Geared

Odd question, as I am still coming to grips with all this pain cave technology. I managed 2 short run sessions on the treadmill. One was fine which was a zone 1/2 steady jog that I did a walk run for the duration. The second session called for warm ups and then various times in certain zones : 20 sec zone 4 and 40 secs recovery, how is this even possible, by the time I get the treadmill to 13 or 14 speed it's taken 20 sec to get there and equally so on getting back to fast walk recovery. I have an old trojan cardio coach 5000, not sure if newer treadmills deal with these speed changes much quicker. I I have noticed I run like a hippo, while trying to be aware of how I am landing and rolling off (usually heel, but if I concentrate I can strike more flat then roll onto the balls and off to next stroke. I really should get out on the road, working from home, it's just easy to hit the treadmill or indoor trainer for my sessions. Really itching to take both the bike and run outside, but do want to master indoor training as well.

Actually emailed them this morning, I think it was them, or trishopsa as I was looking for the assiomio du power meter pedals. I know I was drooling over some orca wetsuits on their site earlier. Let me call. Thanks Shaper, was also browsing your pm again this am.

Haha I need all the help I can get, my legs are heavy. Definitely under 18 percent , probably around 15 now, very little love handles, maybe an inch left to lose there. Abs visible but I do have some visceral fat that needs to go behind the abdominal wall, (get a boep when I relax lol) 34 jeans fit loose at the waist , tight on the quads, 32 just fits waist,but cant get over my legs. Lots of deals on wetsuits at the moment, so didn't want to jump the gun, but prices are good.

This maybe a stupid question, having had to diet down a lot to take up triathlons, at what stage do you decide, ok I am the right size to purchase a wetsuit ? How much wiggle room do you have for weight loss and gain with these suits? If any Being an expensive piece of kit, that requires an accurate fit, I am probably 5/6 kg realistically from goal weight, which will bring me around a true 9 to 10 percent bodyfat. That said, as soon as I can hit an open water swim I want too, without a wetsuit, I do not have the balls to attempt 13 degree water in a speedo. They will be sharing space with my tonsils. So a good wetsuit, suitable pee, and should be warm and cozy and good to go.

I don't know how I missed this thread, love reading everyones experience with various bikes. I was fortunate, as I am proudly mamil, taking advantage of my midlife crisis would of been easy. But the bike shop in Edenvale was switched on, realised I was a noob, and went straight to the hard tails, even though I would of taken a full sis, with much level headed advice I chose a Scott scale 2020 midrange spex, installed dropper post, 1x11. Extremely happy so far, have done a number of local trails, all my riding mates, on dual, I keep up mostly, my fitness and lack of experience is my limiting factors for now, but have never felt I was being left wanting, because of the bike. I am 43 but don't feel too beat up after rides. I was fully expecting to add a dual suspension by now, but the triathlon bug bit, and well damn I didn't know what I was walking into, so added a road bike midrange instead, now can concentrate on a dual if needed, but suspect I need a lot more riding under the belt. Outside of cost, choosing a dual is like my lady asking me to choose her gynecologist, the sheer volume of choices, steep price tags, no intimate knowledge of the pros and cons. But for now, I still turn around and stare at the beauty of my scale, much the same way I do my jeep, then I know I have done my heart proud and no regrets, for now I am going to power through, gain experience, have fun, crash a lot. Hopefully intime when my bank balance has recovered from my triathlon mid life crisis, a lot more time in the saddle on my scale, I will add a dual to the ever growing addiction of bikes. Loving every aspect of riding at the moment, and the scale puts a smile on my face everytime, or maybe just the mere fact of being out on the trail, blessed with the ability to enjoy it regardless of bike. Was a great topic, thank you, especially from an SA focused community.

Hahaha we went through yesterday and did the mountain bike trail, when we arrived I thought we had arrived at a Justin Bieber concert.......

is this a separate software over and above a premium account ? great convo guys, I am learning a lot from both sides, and the dcrainmaker article was great, I follow all his stuff, but missed that one, seems promising overall.

That’s great to know , I only saw CT, Neil service and prompt replies was stellar !! ordered yesterday and arrived 9.30 this morning on the dot. And followed up to make sure. Very impressed. P.s booked a full comprehensive set up on both my bikes with cyclefit Shaper, they will come through Monday , and hopefully all good to go after that.

