Australian Triathlete Issue 23.1 N
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eno - T
he Greatest O
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Nov/DEC 2015ISSUE 23.1
K O n A S O U v E n I r E d I T I O n
The greatest of all time!
JAN Frodeno
2 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
CONTENTS
FEATUrES
12 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS KOnAWe bring you all the action and highlights from the biggest race of the year, on the Big Island.
26 KOnA AGE GrOUp STOrIESThis year’s age groupers share the ups and downs of being a part of the big race.
32 InSTApICSSpot yourself (or a friend) in our Kona edition of Instapics!
40 ThOrSTEn rAddEWe shine the spotlight on the German stats man behind famed athlete ranking website, TriRating.
74 nUTrITIOnWho knew food had such an effect on your mood? We look at what to consume to beat the post-Ironman blues.
80 hOlISTIC EndUrAnCESarah Grove gives us tips on how to deal with race day disappointment.
87 14-week training program (70.3)xavier Coppock of Tri TEAM Coaching sets out a 14-week training program to get you ready for a Half Iron Distance race.
rEGUlArS
44 TECh TAlKThis month’s installment uncovers the story behind the brand, roadtests key products and shines the spotlight on all things tech.
52 SAvE, SpEnd, SplUrGEWhether you’re on a budget, or have cash to burn, choose the right set of wheels for you.
54 FOllOW ThE SWAllOW Jodie Swallow talks about performance evaluation after a big race
57 SExTOn’S SCrIbblEBrendan Sexton tracks a triathlete’s journey to their own Holy Grail.
58 SIrIUS mUSInGSSiri Lindley dives into the psychology of an injured athlete and how to deal with it.
78 FrOm ThE KITChEnTriathlon’s fave nutritionist, Margaret Mielczarek, is bringing spinach back.
96 WOrdS WITh WIllyDan Wilson recounts tales of being lost in a foreign land.
Australian Triathlete Issue 23.1 N
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Nov/DEC 2015 ISSUE 23.1
K O n A S O U v E n I r E d I T I O n
The greatest of all time!
JAN Frodeno
Cover: Jan Frodeno photography: Korupt Vision
COvEr STOry Jan Frodeno – Kona’s newest King relishes his role as champion.
40
12
44
50 64
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282308 v1F.indd 1 12/10/2015 11:27 am
4 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Editor’s NotE
WElCOmEI
have just landed back in Australia
from the Big Island after a massive
couple of weeks watching the best
Ironman athletes in the world prepare
and race the holy grail of our sport - the
Ironman World Championships. Not for
one moment do I take for granted the
unbelievable opportunity I have been
given to be able to witness first hand
some of the extraordinary performances
that occur on this oh-so-special island.
Jan Frodeno became arguably the
most successful all-round triathlete we
have ever seen in our sport. One particular
highlight was watching Frodo or
Frodissimo or FrodoXpress (as I
nicknamed him) announced he will soon
become a dad, along with wife and Aussie
legend Emma ‘Snowy’ Snowsill at the
finish line. It was clear life simply does not
get much better for our coverman!
Daniela Ryf has gone from a relative
unknown just two years ago to earning
herself two word titles this year alone – an
outstanding achievement. Then you have
our two very special age group world
champs, Levi Maxwell and Ben Bell who
represented our country at the highest
level. And speaking of Aussie pride, Liz
Blatchford earned herself another Kona
podium and it was a joy to watch her cross
the finish line with a smile from ear to ear.
Not to mention the fact she let AT ‘borrow’
her hubby aka Korupt Vision for most of
her prep time - allowing us to do the most
comprehensive pre-race coverage ever.
Check out the beautiful spread on pages
12 - 26. If you missed our pre-race videos,
head to our social media pages
(Facebook: Australian Triathlete Magazine,
Twitter: @OzTri & Instagram: @AusTriMag
still worth a viewing.)
And a special mention to Australia’s
first ever military representatives – I had
A pUblICITy prESS pUblICATIOn
PUBLISHER Ross Copeland
EDITOR Aimee Johnsen
DEPUTy EDITOR Manveen Maan
ART DIRECTOR Andy Cumming
PHOTO EDITOR Korupt Vision
ADVERTISIng MAnAgER Scott Llewelyn
PRODUCTIOn, ADMInISTRATIOn
& SUBSCRIPTIOnS gina Copeland
AUSTRALIAn TRIATHLETEAustralian Triathlete is published 11 times per season. All material in this issue is copyright © 2015 Publicity Press Pty Ltd.
All rights are reserved. no part of the contents of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the Publisher or Editor. Articles represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor.
COnTACT USPublicity Press Pty Ltd ABn 31 005 490 068PO Box 8019, Armadale VIC 3143, AustraliaPhone: (61) 3 9804 4700 Fax: (61) 3 9804 4711 SUBSCRIPTIOnSSee the subscription offer in this issue or subscribe online: www.oztri.com.au
COnTRIBUTORSContributions are welcome. Anyone wishing to submit material should first contact Publicity Press on (03) 9804 4700 or email: [email protected] no responsibility is accepted for unsolicited contributions.
ADVERTISIngFor all enquiries or a current rate card setting out rates and conditions, call Scott Llewelyn on 03 9804 4700 / EXT 03 9804 4705 / Mobile 0418 568 597 or email: [email protected]
In Australia, AUD$8.95 including gST is the recommended price only.
WEbSITEwww.oztri.com.au
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Peter Dixon of Aspendale, Vic
the pleasure of meeting Colin, Megan,
Holly and Josh in person and to Megan
for getting herself a famous salad bowl
for being the first female military athlete
– massive congrats!
Kona is for most not about numbers,
it’s not about PBs and finish times; it’s so
much more pure than that. It is one of
the most challenging race courses on the
planet, being raced in seriously brutal
conditions and the experience of getting
to that finish line is something to treasure
for a lifetime. We are so proud to feature
nearly half of our amazing age group
races on pages 28 – 36, but I’d like to say,
you’re are all superstars in my eyes.
There are so many exciting things
happening at AT right now so if you’re
a first time reader – welcome! If
you’re a loyal follower, thanks for the
continued support.
One of the most exciting things to
happen is this edition itself – our team
has worked tirelessly at home and away
to get this magazine to print just five
days post-race. This was a challenge I set
my team months ago and I’m extremely
proud to say we did it! For the first time
ever, we have produced a live digital
version within days of the race and are
the first to hit cyber newsstands.
We hope you enjoy this edition as
much as we do!
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 5
SIMPLY FASTER
P-SERIES
Cervélo Triathlon/Time trial bicycles have won more pro races than any other, and they are by far the most
popular bicycles at Ironman and time trial events for athletes of all levels. In fact Cervélo has won the Hawaii
Ironman bike count for the last 10 years running.
Cervélo Athlete: Caroline Steffen
Specifications subject to change without notice. Cervelo and Vroomen-White Design are trademarks owned by Cervelo Cycles Inc. or used under license For more information: cervelo.com
Cervélo P3. Shimano Ultegra Di2. Mavic Cosmic Elite wheelset. Rotor 3D30 BBright crankset. 3T Aura Bars. $6200 rrp.
Phot
o: K
orup
t Vis
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6 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
undercoverNews and launches
Brought to you by
GWEn JOrGESEn And JAvIEr GOmEz JOInEd ThE hISTOry bOOKS
Javier Gomez of Spain became the
most successful man in ITU World
Championship history. While he
had to settle for second place at
the race in Chicago to countryman Mario
Mola, his second place was enough to
secure his fifth world championship crown
“I think it is great. I can’t understand it
yet, I sometimes can’t comprehend doing
something like that in the last few years.
It is just amazing,” Gomez said on
collecting his fifth title. “Today I felt good,
I had a great race. I felt really good on the
race, I just couldn’t beat Mario—he was
just too strong. But I am really pleased on
getting the title and on the podium.”
For Jorgensen, she was able to
continue for amazing winning streak of 12
Jake Birtwhistle U/23 WOrld ChAmpIOn Overcoming a grade one tear in his hamstring, Jake Birtwhistle was crowned the ITU U/23 World Champion. Birtwhistle joins an impressive line up of previous champions to take this title for Australia including Brad Kahlefeldt, Annabel Luxford, Emma Jackson and training partners, fellow gong Wizards Aaron Royle and Charlotte McShane.
Birtwhistle was quick to praise the efforts of team physio Sullivan, who put a detailed daily plan together for the young star.
“Dean said at the time I would be right to race but I think he was a bit optimistic,” said Birtwhistle. “I did everything I could and with the help of Triathlon Australia and the team we were able to get on top of it and manage it and I’m glad I was able to come out here and get a good result and I have to thank them as well.
Sullivan managed the plan, which Birtwhistle stuck to religiously, right down to the final sprint. “He ran at 90 per cent yesterday and we were waiting to go 100 per cent over the final 200 metres – it is so pleasing when a plan works and so happy for Jake – if anyone deserves this win he does,” said Sullivan.
young guns Declan Wilson (22nd) and Matthew Baker (25th) finished in the top 25 showing a great future.
On the women’s side Another gong Wizard, natalie Van Coevorden had a great race finishing seventh.
on the trot, a feat never achieved in the
history of the ITU WTS. This race saw
Jorgensen be pushed harder than any
other race and she was only able to break
away in the final 2.5km. The perfect,
undefeated season, also earned her a
perfect score in terms of rankings and she
was crowned the ITU World Champion for
the second year in a row.
“This is just crazy, I never thought I
would be unbeaten this season, to be able
to perform on so many different days
when I am not feeling, hilly courses, it just
doesn’t seem real, ” said Jorgensen.
Brits Non Stanford and Vicky Holland
both performed well earning themselves
podium finishes, which secure their slots
to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
hOW ThE AUSSIES FArEd In ChICAGO
Men
Ryan Bailie 7th
Aaron Royle 10th
Courtney Atkinson 24th
woMen
Emma Moffat 12th
Charlotte McShane 13th
Ashleigh Gentle 14th
Gillian Backhouse 27th
Erin Densham 50th
Emma Jackson 60th
hOW ThE AUSSIES FArEd In COlUmbIA ThrEAdnEEdlE
TOp 50 rAnKInGS
Men n
Ryan Bailie 6th
Aaron Royle 9th
Jake Birtwhistle 37th
Dan Wilson 38th
woMen
Emma Moffatt 10th
Charlotte McShane 15th
Gillian Backhouse 25th
Erin Densham 31th
Emma Jackson 32th
© Delly Carr/ITU Media © Delly Carr/ITU Media© Janos Schmidt/ITU Media
AUSSIE pArA TEAm’S ChICAGO GOld rUSh
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 7
AUSTrAlIA’S AGE GrOUpErS collected a total of
eight medals in the ITU Age Group World Triathlon Sprint
Championships in Chicago – winning three gold, four silver
and one bronze.
Geelong training partners Kate Bramley and Shari-Ann
Livingston led the way in the morning, taking the gold and
silver quinella in the 25-29 age group.
They had a noisy and colourful contingent of Australian
family and friends cheering them on as a constant flow of
green and gold crossed the line.
Chiming in with gold for the men were former Freshwater
surf lifesaving champion, Robbie Pickard, who has made
just as big a name for himself in triathlon over the past 40
years, and Stephen Purnell from Victoria in the 70-74 years
age group.
The three other silvers went to Sally Musgrove (50-54
years), Jane Mountford (NSW) 65-69 years and Craig
Davies (WA) 25-29 years with bronze to Jo Ryn Tan (VIC) in
the 20-24 years.
woMen
16-19 YRS: Grace Hoitink ACT 8th
20-24 YRS: Jo Ryn Tan VIC 3rd
25-29 YRS: Kate Bramley VIC 1st
Steph Livingston VIC 2nd
Alexandra Brown VIC 9th
35-39 YRS: Claire Hawkins WA 6th
50-54 YRS: Sally Musgrove NSW 2nd
Ana Oertel QLD 8th
65-69 YRS: Jane Mountford NSW 2nd
70-74 YRS: Janice Iredale NSW 6th
woMen
20-24 YRS: Christian Huang NSW 5th
25-29 YRS: Craig Davis WA 2nd
Ryan Constance VIC 7th
30-34 YRS: Ben Wright VIC 6th
35-39 YRS: Luke Tuddenham VIC 7th
40-44 YRS: Hugh Bonney NSW 10th
50-54 YRS: Barry Bodsworth (VIC) 5th
David Kelly (QLD) 7th
Michael Pratt (VIC) 8th
Clint Bain (VIC) 10th
55-59 YRS: Mark Windsor (NSW) 4th
65-69 YRS: Robert Pickard (NSW) 1st
70-74 YRS: Stephen Parnell (QLD) 1st
75-79 YRS: Peter Bennett (QLD) 5th
AUSSIE AGE GrOUpErS GET AmOnGST ThE mEdAlS In SprInT ChAmpIOnShIpS: 3 GOld, 4 SIlvEr 1 brOnzE
There was an Australian gold rush at the ITU World
Triathlon Championships in Chicago with our para-
triathletes winning three gold, two silver and two
bronze medals.
The Australians, under head coach Corey Bacon, showed why
they are quickly becoming a major international force with the
team making its presence felt just 12 months out from the sport’s
debut at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Bill Chaffey, Sally Pilbeam and Katie Kelly all won gold in a 30
minute gold medal spree and Australia managed to challenge the
USA for overall supremacy tying with the host country for most
gold (three) and most medals (seven).
But it was the 13-strong Australian Para team that was once
again led by outstanding Gold Coast wheelchair athlete, Chaffey,
with a record fifth world title, who were the stars of the day.
“It’s an unbelievable and an overwhelming feeling. I’m now a
five-time world champion. It does feel funny to say but it’s
something no one can take from me,” said Chaffey.
The strong presence of green and gold also saw defending
champion Sally Pilbeam from WA win back-to-back crowns
and the ACT’s vision impaired athlete Katie Kelly win her first
world title.
Chaffey (PT1) and Kelly (PT5) also qualified Australia two
all-important quota places in their classifications for Rio– major
steps forward in the sport’s pathway to the Paralympic Games.
Pilbeam, the Perth schoolteacher and mother of two, who lost
her right arm to cancer, successfully defended the title she won in
Edmonton last year in the PT3 category and she had company on
the podium. It was a 1-2 quinella for Australia with Melbourne’s
Kerryn Harvey, who lost her right arm after an accident, taking the
silver in her world championship debut.
There was silver to another debutant, Queensland’s
wheelchair athlete Emily Tapp in the PT1 class.
While Kate Doughty, the former international Para-equestrian
star and right arm amputee showed that her decision to swap her
horse for a bike was a good one.
She won bronze in the PT4 Class at her first world titles.
Justin Godfrey also won bronze in the PT3 Class after crashing
from his bike.
Kelly, who suffers from Ushers Syndrome, was pronounced
legally blind six months ago and is also profoundly deaf.
“What a feeling, I can’t believe it, my first world champs, to
finish is a great achievement but to come over the line first whoo
whoo,” Kelly said.
“Every time I race with her she gives that little bit extra and that’s
exactly what she did today. You couldn’t ask for a better athlete…
she’s the one that put the most effort into today,” said Jones.
© D
elly
Car
r/IT
U M
edia
© AT
8 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
undercoverTri products
giant UnVeils all-new trinitY TrIAThlOn bIKE AT KOnA
Giant has officially launched its
all-new Trinity triathlon bikes.
The new range of composite
triathlon bikes includes two
series: Trinity Advanced Pro and T rinity Advanced.
The flagship Trinity Advanced Pro
model, which is being raced at Kona by
Ironman pro Tim Van Berkel, features
Giant’s AeroSystem Shaping Technology and a number of innovative
triathlon-specific features including the
AeroVault integrated hydration and
storage system to give triathletes a built-in
advantage on race day.
The final version of the Trinity
Advanced Pro was tested alongside four
key competitors at the wind-tunnel, going
against the Cervélo P5, Scott Plasma 5,
Trek Speed Concept and Specialized Shiv.
“We tested each of these bikes with
and without their hydration and storage
units with the goal of understanding which
would be the most aerodynamic in a
race-ready configuration,” said Giant On-Road Category Manager Nixon Huang. “The Trinity was competitive with
the others when tested bare. And with the
add-ons necessary for real-world triathlon
racing, it was not only the fastest, but it
was also the only bike that proved to be
more aerodynamic with its hydration and
storage components than without.”
One of the most distinctive elements
of the Trinity Advanced Pro design is its
integrated AeroVault System, which gives
triathletes easy access to hydration,
nutrition and race essentials such as tools
and spare tubes. The AeroVault’s front
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hydration comes with the AeroVault downtube bottle, a 440-milliliter unit
that’s optimised and hidden from the wind
by the frame’s specially designed
downtube.
The AeroVault storage box is
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stem. It provides 290 milliliters of storage
for on-bike nutrition or spare items. It can
also house the junction box for Shimano Di2 models, allowing easy adjustments
and battery charging.
The frameset is now offered in four frame sizes instead of three.
The range of new Giant Trinity triathlon and TT bikes will be available from November – for more information head to www.giant-bicycles.com/Trinity
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10 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
undercoverTri products
zIpp lAUnCh 808 nSW
The Zipp NSW Series is a science,
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Within the NSW Series, Zipp will
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“Zipp NSW is basically the most
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Zipp Director of Advanced Development
As the inaugural wheelset in the NSW
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offers a new rim shape with greater
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Zipp 808 NSW technology already has
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winning the Ironman 70.3 World
Championships in Austria and the
Ironman World Championships
in Kona.
zIpp FIrECrEAST rEbOrnThe wheel that changed everything now improved with 77/177 hubset
Zipp’s Firecrest® wheel lineup and its
specialty 202 Tubular climbing wheelset
revolutionised what’s possible with
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Purpose built for every cycling situation,
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Think high speed, low maintenance.
The same great Firecrest rim, with its
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This improvement is being made to the
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The addition of the 77/177 hubset raises
Firecrest to a whole new level: Best-in-
class durability and improved bearing
protection with no pre-load adjustment
needed. Zipp’s exclusive resin for Firecrest
is based on materials used in motorsports
breaking system to effectively tolerate
incredible spikes in heat caused by
braking. The result: No heat related failures
for Firecrest Carbon Clinchers.
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www.echelonsports.com.au | [email protected] | (07) 3902 1155
Kailua-Kona, 2015on a drama filled day that saw early bike spills, mechanicals and one big withdrawal, it was Jan Frodeno and daniela ryf who reigned supreme.photography by Korupt vision & Australian Triathlete magazine
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 13
14 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
TOp: The mass swim start is an impressive sight from above (©Ironman) BELOW: Rachel Joyce, Brent McMahon (©DellyCarr/BahrainEnduranceMedia) LEFT: Caroline Steffen
TOp: The mass swim start is an impressive sight from above (©Ironman) BELOW: Rachel Joyce, Brent McMahon (©DellyCarr/BahrainEnduranceMedia) LEFT: Caroline Steffen
16 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
AbOvE: Andreas Raelert
TOP RIGHT: Heather Jackson
MIDDLE (L-R): Tim Van Berkel, Annabel Luxford, Jodie Swallow.
BOTTOM: Mary Beth Ellis
Features
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 17
Photo: Shutterstock.com
18 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
TOp: Rachel Joyce
BOTTOM (L-R): Andreas Raelert, Jan Frodeno, Liz Blatchford.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 19
Features
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20 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
aBoVe (l-r): Daniela Ryf, Michelle Vesterby
CENTRE (L-R): Tim O’Donnell, Luke Bell
BELOW: Camilla Pedersen
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 21
Features
YES, I’M ALWAYS CHANGING
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YES, I’M ALWAYS CHANGING
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22 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
AnGry bIrd GETS hEr CATChDaniela Ryf was focussed on one thing and one thing alone, winning the Kona crown. Ryf was strong all day using her impressive bike prowess to get a race winning lead. With Mirinda Carfrae withdrawing from the race early, we knew a new champion would be crowned, and Ryf made sure it was her.
BELOW RIGHT: Mirinda ‘Rinny’ Carfrae withdrew with back issues after being hit by a car during training on Wednesday of race week. It wasn’t all bad news, Rinny watched husband Tim O’Donnell take third in the mens race.
Secure your entrywww.ironmannewzealand.comwww.ironmantaupo.com
Race Dates: IRONMAN 5 Mar 2016/IRONMAN 70.3 TAUPO 12 Dec 2015
WHY TRI TAUPO?
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2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
24 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
KInG FrOdO Jan Frodeno was flawless all day taking out his second world title of the year and becoming the most successful all round triathlete ever seen - winning Olympic gold, a 70.3 and Ironman world titles.
Frodeno (below) announced to the world wife Emma Snowsill is pregant with their first child - a truly special moment for all that witnessed.
Jan Frodeno
TAKE YOUR PLACE IN HISTORYCongratulations on winning the 2015 Ironman World Championships.
2008 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL2015 IRONMAN EUROPEAN CHAMPION2015 IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPION2015 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPION
COMPRESSION
TRIATHLON
3462015_PRESS_Aus-Tri-Kona PA V4.indd 1 13/10/2015 11:35 am
26 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
The World Championships in Kona attracts the brightest talents from around the world, and this year was no exception.
The Aussie flag was proudly represented by a determined contingent of age group athletes, who took national pride to new heights.
Name: Nick BensleyBib#: 1890
Age group: M30-34Finish time: 09:41:31
Name: Oskar BoothBib#: 1892
Age group: M30-34Finish time: 09:43:37
Name: Clint KimminsBib#: 1959
Age group: M30-34Finish time: 09:41:31
Name: Allister CairdBib#: 2162
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:28:53
Name: Levi MaxwellBib#: 2218
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 08:53:40
Name: Tyler PhillipsBib#: 2228
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:38:58
Name: Nathan ShearerBib#: 2241
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:18:02
Name: Scott ZanevraBib#: 2255
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:38:31
Name: Ben BellBib#: 1171
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 09:03:53
AGE GrOUp hErOES
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 27
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS / AGE GrOUp hErOES
Name: Michael WilsonBib#: 1777
Age group: M35-39Finish time: 09:57:16
Name:Adrian LittleBib#: 1305
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 09:58:10
Name: Michael SullivanBib#: 2036
Age group: M30-34Finish time: 09:58:53
Name: Rhys ClarkeBib#: 2169
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:48:44
Name: Damien CollinsBib#: 2172
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:57:46
Name: Dave KennettBib#: 2205
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:50:52
Name: Benjamin KingBib#: 2206
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 09:58:47
Name: Lauren ParkerBib#: 2305
Age group: F25-29Finish time: 10:07:43
Name: Alan BoneBib#: 2326
Age group: M18-24Finish time: 10:12:39
Name: Benjamin LarssonBib#: 1295
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 10:00:26
Name: Craig McGuiganBib#: 966
Age group: M45-49Finish time: 09:57:02
Name: Andrew LovettBib#: 1666
Age group: M35-39Finish time: 10:11:52
28 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Name: John HillBib#: 405
Age group: M55-59Finish time: 10:39:10
Name: Scott AshcroftBib#: 1549
Age group: M35-39Finish time: 10:29:38
Name: Nathan SandfordBib#: 1715
Age group: M35-39Finish time: 10:17:41
Name: Sean BruntBib#: 1187
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 10:43:19
Name: Nathan FitzakerleyBib#: 1231
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 10:43:28
Name: Phoebe FearBib#: 1806
Age group: F35-39Finish time: 10:25:55
Name: Meredith HillBib#: 2081
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 10:39:32
Name: Amanda WilsonBib#: 2139
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 10:39:45
Name: Lindsay BennettBib#: 2154
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 10:40:19
Name: Adam BeckerBib#: 2323
Age group: M18-24Finish time: 10:51:46
Name: Wayne CooleyBib#: 854
Age group: M45-49Finish time: 10:26:15
Name: Katie KymeBib#: 1462
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 12:12:58
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 29
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS / AGE GrOUp hErOES
Name: Geoff HawkeBib#: 403
Age group: M55-59Finish time: 10:57:58
Name: Warren ForbesBib#: 588
Age group: M50-54 Finish time: 11:22:43
Name: John GestakovskiBib#: 597
Age group: M50-54Finish time: 11:11:44
Name: Mark NorthcoteBib#: 1349
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 11:17:52
Name: Elizabeth DornomBib#: 1801
Age group: F35-39Finish time: 10:56:46
Name: Megan WebberBib#: 1872
Age group: F35-39Finish time: 11:30:12
Name: Zoe ClarkBib#: 2068
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 11:06:41
Name: Michael HarveyBib#: 2188
Age group: M25-29Finish time: 11:10:00
Name: Karlie JenningsBib#: 2383
Age group: F18-24Finish time: 11:02:23
Name: Trevor BuchananBib#: 557
Age group: M50-54Finish time: 11:24:12
Name: Jo CoombeBib#: 1280
Age group: F40-44Finish time: 11:44:09
Name: Jamie WilliamsBib#: 1070
Age group: M45-49Finish time: 11:09:15
30 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Name: Nathan JohnstonBib#: 156
Age group: PCFinish time: 15:06:47
Name: Allan MoustoukasBib#: 434
Age group: M55-59Finish time: 12:03:43
Name: Rob HillBib#: 620
Age group: M50-54Finish time: 14:14:14
Name: Carmen AtkinsonBib#: 1781
Age group: F35-39Finish time: 11:30:21
Name: Ben McDermidBib#: 1325
Age group: M40-44Finish time: 13:26:37
Name: Renee KileyBib#: 2087
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 11:51:12
Name: Rikki Lee AndersonBib#: 2259
Age group: F25-29Finish time: 11:39:14
Name: Natalie DaviesBib#: 2274
Age group: F25-29Finish time: 13:54:07
Name: Ashley PayneBib#: 2306
Age group: F25-29Finish time: 14:13:36
Name: Colin SmithBib#: 1031
Age group: M45-49Finish time: 12:08:15
Name: Megan Webber Bib#: 1872
Age group: F35-39Finish time: 11:30:12
Name: Holly OrchardBib#: 2112
Age group: F30-34Finish time: 13:47:22
Name: Josh HorsagerBib#: 1639
Age group: M35-39Finish time: 10:08:04
Name: Jody GilchristBib#: 763
Age group: F50-54Finish time: 11:23:37
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS / AGE GrOUp hErOES
@laUrenn_mcg madame pele showed
me who’s boss on the Queen K today. Apparently it
wasn’t as windy as it has been, but I still had a few hairy
moments when i was just happy to stay on my bike!
