Weekly Transition 5 February 2014

WORD FROM THE COACHES
Racing galore over the next couple of months, with February kicking off with the Inaugural Challenge Melbourne Half Distance race. A great day for athletes despite the hot conditions, and a fantastic atmosphere around the venue. Read below for our race wrap up and report.

This weekend is the Geelong Half Ironman and Olympic Distance races as part of the Geelong Multi Sports Festival. Conditions are currently looking worse than what our athletes had a Challenge last weekend, so lets hope the temps and wind drops before Sunday! But either way, all you can do is control the controllable’s and modify your race plans acordingly. Coach Darren will hold a pre race session 9.30am from Eastern Beach (race venue). Ride, Run and Swim recon, so bring all your gear. (Coach Darren 0414 989 313)
Best of luck to the following athletes racing:
Half:
Darren Schonewille    Jed Shiels    Lee Bethune    Mark Jenkins    Simon Madden
Michelle Grocock    Anthony Churchward    Matthew Fox    Adam Murone
We also have Nola and Evalin in teams. (If we have missed you please let Sarah know)
Olympic:
(If you are racing – please let us know!)

This week we are again set to have some warm days, so don’t forget to train smart and re-hydrate to ensure you are getting the most from your bodies.
This Thursday Night we will have TRENT from Mizuno join us at our Combo session at Elwood and he’ll be bringing Mizunos range of new foot wear. If you haven’t heard about the new Wave Hitogamis then Click here to read…. And make sure you come along tomorrow night to test run a pair of these and other shoes from the Mizuno range.

UPCOMING RACES & EVENTS
Sunday 9 February          Geelong Olympic & Half IM
Sunday 16 February        Race 4 Gatorade Series, Elwood (Aus Sprint champs)
Sunday 2 March                Fitness First Corporate Tri, Elwood
Sprint Distance Qualifier, Canberra
Saturday 1 March             Olympic Distance Qualifier, Davenport
Sunday 9 March                Olympic Distance Qualifier, Victor Harbour & Wollongong
Sunday 16 March             Race 5 Gatorade Series, Portarlington
Sunday 23 March             Ironman Melbourne
Sunday 23 March             Race 6 Gatorade Series, StKilda

CHALLENGE MELBOURNE WRAP UP AND RESULTS
It was predicted to be one of the hottest days for racing in Melbourne for the Inaugural and much anticipated Challenge Melbourne, and Melbourne didn’t hold back!
The day started off with perfect conditions, a flat, fast and easy to navigate swim course meant we were looking for some lightning fast swim times, however a buoy had drifted before the race start which meant a slightly longer course was swum by all competitors. But not to despair, the conditions were perfect none the less. Click here to continue reading our wrap up and results…

WORLD SPRINT DISTANCE QUALIFIER, 7 MILE BEACH TAS (RESULTS)
In the quest for points to qualify for the 2014 Age Group World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, a merry crew of three Tri Alliance athletes headed across the seas to Tasmania.  We were joined by Alison Faulkner, and Mark Skilton with friend of TA, Xavier Flynn, in toe.

Seven Mile Beach provided an idyllic swim, despite the knee-high step in the narrow beach track to the transition area.  The cycle leg was 3 laps of an ‘airport adjacent’ route, and fortunately no planes landed during the race – that would have been weird!
The run leg was 2 laps of a neighbourhood route, but unlike Noosa or Victor Harbour no friendly neighbours with hoses.
Results:
Geoff Houston 1st (60-64),
Caroline Houston 1st (54 – 59),
Sarah Lausberg 1st (35-39), all gaining 25 points towards Canada.
Mark Skilton 2nd (30-34) and Xavier Flynn 2nd (35-39), each gaining 24 points.
Allison Faulkner came 3rd (20-24) gaining 23 points.  It was a points fest all round by our athletes, so well done team!

WEDNESDAY SWIMS AT MSAC:
FEBRUARY: sessions on Wednesday night will be at 6.30PM, OUTDOOR Pool.

