I recently attended a talk by Mireille Couture, a teacher at UWC. This was the second talk I attended as part of a series of Writer’s Fortnight talks by members of our school community. Mireille has completed two half-ironmans, one in Xiamen and the other in Taupo. They were both completed last year, and remarkably, within two weeks of each other.

The key insights that I took away from this talk are the value of intrinsic motivation and resilience. These traits were on display during the lead-up to her races. How so? Well, for starters, Mireille did not know how to swim just a year before her debut, let alone swim in the sea!

Coming from a background of endurance running, she took on triathlons because she felt like she was ready for a new challenge. Despite having to manage teaching responsibilities alongside her practice, she now trains up to fifteen hours a week, often racking up sessions in two different disciplines in a day. Being a runner myself, I can appreciate the amazing mental fortitude she shows on a daily basis.

Having dabbled in triathlons in the past, I also understand the great difference between open-water and pool swimming. I have been able to swim since I was about five years old, but swimming in the sea was always a no-go. For me, swimming thousands of meters in the pool is easily achievable, swimming a couple of meters in open water barely feasible. So for her to go out there and learn how to swim in open water with less than a year of practice under her belt is a truly remarkable feat. Oh, and also, she did not neglect to stress her ‘extreme dislike’ for swimming. So, why does she swim? The answer is simple. She swims for the feeling of triumph that ensues once she emerges from the water.

Her goals for the future? Tackle the ironman next. Two years ago, she could not even swim in a pool, and now she is looking to swim nearly 4km in open water. This would prove to be an awe-inspiring achievement no matter how you look at it.

How does she plan to do it? In her own words, by ‘not making excuses,’ and remembering that ‘anything is possible.’