This course is absolutely stunning in parts, just a
shame these seem to be the parts where I was hanging
on for dear life! #kona15 #konacountdown
#momentsofkona #scodyselfie @laUren parker really grateful to represent @enduranutrition here at #kona all set and ready to go #fuelledbyendura #winningformula
@kappler84 stoked with my race day polo. shits getting real. @wattieink alcairdBike building can be...fun@chrislieto @sunnygarcia @32gi @brooksrunningau @morethansport #imkona #bikes #mates #fashion
@alcaird: Bike building can be... fun@chrislieto
@sunnygarcia @32gi @brooksrunningau @morethansport
#imkona #bikes #mates #fashion @Jim_kook: This could get ugly
@clintkimmins: clintkimminsintermission at my
favorite little coffee shop #holuakoacafe sorry
@cournee @lukemckenzie@imbethgerdes
@clare weBBer: racked and ready for a huge day tomorrow.
@exceed triathlon clUB: plenty of
representation - with katy duffield, rod marton, Joe
Cleasby, barry Oelofsen and Katey Gibbat Alii drive
kailua-kona, hi.
32 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
We scoured Instagram and social media to see how the Kona
experience played out in your eyes!
@mega.hawk hanging out with this legend in
kona... oh, and crowie! @kateysutton#starstruck
#kona2015 #teamoz#ironmantri
@oB1_oz : ...and finally i’m off. hawaii bound! seeya later perth, aloha hawaii. Bring on the heat! #roadtokona #ironman #trilife#32gi #kona2015 and more reasons to be happy @katyduffstar - stoked with your podium in Korea. See you in Kona.
@pB_Brown: The Queen K#pbdoeskona #12daystillkona #pleasantlyexhausted
@zaclark82 this morning i had my first ride on the famous Queen k bike course. i’ve seen so many pics of this sign over the past few years and couldn’t resist my own kodak moment. the enormity of this race and the challenge it’s going to present definitely started to sink in.
@thetriBUm #momentsofkona
#kona15 #imkona #turtles #underwater
thetribumAwesome morning swimming
with dolphins. love this place!
@rhYsclarke05 all checked in race number 2169... got my acai bowl for the walk home #imkona #imwc2015 #momentsofkona
@trialliance: The Ironman World Champs in Kona
are not far away. The whole Tri Alliance family is right
behind nathan Sims who has earned the right to
compete against the world’s best for the second time.
@tYlerpro4mance: Started the day with aneasy paddle out to the famous Kona coffee Boat.
@winnerstakechances: thanks for the cap and visor
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 33
@BUttons looking forward to seeing my mum
liz Blatchford next week but in the meantime she
is going to smash it in Kona. Go fast mum so I can
see you soon.
@corkY93 What an amazing experience.
yesterday was just absolutely incredible -
to be able to race with some amazing people
and to be able to cheer everyone on was the
highlight of my day. It wasn’t my day out there
on the race course, but i’m so happy to walk
away with plenty of learning experiences
and to be able to tick a box off
@hollY gemma loved my number!!
@instaamBergram as your news feeds fill
with Kona updates, really happy to come away
from the big island with this medal for swimming
0miles, riding 0miles and running 0 miles from
the thank god i’m not racing party
@lUkemckenzie best thing about having a shitty race is she doesn’t care. already looking forward to kona 2016!#momentsofkona
@clintkimmins absolutely cooked!! What a brutal day.
@megan weBBer
@keiraali dad, YoU are an ironman! congratulations on finishing the ironman world championships tonight. i know it was an extremely tough race, but i couldn’t be any prouder even if you did push yourself to the limit. #momentsofkona #gogazgo#teamoz
34 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
2015 IrOnmAn WOrld ChAmpIOnShIpS
@pB_Brown Kona dOnE
@ironmanasiapac nathan Johnston
you are an ironman #teamoz
#imkona#superstar #anythingispossible
@sewellYg #momentsofkona #raceeve
#representthegreensndgold #aussiepride
#teamsewellY
@kappler84 Well what an experience. Far from
the perfect race. A lot of things didn’t go to plan.
But nothing that i can’t fix. no excuses and no
regrets I’ve now completed the most sought after
triathlon race on the planet.
@tYlerpro4mance It’s been two days now since I realized a dream and completed the Ironman World Championships. This journey has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life to date, throughout the whole lead up and the day itself.
@zoeclark wow!! the hawaiian ironman certainly was an amazing experience! and hard!! despite spending race eve in a world of nerves, i woke up race morning as excited as a 6yo on xmas day.
@onetriman Can’t sleep...I wrote myself a simple note this morning (& secured my wedding ring) right before the start of the Ironman World Champs in Kona. never Give Up. To compete here has been a 21 year dream in the making and it didn’t let me down. That was by far the most pain I’ve ever put myself through. I needed that note. each time i looked at it the words kept me going & I was reminded how much love & support my family has given me on this crazy journey.
#momemtsofkona #gettingmygoodluckkiss #goodluckcharmsarecompletelynecrssary #teamsewellY
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 35
AG plACE
AG ClASS OvErAll bIb nAmE SWIm bIKE rUn FInISh
1 M25-29 25 2218 Levi Maxwell 00:59:26 04:50:56 02:58:58 08:53:401 M40-44 32 1171 Ben Bell 00:59:01 04:58:36 03:00:52 09:03:532 M40-44 39 1165 Assad Attamimi 01:00:46 04:59:23 03:02:38 09:07:375 M25-29 56 2241 nathan Shearer 01:04:21 04:50:25 03:16:29 09:18:025 M40-44 65 1160 Damien Angus 01:02:43 04:50:32 03:22:04 09:21:17
13 M30-34 80 1981 Owain Matthews 01:03:46 05:05:46 03:10:07 09:25:5710 M35-39 83 1602 Steve Eccleston 01:02:35 05:01:15 03:16:08 09:26:3315 M35-39 97 1630 Steve guy 01:06:54 05:06:20 03:06:11 09:28:2014 M25-29 101 2162 Allister Caird 00:59:28 04:46:13 03:37:44 09:28:5320 M35-39 127 1673 Ryan Miller 01:07:30 05:00:32 03:18:45 09:34:255 M45-49 128 901 Matty Harris 00:58:50 05:08:52 03:20:57 09:34:35
21 M35-39 129 1706 Ben Richardson 01:06:08 04:56:45 03:26:04 09:34:4118 M25-29 147 2255 Scott Zanevra 01:01:17 05:01:27 03:29:25 09:38:3120 M25-29 154 2228 Tyler Phillips 00:56:17 05:07:15 03:26:55 09:38:5837 M30-34 172 1890 nick Bensley 01:01:55 04:39:46 03:52:34 09:41:3137 M30-34 172 1959 Clint Kimmins 00:56:58 04:52:43 03:46:20 09:41:3134 M35-39 174 1682 Paul O'Brien 00:55:06 05:04:12 03:33:45 09:41:3840 M30-34 186 1892 Oskar Booth 01:06:15 04:53:50 03:35:19 09:43:3721 M40-44 188 1329 nathan McKelligott 01:09:07 04:55:42 03:32:49 09:44:1127 M25-29 213 2169 Rhys Clarke 01:01:01 05:03:34 03:35:56 09:48:4447 M35-39 228 1563 Jamie Black 01:01:04 05:12:59 03:28:43 09:50:4929 M25-29 229 2205 Dave Kennett 01:03:38 05:11:36 03:27:33 09:50:5251 M30-34 236 2035 Cameron Storm 01:05:04 05:16:55 03:21:47 09:51:3230 M25-29 248 2170 Joseph Cleasby 01:03:45 05:05:54 03:36:41 09:52:3739 M40-44 249 1444 Lachie Wilson 01:01:11 05:01:43 03:42:23 09:52:4443 M40-44 267 1269 Stuart Hill 01:12:42 04:58:04 03:36:27 09:55:0144 M40-44 268 1448 Peter yapp 01:01:10 05:11:28 03:34:08 09:55:1515 M45-49 287 966 Craig Mcguigan 00:57:40 05:08:12 03:43:57 09:57:0262 M35-39 289 1777 Michael Wilson 01:05:50 05:02:47 03:42:24 09:57:1637 M25-29 295 2172 Damien Collins 01:01:44 05:21:24 03:27:50 09:57:4651 M40-44 301 1305 Adrian Little 01:07:24 04:56:57 03:45:15 09:58:1040 M25-29 311 2206 Benjamin King 00:57:48 05:00:30 03:50:03 09:58:4766 M35-39 312 1550 Travis Atkins 01:09:07 05:13:32 03:29:19 09:58:4966 M30-34 314 2036 Michael Sullivan 00:58:55 05:20:17 03:32:38 09:58:5357 M40-44 331 1295 Benjamin Larsson 01:09:01 05:00:53 03:43:13 10:00:2672 M35-39 332 1601 Samuel Dowthwaite 01:07:15 05:00:57 03:45:39 10:00:3221 M45-49 335 909 Aaron Hill 00:59:22 05:02:01 03:51:29 10:00:5720 WPRO 348 134 Dimity-Lee Duke 01:05:22 05:24:04 03:27:44 10:02:5764 M40-44 361 1202 Damien Coad 01:12:08 05:16:45 03:27:33 10:03:3780 M35-39 366 1584 Liam Cohen-Ruhle 01:09:12 05:20:05 03:27:01 10:04:0875 M30-34 369 1944 nat Heath 01:05:45 05:09:40 03:40:28 10:04:2183 M35-39 374 1680 Stephen natoli 01:08:14 05:01:47 03:48:02 10:05:182 F25-29 398 2305 Lauren Parker 00:57:25 05:27:39 03:36:02 10:07:43
75 M40-44 428 1391 greg Sewell 01:15:43 05:19:40 03:27:17 10:10:5388 M30-34 436 1910 Hamish Cropper 00:56:00 05:14:14 03:54:58 10:11:4649 M25-29 436 2224 Tom norrris 00:58:53 05:06:42 03:58:48 10:11:4679 M40-44 438 1397 Marcus Smith 01:12:05 04:55:14 03:56:10 10:11:4995 M35-39 439 1666 Andrew Lovett 01:00:09 05:21:32 03:40:51 10:11:5289 M30-34 441 2006 Michael Perry 01:08:01 05:04:53 03:52:01 10:12:0251 M25-29 449 2204 Jared Kahlefeldt 01:00:37 05:07:06 03:55:29 10:12:2314 M18-24 451 2326 Alan Bone 00:59:04 05:16:54 03:49:56 10:12:39
105 M35-39 470 1654 Andrew Killer 01:13:13 05:10:18 03:38:28 10:13:3841 M45-49 484 852 David Chick 01:07:09 05:11:49 03:47:32 10:15:34
115 M35-39 502 1715 nathan Sandford 01:11:13 05:12:16 03:43:59 10:17:4195 M40-44 528 1413 Michael Timbs 01:06:20 05:26:25 03:39:26 10:20:11
100 M40-44 535 1341 Saxon Moseley 01:06:22 05:48:20 03:18:01 10:21:0145 M45-49 538 889 Michael glazbrook 01:03:05 05:16:14 03:52:07 10:21:03
101 M40-44 555 1405 Scott Stevenson 01:00:59 05:04:26 04:08:19 10:22:0950 M45-49 563 902 Roger Hastie 01:03:17 05:17:47 03:51:24 10:23:13
106 M30-34 569 1886 Damien Barbour 01:15:32 05:23:46 03:36:02 10:23:245 F35-39 596 1806 Phoebe Fear 01:05:23 05:31:18 03:42:13 10:25:55
59 M45-49 598 854 Wayne Cooley 01:13:10 05:19:42 03:46:03 10:26:15111 M30-34 606 2040 Alexander Thorpe 01:02:03 05:19:39 03:53:01 10:26:47137 M35-39 633 1549 Scott Ashcroft 00:58:56 04:57:15 04:26:40 10:29:38118 M40-44 640 1406 Rod Tanner 01:13:02 05:10:32 03:58:14 10:30:3024 M50-54 648 607 Rodney Hall 01:15:35 05:28:57 03:38:01 10:31:2172 M45-49 660 955 Jason Lord 01:06:25 05:11:33 04:05:26 10:32:04
145 M35-39 684 1730 nathan Sims 01:20:20 05:27:01 03:35:57 10:34:0127 M18-24 710 2332 Ben Coventry 01:01:15 05:31:32 03:52:38 10:36:3176 M45-49 721 1025 Richard Sewell 01:06:52 05:23:22 03:57:01 10:37:26
137 M40-44 725 1222 Anthony Downey 01:04:38 05:20:05 04:04:26 10:37:3879 M45-49 733 958 Sean Lynch 01:02:04 05:49:03 03:35:40 10:38:296 F40-44 738 1474 Dayna Davidson 01:06:37 05:42:06 03:42:12 10:38:478 M55-59 741 405 John Hill 01:16:10 05:27:40 03:46:07 10:39:108 F30-34 743 2081 Meredith Hill 01:07:40 05:42:19 03:40:29 10:39:329 F30-34 745 2139 Amanda Wilson 01:09:30 05:53:30 03:30:23 10:39:45
75 M25-29 749 2154 Lindsay Bennett 01:05:11 05:35:45 03:51:56 10:40:1983 M45-49 753 962 Rod Marton 01:02:45 04:59:20 04:31:26 10:40:523 F45-49 755 1084 Michelle Boyes 01:11:14 05:40:17 03:44:06 10:40:58
36 M50-54 756 553 David Boyes 01:13:04 05:24:05 03:57:34 10:40:5987 M45-49 762 816 Matt Arms 01:12:39 05:24:42 03:55:29 10:41:31
143 M40-44 766 1173 Craig Benson 01:18:32 05:54:45 03:20:46 10:41:4540 M50-54 782 714 Geoff Todd 01:05:27 05:21:59 04:06:03 10:42:57
150 M40-44 788 1187 Sean Brunt 01:01:11 05:04:19 04:24:03 10:43:19153 M40-44 791 1231 nathan Fitzakerley 00:59:08 05:08:12 04:25:19 10:43:28102 M45-49 809 947 Michael Lennon 01:04:58 05:46:32 03:43:45 10:45:33128 M30-34 818 2058 Cameron Wurf 00:59:04 04:30:04 05:10:16 10:46:32105 M45-49 824 978 Charles nicoll 01:07:03 05:11:06 04:13:05 10:47:1881 M25-29 838 2167 Ryan Christian 00:59:06 05:15:11 04:24:33 10:49:0129 M18-24 873 2323 Adam Becker 01:01:03 05:03:47 04:38:56 10:51:46
131 M30-34 879 1931 Timothy French 01:16:53 05:27:12 03:59:23 10:52:34117 M45-49 887 874 John Flood 01:10:18 05:11:21 04:23:10 10:53:12119 M45-49 891 890 Mark gleeson 01:10:30 05:32:56 03:59:42 10:53:2917 F25-29 909 2268 Penny Brown 01:11:30 05:46:31 03:50:31 10:56:06
135 M30-34 912 1954 Blake Kappler 01:03:58 05:50:11 03:55:35 10:56:1417 F35-39 918 1801 Elizabeth Dornom 01:07:03 05:59:08 03:43:34 10:56:4617 F30-34 925 2120 Jessica Richards 01:13:37 05:19:03 04:18:13 10:57:1412 M55-59 928 403 Geoff Hawke 01:19:42 05:30:39 03:56:13 10:57:5818 F30-34 931 2085 Hannah Johnston 01:14:09 05:49:07 03:43:43 10:58:10
130 M45-49 942 829 Paul Bland 01:14:48 05:29:56 04:00:35 10:59:19175 M35-39 951 1742 Angas Swann 01:08:02 05:06:42 04:37:05 11:00:52183 M40-44 955 1272 Jarrod Hudson 01:11:42 05:47:18 03:55:08 11:01:19
3 F18-24 963 2383 Karlie Jennings 01:02:38 05:50:07 04:01:26 11:02:23186 M40-44 982 1233 Brendan Flanagan 01:08:27 05:35:45 04:11:46 11:05:11179 M35-39 997 1779 Brad Wright 01:05:06 05:37:12 04:16:46 11:06:0521 F30-34 1003 2068 Zoe Clark 01:22:12 05:43:54 03:51:47 11:06:4125 F35-39 1006 1780 Caroline Ashby 01:07:07 05:48:34 04:03:30 11:06:5622 F30-34 1006 2107 Tracy Morrison 01:06:12 05:57:59 03:56:22 11:06:56
142 M45-49 1026 1070 Jamie Williams 01:06:59 05:40:22 04:12:01 11:09:1585 M25-29 1031 2188 Michael Harvey 00:57:39 05:13:30 04:50:22 11:10:0028 F35-39 1046 1800 Bernadette Dornom 01:08:38 06:06:24 03:49:33 11:11:1873 M50-54 1048 597 John gestakovski 01:13:35 05:21:11 04:24:17 11:11:44
36 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
AG plACE
AG ClASS OvErAll bIb nAmE SWIm bIKE rUn FInISh
18 M55-59 1051 394 `brian Elvery 01:10:05 05:41:54 04:07:36 11:11:5921 F40-44 1059 1483 Monique Flore 01:20:34 05:45:33 03:57:23 11:12:43
194 M40-44 1065 1185 Peter Breadsell 01:17:02 05:06:25 04:39:57 11:13:19199 M40-44 1104 1349 Mark northcote 01:03:28 05:32:54 04:32:08 11:17:52
5 M60-64 1112 328 Brett Stewart 01:17:48 05:17:44 04:32:48 11:18:5280 M50-54 1121 595 Stan garland 01:13:57 05:49:06 04:07:21 11:20:1536 M35-39 1124 1792 Jackie Crofton 01:27:28 06:09:58 03:31:36 11:20:3482 M50-54 1140 588 Warren Forbes 01:10:03 05:47:28 04:13:48 11:22:434 F50-54 1147 763 Jody gilchrist 01:22:03 06:01:48 03:47:26 11:23:37
86 M50-54 1150 557 Trevor Buchanan 01:23:30 05:38:24 04:10:34 11:24:1287 M50-54 1154 600 Richard goodger 01:35:00 05:31:15 04:06:18 11:24:3428 F40-44 1158 1469 Melinda Cockshutt 01:03:21 05:41:59 04:29:36 11:25:1329 F40-44 1177 1494 Penelope Holland 01:07:00 06:04:33 04:08:51 11:28:3042 F35-39 1188 1872 Megan Webber 01:10:34 06:16:14 03:55:44 11:30:1243 F35-39 1190 1781 Carmen Atkinson 01:22:17 06:02:42 03:56:52 11:30:2127 M55-59 1191 392 Rusty Cook 01:16:56 05:32:38 04:32:15 11:30:2444 F35-39 1196 1823 Emma Just 01:11:59 06:09:54 03:59:25 11:31:2646 F35-39 1209 1845 Edita neubauerova 01:21:43 06:03:41 03:56:52 11:33:0818 F45-49 1213 1119 Joanne McLaughlan 01:14:17 05:53:15 04:19:01 11:33:46
206 M40-44 1227 1196 Dave Catt 01:06:25 05:41:50 04:36:11 11:35:3947 F35-39 1234 1871 Clare Webber 01:04:58 05:51:00 04:31:33 11:36:24
208 M40-44 1238 1206 Bevan Colless 01:08:31 05:04:38 05:12:42 11:36:49103 M50-54 1245 628 Stephan Jack 01:08:14 05:43:24 04:33:24 11:37:5934 F25-29 1252 2259 Rikki Lee Anderson 01:11:24 05:53:41 04:23:29 11:39:1437 F40-44 1254 1511 Anne Musk 01:16:09 06:08:39 04:03:03 11:39:43
106 M50-54 1275 624 Brad Hough 01:16:58 06:03:05 04:08:37 11:42:5539 F40-44 1280 1470 Jo Coombe 01:07:23 06:33:32 03:56:06 11:44:0940 M18-24 1284 2347 Aaron Leiminger 01:16:41 05:46:44 04:23:43 11:44:5234 M55-59 1296 469 greg Vitnell 01:24:06 06:14:55 03:58:14 11:47:5642 F40-44 1299 1467 georgie Camakaris 01:11:13 05:53:00 04:33:02 11:48:2113 M60-64 1305 333 Tomas Valena 01:35:17 06:18:53 03:46:25 11:49:1414 M60-64 1314 331 William Thornbury 01:15:09 06:16:08 03:51:05 11:50:1046 F30-34 1320 2087 Renee Kiley 01:10:37 05:55:42 04:34:38 11:51:1260 F35-39 1360 1840 Amie Munson 01:17:31 06:17:36 04:09:21 11:55:1848 F40-44 1370 1473 Kim Dale 01:13:01 05:44:09 04:48:35 11:56:37
118 M50-54 1381 634 Stephen Jones 01:09:29 05:59:20 04:37:55 11:58:30219 M40-44 1394 1331 Jason McKinnon 01:12:33 06:10:23 04:26:44 12:00:5652 F40-44 1400 1490 Katie Greenfield 01:10:01 06:22:52 04:20:35 12:02:0547 M55-59 1411 434 Allan Moustoukas 01:10:36 05:58:57 04:42:54 12:03:43
180 M45-49 1414 1066 Phillip Weightman 01:12:11 06:00:58 04:34:19 12:04:3454 F40-44 1415 1488 Ntasha Gerebtzoff 01:11:29 06:03:47 04:39:37 12:05:14
123 M50-54 1419 568 David Cunningham 01:17:39 06:06:25 04:25:08 12:05:36181 M45-49 1432 1031 Colin Smith 01:18:52 05:57:31 04:35:59 12:08:1537 F45-49 1445 1130 Katherine Ryan 01:19:14 06:26:18 04:05:01 12:09:54
199 M35-39 1446 1575 Andrew Carracher 01:13:51 05:16:28 05:32:06 12:10:0410 F18-24 1455 2388 Kate Luckin 01:09:58 06:07:02 04:44:57 12:11:5669 F35-39 1460 1837 Lilian Molesworth 01:27:43 06:24:47 04:11:02 12:12:2654 F30-34 1462 2091 Katie Kyme 01:08:43 06:09:29 04:46:21 12:12:5853 M55-59 1464 383 neville Bradshaw 01:28:04 05:46:04 04:40:37 12:13:0641 F45-49 1474 1147 Belinda Ward 01:26:48 06:03:38 04:33:24 12:14:2472 F35-39 1493 1812 Kate gazzard 01:13:27 06:28:13 04:25:29 12:19:087 F55-59 1494 518 Mary Mitchell 01:18:31 06:39:57 04:10:47 12:19:22
12 F18-24 1496 2377 Megan Hawkins 01:14:22 06:14:31 04:39:37 12:19:4142 F25-29 1516 2277 Ash Dragon 01:13:11 06:54:18 04:02:10 12:23:25
159 M30-34 1518 1932 Aaron gallagher 01:15:26 06:14:58 04:36:59 12:23:32204 M35-39 1522 1624 Stephen glowrey 01:20:58 06:05:32 04:45:56 12:24:16
9 F55-59 1540 496 Kim Elvery 01:21:52 06:26:38 04:30:57 12:27:4326 M60-64 1542 283 greg Broadley 01:14:21 06:05:10 04:57:52 12:28:29
187 M45-49 1544 1041 Sam Stewart 01:35:29 06:23:29 04:07:01 12:28:4860 F30-34 1554 2088 Jo Kocik 01:11:30 05:48:23 05:23:46 12:31:35
134 M50-54 1568 565 Michael Cocks 01:32:44 06:17:37 04:30:14 12:33:4561 M55-59 1571 448 Andrew Short 01:15:51 06:13:57 04:56:22 12:34:2362 M55-59 1575 451 Bernard Smith 01:31:55 06:35:47 04:14:34 12:35:1369 F40-44 1582 1457 Jodie Barker 01:22:41 06:33:19 04:26:18 12:36:3653 F45-49 1583 1102 Allison Hass 00:57:22 06:05:17 05:22:53 12:36:38
230 M40-44 1592 1306 David Lock 01:24:02 05:59:56 05:05:06 12:39:5576 F35-39 1597 1847 Pene newitt 01:07:21 06:09:38 05:10:13 12:41:24
235 M40-44 1629 1430 Stuart Wagner 01:22:31 06:23:39 04:46:24 12:47:01236 M40-44 1630 1402 Chris Stallard 01:17:35 06:17:29 04:57:15 12:47:1033 F50-54 1672 785 Sharyn nichols 01:11:16 06:25:43 05:08:44 12:58:25
242 M40-44 1675 1439 Darrin White 01:17:05 05:35:28 05:52:06 12:58:4921 F18-24 1687 2381 Courtney Home 01:11:37 06:26:15 05:15:44 13:03:1037 F50-54 1701 782 Jodie Morris 01:25:32 06:44:37 04:45:22 13:06:061 M70-74 1703 202 Griffiths Weste 01:48:23 06:26:40 04:40:26 13:06:17
144 M50-54 1726 556 graham Bruce 00:56:10 05:47:44 06:19:53 13:15:3413 M65-69 1745 228 Rob Howitt 01:17:34 06:43:13 05:10:08 13:21:1042 F50-54 1757 805 Chris Thompson 01:31:36 06:47:43 04:55:17 13:26:36
253 M40-44 1758 1325 Ben McDermid 01:14:34 06:32:28 05:19:58 13:26:37209 M45-49 1779 1030 gavin Slavin 01:16:46 06:34:04 05:28:44 13:34:4840 M60-64 1796 293 Damian Fitzpatrick 01:35:08 06:48:32 04:58:24 13:40:5670 F30-34 1817 2112 Holly Orchard 01:24:13 07:27:35 04:41:48 13:47:22
257 M40-44 1821 1393 yook Pei Shee 01:28:40 06:55:34 05:12:35 13:47:55213 M35-39 1825 1743 Duncan Tebb 01:24:01 06:55:31 05:05:13 13:49:3530 F55-59 1835 499 Kim Fraser 01:50:14 06:51:02 04:55:41 13:53:0052 F25-29 1838 2274 natalie Davies 01:03:56 07:00:02 05:37:53 13:54:0774 F45-49 1852 1090 Alison Coote 01:17:52 06:11:40 06:19:19 14:02:0044 M60-64 1861 290 Kevin Duffy 01:24:44 06:45:17 05:41:57 14:06:2121 M65-69 1864 243 Allan Pitman 01:17:04 06:56:53 05:42:13 14:08:06
165 M50-54 1871 596 Keith gatehouse 01:25:24 06:26:03 06:03:57 14:12:4354 F25-29 1873 2306 Ashley Payne 01:05:40 06:53:43 05:57:18 14:13:36
166 M50-54 1874 620 Rob Hill 01:15:59 05:18:28 07:27:26 14:14:1436 F55-59 1893 528 gloria Stewart 01:17:01 06:43:05 06:10:26 14:22:29
264 M40-44 1916 1277 Cameron James 01:18:17 06:25:58 06:34:07 14:32:45226 M45-49 1931 905 Jason Hayden 01:04:45 05:34:01 07:53:20 14:39:3648 M60-64 1935 297 Geoffrey Graham 01:44:02 07:06:57 05:31:52 14:41:57
177 M50-54 1947 690 Malcolm Pitt 01:13:42 06:07:02 07:11:27 14:47:3756 F50-54 1968 775 Claire Lynch 01:28:55 07:13:59 05:48:25 14:53:5591 M55-59 1986 427 Jeff McNaughton 01:14:04 07:06:14 06:29:29 15:02:40
218 M35-39 1988 1561 David Biondo 01:30:20 07:17:13 06:00:20 15:02:485 PC 1997 156 nathan Johnston 01:52:59 07:02:58 05:44:11 15:06:47
234 M45-49 2017 1023 Williams Seay 01:20:56 06:31:40 07:07:04 15:24:0796 M55-59 2023 370 gary Aitkenhead 01:31:08 07:27:50 06:18:39 15:26:5611 M70-74 2047 199 Geoff Thorsen 01:38:23 07:00:03 06:42:45 15:39:255 F65-69 2057 267 Karla McKinlay 01:40:26 07:15:59 06:33:23 15:46:202 M75-79 2075 165 Bruce Higginbotham 01:59:58 07:11:15 06:30:40 15:55:17
47 F55-59 2083 497 Corinne Fabian 01:22:10 08:49:34 05:34:43 16:02:18276 M40-44 2085 1390 Peter Seldon 01:29:17 07:54:10 06:13:08 16:03:24246 M45-49 2107 864 Gavin Duffy 01:39:02 07:50:52 06:32:02 16:16:33280 M40-44 2118 1323 Craig McCombe 01:17:32 07:53:16 06:55:24 16:28:34
