Comrades Build Up

My build up and preparation towards Comrades 2011 began in November 2010, where I ran the Township to Township 50km race in Durban. I then went back home to Zimbabwe for a few months to be with my family, as well as to do my “Zimbabwe training,” which I do every year. I pretty much follow a training programme based on Mileage for stamina, Strength training and then lastly speed work.
Although Comrades is run every year, the Up and Down runs are completely different and I do very different training dependant on which direction the race is going. The Up run is all about strength and stamina, so I have done a lot of strength training and included the speed endurance side of things. It has been a hard 6 months of total dedication where all I do is concentrate on running and have little time for anything else. My family plays a big part in my preparation for Comrades as I am not able to spend quality time with them during the preparation months and for this I am eternally grateful.

My Coach (Cliff Chinnasamy) and Manger (Craig Fry) have equally important roles in my life. The Coach from keeping me on track and making sure that I develop and peak at the right time, and not to soon and not to late. The timing has to be just right. My manager takes care of all my business such as making sure I have the right shoes and kit from my sponsor, Nike and that I have the correct supplements to keep my body from breaking down from the stresses and strains of training. He also makes sure that I am able to have an income so there is little for me to worry about.

Winning in 2010 was a lot harder than winning in 2009, despite the fact the Leonid Shvetsov was not running. The mere fact that I was the defending Champion so the expectation from most was that I would win again. There was a lot of media exposure which I wasn’t used to at that time, and on race day many of the top athletes were watching my every move. But as they say, thats all History as I overcame all the pressures and know what to expect this year. I do however think that the competition will be very stiff this year, as everyone wants to win the “Ultimate Human Race” and all the top guys have trained harder than ever.
Initially I was concerned with the contenders from East Africa, (Kenya & Ethiopia), but seeing what happened at Two Oceans last weekend I don’t think these athletes will be a big threat. Make no mistake, athletes that come from these countries are of the best in the world, but that is over the Marathon and shorter distance races. Comrades is more than Two Marathons in one race. I would say the biggest threat will come from the Russians, and from the local guys, such as Bongmusa Mthembu, Claude Moshiywa, Petros Sosibo, Prodigal Khumalo. One can never write off an athlete like Fusi Nhlapo – the man has had 9 starts at Comrades and has achieved 1 win and 8 top ten places. So the competition will be steep but on the day the best prepared athlete will win, and I hope to be that athlete.
I have not finalised the race plan as yet, but will do so now that Two Oceans is out the way. I now have a good idea as to where I am since Two Oceans, and we can now get the strategy finalised. I watch previous Comrades Races at least twice a week, which helps with my mental preparations as well as studying other athletes so on race day I am mentally 110% ready and from simple body movements of the other athletes I know how they are feeling and what they are going to do, so can counter what they do during the race.

Two Oceans last weekend was very good for me, as I ran a personal best time by two minutes. I had a time of 3H08 – 3H09 in my mind and I knew if I ran that time I should be in the top 5 places at the end. Although I finished really strong I did hold myself back a bit as I didn’t want to hurt myself for Comrades. But since the race I feel like I haven’t even run a 56km race a few days ago, so I am really happy with how I feel at the moment. After all from the Comrades runners that took part at Oceans, I was the first home, as well as in 2009 and 2010 so maybe a good omen.

Since signing up for twitter and face book and have my own blog, I have been completely overwhelmed by the support I have received from the public. The amount of wishes and messages I received after Oceans has really made me feel pretty special, and to receive this type of support fires me up to want to win Comrades, not only for me, but to give something back to all the people that support me and have shown their faith in me. One thing about me is that I love top make people smile and be happy, so if I win again, then I know that I will bring smile to many faces. So to everyone that has supported me I will give 200% this year that I can assure you.

