Tri-Planet 2011, 8 week Spring Triathlon Boot Camp (Dublin City, Dublin South & Limerick) 28th March to 21st May – Now Open for Booking

Our Triathlon Boot Camps include:-

- 8 Week Training Programme

Boot campers ready to race

A complete 8 week Triathlon training prrogramme with group and online club session designed for newbies and imporvers

- 24 Coached Sessions

Qualified Triathlon Coaches will deliver up to 24 organised group training sessions designed to get you fit and ready to race at the end of thw 8 weeks.

- Get to Race -

(Galway Triathlon – Spiddal is the Target Race for the Spring Camps)

We design the 8 week training programme to finish with a Sprint distance Triathlon.

- Race Entry Discount

Save 10% on race Enrty to Galway Triathlon – Spiddal

- Fun & Friends

Enjoy taking part in group training sessions with lke minded people, find training partners of your level and have a rewarding drink with new friends at the post race party.

- Get Fit

You are guaranteed to get fit on this 8 week training programme. You will also learn about nutrion and lose eight along the way.

The Tri-Planet Coaches

Rich Cattle (Tri-Planet)

Richard Cattle (Dublin)

In 2007 Richard was selected to represent Ireland in the World Triathlon Championships Age Group in Hamburg and has also been selected for The European Championships in Athlone and for the World Championships in Budapest 2010. Richard is a BTF level 1 certified Triathlon coach.

Mark Dempsey (Limerick)

Mark Dempsey (Tri-Planet) with two time olympic medailst Simon Whitfield

Mark Dempsey is an ITU comptetitive coach, as well as an IASA swim coach, level 2 athletics coach and British Cycling road racing and time trial Coach.

Mark’s experience in Triathlon goes back 2 decades. Mark started triathlon as a junior and schools triathlete, and he has also raced national. international and elite races.

Cost €249 (for 24 coached sessions – that’s work out at only €10 per session)

SAVE 10% if you register now – Early Bird Discount – €219

Peter Kern in action at the Runways Duathlon

pb3 athletes enjoyed great success in 2010 with three Irish titles and various international age group medals at european and world, showing that the pb3 programme is achieving ever-improving personal bests.  The training camps will further foster growth and improvement among all levels in the sport in Ireland in 2011!

See below for details of these camps and other forthcoming camps in the pipeline ….

Your pb3 and Ireland’s leading triathlon coach,

Peter Kern

is delighted to announce

new Triathlon Training Camps

in March:

Ballyduff I (Waterford) – triathlon camp specialising in swimming

Limerick – duathlon camp in preparation for European Duathlon Championship

and in April:

Sicily – triathlon camp in the footsteps of Mount Etna

Ballyduff II (Waterford) – triathlon camp specialising in swimming

Check out our website for more information on these camps

and on our various coaching options designed to help you achieve your personal best!

www.pb3coaching.com

These camps are only the first of other other training camps to be held in 2011 -
message us to express your interest even if these dates do not suit – info@pb3coaching.com

All athletes are welcome with discount offered to athletes already registered as pb3 clients and we also offer discounts for any triathlon club bookings

NEWS UPDATE – REGRETTABLY DUE TO INSTABILITY IN THE REGION THE MOROCCO CAMP IN MARCH IS BEING POSTPONED TILL NOVEMBER 19TH-26TH

Success and your PB is our mission ….
pb3 coaching has the know how and passion to push your limits …. interested?

Injury

One of the biggest concern’s facing all triathletes is injury.

Are you avoiding knee injury?

This may present in the form of muscle tears, stress fractures or many other injury types, but regardless of the injury type, its bad news. Avoidance is to be priority. Many seasons and careers have been ruined by injury; Grant Hill, one of the best basketball players of this era lost many of his prime years to injury, Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo perhaps never got the recognition for the great player he was as he couldn stay uninjured, while rugby player Johnny Wilkinson has suffered from constant reoccurring injuries. These athletes have available to them the best of sports medicine and more than enough in the way of finances to solve these injuries, yet still lost large amounts of their career to injury. Triathlon Ireland president Mark Riseley has raced in the Hawaii Ironman, the highest level of triathlon but said things didn’t go as he planned not because he over-trained, but because he under-recovered. Training is telling the body what you want it to do (improve, progress) but it is not until the body is at rest does it carry out these instructions. Being that triathletes are often called A-type personalities, we have a habit of having a poor work to rest ratio. So in short, train hard, rest harder.

Favouritism

Danny on the Bike in the Phoenix Park Duathlon

One of the most common mistakes made by triathletes is favouritism. In the 2010 Hawaii Ironman, mega-swimmer Andy Potts came out of the water with a comfortable lead of 3 minutes over the main players. This lead was gone by mile 15 of the 112 mile bike. Chris Lieto the mega-biker had a lead of 7 minutes over eventual winner Chris McCormack, but didn’t even manage a top 10. Pete Jacobs had the fastest run of the day, but was over 12 minutes behind Macca at the end. Each triathlete, whether at the top of the game in Kona, or racing locally should ask themselves how they can improve their overall performance the most. A swim, bike and run split does not matter, it is the combination of these at the end of the race that matters most. If you can swim 750m in 11 minutes but can’t break 25minutes for a 5k run, the large amount of hours that it takes to become a 10.30 swimmer would be better off spent wearing your runners.

