Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Final Countdown

Dear Athletes

Well, 16 weeks have gone by and the TEAM CORE are fit and raring to go for this Saturday's Half Ironman event in Busselton! It looks set to be a great race with record numbers participating and the weather set to be fine, dry and 25. Perfect.

Many of you will be traveling down either today or tomorrow, so please let us take this opportunity to wish you all the very best of luck on Saturday. Swim Smooth, Bike Strong and Run Like the Wind! We'll be out there supporting you all. We plan to head down at lunchtime on Friday, so if ANYONE has any dramas on the day before the race, please give me a buzz on 0431 540 980 and I'll do my very best to try and help out where I can.

We will have a large blue and white marquee on the side of the course very close to the water bidon exchange on the bike course. This allows us easy viewing for you on the bike and also on the run. We shall have a large TEAM CORE banner posted out front, so you'll know where to find us. This "HQ" is there for your convenience. Please feel free to direct your friends and family to us as a point of reference for your cheer squad and also if you would like somewhere to store your dry warm-up gear as well, this will be fine. Please pop your gear in large black bin liners with a name tag clearly attached.

Myself and Adam will be on hand and floating around the transition are first thing in the morning for anyone who feels they need some assistance with their bike / set-up etc. If we can't help you, we'll find someone who can...so don't be afraid to ask!

It will be too much of a kerfuffle trying to get everyone together before the start of the race, so my suggestion is that you take Thursday as your rest day, on Friday do a light spin of 45 mins to 1 hour, followed by a short shuffle off the bike of ~15 mins. That's it. I wouldn't bother with the organized swim event on the Friday morning if I were you...too much stress - focus your energies on yourself. On Saturday morning, make sure you're up a good 3 hrs before the start-time and get in a good breakfast (but not too much and nothing different from what you've practiced these last few weeks). Drink regularly in the count-down to the event, but again don't panic and overdo this aspect!! Keep some toilet paper with you as well because guaranteed they will run out with all the queues that you can expect to see! Above all, enjoy - soak up the atmosphere and look forward to having a great day. You've done the training, now just get out there and do the job on the day!

So, without further ado, The TEAM CORE would like to wish the following athletes the very best of luck for the event - we'll be cheering you all on out there, so make sure you smile for the camera!

  • Karlee Cannon
  • Helen Buckle
  • Anna Foster
  • Nat Sumner
  • Renee Baker
  • Jessica Huston
  • Carly Innes
  • Julie Kiely
  • Helen Masson
  • Joanna Thomson
  • Jen Newman
  • Lindy Brand
  • Mel Cundy
  • Liza Magennis
  • Sally Scafidi
  • Mel Cooney
  • Melissa Murphy
  • Suzanne Laidlaw
  • Judi Clemie
  • Desiree Silva
  • Gillian Evans
  • Sandy Tindale
  • Mary Tennant
  • Joe Kierath
  • Ben MacKinnon
  • Nathan Jones
  • Daniel Tarbosky
  • Dan Timbers
  • Neil Welsh
  • Gabe Alves
  • Glenn Young
  • Ian Klasens
  • Brett Semler
  • Mark Rayner
  • Chris Swallow
  • Nathan Thomson
  • Stuart Murray
  • Jason Hick
  • Ant Tholet
  • Carl Andrews
  • Glen Blackwell
  • Tim Cooney
  • Matt Illingworth
  • Marius Grobbelaar
  • Matt Biddle
  • Bruce Matthews
  • Mike Bowles
  • Tim Howley
  • Mike Hodgson
  • Dean Turner
  • Rob Newman
  • Chris Murphy
  • Sandy Burt
  • Alan Nicholls
  • David Laidlaw
  • Graham Crocker
  • Jane Day (TEAM)
  • Suzanne Williams (TEAM)
  • Paul Merson (TEAM)
  • Ceinwen Williams (TEAM)
  • Sam Poulson (TEAM)
  • Craig Coleman (TEAM)
  • Julie Meehan (TEAM)



May the Force be with you all!

Yoda

Thursday, April 23, 2009

ANZAC weekend training activities

Dear Athletes

Just to keep you posted on what we have in store this weekend with respect to training etc.

FRIDAY 24th April = all four squad swim sessions (5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am and 9.30am) will be in operation. Focus will be another session on drafting skills and technique with a rather interesting main set utilizing some cool pace awareness tools. All HIM athletes to swim for a max of 45 mins today.

