For the past 6 months I have been working for Design Indaba, on a contract that was due to end in February.  At the same time, I had got back onto my bike after a period of getting lazy and was training for the annual Argus.  

My mountain biking has also been under some strain, so I was looking forward to the Boschendal event as a confidence building race.

On my very last day at Design Indaba, the Monday, I spent some time in conversation with my colleague, winding up the work we had done together.  He had unfortunately come down with a bad flu over the weekend and really should have been in bed.  I had been busy over the weekend and my body was tired.

2 + 2 = flu

By Wednesday afternoon I was climbing into bed early. Thursday was a complete write off, and on Friday I was at the Doc and the chemist, loading up on various vitamins.

So on Sunday, as everyone was battling the dust and heat at Boschendal, I was sitting on my couch feeling sorry for myself.

Towards the end of the following week I went for a couple of short ride to stretch my legs and my lungs to see how I felt.  Knowing that it is NOT a good idea to exercise when a cold gets into your chest, I was taking it very easy.  No need to damage my heart unnecessarily.

So come the day of the Argus I had resigned myself to take it easy and just get another finish, rather than a record.  It was a gorgeous day, and many people did get their elusive sub-3 that we all aim for.

While parking my car I bumped into a friend who was starting in J, a few groups behind my seeding of F.  So for my first time ever, I downgraded myself and started with him.  It meant I wasn't as tempted to race off with my group, and at the top of the first few hills I waited for him to catch back up to me, giving me some good recovery time.  On every hill I held back, listening to my heart, rather than my legs. 

At 3hr25 I rolled across the finish line, happy to have finished Argus #11, in one piece and hopefully with as little damage to my body as possible.

Next year I go for that sub-3...