Going to contact them and book first thing tomorrow, hopefully iron out these last few technical hiccups .may need new road pedals first, as I put mtb pedals on mine, the spd cleat didn't hold well to the roadshoe. Bikefit it is ASAP

Lol fair point, will be doing that on the weekends, wish I was down in the cape! Right now getting a solid ass whipping hiding on this learning curve today was just more fun and games and cleats falling off, clearly there's more to setting them up,but got my workout in the bag for the day, so theirs that

appreciated, spoke to Neil now, and snapped up a Stryd V3, they will send it up here tomorrow. Rather do it once and properly, I have been going over review over review, and seems like a worthwhile investment in the long run, no pun intended lol

What do you guys use for running metrics? I seem to have the indoor cycling set up. Now turning to my treadmill, I have the Garmin fenix 6x (with HRM dual) and apple watch series 5, both of which I believe I can use. However inaccurate. Looking at footpods the stryd looks like first prize, but cant find one for love or money at the moment. The wahoo tickr x came up, as well as the wahoo rpm kit, not sure if the cadence sensor I got with kickr will work. But prepared to look at either option that offerscvalue, and hopefully I can source easily. Garmin footpods seem common but the least recommended from what I can find. Do any of you use footpods, and find value in them?

Thank you was exactly this and what muttley kindly showed. Did not see that in my haste last week

Quite correct, I was following the standard set up, and not the correct one for 142,not reading the manual all the way seems to have been at fault lol Bike back on and feels much more stable, now to try the rest

still battling away here, it seems the Mireda reacto is 142 and not the standard 135 axle, probably why it ground away at the frame a bit and what caused the dust shavings. I only have the skewer and the bits of the adapter kit, but no thruaxle is in the box or kit, is one supposed to have been supplied ? my bikes one screws straight into the frame, and the end piece supplied won't allow me to use my stock one. Checked now, the chain is lubed some. edit : lol seems reading the manual properly helps, I can use my stock thruaxle supplied with bike, I just couldn't figure out the end bolt cap, still trying to.

I thought I followed the instructions correctly, but I clearly missed something, can see where it has stripped off the paint inner frame of the bike, sigh, not cool on a brand new bike, but stupidity comes at a price all bluetooth atm , I have not sourced an ant dongle yet, currently using iPad and or Apple TV, but looking at my mess up above, I suspect it will go better with a correct set up and spin down, otherwise will switch to ant + when possible.

Hi all, I purchased a new wahoo kickr4 and bike (Merida road bike) week and a half back, after setting it all up last week, and throwing my back out in the process, I only managed to swing a leg over yesterday. After some technical issues linking it all up, and software (thank you shaper for the advice) I decided keep it simple and learn the system. did an update to 3.70 last Sunday. so hooked it all up, and decided to do the zwift FTP lite as a starter. I did a spin down the week before (short one) but didn't do one again for the FTP test. didn't think it was needed as I read every two weeks or so, I did the warm for 20min and then tried to do the FTP, I kept getting wild power spikes, one second its 200w, next 50w, next 438w ...I just could not get any stable wattage even with some gear changes , so 10 min in I called it quits. I am unsure if I should off rather done another proper spin-down here, but after the shavings I wasn't going to risk riding until I had found out the cause. Only to notice metal shavings under the cassette, I didn't want to risk any damage, so didn't proceed further. I am praying this is simply new gear being ridden in, and not a damaged unit, or a incorrect set up my side. I did do an update again, late yesterday to 3.71 but have not climbed on again, till I get feedback from dealer on the shavings. I have attached pics, if any of you have experienced this, before I make things worse, or lug this monster back to the dealer.

I live a few blocks away, I was on my way back from the cycle shop, and the response car came flying past, and a few minutes later the ambulance, I sadly drove past. it's absolutely tragic, and felt sick to my stomach for the victim, and for their loved ones, truly heartbroken. I was an alcoholic many years back, not a social drinker, and I never ever drove with alcohol in my system, I was always the sober person at the pub or break, I was a quiet alcoholic, at night, alone. Irrespective I quit 6-7 years ago and have never drunk again. I truly hope something is done, and the might of punishment rains down on this individual.

a makes perfect sense, I will DM you a link to what I found which is a one off monthly, any amount of plans and changes , I have not committed to it, was asking her first. the TrainerRoad I have a few months free as well, so very much on the cards, to get going.