SATURDAY 25th April = meet at 7.30am for a steady & social ride of ~45km incorporating some "non-drafting zone" awareness techniques. Despite it being ANZAC day, the 1.00pm squad swim session will also still be on - come down for some FUN!

SUNDAY 26th April = REST DAY

MONDAY 27th April = 7.00am meet for a 7.15am start of the TEAM CORE "Splash & Dash" training session as detailed in the image above. Suitable for anyone capable and confident of completing what will roughly be 800m to 1200m of ocean swimming and roughly 400m to 1000m of beach running. Should take ~30 mins to complete and is aimed at being FUN and "UNIQUE". Come and give it a try and bring your friends! This will be a FREE session! Please, please, please be aware that there will be other beach users obviously and every care should be taken to sight effectively and avoid collisions! Winner wins a HUGE Anzac Cookie - can't say fairer than that! Wetsuits permitted but not essential. There will be no 9.30am swim today nor a wind trainer session at 6.00pm. Social coffee at Daisies to follow.

TUESDAY 28th April = all squad swims as normal (5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am and 7.00pm). All HIM athletes to swim for a max of 35 to 40 mins today.

WEDNESDAY 29th April = 5.50am steady social ride from Mount Street as usual + 9.30am Time-4-Me swim and 6 to 9pm Taper Time Tapas at 22 Fairfield Street, Mount Hawthorn. Please, please, please let us know if you plan to attend! Partners welcome.

Thursday 30th April = REST DAY - no sessions running!

Friday 1st May = all four squad swim sessions (5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am and 9.30am) will be in operation. HIM athletes to do a short spin on their bikes and a little jog, but NOT come to this session!

Saturday 2nd May = Busselton Half Ironman. Please let us know if you plan to come along and support our +50 athletes as they complete the 1.9km swim + 90km bike + 21.1km run - they need your support! We're going to have a great TEAM atmosphere down there with a marquee tent all set up etc - be good to see you down there!

Sunday 3rd May = REST DAY

Monday 4th May = no sessions in operation (including the 9.30am Time-4-Me session) as we swap over to our new Winter Training Program - full details to follow!

Winter Program:

The following changes will be in effect from Monday 4th May going forwards (a full timetable can be seen at http://www.theteamcore.com/weeklyprogram.html):

1) we will regrettably cancel the 7.30am swim session on a Tuesday and Friday, but encourage those few swimmers who have been attending recently to use the 5.30am or 6.30am sessions over the winter period. Please let us know which session suits you.

2) we are due to be acquiring a 4th lane for the 5.30am and 6.30am Tuesday and Friday sessions, so with the two of us on pool deck that will both provide ample space and the same great level of coaching for you all!

3) we will maintain the Tuesday evening swim session for the month of May and see how the popularity goes with this one. This session will shift to 6.30pm from Tuesday 5th May due to the winter closing timetable of the pool.

Cheers!

Paul

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Memories of the Rotto Swim 2009

Thanks to John Edwards for forwarding this link for an ABC report of the 2009 Rottnest Channel Swim. I'm sure many of our crew will agree with some of the comments and sentiments of the swimmers on the recording battling through the current from Philip Rock. Enjoy:


Cheers

Paul





Monday, April 20, 2009

Has this man no shame?!

Dear Athletes

We all like to start the week off with a bit of a laugh and a giggle and I don't mind burying my head in shame for that purpose this week! LOL! ;-)

A few of the ladies in the Time-4-Me group last week were enquiring about my appearance on the UK TV dating show "Blind Date" back in 2001, and so I thought "what the heck", you might as well all see it...if you want to!

CAUTION: this footage contains a man dressed in a very tight speedo skinsuit, so maybe best watched at home! LOL! ;-)

Enjoy...if you want to!


P.S The footage will only be available until Wednesday, so if you want to watch it, please do so soon!





Saturday, April 18, 2009

Taper Time here we come!!!!

Dear Athletes,

Well, this is it...the end is 'nigh' as they say! 16 weeks of hard work and diligent training and soon you'll be able to really test your prowess down on the Busselton Half Ironman course! I can't wait, it will be so exciting to see so many of you (48 in total) all competing in this event. The TEAM spirit down there will be immense, so let's look forward to these last two weeks to taper down correctly and to start to look positively towards having a great and enjoyable race on the 2nd May! 

