Canāt believe itās only been a month with our little Mochi moo š¶āØ weāve wanted a little fur baby for as long as we can remember and this sweet little doodle has been everything weāve wished for and more š„¹š«¶š¼ Ugh sheās growing up way too quickly but we have made so many fun & loving memories already & there are just so many adventures coming our way! š¾
Obsessed with the last photo š„ŗš°š¤
03ā¢05ā¢2025 - The day I said yes to forever with my favourite person. š„°š„¹šš«
I had an inkling the moment was coming, but nothing couldāve prepared me for how it felt to live in it. š„¹ Just the two of us, surrounded by the stillness of the rolling Tuscan hills in Val dāOrcia. I honestly couldnāt have dreamt of a more magical setting to say yes, it felt like living my favourite movie. š„°
IRONMAN 2025 Race Recap
āDuncan Walker, you are an IRONMAN!ā
Itās been 1 week since race day, & Iām only now just starting to feel like myself again,so hereās a short race recap š
Still kinda canāt believe itās overā¦ as you can see in the first slide, the disbelief started as soon as I crossed the finish line. Man, what an emotional experience that was. I have so much to write about this whole process, but since this is an insta caption Iāll try keep it brief. Will do a full write up separately & can send to anyone who is curious :)
Having never done a full or even half Ironman before, I didnāt have a strict time goal for myself or anything to beat. I imagined somewhere in the region of 12 hours, so wasnāt too far off at my final time of 12:29:12.
Overall Iād say the race went well!
šš¼āāļø3.8km swim went smoothly regardless of the choppy seas. Only 5 mins off planned time.
š“š¼180km bike also went to plan thankfully. A strong headwind & stomach cramps in the start, but a wonderful tailwind after halfway on each loop & no mechanical issues made up for it š¬
šš»Now the run, thatās another story. Although running was my most experienced, this was the toughest & slowest 42.2km Iāve ever run, with every single step agony as a result of the long bike prior & losing running conditioning due to an injury that meant no running for 3 weeks before race day. But I pushed through with gritted teeth.
šHowever, eventually & inevitably, I finally reached that red carpet, rung the āfirst timersā bell & the last 6 months of my life were concluded in a mountain of emotions & a huge sense of pride. What an incredible & indescribable feeling.
This whole Ironman process from start to finish has truly been life changing & Iām so grateful for every person who supported me along the way šš¼
Nowā¦ whatās next?
10 - 23 Mar | Road to Ironman Weeks 20 & 21
The final 2 weeks before race week. Some of it in Cape Town, and we then we flew a week early to the EC to acclimatise, taper & rest in St. Francis.
A bit of a frustrating time for me to be honest, as an old injury somehow came back at the end of week 19, so I had to just stop running entirely in order to give myself the best chance at healing in time for race day. Which meant lots of cycling, swimming, strength & rehab. It also meant a huge amount of anxiety and stress with regards to fitness & readiness for the day, but Iāve come to learn that this is the kak side of endurance sports & it will be what it will be. All I can give is my best on the day.
Also, finally got new carbon wheelsš«°š¼
Canāt believe Iām saying this, but, 6 days to goā¦ ā³
03-09 Mar | Road to Ironman Week 19
18hrs this week;
ā¢ First Cape Town Cycle Tour
ā¢ Strong track sessions
ā¢ Misty midweek rides
Nearly there.. 3 weeks to go ā³
17 Feb-02 Mar | Road to Ironman Weeks 17+18 Highlights
Into the ārace specificityā phase of the training block now - focusing on more intense & targeted sessions.
4 weeks to goā¦
Feb 03-Feb 16 | Road to Ironman Weeks 15 & 16
Missed a week so hereās 2 weeks in one post to catch up āš¼
These two weeks included my first road cycling race (the 99er), and my first marathon of the year (Peninsula). Stoked with the results of both, keeping in mind they were all part of the training for the (current) ultimate end goal; Ironman.
6 weeks to go šļø
Peninsula Marathon ā25 Race Recap (16/02/25)
Official time 03:16:43 | Average pace 04:40min/km | Place 220/3260
This was a very tough race that didnāt go as I had hoped. Wind was always predicted (this race is known for its headwind), but had no idea quite how bad it would be. First 10km were ok & pace started out strong & on plan, but then we hit 60kph gusts in Woodstock & suddenly it got a lot harder.
These gusts drained my energy way too early on, so was a gradually increasing struggle for the remaining ~30km. I questioned all of my life choices & went deep into the hurt locker at points, but pushed through & ended up with a marathon PB regardless š«”
I know I can do better in different conditions & canāt wait to find out what that looks like next time outāš¼
Jan 27 - Feb 02 | Road to Ironman Week 14
A big push this week meant a massive 21 training hours across 19 different workouts, averaging 3hrs a day š®āšØ loved every minute of it.
Swim: 13km
Bike: 238km
Run: 75km
8 weeks to goā¦
Jan 20 - Jan 26 | Road to Ironman Week 13
Another lower volume week since I was on Set shooting most of the week, but still managed a some decent swims, indoor rides & a decent long run on the Sunday (that wiped me out & reminded me about the importance of rest š„)
9 weeks to go šļø
Jan 13 - Jan 19 | Road to Ironman Week 12
A lower volume week due to an intense shoot schedule with long hours that leave little to no time to train on most days. Having to learn to be okay with doing what I can when I can & not stress about missed sessions š Ended on a high atleast with a 30km PB at the Bay-to-Bay race (see previous post) š«”