8 F65-69 2127 270 Pam Stegeman 01:38:06 07:39:28 06:59:36 16:34:5958 M60-64 2132 279 Steven Bertling 01:24:31 07:19:31 07:34:36 16:38:1024 F60-64 2136 360 Sharman Parr 01:59:49 07:44:27 00:00:00 16:49:24
rESUlTSAUSTrAlIAn AGE GrOUp
38 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
phOTO: KOrUpT vISIOn
Swiss sensation Daniela Ryf or Angry
Bird as she is nicknamed had plenty of
people stalking her on the run,
including the race helicoper as she led
the marathon.
IMAGE OF THE
mOnTh
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 39
40 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
AlWAyS OnlInE: Thorsten the ‘Stat man’.
Trirating founder Thorsten radde has built up a following in the tri world, for his ratings and rankings system. manveen maan catches up with the German
wunderkid to find out what makes him tick.
t e x t b y M a n v e e n M a a n
p h o t o g r A p h y b y P a u l P h I l l I P s -
b a h r a I n e n d u r a n c e
Thorsten Radde could be
classified as an international
man of mystery. A lot is known
about the numbers he comes
up with, but the man behind the digits has
successfully flown under the radar – until
now that is. The German math whiz has
featured prominently in the lead up to
many races, mainly because of the buzz
around his website TriRating, but how
exactly did his interest in triathlon pique?
“I’ve always been active as a kid, trying
out all kinds different sports. When I met
my wife in the last years of school, she
was a swimmer and a few people in her
team were also doing triathlons. I had
heard of Ironman Hawaii before and was
very interested. They helped me to get
somewhat prepared for my first triathlon
in 1988,” he explains.
Once he had a taste of the sport, there
was no denying the developing passion he
nUmbErSGAME
THE8:08:18
9:03:14
9:07:58
www.trirating.com
© Thorsten Radde
© S
hutte
rsto
ck.c
om
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 41
could make available - plus I was able to
do all the analysing I wanted.”
From this analysis, Radde came up
with a system of determining where the
athletes stand. “I compare the athlete’s
rating before the race to the time it took
them to finish. I figure out what impact
the course had and the cause behind the
performance,” he says. “For example, if
everyone is racing five minutes faster,
then it was probably the course and
everyone had a normal day. If everyone is
racing five minutes faster and one athlete
was ten minutes faster, then the course is
five minutes fast and the one fast athlete
had a day where he was five minutes
quicker than normal. Obviously, this
works better when there are more
athletes in a race, but I can use that to
adjust the times and come up with a
‘normalised’, course-neutral time. An
athlete’s rating is then an average of all
had for it. “The concept of working hard
towards a goal was always very appealing
to me. A lot of the fascination of what I’m
doing now also comes from seeing the
hard work pro-athletes are putting in to
become their absolute best and what the
challenges they face on their way,” he says.
That fascination led to playing with data
for his much talked about website, TriRating,
a project that started with a simple
question. “Initially my idea was to compare
the fast German courses in Frankfurt and
Roth to Kona and try to come up with the
answer for how much slower it is Kona,” he
explains. “I thought I’d download some data
and analyse it. To my surprise I found that
there is no unified data to download, so
most of the work went into building a
decent database of race results to use as
a basis for the analysis. I quickly found
that the database was a useful thing to
have and that others appreciate the data I
his previous results, weighing newer
results higher than older results.”
Surely this process is a time-
consuming one? “Most of the time is
spent finding the results and adding them
to my database,” he states. “I can’t fully
automate that as formats differ from race
to race, and an athlete’s name is sometimes
slightly different - Tim or Timothy, Spanish
names, changes after getting married etc.
The analysis process is completely
automated now, and runs just a few
seconds. I usually get my analysis posts
out the day after the race, depending on
what else is going on in my life.”
8:08:18
9:07:58
42 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
ThorsTen radde
As a full-time IT consultant juggling
work and family life, the 30-minute
commute to his main customer is when
most of the processing takes place: “But a
lot of the writing and extended analysis
requires some longer evenings, and some
questions are in the back of my mind before
I figure out an analytical way of attack.”
Radde’s predictions however, are purely
stats-based and may not always include
weather conditions, course difficulties or
just plain luck. But how big a part do these
external factors play? “My predictions are
based on an athlete’s previous results and
how fast or slow a course has been in the
past. There are a lot of factors that are not
part of the predictions, like if the athlete
had a good training period or recently had
an injury, how rested or tired an athlete is,
or conditions different from what is
normal for that race,” he says. “Of course,
these factors play a role, and the data
doesn’t tell the full story but I think it is an
important part of the story. However, data
only allows you to make statistical
predictions that are right on average, but
can’t predict how each race unfolds.”
With all the work that goes into these
numbers, Radde reveals that there have
been moments where his game has been
on point. “I think my Frankfurt predictions
this year were pretty close. Jan, Sebi and
Andi were my #3, #1 and #7 picks, and I
correctly predicted the female podium
(but in a different order). There are also
finishing times that I had predicted almost
to the second. For example I had Sebi
predicted at 8:01:45, and he finished in
8:01:39,” he recalls. “But a lot of that is just
luck. Athletes have to have a ‘normal’ day
and the conditions on race day also have
to pretty ‘normal’ or the effects have to
cancel each other out.”
On the flip side, Radde confirms that
there are days when his predictions
haven’t gone to plan. “Of course there are
also results where I’m completely off,” he
admits. “Maybe the athlete has a bad day
and walks it in, and often it’s just a great
race day. For example, I didn’t see Jeff
Symonds winning IM Melbourne (more
than 20 minutes better than expected) or
Matt Hanson winning IM Texas (he was
about 25 minutes quicker than I predicted).”
In his years of statistical experience
though, Radde has picked up on certain
factors that transcend all numbers.
“For the races with the big, deep fields
(such as the Regional Champs or Kona),
you can’t have a bad day if you want to
place well,” he explains. “That’s why most
of the Top 10 in Kona are usually “green” in
my results (i.e. they were faster than I
expected them) and even those that are
somewhat disappointed (like Caroline
www.trirating.comSu
pplie
d by
Tho
rste
n Ra
dde
ThE TrAIThlETE: thorsten racing Frankfurt 2010 and inset Quelle roth 2007.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 43
Steffen last year) are pretty close to their
expected time.”
Ultimately, winning Kona always takes
a special day. “Even with their great
pre-Kona results, Sebi and Rinny were
eight and six minutes faster than
predicted to win in 2014,” he muses.
With all the time it takes to get the
numbers down on paper, one might
wonder who exactly uses Radde’s stats. “A
lot of people interested in the pro races
appreciate the information. Athletes and
coaches use it to have a look at the
competition and try to figure out how they
might place,” he reveals. “I’ve had athletes
get in touch to decide between different
races based on preliminary start lists,
especially those that are looking for a
good result to get Kona points for
qualifying. Once they have committed to a
race, they often ask for detailed information
(such as previous results) for the athletes
they’ll be facing - probably to figure out
how the race may play out and maybe
even base their race tactics on how the
others might be doing.”
His work doesn’t stop there – Radde is
more than happy to provide his data and
analysis to advocacy groups to help them
form positions based on actual facts
rather than personal opinions. “I was
asked by TriEqual to help counter some
of the statements that Andrew Messick
has made, such as ‘Pro women make
more money’,” he recalls. “I’ve also looked
at the implications of the unequal
number of Kona slots (50 male, 35
women) and discovered that women
need more points to qualify which also
means that they have to race more often.
This completely contradicts Andrew’s
statement that it’s easier for women to
qualify for Kona. I can’t understand at all
why Ironman and the WTC continue to
fight equal slots.”
Strong words from the man himself,
but surely he’s had some intense feedback
about his work as well? “I think most
appreciate the predictions as it gives them
a good, objective (so to speak) indication
of what’s likely to happen on race day.
Even if I’m friends with some of the
athletes, that doesn’t impact the ratings or
predictions,” he confirms. “Some athletes
say that their goal going into a race is to
beat my predicted time as that’ll mean
that they had a good day. Some are fired
up that I have predicted them as slow. As
I’ve said, there are factors that I can’t
include in my predictions, so an athlete
coming off a good training camp is
convinced that he can go much faster
than what he did in the past. Overall, I’m
always happy when athletes beat my
predictions and when their preparation is
paying off.”
Looking back on his journey, Radde
realizes he has come a long way since the
website’s inception, which has in turn,
impacted how he wants to progress with
his work. “I’m thinking about extending my
analysis for 70.3 races for this year. I have
also collected the results from the middle
distance races,” he says. “I now have results
from 140 different courses, 450 races and
more than 3000 athletes. Some of it will
be a direct application of the rating system
to shorter races, but I’d also love to look
into questions such as the correlation of
70.3 results and Ironman results.”
And where does he see his famed
website in the years to come? “That’s hard
to say. I never thought I’d be doing this four
years after I started!” he exclaims. “I’ve
managed to get in contact with a lot of pro
athletes, coaches, and writers and if
possible, I’d like to meet as many of them
as possible. My wife and I hope to be able
to travel to Kona for the 2017 race - that
would be cool. Overall, I hope to be able to
use the data, analysis and contacts for
some cool things in the future.”
My predictions are based on an athlete’s previous results and how fast or slow a course has been in the past.
ThOrSTEn rAddE
44 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
to hit the market. Our interest was piqued
but it wasn’t until Ironman Melbourne in
early 2015 that we got to see them in
action, under Josh Rix’s Swift TT rig. Still
the closest we had come to them was as
they whizzed past at the 90km turn
around and on the way into transition. So
we could say that they looked deep, but
that was about all. Until, that is, about
three weeks ago when we received a call
from the Australian Triathlete office to say
“Can you come and pick up a set of
wheels we want you to ride and test”. No
problem, we love carbon bling! That
afternoon we were in possession of a
wheel bag with a set of pretty much the
deepest race wheels we have ever seen.
These were a 95mm deep clincher wheel
Who and what are
Knight Wheels? It’s a
good question that is
somewhat deeper than
you might think. If you haven’t heard of
them yet, and chances are you probably
haven’t, they are a relatively new carbon
wheel manufacturer with a lot to offer us
as triathletes.
Knight Composites is the brainchild
start up of three friends. Like a lot of
stories you hear out there it was literally
thought up over coffee in a little café in
Bend, Oregon. We have all heard it before,
a couple of mates start up a wheel
business, buy a bunch of open mold
wheels, call them something cool and try
to sell them as the latest go fast wheel for
$1000 US a pair. These businesses come
and go almost as quickly as an ITU
transition. Now, this is where the story
differs a little from the standard formula.
You see Knight Composites is the
collaboration of three very well respected
and well connected people in the bike
industry. They are Beverly Lucas (an
Englishwoman living in Melbourne), Jim
Pfeil (an American from Bend, Oregon
USA) and Kevin Quan (a Canadian).
Individually these names probably mean
nothing to you but the projects they have
been involved with and headed up over
the last 15 years or so are pretty much a
triathlete’s wet dream. Beverly had a
major hand in developing and
reinvigorating the Felt brand before
moving to Enve where she had a leading
roll in bringing to life their famed ‘smart’
system. Jim Pfeil founded Reynolds
Composites where he created some of
the most sought after carbon forks of all
time, the Ouzo Pro and Ouzo Comp.
Rounding out the trio is Kevin Quan, a
mechanical engineer who worked for
Cervelo and designed possibly the most
famous bike in triathlon history, the P3C.
Through his design studio he has since
worked with companies such as BH, Neil
Pryde and Parlee amongst others. So I
guess you can see why, when these guys
decided to start up a wheel business it
was worth taking notice.
Ok so we now know who Knight is. So
what are they? We first heard about them
about a year ago when, former VIS head
triathlon coach, Jono Hall mentioned this
new up and coming wheel company with
some outstanding wheels that were about
Product Tested: Knight Wheelstech talk
Road TesT
Product Tested: Knight Wheelstech talk
Road TesT
Precision engineering: Knight 65r spoke
240’s Hub: Knight 35 DT rear
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 45
set. They looked deep even without tires
on them. Being triathletes we love deep
wheels. In fact if we were allowed to we
would probably get around on double
disks, even if it meant being blown out into
the bay. Anyway, Knight also make a
65mm and a 35mm deep wheel set, to
pretty much tackle any conditions and suit
any style of rider.
Once we stopped talking about how
deep these wheels were we checked over
the rest of the details. Our test set came
with DT Swiss 240 hubs, pretty much your
industry gold standard. Many professional
athletes use and swear by these hubs. You
can however choose to upgrade to a
number of different hubs including the
lighter DT Swiss 180s, Chris King or Aivee
hubs, all at varying prices (Starting at
AUD$2,999 all the way up to AUD$4,299).
Connecting the hoops to the hubs are
Sapim CX- Ray spokes, which again are a
tried and true industry standard, and Pillar
nipples. The 95’s come with 16 spokes on
the front and 20 on the rear.
Like most new wheels on the market
these are very wide, 28.25mm in this case.
Unlike a lot of their competitors however,
the trailing edge doesn’t remain the same
width as the leading, finishing in a blunt
edge, but instead tapers off a little
finishing in more of a point. The finish on
these wheels is also pretty eye catching.
It’s like a satin finish, neither gloss nor
matt, which gives the wheel quite a high
quality look. The actual clincher claws
around the rim look strong and well
finished without any sharp edges to rub on
the tires. Our test wheels came with
‘stealth’ black decals, which we like best
anyway and we would say this is the only
option to go for. This is because the one
thing we weren’t overjoyed about the look
of the wheels were the decals, more
specifically, the font Knight have used. I
know we are being picky but we do value
looks as well as function. Other high end
wheels such as Enve, Zipp and Hed are
easily recognized for their distinct logo and
the decals look modern, sleek and fast,
where these just look a bit… dated. Still it’s
a very small gripe and if they are fast who
cares. It’s not like you see the decals when
the wheel is moving anyway, it’s really only
for the #baaw (Bikes Against A Wall)
photos on Instagram that you would care.
The next stage was to fit some tires,
tubes and a cassette and get them onto a
bike. Tires can sometimes be a real pain to
fit on the current wide style of wheel but
we were able to fit the Knight’s without
needing to use tire levers. You will need to
use a valve extender on your tubes as the
deepest valve we could get our hands on
was 80mm. Once pumped up the tires bed
in easily and never look like coming off. On
Reviewed by: The TeST LabCraig McKenzie and Patrick Legge are The Test Lab. Two guys with an obsession for trialling all things related to swimming, riding and running and telling anyone who will listen what they think. Having 20 years each in the sport, they’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly, but always loved the innovation triathlon brings to the world stage. Craig raced as a professional triathlete, winning 4 National Duathlon titles, and has worked as an exercise physiologist, osteopath and coach, while Pat has built a career running a personal training, massage and coaching business, working with State, Australian and World Champions, including Australian Olympic and Commonwealth squads whilst competing himself.
Reviewed by: The TeST LabCraig McKenzie and Patrick Legge are The Test Lab. Two guys with an obsession for trialling all things related to swimming, riding and running and telling anyone who will listen what they think. Having 20 years each in the sport, they’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly, but always loved the innovation triathlon brings to the world stage. Craig raced as a professional triathlete, winning 4 National Duathlon titles, and has worked as an exercise physiologist, osteopath and coach, while Pat has built a career running a personal training, massage and coaching business, working with State, Australian and World Champions, including Australian Olympic and Commonwealth squads whilst competing himself.
Knight 35F Knight 65F Knight 95F
Knight 35r Knight 65r Knight 95r
46 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Product Tested: Knight Wheelstech talk
Road TesT
be surprised to see more companies come
out with this in mind. After all, it doesn’t
matter how aero a wheel is if you are fighting
to hold it. Having said that being 80 odd
kgs does mean we have a bit more weight
to help hold these wheels in place. With a
lot of female athletes weighing around the
50-55kg mark (soaking wet), the
65/95mm combo might be a better option.
The last thing to consider is the braking
and again we were lucky enough to test
these in both dry and wet conditions.
Overall, the brake pads that came with the
wheels were adequate and seemed to do
a fine job. However when we changed to
our regular Swiss Stop pads the breaking
was significantly better. Not such a big
deal but we would recommend if you are
looking at the Knight wheels to also grab a
pair of Swiss Stop pads, at least as the
first replacement set.
All in all the first generation of Knight
wheels are an absolute stand out. They
are targeted at the high end of the market
with their price range, but it is obvious that
a lot of research and development has
gone into these wheels. If you wish to you
can read all about that on their website.
So if you are in the market for a versatile,
high end, Carbon Clincher wheel set look
no further than the Knight 95’s.
with a cassette and we were ready to roll.
so THe all-important quesTion, HoW Do THey riDe?Well we like to ride the wheels we test before reading about them. So we can
try not to be too influenced by the
marketing jingo. Luckily for us, Melbourne
has also thrown up some great weather
conditions to test these babies out,
sometimes multiple conditions in a few
short hours. We have had winds up to
75km/hr, scorching heat and side ways
rain and we have taken the Knights out in
all of those conditions. To add to that we
put them on both our TT bikes, our road
bikes and the Ventum One triathlon bike
we have been testing. This has given us a
huge amount of variables in which to
comment on the Knight 95’s.
