Robert Lofthouse

I'm with you guys, I too am of the slightly larger variety, and the hills hurt. Not in the beginning, mind you, as I specifically rode smaller gears and made a point of riding comfortably and taking it easy on the hills in an effort to save myself. Still, in the last 15kms, even a speed bump made me cringe. I finished the 55 in a 4:07 from A5, and ultimately finished it quite comfortably, despite feeling the hills at the end. I'm out there again next weekend for the road race, here's hoping for a full recovery before then. Biggest thing that hurts right now - my neck and shoulders, legs and butt are actually doing well. Well done to all finishers, the fast and the slower, and supreme respect to those on single speeds - that's hardcore.

I'm planning on doing it with slicks. I have a 10 year old Giant Hardtail with tubed wheels (including tyre liners), so no concern with looking cool or being pretentious. I'm doing the 55k MTB this Sunday, followed by the 94.7 road race next Sunday, followed by the Rand Athletic Club Tough one the week after, which is a 32km run from Old Parks in Randburg out to Witkoppen and back. If putting on slicks will help save some energy to use on the day and the week afterwards, then I'm not going to be concerned with my XL Giant Frame looking "hond" with slicks on. My only concern would be how dramatic the change in wheel size is by changing to slicks. A minor concern though ... hell, it might even be a benefit on the climbs. p.s. I priced slicks at my LBS, R90 a piece, so it'll cost me a cool R180 ... a damn side cheaper than a road bike, thanks.

You see kids ... don't do drugs, it makes you aggressive!

Ok, before you shout at me because this is a well discussed subject. I have looked, but nothing I've found here properly answers my specific question(s). My activity levels have recently increased to a level that has made me take a good look at what I put into my body before and after my training sessions as well as races. To be clear, although I'm not 100% sure it makes too much of a difference, my sport of choice at the moment is running (with a small amount of MTB thrown in, just to keep the feeling of sitting in a saddle real). My training runs are anything from 8, 10 or 12 km runs, my races these days consist only of half marathons. Recently though, I've found myself struggling on runs that I didn't struggle on before, and I'm starting to link these "struggle" sessions with instances where I haven't eaten before my run, or my previous day's run wasn't followed by a proper "recovery" meal. My basic eating regime (specifically around training) consists of : For 8, 10 or 12 km runs - run before breakfast, follow up with a full (100g) serving of FutureLife cereal with 30 mins of finishing. For 15km or 21km runs (these are usually my races), eat a full serving of FutureLife about 90mins before start followed by a USN recovery shake upon completion. I go the recovery shake route purely because it's normally more than 30mins before I can get home and eat a proper meal to recover. I'm not 100% sure I'm doing this right though. Should I be trying to make sure I eat first before running every time instead of running on an empty stomach and only refuelling? As far as recovery goes, would a shake made of 100g of FutureLife serve as a good recovery meal as well as the recovery shake I've been taking (the FutureLife sure as hell is a lot cheaper that the USN product)? Does the nature of the carbs you take in post exercise (low GI vs hi GI) make any difference in recovery, or it the protein portion the more relevant part of the recovery meal. On the FutureLife side, they've just released a high protein version of the product (30g protein vs 20g) which has slightly reduced carbs as well - would this be best used as a pre or post training/racing (or both)? Any insight is welcome (even if specific answers to my questions aren't given) Thanks in advance. *edit* Aaand just as I close this screen down, I saw a post that would appear to have some relevance :-P. Nevertheless, I'll leave this question up, just in case some new opinions appear. :-P

Maybe he didn't dope, but I'm finding it a touch hard to believe that the first encounter he ever had with doping was in 1998 with the huge revelations that happened that year. Maybe, just maybe, he was still too young and new on the scene to have been exposed to the doping scene, but as I see it, doping was rampant in the many years leading up to Festina. It's just a little too coincidental for me.

No? ... I do! I so want him to open his mouth and take everyone down with him. Sure, it will hit the sport hard, but at least a process of rebuild can then start. Maybe, just maybe, the core essence of the sport will return, and the nonsense can finally be turfed out.

If I understand your question correctly. Click on the "Page x of y" label where the page numbers are and type the page number you're looking for ...

Watch with sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qmQrEM5rVA&feature=player_embedded

Well now, what to do ... Run Jozi 10k in Sandton, or Sportsman's Warehouse 15k at East Rand Mall.

It looks like it was quite a disadvantage going early. Everyone that's going seems to be doing better than the okes before.

Oh my, that is beautiful

Can't quite figure out if this is a joke, or if the guy's really trying to be serious!