We have purchased a large marquee tent for the day where everyone will be able to leave any gear etc and for friends and loved ones to congregate...speaking of which, please nominate any of your 'fam' for the world famous TEAM CORE CHEER SQUAD...we need their help and you do too!

Ok, so this is what we need to look at doing over the next 2 weeks. Here are a couple of quick tips to bare in mind:

  • don't interrupt your normal schedule and routine too much, your body is in a rhythm now and disruption is not great at this point.
  • we'll be reducing volume significantly at this point, but maintaining a sense of intensity, albeit in short bursts - this helps avoid the body becoming all lethargic.
  • sleep and rest well, drink lots of fluid (always have a bottle with you), eat healthily and don't overdo the carbo-loading thing...just by cutting back on the volume you'll start to store more energy by continuing to consume the same amount of food etc.
  • think positive thoughts - this is going to be a GREAT day, you've worked hard and you ARE ready...have confidence in this fact - you're in GREAT shape!
  • read these pointers on PMA (Positive Mental Attitude): http://www.theteamcore.com/mentalfocus.html - they will really come in handy!

Training Plan (please note, this is aimed specifically at the HIM athletes, unless specified otherwise, all sessions are running as normal (http://www.theteamcore.com/weeklyprogram.html) despite suggestions of additional rest days for those doing the race):

MON 20/4 - easy 40 mins run + pedal efficiency session at the Sweat Shack at 6pm

TUE 21/4 - morning or evening squad swim sessions. Steady, aerobic. Focus on technique.

WED 22/4 - 5.50am steady ride with Coach Paul (no charge)

THU 23/4 -  open water skills session at Cottesloe Beach. Meet 6.30am for 6.45am start. 6pm steady run session at McGilvray Oval.

FRI 24/4 - something a little fresh & fruit in the pool!

SAT 25/4 - steady ride of 2hrs. Meeting at the Bell Tower at 7.30am (civilized hours!!)

SUN 26/4 - REST DAY

MON 27/4 - (ANZAC DAY) - 9.30am swim and wind trainer session both cancelled. However, in the style of Good Friday's Handicap Swim, we'll be doing a short "Splash and Dash" down at Cottesloe Beach, meeting at 7am and starting at 7.30am. 800m swim followed by a 4km run - lot's of fun and an Anzac Cookie to be won - WOW!!!!!!!

TUE 28/4 - morning and evening squad sessions as normal. All HIM athletes to swim for a max of 40 mins today!

WED 29/4 - 5.50am steady ride with Coach Paul including a few pick-ups (no charge)

TAPER TIME TAPAS - from 6pm to 9pm BBQ and drinks at 22 Fairfield Street for all HIM athletes. Please, please RSVP! Bring your own meat and alcoholic drinks...nibbles, bread and salad provided. Chance to go over your race tactics one final time and to have a social gathering to get that TEAM spirit fired up! Hope you can make it!

THU 30/4 - REST DAY - openwater swim and run session both cancelled!

FRI 1/5 - easy jog of 15 mins + spin on your bike once down in Busselton. We may look at doing this as a group thing. TBC!

SAT 2/5 - the BIG ONE!

Post 2/5/09 - stay tuned for some VERY exciting new changes to the program to keep you keen over winter, including a specific OD and Long Course World's program for all those who have qualified, and of course the Ironman in December too! There will be no breaks to the schedule for all of those worried about dropping off over the cooler months! The TEAM CORE...where else would you rather be! ;-)

Cheers

Paul





Final Brick Results

Dear Athletes

Another great turn-out for this morning's Final Brick session at Cottesloe Beach! A surprise awaited all the athletes when Coach Paul removed everyone's stopwatches, HRMs, speedos, cadence & power meters prior to the start. The idea was that everyone would complete the 1000m swim + 35km bike + 6km run with no other indication of their pace than their own gut instincts and feel. The results were interesting but HIM predictions should agin be taken with a pinch of salt. All splits and lap times were still recorded and can be viewed now at:


Enjoy!

P.S Details of the final 2 weeks of the HIM program to be posted shortly...watch this space, but for now, have a 'luuverly' day off tomorrow!

Paul








Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Biggest Loser Competition!

Wednesday 15th April Cycle Time Trial Results:
Biggest Loser Competition:


Dear Athletes

Well if you ever questioned whether or not all the blood, sweat and tears you put into your training with The TEAM CORE was worth it, today's cycle time trial results should hopefully prove otherwise!