BIKE STORAGE AT MSAC- PLEASE READ
Please read the following notice from the mangement team at MSAC regarding storing your bikes while using the MSAC facilities:

‘Recently staff at MSAC have had to ask several people to remove their bikes from the venue & this has been an ongoing issue. Patrons are not allowed to bring their bikes into the centre. We are not able to look after their bikes or take responsibility for any loss or damage that may happen to their bike. Patrons trying to bring their bikes into the Centre, will be informed to use the multiple bike racks located across the facility. Excuses such as “my bike is expensive” or “I forgot my lock” are not acceptable. We will not allow bikes in the centre and will be ensuring all staff members enforce this.’

SWIM STROKE CORRECTION COURSE
STARTS THIS FRIDAY
Back by popular demand, our Swim Stroke Correction Program run by our Head Swim Coach Ryan Bourke starts THIS FRIDAY. 6.30pm Fridays for 5 weeks.  More details here – and with only a few spots remaining, so you will need to be quick!

TRI CHALLENGE – STARTS THIS WEEK!
The next of our popular and longest running 6 week beginner triathlon program is ready to start this weekend, so if you have any friends or family who may be interested, make sure you pass on their details and we can be in contact. 🙂 Click here to read more….

ROCKET SCIENCE AQUA SENSE REVIEW 
Read Coach Ryans review of the brand new Rocket Science Aqua Sense, and why he chooses to wear the Rocket Science suit.  Click here to continue reading..

MIZUNO WAVE HITOGAMI REVIEW
Coach Ryan has been busy and has also reviewed the newly released light weight yet vesatile running shoe the Mizuno Wave Hitogami. Click here to read… the hype on this new Mizuno shoe.

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE
An unfortunate accident during a training ride on the weekend left one athlete taken by an ambulance, and another two walking wounded but otherwise relatively unscathed. We cannot stress first the importance of safety while on the bike, but secondly ensuring you are adequately covered should anything happen. Continue reading for an exclusive offer to Tri Alliance athletes. 

GMHBA is pleased to offer  Tri-Alliance athlete’s exclusive access to this month’s partner offer. Get a Quote or Join Now
*Plus, if you join by 28th February 2014, we’ll give you $150 Cash Back plus a waiver of most 2 & 6 month waiting periods when you take out a GMHBA Combined Product. To ensure you receive this special offer all you have to do is use promotional code Tri-Alliance.

Finally a health insurance product that rewards YOU for staying fit and healthy! GMHBA has some exciting news. We have developed a range of packages specifically for people into sports and fitness.

When it comes to exercise there is a fine line between pushing your body to its limits and overdoing it. So with fantastic benefits and enhanced claiming limits, you need to ensure you have the right cover for your fit and active lifestyle with one of our four Fit Packages.

Our Fit packages encourage, support and reward you for staying fit and healthy.  We also put significant dollars back in the hands of local clubs and communities, to improve and protect the health and well-being of grassroots fitness and sport participation in Australia.
Contact us  1300 446 422 [email protected]

 IRONMAN MELBOURNE PAID PROMOTION!
Do you have time on your hands and looking for a little extra cash? We are seeking people who would like to help with distribution of official promo material for Ironman Melbourne, taking posters/fliers and the like to retailers and cafés etc along different parts of the course. This will be paid Paid work (require your own transport) and will begin ASAP!
Ironman Melbourne will also be holding a big promo day at St Kilda festival this Sunday and need about 15-20 people, dressed in Ironman gear for about 4hrs. Email [email protected] if you are interested.

