​1. Describe Triathlon in one sentence? 
Triathlon is the crazy sport you don’t play but do, the ultimate test for a complete athlete because one sport isn't enough.

2. What makes you tick during a race? (What gives you that extra oemf)
Three things come to mind:
1. Those moments when all the training come together and you find a rhythm. You feel so strong and you almost have to hold back as you just want to run faster. 
2. The satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment when i get to the end of each disciplines of a race. 
3. The crowd cheering you on gives you energy you didnt know you have. Its a great feeling. 

3. What was the most difficult part off preparing for the IM? 
Staying awke at work and keeping breakfast down at SSL sessions. But on a serious note just managing to still get the sessions done when work gets hectic. Late nights at the office and early morning training sessions isn’t  easy. 

4. What is your occupation?
I am n Financial Controller at Atterbury Property
5. When do train best mornings or afternoons
i enjoy training in the mornings. It is cooler, I feel fresh and energised for the day and work or other responsibilities can’t get in the way then later on in the day. 

6. What is your favorite leg of the three, and why? 
At this stage the bike leg is my favorite because i think its my strongest leg. Since i have started triathlon i think my bike has improved alot. 

7. What is your best motivational quote?
The only easy day was yesterday - US Navy Seals
Meaning: Every day you will need to work harder than the last. But when you work hard every day and see what you’re now capable of - yesterday seems easy. 

Equipment questions:
What type do you use:
- Bike                         : Look (Aero 576)
- Wheels                    : Vision trimax 45
- Helmet                    : Casco
- Cycling shoes        : Lake tx322
- Running shoes      : Brooks adrenaline gts18
- Wetsuit                   : Xterra
- Nutrition of choice: PVM octane and gels. Also droewors and nuts on longer rides
- Power meter or watch: Garmin Forerunner 935
- Race morning breakfast? : PVM pap, coffee and some PVM fusion. 

How would you describe Trivium Triathlon in one sentence? 
Trivium Triathlon is a tri club where ordinary people reach extraordinary goals they never thought possible through great coaching and hard work, and at the same time having fun and making new friends in the process. 

1. Describe Triathlon in one sentence?It’s the one sport that gets you out of your comfort zone, challenges you and rewards you with the greatest feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. (That’s one sentence right?)

2. What makes you tick during a race?
For me it’s when mental toughness overpowers physical fatigue.
How do you get through when you’re at the lowest point in a race? If you don’t want to quit, you need to find ways to motivate yourself to keep going. It is as simple as that. When the going gets tough, ask yourself, “why do you want to finish”? The answer to the “why” question is powerful, the “how” is easy.
 
3. What was the most difficult part off preparing for the IM? 
Definitely trying to balance family life, work and training.
 
4. What is your occupation?
I’m a Chartered Accountant working as an asset manager for a private property fund.
 
5. When do train best mornings or afternoons?
I prefer training in the mornings – It kick-starts my day.
 
6. What is your favorite leg of the three, and why? 
I suppose it should be the run because I come from a running background, but I would have to say the swim. It might be the fact that I experience the build-up leading up to the start of the race as part of the swim leg, I don’t know. Specifically for an Ironman, when you stand on the beach with the adrenaline pumping, the cannon goes, you run towards the sea and the cold water hits you in the face as you dive through that first wave. That’s a thrill. After the rush and the noise, it’s quiet, just you and open ocean.
 
7. What is your best motivational quote?
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.”

What type do you use;
- Bike                                                    : Argon 18 - E117
- Wheels                                              : Vision TriMax 55
- Helmet                                              : Casco
- Cycling shoes                                 : Bont Tri Shoes
- Running shoes                               : Asics Nimbus 20
- Wetsuit                                             : Blue Smooth Mk2.Zero
- Nutrition of choice?                     : PVM
- Power meter or watch?               : Garmin 935
- Race morning breakfast?           : Coffee, Oats, Toast with Peanut butter and syrup.

How would you describe Trivium Triathlon in one sentence? 
A group of athletes that became friends, training and racing with the same motto: Strong Head, Big heart, Light Feet.