Good conditions met the cyclists this morning down at our 10.7km Time Trial Circuit in Shelley. Our previous two tests down here were in November 2008 and February 2009, and so for those who had previously tested on this course it was a good gauge of how well they are improving. And improve they did!

Firstly to the results of the actual session. Breaking his own men's course record for the 2nd time was young Joe Kierath who turned just 18 on Monday and has also qualified this week for the World Triathlon Championships later this year in sunny QLD - well done Joe! The ladies record was also smashed by a margin of 28 seconds by Jess Huston, showing fine form to average just over 37 km/h. Nice job Jess!

And then onto the individual improvements...I am very happy to confirm that EVERY single athlete improved on their previous performances on this course! Not bad for a morning's outing! It also helps strengthen the fact that it IS possible AND effective for a diverse range of ability athletes to all train "together" and for ALL to see improvements of equal margin. It is easy to say that for optimal individual results in an individual sport that people should train individually. I beg to differ. As the results of our 6-month "Biggest Loser" competition (above and spreadsheet below) clearly show, athletes at both the "pointy end" of the field and those less experienced are all improving very nicely indeed!


Winning the Biggest Loser competition was Karlee Cannon who has improved her time on this course by an outstanding 16.1%. This equates approximately to an increase in power of a little over 40%*. To put this into perspective, over 6 months if training is going well and you have been consistent, you would hope to typically see power improvements of ~ 10%. As you can see, the majority of the squad have all achieved this, some by a huge margin!

* power can be approximately "guestimated" as the cube of speed, i.e. in order for you to increase your speed by double, you need to increase your power output by 8 times. Obviously factors such as the weather and changes to seating positions and the use of aero-bars etc over one test compared to the next cannot to factored for in such a simplistic view, but you get the idea!

What was also very interesting for those doing the Half Ironman on the 2nd May was the physical and motivational benefit of performing at least the start of this test set in "draft-legal formation", i.e. at least 7m apart. I patrolled the group on my bike to make sure no-one got too close and to help simulate what it will feel like down in Busselton with well over 1,000 triathletes on the course at the same time. By ensuring that no-one got too close to be pinged for drafting, athletes were able to experience exactly what this rule looks and feels like and equally how having someone to chase helped those fairly new to Time Trialling to push themselves a little harder than normal. For some this was quite profound, for others it showed that having someone to chase can be a good thing to start, but equally that this may lead them to push too hard for the run discipline! C'est la vie!

Here are a couple of additional points which I'd like to raise for those doing the HIM in particular. Some of these were questions for me after today's session and I felt them prudent to share with you all:

1) It WILL be crowded out on the bike course. Do NOT get yourself into trouble by getting too close and receiving a drafting penalty as a result (or worse, disqualification!). Your training and effort so far is worth so much more than that!

2) The 7m rule can get very frustrating for those in the middle of the field where it is most busy. Keep a cool head if this is you. Short, sharp bursts to try and "breakaway" are seldom effective and can be very costly for your run leg. Listen to the help and advice of the Draft Busters but do not argue with them...do as they say, it's their final call!

3) Having people to chase can be great, especially when you will be feeling fresh and fruity after a nice taper. As some of you experienced today over only 10.7km though, chasing too hard and above your HIM "perceived pace" will render you useless on the run. This is not a fun place to be. Be careful, pacing is critical as always!

4) If it were me racing, I'd probably do without the heart rate monitor, speedo and the stopwatch come the race day. Why? They can't tell you how you're feeling accurately enough to gauge your intensity correctly. This is why we've done so much work on learning what HIM pace actually FEELS like and what you can comfortably sustain on the swim, bike and run legs. All those hard Brick Sessions were exactly geared around this development of your perception of how hard you can push. Only a power-meter and a cadence meter can really offer you any useful information on race day, and very few of you have a power-meter! Classic example is this: 

Joe Athlete has set himself a target pace of 32km/h on the bike as his goal for hitting 2h50 as a bike split. On the race day its very windy and on an out & back course this means a strong tailwind on the way out and a seemingly stronger headwind on the way back. Does Joe think on the way out that he is pushing himself too hard when his speedo is consistently over 40km/h and therefore ease back to 32km/h, only to find he cannot even hit 24km/h on the way back? This would be a disasterous result, the speedo is therefore useless in this scenario. He would be much better off listening to his body and trusting in the work that he has done so far to know what 6.5 or 7 out of 10 FEELS like.

