Make pool time count.                          Photo by Hendrik Steytler

Finding time to train for 3 sports is hard enough as it is.

Last week I was at the Specialized Dealer Event and between riding 2015 bikes with dealers, presentations, expo, catching up with industry friends and bike & run training, I only had 30minutes to squeeze in a quick swim.

I jogged the few street blocks to the local 25yd pool and hit the water running:

Caveman’s Magic 30min swim set:

– Warm up: 8 minute easy swimming, focussing on feeling the water and concentrating on good stroke. Once I start feeling good, I like to throw in some one arm swimming (other arm by the side) and maybe a 100 IM or 2- to get the heart rate up and get some more “feel” for the water.

– Main set: 20 minutes of sprinting 25s. Sounds easy, but the trick is in the rest period: Only 3 breaths “rest.” Between the hard sprinting and short rests, pretty soon I’m at theshold. Its the best of both worlds: I can swim 20min harder than race pace, but  the short rests keeps the effort high,without blowing my arms up. The 3 breaths also teaches you to control your breathing-  focus on breathing deeply and recovering as much as possible in the short time. In a 25yd pool my send off is about 20 seconds, and this work out adds up to about 1800yds. (1600m)

– Cool down: 2 minutes easy with some back stroke to flush the lactic acid.

Of course, if you’re serious about swim performance, this should not be your “bread and butter” swim set, but it works great if you’re short on time, just want to maintain fitness. And after all, staring at the bottom of the pool is only fun for a while.

Make every length count.

When Liezel and I started advertising the Conrad Stoltz Skills Clinics, we had 2 groups in mind: Novice and Intermediate.

Since it was middle of South African racing season, we didnt have much lead time, but once word got out, we quickly had a full Intermediate group, a big, unexpected Expert group (in the Paul Roos Gym Highschool MTB racing team) and a full Novice group- which turned out to be a gaggle of eager, fear nothing kids! – mostly from the Banhoek Valley.

Some of us were so novice, we’ve only had our “BIG bike” for 7 days, and our hands barely went around the bars- never mind reach the brakes… Kanyisa van Tonder doing a duathlon on our way to the “training grounds”.

Kids keep you humble- you learn to talk to the point,  keep it simple yet interresting and keep it fun. It also taught me a lot about what I was teaching: Why do we dismount on the left? Exactly how much front brake you use for an emergency stop? How do you turn?

Brake early, elbows wide, look at the exit…  Carl Bekker and Kruger Marais about to bend it

Rocky uphill starts. Light gear, pedal at 2 o’clock, sit on nose of saddle, hold the brakes, lean forward. Let go of brakes, apply smooth pressure and pedal with 1 leg till other one is clipped in. Carl shows us how.

Emergency stop on a dime. (Same principal for any kind of braking- just to a lesser degree) Throw weight back and down while grabbing lots of front (and some) rear brake.  If you’re skidding you’re doing it wrong.

Tom – the least fearful and the youngest. (5!) Tom didnt bother with the kiddie sized front wheel lift obstacles (lines on the ground) and went straight for the fore arm sized logs- reserved for the Advanced group. Proving that we learn fear, only try to unlearn it later…

Soon Kanyisa (Smile a Minute) was killing it in the corners.  A number of times it all became too much and he did cartwheels into the undergrowth. Once Liezel had to pull the bike off him before he could get up. I think the only time Kanyisa wasnt talking was when he was crashing. Awesome spirit.

Thanks for the support.

Coming summer we’re looking at more clinics and a new venue. Stay tuned…

A group of pros raced a new, fun  event in pouring rain on thursday – XTERRA Super Sprint Relay, filmed by Luck Stone. Was good fun- should have more of those. Also an easier event to attract agegroupers. In the middle- holding the trophy- Maurizio Mendez. 18 year old Neo Pro from Mexico City. Fastest swimmer and fastest runner in the field- watch out for him

My week kicked off a bit rough. On Friday (8days before the race) I though my appendix is either about to burst or has already burst. Rushed to ER, they did tests incl n CAT scan. Lets just say the pain was sygnificant. I dont get in a wheelchair lightly.

It turned out to be a viral gastrointestinal entenites. A virus in my gut. No medication for that, but I was on a clear fluid diet for 2 days, an all liquid diet for 1.5 days and then started a “bland” diet. Cant believe how long it took to get my intestines going again- and get rid of the pain and cramping.

By race day I was still pooping like a pigeon as opposed to a lumber jack.

I went through the usual motions of warming up, but I felt shocking and told Liezel right before the start “I feel terrible.” She (and my coach Ian) said- “just do what you can.”

I was super relaxed at the swim start, sitting on a branch in my favourite brown river.   Pic by Jesse Peters

This swim course was for sure the most fun I’ve done in years.  The current was really strong, but varied according to depth. As you can see below, we had the swift current come from every single angle. You can see the rocks and shallow parts on the photo. And the sandbar (between bouy 1 & 2) where Josiah ran from mid pack to round bouy #2 in first place. He LOVED it- much to the swimmers chagrin. The dotted line is a run up Browns Island.

Other good & fun swims I remember off hand:

– Energade Triathlon in Durban where the surf was HUGE, I was off the back but caught a huge wave just as I turned the last bouy-  and body surfed about 300m to shore! The wave (with me on it) went right over the lead group, and when I stood up on the beach, I had a 30 second lead.

