Drafting is always an issue as with the 10m rule it is the front guy's front wheel to the back guy's back wheel - so +/- 7m or 4 bike lengths between them. There has been many studies on the "drafting" advantage you get from staying within the rules and the consensus is that it it between 10W-15W. Thus the pace lines in the pro fields. Now anyone with a powermeter will know riding 10-15W higher at an Ironman takes quite a bit more effort. The best real time case study of this is Kyle Buckingham vs the Pros at Kona 2013. Similar Watts and similar VI equalled 20 minutes slower for Kyle, or similar bike time equalled 20W more for Kyle. Advantage of the pace line...
An idea is to go for a retul fit. What they can do is recommend bikes that will fit your body. It is (I'm guessing) R1000 for a fit, but at least the bike you buy is the correct one.
I never wear the T-shirts, but gave mine to a supporter who was freezing in the rain while I was making my way to a hot shower. Not a fan of finisher T shirts in principle, but quite like some of the Mountain Biking finishe jackets (sani etc). The golden rule here is the simpler the better. A small reference to the race and "finisher" is enough. Not screaming "look what I did!!!" Having said that, I quite enjoyed stopping next to a bakkie in Riviersonderend and 3 old balies got out all proudly wearing their T shirts on Monday.
I have them too. I am quite a bit faster than Garfield on the run, so I guess they work. In all seriousness. They are not a company with big budgets, so won't pay athletes to use their stuff. The current Tour de France and Ironman Kona champ uses them. They work for me as well. I have them on TT and road bike. Edit: Just to make sure everyone understands: I'm MUCH faster than Garfield...
At full ironman you have an additional 2 bags for the special needs tables. One for the bike and one for the run. Here you can store extra nutrition, or a top if you are planning to run late. However, you lose what you don't use - you can't go after the race to pick it up. ITO transition. Everything that can be attached to your bike stays with the bike. Helmet, sunnies etc stays in the transition bag which is hung on a hook in numerical order. DO NOT try and make you bag visible by putting on ribbons or stickers etc. They will take it off and you will not find your bag. In the past they had people decorating their bags in a similar way, person nr 1 grabbed the wrong bag and did not have the decency to go re-hang it. Person nr2 ran 21km barefoot. When you are on the run, your bags will be hung together with you wetsuit, cycling stuff etc in it.
It was very windy and hot. Organisers banned disk wheels which put a spanner in the works for many riders (funnily enough they allowed 808s on the front wheel?!?). Swim was choppy, bike was windy, run was HOT - and it was awesome! Mens short race won by Matt Trautmann Mens Long race by Dean Hopf Ladies short by Claire Horner Ladies Long by Tracy Markham (and 6th overall) Great race, organisers will get some stick due to the disks, but great event
I'm not a fan of doing the Argus in a year that I've entered Ironman. Many miles of training (for 1 event) and a small crash at the Argus will bring that to an end. The batches at the Argus are too big and because everyone is going for sub-3, the group is usually very twitchy. ito your legs, you will be fine. Argus is 110km in a pack. By then you will be doing 160km rides solo. My suggestion is to do the Argus twice if you are there already. First lap to race and get a time, the second you can bail at red or black hill if it gets too crowded.
Remember that one of the biggest advantages of a TT bike is what it give you on the RUN. I agree with the top comments that you will probably get more minutes for rands by practising transitions, but if you are a 90 minute half marathoner a TT bike will help rest the right muscles for a optimal bike/run split. If you go maximal bike split, you will be walking (and probably digging your hands into your hip-flexors because they hurt from going hard on the road bike).
The Adamo split is slightly different as it is not fixed between the splits (their patent). Point is, I love the Adamo TT on my TT bike. Would not look back. Does need specific setup though. I think it is a slightly higher saddle from rails to the top end where you sit
Tough for a first timer to podium (Luc van Lierde and Chrissie the obvious outliers). My podium for girls: Caroline Steffen, Rachel Joyce, Mirinda Carfrae
Top 5. Eneko Llanos, Kienle, Crowie, Andreas Realert, Pete Jacobs. Outside chance for James for top 10. Too many old heads there . Ideal plot: Llanos, Crowie, Realert, Jacobs and James coming off the bike 6 minutes behind Kienle...then I'll stay up until it is done!
You are biking too hard. 1:40 to 2:15 is too much. I run a sub 90 half and about 1:35-1:38 off the bike. 1. Get a coach (dinamic is the way to go) 2. Consider a power meter. Will help you get the optimal (not maximal) bike split.
I also ride X-lab wing with two bottles in the back and one between the tt bars (torpedo mount). I also utilize the X nut for my bombs. For 70.3 I will probably lose the wing and only ride with the torpedo mount. Bought all my goodies through www.buycycle.co.za
My problem is that I suck going down a hill. This year at 70.3 Austria i rode past the guys up the 8km climb like they have flat wheels. When it came to the downhill (in 50km winds) I was holding onto my bike for dear life tapping the brakes more than the pedals. Think SAmmy Sanchez vs Sir Wiggens. Those Euromonsters can ride a downhill!
I say go for it.they are relatively cheap (comparing to the other s$%t triathlete's buy!). There's no conclusive scientific evidence for or against it, so with your "unique" problems it might just help. I've had many mates claim they work for shin and calf problems (however I think it might be attributed to the new and better shoes they bought). The bulk of triathletes wear them just because everyone wears them, so you'll fit right in. The flipside might be to spend the money on a podiatrist. Not for inserts, but to get the best shoes for you.
+1. Proper bike fit means better comfort (Just think saddle area and its already worth it!) Optimized power output. List is endless. For me its like a helmet. It is just a necessary part of the process. Check out Dinamic Coaching for Retul fit (they are in Cape Town)