Strange stance. Surely you can't presume someone guilty until he proves his innocence. "Innocent until Proven guilty" is the way I always thought it worked, otherwise you could throw around all sorts of accusations and those accusations would be accepted as truth until they were proved otherwise.

Fair point, and yes, my thinking is that gym work could help strengthen and tighten areas that will not be targetted by running and cycling. If I was swimming as well, I would be more comfortable with me receiving a full workout between the thre sports, however, the question I'm now asking is - do I really need to go to the gym to get that training, or is it easy enough to do it at home via some basic excercises?

Haha, I know - I tend to overanalyse things - it's what I do ;-) I'm not sure about the gym work, perhaps I don't need it. Judging by what Saint says though, muscle mass is not what I should be expecting anyway. I may not be going all out for tri's, but I am seriously thinking about the Duathlons. I never thought I'd enjoy running as much as I am, and yes, I agree, the running most definitely helps the cycling. I'm at a point now where the cycle to work and back doesn't even feel like a workout. Perhaps I Should the gym altogether, maybe just do some pushups and situps at home and be done with it. All I'm really looking for to be honest is some tightening up - all the extra flab I was carrying was obviously keeping me looking more bulked than I was, now I'm looking skinnier and feeling softer. As for getting the MTB, I only have one of those, by cycling on the weekend, I mean MTBing, and my commutes are done on the MTB (having the pavement as an option when drivers try to be dicks is a wonderful safety net)

Twiggz, that's something I've considered - daylight hours and having to drop my son at school in the morning makes it tricky though - in the summer I will definitely be weaving that in ... will be fun.

Saint, that helps more than you know. Thank you very much.

I took up running at the beginning of the year. Well, actually, at the beginning of last year, but that failed, it's going much better now. I'm currently in the process of working towards completion of a challenge I received a few weeks back, and that challenge was to run a half marathon, do the 94.7 road, and the 94.7 MTB race (the full one). Strangley enough, the half marathon is almost there - I'm up to 16kms, the first 12 of which are quite comfy, I would estimate that by August, I'll have the half marathon part waxed ... maybe a full marathon by the end of the year? hmm ... no ... wait, I digress. About a month and a half ago, I decided to start cycling in to work. It was a decision made partly in response to a desire to get back on the bike (I'm guessing the increased activity created by running re-sparked my desire for riding), partly to cut back on my petrol bill, and partly to actually train to accomplish my challenge. I live 10kms from work, there are facilities here, I would be saving 60% of my petrol bill if I cycle in at least 3 times a week, and I'd be getting the training under the belt for the 94.7's. Many wins all round. Here's the problem, if I want to run enough to continue to increase my running fitness, I'm looking at at least 3 times a week - I run with a club on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and generally go for a long run on the weekend. I was looking at upping that to 4 times a weelk. I then need to couple this to cycling in to work (at least) 3 times a week. Over and above that, I need to work in at least one rest day. Then to throw a spanner in the works, my recent activity has resulted in some (not unwelcome at all) weight loss, but with that has come shrinkage in the muscle department which needs to be addressed by diet and some gym work (which would help with strength and cross training). Now, how do I weave in the amount of cycling, running, gyming and resting to make it all worthwhile. My thoughts were this - run Tue/Thur/Sat, cycle Tue/Wed/Thurs Gym Mon/Fri, long run or cycle on Saturday with Sunday the rest day. I could switch the rest day to Monday and make Sunday the gym day, which may help given that most races are Sunday anyway. So, what say you all, am I overthinking this ... am I overdoing this ... or am I just generally being stupid. I'm thinking there must be some kind of basic structure that I can work off, because triathletes also need to balance 3 disciplines to keep being effective.

Oi, now you've done it ... you'll be plagued with punctures for the rest of your life now :-P

Exactly,teams will be lining up to sign him next year, no doubt. During the first 18 months of his "Ban", he's been racing at full tilt, having the luxury of being able to compete throughout. Getting stripped of his titles will sting, I'm sure, but having a genuine 2 years off racing would have been far more devastating. They may as well not have bothered.

So, a 6 month ban then ... not very punitive, is it?

Seriously fascinating.

Basically, what they're getting at is that those pics are probably THE most circulated MTB (possibly even general cycling) pics ever. As an illustration, I started cycling a good 11 or 12 years ago now, and I saw these pics within the first couple of months (and have seen them countless times since). What's very intriguing is that you've not seen them before, whether via the hub or anywhere else. We're not criticising (well, I'm not), we're just bemused.

Dunno, maybe 1 glass of wine too many :-D

Hmm, feint hint of wobble there, but still very nice.