Hi-Tec Sugar Hill SoftShell Jacket review.

I was lucky enough to receive a Hi-Tec Sugar Hill Softshell Jacket to review.

The Sugar Hill SoftShell Jacket is thin and light (215g) but yet it keeps you warm.  

The material is soft and has a 4 way stretch which makes it flexible and very comfortable.

 It really allows you to move freely while regulating body temperature, perfect for doing a run or going to the gym.

The Sugar Hill Jacket has a stylish trim so it can also be worn as a casual jacket on a night out.

It’s a good quality jacket for a nice price and to top it all, I love the colour!

Durbanville Triathlon

After 8 weeks of no routine training, I decided to do the Durbanville Triathlon to get going again.

It was a very cold morning and swimming 1km in the dam was a daunting task.
By the time I racked my bike and got into my wetsuit, the sun came up, the temperature heated up and it was a beautiful morning.

After being a bit sick the week, I didn't expect much but you always hope for a good race.

Race briefing done and we are off for the 2 x 500m laps swim. I felt a bit rusty and I could feel the lack of training kicking in but luckily my Xterra wetsuit kept me floating. :)

Into T1 I felt a bit jittery so I took my time, had a GU and off I went on the 24km mountain bike route. The route was fast and not technical. I was 3rd out of T1 and raced hard to close the gap to 2nd place. In one of the corners I cut my tire but luckily it was the last corner and transition was about 200m away.

Getting off the bike I felt really good and was ready for a hard run. The run was a 8km trail run and my plan was to run as hard as I can for as long as I can. I passed the 2nd place lady in the 1st km of the run and it motivated me to run even harder.

I was really happy with my race at my current fitness (unfitness) level and even happier to finish in 2nd place.

This was a great event, well organised and one to be added on your calendars for 2014.

Thanks to Xterra Wetsuit, GU, Virgin Active and LineBreak Compression.

Also a BIG thanks to my family and friends for the support...much appreciated.

SA Triathlon Champs - East London

So it's been a while since my last post. A few things happened but the most exciting was being selected for the WP Triathlon Team.

SA Champs was held in East London, my favourite place to race, so I was happy and very excited.
We arrived in a very windy East London Friday afternoon. Saturday was the usual bike route check and race briefing. The bike course was quite hilly, but I liked it.

Sunday morning race day and I was very happy that the wind eased off a lot. Our race only started at 9:30, bit later than usual. Bike checked in, body markings done and ready to race! I headed down to the beach, jumped into my Xterra Wetsuit and waited for the gun to go! I was surprisingly very calm at the start of the race.

The swim was 2 x 750m loops. After the first loop I was in the first bunch and it motivated me to push even harder. Exiting the water and running up to T1 I knew I swam really hard as I was totally out of breath but it was my best swim ever.

The bike course, 3 x 13.3 km loops on a hilly course and the wind picked up. My first thoughts was 'this is going to be hard and it's going to hurt' but I told myself  "I can go harder and pain is temporary"!
I felt really good on the first lap and my plan was to push harder on each lap. It was all or nothing! When I felt I'm dropping the pace, I told myself, 'my dad is watching' and I picked it up again.

Heading into T2 I was really  pleased and felt strong. The run loop was 4 x 2.5 km loops. I started at quite a fast pace but eased off slightly after the first km, running really comfortably but leaving some energy for the last two laps of the run.

I finished the race feeling really good and happy. I finished 6th overall and 2nd in my age group.

Next stop: ITU World Champs London in September! Super Excited!!

Thanks to Xterra Wetsuits, GU, Virgin Active, LineBreak Compression and my family and friend for all the support.

Totalsports Challenge - Terra Firma 2013

Saturday 12 January, Totalsports Challenge Terra Firma was my first race of 2013. The Terra Firma consist of a 50km Road Bike ride from Gordan's Bay to Kleinmond, a 13km Road Run from Kleinmond to Arrabella Spa and Golf resort, a 25km Mountain Bike ride and a 9km Beach Run to finish in Kleinmond.

We arrived in Gordan's Bay and the wind was pumping...it was going to be a hard ride to Kleinmond. I knew I had to save some energy for the mountain bike and beach run as it was the hardest sections of the race. I did the road bike ride a bit more conservatively and sat in a bunch as much as I could.

The 13km road run was hard. I spend more time on the bike lately so my running was not in top form. The first 5km was through Kleinmond, the next 6km was the long stretch from Kleinmond to Arrabella which was hot, into the wind and just plain hard. The last 2km was on sandy single track and dirt roads which was so much better than the long notorius black tar road. 

