Tech dependence

It is quite perturbing how dependent we all are on technology, often for the most irrational and irrelevant reasons. I mean, many people say they can’t live without their BlackBerry or iPhone – but yet we functioned just fine before their inception. You can just as easily communicate by emailing from work or your home PC and SMSing or calling from a basic cellphone. Yet, try to adapt to using these methods after experiencing all that advanced technology has to offer and you soon become aware of your dependence on the technology these products offer. Sadly, for me, my health and fitness lifestyle has gone down a similar path. You may have read in a previous blog post about the sad demise of my beloved Garmin ForeRunner 405 during my Knysna Oyster Festival cycle race. A reasonable person would think that life could carry on without this ’simple’ piece of equipment, but to be honest I am truly ‘lost without it’. Trying to build up the motivation to head out on a run or cycle without the information and feedback it gives out on the road, or downloading all the exercise related info to view online after the session is done has made my training a bit… meaningless. Don’t get me wrong, I still do it, but there is a definite void left where that handy piece of technology once sat. My insurance company is busy processing the claim… and they can’t do it soon enough. I NEED the info – exact distance travelled, calories burnt, elevation gained and lost, average and maximum speed, a map of my route – this type of information is what makes endurance athletes giddy. It is like a drug and I am having serious tech withdrawal symptoms. Thankfully I got a small fix when I received the Garmin Edge 305to test. This is a GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer, with a wireless heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor. There are quite a few components to set up and attach to your bike, but it is all quick and easy. The unit I received came with a number of different sized elastic fastening bands to ensure the main unit fits on to any size stem or handlebars. The sensors (pedal sensor for cadence and rear wheel sensor for speed) fastened with cable ties. The unit charged within three hours, which would give me 18 hours of use. This is great as my ForeRunner, albeit a much smaller device, had to be recharged after eight hours of use, which was every 1.5 training rides. Once everything was attached and charged I was ready to roll. Everything had already been paired so I could skip that process, but from previous experience it is not a difficult task at all with the user-friendly user manual as your guide. On the road I found that the default display setting was very busy and contained far too much information to read comfortably on the go. However, there are numerous view options available allowing you to view your preferred training parameters while on the road. The buttons on the device are also nice and big and very responsive to the touch to help scroll through options or start/stop a session. The Edge 305 measures all the key elements, like your speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent. For extra-precise climb and descent data, the Edge 305 has a barometric altimeter to pinpoint changes in elevation. The Edge also has the Virtual Partner® function, which lets you race a virtual competitor over a specified distance and speed and its course option lets you race against a previously recorded workout, so you can compare your current and past performances over the same ride. The auto Pause® function pauses the timer when you slow down or stop and resumes when you speed up again. The sensors link to the Edge unit using Garmin wireless ANT+ technology, so there are no wires involved. However, unlike the 405, it connects to your PC or Mac via a cable. It is, however the same cable used to charge the unit, which limits the amount of cables needed. The info is uploaded on to the Garmin Connect website, where it integrates with Google maps to give you the route and visually display your exercise parameters. It integrated perfectly with my Garmin Connect page, ensuring a hassle free experience. Obviously if you are a multi-sport athlete then a GPS enabled watch that tracks more than one type of workout is ideal, but the Edge 305 makes a great addition to your training aids and the info can easily be integrated into your training programme for valuable feedback, if you can afford both options. On the other hand, if you are a cyclist then this is a must have accessory. Prices range from R3,339 – R3,600 depending on where you look online.

