Snytjie

Robben island, mmmmm... I've never been on the island and thought the other day that I'd like to swim there for my first visit. Sort of symbolic, in my own little life. Only thing is: I'm not really keen on adding all the body fat that is suggested in order to help you through. I just spent two years getting mine down to acceptable levels. To pick that up again and spent a year or more training with it is not really palatable to me...

Serious ****, this! Well done. Where are you going with this? What's the goal?

I like to think that this is probably the most amicable thread on The Hub. Even those that "do(es) not appreciate" TW's comments do so with good manners. Maturity, I say! I personally also welcome his contribution to balance and objectivity. It is very much needed by all seekers to come to a personal, contextualised and informed solution.

Extended conversation already going in Multisport forum...

Rode the bike course yesterday. It was only 27 degrees, but I felt it by 11:00. I didn't particularly feel like running 21km when I finished riding... Very scenic though: that part of the valley is very beautiful. There was also a 25-30km/h wind at times, but it was not nearly as challenging as the heat. In fact, I bloody hope the wind blows on race day! I have another question which to which there is no response on the FB page: What was access like to the prison grounds last year? My wife is staying at a guesthouse on the route, and I'm trying to find out if she will be able to get in and out during the race...

Hahaha! As someone still learning the finer points I'm indebted to the "old" men like you for giving proper perspective...

Colleague of mine lives in Hartenbos and swims weekly at Santos beach. I've swum with him there, and its as placid as you get. There is even 'n line of buoys about 150m in to keep boats out (I presume) so you have no problem with sighting etc. You don't have to go out that far either, as there are practically no waves... I cycled on the Outshoorn road - nice shoulder for the 20km I went out.

I bought a R120.00 plastic cage, cable tied it to my stem with a piece of sponge rubber for seating, and use my old bottles. Works fine...

I bought the Prologue three days ago. The Oval saddle on my two month old Kestral was just way too hard for my softie arse. I struggled to go 70km without getting really uncomfortable, and I hate the numbnuts feeling. There was no way I was ever getting over 100km on normal saddles. I bought from bikedeals.co.za, and looked at all the models they have in stock. I couldn't really see a reason to pay R800 more for the TT version. I chose the Prologue over the Road because the nose prongs are longer and I thought it would support me better when sitting forward on the saddle in aero position. Only did one 65km ride on it so far: no numbnuts, and just very slight discomfort right on the sitbones. Everyone as above do however say it takes a few rides to get your bum adjusted to it as the sitting position is different from normal saddles. So far so good!

Mag dit hierdie jaar reen waar jou bokke wei...

Facebook site says it's out, and they gave instruction to unpaid registrations to pay within 24 hours. No doubt some won't pay so make sure your name gets on a waiting list.

Heita, So, Jailbreak 2013 becomes another sold out tri in 2013 (bar unpaid entries which have 24 hours to respond). Demand is certainly right up there for tri's! How are the final stages of training going? And for us first timers, what can we expect? Heat? It's my first 70.3 and I'm a bit worried about the potential temperature on a typical 6 December day in Worcester... I saw a three year old blog with a different bike route description from where it is now (up past Rawsonville towards Slanghoek vs the current one around the dam). Is the current route the same as last year?

Thanks!

As with the swim goggles mentioned below in a thread, I'm struggling with sun glasses during training. So much so that I cannot finish a bike leg of more than 1 hour with them on, let alone race with them. It seems to be more sweat/vapour than fogging that accumulates on the lenses to the point where I get headaches from the scrambled vision. Washing them with water spreads the stuff al over and completely blurs vision for some time until they dry out, and wiping with race garments obviously don't work. Are there ways of properly cleaning glasses during a bike ride/run?

So it seems from the IM 70.3 2014 thread that we all have to find some creative ways to make these things work and that this balancing is probably the greatest hurdle to overcome. We've had threads with great general advice on triathlon. Now share some of the solution that helps you balance training, work and family life. Two that I find very helpful: I try to convert as much "dead" travel time into training time. I work from home, but have to travel to CT and the airport quite often. I make a point of having my wife (who works in town) drop me off some distance out of town and I then run in. Last two times I ran from Llandudno to the Foreshore which is 18km. I get my clothes etc from her at work, take a shower at Virgin and then take the bus to the airport. I'll soon start to work more in the city, and plan to mix up running, biking and train riding to go there rather than sitting behind a steering wheel. The other is more specific, but still applies. I make a point of negotiating flexi-time at work. It took some time and hard work to accomplish as it is a trust and precedent- creating issue. But now I have some flexibility in starting and finishing hours which makes it easier to go for a two hour session in the middle of the day if there are no pressing issues at work.

Maybe those knobby things on the tyres reduce rolling friction so much that you don't need the usual tools?

I'm glad I don't have to sit my arse down on that seat for 4-and-a-little-bit hours...

Hi Lone One, What's the weight on your wheelset, tyres incl?

Entries have been sold out for almost four weeks...

Maybe we should revisit your idea of the "Fynbos Man". Every time I cycle on the usual route around Cape Point I think of how nice it would've been to have a 70.3 here: Swim at Kommetjie, Bike to Cape Point for two laps, run somewhere...

Booked flight tickets etc for Santos Beach Tri supposed to have happened on 3 Nov in Mosselbay- cancelled (organiser says it's too much trouble for the few entrants) Tried booking for Slanghoek instead - full Tried booking for Freshpak festival in Clanwilliam some weeks ago - full Tri Robben Island - full Jailbreak - no tickets on sale yet, but sold out last year (?) Cape Town can apparently do with a few more tri's, that's for sure.

We all pay substantial amounts towards TSA when competing in triathlons. Where does my hard-earned cash go? What value do they add to the sport? Note: This is not a flaming thread. If there is criticism, please keep it objective and support your viewpoint. We might use this to ask a response from TSA and few people has time to address a lot unsubstantiated points. It also gives an easy way out for those who the criticism is levelled at.

I'll start a new thread for us on TSA. Nameless, faceless bureaucrats swallowing up money for nothing is somewhat of a pet peeve of mine (I'm kept pretty busy in SA). Let's see if TSA is made up of those, or not?

Heita, I enquired from the Sport Science Institute here in CT about such testing. They offer it to the public, although only as a cycling test. You bring your bike, and they combine a VOmax test with RER (gas analysis of your breath by means of a mask). Apparently it costs R800. I was lucky in that UCT's division at the SSI was running a data gathering project on VOmax and RER of a general sample of people of varying abilities and fitness. The SSI referred me to them and I got it for free (running test). I would've liked a longer test than the 13 mins I lasted, but there is probably some valid reason why they force you so much. I saw in Maffetone's book Mike Pigg lasted only 11 min which made me feel better. These things are obviously designed to crack you rather quick. I wouldn't know where to look for it in Gauteng. Probably Tuks or some university. You can call the SSISA and ask for Alex Joiner. He does the regular testing down here: maybe he knows who does it in GP? I wouldn't know how to speak meaningfully about how much anyone else than myself can do on water or little carbs. It would be great for you as a serious athlete to do such a test as it gives great info. There are however still questions which only hard, long races will answer. For example: how well is your body adapted to gluconeogenesis? Take Peter Attia for example: he does some serious **** with only 30g of superstarch as supplement .His body knows how to make glucose, that's for sure! It is possible that you can do that HIT because your body is already well adapted to making glucose. I think it would happen gradually, despite the fact that you also use carbs during races. I doubt that you take in enough to fulfil the deficit that a long race or multi-stage would induce? If you can go for 4-6 hours, or for a few stages without bonking, then the answer is that your body is successfully making enough glucose (I think!).