Xterra Grabouw

[dre]

Yoh, the full was tough for me yesterday. Did not train nearly enough. Just stoked I finished the swim without having to hold on to a paddleski, and finished the race as well. And I forgot to put on sunscreen...ouch.

 

Amazing scenery! Fantastic Xterra.

[cobus3000]

Enjoyed it. Very well organised!

 

Was my first ever tri-athlon of any kind. Finished in 4:35.

 

Had a very good swim, but messed up in first transition and ended up in the "traffic". I was also one of the plonkers on the MTB . Really wanted to ride the technical stuff, but ended up walking most of it due to guys dismounting in front of me or someone shouting to pass. Gonna work on those technical skills!!

 

Run was hard! Full stop.

 

Now I have a base time, so it can only get better in future!

[emme]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yld7vqyouKY&list=UU9dY5prdd7E0KK7dtJolNoA&feature=share

Highlight package stunning and really conveys essence of event!!!

[mon-goose]

well done cobus. as you say it can only get better from here.

[@ndy]

It was also my first triathlon and I really enjoyed it.

 

The swim was hectic I wasnt expecting to be bashing into people for so long into it but I went a bit wayward on the way back and was in plenty of clear space.

 

I have been training on the MTB route for the last few weeks. It was a great ride on a superb course. I was a bit dissapointed that none of my technical knowledge paid off as I had to take the more difficult sections very slowly or dismount because of traffic.

 

I drank too much on the ride and learnt a valuable lesson as during the run I felt bloated for the first half hr but I managed it at a reasonable pace in the end.

 

I used to swim a lot as a youngster so my time for the swim was good. Then for the rest of the race I had a lot of people passing me especially on the climbs. I came in in 3:59 so I have a good marker. I'm looking forward to more in the future.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Definitely going ot do it again next year. Even if only the 1/2, due to my knee.

[cobus3000]

It was also my first triathlon and I really enjoyed it.

 

The swim was hectic I wasnt expecting to be bashing into people for so long into it but I went a bit wayward on the way back and was in plenty of clear space.

 

I have been training on the MTB route for the last few weeks. It was a great ride on a superb course. I was a bit dissapointed that none of my technical knowledge paid off as I had to take the more difficult sections very slowly or dismount because of traffic.

 

I drank too much on the ride and learnt a valuable lesson as during the run I felt bloated for the first half hr but I managed it at a reasonable pace in the end.

 

I used to swim a lot as a youngster so my time for the swim was good. Then for the rest of the race I had a lot of people passing me especially on the climbs. I came in in 3:59 so I have a good marker. I'm looking forward to more in the future.

 

Yoh! 3:59! Good time! Well done!

[BlinkFan]

... nice ride with only a few plonkers who couldn't handle the technical stuff...

 

Referring to them as plonkers doesn't really help your own plonker status...

[Ratty]

I did the Xterra-lite and loved every minute of it.

 

The swim was my absolute highlight. I seem to have somehow carried over my swimming ability from when I was 10. I started on the outside at the back as its my first ever open water swim and first time with other people (not separated by lanes). I was surprised at how many people I overtook and at times had to switch to breaststroke as I had no where to go. Was quite sad it came to an end so quickly.

 

MTB, well that was just frustrating. We caught some of the slow men on the jeeptrack who just didn't want to move out the way. The singletrack was a good test of my patience. I eventually realised there was no way passed and just chilled. I saw more than 15 people fall !!! It wasn't that technical.....but some girls had never ridden singletrack before.

I found I used up a lot more energy with the constant stop start and trying to sprint passed people on the uphills.

 

The run (hike) was interesting. When we started everyone was running and I was being passed by everyone as I can only manage a jog. Once we reached the climbs, everyone was walking and I felt loads better :-) The little river crossing was very welcome.

 

Now I just need to find the next event to do. Want to find an event with a swim that is a little bit longer.

[Red Zone]

I did the Xterra-lite and loved every minute of it.

 

The swim was my absolute highlight. I seem to have somehow carried over my swimming ability from when I was 10. I started on the outside at the back as its my first ever open water swim and first time with other people (not separated by lanes). I was surprised at how many people I overtook and at times had to switch to breaststroke as I had no where to go. Was quite sad it came to an end so quickly.

 

MTB, well that was just frustrating. We caught some of the slow men on the jeeptrack who just didn't want to move out the way. The singletrack was a good test of my patience. I eventually realised there was no way passed and just chilled. I saw more than 15 people fall !!! It wasn't that technical.....but some girls had never ridden singletrack before.