Knysna Oyster Festival – Day 3

Wow! What an experience this morning – the Featherbed trail run at the Knysna Oyster Festival is definitely one for the bucket list, even if you aren’t a trail runner! This must be one of the most picturesque runs in the world.
The day started early, with registration opening at 05h30. By 07h30 we were on the ferry across the river estuary (we learnt via the very entertaining onboard race briefing that it is in fact not a lagoon) to the Featherbed restaurant on the western Knysna head. The 15km trail runners start at the bottom of the head, climbing the 235 vertical metres to the top, while the 11km trail runners (which is what I did) were carted halfway up the hill to start at 140m above sea level. The 15km runners ran along the bottom of the head, right past the channel, while we got the bird’s eye view of this natural wonder from the jeep track.
The first 4km of the 11km route was pure climbing, mainly through soft dune sand, which is very taxing on the calf muscles. You definitely need a fair dose of dexterity in the ankles and good balance to be a comfortable trail runner. From the 7km to go mark things start to head downhill, with the steepest downhill section coming at around 6km to go. It got quite technical on some of the single track – but the views for the Knysna heads on one side and the ocean on the other were well worth all the effort. Do take the time to stop and look around if you ever run the race…
Once down off the head the route took us over the river estuary on the railway line, which was also a very novel experience. It covers the last 3km or so of the race and is welcome respite from the soft sand. There are a few bridge crossings that have you running on grates, so you can see the water below you, adding another novel experience to this race as you end off.
The weather prediction for today was cloudy with a 30% chance of rain, with strong winds. Luckily for the morning runners the day started off with some glorious sunshine and calm, but as the starting vuvzela was sounded the cold front set in and light rain started to fall. A strong wind was also hitting runners on the plateau and along the bridge, but it was never unmanageable. This did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the runners though, many of whom are doing multiple events on the day.
There are three separate runs on the day, each with two routes. The morning, midday and night runs, each with a choice of 15 and 11km routes.
Weary legs were greeted by a welcome drink at the finish and a hearty meal at the restaurant that hosted the finish – all included in the entry price.
This is a very well organised race, with fun and an unforgeable experience at the core of its reason for being. Its not often that you get to run in areas such as that, with access to private land and expert organisation. Tickets are like hen’s teeth, with just 600 spots available, so make sure you check the press for info on when entries open for the 2011 edition. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed! It is, in my opinion, the highlight of the Knysna Oyster Festival so far.

Knysna Oyster Festival – Day 1

As a first timer at the Knysna Oyster Festival I was surprised to find out that the 2010 edition is in fact the 23rd event – and was left wondering why I never took the time to come down before. Having spent a fair bit of time walking around the sports fields that hosts the festival it is no surprise why this event has gone from strength to strength over the last two decades – and this year the organisers say they are breaking attendance records, with the mountain bike race selling out.
There are many reasons for this. Firstly, you can’t beat the setting. The garden route is by far one of the jewels in South Africa’s crown. Secondly it appeals to the entire family, with so many different things on offer, including a fair ground, dog shows (and others) and of course the sporting events (which is why we are here!).
Unfortunately I missed today’s opening event, the mountain bike race, as I only flew in this morning. There were three races on offer on the day – the family suited 15km course, a 46km and the marathon distance 85km race. The elite ladies’ race was won by current mountain bike marathon national champion Yolande Speedy, who felt the course was “awesome” and also had a few very challenging climbs to keep things interesting. But her current form made sure she was able to power away for the rest of the field to take the win.
With the formalities out of the way I went to register for tomorrow’s 100km road race, and headed back to my home base for the next five days, the picturesque and homely Belvidere Manor, to get my bike rebuilt after lugging it down with me on the plane. For anyone considering coming down to do the mountain bike or road race, or both, be aware that travelling with a bike is not easy, not to mention the fact that you never know what the ACSA baggage handlers do with your bike once you have checked it in. As such I wanted to get home and check that everything was still attached and get everything in working order again. It is messy work but once everything was attached it was time to take the bike out for a quick 30min spin to get the legs loose. If you are not keen to take your bike with you to the Festival then you can hire bikes from the local bike shop, conveniently called The Bike Shop.
Just outside the hotel is a 3.5km climb up to Benton on Sea with amazing views, which I decided to try. However, I was a bit perturbed to see that the glorious sunshine and 20 degree heat had been replaced with thick clouds and an icy wind, all in the space of 60 minutes. But I guess that is what you get in the Southern Cape. Regardless, the views are stunning on the route, with the sea on one side and the lagoon on the other so it was well worth the effort.
The weather conditions did presented a good opportunity to test the SecondSkin arm and leg warmers I had been given to test during the Oyster Festival. They are not thermal but they did the job of keeping the cold wind out and my limbs warm. I can’t say that I like the straps on the front of the arm warmers, used to keep them in place on yours hands, but you get used to it after a while.
I was also given a pair of their new cycling shorts, which are very comfortable and durable. The material is different to anything I have ridden with before but I really enjoyed wearing them. The only negative aspect was the squeaking noise it made as it rubbed against my seat.
When I got back I did a 7.5km run off the bike to get ready for Tuesday’s Featherbed trail run. I will be doing an 11km morning trail run along the Knysna Heads and a 15km evening trail run.
If you’re interested in checking out my training info you can view my route and trip info on Garmin Connect – ride and run.
Tonight I am recovering by using SecondSkins newly launched range of compression garments, to remove lactate build up and ensure blood gets pumped back up the legs to ensure improved circulation, resulting in improved recovery.
Tomorrow I tackle the 100km road race, which I hear is heading out towards George instead of Plettenberg Bay, which is a much more challenging course.
Check back here for the full race report and all the day’s happenings tomorrow evening.
Follow my tweets from the Festival by following FitnessMag (www.twitter.com/FitnessMag)