1. Describe Triathlon in one sentence?Challenging, by bettering yourself not only in one discipline, but three, aiming to be an all-round athlete.

2. What makes you tick during a race?
Supporters, and knowing that I am busy doing this massive challenge.

3. What was the most difficult part off preparing for the IM?
Definitely balancing work, life and training. With 3 small children and a wife that is also a triathlete, it was interesting at times. Training at either 4am in the mornings or 7pm to fit everything in, tested my motivation at times.

4. What is your occupation?
Director at Kreston Advisory Pretoria

5. When do train best mornings or afternoons?
Definitely mornings. But it never gets easy waking up at 4am to train.

6. What is your favorite leg of the three, and why?
Love riding my bike, especially in TT mode and you can just focus on the rhythm and heartbeat.

7. What is your best motivational quote?
I don't stop when I'm hurt or tired. I stop when I'm done!

What type do you use;
- Bike : Argon E117
- Wheels : Vision TriMax 35
- Helmet : Bell Sweep
- Cycling shoes : Specialized
- Running shoes : Brooks Ghost
- Wetsuit : Xterra
- Nutrition of choice? : PVM
- Power meter or watch? : Garmin Fenix3
- Race morning breakfast? : Mieliepap and scrambled eggs

How would you describe Trivium Triathlon in one sentence?
Trivium to me is a family, with like minded and goal-orientated people constantly motivating each other to reach new limits. Massive thumbs-up to our coach, Magda Niewoudt, to create such an environment, where you don't want to miss group sessions for the fear of missing out (FOMO).

I am sure you will all recognise that one day, usually in January, or somewhere in the beginning of a new year, you decide to flip your switch. You want to eat healthy, lose weight, exercise more, be kind, make a difference, wake up earlier and just be a better, happier and healthier person.
If you know me, you will know that I do not like any form of exercise at all. This will never be on my list of new year’s resolutions. I like to be able to breathe normally and I do not like any kind of pain and suffering, nausea or near-death symptoms during any activity.
January 2019 I travelled to East London to support the Trivium Athletes taking on the Ironman 70.3 South Africa.
I got to experience how many people actually train for something like this. Young men or women with full time jobs, some with kids, actually managing to train for this in-between their busy lives. I saw older people, double my age, running like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
This is where I flipped my switch. If they can do it, so can I.
​
I asked my friend and Trivium coach, Magda Nieuwoudt, to help me get started with a running program. She knows I am no runner. I am not someone who decides to take on a 10 km or a half marathon on a Saturday morning. I could not even run 500 meters without the life being sucked out of me.
Magda got me started with 3 short running sessions a week. I felt embarrassed to even start something so completely out of my comfort zone. You don’t want anybody to see how unfit you actually are. But Magda motivates you and supports you, even if you only managed to run 500 meters at a time. A goal is a goal no matter how small. She helps you believe in yourself and make you feel like you can do anything.
During this time, I also learned to really respect these athletes. They are 100% dedicated and it sounds a lot easier than it actually is. I honestly do not know how they do it. I felt nauseous, I could not breathe, my legs burned and I actually cried every time I came back from a session.
However, after about a month, with the help of Magda’s sessions, for the first time I could breathe and see myself improving every time. I ran my first 5 km without walking.
It’s still difficult and I am still struggling, but I am very excited to see even just a little bit of improvement every time I go for a run.
​
To some runners this will sound like nothing, but to me this is everything. 

By Maurice Ambrose

On Friday afternoon my wife and I boarded our flight to East London. I have heard that this is one of the most difficult 70.3.’s and therefore I was well prepared (definitely the hardest I have trained for any race before) and everything was planned to a tee. At first all went according to plan, we checked in our luggage and bikes and boarded our flight on time but just as we were to take off, the captain notified us that we have to taxi back to our boarding gate as the weather was too bad for us to fly out. Little did I know that this would just be the start of a very interesting weekend.

