davem

Not really. The course was laid in the morning. This should account for the tide at that time. The tide level would not change the course distance materially from day to day. The beach did not seem narrower than usual either.

Just to add some more analysis to the swim time. Marino Vanhoenacker swam 1:25 per 100m in EL. At Kona (a non wetsuit 3.8km swim) he did 1:20. Compared a female age group podium finisher. 1:41 per 100m in EL, 1:30 at 70.3 Thailand. (ie 3min 35secs slower in EL) My estimate is that the swim was probably in the region of 10-12% longer than the 1.9km. Where this had a catastrophic effect is that Team Garwood missed the cycle cutoff by less than a minute. A regulation distance swim would have meant they would have made the cutoff comfortably and finished the race.

Both mens (26:29 vs record 18:33) and ladies (26:56 vs record 20:28) swim times were about 8 minutes outside the record (about 43% (men), both set in 2008). Both mens and ladies fastest swimmers were 1:30 slower than 2011 which had horrific conditions. Conditions were relatively mild on Sunday which would indicate faster times. We can safely infer that the swim distance is not consistent.

1563

Hey DC Demon Sean Your split is too far out. They are not that different. You should do a 1h35 out easily but then you will have to work hard for a 1h15 on the way back. Don't forget to leave some juice for the little bastard hill that surprises as you get off the freeway on the way back. You obviously feeling strong, has the training been going well? Cheers Dave

Hey B-Active, change your web address on your footer, you have moved. If fact, get clever and put the event address links, so you can save me several clicks.

Mike at SBR seems to have a great reputation. He gave me excellent service on getting me some new running shoes, including a full gait video analysis. Very nice guy. Troisport on the other hand, mmm, tired of walking into the store and being ignored. Really irritates me that they don't put prices on their merchandise. I guess with being the dominant player in the market, they have got slack.

Any hubbers want to get together in EL for some Garfield style smacktalk?

At 26.3 degrees you going to have okes crying about not being allowed to use their wetsuits again.

Garfield The ocean is wet, wavy and cool. Now go taper something and stop worrying. Cheers

Thought in quite funny/naive that the question about sufficient water got a response related to dam levels. This has been the major grind against these events on this forum, to be flippant is not clever PR.

Guess you will have to carry all body parts to the finish.

I seem to remember there being such a table.

Garfield, we dont want to see you like that. You riding on Sat again?

http://www.drugfreesport.org.za/ Your dietitian should know that.

I have a pair which I am very disappointed with. Despite the large surround, I have great trouble getting them to seal properly on my face. They do however has excellent visability and are comfortable. I guess it depends on the shape of your face.

Hi e_div Happy to join you. Garfield's rides are good and the guys are friendly. Garfield, are you riding this Monday (2nd), keen to join you. Cheers Dave

These strips didn't seem like the cleverest idea. Have they all been removed?

To the OP, thanks for a well thought out argument. Some issues that need to be factored into the thinking: 1. Above a certain temperature, a wetsuit can be dangerous due to overheating. In the ocean this can lead to sea sickness. 2. A wetsuit is not a life preserver or floatation device and should never be thought of as that. 2. As mentioned by other posters, if you can't swim the distance without a wetsuit, you should not be in the race. Would you start a marathon without the training, an ocean race without a skippers ticket, fly a plane without a pilots licence. 3. Novice swimmers should self seed and start 30 seconds later. If you want to mix it with the front guys then be prepared. Let the race snakes go and you can swim without being klapped. You are also more visible to the life guards as there are less swimmers around. You are also more accessible by the life guards. 4. It is unlikely that a swimmer will drown because of the lack of a wetsuit. I would suggest that the few swim deaths in triathlons around the world are more likely attributable to heart attacks where the athlete is immobilised and slips unnoticed under the water. In an Ironman, yes it can be tough not to have a wetsuit, but its not called Ironman for nothing. For reference I am a 1h30 Ironman swimmer with a wetsuit, so I can claim knowledge of the back of the pack in the swim.

Respect to you. Why do you do it? Are you raising money for charity? If so put up the details. I'll give them a hundred bucks for your insanity.

If you shout at someone for littering, you've got to come across as a bigger muther than him, otherwise you are just going to get it back even harder. I prefer the following approach. which I used recently in the Cradle. Dude was riding between Teak and the Lion Park at about 20kph. Ate gel, chucked in the veld. I pulled along side him and spoke very quietly too him, he could not hear so he leant closer and said "Pardon" I just said again very quietly that littering wasn't very nice. He got the message, and could not come back with any aggression to ruin my day. All he managed was a "Humphh"

Hi guys Haven't been on for a few days, but here is some feedback. The lady who fell was Karen, her husband was also riding (sorry can't remember his name) and was with her shortly after her accident. She was conscious for the whole time. She was kept immobile until the paramedics arrived due to the fact that she had serious damage to her helmet which indicated a possible neck injury. She has numerous obvious roasties but no obvious broken bones. A fellow rider, Mike, is a paramedic and attended to her and kept control of the situation. I was able to asist with getting an ambulance there quickly and assist in getting the road partly blocked to prevent a second collision. It was a single bike accident, the other bikes were people who had stopped to help. Once Netcare 911 arrived, I left to continue with my ride. I saw her hubby once they had loaded her into the ambulance and he said she was OK. I would suspect a significant concussion given the nature of the helmet damage. A rider who was behind her just before she fell, said she drifted onto the red and white curb barrier and lost control. She is an experienced cyclist as while lying on the ground, her primary concern was whether she would be able to do her 10th Argus next year. Fighting spirit! The plus side is that hubby gets to buy her a nice new helmet for Christmas. Thanks to Netcare for reacting pretty promptly and to the circuit management who got a bakkie out on the track to protect the guys who were on the track. Cheers Dave

3 flats! Put slime in your tyres. This is not a road race, you don't need Ferrari type acceleration.

Some advice for the bike leg: The course has 600m of climbing which is tougher than most 70.3 distance events but it not as tough as 94.7 (1000m+ of climbing.) The course is mostly undulating meaning that the hills are not particularly steep. The one hill past the Hemingway shopping centre is quite tough. On the return trip, you can go really fast. Your return time can be a lot faster than your out time. I recommend practicing fast descending. There is technique to being able to crest a hill at a sensible heart rate and to immediately be able to put on the power and accelerate up to 60+ kmh, tuck really low and free wheel up most of the next hill.

I don't agree that you won't be given a finishers certificate if you made the three cutoffs but your individual time for a discipline are over the allocated discipline time. You get a medal at the finish, therefore you are a finisher. Last years results show 68 athletes with bike time greater than 4h05 who are finishers. The slowest being 4h24. Ha, actually someone I know, Total Immersion swim instructor.