My winter immune defense

Our July/August Winter issue is going to be jam packed with information on how to beat the winter cold and flu season through good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and good supplementation. So I don’t plan to rehash what has been said to date, but having spent a lot of time reading and researching the subject I have taken what I learnt to heart and developed my own winter immune defense plan.
You will have read in a a previous post about my first experience with a dietician, which I am happy to report is paying dividends, not only on the body sculpting front, but also with regard to my overall health and fitness.
As part of my new plan I was prescribed a probiotic to help improve gastrointestinal health, which has a large bearing on your ability to stave off disease (amongst other things of course). I am currently taking EasiCol IBS, a probiotic manufactured by EasiHealth (www.easihealth.co.za). I take one tablet a day on an empty stomach to help with digestion and ensure that my intestinal tract is full of the all the healthy bacteria my body needs to digest food and fight off the other nasty stuff.
Another product I am trying out is Selenium+ Immunace from Vitabiotics (www.vitabiotics.com), an antioxidant designed specifically for your immune system. This product is said to help maintain a healthy immune resistance and offer long term cell protection. This is a product suitable for vegetarians and I take one tablet a day after a nutritious breakfast.
I am also taking a Centrum multi-vitamin, with the addition of 1000mg of vitamin C a day. This is supported with NRF (www.nrf.co.za) Vita Zinc capsules, which provide the body with an extra dose of Zinc to help stave off colds and throat infections.
Lastly I exercise five to six times a week, using a combination of intense cardio and weight training. I make sure that when I am finished at the gym I wrap up warmly before hitting a warm shower. I am also trying to sleep for eight to nine hours a night, to ensure my body has enough time to recover and repair itself, to be as strong as possible to fight off this season’s worst ailments – which on their way.
And the outcome? Well I can safely say that I haven’t had as much as a sniffle yet (touch wood), but time will tell if my plan works. I have intentionally stayed away from flu vaccines this year as there are a number of different theories doing the rounds as to the benefits of injecting yourself with a small strain of the flu to help your body build a resistance. So, as the old saying goes – prevention is better than cure – so what are you doing to fortify yourself against the scourge of winter? Let us know if you have any sure-fire was of staying healthy during the cold stretch of June, July and August in SA.

Staying inspired

Getting inspired is really easy for most of us. We react to emotional queues from imagery, inspirational speeches, well written books on life and personally relevant topics, movies or even the success of our peers, friends or family. But, as with many flaws in the human psyche, that inspiration normally lasts for only a day or two, perhaps a week if our will power is above average.
So what is it that sustains our inspiration to achieve? I myself like to read a mixture of books, mixing up biographies of personal battles overcome or authoritative books that empower me with knowledge to go out and achieve something new, with more esoteric books that look at the meaning of life or finding purpose in everything we do. But what happens when I close that book having just finished reading the last page?
Well, I like to write down notes about what I have read and learnt, which is something I can easily refer back to for the key messages and take-outs from that book (rather than re-reading it). But what I have come to realise is that this is not good enough.
To stay the course and keep on track with your goals you need daily affirmation of what you need to achieve. Put these messages or helpful tips somewhere where you can see them every day – and then read them. The human mind, much like our body requires various levels of repetition to learn and adapt, so give it that opportunity.
The other trick I have learnt (through implementation) that keeps me inspired to achieve my goals is to break a larger goal down into smaller, more attainable ones. If you do this you not only break the bigger task down into smaller, more manageable goals that the mind will be more willing to tackle, but you also ensure you have many small ‘wins’ along the way, not just (hopefully) one big one at the end.
For example, a goal I have been putting off for years is to complete an IronMan triathlon. I have now committed to the 2011 edition., but for me to think purely along the lines of “in 12 months I need to swim 3.8km, cycle 180km and then run 42.2km in one day” makes it a very daunting task – something that the mind can not fully comprehend due to the magnitude of what is required. Rather I have broken it down into smaller goals, where I plan to run a half marathon by July and a full marathon by November, ride 150km comfortably by September and swim 3km+ by February next year. These small benchmarks not only make it easier for me to get up every day and train (as the goal is also not 12 months away anymore), but I am also excited to see how I progress through my training at regular check points.
So next time you read, watch, see or hear something that inspires you take note of it, write it down, and work it into your plans on how you intend achieving your goals. If you don’t capture that message and remind yourself of it everyday then that morsel of inspiration will get lost in your overactive mind and will never really benefit your life in any way.

