Ratty

I have had no issues with them paying for my operations (at the expected rate). I have added Gap Cover though as in general, the surgeons charge way over the medical aid rate.

Same happened to me at a tri in Gordon's bay. It was torture as the run is my weakest. They also changed the cycling from a nice hilly ride to a flat ride which as a mountain biker didn't suit me either. Was still fun though.

I know that. But my point was that at the point that they reset your goal on Friday midnight, they don't know that you haven't made your goal as you could still have points coming in due to the delay (Virgin Active especially). Only by the next Wednesday will they know for definite that you didn't make the previous week.

Anyone else having issues logging into the discovery app? I was able to login yesterday no problems, but today I can't login. If I use the same username and password on the website, it works.

Discovery doesn't know on a Saturday morning that you haven't made it as you could still have points coming in. So if you don't make it, it only comes into affect the following week.

I bought some shoes from a skate shop. a third of the price and so far so good.

I need more than that for the upgrade I want. I've always wanted to get a better wheelset for my Fate (Carbon Hardtail). Said I'd get one when I got down to the weight I want to be. Given up on that idea as a. I am no where close to the weight and b. I found out how much it was going to cost. So I'll have to go with new Specialized ladies baggies x 2 (the other cheaper brands don't fit me) and a pair of 2FO's.

I was mountain biking up until 6 1/2 months pregnant. My last ride was at Jonkershoek. My bike disappeared a day or 2 later. The men in my life decided it was better to take the temptation away from me. I was determine to carry doing something so when the guys went riding at Koeberg, I decided to walk with the ladies. it was in thick sand and the next day I could barely walk as my hips were so sore (this was at just over 8 months). Was determined not to let anyone see I had overdone it :-) We all went to the Knysna Cycle tour 6 weeks after my son was born. I didn't do the race, but went and rode Harkerville Green route the next day (the red was close sadly). Congrats !!

The VivoSmart HR is AWESOME !!!! Especially the broadcast feature.

ah, but you are saving loads in doctors fees by keeping fit.

but yet when I run I can barely breath let alone talk, but yet my heart rate still averaged below 80%....

I put in loads of effort to get a whole 100 points. 1.6km swim = 100 points, 5km run (in strong wind) = 100 points. Go to gym and get coffee = 100 points. Something wrong there. For my swim this morning my average HR was 88 bpm, max 118 bpm (butterfly), no where near the 80%. When it gets to 700 then I am screwed. I spent at least one day on the weekend surfing, cycling or walking with my son and for those I get 0 points.

I am finding it quite hard to achieve. I need to exercise 5 times a week at the moment (will go up to 6 next week). Unless I can do a mountain bike ride where the hills make my heart rate go up nicely, I can't get over the 80%.

I'll be there again this year for my third. Going to have to take is easy as the change of season is playing havoc with my chest. On Cortisone tablets now so hopefully they will settle it by the weekend. Good thing they don't test the back makers for banned substances ;-) Love this event as the atmosphere is so chilled. Be prepared for traffic on the single track on day 1. There are some sections where they split the route so the more advanced riders can have some extra fun :-) Day 2 is just awesome. I love the route.

Try and ride them at a Test day. They are all very different to ride and you might just find that the one that makes sense to your head, doesn't make sense to your heart. I rode the Camber, Stumpy 29er and Stumpy 650b Fattie at Helderberg. Loved the Camber and if it was my only bike, this is the one I could get. But for just a trail bike, I thought my position was too much like an XC bike. I didn't like the Stumpy 29er for some reason, but this was the one my mates all raved about and when going there I thought it would be the one I buy. The Stumpy 650b Fattie is awesome and I fell in love with it. You get so much extra grip with the bigger tyres and its a really fun bike to ride. R50k is a big investment and you need to be sure you are buying the right bike for you.

You are lucky you get 300 points for a 5km run. I ran on Thursday in the rain and wind for 30 minutes only to receive 100 points. I could have got the same by just swiping at the gym.

I hate heart rate straps. They are just not comfortable if you have to wear a decent sports bra. I've now got the Garmin VivoSmart HR which has a wrist based heart rate monitor. It really is a fantastic device and can broadcast my heart rate to my Edge 500. However it is obviously a lot more expensive than just buying a heart rate strap, but IMO worth it (I use a lot of the other features as well though).

I managed to get above 70% the other day around Koeberg. Hills help a lot. Yesterday however I did a 30 min run and I wasn't able to achieve 70% even though I was pushing and by the end of the run half dead. (a 20 min run I can handle, 30 min is tough). I personally think they should go in between ie. 65%-75% instead of 70-80%. 60% is too easy to achieve.

There are mornings where I wake up feeling horrible (mostly due to sinus) and I just don't feel like riding and then later in the day when I feel better, I kick myself. What I do is enter fun races like Berg and Bush etc where the distance is out of my comfort zone. Then when I wake up on a Saturday feeling horrible, I still go ride because I "have" to train. What normally happens is that 15 minutes into the ride I get the blood flowing and start feeling better and really enjoy myself. So for me having a goal is just a little bit extra motivation to go. Vitality Rewards is really working for me. This morning if I didn't need points I would have gone straight to work and worked an extra hour (loads of pressure). Instead I went for a run in the rain. It was AWESOME and I am now in a really good mood. Occasionally I'll do rides that are more specific to the training I need, but I won't turn down a group ride (even if the pace will be slow) as I really enjoy riding with others and not worrying about how fast / far I am going.

So great to see that the service I got wasn't a once off and that it wasn't just the one store either, looks like in general in SA the service is great. Well done Garmin!

Is it even possible to swim deeper than 50m's without scuba gear? But no, I was surfing with my 7 year old so we didn't go deeper than where I could stand and help him.

All too often people post about negative experiences. This week I have a very positive experience with a garmin warranty claim. Last month in preparation for the Vitality Rewards changes I bought the Garmin VivoSmart HR (I've wanted something like it for a long time). It is a fantastic device that can broadcast my heart rate to my Edge 500 and its great for runs etc. Loving it. Then on Sunday I went surfing. As the device is water resistant up to 50 metres I didn't bother to take it off, in fact I was recording my session (website says you can swim and snorkel with it). When I tried to stop the session, the touch screen wouldn't work . I thought it was just because it was wet, but shortly afterwards the device shut down completely. After charging for a few hours at home it came to life again. But by the next morning it was dead again. Absolutely devastated I took it to Nav World aka Garmin in the hope that they could repair it. They said they would look at it and let me know. Got a call today to say that it definitely isn't working properly and that they have put aside a replacement device for me. So thumbs up for Garmin for honouring the warranty and for not even making me feel like I did something wrong (which lots of places do).

Should actually have first aid kit all the time when out mtbing, not just for Sani / races. Have needed a space blanket on a trail before as well as things to stop bleeding.

The stuff you need is tiny. you can easily carry it in your pockets or put it in a packet and tie it with your tubes.

Its also safer as the better bikes just seem a lot more balanced. Its scary riding behind his friends on the Makro specials, the bikes just can't go in a straight line.