www.womanthismonth.com February 2019 23 PEOPLE | interview You’ve said that the mind is stronger than the body. Do you believe this is true for everyone? Or is it, like with training, something that you can develop? The mind is always stronger than the body if we allow it to rule. It’s no secret that success in endurance sport heavily relies on the power of the mind. You can be the best prepared physically to race, but if your mind fails you, you will never see the finish line. Following knee surgery, you got back on track and set yourself even greater challenges, then you suffered a serious shoulder injury in a fall in January, 2018. How did this impact your training and competition and how and when did you decide to get back on the road? This was tough as right when I thought my knee was getting better, I broke the head of my humerus and it just shattered my hopes. I thought my racing days were over! And then I remembered how I overcame all the hurdles I have faced in the past 17 years and what I achieved. Instantly, I stopped lamenting, and started finding positive excuses to convince myself that I can still do this. So rather than thinking a double ultra is long, I told myself a double ultra is slow, I could technically even walk the run. Instead of freaking out about the long time I have to stay up on my feet, I convinced myself this was the best scenario, for it would give ample time to finish just in case I struggled (and I did). Instead of focusing on being too old to do an ultra, I thought determination, grit and the power of one’s mind is not one bit age-related. After all, I have a tough mind and there is nothing better than a strong mind and a monster goal to motivate me to get better faster. So within an hour I was set on doing my double ultra six months later. What happened then at the race, anything you would have done differently? What did not happen in that race! I made the mistake in training of not biking after the long 7.6km swim. My arm was very sore, but I never envisioned how debilitating this would be once I got on my bike in the race. I took nearly double the time I needed to finish my bike. We started in the night, it was pouring for nearly six hours. I was clinching hard on my steering as any fall on the slippery roads with the loose screws in my arm meant catastrophe. I was in trouble after the first two laps, but I did not want to quit or get a DNF (did not finish). So, it was a huge struggle with a lot of stops for physio and massage to bring back blood flow to my frozen cold hand. But I kept smiling and telling the announcer “I will finish”. And I finished, with two sleepless nights, in 45h27’58”. I was heartbroken and my athletic ego was hurt, because that is not the performance I worked for, but it was the price I paid for electing not to DNF. Ironically it earned me a reward for being the only woman in the world age 60+ to finish an IUTA race this year and rank in the IUTA 2018 World Cup. Did you at any time think ‘This is it, it’s time to stop’? And, if not, can you try to explain the passion that has kept you going despite the many injuries and operations. Yes, this happened briefly only once as I explained earlier, but within the same hour I had made plans to race six months later. Passion is hard to explain. Passion fuels performance, without it, it is hard to excel. You can do, but you will never excel or reach new heights. I am constantly in search of bettering myself physically and mentally. I like to push the envelope, I like to test my limits. When someone tells me “no you can’t” I have to try and judge for myself whether I really can or can’t. I have been injured since September 2015, I had to be operated on three times since, twice on the knee once on the shoulder. I have every reason today with seven disc bulges in my neck, 2.5cm of cartilage missing in my knee, and failing metal hardware in my arm (screws hanging out) to quit but I find it all irrelevant as we do most of endurance sport with the mind not the body. I am not in denial, I am not foolish, I work with what I have, I adapt and I adjust to stay on track with my goals, it keeps me sane, alive and in control of my life. Scan the code to read the full interview
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