Give it a TRI

[Troi Sport]

there are some Orca items on sale

 

https://fluidlines.co.za/collections/226-trisuits?sort_by=price-ascending

[Troi Sport]

the Orca Core range is a bit cheaper

 

https://fluidlines.co.za/collections/core-trisuits?sort_by=price-ascending

[Troi Sport]

Orca Tri Short

 

https://fluidlines.co.za/collections/shorts?sort_by=price-ascending

[amr63]

TinMan2 Sprint Race Report, Sunday 22 April

 

tl;dr version: well executed race in near-perfect conditions; hard but fun!

 

As forecast, Sunday dawned clear & calm with a gentle northerly breeze barely causing a ripple on the half-metre high-tide swell at Suncoast Beach. Long queues at registration gave the first indication that the field would be full & competitive despite the top juniors being away in Morocco competing in the Africa Triathlon Champs. Eventually I got registered, set up in T1/T2 and went for a warm-up swim out to the final turn-buoy, amped & ready to go, but delays in getting the 10k run started caused delays to subsequent races.

 

Sometime before 8:00am we were off, with a couple of bigger swells rolling in as we were swimming out but these were easily negotiated, round the first buoy and it was easier to sight the next mark without the rising sun reflecting on the water & in our eyes, round the final buoy and back to the beach, tried & failed to catch a couple of waves in.

 

Quickly in & out of T1 (still some time to be gained here) and a flying start on the bike (shoes clipped & elastic-banded on) that went without major incident (luckily not many other riders in my immediate vicinity), then out onto the loop course hunting desperately for a pack to ride with as last time out I lost a lot of time riding on my own on the draft-legal course; passed some MTBs and some fish out of water but no one to work with, until at the turn under the M4 at Blue Lagoon a group of three came by & I hung on the back to recover a bit; did a turn on the front, then they peeled off at Kings Park Stadium, turns out they were just finishing off their Sunday ride & took advantage of the closed roads. Lap 2 & I was back to pushing on my own for a short way past Kings Park Pool until the beachfront road when a group of two came past, tucked in again and worked well with them, sharing the work for two more laps; one lap to go and I got popped off the back having pulled too hard & long on my turn at the front (live & learn); was on my own again up to the Blue Lagoon turn when the leaders of the Challenge race came by and I managed to jump on the back for the most amazing draft back to Moses Mabhida Stadium (those carbon deep-rims sound like steamrollers grinding down the road), four laps done so back through the underpass dodging the Sunday morning strollers, remembered to take my feet out of my shoes well before the dismount, hopped off a bit early (better than too late) and immediately my legs told me that despite the shared workload, that had been a hard ride (sub-40mins = average speed over 30km/hr yeeha!).

 

Quickly through T2 (can shave some time here with elastic laces) and out onto the run trying to catch the two guys who had dropped me on the bike as well as my training mate who’s a better swimmer & rider than me. Struggled at the start with my TomTom (Runner1) watch to get it to start a new lap so that I could monitor my run, failed and resorted to using the current pace readout. Caught my buddy at the turn (12:14) and kept working hard to drop him & reel in the guys in the distance, caught one or two juniors who had imploded and managed 11:45 home.

 

All in all, good improvement from last time on this course in similar conditions on 4^th February (-2 mins on swim+T1, -4½mins on bike+T2) despite a slower run (+43sec), and overall felt like I was in the game all the way rather than being left behind on swim & bike then trying to catch up on the run. Now I have to work out how to improve in swim, bike, transitions AND run.

 

Big thanks to the B-Active Team & sponsors for another well-presented event, and to everyone who turned out to race & support for providing the buzz. See you again soon.

 

Results here: http://results.finishtime.co.za/Results.aspx?CId=35&RId=2474&EId=3

Edited April 25, 2018 by amr63

[Tau]

Joined the Strava group, haven't done an event since 2015 UTI Cape Town. Getting my legs back and loosing weight.

 

Where is the best website to get info on events?

 

ndorfin looks a bit dormant. Will need to start on some shorter events for fun and motivation.

[HDW]

I need some advise please.

