Would like to start training for my first triathlon, need some advice

[EddieV]

Agree with Jewbacca and Chris_ ito the swimming. Swimming is my worst discipline, and I’ve worked hard at it, but on my first tri nearly got myself into trouble. The swim ‘start’ is chaos. It’s a mad sprint into the water. It was only by the third or fourth tri that I realized I should let the guys go, and do my own swim. Ironically, I did my best swim ever by backing off completely at the start ….

 

Triathlons are nerve-racking, and lots of preparation and gear, but as been said, it’s addictive, and becomes an obsession.   

[Geared]

 

Agree with Jewbacca and Chris_ ito the swimming. Swimming is my worst discipline, and I’ve worked hard at it, but on my first tri nearly got myself into trouble. The swim ‘start’ is chaos. It’s a mad sprint into the water. It was only by the third or fourth tri that I realized I should let the guys go, and do my own swim. Ironically, I did my best swim ever by backing off completely at the start ….

 

Triathlons are nerve-racking, and lots of preparation and gear, but as been said, it’s addictive, and becomes an obsession.    

 

 

I have heard its quite the experience the crazy start, I think I will be last in and take it as it comes, for me now, the sheer thrill of completing is enough for me.

 

my strength in swimming was in my youth, held a few school records, but all short distance , in most strokes and individual medley, then into lifesaving Bronze then silver medallion, before a short 2 year stint as a professional white water paddler (the equivalent of a downhill mountain biker I imagine) paddling America, Canada and Chiles Futalafu mainly, then had to get a real job. 

 

after 20 years of never doing a lap in a pool, just before covid I donned my 3/4 speedo, ja ja I have not upgraded my confidence to the full paddock hammock yet lol 

 

I seem to be able to hold around 2 min per 100m over 400m or so, then my fitness lets me down, I can tell swimming slower won't help, really don't feel like I was pushing it, and its simply time in the pool till I can maintain that over longer distances, I can feel my legs are heavy and sinking too low and my stroke is not as efficient as it could be, and my breathing needs a lot of work. 

 

so will be putting some effort in when the time comes, so I can come out strong, and have more left for the bike and run. 

 

Goodness me but the plethoras of training apps, and linking all this together is one hell of a learning curve (Zwift, Rouvy, TrainerRoad, TrainingPeaks , ANT, BT Joh) 

 

the easiest set up seems to be TrainingPeaks premium, coupled with MyproCoach premium for now. just to get started. seems like the best bang for the buck. 

 

I have a few coupon codes, which will allow me 30-90 days on Rouvy, Zwift and Sufferfest. so will give each a fair chance, ideally just wanted the option to have my workouts either of these online "worlds" while indoors, and then the ability to also complete my workouts outdoors. 

 

Getting TrainerRoad and everything set up, is mind bending at the moment.

 

This was my first choice, but outside of being a great training app, and some good programs, there doesn't seem to be any easy solution to hooking everything up smoothly.  between devices, or I am simply not seeing the puzzle pieces fit in my mind, tech wise.

 

and right now, I don't have enough experience to say how I like to train, via Zwift or Rouvy or sufferfest, or simply training app and watch some Plex or Netflix on the TV.  

 

as soon as this covid is over and clubs open up, I will hopefully have some form of base fitness for a proper coach to work with, and or not embarrass myself in squad training, and various team training events. as I would really like to support local, after months of such a tough time financially and get the much needed help one on one. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by Geared

[Jewbacca]

So, I went throuh a weird phase of my life a while ago where I got into 'cold water open water swimming'... Did some Big bay/robben island/blue anchor bay swims, Dassen island to estuarry, Kommetjie to Hout bay and a host of others in a speedo and 1 cap.

 

I spent quite a bit of time remodeling my technique to be more efficient and developed a more upper body roll as opposed to square shoulders from the pool.

 

I more rhythmic kick and  much longer stroke while rolling the shoulders allows you to roll with the water in the sea and be more 'loose' in your form while still covering big distances quickly.

 

It's worth checking out some swimming videos just to see what all the cool kids are doing these days in the sea. Theories have changed a lot in the last 20 years. 

 

I found I could stay much fresher for longer like that and also keep my legs and hips fresh for the bike and the run on tri days. 

[SwissVan]

Welcome to the tri club Geared!

