Standard Bank Ironman 2016 (10 April)

[Bizzmark]

what stands out for me during the entire event is just how blessed we are to have those volunteers and supporters on the route. words cant describe how special they make you feel, they kept me going the entire run, at no point did i find myself suffering, feeling sorry for myself or in a in a dark hole all alone. from the teeny weeny smiling two year olds who you have to bend down to high five to the very old people who just always say the right thing or crack a joke to get you going again to everyone else inbetween. im truely grateful to each and everyone one of them, i just wish i could thank them all in person. they the real stars of the show. iv never done an ironman anywhere else but cant imagine how another place can top this crazy crowd. its madness out there some sections the crowd was so close either side of you that becomes a blur all you hear is screaming and cheering and before you know it you another 1km done and much faster than you planned. hats off to them they make my race.

This post ..... You have described pretty much exactly what I have had on my mind since Sunday... I love the PE supporters and volunteers, every single year they make this amazing event into a mind blowing , life changing memory. Thank you PE.

 

I loved the new course, I felt a lot safer on the bike course, even though it was contra flow- the scenery... Wow... No point in trying to use words to describe. Also I get the feeling we don't inconvenience the PE residents as much, the older routes would have trapped them completely... This route just seems a lot more considerate.

 

cutting out that sad lonely part of the run through the varsity ... Double thumbs up...strange though how the vibe on the other end changed... At the turn around were you got your bands, it used to be very festive and noisy... Still support but not as crazy as past years... The one block of flats used to be so raucous... Completely dark this year... Must be a strict new landlord. (Used to be guaranteed at least one or two boobie flashes from the crazy ladies as the race progressed and wine bottles emptied)

 

I was very slow... 14:30 odd... Not disappointed though, I really did not train anywhere enough from December...to much festive food and Easter eggs.

 

One very strange thing though was my swim. My garmin say I did 5.5km... I am normally quite bad with sighting, and I did take forever out there... But how on earth did I manage to mess it up so badly? Granted, I was guided by a few life guards who mentioned I was off to Australia a few times... But 5.5km... Damn. Did anyone manage to swim further than me on Sunday?

 

Anyway, enough rambling, Ironman SA - you guys are fantastic.. Will train smarter next year, learn to swim and be back for number 5

[IceCreamMan]

The new bike route, whats the consensus? I reckon for us larger guys its a more favourable course and I recorded around 950 metres of climb. (not sure the exact number its still on watch) . I was expecting the pros to go under 8 hours but looking at the times and the age group winning cycle times they are relatively similar with a couple of minutes faster. In my case I was 55 minutes faster than last year (+-) . I anticipated being around 10% faster just from the course change and I more or less was but this 10% is not applicable across the board. Strange that.
I am not scientific enough to analyse what all this means though

 

I hope the cycle route remains as is. I thoroughtly enjoyed it except the last 45, by then I was gatvol of cycling and bored and the wind had picked up and the heat was up.

 

A great day out, I know I said previously this would be my last full ironman, rethinking that right now and will make a decision after Durban. something very special happens in PE and that's due to the PE folks whether volunteers or spectators

[New2tri]

This post ..... You have described pretty much exactly what I have had on my mind since Sunday... I love the PE supporters and volunteers, every single year they make this amazing event into a mind blowing , life changing memory. Thank you PE.

 

I loved the new course, I felt a lot safer on the bike course, even though it was contra flow- the scenery... Wow... No point in trying to use words to describe. Also I get the feeling we don't inconvenience the PE residents as much, the older routes would have trapped them completely... This route just seems a lot more considerate.

 

cutting out that sad lonely part of the run through the varsity ... Double thumbs up...strange though how the vibe on the other end changed... At the turn around were you got your bands, it used to be very festive and noisy... Still support but not as crazy as past years... The one block of flats used to be so raucous... Completely dark this year... Must be a strict new landlord. (Used to be guaranteed at least one or two boobie flashes from the crazy ladies as the race progressed and wine bottles emptied)

 

I was very slow... 14:30 odd... Not disappointed though, I really did not train anywhere enough from December...to much festive food and Easter eggs.