On Comrades day you can follow live updates from my Face Book and Twitter sites and this I have arranged for my followers and friends. I am doing this so my friends can get exactly what is happening as it happens, so hopefully you will see another part of what goes on during the race.
A huge thank you to all my sponsors, Nike, 32GI, Rudy Project eyewear, Future Life, Bluff Meats for their support and most of all to my followers and supporters, thank you.
What I really want if I win Comrades this year is a new Double Cab vehicle! Lets see!
All the best

Stephen Muzhingi

A Good Race

I have been running for some years now, and the 2009 South Coast Marathon is one race that stands out in my memory. There are many but this one came to mind.
I had won my first Comrades Marathon that year and had taken a couple of months off to recover. If I remember correctly the race was in October and I really wasn’t in any great shape, ad I had done little or no running since Comrades. But as I was still in Durban with the team, the Coach wanted us to attend this race as start of my preparations for 2010 Comrades.
The race started in Scottbrough, South Coast Kwazulu Natal, and goes up the coast towards Durban, finishing in Amamzimtoti. Its not the easiest course to run as all the way up the coast is rolling undulating hills, but as you pretty much run along the coast line it has great scenery.
I started this race not expecting much, but I did want to have a good showing as this was the first race with my new sponsor Nike. As I was Comrades Champion the guys in the front of the race were putting on the surges early and I have to admit I was struggling to keep up. At the 15km point I had dropped off the lead pack and was about 2 minutes behind. The thought did cross my mind to just pull out.
I came past my coach at about 17km and I saw his face, and he was not impressed with what was going on. As I came past to collect an energy drink, he said to me “Muzhingi are you running the mens race or the women’s race, because the women are going to beat you, move your A…..”
This made me angry and I then put aside all the negative thoughts and just put the hammer down, and it was like something just switched on inside me. I thought I would win this race or die trying. I started to catch the guys and within the next 8km I was with the front pack again, and then just carried on pushing to get away. I was surprised that the guys didn’t come with me. But then I was in front and I made use of the lead car to pace me, as it always stays slightly ahead of you, so I didn’t have to concentrate on the pace making. So much for pacing is not allowed, but lets be honest the officials of the race actually do it for you anyway, with the lead vehicle.
I did finish in first place in a time of 2H25 (I think) so it wasn’t very fast, but a win is a win. I now sometimes think back on this race when I am running other races as it helps me know that even if I am feeling tired, if I just hang in there and push through it, I can still run at my best and get a good result, as this is what I did here.
Nike were happy with the win as it was my first race in their shoes so it also justified their signing me, and winning Comrades wasn’t just a one off thing! Coach was happy and so was my Agent, as this was also my first race with him so I had to get a good result.
All worked out just great!

Why Southern Africa Runners cant run sub 2H10

Running in Southern Africa is for one thing pretty hard especially with the weather conditions, but from a financial side it is extremely difficult to be a full time professional athlete.
For one thing races here do not pay appearance fees for the Elite Athletes, and we have to run for prize money. This in itself is not great either, as there are pretty much four races the whole year that pay anything substantial, such as Comrades (89km- ZAR250 000), Two Oceans (56km – ZAR250 000), City to City (50km – ZAR50 000), Soweto Marathon (42.2km). But this is the winners prize money, and only top 10 get paid and this drops drastically down to R10 000 for Comrades and Oceans for 10th place. Other than these races average prize money for a marathon is less than ZAR 2 000, and for the shorter distances even less. The shorter races also pretty much only pay the top 3.Running is seen as an amateur sport and does not receive the TV coverage or media coverage as Soccer, Rugby, and Cricket does. So therefore not much attraction for sponsors of the athletes.
Yes some of the Elites are lucky enough to have monthly retainers paid to them by clubs, such as Mr.Price, Nedbank, Formula 1, Bonitas. Although the clubs pay retainers these cannot be compared to salaries of other sports codes, and the elite athletes have to race for little prize money to just survive. Basically if you don’t run an Ultra, such as Comrades or Two Oceans, and come within the top 3 at these races then you seriously will struggle financially. But you can understand that without the exposure from TV for races, the clubs are pretty much paying monthly (small) salaries to the elites for 2 races a year, without much exposure or return for them.

That is why the marathon runners have to run at least 1 marathon and a 21.1km or even two marathons a month and have to do well to get some cash to survive. And we all know that you cannot run 2 marathons a month and do the training required and expect to run a sub 2H10 marathon. Because the Elites have to race so often they loose their speed and therefore the serious fast guys win races in Southern Africa in 2H20 on average. Your body needs to recover from the stresses and strains.
Its a vicious circle between athletes and potential sponsors and clubs. Because there is very little money floating around, an athlete will leave one sponsor for a mere ZAR500 per month if he / she can get this from another sponsor or club. Its not a case of an athlete not being loyal to a sponsor or club its a matter of survival for an athlete. An athlete cannot run at the highest level for many years with having to race as much as they have to, but if they didn’t have to race as much their careers would be a lot longer. So when you do badly at one of the key races there is no other race where you can make it up to your club, and therefore at the end of the year you are out, or have your contract cut drastically. This then creates additional stress and pressure for the athletes.