I will say straight up our opinion is
purely that. We can’t get in a wind tunnel
and test out the claims of a wheel
manufacturer. But through years of riding
and racing we can put forward an opinion
on the comfort, acceleration and handling
of a set of wheels. The first and probably
best thing we can say is these wheels feel
fast. They just get up to speed quickly and
feel very stiff which gives you the impression
the power you are putting through the
pedals is going directly into moving these
wheels forward. Next up was the handling,
and this is where we expected the Knights
to suffer a little. Just look at them, they are
95mm deep for goodness sake, that’s a lot
of surface for the wind to hit. As we said
before, we took these wheels out in all
conditions and on multiple bikes, and we
can honestly say they handle as well as if
not better than most wheels half their
depth. It seems crazy but not once did
either of us feel on edge riding these
wheels in cross, head or tail winds.
Through corners or in and out of
protected areas the wheels just tracked
beautifully. This was a real surprise. Having
ridden many other brands, most wheels
over 80mm deep get pushed around a bit
to some extent, but these held true. We
would be happy to use these wheels in
pretty much any conditions and on any
course in the world. Our only conclusion is
that the unique tapered shape has
something to do with this and we wouldn’t
Decals: some what dated? close uP: Knight 95 Brake Track
113 IRONMAN FINISHES...All your triathlon questions answered:Sports Medicine, Physiotherapy, Exercise Science, Massage, Rehabilitation, Coaching & Nutrition.
Dr Mitchell Anderson M.B.B.S., B.Physio. (hons), B.Sci. (hons), Dip. Surg. Anat.
Jason Shortis B. Ex. Sci., Grad. Dip. Ex. Phys., Level 2 Tri coach, Level 2 Strength & Conditioning
Charlie Bottero (Masseur)
www.shinbonemedical.com
2/96 Macaulay RdNorth MelbourneVic 3051
Appointments: Julie 9-5 Tues-Fri: 0393295454
Image: D
elly Carr w
ww
.sportshoot.com.au
48 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
PROJECT MOdE OnPROJECT clothing may be just two years into their journey but they are certainly making
their mark in the triathlon market, with some of the biggest names in the sport backing the
Melbourne based brand. With a big focus on research and development and working with
likeminded athlete ambassadors, PROJECT has thrived. Founder Graeme Clarke, tells us
how the brand has risen to the forefront of the tri clothing realm.
the way to achieve the result. I have applied
this principal to PROJECT to ensure we plan
correctly, monitor the manufacturing process
and communicate with our customer through
the journey. I understand how important a
uniform can be to an athlete at any level and
so we ensure this is seamless so they can
focus on their performance. So, in short, we
treat each customer as a PROJECT to ensure
we deliver the best outcome for him or her.
What makes PROJECT stand out from the rest of its competitors? What goes into the making of a PROJECT garment? Yes – it’s a simple answer but it’s one we
wanted to always keep in our vocabulary. A
lot of brands say no to new products or ideas
because it seems too hard or costs too much.
But we wanted to open the door to any sport
or athlete to come to us and make requests
for what they wanted, and we would often
say yes! So to make a PROJECT garment we
need a customer who is as passionate as us
about clothing – and then we make it happen
for them.
Who is PROJECT? PROJECT is a company who want to make
the most comfortable performance clothing
there is.
As I was never an elite athlete – to reach
this goal I needed to listen to those who are.
This means we have a greater level of
communication with our ambassadors and
relationships such as Triathlon Canada as I
don’t tell them what they should have based
on my experience – I listen to what they
want, workshop the parameters and go
about producing products that perform
beyond their expectations.
This allows us to be at the front of a
constantly changing environment and makes
us adapt to the conditions as the athlete has
to. But the key to our company is making this
technology available to everyone of our
customers. I love the idea of a young
triathlete racing in the junior series wanting to
wear what she saw her hero Emma Jackson
wearing in a race. This is what our brand is
built on – and we make this happen on a
daily basis.
PROJECT is still relatively new, having been established in 2013. When did the idea first come about to create PROJECT? How did the brand come together and why
triathlon? We were driven to produce better
clothing both on field and off across a
multitude of sports. I took up triathlon as an
age grouper in 2000 and have enjoyed it ever
since. It made sense when we launched the
brand to have triathlon, cycling, running and
volleyball as our foundation sports categories.
We have now expanded to include AFL, rugby
and compression and will be launching into
three new sports before Christmas.
Tell me the story behind coming up with the brand’s name and definition.The PROJECT definition is “a collaborative
enterprise, frequently involving research or
design that is carefully planned to achieve a
particular aim”. Prior to PROJECT, I was a
project manager in the building industry for
many years. Once you learn the skill to focus
on the outcome of the job at hand it becomes
easier to deal with the speed humps along
Brand: PROJECT
tech talkBehind the Brand
© Korupt Vision
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 49
research and development is a key priority for proJect and making technically advanced products is something you value heavily, but that (r&d and innovation) comes with a price tag. Why was it so important to you as a company to invest in that? I think that if we started PROJECT as just
another sports clothing company then we
would just be sitting out the back. It’s true it’s
the harder road to walk – as with R&D does
come a huge investment and at times
disappointments – but we see us like an
athlete in that if we don’t train hard then we
can’t expect to perform well! Our customers
see that in us.
What has been a milestone/highlights of prOJECT thus far?There have been many highlights in such a
short time! It’s hard to go past the amazing
performance of Gwen Jorgensen having just
completed her second undefeated season
and second world title. We were also very
privileged to be chosen to work with Triathlon
Canada in their Rio campaign – which has
got us busily testing new fabrics to combat
the heat, humidity and tough course. We are
also very excited to have both Luke Bell and
Gina Crawford on the start line at Kona this
year – having one of our ambassadors win
Hawaii could be hard to top!
What has been the biggest challenge(s) thus far? Our biggest challenge to date has been
managing the new relationships that come
with a new business. From customers to staff
to suppliers – they all need a great deal of
time initially and it has been certainly a
challenge managing my time effectively to
ensure we get the result we require.
Some of the sports biggest stars have chosen to align themselves with prOJECT including Gwen Jorgensen, emma Jackson, ryan Bailie, luke Bell and Gina Crawford. What qualities do you look for in proJect ambassadors?Our ambassador program was the pinnacle
to what we are, in that I didn’t just want to
sponsor athletes - I wanted to have athletes
as passionate about our product as we are.
We ask a lot of them – constant feedback,
testing of products, trying our new ideas –
and it was important they felt comfortable in
being honest in their opinions and requests.
Our first athlete we signed was Ryan Bailie.
Ryan was starting out with Jamie Turner and
the Wizards and I had a coffee with him in
Falls Creek a few years back at the
suggestion of JT. It would have been easy to
pass him up and go for someone with a
proven track record and results – but I liked
the way he told me about what he wanted to
do and his passion to get there. His
performances over the last two years speak
for themselves and don’t surprise me. The
same goes for Gwen, Emma and Luke – they
all had a common interest in wanting to work
closer with a brand who was committed to
improving their performance and where they
could contribute to the outcome – in many
ways we provide the platform for them to say
what others don’t want to hear! Our
relationship with Gina is brand new – but one
of our most challenging to date! Gina wanted
a brand new Kona kit as she wasn’t happy
with what she was currently wearing and we
had eight weeks to produce it! I guess that is
what makes our brand what it is – in that not
only have we delivered a new long distance
Kona inspired range to Gina in a new striking
design, but we are pretty confident it might
get Gina a few more places up the leader
board this year!
how many products are there today? In how many sub-categories (eg. Swim, Bike, run, etc.) We took on a big commitment when we
started PROJECT in wanting to develop our
brand across all sports not just a few. This
made the first 12 months a challenge as we
basically built every item from scratch!
Currently we produce items for triathlon,
running, cycle, indoor and beach volleyball,
basketball, soccer, AFL, rugby, wetsuits,
compression, swimming, athletics and
netball. But the strength in our brand comes
from the training and casual gear we produce
to compliment the on field clothing – we
understand the challenges clubs and
associations have when fitting out their team
so we wanted them to be able to come to us
and be able to get every item they needed –
all in the one place, all matching and by
dealing with one person.
do you think the huge sporting culture in Australia has played a part in your development? Absolutely. I grew up like most Australians
playing sport all year round – so once that’s
embedded in your psyche, then you really
never stop. Having played many sports in my
life made it easy to transition into a business
that is sport based and also gave me the
passion to make clothing better than what is
available on the market currently.
If you could describe prOJECT in three words, what would they be?
Comfort, technical, performance. Or comfort,
comfort, comfort.
Where do you see prOJECT in ten years’ time? We like the idea that we will expand our
brand across as many sports and countries
as the demand requires. There are no real
limitations or concrete plans in place, but
because we are passionate, hungry and
nimble, we know we need to plan for strong
growth. It is our customers who drive this
growth, and as long as we maintain our high
level of service and product then I expect we
will continue to grow quite rapidly.
ChECK OUT All ThE AWESOmE GEAr COmInG OUT OF prOJECT hQ Web: projectclothing.com.au Facebook: projectclothingcompany Twitter: ProejectTeamwear Instagram: projectclothingcompany
50 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
product: ventum Onetech talk
PRoduCT SPoTLighT
vEnTUm rACInG The Future Of Speed
p h o t o g r A p h y b y T h e T e s T l a b
At the beginning of this year
there was a lot of hype
building around this new bike
brand soon to be joining the
triathlon market that would change the
way we look at triathlon bike engineering.
As sneak peak photos began circulating
on the various social media platforms,
it wasn’t long until we were treated to the
debut of the Ventum One.
Business owners Australian triathlete
Jimmy Seear, with his father Peter and
close friend Diaa Nour, established
Ventum One with one goa - to develop the
ultimate triathlon bike. Using a
combination of superior aerodynamics, as
well as athlete feedback, Ventum has a
sole purpose of making the fastest
triathlon bike ever seen.
The Ventum One is being put through
its paces at the time of print, so make sure
you grab next month’s edition to see what
The Test Lab thinks of the speed machine
bringing old school Lotus Engineering
concepts into the modern era. For those
who love their stats, you can even read the
results from their wind tunnel testing at
ventumracing.com.
Some of the stars who are already on
team Ventum include Leanda Cave and
Kyle Buckingham who gave the Ventum
One its maiden Queen K voyage at the
Ironman World Championships, which
definitely won’t be the last. And American
Alicia Kaye earned a fifth place at the
Ironman 70.3 World Champs in Austria
riding the bike she cannot speak more
highly of.
Available in December in the US and in
Australia early next year, the Ventum
brand and potential evolution of this bike
are exciting spaces to keep an eye on.
InTEGrATEd WATEr bOTTlESAthletes need water, but adding traditional
water bottles to a bicycle frame increases
drag and reduces performance.
The Ventum One was designed to be one
of the fastest triathlon bicycles, so they
built a water bottle into the top tube of
“It climbs like a dream.”I can climb for longer in my aero position or climb seated rather than getting out of
the saddle.” Alicia Kaye (above)
SpEEd mAChInE: Leanda Cave was one of the first to ride the Ventum
the frame. The integrated water bottle
holds up to 1.4 litres of water (about two
standard bike bottles worth) and comes
with a flexible drinking straw plus a bite
valve, so you can re-hydrate without ever
leaving your aero tuck. You can even
customise the colour, available in eight
different colours.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 51
OnE GEOmETryFrame size 51 54 56 58
Wheel size 700c 700c 700c 700c
Seat tube angle 75-79° 75-79° 75-79° 75-79°
Head tube angle 72° 72° 72° 72°
Bottom bracket drop 75 75 75 75
Effective top tube 75° seat tube 530 550 568 588
Head tube length 95 114 132 152
Front center 582 603 623 642
Rear center 395 395 395 395
Stack 510 528 544 560
Reach 394 409 423 438
Stem length 75 75 75 75
1
7
2
8
3
4
5
6
OnE Dura-ace Di2 OnE ultegra Di2 OnE framesetPrice USD$11,500 USD$8,500 USD$6,250
Fork Ventum All-Carbon Aerofoil Fork Ventum All-Carbon Aerofoil Fork Ventum All-Carbon Aerofoil Fork
Headset Integrated Sealed Bearings 1-1/8” x 1-1/8” Integrated Sealed Bearings 1-1/8” x 1-1/8” Integrated Sealed Bearings 1-1/8” x 1-1/8”
Seatpost Carbon Aero Seatpost Carbon Aero Seatpost Carbon Aero Seatpost
Rear Derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 11 spd Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 11 spd -
Front Derailleur Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 11 spd Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 11 spd -
Shifters Shimano Ultegra Di2 R671 Shimano Ultegra Di2 R671 -
Brake Caliper Front TRP TTV TRP TTV TRP TTV
Brake Caliper Rear Shimano Direct Mount Dura-Ace 9000 Shimano Direct Mount Ultegra 6800 -
Brake Levers Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 11 spd Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 11 spd -
Bottom Bracket Ceramic Speed BB30 Shimano Wheels Manufacturing BB30 Shimano -
Crankset Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 11spd 53/39 Shimano Ultegra 6800 11spd 53/39 -
Aero Bar Carbon Integrated Aero Bars Carbon Integrated Aero Bars Carbon Integrated Aero Bars
Saddle ISM Prologue ISM Prologue -
Cassette Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 11spd 11-25 Shimano Ultegra 6800 11spd 11-25 -
Chain Shimano HG 11 spd Shimano HG 11 spd -
Wheels Zipp Firecrest 808 Clincher Zipp 60 Clincher -
Tires Vittoria Evo CX Vittoria Rubino Slick -
Hydration Ventum 1.4-liter Conformal Bottle Ventum 1.4-liter Conformal Bottle Ventum 1.4-liter Conformal Bottle
(Multiple Colors Available) (Multiple Colors Available) (Multiple Colors Available)
“Yes, it’s stiff.”The frame is strong and very stiff. The very first feeling I had on it, was that every piece of my effort to move the bike forward was going directly into the bike.” Alicia Kaye
SIzES 51 cm, 54 cm, 56 cm, and 58 cm
9
drEAmErS: Jimmy seear has worked tirelessly to create this machine with father Peter and Diaa Nour. father
52 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
product: WhEElStech talk
Save/SPend/SPLuRge
Spend
dT SwiSS R 23 SplineComfort joins speed. The new R 23 SPLInE® wheels work perfectly with the new breed of wider road tires. The combination of wide rims and wide tires results in more comfort in the saddle and more grip on the road. The rider ends up with faster and more enjoyable rides. Together with the laterally stiff build which uses high end bladed spokes, the R 23 SPLInE® lets you tackle the last climb of the day with enough energy to enjoy the looks of the hubs and to plan your next big ride.website: www.dtswiss.com
ZiPP’S30 Course Disc-brake Clincher aluminium This wheelset is as packed full of innovations as your best day on a bike was packed with euphoria. The 30 Course Disc-brake Clincher’s durable wide rim profile offers enhanced aerodynamic efficiency as well as better comfort and cornering grip. This is a high-performance aluminum wheelset engineered to provide versatility for the new era of road cycling that includes disc-brake road applications but also cyclocross and gravel adventures, riding or racing.www.echelonsports.com.au
KnighT Composite 35’s ( DT240 )The Knight 35 is a do-it-all wheel that offers outstanding versatility and stability, making it a go-to for pros and enthusiasts alike.The Knight 35 – engineered to, cushion the impact of the roughest roads. Be extremely light weight and nimble and provide a strong aero advantage over a standard box rimwww.knightcomposites.com.au
Splurge
$600
MaviCCosmic Pro CarbonCosmic Pro Carbon features time-proven Mavic carbon capabilities, blending aerodynamics and high stiffness, with one of the lightest aero clincher rims. Feather light yksion Pro tyres and hubs reinforce its responsiveness. now available in 2 color versions: white or mat black stickers. www.mavic.com.au
ZiPP Firecrest 404 With the depth and shape proven in all conditions, its 58mm rim depth is a classic all-around performer that has carried athletes to victory in every kind of event and situation – every triathlon distance, breakaways, field sprints and hilly finishes. The 404 Firecrest Carbon Clincher is where the Firecrest® Revolution began. At the centre of the 404 Firecrest is Zipp’s 77/177 hubset with best-in-class durability and improved bearing protection with no pre-load adjustment needed. The result is improved stiffness, durability, simplicity and versatility.www.echelonsports.com.au
SaveMaviCAksium Aksium stays true to this Mavic DnA with features usually reserved for top performance road wheels. These features include straight pull spokes that bring strength and stiffness, while the versatile and lightweight rims keep inertia low and reactivity high. new for 2016, the lightweight rims are now wider to increase air volume and for a better fit with tyres up to 32mm. This all adds up to a Mavic wheelset with a world-class ride quality that will last longer than any other. www.mavic.com.au
$1580$1599
$3299
$3499
$294
www.focus-bikes.com // facebook/focus.bikes
CHRONO MAX ULTEGRA Di2Designed for one thing - speed. With minimal weight, fully integrated systems, quick handling and slippery aerodynamics, the Izalco Chrono Max represents the pinnacle of German Engineering by FOCUS. Windtunnel proven, the aerodynamics of the Izalco Chrono Max are matched by the ride quality required for professional and age groupers alike.
MAXIMUMAERO
DCA_cervelo_P series ad_april 2015.indd 2 9/10/2015 2:45:04 PM
54 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Consolidation As a coach, I appreciate the amazing
power that time and recovery can have on
an athlete’s perception. As an athlete, I am
completely aware of the hypocrisy of which
I write. I will remember my lectures of
consolidation, evaluation, construction
and progression with mixed discipline
this October.
EvAlUATIOnTry and do this a week after the race,
when the barrage of thoughts, worry and
analysis has passed a crescendo and
sleep patterns have normalised. A week
allows for both disappointment and
It’s official the Ironman World
Championships 2015 is done. 2015 is
dead. Long live 2016.
Woah, woah woah, slow down
there soldier! You know that gap between
Christmas and New Years? That week
where life seems to stagnate and nothing
gets done? It turns out there may actually
be a reason it is there and not one just to
close all the pools, gyms, make people fat
and generally frustrate the triathlete
population of the world.
That week is about consolidation. It’s
not just the comedown from Christmas
and the build up to Hogmanay but the
amalgamation of the whole year. It is
about resetting, exhaling and unwinding.
A gap to evaluate, plan and strategise the
new year (whilst eating sumptuous
amounts of mince pies).
It turns out it’s exactly what us
triathletes need after Kona. Too many of
us ignore the winter break and even more
of us miss the post-season reflection.
Without it, our relentless pursuit of
excellence may eventually prove to be
directed in a few of the wrong areas.
On Saturday the 11th of October two
World Champions were crowned. At the
time of writing it is unknown if they be new
winners or repeating legends. What is
certain is that on Sunday the 12th of
October the sun rose, the waves rolled and
life continued on. In time, new
opportunities will emerge and new
applicants for such opportunities will
begin their assault to usurp the King and
Queen of Kona 2016. Whilst physicality
counts for much on ‘them here lava fields’,
strategy, mindset and preparation count
for more and as such should be allocated
much energy and thought.
You only have to watch ‘Game of
Thrones’ - it is the brains, not the bodies,
that lead battles. Victories are only
captured with experience, cunning and
meticulous scrutiny of method. Unless you
of course you have a dragon. If you have a
dragon they are screwed.
COnSOlIdATIOnThe week after a major year, emphasis is a
week for consolidation. Make no decisions,
make no progress. Just be. Be content with
success, or with failure and allow neither
full penetration.
This is sport and sometimes its
relevance to life, war and to need is
misleading. It is a façade, it is not life, and
it is not indeed death. It is a game, an
adventure, with undulations and twists of
fate that make it all the more exciting.
The excitement and adrenalin of a
championship dehabilitates an athlete
physically but also leeches the mind
consuming huge amounts of
concentration, emotion and focus. It can
take weeks to regain the psychological
perception and emotional stability needed
to evaluate race day factually and
accurately. It is the detail of a race
assessment, a season assessment that
can truly move an athlete forward for
future performance.
do not analyse the race, the preparation or the performance, in the four
days after race day. it is self-sabotage. © S
hutte
rsto
ck.c
om
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 55
Jodie Swallow
Jodie Swallow is a world champion, Ironman champion and Olympian. Not one to shy away from an uncomfortable but necessary conversation, Jodie Swallow is guaranteed to keep you thinking. Follow her at www.ifollowtheswallow.co.uk
excitement to have climaxed and
hopefully to have been replaced by a little
more reason and logic.
Each point can concentrate on feeling,
time or perception depending on your
individual focus.
• If a point is negative add an additional
positive point in response to the
negative e.g ‘i began to fade as the heat
built in my muscles’ is counterbalanced
by ‘But i thought of my goals and kept
pushing hard’.
It is remarkable how specific negative
instances can overrule a predominantly
positive reaction to adversity.
Counterbalancing negative perceptions
with positive rhetoric demonstrates the
power that perception has in learning from
races. A confident, positive and proud
athlete is in a far better position to tackle
their perceived ‘weaknesses’ than a
negative, disappointed one.
InvESTIGATIOnThe next step of calculation is the
understanding of the evaluation. Working
out the ‘whys and what for’, the reasons
for the pointers sited in the evaluation, is
very personal. The answers are matters of
perception and although emotion should
never displace fact, I allow my instinct to
guide me through this process.
Often what appears to have gone
wrong (or right) is for deeper reasons than
first sight would suggest. It is a skill to
recognise when simple answers suffice
and also when complex factors have
combined to make the perfect storm.
• Look firstly at preparation and separate
its components from that of execution.
• Dissect the physical and the
psychological happenings until a solution
becomes obvious. It will. We all have an
instinct to know ourselves and know our
tendencies, under pressure, better than
anyone. It is the confusion of expectation,
maybe of pride, maybe of responsibility
that can manipulate our reactions to
achievement or indeed to failure.
1. Write four points about the swim - each from a 1000m sector
2. Write four about the ride - each 40 km apart
3. Write four about the run - each 10 km apart
4. Write four points about your race strategy and pacing
5. Write four points about you hydration and nutrition on race day
6. Write four points about your feelings about the whole experience
IT IS TImE TO dOCUmEnT yOUr rACE STOry:
Jodie Swallow
56 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Jodie Swallow
Jodie Swallow@jodieswallow
correct plan of action but also
communicate your priorities to your coach
and training friends around you.
The classic principles of goal setting;
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant,
Time bound (SMART) will help to turn
aims into written choices of intent. I also
think it is important to create a scene for
those goals to flourish - an overall ‘mission
statement’ that encapsulates your dreams
in triathlon alongside life. This will help in
choosing the right type of challenge for
the year and will not see an athlete who
seeks ‘epic adventures’ coveting a world
championship-qualifying slot when they
could be climbing Alpe
D’Huez or straddling rocks in
the Otillo.
prOGrESSIOnWith a list of goals, a
strategic plan of reaction to the year and
renewed zeal and enthusiasm for
challenge, ‘Project 2016’ should be the
most exciting yet. If not, then revisit the
investigation and POA stages of the year
and take time to follow both your heart
and your brain into assuming the right
direction. If it is too early, give yourself
more time. If it is all too serious, relax
about it. Like each race, each season and
each sporting career this is your journey
and your thoughts -perceptions and
development should hinge on your
decisions and nothing and no one else.
Achieving goals in sport takes graft,
dedication and resolve, but postponing
goals or changing targets is just as
credible, rewarding and challenging.
I hope your 2015 in triathlon enhanced
your life and that every race (good or bad),
taught you something about yourself,
about humanity or about life. This year,
take the time to recognise that
achievement and savour your triumph.
After all, life is a game and games are all
about the playing.
Spend time to sit and formulate your
goals for next season. It is of paramount
importance when formulating goals to
ascertain the space, the priorities and the
mind space you are in. Age group sport
has to be about self-achievement, passion
and happiness. Do not waiver on any
element of that package and risk your
longevity of participation in sport (or in life
outside of sport).
Assess your desires and your aims
within the sport. This will differ in the
various stages of your career and your life.