 

Somethings to keep in mind:

 

Triathlon is actually made up of 4 disciplines, the 3 obvious ones and then one that is often overlooked, the changeover.... and you will do it twice, so it’s important to establish an efficient routine and practice it. Simple things like memorizing where your bike is parked, how to set up your stuff (socks, shoes, helmet....etc).

 

Swimming - While it might be the shortest leg, it can be the most traumatic. Practice open water swims and swim with groups of people in close proximity. Swimming lengths in a pool does not prepare you for an open water swim start with a few hundred people at the same time. Learn to swim and look up (forwards) every few breaths to check your direction.... you can loose a lot of time zig zagging your way around a swim course.

 

Cycling - Use time trial bars and get used to them so you can ride the whole distance in that position, learn to cycle within your means.... many a run has been spoiled by pushing the bike to hard. This becomes more relevant the longer the race distance.

 

Run - This is where the race starts you can’t take short cuts with running, miles in the bank count. Include some bike to run brick sessions in training.

https://www.220triathlon.com/training/beginners/whats-a-brick-session/

 

Have fun

[Riaan H]

Thankfully the short course triathlons seem to have adopted the wave-type swim start which is a lot easier for me than a bunch start, the tricky part is deciding where to slot in.  

 

You don't want to start right at the back if you are faster than say the last 20%, but you also don't want to go in too early and have people swim over you.

[Roguemeister]

Re the swim, I think it was on a nick bare YouTube video, some good advice for Ironman races if you're not a swimmer, that I guess could trickle down to any distance..

 

The swim is just mandatory transport to the start of the race.

 

No reason to go hell for leather and spike your heart rate and then you suffer for the rest of the race.

 

I learnt that for 70.3 races, if I try swim a 28 or 29 minute swim, I'm a bit stuffed for transition and the first 30min of the cycle. But if I swim a 32 or 33 min swim, then I'm chilled. And those 3 or 4 minutes quickly cancel out in the rest of the race.

[shaper]

I have heard its quite the experience the crazy start, I think I will be last in and take it as it comes, for me now, the sheer thrill of completing is enough for me.

 

my strength in swimming was in my youth, held a few school records, but all short distance , in most strokes and individual medley, then into lifesaving Bronze then silver medallion, before a short 2 year stint as a professional white water paddler (the equivalent of a downhill mountain biker I imagine) paddling America, Canada and Chiles Futalafu mainly, then had to get a real job.

 

after 20 years of never doing a lap in a pool, just before covid I donned my 3/4 speedo, ja ja I have not upgraded my confidence to the full paddock hammock yet lol

 

I seem to be able to hold around 2 min per 100m over 400m or so, then my fitness lets me down, I can tell swimming slower won't help, really don't feel like I was pushing it, and its simply time in the pool till I can maintain that over longer distances, I can feel my legs are heavy and sinking too low and my stroke is not as efficient as it could be, and my breathing needs a lot of work.

 

so will be putting some effort in when the time comes, so I can come out strong, and have more left for the bike and run.

 

Goodness me but the plethoras of training apps, and linking all this together is one hell of a learning curve (Zwift, Rouvy, TrainerRoad, TrainingPeaks , ANT, BT Joh)

 

the easiest set up seems to be TrainingPeaks premium, coupled with MyproCoach premium for now. just to get started. seems like the best bang for the buck.

 

I have a few coupon codes, which will allow me 30-90 days on Rouvy, Zwift and Sufferfest. so will give each a fair chance, ideally just wanted the option to have my workouts either of these online "worlds" while indoors, and then the ability to also complete my workouts outdoors.

 

Getting TrainerRoad and everything set up, is mind bending at the moment.

 

This was my first choice, but outside of being a great training app, and some good programs, there doesn't seem to be any easy solution to hooking everything up smoothly. between devices, or I am simply not seeing the puzzle pieces fit in my mind, tech wise.

 

and right now, I don't have enough experience to say how I like to train, via Zwift or Rouvy or sufferfest, or simply training app and watch some Plex or Netflix on the TV.

 

as soon as this covid is over and clubs open up, I will hopefully have some form of base fitness for a proper coach to work with, and or not embarrass myself in squad training, and various team training events. as I would really like to support local, after months of such a tough time financially and get the much needed help one on one.

 

Depending on your system, if laptop then Ant+ is the simplest to connect with, BLE can be problematic.

