Tips for Succeeding on the Day of a Triathlon

Triathlon Tips
Image: rei.com

Originally based in Cape Town, South Africa, Angelique Tostee has worked with a number of international companies and professional consulting companies throughout her 18-year career. Outside of her professional pursuits, Angelique Tostee maintains her fitness through sports such as triathlons.

Even after weeks of preparations and countless hours of training, a poor game-day strategy can mean a disappointing performance in a triathlon. Here are a few tips to keep in mind on the day of the next event.

Eat the right breakfast. About three hours before a triathlon, consume a breakfast comprised primarily of carbohydrates and protein. Your body will need sugar and glycogen to make it through the race, so be sure to include these elements in any pre-race meal. However, be sure to avoid fatty foods such as donuts.

Arrange your equipment. Give yourself ample time to lay out your racing materials before you begin. Place your bike in the appropriate starting position for when you transition from your swim, keeping a towel nearby to dry off. You can also leave a tray of water near your bike to clean your feet before putting your shoes on. Remember to leave your running shoes with your biking equipment to ensure a quick change between portions of the race.

Warm up your muscles. Perform a variety of warm-ups before the event. You can increase your heart rate by swimming laps in the water or riding your bike for up to five miles. In addition, torso twists and practising your swimming stroke will help loosen your shoulders before the water portion. Regardless of your specific exercises, be sure to warm up about 10 to 20 minutes prior to the start of the race.

4 Deserts Race Series Supports Charities Benefiting Local Populations

Apart from her professional endeavors, which have included roles as a project manager and business analyst for several organizations in South Africa, Angelique Tosetee pursues a number of outdoor hobbies. An avid trail runner and mountain biker, Angelique Tostee competed in the 2011 4 Deserts Atacama Desert Crossing.

Established nearly 15 years ago under its original name, Racing4ThePlanet, the 4 Deserts Race Series hosts annual 7-day races stretching 250 kilometers in desert regions in Chile, China, Namibia, and Antarctica. These races are widely considered among the most grueling endurance challenges in the world.

Apart from testing the stamina of its competitors, 4 Deserts focuses on returning significant funds to charities providing aid to people living in the regions where its multiple races occur. It maintains particularly longstanding partnerships with Operation Smile and the Y.L. Yang Education Foundation.

Since 2003, Operation Smile, which performs reconstructive surgery on children born with such conditions as cleft lip and palate, has accepted more than $750,000 from 4 Deserts. Also partnering with the Y.L. Yang Education Foundation since 2005, 4 Deserts deepened its relationship with the organization in 2012 through the forming of a joint scholarship program to provide support for the education efforts of young Gobi Desert women. Other charities that have benefited from the fund-raising of 4 Deserts includes Oxfam, Habitat for Humanity, Room to Read, and many others.

Permits Needed to Travel in Tibet

Angelique Tostee is a business analyst and project manager who possesses expertise in business problem analysis and business process re-engineering. When she’s not working, Angelique Tostee enjoys travelling. Her journeys have taken her across India and to Tibet.

Tibet, known as the land of snows, is one of the most complicated regions to visit. All foreigners journeying to Tibet must arrange their travel through an agency before arriving in Lhasa, the region’s capital. To prepare for the trip, travellers should contact an agency at least four weeks before arrival. This will give the agency enough time to apply for the required permits.

Travellers need permits to travel. The most common are listed below:
-Tibet Travel Permit, issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau and given to all who enter into the region
-Alien Travel Permit, issued by the Public Security Bureau and given to those you travel outside of the Lhasa and Shigatse area

The travel agency will be able to arrange all permits prior to entry.