 

One very strange thing though was my swim. My garmin say I did 5.5km... I am normally quite bad with sighting, and I did take forever out there... But how on earth did I manage to mess it up so badly? Granted, I was guided by a few life guards who mentioned I was off to Australia a few times... But 5.5km... Damn. Did anyone manage to swim further than me on Sunday?

 

Anyway, enough rambling, Ironman SA - you guys are fantastic.. Will train smarter next year, learn to swim and be back for number 5

I had the same issue on the swim, very happy I had a few 5km dam swims else I might not have made it. My watch read 5km on the swim, my friends 4,6km. I'm not the best swimmer but he is pretty good and did 1h flat....so maybe it was a little longer?

[mon-goose]

The new bike route, whats the consensus? I reckon for us larger guys its a more favourable course and I recorded around 950 metres of climb. (not sure the exact number its still on watch) . I was expecting the pros to go under 8 hours but looking at the times and the age group winning cycle times they are relatively similar with a couple of minutes faster. In my case I was 55 minutes faster than last year (+-) . I anticipated being around 10% faster just from the course change and I more or less was but this 10% is not applicable across the board. Strange that.

I am not scientific enough to analyse what all this means though

 

I hope the cycle route remains as is. I thoroughtly enjoyed it except the last 45, by then I was gatvol of cycling and bored and the wind had picked up and the heat was up.

 

A great day out, I know I said previously this would be my last full ironman, rethinking that right now and will make a decision after Durban. something very special happens in PE and that's due to the PE folks whether volunteers or spectators

My thinking is that at the back end of the field it is much more possible to improve a time by 10% as there is more time to play with. But at the front of the course the guys are going to the max and a 10% improvement is massive. The front guys can only go so fast no matter how hard they train.

 

It's the same in the argus. A guy doing 5hrs can improve his time by 30 minutes much easier that the front guys can improve their times by say 15min

[ahmedbadat]

none of the guys in my training group or anybody i spoke to and including myself can i find swam less than 4.1km. maybe the buoys were not placed correctly or drifted? also many people commented that swim times were longer by at least 5minutes, could be sea conditions but the sea seemed relatively calm compared to other years where i had better swims. the bike route is flat but that also means no recovery sections you working the whole time and that long straight drag section before the right turn of about 12km is just torture for me esp on the second loop. i do seem to recall paul kaye saying at race briefing that the new route was as a result of roadworks and that wel be back to the old route next year.

[fabes]

Guys also remember the tide was super high on Sunday morning. That's also adds a bit of distance onto the swim. With the Easterly that blew the whole of last week it also created a lot of currents which could have also caused a slightly longer swim

[TheJ]

none of the guys in my training group or anybody i spoke to and including myself can i find swam less than 4.1km. maybe the buoys were not placed correctly or drifted? also many people commented that swim times were longer by at least 5minutes, could be sea conditions but the sea seemed relatively calm compared to other years where i had better swims. the bike route is flat but that also means no recovery sections you working the whole time and that long straight drag section before the right turn of about 12km is just torture for me esp on the second loop. i do seem to recall paul kaye saying at race briefing that the new route was as a result of roadworks and that wel be back to the old route next year.

 

By "old" route I hope they don't mean the same as last year's route, rather the "ooooold" route. Last year had too much climbing in the cycle... and I'm a climber.

[nochain]

I'm quite curious to hear how it went?

 

My lesser volume/more strength-quality-speed approach did not work, unfortunately. I either did not do enough of the shorter sessions, or it simply doesn't work for me. I suspect the latter. Last year I did much more volume and my endurance was better. This year I was faster/stronger but my endurance let me down in the last half of the run.

 

My AG placing confirms this. Last year: 111/308 = 36%. This year 138/313 = 44%. So I dropped 8 points despite an additional year of training...