 

Curious why you say trainingpeaks premium and buying an online plan from myprocaoch, unless you are adjusting the plan yourself you don't need the premium although it comes as the package and you pay for it, and if you are considering buying an online plan, it seems contradictory where you later talk of getting a proper coach?

 

Your earlier posts talked on doing the trainerroad olympic mid volume plans, that will be sufficient to build fitness ane even do some races for experience until such time you feel the need for coach input.

 

As for race swim starts, unless it is a smaller race where you might still have a mass start, most now are wave starts with often self seeding, so that you can swim with others of similar ability rather than swimming over slower swimmers

Edited June 14, 2020 by shaper

[Geared]

Depending on your system, if laptop then Ant+ is the simplest to connect with, BLE can be problematic.

 

Curious why you say trainingpeaks premium and buying an online plan from myprocaoch, unless you are adjusting the plan yourself you don't need the premium although it comes as the package and you pay for it, and if you are considering buying an online plan, it seems contradictory where you later talk of getting a proper coach?

 

Your earlier posts talked on doing the trainerroad olympic mid volume plans, that will be sufficient to build fitness ane even do some races for experience until such time you feel the need for coach input.

 

As for race swim starts, unless it is a smaller race where you might still have a mass start, most now are wave starts with often self seeding, so that you can swim with others of similar ability rather than swimming over slower swimmers

 

Thanks Shaper,

 

will try clarify a bit where I am struggling, maybe you can offer some advice on what I am missing, its all been a bit overwhelming. (I am totally green to the technology so its all very confusing still) 

 

right now I am just eager to get going, but I am very OCD, need a gameplan, once I have that, I put my head down and just get things done (spent the better part of 3 hours this AM dialling in the basics of my nutrition)

 

After chatting to a few people this past week, most suggested TrainerRoad and Zwift as a good combo, that was popular. (a few mentioned training peaks) 

 

so I took a spare bedroom, turned it into a pain cave of sorts with my treadmill and purchased the wahoo and my road bike. Put up a spare TV and an Apple TV 4K. I was hoping it was as simple as that. (I was horribly wrong haha)

 

Signed up with trainerRoad (Found the olympic distance and choose the newbie base plan) and Zwift, only to find out they don't talk to each other (Zwift and Trainer-road) or not that I can see. 

 

so now I cannot wrap my head around all these various softwares and how they talk to each other and the trainer etc. by now I am overwhelmed and frustrated, no amount of googling helped, because it all sounded greek to me. 

 

what I did find was TrainingPeaks, and procoach while googling yesterday and this am, with also a variety of plans to choose from, from what I can see, correct me if I am wrong, so thought ok, I can do a base olympic plan from them, same base training and newbie. 

 

if I am understanding what I am reading, I can then simply pull the workouts into Zwift and off I go. 

 

as a person I need that structure, and didn't want to simply get on and ride, wanted to just do things as right as possible from the start. 

 

so now I am sitting having to make a decision, on the easiest route to just get some structured training to follow, that will allow me to build the base fitness I need to even go forward. 

 

once I know a little bit more, have a bit more experience, maybe joined a club, or squad, I will know a bit more, but as said for now I just want to get going in an effective structured way. 

 

I would most certainly consider a coach when I am over these embarrassing set ups, and have developed some base fitness, and everything opens up again (could be September could be 2021) I don't even know yet if I need one, or simply follow the apps as is, this I am sure I will learn later, following the forum, and joining a few cycles, or swims with more experienced peeps, for now I only have apps and pre made plans, which I am sure is fine. 

 

I am unsure how its looking on the endurance side, and your facilities, but all my amateur and pro athletes are in limbo right now, as I maintain them on home programs and maintenance style nutrition, as we have no clear indication when gyms will open, and even if it will be feasible to prep with the conditions being set out, to try get open again. 

