Blindspot

Your first swim and it was 2.2km. I'm gonna hit the report button.

Agree. Last year I got sick for being brave in the rain and lost almost 3 weeks training. IDT and treadmill are both dead boring and I cannot see myself going that route. You should get a medal for just swimming in Cape Town. Now to google "sufferfest"

Somerset East. I'll bet its one of the best places to train for 70.3. A lot of hill training for the bike and run. I don't mind cycling or running in the rain, if it is not raining too hard, but it is just not safe most of the times. If a car appears out of the mist only 20 meters in front of you then it is a no go for me. I don't need much of an excuse to skip the swimming though.

So, how do you guys/gals keep up with the training program with all the rain over last couple of days? According to the weather report it will go on like this until Sunday. I only went for two 10km runs this entire week. Unfortunately there is no gym with an indoor pool nearby. Or is it a matter of HTFU?

Bump

Thanks Dave. We should be allowed to miss the briefings if we have read your posts and if the rules don't change This year I have passed a number of people in aero position on the climbs while I did not even have clip-on bars on my road bike. On the flats and downhills the were flying past me (in groups ). I don't think aero position is that effective when going too slow on the the climbs. What are your guys' views and strategies on this? Is there really more to gain on a 15kph climb in aero position other than drafting as opposed to sitting up?

Make sure you do enough hill training for the first 45km and the last 7km of the bike course. Previous years it was windy and raining, this year it was perfect weather on the bike. You can always change your wheels the morning before the race starts. A TT bike will give you an advantage, how big advantage will always be debatable. Most people just use clip-on bars on their road bikes instead.

I can see a "Coach Garf's transition battle plan" thread coming soon.

Why not try to get hold of Michael Zoetmulder at Zports? He is great with organising events and if there is a further incentive, ie something going to charity, he should be more than willing to help and should be able to get the traffic department involved as well. He has a very busy schedule over the next couple of weeks if you look at all the events he is organising, but it is worth a shot.

Well, you had a 3h32 swim I can imagine you must have been exhausted on the run.

That is the sad part of the RAF Act. It prevents you from taking civil action against the driver. Condolences to the family and friends.

The August in March. Or is it April?

Mission briefing? Never heard of it, but here is mine: Swim, cycle and run. If you do that enough over the next couple of months then you should be able to complete your mission. If it is a race briefing I will not even bother. The briefing on race weekend is compulsory, but there is a lekker vibe and lucky draws

With shaved legs

I have never seen thousands of people next to the road cheering on a guy who just raped a kid and being sponsored big money to do it with the logo on his shirt appearing on live tv for a couple of weeks. I would like to believe that there is no doping in cycling (or any sport), but it seems as if most, if not all, the pro's are doing it and are basically forced to do it for various reasons. It is part of the game and cycling will never get rid of it. If it was only 1 out of 50 who doped then it was a different story. I think the cyclists are the victims. They are the only ones who must live with the consequences. They don't have an unfair advantage as the following guy is also doping so nobody is cheating his opponent. The fans, family, team managers, doctors, sponsors etc. are indirectly or directly supporting doping in cycling but don't want to admit it. What will change in the pro races if doping gets legalised? At least there will be no more BS done behind the back and the winner keeps his title. But, maybe I am just brain dead.

I guess I don't. So the Europeans actually enjoy watching a doper win and pay big money just so that he can lose his title/s a few years later and give it to the next guy who also probably doped. Why not just legalise doping in European pro cycling? Or what am I missing?

I have not read his book. Only alternative to what? If you know that it is impossible to achieve your goal, be it competing for a win or only finishing, without having to dope, then you should not be there in the race. It is indeed much like corruption. It is all about greed. I would like to know how much money he has made from sales of this book comparing to his cycling career. Was the book about "I want to get the monkey of my back and set the record straight" or "how can I make some dough without dope"?

You should eat less dirt. So when do you cycle, before or after 10am?

Not yet. I was very accurate with the throw-in back in the day though.

The boks must try this lineout call when 5 metres from the tryline.

I wouldn't know. This was my first lay-off from swimming as I had only really learn to swim last year, but I sure hope you are right. If you can manage 6min/km after the cycle on race day then you can be more than happy with your effort, but the run is definately where you can make up time if you have the legs.

Okay, so this will be my last (lazy) weekend before my official training program starts. The running and cycling of the first week is very doable. The last proper swim I had was on race day this year and 800m in the water seems far all of a sudden. I will have to watch some youtube videos over the weekend to get myself psyched for the water.

I was somewhat sarcastic. Apologies if my sarcasm failed. I had Futurlife again this morning. It will be ridiculous to inspect every product at the supermarket to see if it is GM food or not. What is the real issue with GM foods? Does it contain something that is dangerous or does it not have all the minerals and vitamins you should get from the organic alternative? I have read some of the links posted above but it seems more than an economic issue than a health issue.

And just when I actually started enjoying Futurlife . . . with Woolies Strawberries Back to Weet Bix.