In know some seriously top runners that have to have a full time job, and their average day is like this – Wake up at 3am to train, then go to work for the full day, 9 hours, then train again and go home. By the time he / she arrives at home it is after 8pm, then eat, bath relax and sleep. Therefore not much sleep for the body to recover, as its up again at 3am to start the day.
So therefore if athletes in Southern Africa are to run faster than a 2H10 marathon there seriously needs to be some major restructuring and greater support from the corporate world. We have the athletes with the talent and potential, but just need the support.
As the classic saying goes, “Africa is no place for sissies.”
So I suppose I have also come to a crossroads in my running career, so after Comrades this year, I will too be considering my options to further my career abroad, as I have no alternative but to!

Mental Preparation for Racing – Mind vs Legs

As we are now less than 60 days to Comrades 2011, and 22 days to Two Oceans, I will now begin my tapering programme in order to be at peak fitness and strength for the 24 April.
As in any sport these days mental fitness and strength is a key to your performance on race day. So as I enter the tapering programme where there is no heavy long runs or speed work training on the road, I find this the ideal time to get my mental strength in line. There are numerous ways to do this, I could go see a sports psychologist, (head doctor), but I choose to do this on my own.
How do I do this? I have sat with my coach and we have decided pretty much on the game plan and how I will run the race (talking Two Oceans here), things like what times I need to run to certain points, and when to increase the pace or just stay as is. What I like to do is watch DVD footage of my previous races, especially parts of a race where I felt a little off or weak, and I try and remember what I was thinking at the time that got me through the rough patches. I take this and use it as my motivator, and tell myself things like “I will not have to work hard mentally as I won’t put myself in that position again as I am better prepared.” I also look at what I did the previous year. In my case I was 4th at Oceans, and I know I had a good race there, I was just beaten by 3 guys that were on top form that day. So I play the race over and over in my mind and there is always a part of a race that you would run differently, and I use this as to correct my mistake from the previous year.

The key for me is to visualise myself running the entire race and play out all the possible scenarios, such as surges from other competitors, the hills up and down, and the key parts of the race. I do this often so that come race day I am mentally strong as I have run the race 15 times in 3 weeks in my head.

During the race, when I am feeling tired or hurting, my mental strength comes into play, as when I was visualising the race I didn’t feel like hurting or being tired so it almost becomes a non entity for me, as I also know that my preparations have been so good that I will recover as long as I keep moving at my pace I will come out of it.

It is a battle between the mind and the legs. The mind saying run, and the legs say walk. So at the time you think well if I walk a bit I will be able to recover and run again and will make up the time that I walked. So you have a little breather and walk. It takes a strong mind to tell your legs to pick up the pace after a walk and keep it constant again. Yes I have had these battles between my mind and legs – Often – but in my case my legs loose out and just have to keep going!

Prepare physically and mentally for all your races, and on race day make sure your mind wins the battle over the legs. Then you wont say at the end of the race – I could have run faster. If my mind wins then I win!

Cheers

Stephen

Overview of my Annual Training

During the “off season” I do a little bit of running but just enough to stay relatively fit. Generally there will be no hard running sessions, just regular runs, so that when the real training starts I am not starting from square one. At the same time my muscles are still used to running but have not placed them under any particular stresses.

Running is hard and if I start from nothing with hard sessions I am likely to pick up injuries, and have many setbacks, when I can’t afford to. Yes, my running season goes from Comrades to Comrades, as I am sure many out there do the same. So a typical year for me is pretty much like this:

June & July: Are definitely rest months from running Comrades in May. This rest I have at home in Zimbabwe where I do absolutely no running at all. This in order for my muscles and joints to recover from the mileage needed to run comrades.
August: I start with easy slow runs, and do nothing more than 15km at any session. I then progress to once a week on one of the runs doing a varied pace, in order to get the heart rate up. This is always hard as you have no real pace in your legs, but your mind is telling you that you can run faster, as I suppose its become the norm. I always think at this time that, hey so much work to do, how will I ever get back to the shape I was in.
September: I do various medium distance runs, and start with strength sessions, yeah – Up and down hills, happy days! I sometimes look at doing a race (marathon) around this time, just to keep me focused for the hard sessions ahead and to also check how my body is responding to the training to date. This is always a difficult race.