Fit tech review – Garmin FR60

Having taken the GPS enabled training device market by storm Garmin has taken a swipe at the major players within the heart rate monitor (HRM) market with the launch of the FR60. I received a FR60 bundle to test, which includes the device, ANT+ connector, HRM strap and a foot pod.

I have a basic Polar HRM and the Garmin ForeRunner 405 GPS enabled device, which I use religiously for my training. So I was very interested to see how the FR60 stacked up.

The FR60 tracks your time, heart rate, calories burned, speed and distance. The latter is measured with the use of a wireless foot pod. The speed and distance had me intrigued, as I have been spoilt with the use of very accurate GPS tracked distance and speed information from my ForeRunner, so I was very interested to see how accurate the foot pod would be.

The initial set up was very simple and easy to follow on the FR60 device. The screen has a clear display and the large start/stop/accept button on the watch face makes it really user friendly. One thing I forgot to set up properly was the date, but my height and weight info was inputted correctly, which is important to get accurate calorie expenditure readings and speed and distance measures.

With that done I was ready to take the FR60 out for a test. There are three sport modes – running, cycling and general. Without the cadence monitor for my bike I took it out for a test run, and compared the data with that of my ForeRunner.

Having completed the run it was a simple process to pair the device with my Windows based laptop (downloads and plug-ins for Macs also available), after downloading the necessary plug-ins and software from the Garmin Connect website (http://connect.garmin.com/). Once everything had been paired properly by running the software and pushing a few buttons on the watch to initiate the process I was ready to upload my training data. The FR60 wirelessly sends your workout data to your computer using ANT+ technology for analysis and storage on your personal Garmin Connect page.

I am pleased to say that the distance and speed readings were very close. My ForeRunner measured the distance of my run at 5.83km, while the FR60 measured it at 5,80km. Average speed was also very close, but the top speed had the greatest discrepancy, with the ForeRunner measuring it at 04:29min/km, with the FR60 stating that my fastest pace on the run was 10sec per km faster at 04:19min/km.

On the run the light weight FR60 felt comfortable on my wrist. The Garmin FR60 for ladies weighs only 41 grams. The clear, large LCD display was also easy to read at any stage of the run. Thoroughly satisfied with the FR60’s ability to effectively track outdoor activity I put it through its paces in the gym. This is another aspect that I really like about the device – it is something you can use for more accurate readings indoors, like when training on the treadmill. It also allows you to track your heart rate when doing weights in the general sports mode.

The training info presented in the Garmin Connect website is very well laid out, and very informative. The numerous views and tabs allow you to segment your data as you like, measure it against previous activity and also allows you to track any changes to your body composition. I have included a snap shot of the info from the FR60, as well as my ForeRunner as a reference. Obviously the mapping of the route and tracking of elevation is more comprehensive in the ForeRunner, but you pay for the functionality.

I did a 20min/4km run on the treadmill, but the FR60 gave me a distance reading of 3.91km. This is a much bigger variation, over a shorter distance than on the road, but I am inclined to think that it is the treadmill that is the more inaccurate of the two measurements. The treadmill told me I was running at an average pace of 5min/km, while the FR60 said my pace was slower at 05:07min/km. At an average heart rate of 165 though (according to the FR60) I am inclined to say that my pace was slightly higher. So the jury is still out on this one, but the fact that a treadmill is more restrictive to a full gait than road running the small discrepancies can be overlooked.

