There comes a time in our life where things don't works like we want it and we would sit down and argue of every little situation we're placed in. One thing someone taught me is that we should turn our situations into a challenge because if we win the battle, we'll come out a stronger person on the other side. Its never easy to go through pain but I would say this is our way of becoming a stronger person at the end of the day. Lets take cycling, you would watch cycling races on tv and say hey but thats easy but when you get on the bike yourself you realize that its never easy at all. You go through lots of pain, you feel how your heart is beating and you breathing is starting to change as you push yourself to the limits. There was a time that I had to coach a young boy to become a cyclist and he thinks its really easy to become one but I told him that it takes lots of courage and determination to become one and if you don't understand the whole concept on cycling nor race with your hearth instead of your head, you'll never become a true cyclist.
After a long battle with a illness in 2007, three weeks of not be able to get my nutrition into my body, the doctor gave me lots of medication but at the end of the day nothing helped me get any better and I was lying there with a body that I can't feel, I couldn't feel my heart beating and have no energy to get up, I knew I could die at anytime now. But deep inside of me I knew this is not the right time for me to leave. I kept on fighting and I was planning of giving up either. My body was in so much pain and my fever was over 40. For three weeks I had no food. It wasn't the greatest thing that happened to me after we moved from the Kalahari to a small town in the Western Cape named Robertson. All I wanted to do was to get back on my bike nothing else mattered to me.
After my battle, I finally started to get better and I was starting to eat small portions of food to get my nutrition back into my body to get my strength back. This journey taught me lots of things like realizing that at any moment something can happen to you and you should appreciate those around you and the things you have while you're still alive. I told my friends my experience of what was going on and what I was going through, they got inspired by the fact that I was on the point of leaving everyone behind but I kept on fighting. When I got the go ahead to start training again, I could still feel a bit of pain in my lungs but even though I feel pain, I kept on telling myself that this is the start of a new chapter in my life and that is not the right time to give up. There was this will inside of me that kept on telling me go on Yolande just have faith in yourself and everything will fall into place at the right time.
I had lots of fear for a very long period and I was scared something worse will happen again soon but I know that God is on my side all the way. After a couple of weeks, I came 3rd in a race and that proved that I was strong. My legs hurted so much but deep down inside of myself was ready for a challenge. I attacked on one of the steep climbs and no one was planning on catching me. The headwind was a factor but I kept on turning my legs and push myself to the limits. When I went over the finish on top of the climb, everyone was saying congrats on my 3rd place. I couldn't believe it myself till I went on the podium. That was the highlight of my cycling.
One thing is for sure, if there's a will, there's always a way. No matter what your situation is, there's always a time in life that worth living for.
On my next blog, I'll be writing my journey towards the start of my racing as the mountain biking season starts very soon.
Till next time.
Cheers
Yolande
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