Sadly No it did not work for me also.Will make some time to post my experience but in short I never got the power going on the bike and cramped for most of the run so had to stick to a pace much slower than what I trained for.

Had no real choice this year because of time constraints so had to experiment but I think weekly volumes is a must if you want to go fast.

Previous years I did between 12 and 15 hour weeks consistently and got a 10h50 IM time.This year I did avg of about 9 hours a week and did 12h04.

[shaper]

How many of you are using a coach? Or you just training based on your experience?

[Jewbacca]

How many of you are using a coach? Or you just training based on your experience?

I trained whenever I had free time. So 4 am starts and afternoons when work and home life allowed.

 

I think what IS really important is training in the heat of the day and in other adverse conditions frequently.

 

By training early/late you miss out on the scorching sun and the iffy winds that midday provides.

 

Long sessions and some seriously long days are essential as well as mixing disciplines without resting.

 

Well, guys and girls, what a great showing and a fantastic race this year.

 

Head down for the next 4 weeks until we head back to the Garden Route for Expedition Africa!

[shaper]

I trained whenever I had free time. So 4 am starts and afternoons when work and home life allowed.

 

I think what IS really important is training in the heat of the day and in other adverse conditions frequently.

 

By training early/late you miss out on the scorching sun and the iffy winds that midday provides.

 

Long sessions and some seriously long days are essential as well as mixing disciplines without resting.

 

Well, guys and girls, what a great showing and a fantastic race this year.

 

Head down for the next 4 weeks until we head back to the Garden Route for Expedition Africa!

I have done quite a few 70.3 and 5150's but was wondering who used a coach to step up to full or whether you just used past experience

[DonP]

I had a blast..!!! Raced 1hour faster than last year [2015 - 12:26] vs [2016 - 11:26]. My target was 11hours, but mid-race I realised that I wasn't going to make it, so I adjusted by 30minutes. Happy to finish with a few mins to spare and come in under 11:30.

 

My swim was a bit better than last year, but I had to stop (and hang on to a surfboard) just after the first boy to fix my ankle tag (almost lost it - R1000), that cost me about 2minutes. However my swim time 1:14 was exactly the same as last year. Nice and fast bike, sub 6 (31km/h) and a very average run.

 

It was an epic, awesome race.. I'll be back again 2017 and target that sub 11.

[ADe]

How many of you are using a coach? Or you just training based on your experience?

I considered using a coach but with all the other expenses it was getting ridiculously expensive. So I used Joe Friel's self coaching programs/books (Your Best Triathlon and Training Bible). It worked brilliantly for me, as I improved my previous time by about 1 and a half hours. It obviously requires a lot of self discipline.

 

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[DoubleJ]

I went to support a mate of mine at the finish line and when he came in at 11:55:34 I then and there decided I wanted to do it next year. So I registered (not paid yet) and started asking around from some of my Tri-buds who's who in the zoo en hoe maak mens...moerdyk! I didn't realize how expensive this sport is. I'm mainly a mountie so don't have a roadbike, no wet suit and and an old pair of tekkies. I'm fast realizing I need to Google what Abalone looks like to afford this event.

 

It was a great event and as a spectator, just seeing people of all shapes, sizes and ages being dragged over the finish line by just sheer willpower is something I haven't been able to get out of my head.

 

Good job to everyone that finished and fantastic job by everyone involved....hopefully they keep the course the same next year and hopefully I'll be able to hear that iconic phrase over the microphone with my name in it....hoennervleise! 

[gurns]

Well done Guys and Girls,

 

All you (hub) Ironman finishers are my heroes. Watched part of the event on live streaming and very bleak not to be there. Hopefully next year.

[shaper]

I considered using a coach but with all the other expenses it was getting ridiculously expensive. So I used Joe Friel's self coaching programs/books (Your Best Triathlon and Training Bible). It worked brilliantly for me, as I improved my previous time by about 1 and a half hours. It obviously requires a lot of self discipline.

 

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Thanks, will take a look at the book.  Think the self discipline is there if you train for triathlons.