The FR60 also boasts advanced training tools, such as lap splits, training alarms and Virtual Partner, which lets you race against a virtual training partner to improve your performance.

You don’t have to recharge the battery on the FR60, unlike the ForeRunner model. This is because there is no GPS and battery life is said to be 1 year – but that obviously depends on usage. The only thing I didn’t like about the FR60 is the overall look and feel of the device. My polar is a lot more sturdy, and the design is also a lot more visually appealing. This is important if you intend to use the device to keep time throughout the day.

The FR60 bundle is retailing for between R1269 to R1879 online depending on where you shop and if you choose to purchase the device with just the HRM, or the bundle. The Garmin FR60 is available at Cape Union Mart and Sportsman’s Warehouse at a recommended retail price of R2,100.00. Competitor products like the Suunto T3C running pack (watch, foot pod and comfort belt) retails for around R2500, with the basic watch and HRM strap retailing at around R1658. The Polar FT60F for women retails for around R2400, with the foot pod as an optional extra or add on. So the FR60 definitely has a jump on the competition from a price point.

So overall it is a great training aid for someone who doesn’t want to fork out the R4000+ for a ForeRunner or XT model, but still values accurate training information to track progress, structure training and measure your race pace. Don’t forget you still get all the benefits of interacting on the Garmin Connect website with their community of like-minded sports people. But if you, like me, can’t get enough of training info and feedback then I would save a little more and get the GPS enabled ForeRunner or XT model, as they are the only units in the market with an integrated GPS.

The truth hurts

Last week my wife and I went to see a dietician. Having studied Human Movement Studies and been actively involved in the health and fitness industry for a decade now I was pretty confident that my diet and fitness regime was pretty good. So I thought I would go as part of an interest piece I could write for the magazine.

Well I was right on one count – my exercise. The feedback on my diet was not what I had expected though, nor were my body composition stats. Granted I haven’t been that strict with my diet over the last two years, as exercise took a bit of a backseat while I recovered from a broken shoulder and two subsequent operations, but I still tried to stay active and eat relatively well.

Then 2010 rolled around and I thought the time is now to get back into my cycling, hit the gym once again and finally get my body into the shape it was all those years ago. And I must admit that things were going well – in my eyes at least. I did a few 100km+ cycle races, have been at gym at least three times a week since January and have also started running once or twice a week.

So I could be forgiven for thinking that my Body Mass Index, Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) and body fat percentage was within acceptable standards. Boy was I in for a shock. Not to give too much away, but lets just say my body fat percentage was almost 10% out from what I thought it would be. My WHR is outside the ideal range and my BMI index indicated that I could lose at least 5kgs – luckily I have a fair amount of body fat to draw that figure from.

So with my undivided attention the dietician took me through her comments on my diet (we had filled in a questionnaire before the appointment). The main reason for my poor results was more about my portion sizes than the food I eat. All-in-all my diet was relatively healthy, all I needed to do was halve my portions (in some cases cut it by two thirds) and add some more colour to my meals.

The next day I had a new eating plan in my inbox and I have been trying to follow it religiously since then. It is nearing the end of day 4 of my new eating plan, and despite a small issue with my energy levels on Sunday when I was out riding I am coping pretty well.

The mental thing is the hardest to defeat. I have been plagued by images of junk food – KFC burgers, muffins, large juicy steaks – at strange times during the day. But I can safely say I have stayed the course. The portion sizes are taking some time to get used to, as my stomach will start grumbling about an hour before my next meal (usually at 3 hour intervals), but thankfully the eating plan is not restrictive.

What it has taught me is that just about anything in moderation can be incorporated into your diet without creating too many ripples. Its when you gorge yourself on several Lindt bunnies over Easter, or have 6 beers instead of three that the calories start adding up. The best thing you can ever do to assist with your healthy eating plans is to keep a food diary. Write everything you put in your mouth down. You will be amazed at all the little things you forget you ate, how many times you actually eat take-out in a week and how all this adds up.

My new mindset is that this is not a diet, so there is no “end” in sight – this is a lifestyle change that will stay with me forever, perhaps with a few adjustments and tweaks here and there. I think this is where the common diet falls short – it is done over a fixed period of time, and then all the old habits come flooding back and ruin all the hard work you have put in.