IRONMAN MELBOURNE – SEARCHING FOR VOLUNTEERS!
After the huge success of our ‘Aid Stations’ at Ironman Melbourne over the past two years, we are again putting a call out for athletes, friends, family who would like to volunteer some of their time to help at our Tri Alliance Aid Stations on the Run Course of Ironman Melbourne. With around 50 Tri Alliance athletes competing in Ironman Melbourne, it’s going to be a huge event again for Tri Alliance and so we are looking for your support!
What we need!
Around 80 athletes/friends/family who can spare 2-4 hours on Sunday 23 March (Ironman Melbourne Race Day) to assist on one of two aid stations, handing out drinks and food and generally providing support to athletes as they run past.
We are also in search of two people who would be willing to help us with the organisation of the volunteers. You don’t need any experience – just some good organisation skills! Email [email protected] if you would like to volunteer OR be an Volunteer Organiser and we’ll provide more information! Thanks, Sarah

ELWOOD LIFESAVING CLUB FUNDRAISER
Do you have a few hours up your sleeve and want to donate your time to a good cause? Our friends at the Elwood Lifesaving are seeking volunteers to help with their Highway Collection (tin rattle) on Saturday 22 February, with the morning anticipated to bring in much needed funds to the Club.
Click here for more details and to register your interest.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE??
Mark ‘Sharky’ Smoothy founder of Smiling for Smiddy has a Challenge for YOU!

“I began an adventure, one that was infinitely bigger than even I could have imagined, my Oz 7 in 7 trip around Australia. Seven years in the making, this epic trip will conclude with two legs, covering over 2300kms in total.

You’ll cycle leg one travelling from Melbourne to Sydney via Canberra (3-9 Oct) or leg two
finishing it all off from Sydney to Brisbane (12-18 Oct), or maybe both! (There will be two lay days in Sydney included between the legs for recovery) – and I would love for you to join me!”

Stage 1, 1300kms
Departs Melbourne – 3 October 2014
Arrives Sydney – 9 October 2014
Stage 2, 1200kms
Departs Sydney – 12 October 2014
Arrives Brisbane – 18 October 2014

Read the full tour brochure here>> Registrations are now open, with places strictly limited (ONLY 30 PLACES).  To register please follow this link>>
Let us know if you are keen, as we already have one athlete joining stage 1 – so who else is up for the Challenge???

FACEBOOK – more than a ‘social network’
Tri Alliance utilises Facebook on many levels (like millions of other businesses / clubs /groups) and one of the reasons, is it allows for direct communication to our athletes in an instant. Any changes to training, updates in sessions, new events etc are all delivered via the Facebook medium. We also use it to share pictures, stories and allow athletes to interact with each other.

So if you have yet to embrace Facebook, we encourage you to at least set up an ‘alias’ account and follow Tri Alliance so you don’t miss out on any important or noteworthy information directed to our athletes which may not communicated on email. And make sure you ‘like’ each of our pages to ensure you are getting the relevant information you need.

Happy facebooking…

• Tri Alliance Triathlon Training – for all global news, information, advice plus more
• Tri Alliance Victoria – specifically for our VIC Athletes
• Tri Alliance Queensland – specifically for our QLD Athletes
• Tri Alliance Running Group – join our FREE running group
• Tri Alliance New/Beginner Athletes -(group) this group is for anyone new to Tri Alliance/triathlon and can feel free to ask ANY question that our Coaches will happily answer.

TRAINING THIS WEEKEND

SHORT COURSE

• Saturday: 7.30am Elwood Beach. Bring all swim, bike and run gear. Will be an awesome morning for training and Coach Emma has a big session planned, so see you there!
• Sunday: 6.45am Group Ride. Leaving Elwood Lifesaving Club OR Geelong Olympic Distance Race

LONG COURSE

• Saturday: Long Ride leaving ELSC 6.15am. Follow program distances OR
  Geelong Pre Race Session, 9.30am from Eastern Beach (race venue). Ride, Run and Swim recon. Coach Darren 0414 989 313
• Sunday: 8.00am Long Run. Leaving from ELSC followed by optional OW swim OR Geelong Half Ironman.

TRIATHLON TRADING POST
FOR SALE: Zoot Ladies Ultra TT 6.0 racing shoes
Size UK 6.5 (slightly too small for me,I’m size 9)
From Wiggle $147.57, For sale $80.00
Contact Sarah: [email protected]