Is world domination your aim, or next year
would you like some time to renew your
passion in the sport? Clear motives and
goals not only allow you to ascertain a
plAn OF ACTIOnYour investigation following evaluation
should now allow some issues to emerge.
Once issues are ascertained, it becomes
far easier for solutions of those issues to
be constructed. A solid answer in this last
stage of race analysis is possibly the most
exciting stage of race comedown as it
finalises the progression achieved from
the experience.
Nobody has all the answers and it is
important to seek advice and knowledge
from the right people to avoid the
recurrence of mistakes in the future.
Formulating a ‘Plan Of Action’ will lead to
further development and progression
towards your goals.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 57
ThE STEpSto your Holy Grail
The triathlon season is upon us
once more! Frosty mornings
are a mere memory, Ugg boots
have been thrown to the back
of the wardrobe (and if they haven’t we
need to have a little talk) and wetsuits
are being replaced by budgie smugglers
and two piece bathers. Of course the
big giveaway that the racing season has
arrived is the talk of events. This is my
favorite part of speaking with a triathlete
because a triathlete doesn’t just go to
a race, do their best and then go home.
A triathlete takes a journey and at the
beginning of that journey there is so much
to talk about. The where, the when, the
who with and the…why? Why “why’?
Because just doing a race is not enough.
Triathletes could swim, ride and run
any-old-where but it’d just be exercising.
We might as well take up Crossfit. So to
make things interesting we create our own
Holy Grails. We cast aloft our own shiny
golden cup off into the distance over a
vast metaphorical ocean to a point that
should well seem impossible to reach, but
we know isn’t. That cup is our “why.”
Our Holy Grails will take many different
forms. For many it will be to beat a certain
time, others to win their age group and for
a lot of us it will simply be to finish “that
race,” the act of holding our hands high
across the finish line an internal raising of
the challis. Whatever the final target,
whatever glistening mug it is always (and
most importantly) our own, distant
glimmer on the horizon that only we can
see. We understand what it will take to
reach – or at least understand that it will
be a challenge and that it will be our hard
work and sacrifice that fills the cup upon
its acquisition.
So it is around this time of the year that
I speak to many fellow athletes who have
set their Holy Grails far abroad and have
embarked upon their journeys to recover
and drink the spoils, so to speak. Many
have sent their goals high and long –
grand ambitions is what we’re all about,
after all. Goals sent so far afield can often
end up over the horizon and out of sight,
but that’s not to say they are out of reach.
This is where planning and direction
become important, for if aiming for an
unseeable destination, interim check
points must be marked out. Stepping
stones, if you will, set out in the direction
of our grail and just far enough apart we
can move without getting our feet wet
(obviously not a great path for the
perpetual Ugg wearer). These stepping
stones (progress goals in reality) allow an
athlete to constantly build towards their
target step-by-step, always growing
confidence and gaining a better view of
the final destination. Coaches and training
buddies are a major asset when planning
and following a stepping stone journey,
assisting with direction and keeping the
journey man or woman upright and with
momentum.
There will be times when it feels as if
the shore upon which our grail lies is out of
reach or for reasons beyond our control we
are knocked and we stumble. Having the
benchmarks behind can remind us of the
journey already taken thus far and help
reignite the zeal and energy of the first
step taken. Injury, illness and countless
other obstacles can set us back on our
paths or completely divert us. The beauty
of these hearty progress checkpoints is
they come completely tailored to and
individual and their ever-changing situation.
Say someone gets knocked off course by a
rogue wave of “overtime at work” they can
simply realign themselves with their grails
compass direction, reset their stepping
stones and recommence the quest.
The journeys we take as triathletes can
be intimidating in the knowledge of the
sacrifice they will require and daunting in
the physical and psychological toll they
will extract. But with a clear plan,
complete with micro goals and frequent
performance checking, we can break
down a vast ocean crossing into simple
steps. Day by day, session by session,
step by step.
brEndAn SExTOnAs a youngster, Brendan’s life ambition was to be the fifth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. That didn’t quite pan out. But triathlon did. A decade on, he’s still at it. www.brendansexton.com.au @kung_fu_sexton
SEXTON’SScribble... Brendan Sexton
58 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
MUS I NGSS i r i u S
The psychology of an injured athlete, and how to manage it
normal, I am going to give myself a couple
days of rest, get some massage, see a
physiotherapist and hopefully be back in
three days running again”?
The correct choice was the latter. I have
sadly watched many athletes make the
wrong decision. They are out training, they
feel something wrong, but they keep going.
“I will tell coach if it gets any worse, but for
now, I need to finish my last 8 x 800s on the
track”. They finish those 800s after making
the niggle far worse, and are subsequently
out for weeks, or even months trying to heal
Picture this: You are a dedicated
triathlete who has been doing
the sport for a couple years,
maybe many years. You have
worked so hard to learn all three disciplines
and improve in all three, to now find yourself
at the top of your game, and starting to get
the results that you have worked so hard to
achieve. Through this process, your family,
and friends, are inspired by your dedication,
your work ethic, your consistency and your
ability to balance life with this sport that is
your passion.
You love this sport, and it is what you do!
Because of this, you have almost defined
yourself through this sport. An athlete. A
hard worker. Determined. Never giving up.
Always ready for the next challenge ahead.
Working hard to reach that next level.
Then one day, out training, you feel
something not right. It hurts, it’s tight, and
it is causing you to run funny. This is where
you will either make, or break the next few
weeks, or months of your training. Do you
decide to finish the session, or do you say
to yourself, “something’s up, this isn’t
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 59
Siri LindleyA world champion athlete herself and now one of the most revered triathlon coaches in the world, Siri enables athletes to become the champions and the people they were born to be. With an ability to see things in people they cannot see in themselves, Siri is driven by a unrivalled passion for triathlon and the people within. http://siri-lindley.com
Siri Lindley
an injury that could have been avoided, if the
session was aborted in those first five
minutes of warm up.
The right choice, is deciding that having
a couple days off running to fix this slight
niggle is definitely way better than running
through the niggle, turning it into an injury
and dealing with it for the coming weeks,
months or even years.
Be present in your training. Know how
to listen to your body. You must know the
difference between good pain and bad
pain. Be smart. Be proactive. If something
feels “off”, get off it, have it looked at, and
do what it takes to get it feeling 100%
again. Most likely just a couple days off
from training.
If you run through that niggle, that then
turns into an injury, you will be dealing with
something far more difficult to endure.
Dealing with an injury is so very difficult.
I have been there, and I have had athletes
who have been there. Although by now,
they know my stand on niggles. Because
of this, injuries happen less and less. They
subscribe to the belief of taking three days
off now, instead of three months later, and
end up back in action a lot quicker.
Being a psychology major, it always
fascinates me that the stages of dealing
with injury are basically the same as
those dealing with death and dying –
denial, anger, bargaining, depression
and acceptance.
I do not underestimate the strength of
all these feelings and absolutely
understand why you are feeling them all. It
is human, and normal to be so angry after
working so hard to get to the level you are
at, before an injury strikes.
In my experience, first the athlete
refuses to believe that this is an injury, that
will keep them from training and racing.
They don’t want to believe it, so they
assume each day when they try again to
run on it, it will have magically
disappeared. Most times it has not, and in
that run searching for the magic fix, the
athlete instead causes more damage.
My athletes in the past, have tried using
their bargaining skills - ”Just five minutes
coach, and if it hurts, I will stop. I promise.”
Five minutes pass, and they are still running,
five minutes more, and they are still running.
“How is it?” I yell out. They respond with “Oh
not good.” I then yell out, “Why in the world
are you still running on it?”
So as coaches, we have to not allow
the bargaining. When your gut so strongly
tells you that the athlete is injured and
must stop the madness. Get off of it,
diagnose the problem, and go about fixing
it! Trust your gut. Trust your instincts. Trust
your intelligence and be strong and do not
allow them to make the same mistakes
over and over again. They need you at this
time, to be strong in your stance, and to
demand they take time to heal. Going
slowly now, will get them back to health
quicker. Whereas trying to rush the
recovery will only lead to constant
setbacks and then ultimately a much later
return to action.
Once the athlete understands that they
are indeed injured, they become angry,
and upset, and a lot of times,
inconsolable. I feel for them at this point,
because I understand how hard it is to
basically have to stop what you are doing,
when things were going so well. The
athletes, always overly pessimistic in this
situation, will feel as though all their
dreams are slipping away. That everything
they wanted to achieve is going to be so
much harder to achieve now, due to lost
time, and lost confidence.
At this point in time whether you are a
coach to this athlete, or you are the athlete
and want to make the right decisions for
yourself, you have to surrender to the fact
that this injury is real and needs to be
fixed. The goal now, focus all your energy
on getting healthy. Your normal training
goals each day will now be replaced with
rehab goals. Goals that can include doing
whatever else you can do, to the best of your
ability, while the injured part is being healed.
Coaches, you will find that the athlete
will get angry and often take on an attitude
of “why me, why now”? They often get
resentful towards all those around them as
it gets seemingly harder everyday to see
your training partners still able to work hard
towards achieve the goals they have, those
same goals the athlete shared. The injured
athlete often then gets depressed,
especially if this is an injury that looks to
have a very long recovery time. They realize
the nature and seriousness their injury, and
the loss now associated with not being
able to train or race.
The depression can then lead to sleep
and eating disturbances, low energy and,
just a general loss of well-being. For some
it makes them feel like they want to just
quit. For others, it’s more difficult than that.
Triathlon defines them, and is their identity
and they would feel lost without it. This is
where it is important to put them back in
touch with the other things in their life that
are important to them. Encourage them to
Do you decide to finish the session, or do you say to yourself, “something’s up,
this isn’t normal,
60 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
MUS I NGSS i r i u S
2) deal with what it isStop focusing on what could have been, or
should have been, and if only this didn’t
happen. Spending too much time and
energy on this will take away from you
successfully moving through the recovery
and healing process.
Yes, an injury will throw a spanner in
the works. It will mess with your best-laid
plans and dreams. Unfortunately, this is
your reality right now and you have to allow
yourself to deal with what is! Find the right
doctor, come up with a rehab plan, and
stick to that plan through thick and thin.
Take the time off, to let everything heal,
and build you back up slowly, methodically
and with great purpose.
3) set new, more realistic GOAlS FOr yOUrSElF The ultimate goal is fix what is wrong, and
then build back up. No rushing, but being
patient. Being smart. You will have to
measure your successes very differently,
focusing on your body getting healthy and
building up strength again. In a sense yes,
you will have to start all over again.
Once healed, you will be back at square
one to building up strength and building
up endurance.
Hopefully, you now have an
understanding of what caused the injury.
At this point you want to make sure you
don’t make the same mistakes again.
Ideally, through your rehab and recovery,
you have located and removed the source
of the problem, and can now build up
safely and effectively.
You will have to keep focused on your
new goals and leave the old ones in the
past for now, where they belong. Once
you’ve come all the way back from your
injury you can start entertaining your old
goals, and now, they will be more
achievable than ever.
4) YoU mUst maintain a positiVe ATTITUdE, nO mATTEr WhATAs difficult as this will be, try to stay as
positive as possible. Understand that “If it
is to be, it is up to me”. In other words, your
attitude and outlook is absolutely
everything! When positive, your attitude
can speed up the healing process and
lessen the emotional pain that you have to
go through.
spend time getting involved in the other
interests in their lives, whether it is learning,
or reading, or music or coaching young kids
in the sport that they love so much.
Knowing the deep effect a bad injury
can have on the athlete, it is so important
to come up with a game plan. The athlete
is used to having a plan to follow each and
every day – one for swimming, cycling and
running that will see them continually
progressing and getting closer and closer
to being able to achieve their dreams.
Even though they may not be able to
swim, bike and run, perhaps they can still
swim. GREAT! Let’s focus on the swim
right now. Let’s get you so fit in the water,
as that fitness will carry over on to the bike
and run when you are back doing those
things again. Your swim will be better than
ever, which will only help you in your races.
Use this to keep them motivated and
active, while rehabbing the real problem.
Remind the athlete of all that they are,
as a human being. They are not just
triathletes. They may be an awesome son,
or a great husband, or someone’s best
friend. Try to remind them that they are
not defined by this sport, it is just
something that they love to identify with.
The athlete may be thinking, “What am
I without my sport?” These individuals
have much more in their lives than just the
sport. So, loved ones or coaches need to
remind the athlete about all the other
great interests, hobbies, or talents and
abilities that they have. It is important at
this time to come up with new goals, that
can harness that dedicated work ethic and
put it to use doing something else that
interests them. Giving them something to
occupy their time while rehabbing the injury.
I know one thing is for sure, as a coach I
have a policy that I will never change - I
will not stand by and watch an athlete
trying to rush getting back from an injury. I
will only send my athletes off to race if
they are 100% healthy and injury free. To
watch an athlete either choosing to race,
or being made to race, at 50% strength or
health, is just devastating to me.
They end up being half healthy, still
overwhelmed by worry from the injury, and
are thus unable to perform anywhere near
their potential. They finish the race
embarrassed by their performance, and
ashamed that they are not the athletes
they were before. This now, leads to
another shot of depression, anger and a
deflated ego, and even worse, sending them
back weeks in the recovery of the injury.
An athlete in this position needs to
understand that just like racing, the
perfect race, or the perfect recovery from
an injury, will come only from a laser focus
on the process necessary to get your best
results. No straying away from the plan.
Being meticulous about executing that
plan, and having faith that this will lead
you to the best result.
Being calm, and having faith that in
managing this injury properly, you will be
back and you will then have a chance to
come back better than ever. Step back,
take time, be patient and build your fitness
and strength back up again, properly.
So what is the best way to handle an
injury and how do you maintain your sanity
in the process?
These are my ideas:
1) allow YoUrselF to Be sad Allow yourself to mourn and feel
whatever loss you are experiencing. Your
emotions are an important part of the
healing process. Feeling is part of healing!
You don’t have to be Little Miss
Sunshine. Be real, authentic and let the
people around you, help you through
this process.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 61
possible for your well being. Once you get
healthy, you will be happy, and when you
have both these things, everything else
becomes possible!
Injuries are always so painfully
disruptive. When you are healthy and get
back to training and racing, it is normal to
be preoccupied with worries about hurting
yourself again. Fear of re-injury is
absolutely normal. This tendency to focus
on your fears of injury striking again, will
distract you from the task at hand and
actually leave you performing physically
tight. This, in turn, can lead to injury.
So when you get back to training hard,
make sure you address these fears. This
fear actually makes you far more
vulnerable to injuring yourself again. So, to
counteract this natural tendency, you will
need to discipline yourself to concentrate
on what you want to have happen, not
what you’re afraid will. Focus on what you
need to do in order to execute perfectly. I
know this is far easier said than done, but
just try to discipline yourself to maintain a
positive focus on your performance, rather
than a fearful approach to it.
You got this! Be patient. Be diligent in
your recovery. Be mindful in your return to
training and racing. Once healthy, go after
it with passion, and belief and a positively
focused mind.
However, when you’re negative you’ll
slow the rehab process down to a
screeching halt and make yourself
miserable in the process. It’s all up to you.
Avoid being negative because nothing
good ever comes from negativity.
5) healing needs to Be YoUr #1 prioritY Be conscientious about your physical
therapy. Follow the doctor’s advice closely.
Don’t cut corners. Work as hard with your
rehab as you did in your training.
6) pUt all the amazing skills yOU hAvE ACQUIrEd ThrOUGh SpOrT, TO USE, by TAKInG On SOmE OThEr InTErESTS WhIlE yOU ArE TAKInG ThIS TImE TO hEAl. Give yourself something interesting to do
that gives you a sense of purpose beyond
getting healthy.
7) most importantlY, Be patient There is never a good time to get an injury.
But, you will get through this.
You will be just fine, as long as you allow
yourself enough time to heal properly.
If you’re over anxious to get back and
rush the healing process, then you may set
yourself up for another, more serious injury
which may cost you even more time.
Rushing the healing process so that
you can get back a week or two earlier is
“penny wise, pound foolish.”
In rushing the healing process, you
might get back a few days earlier, but then
put yourself at risk of developing a chronic
injury somewhere else in your body, that
will keep you out even longer. Remember,
sometimes the fastest way of coming
back is the slowest. Go slower, arrive sooner!
Value yourself as a person, not just as
an athlete. In doing this, you will be more
likely to make the very best decisions
Siri Lindley
62 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
QAndrA.
EpISOdE FIvE
function. Of course we can operate at
higher temperatures, but this pushes
performance to the limits. You have to
pump more blood to the skin, more to the
gut for fluid absorption as well as to the
muscles for exercise. It’s a contest of
blood flow. Then dehydration adds to the
contest, and muscle and guts nearly
always lose out. Cooling wins the day and
you have to slow down.
Almost everybody fatigues (stops
exercising) when their core temperature
hits forty degrees Celsius. A long way from
the range I mentioned earlier. Some
special athletes are able to exceed normal
limits- see exhibits Chris Legh and Sian
Welch. Luckily heat acclimatisation
reduces the core temperature by about 1C,
so it takes longer to get to forty degrees
Celsius and you can spend more time
exercising safely. If the water is warmer,
then athletes get hotter earlier…bringing
them closer to fatigue point earlier. Not
helpful when it’s hitting high thirties in the
Energy Lab.
Wetsuits are not legal due to this water
temperature, at least for those under
seventy years of age. When you hit
three-score and ten, the risk of not floating
for the 3.8km course outweighs the risk of
getting hyperthermia. So athletes use
these odd sleeveless, short-john skin suits
to cover their race suits. A la the Sydney
Olympics without the thorpedo bodies!
These make the skin less sticky in the
water, allowing athletes to glide a little
easier and minimise time in transition.
1. Q: WAS ThE WATEr hOTTEr In KOnA ThIS yEAr? Yes, without question. The water
temperature was three degrees Fahrenheit
(whatever that means) or around 1.5C
higher than normal (28C). This has been
high enough to cause bleaching of local
coral- which is a result of the death of the
colourful algae inhabiting the structure.
The coral blanches white and can die if
the temperature stays high for a number
of months. This may seem
inconsequential to the Ironman race day,
but small perturbations in temperature
matter in the human body. Especially in
Hawaii, where the average race day
temperature can average mid-thirties.
Temperature homeostasis is
ferociously guarded. Maintaining a range
between 36.5 and 37.5 C preserves cellular
processes and allows them to optimise
1.
ThE KOnA EdITIOn
There are always a lot of questions on the island of Hawaii during and after race week
and 2015 was no exception…and having just returned to the Honolulu International
Airport, it’s time to get the tricky ones answered.
t e x t b y d r . M I T c h a n d e r s o n | I l l U S t r A t I o n b y s h u T T e r s T o c k . c o M / n I k o l a k n e z e v I c
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 63
@Drmitcha
If you have a persistent problem- go and see your local GP. They’re a wealth of knowledge and can direct you to a specialist if required. Looking forward to hearing your questions for episode Six of QANDrA: @drmitcha (twitter/insta) and [email protected]
2.
2. Q: WAS ‘dIG mE’ bEACh ThE SAmE zOO?Yes indeed. It’s like a mating
season of sub 20 BMI Caucasians
with no body hair.
The Hawaiian locals seem horrified but
unable to look away at the ever growing
undie run too!
3.Q: dId ThE hAWAIIAnS KIll CApTAIn JAmES COOK bECAUSE ThEy ThOUGhT hE WAS A GOd?
Strangely the answer seems both yes and
no. I guess most accurately, probably
maybe! The story goes that in 1789 Cook
stopped over on the Big Island and was
feted by the locals. A feast was held in his
honour (as a god) and he and his crew left
safely having had quite the Kona holiday.
Unfortunately, his ship was ravaged by a
storm soon after and he limped back into
Kealakekua Bay for assistance.
That’s when it is fabled that the locals
decided that he either wasn’t a god,
nor as omnipotent as they thought he
may have been. And knocked him off with
their spears.
A memorial marks the spot 1.6km
across the bay, which you can only get to
by boat/kayak (with a licence) or under
your own swim steam.
The ambiguity starts because they did
burn his flesh from his bones and these
were distributed amongst the local
hierarchy- something which would be
done to a person held in high esteem. His
skeleton was mostly recovered by an
emissary from his crew but the spine
(where the ‘spirit power’ was meant to be
predominantly found) was not returned.
Cook was buried at sea.
The bay is a sacred place and quite
eerie at sunrise and set. The cliff has lava
tubes where the bones of kings and
royalty have been buried and sealed.
Unfortunate lower caste Hawaiians were
lowered on ropes to perform this task,
upon completion their ropes were cut and
they fell to their honourable deaths, with
the location of the burial only known to
them. The Pacific Ocean floor drops away
precipitously from the cliff into 200 feet
of impenetrable blue water. The only
relief is the odd school of spinner dolphin
breaking the water on most days at these
times (80% according to local dive
instructors). It’s a highlight of any visit
to Kona.
4. Q: ShOUld ThErE bE FIFTy prO WOmEn In KOnA?Aha! I’m not going to weigh in on
this one - I have enough hate mail
as it stands! But I would like to propose
that this is the wrong question if we’re
looking to promote depth of racing in
Kona. Positive discrimination is rarely
well-received nor successful, so could we
ask another question?
5. Q: ShOUld WTC pAy TO 20Th In KOnA?A resounding yes! The depth is
there in the top twenty men, which
is borne out of the statistics from the recent
championship. Less than 18 minutes
separated second place to twentieth. In
the female field, the same placing interval
was over an hour. Increasing the payday
will encourage more women to race
(around 210 women participated in the
KPR in 2015 compared to over 350 men).
Let’s reward all the professionals with a
deeper pay cut, with a set amount of the
race revenue provided for this purpose
each year. More money should provide
more incentive to increase depth in the
women and then the conversation should
turn to fifty women in Kona.
6. Q: ShOUld WTC dUmp ThE CUrrEnT QUAlIFyInG Kpr SySTEm?Another resounding yes!
Qualifying shouldn’t be about a business
model - clearly the fiscal model is working
out for WTC after it’s recent $600+ million
sale. Let’s get all the athletes to the start
line in top shape to make it a true level
championship. Scrap allowing points
contributions from half ironman distance,
the Ironman is a separate entity. Rinny’s
form for half compared with full is
evidence enough.
7. Q: IS KOnA ThE bEST rACE On ThE plAnET?It’s exciting, hard and hot. The
best single day test of endurance
on the planet? Arguably yes…but lets
check in next year for #bestkonaever.
www.shinbonemedical.com
@drmitcha
@drmitcha
pErFOrmAnCEBrought to you by:
64 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
WhAT IS TApErInG? For the uninitiated, it’s the time leading
into a race where you stop smashing your
body day in day out and allow it to fully
recuperate to race fatigue-free.
In an ideal scenario, tapering should
increase red blood cell production and
number, replenish or re-balance the
body’s natural performance enhancing
hormones, increase neuromuscular
capability and even improve the strength
of an athlete’s immune system and
sleep quality.
The overall objective of a well-designed
taper is the benefits of being really well
rested without having lost fitness from
over resting.
‘ThE TApEr’Art or Science?
WhAT dOES SCIEnCE SAy?The science seems to generally
recommend the following principles:
- The full range of training intensity
should remain within sessions.
- Training frequency should remain
predominantly the same.
- Training volume should be reduced
approximately 40-60% from
typical load.
- 8 - 14 days of tapering seems to work
best before fitness losses are observed.
- There is a large individual variance on
what taper style works best for
different athletes.
To further touch on that last point. In
other words, the above scientific principles
might not work at all depending on the
individual. A minor issue with the above
recommendations is most of the research
on tapering has been done on elite athletes
with a relatively uninterrupted training build
leading up to the taper. It’s also likely that as
elites their external stress going into the race
that family, travel, and work is probably less
then the typical age group competitor. In my
coaching experience, I’ll be first to admit
that the one area of coaching that
continually perplexes is what taper is
suitable for an athlete at that given time.