Thank you for the advice, not sure I am ready for the cold swims yet haha I think as the addiction grows, testing yourself under such harsh elements must be a mighty sense of achievement !! Thank you for the advice, makes perfect sense, the strategy aspect of this whole endeavour is so intriguing. This is where I totally misunderstood TrainerRoad and Zwift, I know there is work arounds, and I have laptops and iPad if needed, I tried finding an ANT dongle but no joy yet. The TrainingPeaks with coaching then seemed easier, TP with Myprocoach and access to their whole library of programs, seemed like an easier solution to get me out the gate easier. (Myprocoach plans seem to be well received and had good reviews) and the cost wasn't that much more for everything 34 dollars pm Thank you for the warm welcome, I am going to check out the brick session link now. I think I am as excited for the transition as I am for the rest, probably just the sheer energy and madness as everyone tries to switch disciplines, catch their breath for us mortals, and mentally prepare for the next leg.

Thanks Shaper, will try clarify a bit where I am struggling, maybe you can offer some advice on what I am missing, its all been a bit overwhelming. (I am totally green to the technology so its all very confusing still) right now I am just eager to get going, but I am very OCD, need a gameplan, once I have that, I put my head down and just get things done (spent the better part of 3 hours this AM dialling in the basics of my nutrition) After chatting to a few people this past week, most suggested TrainerRoad and Zwift as a good combo, that was popular. (a few mentioned training peaks) so I took a spare bedroom, turned it into a pain cave of sorts with my treadmill and purchased the wahoo and my road bike. Put up a spare TV and an Apple TV 4K. I was hoping it was as simple as that. (I was horribly wrong haha) Signed up with trainerRoad (Found the olympic distance and choose the newbie base plan) and Zwift, only to find out they don't talk to each other (Zwift and Trainer-road) or not that I can see. so now I cannot wrap my head around all these various softwares and how they talk to each other and the trainer etc. by now I am overwhelmed and frustrated, no amount of googling helped, because it all sounded greek to me. what I did find was TrainingPeaks, and procoach while googling yesterday and this am, with also a variety of plans to choose from, from what I can see, correct me if I am wrong, so thought ok, I can do a base olympic plan from them, same base training and newbie. if I am understanding what I am reading, I can then simply pull the workouts into Zwift and off I go. as a person I need that structure, and didn't want to simply get on and ride, wanted to just do things as right as possible from the start. so now I am sitting having to make a decision, on the easiest route to just get some structured training to follow, that will allow me to build the base fitness I need to even go forward. once I know a little bit more, have a bit more experience, maybe joined a club, or squad, I will know a bit more, but as said for now I just want to get going in an effective structured way. I would most certainly consider a coach when I am over these embarrassing set ups, and have developed some base fitness, and everything opens up again (could be September could be 2021) I don't even know yet if I need one, or simply follow the apps as is, this I am sure I will learn later, following the forum, and joining a few cycles, or swims with more experienced peeps, for now I only have apps and pre made plans, which I am sure is fine. I am unsure how its looking on the endurance side, and your facilities, but all my amateur and pro athletes are in limbo right now, as I maintain them on home programs and maintenance style nutrition, as we have no clear indication when gyms will open, and even if it will be feasible to prep with the conditions being set out, to try get open again. didn't mean to contradict myself, rather just overwhelmed and looking for a set up I can start getting those miles in on the bike and treadmill, and be one week fitter than I was last week.

I have heard its quite the experience the crazy start, I think I will be last in and take it as it comes, for me now, the sheer thrill of completing is enough for me. my strength in swimming was in my youth, held a few school records, but all short distance , in most strokes and individual medley, then into lifesaving Bronze then silver medallion, before a short 2 year stint as a professional white water paddler (the equivalent of a downhill mountain biker I imagine) paddling America, Canada and Chiles Futalafu mainly, then had to get a real job. after 20 years of never doing a lap in a pool, just before covid I donned my 3/4 speedo, ja ja I have not upgraded my confidence to the full paddock hammock yet lol I seem to be able to hold around 2 min per 100m over 400m or so, then my fitness lets me down, I can tell swimming slower won't help, really don't feel like I was pushing it, and its simply time in the pool till I can maintain that over longer distances, I can feel my legs are heavy and sinking too low and my stroke is not as efficient as it could be, and my breathing needs a lot of work. so will be putting some effort in when the time comes, so I can come out strong, and have more left for the bike and run. Goodness me but the plethoras of training apps, and linking all this together is one hell of a learning curve (Zwift, Rouvy, TrainerRoad, TrainingPeaks , ANT, BT Joh) the easiest set up seems to be TrainingPeaks premium, coupled with MyproCoach premium for now. just to get started. seems like the best bang for the buck. I have a few coupon codes, which will allow me 30-90 days on Rouvy, Zwift and Sufferfest. so will give each a fair chance, ideally just wanted the option to have my workouts either of these online "worlds" while indoors, and then the ability to also complete my workouts outdoors. Getting TrainerRoad and everything set up, is mind bending at the moment. This was my first choice, but outside of being a great training app, and some good programs, there doesn't seem to be any easy solution to hooking everything up smoothly. between devices, or I am simply not seeing the puzzle pieces fit in my mind, tech wise. and right now, I don't have enough experience to say how I like to train, via Zwift or Rouvy or sufferfest, or simply training app and watch some Plex or Netflix on the TV. as soon as this covid is over and clubs open up, I will hopefully have some form of base fitness for a proper coach to work with, and or not embarrass myself in squad training, and various team training events. as I would really like to support local, after months of such a tough time financially and get the much needed help one on one.

