BTS Blog 9/2/10

RACE RESULTS - CALOUNDRA QTS AND GEELONG IM 70.3


Caloundra

Despite the deluge there were big numbers racing at the QTS race in Caloundra. Always a popular one over the 400/15/4 distance the rain certainly made the conditions quite tough. Despite that though there seem to be very few crashes and some fast times.

Leading the way for BTS was John Agyik who left the whole male age group field in his wake. Easily winning the 35-39 age group, he was the fastest overall male grouper for the day and just over a minute behind the winner of the men's open race. I think a step up to the open field beckons for the next QTS race.

Other highlights for the BTS men were Paul Thisleton second in the 30-34 and Ewen Larsen 3rd in the same age group. For Ewen it was his first podium in a QTS race and a great reward for someone who has steadily improved over the last couple of years. Also placing highly in the same age group was Mark Pierce for 5th.

In the 25-29 men's Mike Hill had a big pb for the Caloundra course to place 5th just ahead of Troy Grimshaw who was 6th. Both of these guys will soon be consistently on the podium due to their strong work ethics. In the 20-24 men's the two Tom's had a great battle before Tom Manning secured 3rd place just ahead Tom Hogbin in 4th.

It was also good to see Mark Lawton improve his time by 4 minutes from last year's Caloundra event despite the conditions. Looking good for his up coming Police Games race in Hobart.

In the ladies Nic Savage continued her good form to place 3rd in the 20-24 and slash 6 minutes from her time at Caloundra last year. Also placing in the top 10 was Catherine Sharp with 8th in the 20-24. It's also pleasing to see so many of the ladies such as Kristen Walker, Katie Dall, Belinda Daniels and Taryn Richardson move up the placing lists in their age groups.

It wasn't long ago that people such as Nic Savage, Mike Hill and Ewen Larsen were well down the placings but through consistent hard work they are now challenging for the podiums and will soon be winning their age groups consistently. If you go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/BrisbaneTriSquad/CaloundraTriathlon# you'll be able to see some great photos of the day's action thanks to the new camera provided by the team at Videopro.


Geelong 70.3


At the Geelong 70.3IM we had 4 athletes making their debut over the half IM distance. Renee Smith, Sarah Hulme, Alicia Newman and Steve "Ando" Anderson all travelled down to Geelong to venture into uncharted waters. In fact all 4 have done our beginner courses over the last couple of years so it's great to see them continue on and try new races.


Leading the way was Renee Smith who came 8th in the 25-29 with a great time of 5.01. If you have seen Renee in the run leg of a triathlon you won't be surprised that she ran 1.31 for the half marathon leg of the race despite the onset of cramps towards the end of the run.

Alicia and Sarah spent the last few months training together for this race and they crossed the line within a minute of each other at a tick over 6hrs. This is a great effort for two ladies who have come so far since completing their beginner courses.


For the big man Ando it was a tough day but he did finish in 6.26 for and like Sarah and Alicia he has overcome many challenges to get to where he is.

TRAINING & MOOLOOLABA CAMP

With our week of time trials behind us we're back into some solid training leading into next weeks Mooloolaba camp. Due to demand we have secured some extra accommodation so at this stage we have 3 spots available for anyone wanting to come along. Please e-mail Suz@brisbanetrisquad.com.au asap if you would like to attend.

We saw some big improvements across the board last week in the swim and bike time trials especially. There was a time that for anyone to go low 30 min for the 20km was rare where as now we consistently have guys riding well under 30 min with quite a few under 29 and 28 min.

For the swim we now have people swimming well under 11 min for the 800m and many getting close to breaking the 11 and 12 min barriers. If you go the time trial section on the website you'll be able to see the progress of some people. As we move close to Mooloolaba there will be slight change to working on the run through some increased intensity on the track.

So for the remainder of this week please check the training calendar for all sessions. Please note Friday morning's group ride starts at 5.15am from West End and it will be an easy aerobic ride. Saturday morning is another transitions session at Suttons Beach Redcliffe from 7.15am. If you're looking at some further time on the bike I would recommend riding to Redcliffe and then home again after the transitions.