A taper week that has worked previously
might not work again as the athletes lead
up to the race could be very different. Not
only should the taper be personalised for
the individual but also for the individual’s
circumstances surrounding the race. I
believe it’s hugely important that coach and
athlete regularly discuss how the athlete is
feeling leading into the race to try and get
the correct balance of maintenance training
and rest.
t e x t b y T I M r e e d | p h o t o g r A p h y b y s h u T T e r s T o c k . c o M
A few of the many questions to ask - How fit is the athlete? Generally the
fitter the athlete or the longer the
training prep has been, the longer the
taper should be.
- How anxious is the athlete? Some
athletes simply can’t handle not doing
much leading into a race and convince
themselves they’re losing fitness, which
negatively affects their race.
- How much travel is involved?
- What is the time zone difference?
How long will the athlete have to adapt
to this?
- What acclimatisation strategies are
necessary for the environmental
conditions of the race?
- How restful will the time between
training sessions be?
- What type of athlete is the taper being
designed for? A diesel engine or a
high-octane thoroughbred?
‘ThE ClIFF JUmp’This taper involves pretty much keeping training as normal
up until the Wednesday or Thursday before the race and
then basically doing little training after that until race day.
use: - When athletes are using a race purely as part of their plan of building
fitness towards a more important race we might use this to try not to
detract from the overall plan while still allowing a very short period to
freshen up a little so quality intensity can still be reached.
- The athlete has quite a large aerobic history and for whatever reason,
has only started serious training a few weeks prior and is still making
large fitness gains with every week that passes. The chronic training
load is low, the fitness gains in pushing the training quite late before a
race are likely worth it as it might only take the athlete a few days to
freshen up and shake the fatigue of their short training build.
‘ThE SnEAK’A longer taper period with a little more training than might
be optimal in the final week.
use: - For those athletes who are incapable of resting
without incurring detrimental anxiety. I’ve had athletes who go stir
crazy with the required rest that would be optimal. The only way to
keep them mentally in a good place to race is to keep giving them
sessions that help them maintain confidence that they’re ready to
rock n roll on race day. To ensure that these athletes are still well
rested on race day I typically bring in easier days longer out from the
race. For example, instead of dropping the volume by 30% 2 weeks
out and 60% in race week, I might drop volume 20% 3 weeks out,
20% 2 weeks out, 30-40% during race week. It’s named ‘The Sneak
Taper’ because the coach has to sneak in the extra recovery without
them noticing.
‘OlE FAIThFUl’A simple but effective linear reduction in volume
from 2 - 4 weeks out.
use: This should work for many athletes who’ve had a good
preparation leading into the event. It’s important that the range of
training intensity remains within the sessions. Volume is what should
steadily dissipate.
SOmE ExAmplES OF TApEr WEEKS I’vE USEd
Or prESCrIbEd:
1
2
3
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 65
pErFOrmAnCEBrought to you by:
‘dOUblE EdGEd SWOrd’ A widely used taper which involves giving the athlete 3 - 5 days of light training 2 - 3 weeks out from an event, before bringing back some volume and specific intensity
before really backing off the load again from 4-5 days out.
use:This is a great taper for athletes that have had a great
preparation leading up to an event. It allows a freshening
up from residual fatigue for 7 - 14 days out from a race
before typically going back into some very high quality
race specific training before freshening up once again
leading into the race. I’m a huge fan of this taper because
the initial resting up period allows some of the best
quality session of the athlete’s training block immediately
following, providing a real boost to the upper thresholds
of an athlete’s fitness with the second lot of rest that
comes much closer to race day
‘OvErCOOKEd’no training whatsoever.
use:When an athlete presents in a completely
overtrained state but really wants to go ahead with the
race. The only real option to try and get the athlete
healthy and firing again is to send them to bed to rest as
much is possible. I’ve heard the tale of Simon Whitfield
who couldn’t get out of his way leading up to the Hy Vee
ITU race, previously one of the biggest pay days for pros
in the sport. Simon got to Iowa and lay in bed for 4 days
prior to the race and then came out on race day and won
a handy $200K
‘FamilY First’ and/or ‘ThE TrAvEllEr’This taper involves a lot more rest and down time then a typical taper.
use: This taper structure factors in how exhausted athletes
might be from parenting or arduous travel leading up to a
race. There is no point squeezing in training sessions if
you’ve been on your feet running around chasing your
kids or enjoying too little sleep due to travel or baby
wake ups.
I generally prescribe an ‘Ole Faithful’ or ‘Double Edged’
sword to these athletes if their training prep has been
adequate but make the majority of sessions optional
with the recommendation that if they’re tired, sleep or
rest will be more beneficial then the training.
4
5
6
66 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
When in doubt, less is more. Be a little more flexible with your
training program than you would usually be. Only you can know
whether you’re feeling a little tired in training and should take the
easier option. In general, if you’re having a very relaxing taper where
you can lie on the couch and cruise between every session then get
out and keep the body moving. However if you’re travelling, dealing
with other stressful factors then take the resting option. If you’re
unsure, less is more! The hard work is done so especially from 3 - 4
days out, take it easy.
Eat when you’re actually hungryI often get reports of people feeling really sluggish from their
taper time. Upon further questioning it’s normally coupled with
people eating their typical diets but without the 2-5 hours of daily
training they usually do. Be disciplined and eat when you’re
actually hungry rather than grazing all day or you will start to feel
sluggish and over a prolonged taper you can end up a few kilos
heavier than ideal race weight.
Get your race set up sorted earlyThe last thing you should be doing the day before the race is
rushing around trying to get your race wheels tuned to your gears,
new tires glued or testing out new running shoes. It sounds
obvious but it’s a consistent mistake many of us a make.
Get everything sorted early and minimise the stress of the day
before the race.
maintain perspectiveYes you’ve put a lot of work into your race but in most situations
your loved ones have also had to put up with a lot. It’s just a race,
the sun will rise the next day so stay happy and remember it’s rare
to have a dream taper. It’s more likely than not that stressful
things will arise. Just like during the race, stay in the moment
and do what you have to do right there and then rather than
getting overwhelmed.
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68 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Start focusing on muscle activation and perfecting technique through the use of functional exercises.
Whether you’ve just raced
on the Big Island” or
you are heading into the
main part of your race
season, considering your ‘core’ is a must
for all triathletes. “Core” or “core strength”
has become a term that is thrown around
a lot in the fitness community, especially
now with dozens of new machines and
exercises appearing on the market that
guarantee you that rock hard six-pack.
We must understand that having a strong
core is much more than this ‘superficial
physique’. Core work needs to be respected
and performed to support your performance
and prevent injury. What I often say to my
athletes is to envisage their core as ‘a belt’
and not just as a ‘shiny belt buckle’ aka a
six-pack’ Our aim is to train and strengthen
our core belt as a whole and I consider the
most effective way for triathletes to do this
is training it through functional and whole
body exercises.
WhAT IS yOUr COrE?The core refers to a number of muscles,
which stabiliSe, move and protect the
spine. Any muscle that helps the spine to
maintain a neutral position can be
considered a core muscle.
The musculature and function of the core
is a complex topic of conversation, which
could be discussed in length, however to
keep things simple with regards to training,
the muscle groups that are deep and close
to the spine e.g. the deep cervical flexors,
multifidi and transverse abdominus, are
termed the ‘inner core’. These complex
sounding muscles are generally the first to
engage during movement or when
breathing to protect the spine. The ‘Outer’
core muscles are made up of our more
well-known muscle groups such as the
erector spinae, quadratus lumborum (QL)
and abdominus (transverse & rectus) as
well as the glute complex, lats and hip
flexors. These also support and protect
the spine but they also have a bigger role
to play in our exercise and movement
patterns. The key thing to remember, the
more efficient we become at engaging
these muscle groups, the stronger and
more stable we will become.
t e x t A n d p h o t o g r A p h y b y k r I s s h e n d y
WASTEd CrUnChES
WhAT IS COrE STrEnGTh? The core stabilises and protects the spine
by creating stiffness that limits excessive
movement in any direction, ultimately
protecting the spinal cord from injury. The
most common movement patterns we
see in triathlon are flexion, extension and
rotation, movements that require the
spine to hold a rigid position so the hip
and shoulder joints can move with force.
The strength and efficiency of your core
muscles are what prevents this excessive
movement from occurring within the hip
complex and limits the occurrence of
weaknesses such as hip drop in your
running gait and a poor bike position.
However, training your core isn’t just
about being stiff and stable: core training
is also about being elastic and malleable.
Strong athletes all have the ability to be
able to get into positions and then lock
down into them to prevent injury.
Developing this strength will enable
you to become resilient enough to move
through the continuum whilst being able
control your movements.
WhAT mAKES An EFFECTIvE COrE prOGrAm?
An effective program will include a
combination of exercises that will require
your core to resist or oppose a force that is
acting on your body. Being able to produce
a force from lower body to upper body is
dependent on the strength of your core.
You may have a strong lower body, but
without a stable and strong centre, that
force cannot be expressed in your upper
body if your core gives out.
Standing exercises demand the most
from your core musculature and are
essential in your programming. The role
of single-side or unilateral movement
exercises is simple - they are designed to
pull you out of the neutral spine position
and which in turn forces you to prevent it.
If you’re seated or lying down, your body
will use the surface underneath you
to create stability and the exercise
will be less effective.
However, we aren’t saying that core
exercises performed on the floor aren’t
worthwhile, it’s just that exercises
performed with less stability require much
more work and concentration to stop you
from falling over! Imagine when we are
performing the single leg deadlift, the
weight we are holding will want to
pull us down, opposing this force will be
the muscles in our core, as well as in our
legs and back, which are all working
together to ensure we maintain a
neutral spine and remain stable.
Single leg (unilateral) exercises are
a great way to create instability and
highlight imbalances in coordination,
strength and stability. From experience
most people naturally have a weaker side
and so when working bilaterally, not only
would these weaknesses not become
apparent but the stronger side will
generally always take precedence (do all
the work). The inclusion of single-leg work
will add variance to your programming
and is great way to target supplementary
and activate normally ‘dormant’ muscle
groups. Over time this will lead to
increases in your overall strength and
support to your midline stability,
ultimately resulting in injury prevention.
My message would be to stop
complicating core stabilisation with
repetitive crunches. Start focusing on
muscle activation and perfecting technique
through the use of functional exercises that
will effectively build the foundation of
strength needed for performance.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 69
SWISS bAll OblIQUE TWISTS: A great exercise for adding rotational force in a controlled environment – add weight and adjust position of shoulders on ball for increased intensity 3 sets x 6/8 reps, complete twists (e.g. left & right), 30sec rest
SUSpEnSIOn pIKES: An exercise to challenge your balance and stability, focus on form by maintaining straight body lines, adjusting intensity by how big you make the movement. This can be performed on the Swiss ball too. 3 sets x 8/10 reps, 30sec rest
KETTlE bEll STIFF lEGGEd dEAdlIFTS: A surprise addition to a core routine – but we want to reinforce the fact that functional exercises performed well will increase your core strength plus you will be surprised how much your core is engaged with this one! (Ensure correct technique and prevent arching of the back) can be performed with single leg variation too. 3 sets x 8/10 reps, 30sec rest
ISOmETrIC hOldS: V-sit/Front plank/side plank – add this assortment of isolation exercises into your program. All can be performed for time or breaths (see tip below)3 sets x 30/45/60s efforts, 30sec rest
STrEnGTh And COndITIOnInG
Kriss hendy Strength & Performance Coach
Seeing the need for better athlete education and understanding with regards to Strength & Conditioning for the Endurance Athlete. Kriss works with a variety of athletes from Age Groupers to Professionals developing specialized programs that support and heighten their endurance performance. Kriss is based in Byron Bay with his wife (professional triathlete) Polly Hendy. He has large client base that use his distance (online) coaching.
For further details or to contact Kriss, visit: www.krisshendy.com
Instagram: @krisshendystrengthandperf
Twitter: khendy3
YouTube: Kriss Hendy Strength and Performance
* For further instruction on these exercises go to Kriss Hendy Strength & Performance YouTube channel
SWISS bAll brIdGE rOll OUTS: Engages and strengthens the glutes and hamstrings at the same time, ensure to keep your hips high as they will tend to drop as you fatigue. 3 sets x 10/15 reps, 30sec rest
Kh Strength & performance Tip
“The next time you are performing an isometric hold try training for breaths instead of time. For instance, during the front bridge, instead of holding the position for 30 seconds, try and hold the position for five full breaths. This forces you to actually breathe since your focus is on getting five full breaths out as opposed to trying to survive for 30 seconds. It’s an instant shift to quality over quantity.”
A few exercises that will start you on your way to achieving a strong and balanced core - give it a try!
tips &tricks
70 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
You can’t make it happen overnight,
but by having a goal and a plan to start
makes the big picture so much easier to
follow. Even though a busy age group
athlete may only have from 6 to 10 hours
per week to train that doesn’t mean they
can’t progress. You do need to have the
right combination of training, rest and
focus more on what may have been once
neglected areas (read training smart)
within your own program. There is so
much information available these days
regarding training, racing and how to be a
better athlete that it’s easy to become
confused and frustrated. The one thing for
certain though, is that if you stick to it, you
will improve each season. It has been said
that is takes up to seven years to reach
your endurance potential – provided it is
progressive, kept real and you allow some
recovery and down time and the end of
each season.
I find myself as a coach regularly
fielding questions from prospective
triathletes looking to enter into the
sport. The one thing which I always
look to highlight right from the start when
discussing how to go about tackling
triathlon is that everyone is an individual
and that nothing is ‘set in stone’ when it
comes to training. What may work well for
you, may not work for someone else. We
all have different limiters in our lives, with
time available to train around work, family
and what your goals may be.
Now we are into the new season, it is
never too late to return to basics no matter
how experienced we are. It is easy to make
things more difficult than they really need
to be. So, adhering to the old saying of
keeping it simple will go a long way to
ensure your continued progression.
To progress from year to year, one must
increase training stimulus over time
otherwise you won’t keep improving.
Consistency, of course, is the key to
whatever we do. Also knowing when to
push and when to back off at the right
time is not something that you can learn
straight away. It takes time to learn about
what your body can and can’t do, and
sometimes learning the hard way is the
best way to learn a lesson.
The human body is a unique piece of
work and the body can adapt to most
stresses placed upon it as long as it is
done progressively. The problem with
most of us is that we usually don’t want
to wait to get the results. Many forty-
something former athletes in their youth
look to resurrect their past sporting glory
by taking up triathlon for a new challenge
and may have experienced a few idle
years on the physical training front while
climbing the corporate ladder and raising
a family.
Back tobASICS
© shutterstock.com
nick CroftNick Croft is a former professional triathlete, Australian Triathlete of the Year and two-time winner of the Noosa Triathlon. With 19 years coaching experience under his belt, Croft provides online training programs for athletes of all ages and abilities through www.mscsport.com.au and runs Noosa Tri Camps in Noosa Heads, Australia.
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 71
The principles that I focus on as a coach work equally
well for the beginners and the more elite age group athlete.
Many people I know decide their training plan only five
minutes before they walk out the door. Each person has
different goals and each person also only has ‘x’ amount of
time to allocate to their training each week. You must be
honest with yourself when it comes time to planning your
training and race schedule for the upcoming season. There
is no point in plotting your training program for 12 hours per
week training, when you can only realistically train for seven
hours due to work, family and a busy lifestyle.
Each and every session that we do should have a
purpose. Some sessions are long, some are short, some fast,
some slow. By dividing your training year and season into
stages i.e., base, Intensity, peak, racing, rest or active
recovery, you accomplish a number of different benefits over
training in an ‘ad-hoc’ no direction kind of fashion.
Some things to consider for your planning are: • Identify weaknesses – with the help of a coach or by
knowing what this may be yourself, emphasis should be
allocated to your weakness, eg the one you may like
the least!
• Keep a log book/training diary. Plotting your session
content, how you felt and any other relevant information
you feel important
• Build up a support network of specialists such as a
physiotherapist, massage therapist, sports doctor,
nutritionist, bike shop. Shop around until you find a
network that you’re happy with and one that you feel
comfortable working together with.
• Purchase a heart rate monitor and learn how to get the
most out of it.
• Test yourself in regular time trials in all disciplines during
your build phase leading up to the season.
• Find your threshold heart rate by doing a 30 minute time
trial in bike and run (done on separate days) to be able to
train efficiently to Heart Rate and set your training zones.
• Get into a club training group or squad that has a coach
involved or at least an experienced mentor. This will help
in so many areas for progression and assist greatly in
developing you to be faster and avoiding some of the pitfalls.
• When you get to the events this coming season,
remember what your goals were at the start. Your
original aim was to maybe just finish a triathlon and get
some fitness in the process. Build on this and don’t forget
to have some fun and enjoy the ride.
Features
72 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
KEy SUCCESSwhen racing a long course eventt e x t b y J u l I e T e d d e | p h o t o g r A p h y b y s h u T T e r s T o c k . c o M
distance of riding, even if you can only ride
twice a week. Make this a ride with some
intensity or strength work mid-week and
then a long ride that you build on the
weekend. To have completed at least two
90km rides or distances close to the full
distance of your rides will benefit you not
only physically but mentally as well.
rUnnInG OFF ThE bIKEEvery triathlon you do, you are required to
run off the bike. So to prepare the body
and the mind to how it feels to run off the
bike, I believe completing shorter runs
frequently (this means every week if not
2x per week) off the bike. If you can start
to run strongly then this will continue
throughout the run leg. It is important to
get the feet moving quickly, to get the legs
Summer is nearly here and the
great news is that you will have
the opportunity to test out
the training and fitness you
have been hopefully building over winter.
Also warmer weather and more daylight
hours mean you have some more decent
weather to get that training happening.
For a beginner lining up for your first
long course race, it can be quite daunting.
However, if you are able to understand
how to go about the race and by this I
mean pacing on the bike and run, your
experience on the day will be very positive.
Using your training sessions to learn how
to pace will be enormously beneficial.
There is no point in training, getting out
there and going at a super high intensity
when come race day, because of the time
it takes to complete a long course triathlon
the intensity cannot be sustained. Training
days should often simulate the intensity of
race day. So, here are some tips on what
matters in your preparation and on race day.
GET FIT On ThE bIKEThis is especially true for people new to
triathlon or riding in general. The fitter you
can get yourself on the bike, the greater
the chance of you running to your ability.
There is no point focusing on running
because you are good at it or are strong at
it. Unless you can get to the run with the
least amount of fatigue you won’t reap the
rewards of being a good runner. How do
you get strong on the bike? Well, there are
no real short cuts as it’s about volume.
This is gained through frequency and
© Daniel L Smith / Shutterstock.com
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 73
Beginners
running at a cadence close to 180rpm
straight away. To initially include 10
minutes as 30 seconds fast feet, 30
seconds easy and finish with 10 minutes at
race pace, is a good a place to start.
You can add more time to this, as you get
comfortable doing the above. 20 to 40
minute runs are suitable for this type of
run. Putting in a longer run of around 10
km maybe be useful close to race day so
you can learn about your likely pace come
race day.
LONG RUNS – Yes Or nOFrom a confidence point of view, yes it is
important to try to run the distance before
the day. You do not have to do it off the
bike but you could complete a long the
day after you have completed your long
bike Including or building the distance
every second week should be worked into
your training. Obviously, you want to do at
least two other runs a week.
HARD AND FAST RUNS – Yes Or nOSo, typically we include intervals every
week and they are still important to
improve your running efficiency and fitness.
However, given you have some harder bike
sessions each week, the fatigue will
accumulate and your performance during
these harder workouts will be compromised.
You need to work out your limiter. For most
beginners, it is their bike leg. To make and
keep the intensity in that discipline makes
more sense. You can still include fartlek,
moderate or tempo paced runs, hill efforts
and some threshold work (which can be
done off the bike) in your run sessions.
THe iMPOrTAnCe OF FUeLLing:Many races in triathlon long course events
can be ruined through inadequate or
incorrect fuelling. Many times athletes are
consuming too much especially on the
bike in order to try and make up for maybe
not consuming much on the run. The
problem arises in that they hit the run with
their stomach contents bouncing around
and then feel nauseous and bloated. This
can result in a lot of discomfort and the
need to try out the portaloos on course
(note that this is not ideal). The most
important thing is to practice what you
plan in training. Being aware that you can
get a fair bit of carbohydrate in your drinks
or fluid, and being across the weather
conditions you will race in will definitely
affect how much fluid you will need.
They hit the run with their stomach contents bouncing around and then feel nauseous and bloated.
jULie Tedde Julie Tedde is Head Coach of TRG Triathlon and Multisport and Race Director of ActiveTri Series.
nUTriTiOn: Want to have a controlled run? Then make sure you don’t over consume on the bike.
© Delly Carr
74 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
done. You’ve made sacrifices and missed
special occasions and social events. Your
non-triathlete friends, who do normal,
non-triathlon things have stopped asking
you to these normal things, because, well,
you’re training.
“Do you want to get dinner?”
“ i can’t, i have to get to sleep. i’m training
for an ironman. i have to go home, to go to
sleep, so i can get up at 4am in the morning
so i can train.”
The last six months has been training
this and training that… training, training,
more training…. Because TRAINING.
You’ve just completed an
Ironman. That’s right, 3.8km
swim, 180km bike and 42.2km
run, possibly the biggest, most
gruelling event of your life.
During the race you feel like a rock star.
You come out of the swim, people are
cheering. You get on the bike, more people
are cheering. You run down that finishing
chute you feel like royalty. Family, friends
and even strangers you have never met
before are yelling your name, egging you to
that finish line. This is your moment, your
moment of glory.
Then you cross that finishing line. “You
are an ironman”, yell the crowd, in unison
with Mike Reilly. After 226km and spending
the better part of your day in motion,
battling the elements and your self, you
collapse into the arms of your catcher,
you’re wrapped in your race towel, and
your race medal is hung around your neck.
Then, all of a sudden, it’s all over. You’re
left stumbling around in the dark trying to
find your loved ones, while (I’m my case)
trying not to spew!
You have worked so hard for this one
event, ‘the big dance’, and just like that, it’s
hOW TO:Beat the Post-Ironman Bluest e x t b y M a r g a r e T M I e l c z a r e k ( a P d , a n , a c c s d ) p h o t o g r A p h y b y k o r u P T v I s I o n a n d s h u T T e r s T o c k . c o M
© Korupt Vision
NUTRITIONBrought to you by:
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 75
CApTIOn: Caption text to go here. Caption text to go here.
So now what?
Your big day is over, the circus has
rolled out of town, Elvis (or in this case Mike
Riley) has left the building and reality starts
to creep its way in. The endorphins,
euphoria, the rush that comes with training
and racing for an Ironman has worn off and
the reality of normal life, responsibilities
and work set in. It’s like coming down from
a high. You start to feel sad, flat, apathetic,
maybe even a bit depressed.
Welcome to the post-Ironman blues.
This happened to me after Ironman
Melbourne in March this year. Leading in to
the race the focus was fully on the Ironman.
My life, almost completely, revolved
around training. It was all about swim,
bike, run, eat, sleep and repeat, over and
over again. So when the big dance was
finally over, the post Ironman blues hit.
hOW TO bOOST yOUr mOOd There are many things that may cause low
mood. Some of the main players in mood
regulation include hormones, such as
estrogen and progesterone and the
neurotransmitters or brain chemicals,
dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
Dopamine increases drive, focus and
motivation. It increases feelings of
pleasure and enjoyment. Serotonin, which
is made from the amino acid tryptophan,
is a mood stabiliser. It helps to boost your
mood, increasing good emotions and
enhancing your memory. Oxytocin is both
a neurotransmitter and hormone and is
often referred to as ‘the love hormone’.
When these brain chemicals are low,
low mood may occur. But fret not. You can
boost your levels of these happy
hormones and brain chemicals by eating
the right foods.
Consuming foods rich in amino acids,
vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
can help you to feel good. WhAT ArE ThE mOOd bOOSTInG nUTrIEnTS? While there’s nothing wrong with indulging
in a few favorites immediately after the big
event is over, it’s important not to over
indulge for too long in food and drink. It’s
better to get back in to healthy eating
habits sooner because eating healthily
and nourishing your body can help to
boost your mood.
