Weekly Newsletter 21st July 2015

WEEKLY TRANSITION, SWIM, BIKE, RUN, READ…..

WORD FROM THE COACHES
NEW CYCLING GEAR PRE ORDERS
BIKES FOR SALE
TRAINING CAMPS UPDATE
TRAINING ARTICLE – 7 HABITS OF PRO TRIATHLETES
TRIATHLON VICTORIA CALENDAR
RACE REFLECTIONS
TRAINING SESSION UPDATES

1. WORD FROM THE COACHES

With recovery week done it is back into the thick of it in build week 1 as we continue with our Strength and technique phase. Weekend rides go back out to the hills with the intermediate crew changing destination and taking on the Kinglake climb. This ride will depart from Eltham train station. Further details can be found below.

Many athletes have asked about racing Noosa and how to get an entry as general spots have long sold out. For a number of years we have been associated with Smiling for Smiddy who have charity race entries for a number of upcoming races. Noosa, Sunshine Coast 70.3 and Busso IM. To sign up, read more and learn about the great work Smiddy do for Cancer Research read on here. As we all train outdoor a lot melanoma is very relevant to us all.

This weekend sees a number of athletes racing in the Run Melbourne event on Sunday. With a 5k, 10k and Half Marathon through the centre of Melbourne it’s a different course that’d you do not normally get to run around on closed streets. If you are needing a challenge or want to cheer on fellow athletes then check out the site and course below. Good luck to all those racing – have a great event and enjoy yourself out there.

Annual membership renewals have been going out and will continue to do so over the next few weeks for those on automatic payments. Please look out for this and update your payment details through your account if they have changed. The $99 fee will ensure you have continued partner discounts, access to race day tent and enable discounted Triathlon Australia/Victoria membership by association. Once your annual has been renewed you will also receive at $25 coupon for TriShop purchases.

Triathlon Victoria have now released their calendar so you can lock in those dates now and get that season plan sorted – see here TriVic Event Calendar 10 July 2015 for the latest version. Key dates and races are below:

17th/18th October 2015 – Yarrawonga Mulwala Multisport Festival
15th November 2015 – Challenge Shepparton
29th November 2015 – Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 1 – Elwood
10th January 2016 – Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 2 – St Kilda
31st January 2016 – Challenge Melbourne
21st February 2016 – Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 3 – Elwood
13th March 2016 – Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 4 – Portarlington
20th March 2016 – Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships Melbourne
10th April 2016 – Gatorade Triathlon Series Race 5 – St Kilda

These are currently being updated so for the latest calendar go the to Triathlon Victoria website.

Remember to keep an eye out on the Tri-Alliance Victoria Facebook page for all important updates and any changes regards training. Also regularly

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2.NEW CYCLING GEAR

Our new cycling gear is ready for pre-orders. Be ready for the new season in some stylish new kit. Orders expected to be ready in 6-8 weeks depending upon demand – so order now to guarantee your gear. For those who attended the Lorne camp we have contacted you with a coupon code for your order – sizes are the same as the existing Elite gear so get onto the shop and place your order.

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3.BIKES FOR SALE

Ex Giant Pro Deal bikes at great prices are available to our athletes. In great condition having been very well looked after. contact us if interested in learning more.

Giant TCR Advanced 0 2012 – Male Small, Dii2, 10 speed Ultegra – $2300

Giant Trinity Advanced 1 2014 – Male Small, Dii2, 10 speed Ultegra – $3500

Contact [email protected] or chat with Ollie if you are interested.

Athlete Stephen Drake also has a bike for sale – offers around $1000. email Stephen directly at [email protected] if you are interested.

Orbea Ora. Ultegra Mechanicals. Flash Point Wheels, Vision Bars. Recently serviced with new chain, big ring and cassette. Bars have spacers so can be lowered.

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4.TRAINING CAMPS

We still have places for our Advanced Camp so check out the details here and ask a coach if you are interested in coming along.

Advanced Camp (invite only) Friday 31st July-Sunday 2nd August. This is at the same location as last year – Broadbeach – Inverloch. Last couple of spaces left. If interest please email [email protected]

The pre-season camp at YMCA Queenscliff Friday 11th September- Sunday 13th September is now open for bookings – BOOK HERE NOW. $349 for the entire weekend including accommodation, training and breakfast and lunch. This camp is perfect for all levels of athlete with flat and challenging options available leading into race season so book in now. Any questions please drop us a note [email protected].

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5.TRAINING ARTICLE – 7 HABITS OF PRO TRIATHLETES

How do you compare to the Pro’s? have you got some bad habits or some good ones that should be in the list? Check out the infographic below by Craig Alexander. If he is doing them then we know they work!

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6.TRIATHLON VICTORIA & AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CALENDARS

Racing Sprint or Olympic distance? Fancy a trip to Mexico to race? Then check out the Australian national calendar for all the qualifying races. Also Duathlon, Long distance, aquathon and many more. Get your diary and start planning.

http://www.triathlon.org.au/Events/2015-2016_National_Calendar.htm

http://www.triathlon.org.au/State_Associations/VIC/Calendar___Events/Victorian_Calendar.htm

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7.RACE REFLECTIONS

Not all races go to plan and when they don’t it is important to reflect and learn from what happened. Athlete Paul de Man raced Ironman Nice in France recently and although he finished the course it was just outside the allowed time. Read below his thoughts and review and maybe consider this if one of your races doesn’t go quite to plan. Leanr and become stronger for the next one is the lesson.

