In high school I got multiple awards but the one that I loved getting was “Most versatile Student” – meaning you more or less did everything there was out there to do and you didn’t do too bad…athletics, cross country, head-girl and I also didn’t get too bad grades…I was also on the debate team and enjoyed the occasional tennis game. (However I have given up playing tennis, as my poor tennis racket got the grunt of my frustrations…)

It’s only now in my 38th year of human-ness, that I start thinking whether that award wasn’t a bit of a curse…I mean, that saying: “Jack of all trades, Master of None” comes fiercely to mind here…

I have started Crossfit in 2015 and only last year decided to give Triathlon races a go…these two sports work well against each other, so I actually came to a point where I had to sit myself down and ask what I would like to excel in…I love Crossfit as it makes me strong physically but I also love the way it plays mind-games. It is actually something I am good at (not Crossfit Games athlete good, but I can do most of the gymnastics and strength stuff (once again, versatile). On the other side of the coin, I love the endurance training that triathlon training brings to the table and finishing Ironman African Champs this year in PE was a great feat for me; which makes me come to the actual topic of this blog…

Some of the biggest names out there in Crossfit like Tia – Clair Toomey, Matt Frasier, and Rich Froning, actually shows the world what it is to win events, and win it well…the same on the Triathlon side, Lucy Charles and Daniella Ryf is current African Camps and World Champs, because they focus on one single sport and not only competing well, but winning it in a super human flourish…

My husband and I have recently traveled abroad to conquer Time Triathlon Alpe D’Huez and we both finished this awesome race…however when coming back to South Africa after our travels I had a bit of a meltdown as most of the events I enter for I usually aim to “just finish”. Just keep in mind here that the races we enter for are not sprint distances, but full Ironman distances, so finishing is actually already a massive win by itself… After a long debate with myself and my triathlon coach of how bad I actually suck at triathlons, Crossfit and other sports and more, I actually came to the conclusion, that I am never gonna be one of those athletes standing on a podium as a World Champ or as a Crossfit Games athlete, as my focus is not only on one specific sport but more on where I can have the most fun.

I am who I am, I am healthy and fit and strong and I am able bodied. It’s my way of saying to myself that by entering for a full Ironman distance or entering a Crossfit comp I am actually showcasing what I am able to do and what my body actually can endure and achieve. It’s my way of saying that I want to improve myself in ways that only I know how and if by finishing an event is the way to do it, then so be it.

Remember that saying in the end its not how you start, but how you finish…? I want to ad on to that, its never how you start…its having fun whilst doing it and finishing it with a massive smile on your face, because who doesn’t love that finish-line feeling?