Thursday, January 29, 2009

Apologies and Weekend's Activities

Dear Athletes

Please accept my apologies if you received multiple emails from me this morning. In an effort to streamline my workflow I inadvertently added to it dramatically with a new email system - c'est la vie!

Anyhow, onto this weekend:

Saturday:

0630 - ride from the Bell Tower - an EASY lap of the river for the Half Ironman Crew.

0745 - meet at Cottesloe Beach for our Rottnest swimmers for a 4.4 to 8.8km steady ocean swim.

1300 - meet at Claremont Pool for our squad swim session.

Sunday:

REST!

Enjoy!

Paul





Monday, January 26, 2009

Congratulations to all Rotto Solo Swimmers!

Dear athletes

The TEAM CORE would just like to congratulate the following prospective Rottnest Solo Swimmers for their completion of the 10km Rehearsal Swim on Sunday or pre-qualification for the event on the 21st February:

  • Ceinwen W
  • Justin M
  • Emmy P
  • Paul D
  • John E
  • Paul N
  • Amanda N
  • Sally S
  • Andrew H
  • Wayne S
  • Laurent
  • Sylvain
  • James A

Well done groovers and good luck to you and all our duo and team swimmers also - its going to be a great day!

Cheers

Paul

P.S Training back to normal as of today - hope you all had a great Long Weekend. Don't forget our new Squad Swim Session on Tuesday nights at 7pm (starting tonight!)





Friday, January 23, 2009

New addition to the pooldeck!

Dear athletes

In order to help really smooth-out the running of our squad sessions
you'll be interested to know that we have invested in a digital
poolside clock as beautifully modelled here by Adam!

Each session the clock will be synchronized with the main analogue
clocks at Claremont Pool but will be located near the 5m flags on the
side of lane 8 so will be much easier to see.

For those of you fairly new to structured squad swimming, this will
allow you to carefully set yourselves off exactly 5 or 10 seconds
apart (as advised by the coach) to ensure you don't all bunch up in
the lanes, which often causes frustration for everyone. Normally we
will help set you off for the first repetition, but we are hoping that
with the new clock in place you'll get more accustomed to managing
this yourselves which will free up additional time for us to get your
splits, help you with your stroke technique or maybe just take a break
and go for a coffee! Joke!

Interestingly enough, in a lane swimming ~1:40 per 100m, it would (in
theory) be able to have at least 18 swimmers working smoothly together
if this way! Don't panic though, we're not going to go that way,
however it does highlight how it's possible to work this efficiently
with a good setting off procedure.

We hope that you will start to make good use of this new tool!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Australia Day and the TEAM Sprint Cup!

Dear Athletes

Just a reminder that there will be no official training sessions running on Monday 26th January due to Australia Day. We will resume with morning squad sessions on Tuesday 27th January from 5.30am. Athletes following our HIM program know what they have to do from the Program Overview (remember, next week is a recovery week for you guys!).

Over the weekend we have the following available:

  • Saturday 630am ride from the Bell Tower. Aim this week will be to split up into two groups based on ability, i.e. a 'fast' group and a 'fastER' group! Suggested route is this one: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/australia/perth/725400896 
  • Saturday ~8am Sorrento Beach 1.25km and 5km ocean swims - see www.wa.swimming.org.au for more details
  • Saturday 1-2pm Squad swim session at Claremont Pool - lots of fun, try and make it down!
  • Sunday ~8am Sorrento Beach 2.5km and 10km Rotto Rehearsal swims
  • Monday ~8am 2km Australia Day Swim at Scarborough or the Australia Day triathlon at Pt. Walter (www.allbarnone.com)

Also, last year, 8 of the squad took part in the Team Sprint Challenge (http://www.teamsprintcup.com/entryform.php) at Christchurch GS. This year the event is on the 15th February. It was a lot of fun. Anyone keen to participate, please email me back. Photos of last year's event can be found at: http://www.theteamcore.com/Photo%20Gallery/Team%20Sprint%20Cup%2008/index.html

Have a great weekend and "throw another shrimp on the barbie Sheila!" LOL! ;-)

Kind regards

Paul

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
World Class Coaching in Your Language!
Tel. +61 (0) 431 540 980





Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tuesday Swim Confirmation and Rotto Nutrition Chat on Friday

Dear All

Just confirming that we shall proceed with the NEW Tuesday evening swim session at Claremont Pool, every Tuesday, from 7-8pm, starting Tuesday 27th January and running up to the Busselton Half Ironman on the 2nd May. This will be a steady aerobic session focussing on technique (similar to Tuesday early mornings). We have the following 15 people having registered their names:

Carly Innes
Chris Murphy
Deb Meyerhofer
Gabe Alves
Helen Cuthbert
Helen Masson
Karlee Cannon
Mark McNally
Matt Illingworth
Mel Cooney
Natalia Vollrath
Nathan Thomson
Nimal Wickramasinghe
Stuart Murray
Tim Cooney


If your name is not on that list but you'd like it to be, we will now open up the 9 remaining spots to anyone who wishes to register, irrespective of if they are training for the Half Ironman or not. Please let me know ASAP.