BTS Blog

TRAINING

Due to last Friday morning's 20km bike time trial cancelled on account of the rain, we'll try again this Friday morning. Start time is 5.30am at the Nundah Criterium Track on Hedley Avenue.

For those racing on the weekend I would suggest either the squad ride to Caloundra on Saturday or otherwise an aerobic ride of 2-3hrs. Keep the ride flat where possible so your legs are not too smashed for Sunday's race.

If you're not racing then an aerobic ride on one day and a swim/run session on the other day would be a good idea. Starting with 400m swim after an easy warm up, then do a 10 min run @ race pace. Repeat 3-4 times continuously and try and maintain similar times for each leg. These are great race prep sessions and teach the body to run when fatigued.

Well done also to everyone who recorded pb's in the 3km run and 800/400m time trials on Tuesday. Between now and Mooloolaba we'll do another couple of time trials so we can monitor further progress.

BTS Blog 2/2/10

TRAINING

We're back into some solid work again after last week's recovery week. This morning was another no watch 3km time trial with Catherine Sharp winning the $150 voucher from Videopro http://www.videopro.com.au/ for closest to her nominated time.

Tomorrow morning we will be heading over to Long Pocket for some further strength work so meeting place is at UQ. If you're looking at trying to get some extra time on the bike why not ride to the session and onto work rather than drive the car. Time on the bike can be hard to find but with some planning it can happen.

On the subject of bike rides, remember this Sat is the long ride to Caloundra. The ride leaves at 5am sharp from the Woolworths Car Park on the cnr of Gympie and Webster Rds, Chermside. We will have a car to take bags for those staying Sat night and racing on Sunday. Please ensure your bike is in good condition and you have your own spares in the event of a flat.

If you haven't ridden 100km before and are planning on racing the next day I would recommend not doing the ride. However for many it will be a great training ride in the lead up to Mooloolaba.
Therefore if you're planning to do the ride could you please e-mail me so we have an idea as to who is coming.

MEDILIGHT WEEKLY PRIZE

This week's random draw winner of the free Microhydrabrasion treatment from Medilight http://www.medilight.com.au/ is Alicia Newman.

IRONMAN UPDATE

Our IM athletes heading to New Zealand have just over 4 weeks to go until race day. This weekend they are doing a 200km ride from Brisbane to Caloundra via Mt. Mee, Peachester, Malaney, Montville and Mooloolaba. On Sunday they are doing another 120km ride back to Brisbane from Caloundra.

Training has been going well and everyone is excited about the race. For those heading to IM Aus in 7 weeks they travelled to Goondiwindi on the weekend for the Hell of the West. Ali Catto won her age group and placed 19th female overall with a 5.01. Karl Manz also had a great race to go through in 4.55.

Other BTS athletes to compete included Simon Prebble, Emma Maynard and Gerrad Duffy. In the teams we had Hannah Hogan and Mariam Morad also compete. Congratulations to everyone who made the trip.

PROFILE

Our next profile is Tom Hogbin. Tom joined the squad late last year and has made quite an impression with his determination at training and ability to push himself to the limit.

Age 23

Where do you live? Ashgrove

How do you pay the bills? Accountant

If you won gold lotto what would you do? Buy a house or two… buy some really good food to eat

What are your triathlon goals? Mainly to challenge myself and meet new people… might try to throw in some competitive times and maybe a place?

Married, single or otherwise? Otherwise

What is your favorite part of triathlon? Cycle – although the swim is somehow becoming enjoyable

What would be your dream job? Professional Sportsmen

Blog 25/1/10

TRAINING

After a few hard weeks training, this week will be quite easy to allow the body to recover and freshen up for another solid block ahead. Due to the public holiday tomorrow there is no training and Wednesday morning will be a river loop on the bike.

The Friday morning time trial at Nundah and the brick session on Saturday morning at UQ will obviously be quite challenging but everything until that point will be quite easy. When we recover we improve so use the week to freshen up.

