How ready are you for the #WTSCapeTown? Take the toughness test

In April, you’re going to be kicking, pedalling, and pounding the pavement to the finish line of the Discovery World Triathlon Cape Town. How ready you are will determine whether you have a great day, or an epic day. So how ready are you? Take this toughness test to find out.

How tough are you in the cold water?

There’s no getting around it: Cape Town’s water is cold and your wetsuit can only help so much. If you’ve been training in a pool – especially that heated pool at the gym – put your wetsuit on; grab a buddy; and get into that freezing water. Then do that a few more times until you’re comfortable with the cold and with your wetsuit.

How tough are you cycling in a crowd?

With all the jostling and wrangling to get to the front, the cycle can be testing. If you’ve been cycling by yourself, get a group together or join a group, and cycle with them; often. Get used to being passed by faster riders, passing slower riders, and to drafting. Drafting is when you cycle close enough to the back wheel of the cyclist in front of you so that you ride in their slipstream and reduce the amount of energy you need. The closer you can get, the more effective drafting becomes. The Discovery World Triathlon Cape Town is draft legal so this can make your cycle easier; if you know how to do it without causing an accident.

How tough are you on your wobbly legs?

That weak and wobbly feeling you get after jumping off your bike and starting to run can be very disconcerting. Brick training – where you cycle and then hop off the bike and run – can condition your legs to feel stronger right off the bike. Get out there and practise your cycle to run transitions.

Are you tough enough to go the distance?

To complete a triathlon, you have to swim, then cycle, and then run; can you make the full distance? The only way to know is to try it. Whether you have entered for the sprint or the Olympic, you have to be able to make the distance for each discipline individually. But the next step is putting them together. Can you make it?

Are you tough enough to get there fast?

How fast can you make the swim? The cycle? The run? Now, how much faster can you finish it? Time trial each discipline – where you finish the distance as fast as you can – and then try to improve on that weekly.

Are you tough enough to enjoy it?

Part of finishing a triathlon successfully, is being fit enough to enjoy it. Cape Town is beautiful and you have a great opportunity to enjoy it in a way not many people can. Make sure you’re ready enough to finish while having fun.

Are you tough enough? Enter the Discovery World Triathlon Cape Town here.

To find out more about Discovery, click here.