FRIDAY NIGHT NUTRITION CHAT:

All Rottnest swimmers from the squad who would like to attend a social gathering to discuss and share nutrition tactics / experiences for the Big Day on the 21st February are welcome to attend our little soiree on Friday  23rd January at 6pm at 11 Hammersley Road, Cottesloe. Please bring your own drinks and maybe a plate of nibbles. We'll discuss tactics and formulate a plan which can also be used on Sunday at the Rotto Rehearsal Swim for practice. We may then venture down the road for some supper at ~7pm. Thanks to Emmy for offering her place for this occasion! RSVP to paul@swimsmooth.com 

Kind regards

Paul


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tuesday night swim session!

Dear athletes

It is with much pleasure that I inform you that Claremont pool have
given us the go ahead to use 3 lanes in the 50m pool every Tuesday
evening from 7-8pm as of the 27th January.

We need a minimum of 15 people to make this session viable and first
refusal will go to those who have registered for the Half Ironman
Program.

The session will be ideal (but not exclusive) to those doing our Half
Ironman program and allow these athletes the chance to rest up early
on Tuesday morning after a hard days training on Monday. It will not
impact on your Wednesday morning ride but our recommendation is that
you aim to have a big lunch on Tuesdays followed by a lighter evening
meal BEFORE you come swimming so you can get home to bed asap.

There will be no showering facilities immediately after the swim so
please be prepared with a big fluffy towel and some warm clothing!

On the two occassions when we have scheduled a nutrition and bike
maintenance course at 6pm in the Sweat Shack on the Tuesdays in
February, we will rescedule and run these at 6pm down at the pool
immediately before the swim.

Please let us know asap if you wish to attend and which early morning
session (if any) you will swap your place from.

Kind regards

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
Tel +61431540980
www.swimsmooth.com
www.theteamcore.com
Multisport Coaching in Your Language!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Training this week

Dear Athletes

I'm still waiting upon reports from those who raced at the Waikiki Enduro this weekend, so if that was you, please let me know how you went!

Official results from the Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth are not yet in, but we can confirm that coach Paul and Ceinwen picked up 1st prize in their respective age-groups and both had great swims. Also racing strongly were Wayne, Paul D, Andrew Hunt, Justin, Emmy (with a stormer!), Amanda and Sam. So all looking good at this stage for 21st February!

Onto this week....it's week # 2 of the Busselton Half Ironman Program and this week we will continue to build you steadily into the program. Gold and Silver athletes will be receiving their individual programs by the end of today FYI and then be able to communicate on how this last week has gone.

For the Rottnest Channel Swimmers within the squad, this week will be a RECOVERY WEEK. What's that you ask?! Chance to recuperate and rebuild for this weekend's Rotto Rehearsal Swim! Psychologically your head is probably saying "no, no, don't back down now, we're nearly there!" but physically your body is crying out for an easier week and you need to take it! Following this week we have just 2 more big weeks before we taper down to the event. This easy week is absolutely ESSENTIAL for a good race on the 21st. Accordingly, all duo / solo swimmers are advised to just attend just one squad session on Tuesday and Friday morning and supplement with an additional easy drill session of ~2km (4.30pm on Tuesday or Thursday is an option if you can make it to Claremont Pool then?). This will give you a weekly total of just 8-9km followed then by the weekend's races of 5 + 10km...more than enough this week! Please don't be tempted to do more, even if you are feeling great!

Lastly, as you know (and from the data we were collecting on Friday morning and via email), numbers at the squad sessions have really picked up post-Christmas. We are looking at a number of solutions to this, namely the possible (hopeful?!) addition of another squad swim session on a Tuesday evening, specifically for the Busso HIM squad. If this goes ahead (and we are awaiting confirmation) it will allow you an easy morning of recovery on the Tuesday after Monday's "big" training day. We'll focus on distance and technique appropriate to your race distance of 1.9km on the 2nd May. We'll keep you posted.

So, remember groovers as the Google boys say "don't be evil!", or rather, please be respective of your fellow squad swimmers on Tuesday and Friday this week as we aim to work on solutions for an ever-expanding TEAM CORE!