October to November: Hard months with what I like to call loading – this is where I do high mileage and little or no speed work.

December: Is a month with various run as well as resting in order that the body and muscles can recover from the previous months. But I do keep a check on things as so that i do not loose any fitness.

January & February: Is regular runs, as well as lots of strength and conditioning, as well as combining the different sessions so that I become an all round athlete.
March: Is the month I complete my programme and then start to focus on Two Oceans. This is also a month to iron out any problems I may have had during training and then I start my tapering programme.

After Two Oceans there is ample time for recovery and finishing touches for the Big C (Comrades). And hopefully if I have stayed focused, injury free I should be in top shape.

So, as long as you stick to your programme and listen to your body you will be just great come race day. An important rule of thumb for me, is that any hard training done within a two week period of the race will only do your race harm, so always plan to complete your training with two weeks to go and taper properly, and on race day your body and legs will be raring to go and you will run just fine.

All the best
Stephen Muzhingi

How I beat Leonid Shvetsov – Part 2

Collen Makaza, my team mate had the role of running out for the Hot Spots, as he was relatively unknown to many and especially Leonid. He was to run and stretch the field as much as possible, thus taking with him all the TV crews and media, cause one always runs a bit better when you are aware you are on TV. Makaza ran a fantastic part, and got to half way in 2H34 which was a new half way record. Me on the other hand, I was sticking with the Shvestov bus, and was always at the back of this group, or to the side.
I saw Cliff at Lion park, (+-20km) into the race and I told him I feel great, and he said just stick there, and don’t do anything. So I did as I was told. I don’t think anyone of the guys really took notice of me as I wasn’t running in the front of the bus or pulling it along, I think most guys there thought I was just hanging on and it was a matter of time before I dropped off. Going through Camperdown the pace was good and not many were willing to make any moves. Cato Ridge, and still we were going as bus, but had lost a few members. The hill out of Cato Ridge up to Harrison Flats was where you could see who was strong and in it for the long haul. I still kept my eye on Leonid. By this stage news got back to us about the front runners and Charles Tjiane, who is a very good runner, was out there near the leaders. But I wasn’t worried as I knew if I stuck with Leonid we will fight later down the road.
At half way Coach told me to keep the pace and not get involved in any silly surges etc. We had trained for a finishing time and we were on course for that. So all was looking good, and I started to feel more confident about the final result.
I have never felt so good after half way, it was as though I had only run 10km, so was keen to put some pace on. Leonid started to speed up and I wanted to go with him, and go past him and take the fight to him. But I stayed back, trusting the game plan. Leonid had split away and was down the road with a sizeable gap. I think he got worried about Makaza, and Tjiane, that he picked up the pace to early.
I saw coach a few kilometres later, and he could see I wanted to go, and he said “Muzhingi stay!” I thought, whats this guy thinking, I can go and catch Leonid now. But again I just kept to the plan.
Once I was allowed to pick up the pace I did so gradually, and reeled in guys in front of me with ease, and as you go past someone you kind of feel you have a bit more energy, funny that. Coach then told me to go, and it was like a weight was lifted from me, and I went , this was it, make or break time.
I could see the press trucks ahead and as I got closer I could see Leonid on the right side of the road and I was on the left. I could see that I was moving a lot more freely than he was. I knew that I was going to catch him quickly, and I knew that as I was going so fast that he would not be able to respond right away, so I had to go past him at full pace and put a huge gap between us. I went passed him on his left side and I felt him glance at me, but I was so focused that I didn’t even think anything of it. I knew then that the race was mine.