 

didn't mean to contradict myself, rather just overwhelmed and looking for a set up I can start getting those miles in on the bike and treadmill, and be one week fitter than I was last week. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by Geared

[Roguemeister]

Thanks Shaper,

 

will try clarify a bit where I am struggling, maybe you can offer some advice on what I am missing, its all been a bit overwhelming. (I am totally green to the technology so its all very confusing still)

 

right now I am just eager to get going, but I am very OCD, need a gameplan, once I have that, I put my head down and just get things done (spent the better part of 3 hours this AM dialling in the basics of my nutrition)

 

After chatting to a few people this past week, most suggested TrainerRoad and Zwift as a good combo, that was popular. (a few mentioned training peaks)

 

so I took a spare bedroom, turned it into a pain cave of sorts with my treadmill and purchased the wahoo and my road bike. Put up a spare TV and an Apple TV 4K. I was hoping it was as simple as that. (I was horribly wrong haha)

 

Signed up with trainerRoad (Found the olympic distance and choose the newbie base plan) and Zwift, only to find out they don't talk to each other (Zwift and Trainer-road) or not that I can see.

 

so now I cannot wrap my head around all these various softwares and how they talk to each other and the trainer etc. by now I am overwhelmed and frustrated, no amount of googling helped, because it all sounded greek to me.

 

what I did find was TrainingPeaks, and procoach while googling yesterday and this am, with also a variety of plans to choose from, from what I can see, correct me if I am wrong, so thought ok, I can do a base olympic plan from them, same base training and newbie.

 

if I am understanding what I am reading, I can then simply pull the workouts into Zwift and off I go.

 

as a person I need that structure, and didn't want to simply get on and ride, wanted to just do things as right as possible from the start.

 

so now I am sitting having to make a decision, on the easiest route to just get some structured training to follow, that will allow me to build the base fitness I need to even go forward.

 

once I know a little bit more, have a bit more experience, maybe joined a club, or squad, I will know a bit more, but as said for now I just want to get going in an effective structured way.

 

I would most certainly consider a coach when I am over these embarrassing set ups, and have developed some base fitness, and everything opens up again (could be September could be 2021)

 

I am unsure how its looking on the endurance side, and your facilities, but all my amateur and pro athletes are in limbo right now, as I maintain them on home programs and maintenance style nutrition, as we have no clear indication when gyms will open, and even if it will be feasible to prep with the conditions being set out, to try get open again.

 

didn't mean to contradict myself, rather just overwhelmed and looking for a set up I can start getting those miles in on the bike and treadmill, and be one week fitter than I was last week.

I use training peaks and zwift, and once you have logged into both and synced them (a once off thing) , my training peaks workouts are automatically imported into zwift and I just click on it and go.

[Geared]

So, I went throuh a weird phase of my life a while ago where I got into 'cold water open water swimming'... Did some Big bay/robben island/blue anchor bay swims, Dassen island to estuarry, Kommetjie to Hout bay and a host of others in a speedo and 1 cap.

 

I spent quite a bit of time remodeling my technique to be more efficient and developed a more upper body roll as opposed to square shoulders from the pool.

 

I more rhythmic kick and  much longer stroke while rolling the shoulders allows you to roll with the water in the sea and be more 'loose' in your form while still covering big distances quickly.

 

It's worth checking out some swimming videos just to see what all the cool kids are doing these days in the sea. Theories have changed a lot in the last 20 years. 

 

I found I could stay much fresher for longer like that and also keep my legs and hips fresh for the bike and the run on tri days. 

 

Thank you for the advice, not sure I am ready for the cold swims yet haha I think as the addiction grows, testing yourself under such harsh elements must be a mighty sense of achievement !!

 

Re the swim, I think it was on a nick bare YouTube video, some good advice for Ironman races if you're not a swimmer, that I guess could trickle down to any distance..

 

The swim is just mandatory transport to the start of the race.

 

No reason to go hell for leather and spike your heart rate and then you suffer for the rest of the race.

 

I learnt that for 70.3 races, if I try swim a 28 or 29 minute swim, I'm a bit stuffed for transition and the first 30min of the cycle. But if I swim a 32 or 33 min swim, then I'm chilled. And those 3 or 4 minutes quickly cancel out in the rest of the race.

 

Thank you for the advice, makes perfect sense, the strategy aspect of this whole endeavour is so intriguing. 

 

I use training peaks and zwift, and once you have logged into both and synced them (a once off thing) , my training peaks workouts are automatically imported into zwift and I just click on it and go.

 

This is where I totally misunderstood TrainerRoad and Zwift, I know there is work arounds, and I have laptops and iPad if needed, I tried finding an ANT dongle but no joy yet. 

 

The TrainingPeaks with coaching then seemed easier, TP with Myprocoach and access to their whole library of programs, seemed like an easier solution to get me out the gate easier. (Myprocoach plans seem to be well received and had good reviews)  and the cost wasn't that much more for everything 34 dollars pm 

 

Welcome to the tri club Geared!