Thanks for all your support, it means a lot to us!

Paul 





Thursday, January 15, 2009

Swim Squad Availability and this weekend!

Dear athletes

Hope you are having a good week...it's about to get very hot apparently!

As mentioned on Tuesday's swim session, numbers prior to the Rottnest Channel Swim seem to have really picked up. This is great and it's wonderful to see the increased interest in the program at Claremont Pool. 

IMPORTANT: Can we please request that following the Christmas holidays and with some new faces having arrived recently, that you ALL please just spend 2 minutes to drop us over a return email of which of the swim sessions (shown here) you plan to attend on a weekly basis up until the Rottnest Swim on the 21st February (we'll reassess after this point again). Equally, if you know that you have a spot "reserved" but no longer require it, please let us know so that we can offer it to someone on the waiting list. Your help is much appreciated in this respect and will ensure the continued smooth running of the program.

In order to maintain the quality of the sessions during these busy times we have obviously taken a number of steps including the addition of our 2nd coach, Adam, to facilitate the running of the program and to ensure that you each get some valuable individual attention during the session. Please help us to help you, if you have any specific questions during a session for either of us, please don't be afraid to ask. Please also remember that the very best way to fine-tune and improve your stroke and efficiency is through our tailored 121 Video Analysis and Stroke Correction sessions which can be booked at http://www.theteamcore.com/videoanalysis.html It is well worth it! We are fully booked until the 2nd week in February, but please do get your requests in immediately and we'll try our best to get you in asap.

HALF IRONMAN PROGRAM: we have had a good response to the Half Ironman 16 week program and commenced this on Monday 12th January. It is not too late to still join up however, so please submit your interest and take a look at the program (available as an interactive PDF document (8mb) for download after submitting the form) at http://www.theteamcore.com/HIM09.html For those who have registered for the SILVER and GOLD packages, we are just collating all your info and preparing the more detailed schedule for you. We'll also be in touch about payment if you have not yet submitted this at http://www.theteamcore.com/shop.html As usual, if anything in the Program Overview wasn't answered for you already, please just drop me an email or speak with me tonight at the running session (at LAKE MONGER remember...)

Finally, this weekend:

  • Saturday 630am - the HIM group will leave for a steady 2h30 ride from the Bell Tower. Please do your 10-15 mins easy run off the bike once you get home.
  • Saturday 745am - the Rottnest Swim Group will meet at Trigg Tower (again) for a ~8km swim. Please bring your paddler if you have one.
  • Saturday 100pm - squad swim session at Claremont Pool - heaps of fun as usual!
  • Sunday 800am - Swim Thru Perth 4km swim or the Waikiki Enduro Triathlon event in Rockingham. If you plan to do either, please let us know how you got on!

Kind regards

Paul

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
World Class Coaching in Your Language!
Tel. +61 (0) 431 540 980





Monday, January 12, 2009

FULL DETAILS of Half Ironman Program are now here!

Dear Athletes,

Phew! It's been a busy old week! It's amazing how much you come to rely on your computer and when it breaks down just when you need it most (i.e. to write our 2009 Half Ironman Program) it can really throw a spanner in the works! Fret not, the 16-week Half Ironman Program which commences today can now be viewed in all its glory at:


Apologies for the minor delay!

The Program Overview is totally FREE to download and browse through to see if it fits the bill for what you require. We have 3 package options which range from simply using the Program Overview for free and just continuing to use your PAYG card on an adhoc basis, through to our SILVER and GOLD packages which offer much more detail in the session content for those of you who either need a little more guidance or if you will be away traveling a lot or unable to attend as many of the squad sessions as you would like.

Exciting features of the program include: our annual Rottnest Boot Camp on the 3-5th April; a FREE bike maintenance workshop for those of you who need to learn how to look after your bike and perform tasks such as changing a tyre and fixing your brakes; a FREE seminar on making your nutrition plan work for you on race day; the re-introduction of our most-favored session, the Cottesloe Openwater Skills session; and a once monthly feedback and review session for all our registered athletes to keep tabs on how you are all progressing.

