Once Inspired

Archive for the ‘Training/Racing’ Category

The Garmin Warm Water Weekend, hosted by Electric Ink, is a weekend packed to the rafters with good food, great people, spectacular scenery and racing like nothing else. Yes it’s competitive and the racing snakes really show their fangs at the tri, but at the same time everyone is chilled and plodding at West Coast pace.

The concept of the weekend was envisioned by Paul Ingpen, owner of Electric Ink. His idea of a weekend away that embodies family, fun, racing, nature and all things that make people like me tick, is something that I was honoured to be a part of.

My old man and I were lucky enough to each win an entry at WP tri champs for the fastest combined blood relation time.

Pull buoys are useful tools in helping you improve your swimming. Every swimmer should use one. It’s just that simple. Please see below a nice piece on using pull buoys taken from http://www.goswim.tv/.

You take a piece of foam, hold it between your thighs, and go swim. Could it get any simpler? Well, yes. Here are some pull-buoy dos and don’ts that will help you EXCEL on your next pull set. And for triathletes: Learn how to use your pull buoy to simulate wetsuit swimming in the pool.

Why Do It:
Some swimmers and coaches have banned pull buoys from their tool kit, arguing that they give you a false sense of balance, that they inhibit core rotation, and that they’re more like a binky than a pool tool. But when used correctly and in moderation, pull buoys have many benefits.

Strength training is severly underated by most triathletes. Here a great article by Matt Dixon.

Regarding the value of strength training as it applies to endurance sports, and to provide a valuable response I should clarify exactly what I think of when discussing strength training. I think there should be very little debate as to the value of strength training in improving endurance performance—this being specific exercises and movements that improve stability, mobility and functional strength that directly correlate to movements made in your core sport (swim, bike, run). Functional strength is one of the four pillars of performance I base my training philosophy on, with the other three being the core sport, recovery and nutrition.

Greeted Saturday morning by a fresh South Easterly in Langebaan, the WP Triathlon Trials took to the West Coast resort of Club Mykenos. The only change to the race saw the 4 lap bike course as a welcome relief for some.

Lined up and ready to go, the 2 lap swim in the harbour is a water (wet) start. With all the big names at home I thought I’d have a go. I had a fast start and managed to pull ahead. With choppy water I knew the conditions suited me more than anyone. I exited the swim with a 2min lead. My TYR Hurricane Category 5 had a lot to do with that performance.

Coming into the BSG Energade final at Big Bay on Sunday 5 December I wasn’t feeling exceptionally confident. Having not run for 10 days due to a slight toe injury and using a bike that was not in complete functioning order I was planning on just going out there and having as much fun as possible.

The new TYR Hurricane category 5

With home ground advantage, 12 degree Atlantic Ocean and a stiff South Easter I was presented with a very average day at the office. For others the conditions were testing and the cold water claimed a few DNFs.

Yes, I too am very excited to go get wet! The TYR Hurricane Category 3 is quite simply a phenom of a wetsuit.

A great article from www.runnersworld.com by Amy Burfoot, 2004

As a teenager, I loved to run barefoot on the Connecticut beaches, splashing through the waves. A few years later, I often ran without shoes while training for the college cross-country season, completing workouts that were the hardest, fastest, most puke-able, and yet most enjoyable of my life.

Now days you have countless choices of frames, wheels, handle bars, saddles, pedals, helmets, nutritional products and even clothing. In fact there are so many mass-produced choices that it’s just plain confusing at the best of times.

Having had a sneak preview of some of the 2011 bike ranges from the recent Eurobike show, I can’t help but wonder how many products are actually made in a factory both owned and based in the same country, let alone the same town, as the actual brand.

It’s common knowledge that a number of large brand companies have a large portion of their range made in the Far East. I think that the Chinese and Taiwanese factory owners must be laughing all the way to the bank. Good on them.

Article for Local Newspaper

Saturday morning saw some triathletes take to the streets of Blouberg in a training session hosted by the Simply Store Race Team. The training session, open to all abilities and ages was used in preparation for the Cape Town leg of the BSG Energade triathlon series to be held at Big Bay 5 December 2010. With surf conditions around the Blouberg Surf Lifesaving Club being a little unfavourable, the group agreed to eliminate the swim option and start off together on a 40km bike ride, followed by a 10km out and back run along the beachfront.

If you ever wanted to see exactly how the pros set their bikes up this is the video to do that. Perfect