A healthy, well balanced diet will help
to make you feel good, both physically (it
can aid recovery, prevent illness and
infection and increase energy levels) and
mentally (it can boost your happy
hormones and brain chemicals). Key
nutrients that are known to support the
production of your happy hormones and
brain chemicals and that can boost your
mood include B-vitamins, particularly
vitamins B6 and B12, the amino acids
tryptophan and tyrosine, antioxidants,
such as quercertin, natural probiotics,
omega-3 fatty acids and let’s not forget
chocolate (just stick to the good quality,
70 or 80% cacao).
© A
T
76 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
SAlmOnA good source of tryptophan, which helps
to boost serotonin levels and omega-3
fatty acids, which help to improve mood
dArK ChOCOlATE Dark chocolate increases oxytocin levels
and helps to release serotonin and
dopamine, which explains why we feel so
good when we eat chocolate
WhAT FOOdS COnTAIn ThESE mood-Boosting nUTrIEnTS?
bEETSA good source of the amino acid
betaine, which increases
dopamine levels
SOUr ChErrIES Contain the antioxidant
quercertin, which triggers the
production of dopamine
bUCKWhEATRich in B-vitamins, such as
vitamin B6, which boosts the
synthesis of serotonin in the brain
EGGSA good source of the amino
acid tryptophan, which
supports the production
of serotonin
TUrKEyA good source of protein and
the amino acids tryptophan
and tyrosine, which help to
boost serotonin and
dopamine levels
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 77
nUTrITIOnnUts and seeds (almonds, FlAxSEEdS, SESAmE And pUmpkin seeds) Contain tryptophan and omega-3
fatty acids, which boost serotonin
and dopamine
Brought to you by:
While there are many causes of and contributors
to a low mood, there are things you can do to
boost your mood and feelings of happiness, such
as eating right. Yes, there’s nothing wrong with
the post Ironman indulgence. Let’s face it you’ve earned it. But it’s
important to get back to healthy habits sooner rather than later.
Healthy eating, enjoying foods from each food group, consuming foods
rich in amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can help you to
feel good, both physically and mentally, and may stave off the post
Ironman blues.
If you are suffering from persistent low mood or if you are suffering from depression contact lifeline on 13 11 14 or see www.beyondblue.org.au for more information.
bAnAnASContain the amino acid
tyrosine, which boosts
dopamine levels
KEFIr And SAUErKrAUTFoods high in natural probiotics
increase dopamine production
ThE FInAl WOrd
Nutrition can make or break your raceDon’t put your next race at risk!
Margaret Mielczarek, AccSD | [email protected] | www.fuelrightnutrition.com.au
Spi
nach
soluble fibre (which helps to lower your cholesterol), potassium and magnesium.
One of the things I love about spinach, apart from its nutrient content, is that it’s versatile and tastes great. You can add it to just about any dish, from soups, to slices, to salads.
Personally, I love to add spinach to frittatas. Frittatas are one of my favorite go-to post-training meals. They are quick and easy to make and are full of nutrients (protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals), making them ideal for post training recovery. They also make a great alternative to post-training eggs on toast.
Here’s a frittata recipe I adapted from one of my favorite recipe websites, taste.com.au.
The last couple of years have seen the rise of kale. Kale has been crowned king in the green vegetable world, being touted as a super food and added to almost every dish, from green smoothies to kale salad, to kale chips (which are actually really delicious, super easy to make and a much healthier alternative to regular chips). Is there anything kale can’t do?
What about other greens? They have been moved to the back of the shelf, left to live in the shadow of King Kale (all hail Kale). It’s time to bring them back!
Spinach is a green leafy vegetable rich in nutrients. Popeye loved the stuff for good reason! A good source of vitamins K, A and C and B vitamins, spinach is also a good source of the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene,
© S
hutte
rsto
ck.c
om
78 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Margaret Mielczarek is the owner of Fuel Right Nutrition. She is a triathlete and has an APD, AN, and AccSD. www.fuelrightnutrition.com.au
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 79
1 serve provides: 787kJ (188cal), 17.4g protein, 12.4g total fat, 6.3g saturated fat, 1.3g carbohydrates, 321mg sodium.
makes
6
Margaret
SpinichMini
FrittataS
I’m bringing spinach back
method:
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a muffin tray
• Remove stalks from spinach, rinse under cold water, squeeze out excess water and roughly chop the spinach
• Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl and add turmeric, salt and pepper to taste
• Add the spinach, mushrooms, capsicum, zucchini and cheese (tasty cheese and parmesan cheese) to the eggs
• Stir until well combined
• Spoon the mixture in to the muffin tray
• Bake for about 30minutes or until firm to touch
• Allow mini frittatas to cool on a wire rack before serving
• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, serve and enjoy.
IngredIents:
• 8 eggs
• 60g baby spinach, stalks removed, roughly chopped
• 1 red or green capsicum, chopped
• 200g sliced mushrooms
• 1 zucchini, grated
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, low fat (have extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on to the mini frittatas at the end)
• 1 cup tasty cheese, reduced fat, grated
• 1 sprinkle salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon (2g) turmeric
80 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
often still not enough. “i could have trained
a little more, i could have pushed a little
harder, and i could have eaten a little
better”. Triathletes are perfectionists and
we prepare so hard for our races. We
pursue our goals so vigorously and hold
onto them so tightly that when we don’t
achieve them we feel disappointment that
all our hard work was for nothing, as we
didn’t get that goal, target, or position. And
if we aren’t careful, that feeling of
disappointment can linger.
Scenario: An athlete has a goal of sub 10
hours; their previous best is 10:45. On race
day they achieved 10:00:07. But it isn’t
enough. Those 7 seconds eats away at
You trained for months. You
dedicated your ‘life’ to this
race. You sacrificed birthday
parties, nights out and sleep
ins. Weeks went by and all you can
remember doing is training, eating and
sleeping – and trying to hold down your
job and family in between! You trained so
hard for this race. You had done everything
possible for this to be the most amazing
race ever. And you did it! You are an
Ironman! Your friends and family think
you are super human for achieving such a
feat – something they would never think
possible for themselves.
But they have now moved on, and you
now have some time to reflect.
Underneath the thrill of finishing, there’s a
slight niggle of disappointment. You didn’t
achieve the race time you had trained so
hard for. Yes, you are proud that you got to
the start line – a feat that so many never
even get the chance to do. But there’s a
part of you that feels that lingering
disappointment. All your commitment,
effort, and sacrifices and still you didn’t
achieve your race time and your race goal.
And you just can’t get past it.
Most triathletes work in numbers; it’s
just what we do. We log distances, paces,
times, heart rate and effort. We compare
PBs, we analyse results and are critical.
We put so much pressure on ourselves to
achieve, that even when we do, this is
rACE dAyDisappointment
t e x t b y s a r a h g r o v e | p h o t o g r A p h y b y s h u T T e r s T o c k . c o M
Dealing with...
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 81
Holistic EndurancE
I could have trained a little more, I could have pushed a little harder, and I could have eaten a little better.
them. “What if i hadn’t stopped to tie my
shoe lace, what if i didn’t slow down to high
five my partner, what if….”
WHAT IF they actually appreciated
what they had just accomplished? What if
they looked for the positives first instead
of the negatives? What if things could
have actually gone the other way? What if
what they achieved was the best they
could do on that day? What if we didn’t
have to search for excuses?
But all this athlete can think about is
those 7 seconds. Seconds that they feel
robbed them of their dream. Seconds that
if they had their time again they would do
differently. They allowed those 7 seconds
to take away from their achievement –
which if they look from a positive
standpoint – is a 45 minute Personal Best!
We’ve all been there. Being over critical,
over-thinking, over-analysing and simply
being hard on ourselves. Don’t get me
wrong, I get disappointed too when a race
doesn’t go to plan, and I feel for athletes
when this happens to them. But the
difference is, I not only have a race plan, but
I have a post-race plan. Plans that can help
me evaluate my race and my athletes’
races – whether good or bad, so we can
learn from each race and become stronger
and more resilient athletes, and more
importantly, allows me to see the positives
in every race, despite the race outcome.
1. dOn’T bE SO hArd On yOUrSElFWhat does it mean if you didn’t reach your
goal? How does it make you feel? Do you
consider yourself a failure for not
achieving your goal? Do you feel like you
have let others down?
Most athletes would be judgmental
and hard on themselves because of their
unrelenting standards. They feel like they
let their Coach down, their friends down,
themselves down. They set their standards
so high that they feel like a failure if they
aren’t achieved. You need goals, as they
drive you, but think about WHY you have
the goal, not just the goal itself. If you
know your WHY, you won’t be so
judgmental if you do not reach the goal.
You won’t be so disappointed if your time
wasn’t want you had planned, and you
won’t feel guilty for letting others down.
You will simply find another way to
continue to work to achieve it. So pursue
your goals vigorously, but hold onto them
lightly – chase your goals, but hold onto
them lightly enough that if you don’t
reach them this time, they won’t drag
you down.
2. FInd ThE pOSITIvES In ThE nEGATIvESOk, so your race didn’t go to plan. You
didn’t have the race you wanted and you
didn’t achieve the time you had dreamed
of. But amongst all the negatives, search
for the positives. What worked well? What
would you replicate again? What made
you feel good? What are you proud of?
Write them down, as you will want to use
these again. It’s also a great way to remind
yourself that even if your overall race
didn’t go to plan, there were parts of your
race that did.
3. lEArn FrOm EACh rACE‘You cannot learn how to cook if someone
always cooks for you’ - Same principle
applies to athletes. So use each race as a
learning experience. Whether you
achieved your goal or not, as long as you
are learning from each experience, you are
on the track to success – a term I like to
call ‘failing to succeed’. So don’t be afraid
to fail, but also don’t accept it. And
accepting means learning. Did you go out
too hard? Did you stick to your nutrition/
hydration plan? Learn from each race and
you will become a better athlete for it.
4. dOn’T dWEll On ThE WhAT IFS Or COUld hAvESSimply put, don’t dwell on the past. If you
are dwelling on the past, your concentration
is heading in the wrong direction. Yes it’s
easy to focus on what could have been,
and using statements such as ‘i lost the
race here’. But reality is, you didn’t have it
in the first place, so you didn’t lose
anything. So don’t dwell on it, it serves no
purpose at all apart from detracting you
from forward progression. Use that energy
and focus to move forward.
5. lOOK AT hOW FAr yOU hAvE COmEThe longer we are in the sport, the harder
it can become to remember where we
started and why. What drove us to this
sport in the first place? What continues to
drive us today? So take the time to reflect
on why it is you ‘do’ triathlon? What drives
you? What motivates you? What inspires
you? You will often find it’s not the race
result that drives you, it’s something much
deeper, and when you can determine
WHY, you may just realise that you aren’t
so disappointed after all.
6. re-eValUate and reFocUsUse your time post-race to re-evaluate
and refocus. If your race didn’t go to plan,
that’s OK. Simply re-evaluate and refocus
to determine your plan for your next goal
or race. Whether it’s to achieve a PB,
podium, qualify for the world
championship, or simply to love racing and
enjoy the sport. Post-race is the perfect
time to re-evaluate, check in and
understand your goals and motivations.
And remember, people change and goals
change. The goals you once had may not
be the goals you have for your next race, or
your next season. So don’t feel like you
have to keep the same goal.
TIpS FOr bEATInG post-race disappointment6
© MSJ/ITU
82 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Holistic EndurancE
So next time you feel disappointment
after a race, take the time to find the
positives in the negatives, learn from the
race, don’t dwell on what ifs, look back at
how far you have come and re-evaluate
and refocus.
And finally, is it possible to avoid
disappointment in the first place? Or would
that mean setting your goals so low that
you always achieve them? And therefore
not really reaching your full potential?
I ask athletes to ensure they are setting
realistic goals and expectations of
themselves. Yes, goals should scare you a
little, but they have to be realistic and
within achievable time frames. So, often
coaches see athletes come into the sport
and want to achieve huge goals in just 12
– 18 months. They compare themselves to
others who have been in the sport for
years, without knowing their history,
journey, goals or motivations. So compare
yourself to yourself, and not others. Set
goals that are for you, not about anyone
else. You don’t have to aim to be the best
in your age group, or qualify for Kona, or
PB every single race. Setting realistic goals
means finding goals that drive you,
motivate you, but most importantly excite
you! Then be prepared to put in the hard
work that is required to achieve those
goals. And be ready with the points above
if, for whatever reason, you don’t achieve
them first time round.
TIpS FOr AvOIdInG post-race disappointment6
1. Set realistic goals (smart goals)
2. Don’t compare yourself to others
3. Don’t compare race times to other
courses/events
4. Re-evaluate your goals/times based
5. Focus on the process, not the result
6. ENJOY what you do!
Is the 'standard'training approach
not workingfor you?
Be one of the first 10 athletes to email:[email protected] to redeem before Nov 30th 2015.
We cover everything from training principles, gut health,nutrition, recovery, mental preparation, goal setting & hormones.
Expect action steps and accountability to keep you on track.
FREE Coaching Wellness Consultation
SArAh GrOvE Sarah is a Triathlon Performance Coach with Holistic Endurance and competes competitively at all levels of triathlon. As a coach, Sarah works with athletes of all abilities from beginner to Ironman athletes, with a passion for developing, guiding and supporting athletes from the ground up to help them achieve their triathlon and lifestyle goals utilising holistic principles for optimal performance outcomes while maintaining a balanced, nourished and happy life. www.holisticendurance.com.au
Racing itself is amazing. The feelings
and emotions running down the finishing
shoot and crossing the line cannot be
replaced or replicated in any way. It is truly
an amazing experience. So don’t let your
disappointment over shadow that
experience. Your triathlon journey is not
simply about crossing the finishing line,
earning that medal or achieving a PB.
Each race should allow you to become a
stronger athlete and person, more resilient
and resourceful. You will appreciate and
respect some of the simple things in life
because you had to sacrifice some of
these to reach your goal.
DIET WHEY SHRED MAX PRO SHRED MAX BAR
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With Green Tea and L-Carnitine
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High Protein
With Garcinia Cambogia Extract
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With Green Tea Leaf Extract
With Levocarnitine (L-Carnitine)
Helps Muscle growth and recovery
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84 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Youth and junior
STrOnGt e x t A n d p h o t o g r A p h y M I c h e l l e h e M l e y
give adults. While as the children get older
they can be integrated in with some of the
adult sessions, I am a big believer that you
can better cater for the needs of the
junior/adolescent athlete with separate,
skills based sessions aimed specifically to
the age group. Another thing to note:
twelve year olds will not benefit solely
from being given a ‘program’ to follow in
their own time like an adult triathlete (I see
this all the time and cringe!), they need
demonstration of skills, along with constant
feedback and interaction to make it
enjoyable and so they improve.
The main focus with juniors should be
fun, games based sessions that have the
kids falling in love with the sport. The
following junior specific coaching
approaches make for highly engaging
sessions that keep the kids coming back
for more week after week:
high Participation – Plan for your sessions to
be interactive, where more often than not
the participants are MOVING! The more
active you can make the session the more
engaged the children are, the better they
learn and you are minimising your chances
of behaviour issues (I’m sure there is
research that proves the longer kids stand in
a line at sporting activities, the more likely
they are to start whacking each other!). Be
organised and have your session planned
and equipment set up at the start of the
session, so you can seamlessly move
through the activities without any
unnecessary delays.
Welcome to the first edition
of the new Junior/Youth
triathlon coaching section
of this magazine.
With more and more organisations and
clubs around the country rolling out junior
specific programs, I am really excited
to be involved and hope I can offer you
valuable insights and inspiration for your
own initiatives.
Triathlon is a very unique sport in that it
is so young. Most current coaches and
competitors began their triathlon careers
as adults and we are only now seeing the
first wave of competitors come through
the ranks who ‘grew up’ as triathletes. By
this, I mean they participated in triathlon
as young children rather than being
recruited to the sport from a swimming,
cycling or running background in their
mid-late teens.
This offers coaches of junior programs
the opportunity to create their own path,
as many don’t have preconceived notions
of what a junior triathlon program should
look like. Therefore, once coaching they
simply re-hash a variety of games and
drills that they enjoyed and found useful
as a kid. Easy! This concept is not so
clear-cut in triathlon.
Before we get stuck into the main
content of this first article, let me briefly
introduce myself. My name is Michelle
Hemley and I am absolutely passionate
about triathlon and active lifestyles.
My professional background is in Physical
Education Teaching, Exercise Physiology
and Sport Development, I have been
involved with Triathlon for 12 years, am a
nine time Ironman finisher and I began my
junior triathlon coaching career in my
home state of WA working with the
School Sport WA Team, Triathlon WA’s
Triathlon Excellence Squad and various
school and Tri-Star programs.
To cut a long story short, I now live in
beautiful Torquay and run my own sport
development and coaching company.
Three years ago, we ran our first Junior
Triathlon program, an eight week
introduction to the sport for primary
school aged children in Geelong.
We had eight participants and one
coach - me! Fast forward to today and
we have put nearly 300 juniors through
our triathlon specific programs and I’m
proud to say, that many of the original
participants are still hanging around in
our squads. At the time of writing this
article, our Term 4 ‘Swim, Ride, Run FUN
- Junior Triathlon Programs’ are nearly
sold out and we will have eight coaches
involved in conducting our fun, safe and
inclusive programs.
So how did we grow like this and what
considerations need to be taken into
account when setting up your own junior
triathlon program?
JUnIOr SpECIFIC COAChInG ApprOAChESAs I mentioned in the introduction, a junior
program should be specific to juniors, not
simply a watered down version of what we
Starting
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 85
STrOnG
inclusive - Inclusive sessions simply mean
you can cater and challenge all abilities
within the one session. This goes hand in
hand with high participation, as you don’t
want the faster kids always waiting
around or the less advanced kids feeling
like they are holding everyone up. A simple
way to do this is to use time rather than
distance in your activities. For example,
run a ten minute challenge and see how
many loops the juniors can do of a marked
cycle and run course. This is a challenge
for everybody, they get to practice
transition skills and mounts/dismounts,
plus nobody is waiting around.
skill development through games – Games
are a fantastic way to practice skills, more
highly engaging than drills and when
structured correctly, can achieve the high
participation you are after for a fun junior
session. In a future article, I will details
some of my favourite triathlon specific
games for juniors.
safe Practices – Children do not have the
same self-awareness as adults, so you
need to ensure that sessions are set up
with the upmost care in an environment
where potential accidents are minimal.
Develop a basic risk management
template which foresees possible future
mishaps and plan for how you are going to
avoid them.
ChOICE OF COAChESWhen we look at triathlon coaches,
everyone has a specialty; some work with
long course athletes, some are purely
on-line while other run squads, while other
coaches may be more beginner athlete
orientated. So don’t presume that the
awesome triathlon coach who had 10
Kona qualifiers last year can handle that
group of 20 excited eight-year olds and
get the most out of them! I would highly
recommend sourcing coaches that are
specific to the needs of your junior
programs, so the athletes are able to have
the highest quality session possible. Work
with your coaches strengths and match
accordingly. For example, in our programs I
use qualified Physical Education teachers
to conduct any program that have more
than 10 participants, as these people are
specifically trained in developing physical
skills and group management. I also have
a specialist cycling/draft legal coach who
takes our teenage athletes for cycling
skills sessions. By having everyone working
in their special interests and areas of
expertise, you are creating a better
program for everyone.
create a long-term pathwaY OF InvOlvEmEnTRemember, our aim for junior programs is
to expose the kids to the sport so they
want to keep competing. So when the
junior program finishes, you need
somewhere for them to go! Make sure
there is a pathway for your juniors to stay
involved and develop in sport.
my development pathway looks a little like this:Primary school Aged (Grassroots
engagement): The focus here is
engagement, fun and skill development.
We want the kids to fall in love with the
sport and utilise a lot of high participation
games. As well as junior specific programs
for this age group that run in Term 1 & 4,
we offer year round swim squads and
running groups that the children can
attend casually.
secondary school Aged (Development):
The focus here is still on engagement,
plus skill development becomes more
progressed as they get older and start to
use more advanced equipment. A major
focus at this time is retention as the
teenage drop-out rate from sport is high
so the more social, challenging and fun
you can make these sessions, the more
likely the teenager is to stick around. Even
though at this age it is easy to integrate
teenagers into your adult program, I have
found great success in keeping at least a
few sessions a week separate and purely
for this group. Think of this age group as a
‘transition’ with its own needs and entity.
Adult streams: Adult triathlon participation
can be broken down into three streams; 1)
Participation 2) Performance (Age Group)
and 3) Performance – Professional. A well
rounded triathlon program will have a
pathway for the athletes to continue to
participate and compete in triathlon
however they see fit. Be honest, if you
don’t run these sorts of services yourself,
make sure you know the local programs
and coaches you can feed the athletes to
once they are at a certain stage.
rElATIOnShIpS WITh OThEr SpOrTSIt is very unusual to see a junior triathlete
patriciate in the sport as their sole activity,
be prepared to have kids stepping in and
out of your triathlon programs around
other club and school sport
commitments. Positive relationships with
local sporting clubs will only benefit your
junior triathlon programs, particularly
when these sports start to understand you
are not trying to poach athletes and
triathlon training enhances the child’s
ability to run out a soccer game. Take the
time to nurture these relationships.
Remember, at this age it is not about
getting kids to commit to the sport full-on,
it is to develop skills and expose them to
positive triathlon experiences so they keep
coming back. We have great relationships
with many sporting clubs in Geelong and
Torquay who promote our Junior Triathlon
programs as a way to keep fit over
summer. I have many junior athletes
whom I see in Term 4 every year, once
footy/netball/hockey/soccer is in the
off-season.
I hope you found these tips useful.
Good luck with setting up your junior
triathlon initiatives, it is so refreshing to see
the youngsters enjoy the sport and the things
they come out with will have you in stiches.
In conclusion, I believe triathlon is a
fantastic sport to expose kids to as it
offers high health benefits and social
connections, can be done in their own
time around other commitments as they
get older, is focussed on individual
challenges and most importantly, they can
keep participating in triathlon right into
their adult years.
If we can make our junior programs
safe, inclusive, highly engaging and fun,
then the future of our sport looks very
bright indeed.
86 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
The Swimming Specialists
®
SOLEMOTIVE.COM
TRIATHLON & MULTISPORTwww.triresponse.com.au
TRG
2 OLYMPIC DISTANCES
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AustrAliAn triAthlete | 87
14 WEEK
t e x t b y X a v I e r c o P P o c k
If you’d like any more information or a customised program, contact [email protected]
You’ve decided to do a 70.3
Distance Race. Here is a 14-
week program to help you on
your way. The best advice I
can give you before you start this program
is to be honest with yourself. Follow the
program from the first session until race
day to give yourself the best chance of
getting your best result.
Make sure you do your easy sessions
EASY and always pace yourself on your
speed and strength sessions so that your
last effort is the same pace as your first.
Fading throughout the efforts does not
help you get faster or stronger.
As the program progresses, there are a
few ‘testers’ within so you can get a gauge
of your improvements. Stick to these
sessions to test yourself and be patient
and consistent on the remainder.
The following program can be followed
by a beginner right through to an
experienced athlete. This generic style
program gives you an indication of what is
required to improve based around
approximately 10 to 17 hours of training.
Of course like any training program, the
best program is one that is tailored to suit
your life, and many coaches can offer this
solution for you.
The program structure is all based
around perceived effort and is written as
easy/medium/hard/max.
MAX is your maximum effort over the
duration of the session. A max 1km run
effort will be faster than a 5km MAX effort
as you are able to hold a higher intensity
over a shorter distance.
Hard is between 85-95% of your max
effort, some like to call it Race Pace. So if
your 5km run is 25min, hard would equate
to 27min for the same distance.
Medium is a pace that you can
maintain all day. A pace that enables you
to talk, however after a while into the
session, you do start to puff.
Easy has no speed, these sessions are
there to help you get a base, aid with
active recovery or simple keep the feel for
the discipline you are completing that
session in.
