Ilana

The guy was actually giving warning - if you looked carefully there was a bike and a bloke lying in the grass, had deep sections so the wind must have taken him out. That was a very scary section.

I was also in E batch, we had a good group going, managed to hold onto the bunch until R44, and then couldn't hold on any more. Battled the last 30km's in the wind on my own. Happy with a 3:12 for my first Burger, considering I did Caledon tri on Saturday and my training hasn't been what it should be for the last few months. Without a doubt my fastest, hardest ride of my life. But happy with the result. So many valuable lessons to take away from the Burger and from DC ride this year. Next year will be a good year

That's not cool! Flip, reminds me I need to get my bikes insured, nowhere near the R40k mark but would still hurt the bank account if I had to replace them. My babies sleep in my lounge. On the flip side, my first Burger and I'm quite excited. Starting E hoping I can get onto a decent group and enjoy a good day out on the bike

It is hot hot hot and windy windy windy. Far tougher than 70.3 imo This race will test your mind and your body. Can't wait for race day.

I find flashing LED lights, red and white, make it very hard to judge the distance of the rider on the road at night. Granted it is good for visibility but can be distracting and personally find it easier to see riders with non-strobe lighting on their bikes. my2c

Completed my second DC this year and it is fast becoming my favourite event on the cycling calender. A great team makes all the difference and that is exactly what we had this year. We rolled home in 7:24 with all 12 team members. The weather was also so much better than last year. Can't wait for next year's event.

Core is the best. I feel the difference almost instantly when I have missed a few sessions. Especially in my running. A good core is key in reducing the risk of injury as well.

I stopped smoking 2 years ago, had been smoking for 12 years and was close on 2 packs a day. Decided to get fit and did really well with not smoking. Started again in May this year and have slowly worked my way up to a pack a day up to now. At first I didn't feel the effect on my training but now I can feel it has a major effect on me, esp on race days. Have also decided once an for all that this smoking thing is nonsense and will be kicking the habit this week. I've done it before no reason why I can't do it again!

Huge respect! I have yet to find the motivation to swim anything further than 3.5km in the pool or open water at this stage. That does look like a nice set though. What do you mean by Free/Moderate? I would also replace the breaststroke with something else - hate breaststroke! but that is just me. Keep up the good work.

Had to withdraw from the race due to clash with nationals swimming on Sunday. Was sad to be missing the race but with the weather looking the way it does, I am very happy I will be in an indoor pool

Next time. . . . Have a super time! Sorry to be missing out. I'll see you on race day though. Def plan a meet and greet.

No problems with the weather. . . .I'm worried I might ride away from you all

Sorry guys - have to pull out tomorrow. Enjoy the ride.

I'll be there.

True. . . all depends on the person. You buy the chip once or pay 3/4 race day licence/chip fees at least you have the chip and an official time for seeding purposes. Esp for those that moan about starting in the back batches and get stuck behind traffic

Can't wait - gonna be a fun day out on the bike!

Thank you - can't wait to do more mtb races!

What a fun day out on the bike. My first taste of proper mountain biking and I loved every minute. Was also a little perplexed at first when my time didn't match that of the official results but happy to see the adjusted times. 5th lady and 1st sub-vet! I'll take it

All depends what your goal is - get seeding or to just rate yourself against your Strava buddies. Racetech does other events like running too. So all in all a good investment I think.

The chip is yours to keep for life and as Racetech does timing for most events it is a a relatively small fee to pay. my2c

I managed to pick up an entry to sub on Friday. Drove through on Saturday morning and the race did not disappoint. I did not train for the event and was worried about the distance, have never ridden so far on my mtb and only my third race, however managed to pull off a 4:50. I guess I was also lucky that I picked up an a batch sub so missed out on the traffic havoc on the back end. The race will definitely see me again next year. It is a nice fast route to put our speed to the test.

Hardly superhero stuff It is a lot easier to do than normal fly esp if you are looking to introduce a form stroke into your normal routine for variety. It takes time to build up to swimming a length of fly - this is a good way to do that. Think of it as doing a "fly-catch up". Let me know how it goes. Will film it tonight and post.

In that set on Tuesday - F/s definitely stood for full speed! I was spent after!

Mellada - right arm, left arm, both (normal fly stroke) when doing the one arm - breath to the side not to the front. Double touch - take normal stroke as hand touches the water bring back to hip and then do normal stroke (double touch) One arm fly drill - swim normal butterfly but only one arm - so take two strokes with right arm and then go over to two strokes with left arm - I normally breath first stroke, second stroke head down - switch to other arm breath and next stroke head down. Focus here on getting your rhythm and timing of pull/kick right - you should be kicking as your hand enters the water and then second kick as you pull, this will help create a smooth undulation through the water. The one armed fly works bests to practice this. Recovery drills are done with fins - except for breaststroke of course. Hope that is clear enough for you. I will look for some video examples this weekend and post them. Drills are a great way to pop in as recovery swims in between high intensity sets. Pop fins on to aid in recovery. Pay special attention to the technique the drill is focusing on. Drills also help to stretch out and warm up muscles before sessions. So always good to try incorporate some form of drill somewhere in your swim set.

It does help to take strain off the arms. F/s = freestyle