
Missing the Tour de Bloem
Missing SA Triathlon Champs
The guy pn the Beck's yacht who took my email address but never mailed me the pictures he took
The bitchy German girl that sat next to my brother and me on the same yacht
Having to leave home to use the internet, and then it was extremely slow and troublesome
Jacques coming to the house and banging on the door to wake me up, but the only creature to come to the door was a cat

Getting two speeding tickets
My driver's license taking over two months...
Someone refusing to have lunch with me
Fainting at the chemists after a shot of Vitamin B12
Visiting the doctor and finding out my sickness was going to get worse before it would get better
Losing my Vodacom cellphone charger
Going to watch Motorcycle Diaries on my own
Buying anew battery the day before my cellphone was stolen
My sister calling me not to wish me well but to ask for money
Missing the wedding in Bloem, and not seeing or being able to call people special to me, before I left

I really wanted to collapse on my bed in a pile of exhaustion after the Ironman, but went out at 11:30pm in search of my special needs bags, and they'd already been thrown away when I got there, even though athletes were still on the course
Running around to get my finishers shirt and other bags after the Ironman
The cellphone
Leaving South Africa

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