 

Somethings to keep in mind:

 

Triathlon is actually made up of 4 disciplines, the 3 obvious ones and then one that is often overlooked, the changeover.... and you will do it twice, so it’s important to establish an efficient routine and practice it. Simple things like memorizing where your bike is parked, how to set up your stuff (socks, shoes, helmet....etc).

 

Swimming - While it might be the shortest leg, it can be the most traumatic. Practice open water swims and swim with groups of people in close proximity. Swimming lengths in a pool does not prepare you for an open water swim start with a few hundred people at the same time. Learn to swim and look up (forwards) every few breaths to check your direction.... you can loose a lot of time zig zagging your way around a swim course.

 

Cycling - Use time trial bars and get used to them so you can ride the whole distance in that position, learn to cycle within your means.... many a run has been spoiled by pushing the bike to hard. This becomes more relevant the longer the race distance.

 

Run - This is where the race starts you can’t take short cuts with running, miles in the bank count. Include some bike to run brick sessions in training.

https://www.220triathlon.com/training/beginners/whats-a-brick-session/

 

Have fun

 

Thank you for the warm welcome, I am going to check out the brick session link now. I think I am as excited for the transition as I am for the rest, probably just the sheer energy and madness as everyone tries to switch disciplines, catch their breath for us mortals, and mentally prepare for the next leg. 

[shaper]

Thanks Shaper,

 

will try clarify a bit where I am struggling, maybe you can offer some advice on what I am missing, its all been a bit overwhelming. (I am totally green to the technology so its all very confusing still) 

 

right now I am just eager to get going, but I am very OCD, need a gameplan, once I have that, I put my head down and just get things done (spent the better part of 3 hours this AM dialling in the basics of my nutrition)

 

After chatting to a few people this past week, most suggested TrainerRoad and Zwift as a good combo, that was popular. (a few mentioned training peaks) 

 

so I took a spare bedroom, turned it into a pain cave of sorts with my treadmill and purchased the wahoo and my road bike. Put up a spare TV and an Apple TV 4K. I was hoping it was as simple as that. (I was horribly wrong haha)

 

Signed up with trainerRoad (Found the olympic distance and choose the newbie base plan) and Zwift, only to find out they don't talk to each other (Zwift and Trainer-road) or not that I can see. 

 

so now I cannot wrap my head around all these various softwares and how they talk to each other and the trainer etc. by now I am overwhelmed and frustrated, no amount of googling helped, because it all sounded greek to me. 

 

what I did find was TrainingPeaks, and procoach while googling yesterday and this am, with also a variety of plans to choose from, from what I can see, correct me if I am wrong, so thought ok, I can do a base olympic plan from them, same base training and newbie. 

 

if I am understanding what I am reading, I can then simply pull the workouts into Zwift and off I go. 

 

as a person I need that structure, and didn't want to simply get on and ride, wanted to just do things as right as possible from the start. 

 

so now I am sitting having to make a decision, on the easiest route to just get some structured training to follow, that will allow me to build the base fitness I need to even go forward. 

 

once I know a little bit more, have a bit more experience, maybe joined a club, or squad, I will know a bit more, but as said for now I just want to get going in an effective structured way. 

 

I would most certainly consider a coach when I am over these embarrassing set ups, and have developed some base fitness, and everything opens up again (could be September could be 2021) I don't even know yet if I need one, or simply follow the apps as is, this I am sure I will learn later, following the forum, and joining a few cycles, or swims with more experienced peeps, for now I only have apps and pre made plans, which I am sure is fine. 

 

I am unsure how its looking on the endurance side, and your facilities, but all my amateur and pro athletes are in limbo right now, as I maintain them on home programs and maintenance style nutrition, as we have no clear indication when gyms will open, and even if it will be feasible to prep with the conditions being set out, to try get open again. 

 

didn't mean to contradict myself, rather just overwhelmed and looking for a set up I can start getting those miles in on the bike and treadmill, and be one week fitter than I was last week.

 

You are correct in your research, trainerroad does not allow their workouts to be imported to zwift or trainingpeaks as they sort of compete in the same market, so you have to choose one or the other which becomes expensive unless you see value in using trainerroad for structured workouts and then use zwift for junk miles as a distraction due to onscreen interaction or racing.