So we will see where this new eating regime takes me, and how well I am able to follow it in my everyday life. I can tell you one thing though, eating clean gives you a new appreciation for food in general – what the good stuff does for your health, and also how good the bad stuff can be. I will be savouring the next cheat meal I have and enjoy every bite – all in moderation of course!

The big medical aid debate – when is too early and when is too late

With healthcare reform adopted in the U.S. following the landmark bill past in the senate, the issue of healthcare is firmly in the spotlight. For us as South Africans healthcare reform is still some way off, but the topic of medical aid is still a very pertinent one, especially amongst us females. We have another guest blogger this week, in Katy Caldis, CEO of Fedhealth, who puts forward some very valid points when it comes to the implications of joining medical aid schemes to late.

Hopefully this article gets you thinking a bit about your best course of action when it comes to deciding on a medical aid scheme, as you can never take your health for granted.
- Tanja

One of the toughest challenges facing the medical aid industry today is the task of convincing the young and healthy that they should join a medical aid at an age when they believe they are invincible.
Young women usually only realise the importance of medical cover when it is too late, for example when they unexpectedly fall pregnant or are diagnosed with a serious illness.
Besides the cost of the actual treatment and hospitalisation, there are other issues which they need to be made aware of in order to make an informed decision. One of the most important factors is underwriting. When joining a medical aid for the first time, especially after the medical event which served as a wake up call, schemes can apply a general waiting period of three months, as well as a pre-existing condition waiting period of up to 12 months, leaving the member exposed to these expenses.
Pregnancy is a prime example: On average Fedhealth receives over 100 membership enquiries per month from women who find themselves pregnant without cover. Although pregnancy is a Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB), which is a list of conditions that all schemes have to cover, the prospective pregnant member can still be underwritten if she has had no cover before or, if she has had cover but has more than a 90 day break in cover since leaving her previous medical aid. This means that her pregnancy can be excluded by the scheme.
These measures are all that medical schemes have at their disposal to protect themselves from bad risk, as well as anti-selection. We have found that many young women for example only join a scheme when they want to get pregnant and need to obtain the benefits of private hospitalisation. They leave the scheme as soon as the baby has been born and is given a clean bill of health.
Penalties are also not only for the young however. Waiting to join a medical aid can also result in your monthly contribution being loaded with a Late Joiner Penalty. This penalty can range from 5% – 75% of your risk contribution and is calculated according to the number of years that you were not a member of a medical scheme since the age of 35.
When calculating the Late Joiner Penalty, any previous years of membership of a medical aid (creditable coverage) are taken into account. The Late Joiner Penalty offers the scheme some protection from members joining later in life when their health status starts to deteriorate.
The point that we need to emphasise is that we should advise our children and young dependants to be responsible and to consider all the implications of their decision not to join a medical aid because they may not feel they need it at that particular stage of their lives. The reality is one should never wait until you need it because so much works against you: waiting periods without any cover, condition specific waiting periods, as well as contribution loadings of between 5 and 75% for life.

For more advice and information on medical aids visit www.fedhealth.co.za.

By: Katy Caldis, CEO of Fedhealth

My new fitness gadget

I just got back from an assignment in Swaziland for another of our magazine titles to find this toy waiting on my desk.

The Garmin FR60 is the next evolution in wrist based GPS training devices, building on the groundbreaking ForeRunner models. I have received the FR60 bundle to test, which includes the device, ANT+ connector, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) strap and a foot pod. I have the unit designed for men (obviously) but there is also a specially designed unit for ladies.

The FR60 tracks your time, heart rate and calories burned. When bundled with the wireless foot pod, the FR60 also tracks speed and distance, indoors or out. Then, the FR60 wirelessly sends your workout data to your computer using ANT+ technology for later analysis.
This works at the gym or on the road, tracking your entire workout data, including time, heart rate, calories burned, lap times and averages. The FR60 boasts advanced training tools, such as training alarms and Virtual Partner, which lets you race against a virtual training partner to improve your performance.

What I find most interesting about this watch is that you don’t have to recharge the battery, unlike the ForeRunner model. Battery life is said to be 1 year – but that obviously depends on usage. Unfortunately I won’t have the device that long to test the claims.

The device is water resistant so in theory it can be used by triathletes, and is also compatible with the cycling accessories, such as a cadence monitor (optional extras or add-ons).