As I went through toll gate, coming into Durban, I did feel a little anxious, as I know what a strong finisher Leonid is, and I was expecting him to come back at some stage, but I would deal with that if it came up. It was odd, I remember thinking, I am leading the Comrades with only 8km to go, could this be real! As I got to the long flat road leading passed Workshop, the crowds were very load, and I was thinking that if Leonid was coming up behind me, I wouldn’t hear him or hear the motorbikes over the noise. So I turned around a couple of times to check, but No Leonid.
I put on all the pace I had left in me, and as I entered the Stadium I got the batton with the mayors message and a rose. As I came onto the Grass of the stadium, I almost turned left instead of right. I turned the last corner and could see the finish tape, and the photographers and officials behind it. This is the first time I could hear the Stadium Crowd cheering. For the next 45 minutes I forgot about how sore my legs were, the adrenalin rush was out of this world. I wanted to cry out of pure joy, satisfaction, and feeling so proud. I had one it. A dream come true!
One cannot describe the feeling you have but what I can say, its like winning the lotto but ten times better!
I must pay tribute to Leonid Shvetsov as he is a remarkable athlete, and I hope to see him one day to tell him that. I never really got the chance after the race. A huge thank you to my sponsors for their support, and to my coach for having the faith and patience to get me to achieve winning the greatest foot race in the World!

How I Beat Leonid Shvetsov in 2009

How I beat Leonid Shvetsov in 2009

I suppose without sounding arrogant, I have improved each year on my times and positions at Comrades, so I could say it was a matter of time before I was privileged enough to win the great race. I was 7th in 2007, and 3rd in 2008, so I knew that 2009 was as big year, but it would be tough to beat Leonid, as he smashed the up run record. An athlete like that will always be strong come race day, that you can guarantee.

My preparations started in October 2008. Cliff (Coach) had come up with an extensive, but very tough training programme for me. I wont lie to you, when I saw it for the first time, I thought, I am going to die, running like this but I knew if I just stuck to it, it will pay off. If you don’t try it you cant knock it!

I did a lot of strength and endurance work over December of 2008 in Zimbabwe. When I got back to SA early 2009, I did a lot of speed work on the track, and many runs on the Comrades Route. The coach also took us down to his “Rift Valley” where it is almost impossible to drive on the roads, and I had to run on these mountains. I had a good two races leading up to Comrades, and those were Chatsworth Ultra, (50km) and Two Oceans (56Km) where I did really well at both so was very confident and happy with my form.

We had started planning and strategising for the race from September 2008. I watched the 2008 race DVD pretty much 5 or 6 times a week. Looking at the top runners and how they run and their movements of their arms, legs, head, body, everything. When did runners take energy drinks from seconding teams and how they responded after taking in the supplements and energy drinks. All in all I pretty much lived Comrades for 8 months solid, non stop. (Yes you can say it – “Get a life”)

Obviously my, (and everyone else) main focus was that of Leonid as he was defending Champion and the record holder of both up and Down runs, so I knew that there would be a lot of focus on him, and that I would be able to come into the 2009 race under the radar. The underdog, dark horse or any other saying.

I slept as well as could be the night before, but I had a lot of scenarios racing through my mind. What if this and that etc, but I suppose it was to be expected as I really wanted to win. Comrades morning I woke up at 2am, and went through my pre race morning ritual – Wake up, hot shower for 20 minutes, then a 30 minute jog. Put on tracksuit, and then eat Breakfast.

The drive to Pietermaritzburg from Durban was good and all the guys were in good spirits. Everyone knew what their roles and jobs were for the day, so all was in order.
We arrived at the City Hall, and did final stretches and a little jogging to keep the muscles loose and warm. Its weird in there with all the contenders as pretty much no one really talks to each other, and it is pretty tense, as people all eye each other out and you can see in people eyes how focused they are.

An official came into the Hall and shouted “5 minutes ladies and Gentlemen.” And in an instant the tension went up a few notches. Tracksuits came off and it was GAME TIME INDEED! I was a little nervous but just wanted the race to start so we can get on with the business at hand.

Coach told me to be close to Leonid at all times, and so I lined up a few meters away from him, but I could see him. He was in the front row, and I was in the second row just off his right shoulder.
The heart rate has picked up and we are merely 1 minute to the gun. You know it is close as the officials all scatter from the front of the field, cause when the gun goes off, these guys go at one serious pace for the first couple of kilometres.

The customary cock crow sounded and Leonid was so keen to get going he though this was the gun, so he took off, and after a few steps, he realised there is a Gun that will be fired. He hurried back over the timing mat, just in seconds before the gun went off. I could see then that the man was here and meant business. The gun Fired and we got going.

To be continued – The Race – Friday 18 March

My 2010 Comrades Photo Video

Follow the link above and check out my Comrades Photo Video.

Thanks Donnette for doing this for me, much appreciated as always.