OR

Jane Athlete thinks that she'll use her stopwatch to keep a track of her lap times on the bike, knowing that this should at least account for variable out & back conditions. However, the wind actually picks up even further over the duration of the ride, such that lap 2 takes 6 minutes longer than lap 1 and lap 3 over 10 minutes longer than lap 2! Is she blowing up? Does she need to pick up the pace and push harder? How does the feeling of falling back on her goals during the race affect her psychologically? Is her race already over? To be frank, who knows! You just cannot effectively pace yourself like this when the environmental conditions are so changeable. 

As highlighted in previous Blogs, whilst we have been very particular about letting you know lap times etc on the Brick Sessions, it is really very difficult (if not impossible) to accurately predict how well you will go or what pace you should try and hold! 

"Use the Force" Young Skywalker!

5) Gear selection can be critical for maintaining a smooth and even cadence. Maintaining this rhythm with your cadence meter is one thing you can accurately control on race day! The cassette / cluster or "cogs on the back wheel" that provide you with gears come in a variety of sizes. Most "off the shelf" clusters are for a variety of riding terrain and will suit an undulating bike course. Busso is not undulating, it's pancake flat! If you find that you have been "searching for gears" whilst riding our Wednesday sessions down at Shelley I'd highly encourage you to speak with Hilton or Matt at Glen Parker Cycle's on Stirling Highway and ask them to show you a "closer-ratio cluster / cassette" for your bike if you feel that on the gears you normally use down at Shelley have a big jump between your two most popular gears. The difference this can make can be quite astounding. Get yours checked first though before you make any changes! Cost will be ~ $150 for the cassette and ~ $40 for a new chain...roughly!

6) It may just be coincidence, but those who actually said they were looking forward to doing the cycle time trial this morning, were those who performed the best. When all is said and done, and you're on that start line on the 2nd May, if you're excited and looking forward positively to having a good race and making the most of your hard work over the last 16 weeks, you will excel. Guaranteed! Do NOT underestimate the value of this! Our job in the last 2 weeks is as much about getting you pumped up and excited about the race as it is about getting you physically rested for the event...however, one can't happen without the other and as such a relaxed taper is what it's all about!

SUMMARY:

So, in a nutshell groovers, we are all tracking in the right direction and everyone is improving nicely! Well done. Let's look forward to a good final two weeks of training and really helping to keep each other motivated and enthused about it all!

Go TEAM CORE!

Paul

P.S Interested in a device that records your swimming sessions?


Rob Newman and Kath McHenry are in the process of developing a device that will track and record your swimming sessions, including stroke rate, lap times, total distance swum etc.  They are interested in your opinion on the device features that you would value most.  If you have a few minutes to spare, please click on the link below to do an online survey and be in the running to win one of the devices when they are released.

 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gdL_2birOzzYnd0cOIL4dH7w_3d_3d



Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Training this Week

Dear Athletes

I hope you had a great Easter weekend and enjoyed some time off with your families and friends!

Just wanted to keep you posted with what's on the "cards" this week with respect to training.

Tuesday (pm) - squad swim at 7pm for those who missed this morning or were away.

Wednesday (am) - cycle session from 5.50am at Bouchard Cafe on Mount Street, Perth. Today's set will be our final little Time Trial (~12km) and a chance to practice some structured "7m is the legal drafting limit" formations which will help you keep out of trouble on race day - highly recommended!

(am) Time 4 Me Swim session at 9.30am.

Thursday (am) - swim session at Cottesloe Beach. Meet 6.30am for a 6.45am start. All welcome. Focus this week will be on confidence in the openwater and good drafting skills.

(pm) - run session at McGilvray Oval from 6pm (meet under the Footy Club Rooms).

Friday (am) - all squad sessions (5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am and 9.30am are operating and available).

Saturday (am) - for those who didn't fancy doing the last race of the triathlon season at Coogee on Sunday (save for the HIM obviously), there's a chance to have one final run-through of a 1000m swim + 35km bike + 6km run (all at HIM pace) "mini" brick session. Meet at 6.45am for a 7.15am start at Cottesloe Beach. All times and lap splits to be recorded as usual - a great way to see where you're at. Friends are welcome (charged at $20 pp).

(pm) squad swim session at 1pm as normal - THE most fun session of the week!

Sunday - REST or Coogee Race

Cheers and hope to see you along to some of these soon!