Brought to you by
© Shutterstock.com
The difference between undulations and hills is:Riding – Undulation between 15 to 30
seconds where you can stay strong
through the duration
Hill – takes longer then 1 minute to climb
and usually you are in the small chain ring
on the front.
Running – Undulation includes some
ascents and descents where you get
frequent/short recovery and the gradient
is not overly steep
Hill – A longer sustained effort over a
harder gradient that you can run up the
entire way.
One thing about training and racing is
that you are never going to achieve your
potential if you are continually getting
injured. What I see as the highest cause of
injury is athletes simply going too hard on
their easy sessions.
Of course there are many different
ways to train or coach with HR, Power etc.
However, at TEAM Tri Coaching, we get
the athlete to learn his or her own body
capabilities by working to the above
effort terms.
Enjoy your day off training and use
these to get your body treated or simply
do some stretching or have a sleep in.
Training Program - Half Iron-Distance (70.3) Race
For the following program, we simply
do three phases of training. One base
phase, one strength and speed phase which
combines hills and speed and then one
speed phase as we head into your race.
Each of these phases is as important to
each other, so don’t discount any of them.
There is a recovery week in week 5.
They way the program is built always
starts off very easy and builds from there.
We then add some hills for strength and
some pure speed sessions, before we
purely just do speed heading into the race.
After that recovery week we build for
the next 5 weeks and then taper into your
race. This can be a little different to the
stock standard 3-week build, 1-week
recovery, however with this program is
starting small and easy, and it is not
always necessary for a recovery week
after week 3.
Heading into your race, the volume
greatly reduces and the intensity
increases. This is often the danger period
for athletes as the risk of injury can be
higher due to being fresher and wanting to
test out where the body is.
My advice on this is: save it for race day.
Once you get through all the training
you can confidently get to race day ready
to perform at your peak.
88 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 3 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k easy continual 3hrs incl undualtion course 1hr 15min easy
10 x 2min hard/2min easy 16 x 50m as 3 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 10 x 3min pushing your hardest gear just ride the undualtions4 x 500m as 100m hard/400m easy 1min b/t c/d to 1hr 12 x 50m as 2 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t cadence to be approx 65-70rpm no intensity300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 20min easy run following bike session 8 x 50m as 1 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 20min easy off bike
4 x 50m all hard 15 sec b/t c/d to 1hrpm - run Speed session 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 20min easy run following bike session30min easy pm - run Speed session
30min easy
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 4 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k continual as 3 - 3.5hrs incl some hills 1hr 25min incl some hills
5 x 1min hard 100rpm/1min easy 200m as 50m hard/150m easy 1min rest 8 x 4min pushing your hardest gear 500m race pace start work up and over the hills just run them, no intensity here
1k Time trial 5 x 5min hard normal cadence/5min easy b/t 200m as 100m hard/100m easy 1min rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 1500m easy 25min easy off bike
10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 25min easy run following bike 200m as 150m hard/50m easy 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 200m hard 1min rest c/d to 1hr
pm - run Speed session 500m easy continual 25min easy run following bike40min incl 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free pm - run Speed session6 x 500m all hard 40min easy1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 5 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k continual as 3.5 - 4hrs incl hills 1hr 35min incl some hills
8 x 5min hard/3min easy 5 x 100m all HARD with 6 x 5min pushing your hardest gear 800m race pace start stay seated on climbs run up & over strong
6 x 400m all as 200m HARD/200m easy 1min b/t c/d to 1hr 30min 1min rest, 45 sec rest, 30 sec rest, 15 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 1700m easy continual push 1 gear harder than comfortable easy on flats and downs
30min easy run following bike session repeat x 3 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 30min easy run following bike300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free c/d to 1hr
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free pm - run Speed session 30min easy run following bike session45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) pm - run Speed session5 x 1k all at 85% max effort - being consistent through all 45min easy
1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 6 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day1hr easy/ 10min easy off bike 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy/10min easy off bike 1.5 - 2hrs easy 1hr 20min easy on flat
1k easy continual swim 10min easy following rideRecoveryWeek 10 x 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min b/t
pm pm30min easy run 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 30min easy
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 1 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike ride/ 10min easy run off bike 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike ride/ 10min easy run off bike 2k easy continual 2 - 2.5hrs easy/10min easy run off bike 1hr easy
15 x 100m easy 15 sec bt 4 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min rest
repeat x 5300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m freepm30min easy run
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 2 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2k easy continual 2.5 - 3hrs easy 1hr 10min easy
15 x 100m as 1 easy/1 hard 15 sec b/t 10 x 1min hard/1min easy 10 x 2min pushing your hardest gear 15min easy off bikeuse your easy as an active recovery c/d to 1hr 1.5k easy continual cadence to be approx 65-70rpm300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike session 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free c/d to 1hr15min easy run following bike session
pm35min easy run
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 89
training program
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 3 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k easy continual 3hrs incl undualtion course 1hr 15min easy
10 x 2min hard/2min easy 16 x 50m as 3 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 10 x 3min pushing your hardest gear just ride the undualtions4 x 500m as 100m hard/400m easy 1min b/t c/d to 1hr 12 x 50m as 2 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t cadence to be approx 65-70rpm no intensity300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 20min easy run following bike session 8 x 50m as 1 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 20min easy off bike
4 x 50m all hard 15 sec b/t c/d to 1hrpm - run Speed session 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 20min easy run following bike session30min easy pm - run Speed session
30min easy
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 4 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k continual as 3 - 3.5hrs incl some hills 1hr 25min incl some hills
5 x 1min hard 100rpm/1min easy 200m as 50m hard/150m easy 1min rest 8 x 4min pushing your hardest gear 500m race pace start work up and over the hills just run them, no intensity here
1k Time trial 5 x 5min hard normal cadence/5min easy b/t 200m as 100m hard/100m easy 1min rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 1500m easy 25min easy off bike
10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 25min easy run following bike 200m as 150m hard/50m easy 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 200m hard 1min rest c/d to 1hr
pm - run Speed session 500m easy continual 25min easy run following bike40min incl 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free pm - run Speed session6 x 500m all hard 40min easy1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 5 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5k continual as 3.5 - 4hrs incl hills 1hr 35min incl some hills
8 x 5min hard/3min easy 5 x 100m all HARD with 6 x 5min pushing your hardest gear 800m race pace start stay seated on climbs run up & over strong
6 x 400m all as 200m HARD/200m easy 1min b/t c/d to 1hr 30min 1min rest, 45 sec rest, 30 sec rest, 15 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 1700m easy continual push 1 gear harder than comfortable easy on flats and downs
30min easy run following bike session repeat x 3 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 30min easy run following bike300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free c/d to 1hr
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free pm - run Speed session 30min easy run following bike session45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) pm - run Speed session5 x 1k all at 85% max effort - being consistent through all 45min easy
1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 6 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day1hr easy/ 10min easy off bike 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy/10min easy off bike 1.5 - 2hrs easy 1hr 20min easy on flat
1k easy continual swim 10min easy following rideRecoveryWeek 10 x 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min b/t
pm pm30min easy run 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 30min easy
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 1 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike ride/ 10min easy run off bike 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike ride/ 10min easy run off bike 2k easy continual 2 - 2.5hrs easy/10min easy run off bike 1hr easy
15 x 100m easy 15 sec bt 4 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min rest
repeat x 5300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m freepm30min easy run
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 2 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2k easy continual 2.5 - 3hrs easy 1hr 10min easy
15 x 100m as 1 easy/1 hard 15 sec b/t 10 x 1min hard/1min easy 10 x 2min pushing your hardest gear 15min easy off bikeuse your easy as an active recovery c/d to 1hr 1.5k easy continual cadence to be approx 65-70rpm300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike session 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free c/d to 1hr15min easy run following bike session
pm35min easy run
90 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 8 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5 - 3hrs on flat incl 1hr 40min incl hills
last 30min above race effort 400m easy paddles/bouy 30sec rest 10 x 2min pushing your hardest gear 2k easy continual 4 x 15min above race intensity run up & over10 x 200m as 1 hard/ 1 easy 1min b/t 200m race effort with paddles 30 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 15min easy b/t easy on flats and downs10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 20min easy off bike 100m above race pace 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 20min easy run off bike
repeat x 3 Optional300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
20min easy run following bike pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session50min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 40min easy3 x 2k both at 85% max effort - being consistent through all1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 9 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 3 - 3.5hrs on flat incl 1hr 50min incl hills
5 x 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min rest 10 x 1min HARD/1min easy 4 x 8min pushing your hardest gear 2.5k incl from 1 - 2hrs at race intensity run up & over
5 x 100m med effort 30 sec b/t then last 30min at race effort 2 x 1k pull/paddles 1min b/t cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 300m above race pace then from 2.5 - end above race intensity easy on flats and downs
10 x 50m as 1 MAX/1 easy 15 sec b/t 25min off bike as 15min as race pace/10min easy 400m race pace effort 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 500m race pace
6 x 50m hard 15 sec b/t c/d to 1hr 1700m easy 25min off bike as 10min at race pace300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 25min off bike at your ideal race pace 15min VERY easy Optional
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session55min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)last 30min just above race pace find a hill 200-300m long and do 4 repeats
Work at 95% up hill, VERY easy on down5min easy c/d and stretch Be consistent across all efforts
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 10 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 3.5 - 4hrs on flat incl 2hrs incl Hills
500m easy continual 1min rest 5 x 3min hardest gear at 65-70rpm 3min easy 100rpm 8 X 50m as 25m MAX/25m easy 15 sec b/t 3 x 10min pushing your hardest gear 2.5k incl from 1 - 1.5hrs at race intensity run up & over
3 x 200m race pace efforts 1min rest b/t then last 30min as race effort cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 500m above race pace then from 3hrs til end above race intensity easy on flats and downs
500m easy continual 1min rest 30min off bike as 20min at race pace/10min easy 100m paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 500m race pace
4 x 100m above race pace efforts 30 sec b/t 200M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest c/d to 1hr 1500m easy 30min off bike as 15min at race pace300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 15min VERY easy Optional
400M paddles/bouy 15 ssec rest 1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session 300M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest pm - run Speed session1hr incl 200M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 50min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)4 x 2k above race pace efforts 100m paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 10 x 500m above race pace1min stationary b/t 30 sec rest b/t each5min easy c/d and stretch 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Be consistent across all efforts
5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 7 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 1.5k easy continual 2 - 2.5hrs on flat incl 1hr 30min incl hills
20 x 100m hard with descending recovery 5 x 5min hard efforts/5min easy spin b/t 5 x 5min pushing your hardest gear 4 x 10min above race intensity run up & over1min, 45 sec, 30 sec, 15 sec - then back to 1min 12 x 200m as odds paddles/bouy easy 30 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 20min easy b/t easy on flats and downs300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike evens HARD free 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 15min easy run off bike
c/d to 1hr300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike
pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 35min easy3 x 1k all at 85% max effort - being consistent through all1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretchcompare times from week 4 for improvement
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 91
training program
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 8 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 2.5 - 3hrs on flat incl 1hr 40min incl hills
last 30min above race effort 400m easy paddles/bouy 30sec rest 10 x 2min pushing your hardest gear 2k easy continual 4 x 15min above race intensity run up & over10 x 200m as 1 hard/ 1 easy 1min b/t 200m race effort with paddles 30 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 15min easy b/t easy on flats and downs10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 20min easy off bike 100m above race pace 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 20min easy run off bike
repeat x 3 Optional300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
20min easy run following bike pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session50min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 40min easy3 x 2k both at 85% max effort - being consistent through all1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 9 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 3 - 3.5hrs on flat incl 1hr 50min incl hills
5 x 200m easy paddles/bouy 1min rest 10 x 1min HARD/1min easy 4 x 8min pushing your hardest gear 2.5k incl from 1 - 2hrs at race intensity run up & over
5 x 100m med effort 30 sec b/t then last 30min at race effort 2 x 1k pull/paddles 1min b/t cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 300m above race pace then from 2.5 - end above race intensity easy on flats and downs
10 x 50m as 1 MAX/1 easy 15 sec b/t 25min off bike as 15min as race pace/10min easy 400m race pace effort 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 500m race pace
6 x 50m hard 15 sec b/t c/d to 1hr 1700m easy 25min off bike as 10min at race pace300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 25min off bike at your ideal race pace 15min VERY easy Optional
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session55min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)last 30min just above race pace find a hill 200-300m long and do 4 repeats
Work at 95% up hill, VERY easy on down5min easy c/d and stretch Be consistent across all efforts
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 10 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 3.5 - 4hrs on flat incl 2hrs incl Hills
500m easy continual 1min rest 5 x 3min hardest gear at 65-70rpm 3min easy 100rpm 8 X 50m as 25m MAX/25m easy 15 sec b/t 3 x 10min pushing your hardest gear 2.5k incl from 1 - 1.5hrs at race intensity run up & over
3 x 200m race pace efforts 1min rest b/t then last 30min as race effort cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 500m above race pace then from 3hrs til end above race intensity easy on flats and downs
500m easy continual 1min rest 30min off bike as 20min at race pace/10min easy 100m paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 500m race pace
4 x 100m above race pace efforts 30 sec b/t 200M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest c/d to 1hr 1500m easy 30min off bike as 15min at race pace300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 15min VERY easy Optional
400M paddles/bouy 15 ssec rest 1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session 300M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest pm - run Speed session1hr incl 200M paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 50min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)4 x 2k above race pace efforts 100m paddles/bouy 15 sec rest 10 x 500m above race pace1min stationary b/t 30 sec rest b/t each5min easy c/d and stretch 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Be consistent across all efforts
5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 7 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 1.5k easy continual 2 - 2.5hrs on flat incl 1hr 30min incl hills
20 x 100m hard with descending recovery 5 x 5min hard efforts/5min easy spin b/t 5 x 5min pushing your hardest gear 4 x 10min above race intensity run up & over1min, 45 sec, 30 sec, 15 sec - then back to 1min 12 x 200m as odds paddles/bouy easy 30 sec rest cadence to be approx 65-70rpm 20min easy b/t easy on flats and downs300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike evens HARD free 1min rest 2min easy spin b/t cadence approx 95-100 15min easy run off bike
c/d to 1hr300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 15min easy run following bike
pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy) 35min easy3 x 1k all at 85% max effort - being consistent through all1min stationary rest b/t5min easy c/d and stretchcompare times from week 4 for improvement
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92 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 12 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 3hrs on similar terrain to race course 1hr 40mn incl
4 x 50m build to hard 30 sec b/t last 1hr at race effort 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 3k continual incl incl last 2hr at race pace last 45min at race pace
500m as 150m above race pace/350m race pace 5 x 400m med effort paddles/bouy 1min b/t 1.5k race pace effort
2min rest 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 1.5k easy 30min off bike as 20min at race pacerepeat 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 10min very easy300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Optional
1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session1hr incl10k above race pace effort5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 13 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 1hr 30min incl 1hr 20min incl
5 x 3min Above race pace efforts - 2min easy spin b/t 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 2.5k incl 3 x 20min above race pace efforts last 1hr at race pace
5 x 200m all as 100m HARD/100m easy 20 x 100m HARD paddles/bouy 1min b/t 1k race pace effort 10min easy b/t
1min b/t 20min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 1500m easy continual
10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Optional15min off bike incl 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 10min above race pacepm - run Speed session 5min VERY easy45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)5 x 1k efforts above your race pace effort 1min stationary b/t efforts5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 14 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 1st session 1.9/90/21.1
5 x 3min Above race pace efforts - 2min easy spin b/t 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 15min run incl
20 x 50m as 3 easy/ 1mmax 10 x 50m HARD 1min b/t 5 x 100m run throughs15 sec b/t 20min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 200m easy walk recovery
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free After run - 30min bike incl
5 x 1min Build to MAX effortpm - run Speed session 2min easy spin b/t30min incl3 x 1k efforts above your race pace effort 1min stationary b/t efforts5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 11 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 4hrs on similar terrain to race course 1hr 50min incl
12 x 100m as 2 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t last 45min at race effort 500m paddles/bouy/band 1min reat 5 x 5min hard efforts/5min easy b/t 3k incl incl last 1hr 30min at race pace last 30min at your race pace8 x 100m as 1 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 500m paddles/bouy 1min rest c/d to 1hr 1k Race pace effort
4 x 100m hard 15 sec b/t 30min off bike as 25min at race pace/5min easy 500m paddles only 1min rest 2k easy 30min off bike as 20min at race pace
10 x 100m HARD bouy/band 30 sec b/t 10min very easy Optional300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session1hr incl 55min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)8k at race pace effort find a hill 200-300m long and do 5 repeats
Work at 95% up hill, VERY easy on down5min easy c/d and stretch Be consistent across all effortscompare times from week 8 for improvement 5min easy c/d and stretch
remember you’ve already done all the hard work, now it’s time to relax, get a good night sleep, eat up and most importantly enjoy it! rACE dAy
AustrAliAn triAthlete | 93
training program
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 12 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 3hrs on similar terrain to race course 1hr 40mn incl
4 x 50m build to hard 30 sec b/t last 1hr at race effort 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 3k continual incl incl last 2hr at race pace last 45min at race pace
500m as 150m above race pace/350m race pace 5 x 400m med effort paddles/bouy 1min b/t 1.5k race pace effort
2min rest 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 1.5k easy 30min off bike as 20min at race pacerepeat 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 10min very easy300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Optional
1hr easy bike post run for recoverypm - run Speed session1hr incl10k above race pace effort5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 13 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 1hr 30min incl 1hr 20min incl
5 x 3min Above race pace efforts - 2min easy spin b/t 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 2.5k incl 3 x 20min above race pace efforts last 1hr at race pace
5 x 200m all as 100m HARD/100m easy 20 x 100m HARD paddles/bouy 1min b/t 1k race pace effort 10min easy b/t
1min b/t 20min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 1500m easy continual
10 x 50m HARD 15 sec b/t 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free Optional15min off bike incl 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 10min above race pacepm - run Speed session 5min VERY easy45min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)5 x 1k efforts above your race pace effort 1min stationary b/t efforts5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 14 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 45min bike incl 1st session 1.9/90/21.1
5 x 3min Above race pace efforts - 2min easy spin b/t 5 x 2min build to hard - 3min easy b/t 15min run incl
20 x 50m as 3 easy/ 1mmax 10 x 50m HARD 1min b/t 5 x 100m run throughs15 sec b/t 20min off bike at your ideal race pace 10min off bike as your race pace 200m easy walk recovery
300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free After run - 30min bike incl
5 x 1min Build to MAX effortpm - run Speed session 2min easy spin b/t30min incl3 x 1k efforts above your race pace effort 1min stationary b/t efforts5min easy c/d and stretch
monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
week 11 Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run Swim Bike/run run day300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr 30min bike incl 15min easy spin w/up 300m w/up as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 1hr bike incl 10min easy spin w/up 4hrs on similar terrain to race course 1hr 50min incl
12 x 100m as 2 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t last 45min at race effort 500m paddles/bouy/band 1min reat 5 x 5min hard efforts/5min easy b/t 3k incl incl last 1hr 30min at race pace last 30min at your race pace8 x 100m as 1 easy/1hard 15 sec b/t 500m paddles/bouy 1min rest c/d to 1hr 1k Race pace effort
4 x 100m hard 15 sec b/t 30min off bike as 25min at race pace/5min easy 500m paddles only 1min rest 2k easy 30min off bike as 20min at race pace
10 x 100m HARD bouy/band 30 sec b/t 10min very easy Optional300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 300m c/d as 100m free/50m kick/50m back/100m free 30min off bike at your ideal race pace 1hr easy bike post run for recovery
pm - run Speed session pm - run Speed session1hr incl 55min incl 10min warm up jog (easy)8k at race pace effort find a hill 200-300m long and do 5 repeats
Work at 95% up hill, VERY easy on down5min easy c/d and stretch Be consistent across all effortscompare times from week 8 for improvement 5min easy c/d and stretch
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96 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Lostwere so cold I could do little more than
slur. After a minute or two of rubbing my
cheeks, I warmed up enough to articulate
my inquiry, however the poor Hispanic
attendant had just as much trouble
understanding my Aussie accent as my
frozen-lipped drivel. Eventually, she
informed me I was “a long way from
Boulder”, and it was another hour before I
eventually arrived home to a warm, and
slightly quizzical Sticksy.
Back to France, and it turned out my
French mountain bikers possessed both
impressive English, and senses of humour,
as they joked about how far I had travelled
off course. Unappreciative of their humour,
but indebted for their directions, I left
them to their un-stolen bikes and pushed
on. By the time I arrived back to where the
rest of the squad were waiting for a Wilson
who was by now over an hour late - Drew
Box and Pete Kerr had long since given up
on more optimistic hypotheses, and were
checking the ditches for my body.
I was dehydrated, fatigued and sunburnt,
however my worst punishment was the
weeks of ridicule and trying in vain to
stop people referring to me as Burke
and Wilson…
I’ll be honest, my first thought was to
turn to crime. It was the last refuge of
a desperate man - I was hopelessly
lost in the French wilderness, my last
sighting of a road or building seemed
like an age ago, and finding any sort
of civilisation seemed well outside my
navigational capabilities. By this stage
I was severely fatigued, considerably
dehydrated, and was trying hard to
remember tips on lighting fires from Bear
Grylls should I be required to spend the
night in the wilderness. Thus, when two
elderly mountain bikers crossed the path
in front of me, I fleetingly thought about
attempting grand theft velo. Thankfully,
both the moral and logical parts of my
brain kicked in, and I realised that a)
stealing was wrong, and b) even if I were
to gain possession of a bicycle, authorised
or not, I was still very much lost. Given my
command of French is about as good as
my command of direction, I took a deep
breath, yelled “excuse moi”, and prayed
they spoke some English.
The nature of my navigational faux pas
was ridiculous. It was a standard Saturday
morning session in France, we’d done the
same bike loop I had done a thousand
times, followed by a ‘quick 3km’ run off the
bike in the trails next to the road. The
same 3km loop I’ve done almost every
Saturday in France for the last eight years,
but this time, feeling a bit maverick, I
decided to run it in the opposite direction
to usual. One thing led to another, I missed
a turn, got discombobulated, and spent
the next 14km traversing the French
countryside, taking a course that when we
later looked on the Garmin file, as if it were
plotted by a drunk madman.
The truth is, I’ve never been that great
with directions. In one of my first European
races in Kitzbuhel (Austria) I was having
an absolute whale of a time running
through the cross-country ski paths, until I
pulled a U-turn and realised that there
was a million different paths stemming off
the one I had come from, and I had
no-idea which one was mine. This
promptly turned my 30 min pre-race jog
into a 70-minute sound of music-esque
pilgrimage through the Austrian ski-fields,
gaining sore legs and severe sunburn in
the process, leaving me looking distinctly
lobster-like on race day.
My inner compass also went askew in
Boulder, Colorado, on a ride with Brad
‘Sticksy’ Kahlefeldt. We’d been out for
around 30 minutes, when the weather
dropped from a pleasant 20 degrees
Celsius, to a frigid four degrees Celsius. We
soldiered on, but when I peeled off to head
home and Sticksy kept going for an
additional hour, the cold (or at least that’s
what I’m blaming) had interfered with my
navigation, and I spent an extra hour
meandering around greater Colorado.
Eventually, I pulled into a service station to
ask for directions, but by this stage my lips
About DAnBiomechanically denied his dream of becoming an NBA superstar, Dan Wilson has been racing the ITU circuit for over seven years representing Australia at Junior, U/23 and Elite level. His results have ranged from winning a World Cup to finishing only with the aid of glow sticks. When not “at work” training three times a day, he incompetently plays the guitar, competently sips short blacks, and fervently studies the underground metal scene. http://www.danwilson.com.au/ and twitter: @dan_wilson_
OFFICIAL DRINK OF THIS YEAR’S
MELBOURNE MARATHON
22633_OZTM_WINNERS ENER-G AD_FP.indd 1 2015/10/07 10:41:45 AM