Look out for the next Blog, “How I beat Leonid Shvetsov” this will be an inside account from me!

Cheers

Stephen

The Fear of Success

The subject line may sound silly, but I can tell you, its real!!!!  Let me try and explain a little.

 Have you ever trained really hard and you see your times in training coming down and you know that you are faster and stronger. You enter a race and run pretty much the same time as you always do – and then feel disappointed and dejected.  Why is this?

My theory is that you have a fear of success! For example you run a half marathon in 1H45, and have run between 1H40 and 1H50 for many years, so you have become accustomed to that pace of racing. Although you train harder and harder, when it comes to race day you run at the old pace, and not what you have trained for because that is where your comfort zone is, and subconsciously if you actually achieve a Personal Best time, the expectation is that you will have to better that. So when you don’t beat your time it is easier to say. “I could have run faster but ……. (and you list a whole lot of excuses) because it makes you feel better.  You also know how hard you had to work to achieve that PB time, and if you beat it you have to work harder.

What I do to get over this, is when I line up at the start, I have a time in mind to complete the race, and I forget about all other races I have run and what I did in them. I trust in my training and preparations and tell myself that it’s too late to worry and think about what I could have done better in training etc, because that is time gone by, and the moment is at hand.

In 2009 all eyes were on Leonid Shvestov and everyone had built him up to be unbeatable, (I take nothing away from him, he is phenomenal athlete). I stood about 1 meter away from him at the start and I wasn’t intimidated at all, and I said to myself, “I am the best prepared athlete here on this start line and I will win (And I really believed this).” I did not worry about Leonid as I knew I had it in me to win, as I had prepare physically and mentally to run a 5H20 and that’s all I focused on. If anyone was going to beat be they would have to run a sub 5H20 Comrades. In the end I ran a 5H23 Comrades and yes, I was a little disappointed, but I had run a PB Comrades time, and won the race.

So next time you stand on the start line, don’t be scared to run as hard as you can and push yourself to achieve a P.B, trust me, the joy and satisfaction of doing this far out weighs the feeling  of missing a goal time, and having to say “I could have.”

So put aside the fear of success and run like a Champion, and know that the harder you run today the easy it will be to run at that same pace the next time, so you can push a little extra each time. At the end of each race you can say “I did.”

Cheers Champs

Stephen

Mixed Emotions

As I prepare to leave Zimbabwe in about a weeks time, for South Africa, where I will spend the next few months finalising my preparations for Two Oceans and Comrades, I do so with mixed emotions.

I am sad to be leaving my wife, family and especially my 2 year old son for an extended period. I sit here and wonder are these the emotions that go through every sportsman and woman before they depart for a long trip to pretty much, do their job.  I do know that this is what has to be done, as this is the life my family and I have chosen. Without sounding harsh, being away from my family will do me a lot of good as I can then start to focus 110% on the task at hand and not have to worry about the stresses and strains and distractions of everyday life at home. At least my family will be at Comrades again this year, which excites me as this will keep me motivated to not let them down and perform at my best when they are watching me.

From a professional side it’s weird to think that the next time I am at home, it could be as a Three time Champion of Comrades, or still a two time Champion. I sometimes think What if I don’t win? Would I be embarrassed and would I be able to walk with my head held up the way it is right now? Would people still see me as a good athlete or would they now see me as just a regular runner, (because lets face it, and if any sportsman or woman tells you otherwise they are lying), everybody likes to be noticed and feel a little special.  If I don’t win again, would I be letting down the people that supported me, my country and the ones that have entrusted their faith in me? Yes, yes, I know most will say as long as you gave your best we will still be there, but truth being told, people are fickle.

If I win again, I could arrive home to a heroes welcome, and that my friends, is what fires me up to continue to succeed.  When you do well, to see the smiles, laughter and joy it brings to the faces of your friends and family is what its all about. If I can make people happy and smile from my achievements then that is just perfect for me. I will come out on top because I have done as much if not more than I have in the past and I do have a trick or two up my sleeve for the guys that want to chase me down at Comrades.

There is a new, focused and pumped up Muzhingi on his way to South Africa – Look out! Theres going to be a Road War between Durban and Pietermaritzburg very SOON!

So I will finalise my arrangements for S.A, and will come back home in a few months, and whatever happens I know that my family will always love me for me, and no one or any title will change that, and I am a Champion!!!!!