Paul





Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Friday Handicap Results


Dear Athletes

Our biggest ever turn-out this morning at Cottesloe Beach with 52 swimmers completing our 1.9km Good Friday Handicap Swim. Conditions were excellent and great preparation for those doing the Half Ironman in 3 weeks time. It was great to see so much friendly rivalry down there and TEAM spirit, and I'd like to thank all of you who brought some of the new faces down to the beach for a swim - it was a great morning!

Whilst I both mapped the course on Google Maps with the GPS tool and also walked the course yesterday with a GPS as well, my overall feeling was that the course was slightly short and I'd guestimate that this was in the region of 40 to 50m (so ~ 30" to 70" depending upon your swim speed). Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to see how well everyone is going relative to the others within the group, so well done!

Here are the links to the results (same results - different presentation):




Congratulations to Michelle Wettinger who was first across the line (overall) and to Sylvain Guillame who was the first male across the line (5th overall). Special mention to Dan Fogarty who smoked the course in 25'40" to post the fastest time on the day and to Sally Scafidi who was the fastest lady on the day in a superb 25'56" finish time. Well done everyone!

If you are receiving this email notification for the first time and enjoyed your session with us this morning, why not think about attending one of our many weekly swim, bike and run sessions catering for a wide range of abilities. Full details can be seen at http://www.theteamcore.com/weeklyprogram.html We will soon be announcing our comprehensive Winter Training Program as well - no rest for the wicked here, we go all year long!

Wetsuit Found:

Large Orca Predator with silver panels found on beach after swim. Please call Robin on 0439 965 421 if this is yours - you're lucky!!

Cheers

Paul



Kind regards

Paul

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



Thursday, April 9, 2009

Handicap Swim & Easter


Dear Athletes

Please be reminded that we have the following changes to the training program this weekend, in light of Easter:

THURSDAY (pm) - running at McGilvray Oval 6 / 6.15pm (for next 3 weeks)

FRIDAY (am) - no squad sessions. Handicap Swim (1.9km) at Cottesloe Beach. Meet 6.45am for a 7.15am start (first swimmer). Everyone MUST be at the beach for the very latest of 6.50am in order for us to register you in good time.

SATURDAY (am) easy River Ride. Meet at Bell Tower at 6.45am for a ~55km ride. (pm) no squad swim session.

SUNDAY - REST DAY - eat lots of chocolate!

MONDAY - no sessions running. HIM athletes should do a max of 1h10 run + 1hr easy spin in the afternoon / evening.

TUESDAY - back to normal.

HANDICAP SWIM:

Full details can be viewed on the image below. If you are bringing a friend, please ensure you forward this email to them and ask them to view and know the course before attending. Thanks!


Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Urgent update: Busselton HIM entries to close at midday today!

Dear Athletes

If you haven't yet entered for the Busselton Half Ironman on the 2nd May, but were planning on doing so, make sure you enter immediately (as in "right now") as entries will be closing 12 days early at midday today due to popular demand!

You can enter here:


DON'T MISS OUT!

Finally, if you are anything like me and love funky "music" videos or just something a little bit different, why not check out Mary Tennant's daughter Alex's entry for a current JeansWest competition to Paris. Alex has to show why she loves wearing jeans so much and I think you'll find that her funky little video really shows exceptional video editing talent. The music is by Carla Bruni, entitled La Derniere Minute from album "Quelqu'un M'a Dit". Guaranteed to have you tapping your toes whilst at work! You might even want to vote for her. Here's the clip:


Enjoy!

Paul





Monday, April 6, 2009

Some excellent photos from Rottnest Boot Camp

Dear Athletes

He's done it again! Some simply stunning photos of the Rottnest Boot Camp trip by Adam now viewable at http://www.bornskinny.com/bs111_boot09/index.html

Really, very, very good indeed!

(Damn you Canon! ;-))

Cheers

Paul





Sunday, April 5, 2009

Weekly Round-up











Dear Athletes

We hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the pleasant weather!

GOOD FRIDAY 1.9km OPEN WATER SWIM CHALLENGE 6.45am:

It is Easter this coming weekend, and as such there are a few planned changes to the program that you should be aware of, most notably Friday morning's swim session.

