Support for the underdog

[EmptyB]

An update for those interested:

Got onto the bike pretty much on 1hr.

Passed 0 TT bikes

Passed 11 Road bikes.

Unofficial time, 2h58. No idea on placement yet...

Biggest result is that the bug has definitely bitten me.

Not even a TT bike with a puncture?

[Andymann]

An update for those interested:

 

Got onto the bike pretty much on 1hr.

Passed 0 TT bikes

Passed 11 Road bikes.

Unofficial time, 2h58. No idea on placement yet...

 

Biggest result is that the bug has definitely bitten me.

Well done - saw you out on the bike and you looked good.  Conditions not easy out there today - quite a bit of wind

[Vetplant]

Well done - saw you out on the bike and you looked good. Conditions not easy out there today - quite a bit of wind

Thanks Andymann, you spotted me quite quickly as I walked in, newbies clearly stand out like a sore thumb. ☺ Thanks for the welcoming "Hi".

 

The wind was quite harsh at parts, but sort of expected it. A friend did the 5i50 last year in Germiston and commented that the wind killed him that day.

 

Now that I am hooked it is time to get hooked-up with a proper bike. Been looking tentatively, but now I know that it won't be a white elephant sitting in the garage.

[Vetplant]

Not even a TT bike with a puncture?

Shame ja, saw at least two bikes being tended to by their rider, sucky tough luck. Couldn't see whether they were TTs as I sped past, didn't feel right to count them as passes in either category... ????

 

One thing I noticed, I could clearly hear the TTs as the approached from behind, they sure do rattle a hell of a lot more than the standard Road Bikes on those Germiston roads. I read that they were more stiff but goodness me, you almost need earplugs if you want to operate those "heavy machinery" (Just kidding)

[Andymann]

Shame ja, saw at least two bikes being tended to by their rider, sucky tough luck. Couldn't see whether they were TTs as I sped past, didn't feel right to count them as passes in either category...

 

One thing I noticed, I could clearly hear the TTs as the approached from behind, they sure do rattle a hell of a lot more than the standard Road Bikes on those Germiston roads. I read that they were more stiff but goodness me, you almost need earplugs if you want to operate those "heavy machinery" (Just kidding)

Well we're also in Pta out in the East so if you want a bit of advice you're welcome to drop me a PM.  Interestingly today was my first race on my new (but certainly not brand new 2005!) TT bike and looking at the times (Strava never lies) I was a good 5 minutes faster than when I rode my road bike at the GNT Duathlon champs in May last year.  And the conditions were great on that day.

[Rocket-Boy]

An update for those interested:

 

Got onto the bike pretty much on 1hr.

Passed 0 TT bikes

Passed 11 Road bikes.

Unofficial time, 2h58. No idea on placement yet...

 

Biggest result is that the bug has definitely bitten me.

Now you are in poop!

that bug bites hard.

[Davey_Jones]

An update for those interested:

 

Got onto the bike pretty much on 1hr.

Passed 0 TT bikes

Passed 11 Road bikes.

Unofficial time, 2h58. No idea on placement yet...

 

Biggest result is that the bug has definitely bitten me.

Good Job man thats a good time for the conditions.  Some of our team mates said the swimming bouys moved around in the wind and some of them said their garmins clocked near 2km on the swim. Still a Sub 3 for your first Olympic tri is excellent.

[shaper]

Good Job man thats a good time for the conditions.  Some of our team mates said the swimming bouys moved around in the wind and some of them said their garmins clocked near 2km on the swim. Still a Sub 3 for your first Olympic tri is excellent.

OP did the Olympic Duathlon I think he said in his first post.

 

I did the sprint just for training and the swim was fun in the conditions, but not half as rough as the 5150 last November.  There was definitely drift with the buoys and my swim was longer  

[Vetplant]

OP did the Olympic Duathlon I think he said in his first post.

 

I did the sprint just for training and the swim was fun in the conditions, but not half as rough as the 5150 last November.  There was definitely drift with the buoys and my swim was longer  

 

Correct, did the Duathlon. Still need to get confident in my swimming, not even to mention open water swimming. Will do the Total Immersion workshop soon, which should help.

 

Was interesting to see the disparity in the numbers for the two events. The Duathlon had a grand total of 21 starters, whereas the Tri had numbers around 230. I would think with so many people having difficulty with swimming in general that the numbers would be closer together.

 

Telling your friends you completed a Triathlon probably has more prestige than telling your friends you completed a Duathlon. 

[shaper]

If you are keen to move from Duathlons to Triathlons... be careful the bug does not bite too hard... it becomes expensive!!

 

For the swimming build up the distance first, know that you can comfortably swim 1km or 1.5km in the pool, even if is a mixture of front crawl and breaststroke.

 

Open water swims become less intimidating then as you know you can get safely to shore, or to a lifeguard nearby

 

Also you can do swims at places like Heia Safari to build confidence in open water swims.  In summer you can practice swim there and midmar mile do seeding swims there usually October through till January http://www.midmarmile.co.za/seeding-events/

 

Also look at doing the sprint triathlons where the swims are 600 or 750m depending who organises the event, list of events you may consider giving a go can be found on the TSA webpage http://www.triathlonsa.co.za/Public/SearchEvent.aspx.