If you're looking for a session on Sunday morning I would recommend an easy spin on the bike of no more that 2-2.5hrs over flat terrain. Depending on how you're feeling do the ride in the small ring and keep the ride at a conversational pace through out.

THURSDAY MORNING SWIMMING

For the last few weeks our IM athletes have been doing a Thursday morning swim from the Valley Pool starting at 5.30am. We plan to continue with this session after they finish IM and it will be predominantly for those people training for long course events.

However any advanced level swimmers are also welcome to come along and join in. So for people who swim their 800m time trial in 12.3o or better can get in extra session in for the week.

COMPRESSPORT ORDER

For anyone else wanting to order the quad or calf compressport garments please let me know by Thursday morning so we can place an order by the end of the week.

MEDILIGHT GIVE AWAY'S

Over the next 10 weeks Medilight http://www.medilight.com.au/ are giving away one free Micro Hydrabrasion treatment each week. It will be done through an electronic random draw of the BTS member data base.

This weeks winner is Ed Connelly. Congratulations Ed and next week we'll do another draw and announce the winner in the blog.

VIDEOPRO MONTHLY VOUCHER

The $150 voucher for January from Videopro http://www.videopro.com.au/ will be given away at tonight's core/box session as a random draw for those people attending that session.

WETSUIT FOR SALE

Karl Manz has a 2XU medium wetsuit for sale. It has been only been used in 2 half IM swims and for a few training swims. If you're interested you contact Karl on kmanz@henley.com.au

PROFILE

Our next profile is Mariam Morad who completed the last beginner course of 2009. Mariam came to BTS through the free Bridge to Brisbane training sessions last year and has decided to take up the challenge of triathlon

Age 28

Where do you live Bardon

How do you pay the bills? Thanks to the lovely world of insurance

If you won gold lotto what would you do? Travel.. travel.. and more travel!

What are your triathlon goals? Mooloolaba 2010 – and see where I go from there

Married, single or otherwise? Otherwise

What is your favorite part of triathlon? The feeling I get when I finally cross that finish line!

What would be your dream job? Once I buy my tropical island, I guess I’ll have to maintain it…!

BTS Blog 18/1/10

RACE RESULTS

The first race of the year was held at Robina yesterday in still and hot conditions. We had a good sized crew getting around with top 10 results to Mike Hill (6th) and Troy Grimshaw (8th) in the men's 25-29 and in only her third triathlon, Kristy Bell 7th in the ladies 20-24.

The highlights of the day were a 1st place in the 20-24 ladies and 11th female overall to Nic Savage and a 10min improvement on last year's time in the same race to Belinda Daniels who was also just outside the top 10. Both girls have been working very hard so it's great to see them getting some good results. In the ladies enticer 25-34 event Yas Grigaliunas was 2nd and Beth Richardson 7th while Eve McNiell was 2nd in the 16-24.

The next race is at Caloundra in 3 weeks which is part of the new national elite series. Go to http://www.usmevents.com.au/qts/docs/130110CaloundraTripoisedfornationalstatus.pdf for details of what I think will be some very exciting race featuring Australia's best triathletes. As a result I think entries will go close to selling out so get in early if you're planning on competing.

TRAINING

We have another solid week this week and then next week will be an easier week. All the sessions will be similar to last week although this week's Thursday morning run will be a longer aerobic session. The brick on Friday will be at Mt. Cootha and on Saturday morning is a trail run at Mt. Cootha.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SWIMMING - TWO SESSIONS

From this week we will be offering two sessions on a Wed night. Like the Thursday night program it will be a 5.15pm for the advanced and then a 6.15pm session for the beginner/intermediate. The stroke correction focus will remain but the 2 sessions will allow a reduction in session numbers and more space per lane.

JANUARY MONTHLY PRIZES

Our monthly prizes for January go the following athletes:

1. The Velo bike http://www.velo.net.au/ service goes to Tim Franklin. Tim has dropped a lot of weight and is working very hard as he gets ready for his first IM in New Zealand. Along with his great attitude to training he makes training fun for everyone around him.