As part of my NICE IM reflection I’ve taken the opportunity to re-read the race reflection completed after Melbourne IM as well as reflecting on other aspects of Ironman preparedness.

Melbourne IM summary – completed the event within the allocated time, but the Melbourne IM time was well above what I was satisfied with. The training leading up to Melbourne IM was ok, but was not where it needed to be to get to the desired time with the biggest weaknesses being insufficient bike / running off the bike and swim training leading up into the event.

Nice – despite completing the event (16hrs 20mins) – this time was beyond the time allowed to complete the event – hence a mark against the actual performance was a “FAIL” for this event. This is not being hard on myself, or trying to beat up on myself – it is in my opinion a realistic judgement against the actual time allocated to complete the event.

My run up to the 31.5km mark was at 5hr pace (as opposed to 6-hr pace for the Melbourne IM) and had it not been for failing on the last 10km of the run I would have at least posted a time below the 16hrs time limit.

Nice swim – with respect to the swim I felt comfortable in the water all the way – I was stung by something early in the swim but decided to ignore the sting and simply keep going. I had changed my goggles from the ones used in Melbourne (as they were fogging up) – I used a glare retardant pair of goggles and founds these very useful given the bright sunshine bearing down on us during the swim. I was worried about “sighting” issues as I believe I do swim of-course a fair bit during the 3.8km swim (leading to wasted time and unproductive energy spent during the day).

Nice bike – I did love the bike ride – but my biggest problem during the ride was the difficulty I had with breathing during the bulk of the ride. I will explore the reasons for this so I can understand this aspect better. I did as a matter of record learn a lot about the bike as unlike Melbourne IM I had to unpack and then reassemble the bike when I arrived into France, an re-pack for the journey back home to Melbourne.

Nice run – I had allowed myself 5hrs 15mins to basically complete the run so I could finish under the 16hrs. I had been focused on run training prior to the event and for the first 36km was on track to get to the 5hrs, running out of puff at the 31km mark when the run just became a drag and it was at this point in time I “gave up”. At this point in the race I was happy and satisfied with just completing (different to the feeling I have now during race reflection time).

Nutrition – this is always a bit of a mystery for me when asked how did you go with race day nutrition as I am not sure how to measure “race day nutrition”. I had a plan in terms of what I needed to consume for both liquids and solids during the race and in the main stuck to the plan. I created and executed the plan based on what was going to be available out on the course as well as what I could carry initially on the bike, and didn’t use the special needs facilities at Nice race. Nutrition is simply something for me to gain more knowledge about.

Summary race times –

Swim 1:53hr – Splits: 2.4kms was 1.03 at 2:39/100m, then 1.4km was 49mins at 3:30/100m (note I have a feeling I was swimming a lot of course during the 1.4km leg).

Bike 8:41hr – Splits:

28km 1:20 @ 20.96km/hr,56km 1:17 @ 21.84km/hr, 70km 1:31 @ 9:21km/hr (14km hill climb up to the peak of the 2000mtr climb), 105km 1:17 @ 27.11 km/hr, 119km 1.03 @ 13.22 km/hr (14km hill climb to peak of 1000mtrs), 144km 1:02 @ 24.04km/hr, 180km 1:09 @ 30.92km/hr. Average speed over the entire 180km course was 20:71km/hr.

Run – up to the 31.5km averaged run time of 7.5 minutes per kilometre… then bombed.

I was more than happy and satisfied with attending and completing the event. I do have a sense of accomplishment and joy I was able to complete the entire NICE distance and receive a finishers medal. I competed in the NICE event with an interrupted lead-up including a lack of IM specific training completed, yet I was pleased I managed to (1) get to the event and (2) complete the entire course. I was particularly pleased with being able to attend Nice because I chose this race primarily to the ride. I was pleased with being able to complete the ride at NICE in 8hrs 41mins as the ride included two climbs of 2000 and 1000 metres respectively and travels through some beautiful countryside. Also, my last 36kms on the bike had an average speed in excess of 30+km/hr.

8.TRAINING SESSION UPDATES

Please ensure you check the calendar regularly to ensure you know where and when sessions are.

This weekends highlights (please ensure you check your program or consult a coach so you attend the appropriate session and know your distances – remember you are accountable too!):

Saturday 25th July – Advanced ride – Kinglake leaving Studley Park Boathouse car park @6:30am. See Facebook event for details.
Saturday 25th July – Intermediate Eltham>Kinglake @7am. See Facebook event for details.
Sunday 26th July – RUN MELBOURNE – 5k/10k/Half Marathon
Sunday 26th July – Long Run 8am @MSAC
Sunday 26th July – Long Run 8am @Fairfield Boathouse Car Park