When we landed in East London we were met with wet and windy weather. . When I received my bike bag, I could sense that something was not right, but as it was already late and the cold and rainy weather was getting the better of me, my first priority was to get to the guest house. After checking into the guest house I immediately started to assemble my bike. As I opened the bike bag, my whole body went cold – the bike was off the skewers and standing on the frame. At least I could see that the frame was not cracked, but it was clear that something was wrong with the gears. My first response was to call coach Magda as I knew I would not be able to sleep if I don’t know what was wrong with my bike.

Despite my wife’s advised that it was way to late in the night to bother her, I pushed through and was relieved when she took my call. Coach Magda really put me at ease and suggested that we meet early the next morning to have a look at the bike but also told me that the most important thing is to get a good night’s rest.

The following morning I met coach Magda, and after she did a quick assessment of my bike she advised that the damage was not that bad and that the bike mechanics will be able to fix it. I was relieved that the damage was fixable and 2 hours after checking my bike in at the bike mechanics I received it back, went for a quick ride and I could feel that the bike was as good as new. On Saturday afternoon all the Trivium athletes were together for a last team talk. Coach Magda gave some last pointers and assured us that we have already put in the hard work and that we are ready to do this, we must just relax and enjoy it. Although the weekend was off to a rocky start it finally felt like it can still turn out to be a good race weekend.

The next morning when I woke up I was soooooo excited because it was RACE DAY!

This feeling did not last too long because when I arrived at the transition area to double check that everything is in order , there was an announcement that due to the rough conditions at sea the swim will be reduced to +/-1200 m. At first I was very disappointed because although swimming is definitely my worst leg of the three disciplines, I have trained so hard in preparation for this race and my swimming improved so much since I started to train with Trivium that I really wanted to swim the full distance and compare my swimming time to the last 70.3 I participated in. However I decided then that I am going to make the best of the circumstances that was dealt to me. At that point God also showed me that I must be so grateful that I have the physical ability to be able to participate in such a race and that I must participate with such a grateful heart and not allow small things to steal my joy. After that conviction I knew that I am going to give this race my absolute best and that I am going to enjoy it more than any other race I have participated in before.

The swim – As soon as I hit the water I realized that the water was very choppy and cold, but I remember that we were trained to not let the adrenaline and excitement get the better of us and to just stick to our rhythm and the race pace we used to practice during our training sessions. Before I knew it I passed the first red buoy, then second, third and fourth then making my way back to the shore. Finishing the swim in 23 min (my best split in a race ever, just under 2 min/100 m). Chuffed with myself I headed into T1 and onto my bike.

The bike – As I exited the transition area I was greeted by loud cheers and big smiles from our Trivium supporters and that gave me some extra motivation to tackle this infamously tough bike course. I remember a bit of our team talk the night before where coach Magda advised that we must break the course into smaller goals. I did exactly that and then started to eat the proverbial elephant. After 1h36min I reached the half way mark, turned around on the bridge and headed back into a very strong head on wind. This part of the race lived up to the hype about this tough bike course because the head on wind is so strong that you have to work hard all the way back – despite the downhill. Piece by piece I approached the way back and before long I was back on Esplanade Street heading back to the transition area finishing the bike in 3h04min.

The run – Again being met with the cheers and support of the Trivium supporters I gave it my all. The first lap went well and I felt good. The second lap, Bunkers Hill was as tough as a woodpeckers lips. I got some Isotonic and coke on the aid station on Bunkers, walked for about 200 m and told myself that the next time I will be walking will be at the back end of the red carpet. I ran all the way to the red carpet through the Ironman arch finishing my run in 1h49min. My total race time was 5h25min29sec, which was my personal best and about 15 minutes faster than my previous personal best.

This weekend after all turned out to be a top weekend that I would not easily forget. A BIG thanks to all the Trivium supporters that cheered us throughout the whole race – it really spurred us on. However, the biggest THANK YOU goes to coach Magda for all her help, assistance, support, patience and hard work that goes way beyond what is expected from her as a coach. Without all her motivation and hard work this results would not have been possible. My commitment to train and how much I enjoys participating in this races have definitely improve a lot since I have joined Trivium. The Trivium members are like a little family always looking out for each other. They have motivated me so much and the only regret I have is that I have not joined Trivium earlier!!!