2. The free massage from Faye Jenner goes to Danielle Raynor. Along with Tim, Danielle has been one of the most consistent trainers within the squad for some time.

3. The random draw for the $50 voucher from the Aqua Shop http://www.aquashop.com.au/ was won by Alex Barry

4. A new monthly prize from this month is a free microdermabrasion treatments from Medilight http://www.medilight.com.au/ . Valued at over $100 each month we will award it to someone who performs well in a race. The first one goes to Nic Savage for her 1st place and 11th overall yesterday at Robina.

Stay tuned to the blog for details on how later this month we'll be giving away the $150 voucher from Videopro and the two $50 vouchers from Car Spa.

BEGINNER COURSE

Our latest beginner course started today with another 26 keen and eager new triathletes. They have 6 weeks ahead of them as they get ready to graduate at the Raby Bay event on Feb 28th.

IRONMAN IS GETTING CLOSER

Our IM athletes are in the biggest training block as they get ready for IM New Zealand in 7 weeks. All are going well and other than some tiredness there are no injuries and the spirits are high within the group.

Over the last couple of weeks they have done the Mt. Glorius, Nebo, Samford, Ferny Grove and the Gap loop twice. In addition to some long 2.5-3hr runs through the trails of Cootha they are working on building their strength.

Coming up they have a 190-200km ride from Brisbane to Caloundra via Mt. Mee, Peachester, Malaney, Montiville, Nambour and Mooloolaba and then backing up for a 120-130km ride back to Brisbane the next day.

TIME TRIAL BIKE FOR SALE

I am selling a 2008 Azzuri TT bike. Go to http://www.azzurribikes.com/product_03.php?mid_class=A001&small_class=003&xs_class=008&psn=21 for details of the bike. It has done no more that 2000 to 3000km and the only reason it is being sold is that it is slightly too big for me.

If you're interested let me know via e-mail or phone 0422819781 and we can make arrangements for a test ride.

BTS Blog 14/1/10

TRAINING

If you're not racing this weekend and looking for a training suggestion I would recommend a long aerobic ride or run. Depending on what you think needs more work , the ride or the run look at a session that develops your endurance.

For the bike it might 2-3.5hrs at a easy to moderate pace through out over some rolling hills. Ideally trying to stay seated up the hills and maintaining a cadence of 85+ on the flat these sessions are great for building your bike fitness and strength. With the run operating at a similar intensity and trying to get 90 min to 2hrs preferably through the trails is also a great idea.

At our boxing/core sessions we have been working on fast light feet. This skill translates into triathlon where the importance of a quick cadence and minimising contact time on the ground is crucial. So in your long run especially when you're getting tired think about your feet and work on a cadence of 90 foot strikes per minute on one leg. If you can maintain that especially when fatigued you're doing well and you'll see your run times fall.

For those racing at Robina tomorrow morning's brick session at UQ will be a perfect warm up. Please try and be ready to go by 5.30am and not arrive at 5.30am. On Saturday at the Valley Pool will be a swim followed by an easy 45 min run.

COMPRESSPORT

Over the last few weeks I have been using the new quad and calf compressport garments in training and also in a Half IM last weekend. Initally I was very sceptical about the benefits but I thought there was no harm in trying them to see if they made any difference.

I have certainly found that there is a big difference between when I use them and when I don't. The sessions I have used them in have been at a higher level, my recovery was better and my legs generally felt quite good. For the few days that I didn't use them I felt a big change in how I trained and recovered. My legs did not feel as good or recover as well so I then decided to use them in the Port of Tauranga Half IM last weekend.

The result was very pleasing not only in terms of time but also they way I was able to get off the bike and run. Through out the race my legs felt good and I had the best half marathon off the bike I have ever had despite only having 3-4 weeks of solid training behind me. In fact the next day I was able to run 8-10km quite easy on legs that were generally feeling pretty fresh.