 

Doing my first IM70.3 in Durban. I have never done any kind of triathlons before, so I really don't know anything.

 

Regarding clothing, I already got a Orca wetsuit for the swimming, and have all the cycling gear. My question is, do I really need a Trisuit??

 

I was just going to wear my cycling shorts underneath my wetsuit, and just put on a cycling shirt for the cycling leg, and also use the cycling kit to do the run. Will this work?

 

Depends what your aim is, but if you don't mind spending a couple extra minutes in transition, just swim in your wet suite, go change into cycling clothes, and before the run go change into proper running clothes.

 

Otherwise buy a tri suit and wear it the whole day.

[shaper]

Joined the Strava group, haven't done an event since 2015 UTI Cape Town. Getting my legs back and loosing weight.

 

Where is the best website to get info on events?

 

ndorfin looks a bit dormant. Will need to start on some shorter events for fun and motivation.

You can keep an eye on the Triathlon South Africa Website for events, else will have to search each event organisers website individually for their races

 

Ironman (EL, PE, Durbs, Bella Bella, Ekurhuleni)

Miway Ultra (Sun City, Cape Town, Durban, Midlands)

Trinity Sports Series (Ekurhuleni)

Tim man Series (Durban)

 

Those being the main ones.... and welcome back

[shaper]

TinMan2 Sprint Race Report, Sunday 22 April

 

 

Thanks for the race report and congrats on the improvement.... no matter how often you race, there is always room for improvement

[Francois Du Rand]

I am currently an intermediate level cyclist but have been interested in the triathlon scene for quite some time now. However, I absolutely suck at running, and can just keep myself from drowning in water, nevermind swimming.

 

My coach does incorporate running as part of my cross training, but I don't want to make a total switch over to triathlon training before I tried one race at least. Would it be possible to train for a triathlon like this or would I have to put my entire cycling training program on hold for a while and train specifically for an event like the IM 5150? Also some of the triathletes really impress me when we race with them on cycle races as they can ride really hard so I am not too worried that my cycling performance will go down much if at all.

[Jehosefat]

I am currently an intermediate level cyclist but have been interested in the triathlon scene for quite some time now. However, I absolutely suck at running, and can just keep myself from drowning in water, nevermind swimming.

 

My coach does incorporate running as part of my cross training, but I don't want to make a total switch over to triathlon training before I tried one race at least. Would it be possible to train for a triathlon like this or would I have to put my entire cycling training program on hold for a while and train specifically for an event like the IM 5150? Also some of the triathletes really impress me when we race with them on cycle races as they can ride really hard so I am not too worried that my cycling performance will go down much if at all.

 

If you can fit in one or two 30min swims a week you can easily get fit enough to do a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) without compromising the cycling training (I've managed this over the last few months).

 

Also, if you're not comfortable with swimming in open water, a sprint is probably a good place to start. There is one at Sun City on the 6th of May (with a very short swim of 600m) and one at Cradle Moon on 20 May if you want to hop in immediately. I would suggest hiring a wetsuit and swimming in it once or twice before your first triathlon because by mid May the water will be freezing.

 

Btw, I also suck at running and swimming. Only started running and swimming this year (the last time I swam properly before this was 20 years ago). And I managed to survive my first triathlon and did much better at my second (both in the last 3 weeks) coming off effectively a cycling only fitness base.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Jehosefat

[Francois Du Rand]

I just dunno why most of the races are on sundays .

I don't race on sundays due to religious reasons, but more and more races are moving over to sundays.

[shaper]

I just dunno why most of the races are on sundays .

I don't race on sundays due to religious reasons, but more and more races are moving over to sundays.

Generally because of less traffic and then able to have full road closures for the cycle and running legs.... logistically it is easier for organisers.

[amr63]

Can anyone tell me when the season officially starts/ends? I want to join TriathlonSA/KZN Triathlon Association but don't want to sign up now only to find that I have to cough up for another year's subscriptions in a month or two.

 

Thanks in advance

 

edit: found the answer tucked away in the KZNTA website:

“The Triathlon / Duathlon / Aquathlon Membership season runs from 01 September – 31 August each year. The athlete's age is taken as at 31 December in the current year.”