1. Was hierdie nog altyd 'n droom vir jou om World Champs toe te gaan?
Vandat ek begin driekamp doen het in 2017 is dit vir my `n uitdaging om kompeterend in my ouderdomsgroep te wees.  Ek wou baie graag in 2018 vir Worlds gekwalifiseer het aangesien dit in Suid Afrika was maar het dit toe met een plek gemis.  Ek het wel die Worlds gaan kyk in PE om ons coach Magda Nieuwoudt en Trivium spanmaats Bruwer Smit en Marlise Robbertze te gaan ondersteun.  Natuurlik het die droom om Worlds dan in Frankryk te kan gaan doen daar in my kop vasgesteek.  Dit is `n wonderlike geleentheid en ek is baie dankbaar en opgewonde daaroor.
 
2. Wat was vir jou die grootste uitdaging op die dag van racing?
Ek wou graag top 10 in my ouderdom eindig en het dit darem toe reg gekry.  Die wind en die rowwer see het die dag se race nogal moeilik gemaak.  Ek is bly ek kon steeds paces en doelwitte wat ek graag wou bereik op die dag steeds behaal.
 
3. Hoekom kies jy triathlon as 'n sport?
Die afwisseling met die oefening is vir my baie lekker.  Dis nie net bv. altyd hardloop hardloop en nog hardloop nie.  As jou bene bv. harde bike of run week het dan is dit so lekker om `n goeie swemsessie te hê.  Triathlon vat baie tyd, ja, maar dit word `n leefstyl en dit is vir my heerlik.  
 
4. Wat motiveer jou? Om altyd net op te daag en aan te hou?
My coach Magda en Trivium oefenmaats wat ek weet ook sal opdaag en die werk gedoen kry motiveer my baie.  Dis lekker om deel van `n klub te wees en nie die werk altyd op jou eie hoef te doen nie.  Opkomende races en die feit dat ek graag goed wil doen en verbeter tydens die races motiveer my ook.  Ek vermoed wel ek is dalk effens verslaaf aan oefen, Dit laat my goed voel.  Daar is niks beter as die gevoel na `n harde sessie nie.  
 
5. Watter gedeelte van triathlon is vir jou die lekkerste?
Openwater swimming en `n goeie run is my gunsteling!
 
6. Het jy al klaar enige planne vir worlds? 
Ek sal definitief net op al my paces wil verbeter.  Ek moet hard werk aan my power op die bike.  Ek is bly ek het nou dadelik so lekker uitdaging en mikpunt om my oefeing vir die jaar op te fokus.  Ek en my coach sal nog mooi al die planne beraam. 
 
7. Wie is Elzabe as sy nie triathlon doen nie? 
Wel kinders, kinders en kinders hou my besig.... 
My eie drie liewe kids (Juhné Gr 3, Ernst Gr 1 en jongste Anri nou amper 3 jaar oud) hou my as mamma besig genoeg.  Dan ook nog `n klomp Graad 6 kinders wat my elke dag in die klas as Wiskunde onderwyser by Laerskool Hennopspark besig hou.  Ek en my man Juran van den Heever hou daarvan om lekker goed saam te doen soos om te gaan kamp of `n lekker uiteet op sy tyd in te werk.  Ons hou ook van rustige family time en net ontspan, swem en lekker kosmaak of braai by die huis. 
 
8. Wat is jou gunstelling gels / produkte om te gebruik? 
Ek gebruik graag PVM se Octane en Reignite.  
 
9. Met watter tekkies hardloop jy?
Brooks Ghost11
 
10. Watter horlosie het jy? 
Garmin Fenix 5S
 
11. Watter fiets en wiele het jy?
Ek het `n redelik basiese Merida road bike. Ek het die Oos London race met `n vriend se Trek Speed Concept gedoen met heerlike Zipp wheels.  Ek beoog om iewers ook vir my `n nuwe TT bike te koop maar vir nou ry ek eers met die Trek.

