I did it!

Jan and I went to Kwazulu-Natal on Saturday. On the way we stopped for tea at his cousin Ida in Bergville. It was so good to see her, I forgot to take a photo!

South Africa is so beautiful at the moment, that I could not resist taking lots of photos of the scenery, farms and dams. Everything (at least what we saw on our way) is lush and green. Thank you God for such a beautiful country and for all the rain and promise of food.

The mealies are sky high!

I love this farmer's sign: "Dis mos mielies"!

The dams are overflowing... not sure what dam this one is, but it is between Escourt and Mooiriver.

The Midmar dam near Howick. We stopped there to pick up my envelope with number, cap, time ankle band, and age arm band.

Pietermaritzburg, where we stayed with Tannie Babs... again no photo! She had just moved to another garden flat (same property). Her place is filled with books, pictures and pottery of Esias Bosch, a friend for many years and today a well-known potter and artist. We had a great time talking again.

Although my race (women 31 + and girls 13 and younger) only started at 8:30, Jan and I arrived at the Midmar dam at 6:30 so as not to sit in a massive traffic jam. We sat in the car and had a good low G.I breakfast. (After feeling weak during my last two Midmars, I vowed never ever to eat an energy bar or such just before the race!) (If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you'll see how far the 400 m buoy is! In this photo one can barely make out the end. Total distance: 1 mile (1.6 km)

Checking out the edge of the dam... pretty muddy, but because the dam was so full, the starting point was at waist level deep already. No running like mad things in the water this year, but swimming right from the siren go!

I wasn't trying to do ballet here, but I seriously tried to stretch my back muscles as much as I could. Did all the exercises the physio and the guy at the gym had shown me, like a good girl. (My neck only became a little stiff, so it seemed to have helped this old lady.)

The yellow caps turn to go into the water! There are five groups in each race: red, blue, yellow, green and white caps and they start with 2 minute intervals. I tried to swim at the edge of the group and it felt less crowded than other years, but I still got a few accidental kicks.

Waiting for our siren. The fat one in the middle with the pink and black cozzie is me.

Ten, nine, eight....

The yellow caps nearing the halfway buoy. (Can't say which one is me.. he, he). While waiting in the "Pens" before the race I talked to a woman with an I.Pod. She said she didn't like to think about things while swimming, and therefore had got this special Ipod. I on the otherhand had prepared what I was going to think about: I had memorised verses from Psalms 1 - 16 for the race and reflected on one particular Psalm for more a less 100 metres. Talking to God all the way, made this swim very special.
Main thoughts:
Psalm 1: Finding joy in the Word of God.
Psalm 2: Praying for the chaotic world and the leaders who do not head God.
Psalm 3: Thanking God for protection from all sides. I will not die (drown)!
Psalm 4: If upset, do not sin! (Don't get angry at people who bump in me and make me swallow water.)
Psalm 5: God listens and I can appear before Him through His love.
Psalm 6: God can heal. Prayer for back, neck, bum and knees. (All body parts worked very well, thank you God!) Prayer especially for my soul, that is not so healthy...
Psalm 7: Forgiveness: where have I wronged my fellowman? (Whom have I just kicked?)
Psalm 8: The beautiful dam, sun. What do I do to preserve the planet?
Psalm 9: God is a righteous judge. (This Psalm I could sing in my head: Ek sal van ganser harte Heer, U wonders grootmaak en U eer.)
Psalm 10: God remains King. Prayer for crime. (Special thoughts about Zuma and the corruption court case.)
Psalm 11: God loves people who do the right thing. (Sy oe is oop en keur die mensekinders.)
Psalm 12: God helps the poor and the abused. Prayer for all the suffering in this world of ours.
Psalm 13: God gives me strength (lewenskrag). Praising God. (When I got to this part, I really got a new spurt of energy - the end was in sight!)
Psalm 14: Everyone has done wrong (afgedwaal) When God changes the destiny of this nation, we will rejoice.
Psalm 15: Who may enter God's dwelling? He who always speaks the truth....
Psalm 16: My whole life belongs to God. What I have received from Him is beautiful. (No more complaints about my weight etc. just gratitude for an able body and mind, Jan, a family, love...)

Finished! Time 44 min 35 sec. Not too bad considering how little I had trained. All praise to God! My smile should not have been so blase - a bit been there, done that, got the medal and the cold drink. After my first Midmar I had beamed with very good reason: I had put in a much greater effort and my time had been 8 minutes faster than this year!
Winning times this year: Men: 17:34 and Women 18:48. The organisers were hoping for 20 000 entries, but I don't think they had so many in the end. Not sure. The Midmar attracted 12 Olympian swimmers this year. Apparently it is the biggest outdoor swimming event in the world.

It was really great to find Jan waiting for me at the end - with big smile, towel, flipflops and all. (Dankie vir al jou ondersteuning Engel! Ek lief jou! Sal jou hou! Volgende jaar swem jy weer!)

After the Midmar we went to the Drakensberg Sports Resort. Two of my cousins, John and Estelle, work there.

The view from our chalet. It was so good to just have a good rest there.

Brother and sister John and Estelle. I have seen them only twice in over 30 years. We had a super dinner with them and it was so good to talk and catch up. Family is so special. We met Estelle's husband Paddy on Monday morning and had breakfast at his coffee shop. John's wife Dawn was ill with some bug, so we did not get to meet her. She is an event organiser - does parties with themes etc. John is on his way out - working odd hours at the hotel does not leave much time for family life and he longs for regular hours.
Their older sister Anne and her husband Gerhard farm with olives in the Cape and their children Elsabe and Jacques are cheffs. Their deceased brother Robert's wife Lynne's two children are Bright and Duncan. (Hope I've got it right!)

The early morning sun on the Drakensberg Mountains. (Champagne castle.) (View from our magnificent chalet.)

The Sterkfontein Dam on our way to Harrismith. Estelle is going to do an outdoor swim here the end of February and maybe John too. In his younger days John was 2nd or 3rd at the Midmar. He should have won: he tailed the front swimmer with the intention of sprinting past him at the end, but the front guy swam in the wrong direction and John didn't realise it till nearly the end, but when they dashed for the real end, another guy had beaten them.
I remember the T's were very good swimmers when they were children.

Tekens van die tye! The front tyre got a bubble - probably from a