I was looking forward to the mountain bike leg, but I took a bit of a dip at this stage of the race. The mountain bike route starts off with a long but steady climb, the sun cooking your skin to a crisp with no wind to cool you off. At about 7km I was hitting a real low but I knew I had 3 more k's to go until I reach the top of the climb...so it was head down and pedal, pedal, pedal. At the half way mark I started feeling better and was feeling positive again. The downhill was rocky and dangerous, but my Specialized 29er was just flying over these rough sections. The last part of the mountain bike was mind over each pedalstroke and I was glad to see the transistion area in Kleinmond.

The last leg was the 9km beach run, could not find my running shoes as transition as it was full of spectators, decided to hit the beach barefeet. At this stage of the race it was hard to run...not even to mention a run on the beach, but to my surpise it was a relieve. It was much cooler than on the mountain and running in the cold water was so good for the legs. I ran a consistent pace and finished the race feeling tired but also very excited and good!

I was super exicited at the finish, only then realizing I won the race in a time of 5h27min27sec.

Thanks to Mobii, XTERRAWetsuits, 32GI, Linebreak Compression, Virgin Active and Cape Auto Centre!   

Totalsports Challenge 2013 Highlight:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-71HpVzVM&feature=share

Testing a Specialized Ruby Elite Road bike

I had the pleasure of testing a Specialized Ruby Elite Road bike this week.

The Specialized Ruby Elite is a women specific road bike which offers female riders a relatively inexpensive way to enjoy the enhanced levels of comfort and lightness. 

The Zertz inserts technology in the frame and fork dampens road vibrations to a pleasing degree ensuring a smooth, soft and comfortable ride.
Even with the Zertz inserts there is no significant difference in the frame stiffness, making you feel under total control at all times.

Specialized does a great job of making sure that women cyclists are perfectly comfortable on its bikes and it is such a pleasure to ride this bike.

The Specialized Ruby Elite is a fast, smooth, comfortable carbon road bike which, for the price, is definitely worth recommending to beginners and experienced riders.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/ruby/rubyelitecompact

Jailbreak Triathlon

It was a warm morning at the Jailbreak Triathlon held at Brandvlei dam in Worcester and the water was also a nice 20.5 degrees Celsius.  This is the last race to qualify for Western Province Triathlon Trials and I was hoping to do well. The swim distance was 1.1 km and  wetsuits was allowed, In my Xterra Vendetta wetsuit and ready for the 1.1 km swim.

I was eager to complete the swim in my XTERRA Vendetta wetsuit and to get on my Felt TT bike. "It was my first race on the bike and I was very excited to feel how it goes. I was about 8th lady out of the water but manged to finish the 44 km bike leg in 3rd...the bike was going like a Boeing!"

I was just ahead of Robyn Williams and the race was on...I was not very keen to give up my 3rd position! She started closing the gap in the first 6 km loop of the run as I was keeping a moderate pace in the heat. I increased my pace in the second 6 km loop and managed to open the gap again. In the last 2km of the 12km run I look behind me and there was ladies behind me that came from nowhere. I increased the pace once again...there wasn't much left, but I'm not giving up my 3rd place in the last km of the race.

 The last 500m was a sprint to the line...'head down and don't look behind u...just to realise that the lady behind me still had to do another lap.

I was ecstatic, I finished 3rd overall behind Kelly van der Toorn and Dianne McEwan. I was also 2nd in my age group (19-29).


Thanks to Mobii, XTERRAWetsuits, 32GI, Linebreak Compression, Virgin Active and Cape Auto Centre!  


 

Stellenbosch Triathlon

Saturday was the first Stellenbosch Triathlon at Rustenburg Wine Farm. It also was my first race back after XTERRA Worlds so I wasn't sure how it would go. 

Registered, racked my bike and ready to go all out. At race briefing they told us that we will climb over 300m in 20km on the bike course. It was going to be a hard and hot ride with expected temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius. 

The race started at 9am with a 750m swim. I swam really hard and had a great swim in my XTERRA Wetsuit and I was the second female out of the water. The bike course was not very technical but challenging with some steep climbing from the start. I was racing hard as I thought I lost a position during transition, but manage to catch one of my competitors in the first 5 km. I thought I was second and kept on racing hard to catch the leader.....not knowing I was leading...

Into T2 I had about a 5 min lead going into the run. I think I pushed too hard on the bike...the 5k run was extremely tough with the heat and challenging hills. I walked up a few hills... (backwards, to keep an eye on the competition behind me) :)

I lost about 3min on a shocking run but I managed to keep the lead.

I finished in 1st place overall in a time of 2:06 and was ecstatic as this was my 1^st overall win in a sprint triathlon.

Thanks to Xterra Wetsuits, Mobii, 32Gi, Virgin Active and Cape Auto Centre Tri Team.

Well Done and thanks to the team from Iqela events for organising another great event.