Race Report:

Ironman 70.3 South Africa has come and gone and I can say that I am happy with the race. I finished 6th in a time of 4h15:54. I was a little frustrated as I improved my time from last year by almost 10mins, but finished in the same position! But you can only control your own performance, not those of your competition (which was a lot stronger this year!).

The Pro's started in our own wave, which meant only about 35 of us starting together. The conditions were good for the swim with flat seas, although the wind seemed to pick up by the minute as we stood on the beach before the start. I started well and found some feet to the first bouy. The feet were a littler too quick for me though and so I lost contact sooner than I had hoped. One or two more pro's passed me before the second bouy (about halfway) but I couldn't stay on their feet for very long and by halfway there was just clear water in front of me and behind me... A lonely swim...

I exited the water about 2min30 down on the leaders and started working on the bike. Pretty soon (for everyone I think) we found that we were not racing eachother as much as we were fighting the course and conditions. The wind had picked up more and up the hills it was directly into your face making for slow progress. I pulled back a number of places early on the bike and got off the bike in 8th or 9th I think.

In transition I met up with Tim Don, and exited shortly before him. Sure he would catch me I had a decision to make - run with him, or run my own race and let him go. Sure enough, he caught me within 1km (!) and I decided that I would try to run with him for as long as possible. His pace was fast, but I felt good and the advantage of running shoulder-to-shoulder was certainly worth it. We ran together and passed a few competitors until about halfway through the run when he started to open a bit of a gap on me. He tried to get me to come with him, saying something like, 'Come on, James. Find your rhythm and come with me!' I had my rhthym Tim... it just wasn't as fast as yours! I kept him in my sights for as long as possible, but soon the string was broken...

I ran myself up to 6th position with a 1h18:03 run split, which I am happy with, although there is room for improvement.
All in all a good first race in the teamTBB colours. A big thanks to Alex, Mischelle, Wayne and all the other supporters on the course for your enthusiastic cheering!

Two weeks and I'll be in Subic... bring it on!

Matty didn't explain that very well Jocelyn, so I will explain it for you:

Most of the local running races attract strong fields of the top black athetes, but very few of the top white runners (there are many more good black runners than good white runners, and the black runners are more attracted to the meager prize money due to economic status - for the reasons for this, please refer to a history book near you...)
As such, when I  race these races, I am very often the first white face at the finish line (but never actually the first face unfortunately) ...and hence the nickname, Adam. (Thankfully it has never stuck...)

Thanks Doc.
Don't worry - I'm not getting ahead of myself. I know where I stand in the world of guys like Macca! When I say 'I would have liked to have raced him' what I should have said is, 'I would have liked to have raced the same race as him!', you know, for the experience...
(And a measure of how far away James' 100% at present is from Macca would be nice, of course  )

Hi All!

So one week (and a few hours) from now we will be checking in our bikes for Ironman 70.3 South Africa in Buffalo City. By 'we' I mean Caroline, Lucie and myself - the South African teamTBB representatives (Lucie is adopted actually, but we're glad to have her.)

On Thursday I did a short recce of the location with a 24hr trip to East London for the press launch on Friday. Although I raced the course last year and remember it quite well, it was good to see the venue and route again to refresh the memory. They have also changed the run course a little so it was good to note the changes. The run course has been changed to make it more spectator friendly - they have cut out the top 1/3 of the big and nasty hill and added the same distance on the other side of the lap where it is flat. Considering you run the hill 3 times, that adds up to a lot less hill to run up!

Sadly, Macca has pulled out and will not be racing (or even using his free plane ticket and spectating ) due to illness (wisdom teeth apparently). It's a pity - I would have liked to have raced him. The pro field is however still very strong. All of the top 6 from last year are back, including Raynard Tissink, Fraser Cartmell and Frederick van Lierde. Add to that Tim Don doing his first 70.3 distance, which will be interesting to watch, and you have a good field before you even consider all the other pro's. Challenging? ...I love a challenge!

I am feeling good and looking forward to a good race. Watch this space for more updates and the post race report...
J

[3, 2, WON! At Jailbreak Ultra for Cunnama]

Hi All,

In the absence of a blog, here is an update on my latest race exploits.

After a three week stint at rookie camp in Subic Bay in November I came back to South Africa feeling good and looking forward to some races as tri-season in SA started up. The first race of the season, a 2.2/100/25km Ultra tri held on 14 Dec was my first chance to test myself, and it went great. Read report below:

3, 2, WON! At Jailbreak Ultra for Cunnama

In his first real test of the season, James Cunnama started the JailBreak Ultra in Worcester in the winelands of South Africa not too sure where his form was and how he would perform. These questions were answered emphatically when Cunnama, improving on his 3rd and 2nd the previous two years, won the race by a massive 10min margin over 2nd place, Charl Keet.

Cunnama began the race at a controlled pace and gave some time to Charl Keet in the swim as he stayed back in the chasing group of 3 swimmers for the first lap. During the second 1.1km swim lap Cunnama moved off the front of the chase group and swam the second lap on his own. Coming out of the water about 1min30 behind race-leader, Charl Keet Cunnama moved quickly through transition and out onto the bike course.

In windy conditions Cunnama started at a comfortable pace and soon it was clear that his only competition on this day would be Keet, who held the lead for much of the cycle. However, about 80km into the 100km cycle leg Keet's early pace into the strong winds began to show and he slowed considerably. Cunnama, however seemed to just get stronger and flew by Keet for the lead before chasing down a team cyclist to be the first into transition.

Moving out onto the run it was a one-man show with Cunnama extending his lead to 10minutes over Keet and holding this until the finish line. Keet came in second, with Jean van Wyk from Cape Town rounding out the top 3.
 

 Good reporting, huh? 48hours later I raced a sprint triahtlon in PE (Port Elizabeth) and won that too, feeling no ill-effects from the ultra race on the weekend. I guess rookie camp served me well...

Right now I am in the Drakensberg mountains visit my folks for Christmas before heading back to the eastern Cape for Ironman 70.3 South Africa on 18 January. With a stacked field including Chris McCormack, Tim Don, Fraser Cartmell and Raynard Tissink, this race promises to be a real challenge…

More news soon…

Hello All!
As requested, here I am on the forum.

First: To Wongstar: Mr South Africa?! Really?! You're gonna have to come up with a better nickname than that. Mr South Africa is some dude who gets manicures, uses self-tan, plucks his eyebrows and schmoozed some judges to 'win' his title. He can have it... 
Second: Do you really think you have the influence to persuade Doc how to treat me? Special attention? I am not even sure what you were hinting at, but so far no 'special attention' has flown my way. Maybe I am still in the grace period, if that actually exists. I wonder...
Third (jac187): 'a lean mean disciplined fighting green amphibious monster'?! Ahh, what a picture you paint. I have visions of The Hulk in a pink teamTBB tri-suit... (and perhaps smaller shoulders...) 

As for everyone wanting an update: So far so good, actually. There is work to do and we are working hard, but so far nothing unreasonable (for a pro athlete anyway) and Doc has even been so kind as to allow us a rest day tomorrow! The group is holding together well too and it is refreshing and fun training with a group for a change. Most are over the mysterious illness that afflicted everyone (and I have luckily avoided thus far) so it is full steam ahead.

I look forward to the next block of hard training after our day off. Onwards and upwards towards great things!