There will be no squad swim session(s) this Friday due to the Public Holiday (5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am or 9.30am), however, never one to let you guys down...we will be running a social, 'non-event' handicap 1.9km swim down at Cottesloe Beach instead. Swimmers will start the swim in small waves with the slower swimmers heading off first. This is open to all our squad swimmers (including the Time-4-Me) group and you may also bring a friend along with you too. We need a couple of volunteer paddlers to assist if anyone is keen? Please email me if you can help out. The first swimmer across the line will win a small Easter surprise - so get moving!

Details - meet at 6:45am on Friday 10th April on the grassy area in front of the pylon at Cott Beach for a 7:15am  first-swimmer start. Please come prepared with an idea of how long 1.9km will take you. The course will be north from Cott Beach for 950m before turning around and heading back. There will be no charge for this swim, but equally it is entirely your own responsibility and risk when partaking. All swimmers will be asked to sign a small waiver to that effect. We hope you can make it!

CHANGES TO TRAINING THIS WEEK / HIM PROGRAM:

All sessions will run as normal (http://www.theteamcore.com/weeklyprogram.html) with the following exceptions:

Monday AM - those who didn't run on Sunday can do up to 1h20 run this morning. PM - wind trainer session in the Sweat Shack at 6 / 6.15pm.

Tuesday AM & PM - all as normal - 5.30am, 6.30am, 7.30am and 7pm squad swims all running.

Wednesday AM - all as normal - please wear your new cycle gear at the session at 5.50am!

Thursday AM - ocean swim at 6.30 / 6.45am at Cottesloe Beach. PM - running now at McGilvray Oval for next 4 weeks 6 / 6.15pm. 

Friday AM - Cottesloe 1.9km swim at 6.45 / 7.15am

Saturday AM - no official Brick Session. Meet at Bell Tower at 7am for a social Easter Saturday ride around the river. I am happy that HIM athletes have done enough on the brick front over the last 3 weeks, and now need an easy ride this Saturday. There will be NO 1pm Squad Swim Session today.

Sunday - REST DAY

Easter Monday - no sessions running. HIM athletes to do a 1h15 steady run + a 1h00 easy ride if possible.

Tuesday 14th April onwards - all sessions as normal.

BOOT CAMP BREAKDOWN:

It was a great weekend enjoyed by all 13 athletes and 2 coaching staff over at the Kingstown Barracks on Rottnest Island. We arrived late on Friday night and quickly had dinner at the newly renovated Rottnest Hotel - very nice indeed! On the Saturday morning we had our brick session in fine (but windy) conditions (more on this below). Shortly after the session, Paul was handcuffed and faced eviction from the island by the Rottnest Island authority* for apparently not having warned them in advance that we would be over doing the session (despite several months of written communication to the contrary). Paul was soon released and sent on his merry way when they realized that our gang weren't the hooligans that they were initially believed to be! This was just in time for an ocean swim technique session in the afternoon and finishing up with Taper Time Tapas at the Rottnest Hotel. Next morning we had the choice of a bike, run or just a coffee from the Dome (!) before heading back on the 11am ferry. It was a great weekend and everyone showed a great amount of Composure during the brick despite of the variable course / conditions, Consistency on their lap splits and an excellent sense of Camaraderie - which is exactly what training with The TEAM CORE is all about. Well done chaps - we had a blast!

* this is of course "tongue in cheek" - we'd like to thank the Rottnest Island Authority for their help and support following explanation of the session to the Head Ranger later that day.

BRICK SESSION RESULTS:

The brick session was due to be 1500m swim + 85 km ride + 12km run. The swim was incredibly rough and tough going into the rising sun and made sighting very difficult. Upon analysis and re-calculation it appears that the swim was also 200m short and pace times have been adjusted accordingly. 

A few of the Team got lost on the bike course (and as such rode shorter laps - albeit very consistently!) and the overall distance was 3km further than originally planned at a nice total of 88km. It was also very windy on parts of the course which slowed the riders considerably. 

On the run it was hot, hot, hot and a run-in with the Rottnest Ranger over marking the course with three removal red cones resulted in variable lap distances for some of the earlier runners, but as pointed out by Judi, it was still a great session and the chance to string together a considerable swim, bike and run session over a challenging (yet scenic course). 

Times weren't fast overall and again we see drops in the overall "HIM Guestimates" from the previous 2 weeks, however, having now done 3 of these sessions in a row, athletes are well ready for some R&R and to look positively forward to a well-rested, windless (?!) race down in Busselton on the 2nd May. Well done Team!