– My first triathlon in France (1992) was a down river swim. (Kevin Richards / Richard de Villiers / Thierry Baron what was it called?) Not being able to understand the briefing, we just swam down stream. It was quite narrow- trees overhanging both sides, and soon it got wider as another river joined. I sighted and saw people standing ON the water, in the middle of the river! I had no idea what to make of it, but they were waving, and obviousy we had to swim towards them. When I got there I realized they were standing on quite a large concrete weir- about 5m long and dropped maybe 2m in height. The swim course went straight down it. The weir had a sheet of plastic over it and these people were shoving us down the weir!  You slid on your stomach. It was quite a rush and came as a total surprise.

Back to Richmond: Lost 30″ seconds in a lacklustre swim, but was surprised when my legs came around on the bike. This course is just awesome- never a dull moment- I wish I had time -and know how- to properly edit the GoPro footage I have.

Picked off the guys ahead and took the lead about 6km in- just before the Tunnels. Really enjoyed this race. Richmond is a “must do before you die”

Really enjoyed the Zoo out there! It was 8 am, and the rocks were not yet slippery with beer.

Slid on some gravel on a narrow wooden bridge and took a tumble – lost some time and skin – and some time.

Some riders use brakes to stop. #Caveman uses his fore arm.

Enjoyed new red Supacaz grips

The Green Car on the course. Doubt its a Green Car in the California way

Got off the bike with a 30″ lead on Dan and 3.30 on Josiah. Craig Evans was in between.  Felt surprisingly comfortble running – all the way to 8km. Havent been running much, mostly rehab with guru Lawrence van Lingen at Rausch PT in Orange County. “OC, NOT LA, I’ve been told”

The river level rose with the 4′ of rain, so  the course changed from last I saw it, and I ended up waist deep in the river, (rookie!) with Dan breathing in my neck- I realized things were about to go pear shaped if I didnt do something pronto.

With 25″ lead and 2 km to go, I thought I had it in the bag, but when we hit hilly and technical section across Belle Isle, my body totally folded. Dan came blazing past in the woods, I tried to pick up the pace and promtly tripped over something. (probably my feet) Did a clumsy Judo roll, scurried after my still rolling new Oakleys, and gave chase, but Dan was gone and my body was empty.

Loved my new Hoka One One Huaka racers! So comfortable, I raced them out the box. Superbe ride quality, comfortable, fast and light. Not as big as other Hokas, but plenty cushy for a racing shoe- thanks to the magic of the RMat midsole.

2nd, but loved it. Nail biting finish. Good to be back racing after some seriously trying times. This was my 1st XTERRA ever (2001- also finished 2nd) and I fully appreciate why this place gripped me – despite the Speedo and borrowed 30lbs Soft Ride bike with road pedals…

My family loved watching this event live on their computers and being able to follow the athletes via GPS tracking. Thanks a lot to Luck Stone for pushing the envelope.

We also remembered Scud.  With his wife Margaret.   (l-rJosiah Middaugh, Margaret, Caveman, Maurizio Mendez (18 years old) Karsten Madsen & Craig Evans)

From XTERRA FB page:

You’ll notice the “Scud” in the background of your racing bib numbers. It’s in honor of long-time XTERRA Ambassador Scott “Scud” Scudamore who passed away on December 28, 2013. The XTERRA Tribe knew “Scud” well for his outgoing and welcoming spirit. He was the prototype XTERRA ambassador. He calmed racers nerves at the start line, fixed their bikes, gave them words of encouragement and helpful tips, was the ultimate training partner, and guided the XTERRA crew every chance he got. He was an icon in the Mid-Atlantic mountain bike scene, built trails, conducted how to ride your mountain bike with confidence clinics, and taught newbies how to ride. Scott was retired but hardly stood still. He was on the local water rescue team and had recently learned how to surf a kayak in white water. His volunteerism efforts were off-the-charts, perhaps most notably his connection with Trails For Youth, a program that connected kids to the natural world around them. He served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a captain. He was famous for his fries, for making people smile, as a soccer coach, and a family man. He left an undeniable mark on this world, and he is greatly missed by his extended family within the XTERRA Tribe and far beyond. On Saturday we’ll gather around Brown’s Island for a toast in Scud’s honor at 3pm, and on Sunday his wife Margaret will fire the cannon to get the races started.

Back in March we had a few Caveman Mountain bike Skills clinics in Jonkershoek outside Stellenbosch.

Princess Hotstuff and I really enjoyed teaching, inspiring and making new friends. Its amazing how quick the youth and newbies is to soak up knowledge. (And shun fear!)

Fun was had, much was learnt and we hope to see riders young and old of all abilities prosper and grow in their riding.

Group of mostly Paul Roos Gymnasium MTB Team. Some XCO and XTERRA talent brewing in the ranks…

We learnt to carve corners

Hop over bunnies

And dive high speed into loose corners…

Learning from each other

and showing them how its done.

“Speed is your friend”

And the toughest part is going real slow. Or balancing on the spot- no hands

We talked tyres, racing tactics, training, motivation and even nutrition.

(2 weeks later I met with the Paul Roos MTB Team for a follow up- same skills, different terrain & some XCO racing starts)

And then we got thirsty. Cold, refreshing  BOS Sport to the rescue.

What a backdrop!

Stay tuned for more Caveman Skills clinics to come.