BEGINNER TO ADDICTIVE RUNNER
 
Written by Luan Nelson
 
Two years ago I was introduced to running by a colleague. It was a slow start but soon I started progressing from a 5km into a 10km then a 15km then 21km.
 
On 4 November I did my first 42km marathon – the Kaapsehoop Marathon after my friend entered me. I had no choice and knew 3 months ago that I would need to start training seriously and more structurally, and that I couldn’t just rely on doing random running every day to prepare.
 
That was when I was introduced to Magda Nieuwoudt at Trivium Triathlon. During my first consultation Magda asked what my exact objectives were, and she also explained the technicalities of running, how to get fit and why we need to do what we do. I realized that I knew nothing about running and fitness and that running isn’t just about running. I finally and seriously fallen in love with the sport. Running is technical and that was a big part of why I’m enjoying it more and more.
 
We started a 3 month program straight away with gym work/strength training and a running schedule. At the gym, I could barely do all the moves on the stability ball and felt very embarrassed but was quickly comforted by Magda that ‘everyone struggles at first’. The gym work involved core training, foot work, stability work, leg work, foam rolling and general fitness. In addition I could ask any questions around problems I faced on a specific day, and ask questions on nutrition etc. The actual program involved speed work, interval running, aerobic running, recovery runs, long runs, stretching. All of this really made the sport interesting to me. Even the nutrition advice, what shoes to run with and recovery methods made it all interesting me.
 
My schedule was updated and adjusted weekly through the Training Peaks application on my phone according to my progress and work schedule. This was very convenient and I could comment after every session and ask questions as we go.
 
On marathon day I was obviously nervous but was well prepared in terms of what to wear, what nutrition to take along, how to run the first 21 km and then how to adjust the second 21 km in terms of pace. Also what nutrition to take at what stage of the race, and if I were to run into any issues what I should do. I could not have done this without the help and guidance from Magda.
Whilst running my 42 km I realized why we did all the different training routines and work, as I could just kept going without having to walk and most importantly without struggling and feel that I wanted to die. The last 4 km was the toughest as it was a steep uphill but I just managed to keep going and had enough stamina to finish. I knew then where all of this comes from.
 
I was so thankful and pleased that I’ve done the training and that I stuck to the program as it really helped. And most importantly I really enjoyed the program.
 

​WHY DOES MY HEART RATE SPIKE AT THE START OF A RUN / TRAINING?
 
A lot of athletes see their heart rate spike at the start of a run of training session and then subsides after 5 min. I have noticed that most of these spikes is during early morning training sessions, especially running workouts. This type of spike can be because you did not warm-up properly or long enough.
Before starting exercise your body’s internal machinery works at very low rate. Your metabolism is slow and blood only moves to organs and back to lungs and heart. Muscles are fed with blood by tiny blood vessels existing in the muscle to make sure muscle get supplied by blood. During rest the majority of capillaries and vessels are constricted, so little blood goes to the muscle. Because of this the cardiac output gets reduced. The heart does not need to pump very hard to maintain blood pressure and this gives you a low heart rate.
During exercise the muscle demand a high volume of blood flow. This means that the capillaries should dilate to expand so blood can rush to the muscle. But our bodies is not designed so capillaries dilate before exercise, it expand due to exercise itself. Asking the body to exert from a cold start can be a major stressor to the body, as it needs to drain blood from major organs to the working muscle.
This is why proper warm-up or longer warm-up is important. As if the capillaries have not diluted properly the blood flow to the muscle is weak, which means no oxygen to the muscle and then your body needs to function anaerobically for a few minutes. This is why you sometimes feel very uncomfortable at the beginning, but not really out of breath yet. The heart rate goes down after a few minutes which then means the aerobic system is fully in function.
My suggestions would be to start by first walking a minute and then go into a very slow jog and pick it up from there on wards to make sure you give body the chance to activate fully aerobically. Also do longer warm-ups of 5 – 10 min. If you start your session very early, give your body a chance to wake up. Remember the body also needs to be activated by nervous system firing. Thus proper warm-up is very important.
 
 
Magda Nieuwoudt
Sport Scientist