If you're interested in purchasing some for your training and racing let me know. The team from Compressport are offering a 15% discount to BTS members through a bulk order. For more information go to http://www.compressport.com.au/

HOG'S BREATH CAFE LUNCH CLEVELAND

Just a reminder about the 12.30pm lunch on Saturday at Hog's Breath Cafe Cleveland. Anyone is welcome including partners and family members to help spend the $1500 in vouchers we got for winning the Qld Club Champs in December.

MOOLOOLABA CAMP

The Mooloolaba camp is now full with a waiting list. If we get a few more on the waiting list we'll try and look at sourcing extra accommodation. If you're interested please e-mail suz@brisbanetrisquad.com.au so we can look into straight away.

RUNNER NEEDED

BTS member Nicole Milazzo is planning on travelling to Abu Dhabi in March to compete in the inaugural Abu Dhabi triathlon http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/index.html

Consisting of a 3km swim, 200km ride and 20km run Nicole is after a runner to compete in the teams section. If you're interested you can contact Nicole on Nicole.Milazzo@health.qld.gov.au

BTS Blog 12/1/10

TRAINING

Its great to see so many people at training putting in the hard yards as we head towards a few big events. This morning's run session was a tough one and with a few more like that people will certainly see their run and overall race times fall.

Remember for Tue nights the second swim session starts at 6pm and goes through to 7.15pm. With the longer time it provides an opportunity to get in some extra volume so try and be in the water by 6pm. As a general rule Tue nights will involve longer reps and also some paddle work so if you have paddles please bring them along.

Tomorrow morning we're back at Mt. Cootha for some more strength work and the Friday session will be a brick at UQ. With the first race of the year at Robina on Sunday, Saturday morning's session from the Valley Pool is a swim/run. The brick type sessions are invaluable in the lead up to major races So I highly recommend getting along to as many as you can.

RACE RESULTS

We did have a few BTS athletes competing last weekend in different events. Troy Grimshaw travelled to Melbourne to compete in the first selection race for this year's World Champs where he placed 20th in the 25-29 age group in 2.13 (pb). There wasn't much between 10th and 20th so he has done well and certainly gives himself a platform to build in for future events.

In the Port of Tauranga Half IM, Ewen Larsen improved his pb by 23 min when he went 4.52 on the back of a 2.23 for the 90km bike leg.

MOOLOOLABA CAMP

Our Mooloolaba camp is filling up fast with only 5 spots left. If you're interested please e-mail Suzanne at suz@brisbanetrisquad.com.au For those coming along payments are due by the end of January.

CANCER FUNDRAISER

One of our great Kiwi's in BTS , Richard Gray is heading to Adelaide to follow the Tour Down Under and do some of the rides. With the great man Lance Armstrong racing there is a big emphasis on fundraising for Cancer research.

Richard has decided to Unite in the Fight and support Cancer Council SA to raise vital funds in the fight against cancer. You can help support Richard by making a secure online donation using your credit card. Click on the link below:
http://sa.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/ricardo?SID=209927

On January 22nd Richard will be riding 165km from Norwood to Goolwa in South Australia as part of the Santos Tour Down Under events.
For more information on how you can join the fight and help Cancer Council SA please visit http://www.uniteinthefight.com.au/

MEMBER PROFILE

Our next profile is the other half of the Grigaliunas super couple, Leigh. Along with wife Yas they juggle family, busy professional careers and training. Always with a smile on his face and a positive attitude Leigh is working towards his second Olympic Distance race at Mooloolaba.

Age 34

Where do you live? Kedron

How do you pay the bills? Sales Manager at Videopro

If you won gold lotto what would you do? Sunshine Coast hinterland house with full coast view

What are your triathlon goals? 1:14:59 for Gatorade sprint races; 2.24:59 for Mooloolaba 2010; 2.19:59 for Noosa 2010

Married, single or otherwise? Married with 2 gorgeous little girls

What is your favorite part of triathlon? Finishing and my ritual post race pig out (bring on the Angus burgers)!

What would be your dream job? Stay at home dad (at Sunny Coast house)!