I hear you, I think pacing myself, and finishing it somewhat fresher will leave me some more fuel in the tank, for the disciplines I still have a lot to develop in (cycle run) haha I shall, I tend to always waffle on, but if there is anything specific you want to chat about, or bounce around some ideas, please feel free to ask, somewhere in between we both learn in the end. Appreciated, I am going to check it out, I went to Triospot on Thursday, to get some gear, and information on clubs, coaches, and so forth, its a bit tough getting the info from more cycle specific shops. this helps a great deal.

Again many thanks for taking the time to advise , it is appreciated and I am picking up a lot of direction. for now my major frustration is figuring out the technology in the pain cave, setting up Zwift and accounts and linking everything up, and wrapping my head around what must go where or link to lol so far I am sitting with : - wahoo kickr4 - treadmill - Garmin 530 bundle - Apple TV 4K with TV I have a MacBook, few iPads and iPhone, so this next few days will be discovering how best to set it all up. I have chosen an olympic base and build phase to repeat until an event becomes available. I have chosen the lowest volume to start and will increase to mid and high on repeated phases. Based on the advice above : on the advice above, I have deleted the swim sessions off my calendar and replaced them with the shorter run sessions. so my week pretty much looks like : 3 x run sessions 3 x cycling sessions and I will design and do 2 strength and conditioning sessions a week, nothing over the top. even though I have my own app for my athletes, for designing training for my physique athletes, this is on another level lol Nutrition (and exercise science) is my actual bread and butter work wise, excuse the pun, and i have worked with numerous endurance athletes (Nutritionally only, as my training qualifications and experience only lends itself to strength and power, my nutrition qualifications and experience (many decades now, however have allowed me far greater scope of practice) , as in my world, endurance nutrition and strategy, sweat and fluid rates, is where I truly get to geek out and stretch my knowledge to the max, prepping physique athletes is one thing, but geeking out with fuelling an athlete for 6-15 hours, really excites my passion for nutrition. this is probably why, from the earliest days, I said if I ever got the itch to do endurance, triathlon would be it, as it truly (to me) tickles every area I am passionate about, whole body glycogen depletion during the swim, leg specific glycogen depletion on the cycle, and into the run, working out digestion rates, rate of oxidisation of glucose (1g/min) vs a glucose fructose mix (1.5g per min) to avoid the bonk depending on duration and intensity of event. when to bring in EAA and Caffiene, using various nutritional methodologies such as train low, sleep low, recover low to increase metabolic flexibility. Using intra and extra cellular buffers such a beta alanine (intra cellular) and baking soda (extra cellular) Triathlon for me tests every limit , from mental strength, patience, to building the necessary vascularity, and cell respiration, mitochondria density, from basically nothing, at an advanced age of 43 lol while continuously working through the continuum from anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. other disciplines offer this this, but not many quite as expansive as triathlons. sorry for the waffle, I am getting way ahead of myself here, but I am salivating at the prospect of improvement, and mixing my experience of nutrition, with my total lack of experience in the one thing I advise on lol

Thank you so much that answers my questions ! my fear was a more direct approach to pure speed, that my future endurance goals would suffer, so I feel better about choosing closer to my end goal so possibly Olympic. I feel better about not having to focus too much on the swim, I was a strong swimmer in my youth. Hoping some of that comes back with age. I most certainly just need a lot of aerobic endurance training, built up slowly over time in the cycling and running department , running has been the one thing we avoided for many years lol again thank you, i am excited too get started.