 

Trainingpeaks is for organising your training workouts and training plans and then post workout being to able analyse or look at overall weekly/monthly progress. Due to the fact that it does not compete, you can import your daily workout into zwift or rouvy and do your workout whilst having the distraction of onscreen zwift riders, alternatively you can get that distraction with netflix, music etc

 

I have looked at the trainerroad plans when compairing them to mine, they are well laid out and do what they aim to do. Trainerroad has been around for many years and many cyclists will use the base and sweetspot plans to get back into cycling after a layoff.

 

Myprocoach looks cheap at $3.50 a week, but as soon as you start adding up a 12 week or 16 week plan it starts adding up. It hooks you in cheaply, but then who is going to bail from a plan after 4-5 weeks, once they have paid that investment?

 

There are also many pdf plans on the web you can download. If you are considering buying an off the shelf plan then you can set up the free trainingpeaks plan (if it is a trainingpeaks plan), you can then import that to zwift. Although in recent update to zwift this import function was lost and there were issues with it.

 

As you say you have signed up to trainerroad, i would stick to that for now, get use to structured workouts and a few weeks of training. This will give you time to research further once you have a feeling for what you need. Also set up a free trainingpeaks account and you can link trainerroad with trainingpeaks as it will allow to sync post workout data across platforms, so you can start logging data especially if you move to buying a plan or getting a coach as most use trainingpeaks. If you use a garmin watch or similar, set up the sync to trainingpeaks for that too for your runs and swims.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further

 

So consider trainerroad on its own with their base and special tri plans which will have swimming and running and alternative ways to keep you interested, i.e netflix or music. Else you will need to buy a plan which you can use with zwift or rouvy. Zwift also has plans but are cycling only and by all accounts not well structured

[Geared]

You are correct in your research, trainerroad does not allow their workouts to be imported to zwift or trainingpeaks as they sort of compete in the same market, so you have to choose one or the other which becomes expensive unless you see value in using trainerroad for structured workouts and then use zwift for junk miles as a distraction due to onscreen interaction or racing.

 

Trainingpeaks is for organising your training workouts and training plans and then post workout being to able analyse or look at overall weekly/monthly progress. Due to the fact that it does not compete, you can import your daily workout into zwift or rouvy and do your workout whilst having the distraction of onscreen zwift riders, alternatively you can get that distraction with netflix, music etc

 

I have looked at the trainerroad plans when compairing them to mine, they are well laid out and do what they aim to do. Trainerroad has been around for many years and many cyclists will use the base and sweetspot plans to get back into cycling after a layoff.

 

Myprocoach looks cheap at $3.50 a week, but as soon as you start adding up a 12 week or 16 week plan it starts adding up. It hooks you in cheaply, but then who is going to bail from a plan after 4-5 weeks, once they have paid that investment?

 

There are also many pdf plans on the web you can download. If you are considering buying an off the shelf plan then you can set up the free trainingpeaks plan (if it is a trainingpeaks plan), you can then import that to zwift. Although in recent update to zwift this import function was lost and there were issues with it.

 

As you say you have signed up to trainerroad, i would stick to that for now, get use to structured workouts and a few weeks of training. This will give you time to research further once you have a feeling for what you need. Also set up a free trainingpeaks account and you can link trainerroad with trainingpeaks as it will allow to sync post workout data across platforms, so you can start logging data especially if you move to buying a plan or getting a coach as most use trainingpeaks. If you use a garmin watch or similar, set up the sync to trainingpeaks for that too for your runs and swims.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further

 

So consider trainerroad on its own with their base and special tri plans which will have swimming and running and alternative ways to keep you interested, i.e netflix or music. Else you will need to buy a plan which you can use with zwift or rouvy. Zwift also has plans but are cycling only and by all accounts not well structured

 

 

a makes perfect sense, I will DM you a link to what I found which is a one off monthly, any amount of plans and changes , I have not committed to it, was asking her first. 

 

the TrainerRoad I have a few months free as well, so very much on the cards, to get going. 

[DJuice]

Pacing is important, paid my dues.

Learned that at the 70.3 distance, clapping a 26min swim, 2:30 bike, the first 5km on run was fine, there after it was lamp post tot lamp post to struggle back home in 2:19 for the 21.1km.

Will never forget that day!