Edited April 24, 2018 by amr63

[EmJayZA]

I am currently an intermediate level cyclist but have been interested in the triathlon scene for quite some time now. However, I absolutely suck at running, and can just keep myself from drowning in water, nevermind swimming.

 

My coach does incorporate running as part of my cross training, but I don't want to make a total switch over to triathlon training before I tried one race at least. Would it be possible to train for a triathlon like this or would I have to put my entire cycling training program on hold for a while and train specifically for an event like the IM 5150? Also some of the triathletes really impress me when we race with them on cycle races as they can ride really hard so I am not too worried that my cycling performance will go down much if at all.

 

I used to have very bad asthma as a kid, and swore I would never run in my life. Now I run 4 times a week. Strange how life turns out. If I can do it, anyone can. 

 

Triathlon is not just about racing, it's also very much about the training. We all love to race. But, can you stick through a program to have a good race? Do you enjoy the training and the process? Racing is the reward. If you want to do long course triathlon, you will need to put in around 10 hours per week. If you want fast times, you will need to put in more time. A triathlon program will not hurt your cycling. I would put aside 3 months to train for a 5150 and see how you enjoy the entire experience. Triathlon is expensive, and more of a lifestyle. See how you enjoy the entire experience and take it from there. 

 

If you are able, joining a tri club will make the experience better if you don't train with anyone. A training partner / having people around makes a world of a difference. 

[shaper]

Question:  For those of you new to triathlons and those who do triathlons, the fourth discipline is NUTRITION.  How many of you have any idea of your needs or post race analyse what your body expended?

 

The reason am asking, many who did IMSA in PE recently had nutrition and nauseous/vomiting issues especially on the run leg where your body is already hypoglycemic from lack of nutrition on the bike leg and will find it difficult if not impossible to digest solid food (hence the vomiting).... so how many actually post long run/cycle training or post race analyse the calories you burnt and under what weather conditions.... because I think those getting into tri's and those still in their infancy in tri's need to take a more active look at their NUTRITION.

 

This also comes on the back of a discussion in the pool yesterday with a fellow triathlete (experienced) who seems to get his nutrition wrong and also had nausea/vomiting on the run leg in PE.

 

We all focus on training plans and if some like me pour over the data more than just time, speed and Training Stress Score.... but do you look at your calories burnt and nutrition on the day?

 

Most of us have the equipment, we buy garmin/Suunto/TomTom watches etc.  Each training run/cycle even swim will give you your calories for that workout or race.

 

It is a simple calculation to convert calories to carbs (4 calories = 1 carb).... So consider building a spreadsheet, log your long training workout and races, add info like pace and weather conditions, finish time and calories burnt and calculate your carb requirements.... you will start to build a picture of carbs for the workout/event, carbs/hr which will vary on how hard or how easy you train/race etc

 

Many studies state that your need to replenish you carbohydrates at around 65% for endurance athletes to perform adequately and if the math is too hard to compute whilst racing you should be looking to consume in the region 1-1.5 g/kg of body weight/hr while racing.  The reason people fatigue or have stomach problems is generally down to a failed nutrition during the race.  Everyone is individual so this can be adjusted up or down as you learn about your bodies needs and what works for you.

 

More reading here https://cehsp.d.umn.edu/sites/cehsp.d.umn.edu/files/nutritionrequirementsforthetriathlete.pdf

 

You all want to discuss training plans, but seriously look at your nutrition plan.  Compare what you ate during a long ride/run or even a triathlon race post event and see how it compared to what your body expended..... and you experienced.

 

In a nutshell, learn the 4th discipline in tri's and get to know your body... Do some basic analysis and use it as a starting point to build your nutrition plan.... rather than winging it......especially those of you considering the longer triathlons.

[AndrewF]

Hi all.

 

Just a word of warning - recently purchased an Orca 226 suit for the wife and myself. After my first race, my wife pointed out that while on the bike, the rear is completely see through. Shocking for a top end suit from reputable brand. I have tweeted and mailed them, but no response as yet.

 

Happy tri'ing