Check this space for more updates on my experience with the Garmin FR60.

Here is a video tutorial to give you a better idea of how the device can sync with your computer wirelessly.

Garmin FR60

Event report back – Carnival City Macsteel cycle race

Another stunning Highveld day greeted cyclists for the Carnival City Macsteel 103km race on Sunday 28 February 2010.

Starting at Carnival City in the South East of Johannesburg, the race route is a lot gentler than last weekend’s Ride for Sight. It was a frustrating start though, as traffic congestion was a nightmare, as race organisers tried to usher all racers around the back of Carnival City to keep the main routes clear. Despite this it seems most racers made the start on time.

I started at the rear of the race, in HL group, so I wasn’t expecting a blistering time. It did however give me the chance to really think about the Falke cycling socks I had been sent for testing. I was wearing the black Falke pro cycling sock (retailing for R29.95) and must admit that there is great deal more that goes into the development of sock technology than one would think (but more of that later).

It was another reasonably fast start to the race, with the first 25km basically flat or downhill. It took a while to form a core group of riders, with enough people willing to help at the front – but this was short lived. With very few riders willing to take a turn at the front the faster riders would break off in groups of four or five and chase down the groups further up the road. This worked for me for a while, until a head wind, which later turned into a cross wind started to batter the smaller groups. At this point I decided to join a bigger group we had caught and “hide out” for a while.

But once again the pace at the front soon slowed to a crawl, where we were averaging around 23km/h. At this point I decided to break and took a rider with me who was on a mountain bike with slicks. Riding most of the last 35km on our own proved to be quite hard (as my heart rate will attest to in my Garmin race profile page).

Thankfully the race profile did not kick up enormously and we narrowly missed out on a sub 3hr 100km race result. This was however a great lead up to the Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Race in two weeks, so it was a well attended event as always. The marshaling was also excellent, but a few taxis and errant drivers did make it through the marshals to cause some havoc in the field. There were also a number of fallers that I saw (at least three) as people riding in groups lost concentration. I can also attest to losing my concentration when trying to take a drink of water and dropping my water bottle, but thankfully it rolled harmlessly off the road and didn’t take anyone out.

All-in-all it was another enjoyable day out on the bike, made that little bit more comfortable by the Falke socks I was wearing. I normally race in no name brand cycling socks, but having felt the difference I will definitely be switching to specifically designed cycling socks. I could feel that at the end of the race I didn’t feel the pedal pressure through my shoe as much, largely due to the sock’s reinforced heel and toe and soft elastic arch support that ensures your socks stay firmly in place. The Drynamix Moisture Management System and mesh panels ensured my feet ‘breathed’ better during the race and that the profuse sweat that comes with racing on the Highveld in summer was adequately dealt with. I had no complaints from my wife when I got home either, so the Falke Silver that provides anti-bacterial and fungal solution, keeping feet odour and bacteria free must have worked too.

After the race I popped on a pair of Falke’s recently launched compression socks to check if the claims about their healing abilities and assistance in speeding up recovery and improved performance are true. The theory is that the socks achieve this by delivering graduated compression for improved circulation, accelerated lactic acid removal and help to return oxygenated blood to the legs quicker. Improved circulation leads to reduced muscle fatigue and pain post exercise, which in turn leads to better performance. Compression socks are said to also reduce muscle swelling and protect against cramps, strains or sprains in the lower leg. Falke’s compression sock focuses the largest amount of compression on the foot and ankle region (where support is needed most) and gradually tapers off as the sock climbs the leg. This does not mean that there is an absence of support at the top of the sock, but just enough to minimise wasted motion of the muscles, keeping them stable and compact, without hampering the blood’s ability to return through the heart and lungs. Having worn them for a few hours after the race and most of the evening I can confirm that my calf muscles are not as sore, proportionately to my quads. The jury is still out on the improved performance but I will be using them more in my everyday training and will report back in future posts.

To view the race profile of the 2010 Carnival City Macsteel cycle race click here. Next on my race calendar is a 5km road race (not sure which one yet). I am also going to decrease the intensity of my road riding in terms of average speed, and start increasing the distance again. I also plan to get on the MTB again for a bit of variety.

I hope all your training is going well, especially all those IronLadies out there.

So, until next week – keep those fitness fires burning!
Pedro
Managing Editor at Fitness Magazine

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