The OriginalSpartacus

+100

why do want the t-shirt if you aren't even finishing, let alone competing in the race?

oh, I understand your question a bit better now the pool and the sea / dam are very different. a dam is not as big a jump but the with the sea you have much stronger currents and tides etc. 1500m in a pool is not 1500m in the sea, in my personal opinion if you can manage a strong 1500m in the pool you will manage the same intensity in the sea for about 2/3's of the pool distance. I have raced more races than I can remember in the sea and very few in a dam. My usual 1500m time in the sea is around 21 minutes, my best dam swim is under 19 minutes (hope that puts it in perspective?)

Swimming is the exception I work on distance for that as the sessions are usually broken up into 50m, 100m, 200m.... splits. Open Water swims though we sometimes work on time and intensity instead of distance as it's not always possible to measure distance in the open water.

I thought you were giving up on Triathlon?? glad to see you are sticking it out despite the costs

when I say time I mean your goal is time regardless of distance. So if you go out for a 90minute run at 6 min / k or 4 min / k depending on your schedule training zone the distance is immaterial. The emphasis is time in the saddle or time on your feet. Even my speed work sessions are focused on time, in the past I used to say warm up 5k then 6 - 8 x 1000m sprints now I will go for 20 minute warm up with 6 - 8 x 4 minute sprints. One of the main reasons for focussing on time is a psychological one, when I was focused on distance I always left my target zone and pushed too hard because I wanted to cover the distance in good time (my ego took over) which left me over-trained and injured. Now I focus on time and forget about how far I am going, this enables me to stay in my scheduled zones and get a quality workout in each session that I train. When you focus on time and forget about distance there is no space for your ego to kick in and ruin your workout. Every 2 weeks I will do a 12min TT and measure the distance to see how my speed is coming on to be able to set realistic goals for race days which are obviously measured in distance. If I am off my goal race pace per kilometer I will pick up the intensity in the speed work or hill sprints to get stronger. Hope this all makes sense.

thanks

So I am new to CT and nothing came up in a search... Wondering if cyclists have to pay toll fees to ride over Chapmans?

I have all of those except number 3!! Triathlon makes sure of that

apologies!

thanks, I will Sportsmans a bash!

Shot

if you are riding down a Tokai route you need psychic to tell you are going to have a head on with a plonker riding up!!

where is the best place to get a reasonably priced cartridge? do the bike shops in SA stock these yet?

ja.. use the water tables to refill!

a triathlete is very rarely equally strong at all 3 disciplines. Mackem is right, time is far more important than distance!

oh I see thanks!

Excuse my ignorance but I still don't understand how the ratio's are worked out? I train quite a lot so am interested to work out the ratio's!

OK assuming you are equally strong in each discipline... a beginner triathlete should be aiming for, 3 swim sessions 3 bike sessions 3 run sessions per week. My week is broken up into, 4 swim sessions 5 bike sessions 5 run sessions but I race for position. If you just want to finish the races 3 swim sessions 3 bike sessions 3 run sessions per week will be enough.

Need more info.. Are those numbers percentage? What distance do you race? Where do you want to place over all / age group?

"away with the fairies" ... I love that

I like the red graphics on the frame, looks sick!!

Building one up from scratch is more fun!! way more fun It obviously gives you more control over what parts to put on etc. start with a frame and go from there. the other great part of building a bike up is you can respray the frame without having to strip a new bike, if you like custom paint jobs of course. You will be able to get much better spec if you go second hand as the goods will be slightly cheaper, possibly coming in around the same price as new parts of a lower spec...

I am more of a fan of the tubeless route for the weight

shot!! so amped to get training in the Cape!!