"Variety is the spice of life", and for those whom will be completing another run-through of our HIM program with us (and we thank you for your support!) we would like to highlight the changes to the following sessions:

  • Monday evening's cycle session will now commence at 6.15pm from the carpark at the bottom of Reabold Hill. We will use this as our base for the next 16 weeks but shake things up a bit with 4 or 5 varying routes in this locale.
  • Wednesday morning's cycle session will equally follow a similar plan, using the Shelley Loop on our "harder" weeks and then a Magical Mystery Ride on the recovery weeks. Please note that a charge of 1 credit will be introduced from Wednesday 14th January onwards for this session (on the "harder" weeks) owing to the structured coaching nature of the session.
  • Thursday evening's run session will now commence at 6.15pm from the western-most car park on Lake Monger Drive. Again we will use a variety of loops (some measured, some not) to help break-up the monotony of McGilvray Oval and our "not-so-friendly" Groundsman!

So, without further ado, let's get on with the show!

P.S Rottnest Channel Swimmers - don't forget to try and attend the "Eating Your Way to Rottnest" nutritional seminar at 630pm on Tuesday 13th January at 246 Vincent Street, Leederville.

Kind regards

Paul

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
World Class Coaching in Your Language!
Tel. +61 (0) 431 540 980





Thursday, January 8, 2009

Training this weekend

Dear athletes

Please be advised that due to the cancellation of the Cottesloe Swim
on Saturday we have the following sessions available this weekend:

Sat 630am 2.5hr ride into the hills and back. Meet at the Bell Tower
at 630am.

Sat 745am 6km swim from Trigg Beach tower for Rotto swimmers.

Sat 100pm squad swim session at Claremont Pool.

Please also make sure you check your email inbox over the weekend for
details of the Half Ironman program which starts on Monday with a run
down at UWA boatshed carpark at 600am and a cycle session at Reabold
Hill at 600pm.

Kind regards

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
Tel +61431540980
www.swimsmooth.com
www.theteamcore.com
Multisport Coaching in Your Language!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

2009 Half Ironman Program Details to follow!

Dear athletes
 
Its that time of year when many of you will be looking for a new challenge to start the year off with a "bang" or to attempt to better your timing / placing from previous years at this year's Busselton Half Ironman on the 2nd May 2009. Accordingly, we will be running an exciting squad Half Ironman Program which will run for 16 weeks and commence on Monday 12th January.
 
Our normal training program (as per http://www.theteamcore.com/weeklyprogram.html ) resumes this week, Monday 5th January (save for the cycle session this evening), so you may like to use this week to ease your way back into training following the Christmas break.
 
Further details will follow by midweek of the Half program, but some of the features you can expect to see in this state-renowned program will be:
  • the option to continue to use our PAYG payment card for each session you attend and have FREE access to a skeleton template of the squads overall program, indicating generically when and how you should do your sessions. This will be an excellent option for all those who have the opportunity to attend many of the weekly squad sessions and would like to simply follow the majority of the program with direct face-2-face coaching, or for those who feel confident in their own schedule and just need a little guidance here and there.
  • OR the option to pay a monthly fee and receive a more structured / detailed written program tailored specifically for 3 levels of ability which will give those who cannot attend the squad on a regular basis the opportunity to do many of their sessions at a time convenient to them. This option will allow the athlete to attend up to 3 squad sessions per week as part of this monthly fee and access to direct email contact with the coach at times when they cannot attend the squad sessions, i.e. work trip etc.
  • our world-famous "Boot Camp" to Rottnest Island! For details see last year's details at http://www.theteamcore.com/bootcamp.html
  • access to over 15 weekly squad training sessions where you can receive premium face-2-face coaching and guidance with your technique, pacing strategies and nutrition etc from our 2 squad coaches.
  • A superb, fun squad environment that caters for all levels of ability from the first-timer to the elite athlete. For more details please read http://www.theteamcore.com/corevalues.html
To register your interest, please complete the form at the bottom of: http://www.theteamcore.com/futureprograms.html

Kind regards
 
Paul
 
Paul Newsome
Head Coach Swim Smooth & The TEAM CORE
World Class Coaching delivered in YOUR language!
www.swimsmooth.com
www.theteamcore.com
Tel. +61 431 540 980

Friday, January 2, 2009

Both openwater swims cancelled this weekend

Dear swimmers

It is with much regret that I inform you that both the scarboro and
leighton beach openwater swims have been cancelled due to an
unprecedented number of shark sightings recently.

Accordingly a group of us will meet down at the Claremont swimming
pool on both Saturday and Sunday at 8am for 2 x 2 hr swim sessions (or
as much as you want to do). These will be purely non-coached sessions
and I cannot guarantee lane space as I'm sure a good few other rotto
swimmers will be in a similar predicament.

Saturdays 1-2pm squad session will still be running for all those who
prefer a coached session with guaranteed lane space.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Paul Newsome
Head Coach
Tel +61431540980
www.swimsmooth.com
www.theteamcore.com
Multisport Coaching in Your Language!