Full lap times / splits can be viewed now at http://www.swimsmooth.com/Documents/brick_3.xls

NB. Please ignore any notes that pop up above your name saying "DNF - time inputted to help calculate predicted HIM time" as these were from last week!

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Swim Improvement (including re-calculation for a 1300m course):

Carl Andrews - averaging 1:29 / 100m on the swim

Judi Clemie - averaging 1:43 / 100m on the swim

Helen Buckle - averaging 1:43 / 100m on the swim

Desiree de Silva - averaging 1:53 / 100m on the swim

Mary Tennant - averaging 2:04 / 100m on the swim

Anna Foster - averaging 2:05 / 100m on the swim

Transition Improvement:

Caitlin Hunt - down from 10:08 to 9:08 including a mechanical...still some work to do ;-)

Composure from swim to bike:

Helen Masson

Sub-60s Lap Consistency on the bike:

Helen Buckle - 34s
Judi Clemie - 35s
Mel Cundy - 44s

Sub-60s Lap Consistency on the run:

Jo Thomson - 53s

Run Improvement:

Nathan Thomson - averaging 5:39/km

Keen-as-mustard on the run:

Renee Baker - doing an extra 3km run to make it 15km off the bike!!

Cheers

Paul







Friday, April 3, 2009

New Team Kit has Arrived!


Dear Athletes,

It's arrived, it's arrived, it's arrived! The funky new Team Core cycle kit has arrived and will be available for collection at the Rottnest Boot Camp this weekend. If you have ordered some gear but are not travelling over to Rotto, you can collect your between 11am and 2pm on Monday 6th April from 22 Fairfield Street, Mount Hawthorn, or email paul@theteamcore.com and request collection at one of the training sessions next week. 

We obviously bought a few spares and so if you would like to order some now that it has arrived, please visit http://www.theteamcore.com/teamkit.html to purchase yours:

Jersey = $95
Shorts = $100
OR both together for an awesome $175

We have the following sizes left:

WOMEN'S JERSEYS

2 x Small, 1 x Medium, 1 x Large, 1 x XLarge

WOMEN'S SHORTS

1 x Small (bibbed), 1 x Large (non-bib), 1 x XLarge (non-bib)

MEN'S JERSEYS:

1 x Small, 2 x Medium, 1 x Large, 1 x XLarge, 2 x XXLarge

MEN'S SHORTS:

3 x Medium ( 2 bibbed & 1 non-bibbed), 1 x Large (bibbed), 2 x XLarge (1 of each), 1 x XXLarge (non-bibbed) 


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Stop Press - we have a coach for Saturday!

Dear Athletes

Please be advised that we have managed to secure the expert coaching skills of none other than Ceinwen Williams (Rotto solo swimmer extraordinaire) for this Saturday's squad swim session at Claremont Pool from 1 to 2pm...so if I had scared you off thinking that there was no point coming down without a coach, please let me apologize - Ceinwen knows how to crack the whip and also offer excellent stroke advice too! 

Hope you can make it!

Cheers

Paul





Boot Camp Full Details Ready for Download

Dear Athletes

Please be advised that if you are attending this weekend's fabulous Boot Camp on Rottnest Island, full details can be found here:


...and if you're not attending, why not check it out and see what you could be up to next time round!

P.S This Saturday we will maintain our lane booking at Claremont Pool from 1 to 2pm and I shall write a session on the board for you to complete. Unfortunately we have been unable to get anyone to coach this session this weekend due to other commitments etc. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Paul







Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ocean Swims this Week

Dear Athletes

Just a quick reminder that we have two ocean swims available to you this week:

  • Thursday 6.30am for a 6.45am in-the-water start at Cottesloe Beach. Finished by 7.30am. This will run for the next 5 weeks.
  • Friday 9.30am for a 9.45am in-the-water start at Cottesloe Beach. Finished by 10.30am. Please note, this session replaces the Time-4-Me session at Claremont Pool. This is a one-off, owing to one final clash with a carnival on Friday. Session resumes as normal next week.

Both swims meet on the grass bank in front of the pylon to the north side of the Indianna Tea Rooms. You can expect to learn / do the following:

  • sighting technique
  • drafting
  • ins and outs
  • a little bit of running (optional)
  • lots of fun
  • team sprints

Cost is just one tick on your session card or $15 casual rate. Wetsuits are not compulsory.

Cheers - hope to see you there!

Paul