Sani2C Dry Run – 2009

Sani2C Dry Run 17 – 19 December 2009

Thanks to a little luck & great family opportunities, I was privileged to be one of the 26 crew invited to partake in the Sani2C Dry Run (also the James Taylor Memorial Ride) in Dec 2009, and now have been afforded the honour of sharing a little insight into the people that make it happen and the great adventures we, the riders, experienced! Whenever I mentioned I was off on this trip, the first question that came from many an envious friend was …. how on earth did you manage to wangle this one? All I can say is that there are many wonderful benefits to having a large extended family, including all the numerous connections. In this particular instance my cousin is married to a dairy farmer, also mountain bike enthusiast and living in Underberg….need I say more? Truth be told there was an element of wangling my way in to join this group of people on such an exciting adventure. This opportunity was too good to pass by and accompanied by a beseeching cry from my soul craving a little adventure! Little did I know I would be in for a treat far beyond the best mountain biking in the world (in my humble opinion) but also the opportunity to get to know a truly inspirational and extremely grounded family (Farmer Glen and his troop of Haws) and this amazing crew of mountain bikers aka the SwampDogs led by Wappo, accompanied by the Rhodes Brothers, Jonty and Clinton! I have to say, and of course I am not bias at all, but there is definitely something a little different about mountain bikers! The people I have met so far are all very down-to-earth, easy going and adventure hungry! I suppose, let’s face it, you pretty much have to be considering you spend excessive time hurtling down mountains, down crazy single tracks (varying approaches depending on appetite and ability), bundu-bashing to find new tracks all in search of “the ultimate single track”, covered in mud/dust/grit to the point where your eyes and ears ooze gunk for days! No place for clean, white, neat and orderly! But these guys… well they’re a whole other league! It’s unbelievably refreshing! It was so great to be among some very chilled but super hot riders with this crazy-crazy passion for riding – to the point that their passion spills over to everyone (even me who is already mad for mtb).  And they’re seriously down-to-earth, so chilled, hard core, been there since the start, did the 1^st Epic, conquered TransAlps and even the madness of Alp d’ Huez (8500ft downhill mountain bike descent: seriously insane) and now …….. transcended trail riders! And then there are the Haws. Anyone who meets them and has the privilege of spending time with them will no doubt agree: what incredible people and a remarkable family. It’s so evident that they put so much back with this amazing passion for life! Can you imagine 26 mountain bikers invading your home, covered in mud and hungry as wolves? Their hospitality was just amazing and their family very special.  Their children are certainly testament to that with all three: Bianca, aged 13, Murray, 15 and Tamika, 18 completing their 1^st full Sani on the dry run! In true Sani2C hospitality we were spoilt rotten, including chocolate brownies, banana bread, crunchies, fridge cake, donuts and that was just the snacks en route provided by a full support crew led by Mom, Mandy and other wives and family following us from 5am to 6pm through boiling heat and pouring rain – as it goes in Kwa Zulu Natal in December. So the next question from everyone is….what are the changes for 2010, what’s in store for us?? Well Sani2C certainly lives true to its reputation of growing from strength to strength and getting better every year….2010 is going to be awesome! Anyone who has done Sani2C or knows of anyone who has done it will have undoubtedly been told about the adventures of Sani – floating bridges, dam walls and river crossings, endless single track and hospitality that can only be experienced. There is of course the pinnacle of all single tracks….the incredible single track on Day 2 leading down to the Umkomaas Valley. Little do you know, camped out on Day 1, that you’re sitting just a mere couple of kilometres away from what feels like the crest of the Umkomaas valley and arguably one of the best mountain biking single tracks in the world!  It really is just indescribable and sheer fun-joy…. It probably sounds totally crazy to explain! I get butterflies in my stomach as I head out of MacKenzie’s, follow a short trip on district roads, past a few locals all cheering away (race time or dry run time!!) and into the forest for a little single track. Then out you pop from the trees, along the track and within minutes in front of you…. BREATHTAKING…..It’s early morning, pink skies and sun rising slowly over the mighty Umkomaas river.  Ahead you can see a single track hugging the side of cliff…..and you’re about to head off on 18 kilometres of just the most amazing tracks DOWNHILL! The fun has just begun! If you have a moment to glance back you can see this massive waterfall that you were only meters away from just moments ago. And along the tracks you go, winding, switching back through the hills, through the village, past children and women, the school, past the old “Induna” (village leader) who, with his broad grin, waves furiously with one hand leaning on his walking stick.  He, along with his village team, works hard with Farmer Glen and his team to cut and manicure the tracks; and now is clearly so excited to see us riding and loving it! I have to take a moment and think …..This is just the BEST!!! Really, does it get better than this?? Maybe this is best understood through seeing it for yourself….. Mechanic Malcolm shot this amazing footage (see links below)…… or participating; or maybe you know what I am talking about already? Yankee Doodle Opening:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pk1fPmEroc Murray’s Meander to Nick’s Pass:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xPb7aREL9E Concrete Strips to Tamika’s Detour:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShxaCuUajDU Ah but you see, there I go, I digress! I was supposed to be telling you about the changes but got swept away in reliving the Umkomaas experience!! But then maybe these changes ARE best left to be experienced! What I can tell you is that there are changes going into the valley, christened at the dry run after Bianca (aka Yankee Doodle), the youngest child and the only one without a track named after her, until Dec 2009! Day 2 climb to the halfway point is also different with a new route across the savannah dry lands, bypassing the district road…yeeehhaaa! Day 3 starts off in a whole new way! I give it the big BIG thumbs up!! I sincerely hope that you get to experience this adventure if not in 2010 sometime soon! If you’re waiting patiently on the Sani2C waiting list, why not try for Joberg2C, it’s 6 days more of Sani adventures and hospitality! It’s on my list for 2011! And if you’re doing Sani2C in 2010, I’ll see you there!