With the recent launch of GARMIN's latest Premium GPS running/triathlon watch, we asked Trifactri athlete and GARMIN Brand Ambassador Jade Nicole to give us a little insight to this incredible training device..

​Oh, the classic Swim, Bike and Run- I would say that we are all pretty familiar with the drill. The fourth discipline is fondly known as Transition, sometimes forgotten and neglected, yet when mastered can shave minutes off your time. (I speak for myself, who basically sets up camp in transition.)

My 5th discipline is called Type One Diabetes (T1D) and without careful attention to this domain, completing a triathlon would be a pipedream. T1D is an autoimmune disease that manifests after the body self-destructs its own insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, resulting in the complete loss of carbohydrate metabolism. Talk about self-sabotage. There is no cure and I play full time pancreas- balancing administering insulin injections and carbohydrate counting. 

​Durban 70.3 2017 

I entered this race for one goal ..okay maybe two and that was to get a slot for worlds 2018 in PE as well as dance somewhere on the podium, this was no secret to anyone who knows me or cared to listen.

I’m not very talented but I’m as stubborn as a goat.  Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard … and boy did I work hard.  Early Hours, Late nights, Long Weekends.  Day in and day out … all greens where I could help it. 

​You know how it is leading up to a race, “are you ready?” “How has the training been?” “Are you nervous?” “How is the body feeling?” and for the first time in a very long time my answers weren’t, “ah we’ll see on the day won’t we,” “The training has been ok hey,” “Nnnaaaa not very nervous,” “Ya the body is fine thanks,” it was, “Yes, I am ready,” “The training has been really good thanks,” “Yes I am very nervous,” and “The body is feeling great!”

​The training was consistent and I was as ready as I could be, but an athlete’s worst nightmare before a big race is either getting sick or getting injured. On the Tuesday before the race I did my EASY indoor, you know how tapering is ;) and as I started my EASY run my hamstring did something funny. Needless to say the next few days it was a continuous repetition of ice, heat, ice, heat, panic message to Lucie, ice, heat, ice, heat, transact patch, pray, ice, heat, ice, heat… well you get the picture!

If anyone had said to me that before I reach my big Four Oh, I would have completed a triathlon, I would have divorced myself from the friendship immediately with a heartfelt laugh!  And yet, today I’m writing this blog having completed two triathlons and one of them being Ironman 70.3 Durban.

Prior to joining Trifactri, my only goal was to fit in my clothes (comfortably) and to look good by the time the big Four Oh arrived.  Each day I would go to the gym and essentially plod along (can one truly do anything properly without a coach? Nope).  A fellow running friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him for training sessions as he is training for Ironman 70.3 East London.  Having nothing to lose and frankly there is never anything wrong with running behind a man who has killer legs for motivation, I agreed and unbeknown to me, the triathlon journey began. 

​Walking onto the beach on race morning, you can just spot the swimmers. They’re an elite bunch. It’s like they smoothly and confidently stride towards the sub 30min self-seeding board with their wide shoulders, narrow waists, unusually webbed feet and mirrored goggles firmly secured by a second swimming cap. *Shivers up my spine*.