Weekly Newsletter 15th March 2016

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

1. WORD FROM THE COACHES
2. END OF SEASON PARTY!
3. PRO HOURS TRAINING
4. APRIL RECOVERY MONTH 
5. UPCOMING EVENTS
6. TRAINING SESSION UPDATES

1. WORD FROM THE COACHES Portarlington put on a great race weekend and the favorite race of many athletes calendars once again delivered. The calm, flat, clear swim (apart from the washing machine around the cans) with some shallow water running always gets the heart going before for the Sprint competitors have “that $£%&*** mount”! Once up around the small hill start (executed absolutely perfectly by coach Paddy – if only we had it on video) the course rolls with a sea view before cutting back towards town with a nice tailwind. Slowing to a controlled dismount (we saw numerous out of control) into transition and a run up the stairs out and back on more undulating track. At least the final stretch is down hill.   Our athletes showed off some of their great gains from the past few weeks of hard graft and well timed taper. Sonia who has developed into a gun ran out the winner of the female 20-24 age group by a clear 30 seconds. She has had some battles with injury this season but puts in the effort to fix the issue and come back stronger, mentally and physically. In the 25-30 age group Kat H stepped up onto the podium for the first time achieving one of her season goals – the grin on receiving the medal is very well deserved. Other achievements included Hilario gracing the second step of the podium, Jo and Stephen taking 3rd and second place in their age groups in the Fun Tri (both having recently completed our Try the Tri program). Numerous other achievements have come to light with a number of athletes taking 10mins of their previous Portarlington race times. Well done all and we look forward to race 5 in just under 4 weeks time (10th April). We must also mention all those who helped put up and take down the tent after a long weekend. Many hands make light work and give you all a place to warm, up leave your gear, and discuss all things tri pre and post race. 🙂 SAVE THE DATE – Saturday 14th May – End of Season Party. For more information and tickets for this very popular event click here. Meanwhile up on the Sunshine Coast we had athletes racing the Mooloolaba Olympic distance. Dan Weekes finished a great 9th in his age group with sub 2:20 race and Christie Emsley was so close to the podium with a 4th place. Well done to Chris Kelly who ticked another Olympic Distance off the list having recently been battling injury – top work. THIS WEEKENDS RACING Warrnambool hosts this weekends racing event with a good few of our long course guys taking on the Sufferfest long course in preparation for upcoming Ironmans and 70.3s in Cairns and Port Mac. There are also athletes taking on the sprint and Olympic races all of which feature a challenging hill on a looped course. Good luck all racing. For those who are there Saturday morning Coach Ollie will be taking a pre-race session and course famil from 07:30am at the race venue. Post this session please stay for a few mins to help put up the tent for Sunday’s race. GRAND PRIX DISRUPTION Please note that some sessions over the next week may be affected by the Grand Prix at Albert Park. Access to MSAC is restricted and entry is only via the rear multistory carpark entrance. If you can get there by walking/cycling this may be better than driving at busy times of the day. Note that this Thursday’s hot laps will be a beach road Mordi dash return from Elwood starting at 0545am (Coach Ollie will brief the session before rolling). Next Monday the 21st we do not have swimming at MSAC but are replacing this with an Open Water swim at Elwood. The MSAC run session next Tuesday 6am the 22nd will start from the rear entrance. Please also look out for any amendment to next Tuesdays wind trainer session. Make sure you check the calendar and FB for sessions. For full details on MSAC access and closures please read the following link here. ELWOOD COMBO BBQ – THURSDAY 17th AFTER TRAINING With this Thursdays weather looking good and before the nights totally draw in and we succumb to autumn and winter we thought we’d put on a bbq to celebrate the season (so far). Please come along for training at Elwood starting at 6pm for either the combo or run session (if you rode in the morning) and we’ll then make sure you have a well deserved feed once you are finished. Please let us know if you are coming so we can cater accordingly by responding to the event here. Note it is also St Patrick’s day so maybe add a splash of green to your running attire for extra snags!   March Calendar is now up and running so please check it out including the new Pro Hours sessions. There are some changes due to the Grand Prix over this period and Easter (FRIDAY 25th, SUNDAY 27th, MONDAY 28th – NO SESSIONS) so do ensure you check this timetable and our Victorian Facebook page for training updates as these sometimes have to change at short notice. Click the session on the calendar to give you more details including time and location. top

2. END OF SEASON PARTY – TICKETS ON SALE NOW – SATURDAY 14th MAY Tickets can now be purchased at the early bird price of $75pp via TryBookings here. Our End of Season party is booked and we want everyone to be there. This cracking event returns again to The Village Melbourne and Ormond Hall and is open to all Tri-Alliance members, friends and family. Running from 6:30pm until 11:30pm we will have drinks and canape’s on arrival with dinner served between our much anticipated awards. Who will take out the much coveted Zoolander award from last years winner James Tyler (or can he repeat!!). Other awards will go to our short and long course male and female achievers along with the John Cornish Scholarship and best newcomer. Don’t miss out and double book yourself. If you are wanting to help out on the organisation of this event then please do email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you. top

3. PRO HOURS TRAINING There has been great feedback from the first 2 weeks of Pro Hours as we look to build on this in the coming weeks. Many thanks to all those who have come along and made the most from the sessions. Please share and spread the word about these FREE sessions and if you happen to have a day off or can adjust your schedule come along and give them a go. With many athletes having flexible working arrangements and the power to adjust their own training schedule it was about time we offered some “Pro Hours” training sessions. For the month of March we are running free triathlon training sessions during the day.

• Can’t make our early morning or evening sessions?
• Got to drop off or pick the kids up from School?
• Work from home and need a break?
• Like a sleep-in before training?
• Don’t do the 5am wake up?
• Have a flexible working arrangement?

Then Tri-Alliance “Pro Hours” could be just right for you. The sessions will cover pool swims, run technique and interval sets and work on the bike such as road skills, strength and endurance. If you are interested, have a question, want more info or want to register please email us at [email protected]. Our timetable is out now and more details can be found here. top

4.APRIL RECOVERY MONTH With the end of the season approaching for many we are starting to think about what to do for April after the final races of the season in Victoria. This is a very important time of the season where you need to unwind, rest and recuperate. Sessions will be fewer and much less intense to give tired bodies the rest that they deserve. Last year we mountain biked, went indoor rock climbing, ran boot camps and did some strength and conditioning. We want to hear from you some suggestions on activities that are different from the normal swim/bike/run, don’t cost an arm and a leg and can be a good social occasion for all to join in on. Please email us at [email protected] with any suggestions you think would fit the bill. top

5.UPCOMING EVENTS Even though we are already mentioning recovery month do not think that there are only a couple of races left in the season. There are plenty still out there and our friends at SME360 and XOSIZE events have a few coming up. For those who have been asking and cannot currently run due to injury there will be another Aqua Bike race at St Kilda on the 10th April (1500m Swim and 40k bike) – you can now enter this on the Gatorade Triathlon website for race 5 here. Post the final Gatorade there is the Great Ocean Ride on the 16th April with 204k, 145k and 60k ride options along some of the best coastline in the country. Entry information can be found on the website here.