I found I used up a lot more energy with the constant stop start and trying to sprint passed people on the uphills.

 

The run (hike) was interesting. When we started everyone was running and I was being passed by everyone as I can only manage a jog. Once we reached the climbs, everyone was walking and I felt loads better :-) The little river crossing was very welcome.

 

Now I just need to find the next event to do. Want to find an event with a swim that is a little bit longer.

 

Well done , sounds like you had fun. The mtb can be very frustrating with people just stopping as soon as they are confronted with a rock in the trail and having no trail etiquette at all.

 

The swim on the lite is way too short, at 400 m you cant really get into it. If you want off road tri's, look out for the Xtri events, I think there is one in Tulbagh in May, then check out Slanghoek in October, Woolies tri in November. There is the Enduroman in Sept - thats a big one though 2.5 swim, 90 km mtb and 21 km trail run.

[breaker]

Was my the second time I did the lite.

 

Awesome as always, I probably did the same time as last year, but felt way stronger this year. I fell ill just after the 99er so no real time to train.I was even a bit more organised this year from lessons learnt last year when I spent 5 min trying to find my bike in transition This year I put up my little wp rugby flag(not that that helped the bloody rugby ) worked like a charm.

 

The swim was not bad at all, I tempted fate and sat in the middle of the washing machine to 'see what it was like'. Wasn't that bad and I cruised into openish water after about 100m.

 

Very disappointed in my mtb leg as I've been doing more of that lately. Came off 3 times, all of them over my handle bars. What made it worse is that I'm not wearing cleats .

 

The run went better than expected, didn't walk as much as last year and even managed a little sprint finish (with a boy probably 3 times my junior,lol I sure showed him :whistling: )

I don't know how people can enjoy that little splash though, again it felt like I picked up 5kg in my shoes.

 

All in all it was a great event, gonna try and get the family there next year if I can organise parking @ the club.

And will def be making an effort to hit that ST again.

[raymakestv]

Lite race video highlights. See if you can spot yourself.

[Loupie]

Well done , sounds like you had fun. The mtb can be very frustrating with people just stopping as soon as they are confronted with a rock in the trail and having no trail etiquette at all.

 

The swim on the lite is way too short, at 400 m you cant really get into it. If you want off road tri's, look out for the Xtri events, I think there is one in Tulbagh in May, then check out Slanghoek in October, Woolies tri in November. There is the Enduroman in Sept - thats a big one though 2.5 swim, 90 km mtb and 21 km trail run.

 

Hi Guys, Off-Road Triathlons if you are interested:

West Coast Triathlon - 21 March 2014

Stellenbosch Triathlon - 12 April 2014 - To be confirmed

Durbanville/Phisantekraal Triathlon - 3 May 2014 - To be confirmed

[Ratty]

Well done , sounds like you had fun. The mtb can be very frustrating with people just stopping as soon as they are confronted with a rock in the trail and having no trail etiquette at all.

 

The swim on the lite is way too short, at 400 m you cant really get into it. If you want off road tri's, look out for the Xtri events, I think there is one in Tulbagh in May, then check out Slanghoek in October, Woolies tri in November. There is the Enduroman in Sept - thats a big one though 2.5 swim, 90 km mtb and 21 km trail run.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely take a look.

 

Funny thing is I was extremely worried about the 400m swim. I wasn't able to swim for 10+ years due to a shoulder injury and only started again in November last year, but very slowly (max 10 lengths).

2.5km's, little bit far at this stage :-) Thinking more like +- 800m's for the next one.

[Ratty]

Hi Guys, Off-Road Triathlons if you are interested:

West Coast Triathlon - 21 March 2014

Stellenbosch Triathlon - 12 April 2014 - To be confirmed

Durbanville/Phisantekraal Triathlon - 3 May 2014 - To be confirmed

 

Thanks :-)

[cobus3000]

Thanks, I'll definitely take a look.

 

Funny thing is I was extremely worried about the 400m swim. I wasn't able to swim for 10+ years due to a shoulder injury and only started again in November last year, but very slowly (max 10 lengths).

2.5km's, little bit far at this stage :-) Thinking more like +- 800m's for the next one.

 

Woolies Tri is 800m swim. Durbanville Tri is 1km.

If you want to get extra experience try and do a couple of the 1st Sunday of the month swims at Clifton. It is 1.6km, but there are life guards and you can always swim to the beach if you can't make the whole way. Good way to build confidence for longer swims.