Misinformation

In Brad Kearns book ‘Breakthrough Triathlon Training’ he refers to speed training as having little benefit. This however contradicts the findings of most recent sports science literature. VO2 (aerobic capacity) is one of the 3 major limiters of performance for endurance athletes. Most available research has found that to substantially increase VO2, training between 90-110% of VO2 MAX is necessary. What the hell does that mean? It means hard intervals increase VO2 MAX most substantially. Although Kearn’s book is interesting and worth a read, a lot is based on personal experience and as he was a long distance pro he writing reflects his own experience. However as a much larger amount of people will race shorter races, many of his theories are very flawed. Training programmes and sessions should never be based on opinions of just one person. If you choose to do a programme or sessions that is outside of the norm, make sure you are not being led astray.

Specificity

Playing flute does not make you a great guitarist. This is obvious. Yet in the fight to be great triathlete we swim mostly in a pool? A swimming pool is a fantastic way to swim. It’s the perfect way to tackle technique issues and to measure improvements made. But come June, July and August when you’re swimming 1700m in a 1500m swim, those few seconds per hundred you trained so hard to gain go out the window. I can vouch for this. Getting out into the open water, getting used to being in a pack of swimmers, being offshore, wearing a wetsuit, sighting and drafting are a better time investment then yet another set of 10-20 by 100m in the pool. Preseason training should be done predominantly in the pool, but don’t make the mistakes I did in my first triathlon. At Triathy, I had only been in open water twice. After consuming some of the lovely River Barrow at the start, I swam the rest head out of the water. Thank god it was downstream!

Eh Health!?

High Intensity training increases likelihood of URTI (upper respiratory tract infection). If you feel off and you think your immune system might not be at its best, take time off (or at least keep the training intensity low). This is Ireland, it is very cold for a lot of the year. It is not worth training so hard in January that you don’t get February and March.

Train as you intend to race

There is a principle in sports science that states the body will make Specific Adaption’s To Imposed Demands (the SAID principle). This is part of the reason strongly built muscular triathletes, even those with good technique, can be embarrassed by 12 year old string-armed swimmers. If you want to race competitively as an Olympic distance triathlete in non drafting triathlons, get used to time trialling. Developing general bike fitness should be followed in the preseason with race specific efforts. Don’t expect that easy intensity 80k cycles will be enough to put out a cracking 40k tri-time trial. Fast runners often cannot harness their strength on the run as the bike leg takes too much out of them, so get used to doing bike to run sessions (bricks) to be able to run on tired legs. If you are having multi-session days it is worth putting them in the order they will appear in your next race.

Psychological approach

Psychological approach!!!!

There is no shortage of athletes who have spent time racing competitively only to become burnt out and never return. One of the all-time great swimmers Ian Thorpe, lost motivation and retired at the age of 24. Haile Gebresellassie, one of the greatest runner of all time has a number of times gone into retirement only to quickly reverse the decision. Motivation should always be to better oneself and the love of the sport. Remember each time you train why you are in the sport.

Happy Training.

Danny Roe.

.

Responce by Peter Kern (PB-coaching) highlighting how you often race to your strengths, even though you need to train to your weakness.

“Dear Editor,

I just read an interesting  article  posted  on  your website

- Common mistakes made in pre season training-

in this article the author expressed some interesting views.

We all know here is many ways to go to  Rome, but I feel like it might be interesting to give a different point of view, that focuses more on monitoring and analyzing performance rather than coaching doctrines.  Realizing with the limited length o the article the author had to jump to conclusions.

Firstly, the author speaks of favorism. I could not agree more with him that triathlon is about the right balance in all 3 sports . Unfortunately I believe the examples he used do not do justice to the mentioned athletes,at all.

Andy Pots has a huge swimming  background-most likely one of the to 10 fastest swimmer ever to have entered triathlon- for him to swim the times, he swam does, requires very little swim training, and it helps his main sponsor immensely to be in the front out of the water, and he manged to stay out of the rush out of T1 where many contender obtained  blocking or drafting  penalties.

Chris Lieto who has made huge sacrifices to improve his  running after his 2nd place 2009! ( i personally would question that it was a good decision by him to change to forefoot running in 2010 but thats a completely different subject)

Pete Jacobs obtained a blocking penalty at the beginning of the bike and lost contact to the leading group. after a 4 min penalty stop, In normal circumstances it,s fair to assume that he would have done  fine,in the Craig Alexander group. And I think we all  remember his slower run splits not many years ago.

None of those 3 athletes favored one sport and especially, if you look at  Petes jacobs progress one might even go that far to suggest  that Pete  might have neglected his favorite discipline this year and he could have avoided being in the scramble of the first miles on the bike and avoid the blocking penalty had he trained more swimming to stay with andy pots in the swim… pete is naturally strongest at swimming.Besides lets not forget  there was other 20 athletes who did not achieve their goal.

The reason I felt like to elaborate on this point-when it doesn’t make his main argument wrong- is that  many, athletes and coaches, change their training completely based on ONE race performance before proper analyzing, where did I/the go right and where did I/they go wrong, and generally we are always where quick to  say X Y Z did this and thats  why he won at lost , rather than  looking at the bigger  picture.

Triathlon is not rocket science,but at the same time its very important to analyze in depth what causes what and how swim,bike,run performances are related, to talent, training, and race day tactics,and  sometimes even a  bit of luck, before one can make a judgment about an individual athlete.

After all Andy Pots won his first 2 Ironman races, ever, in 2010……….

With his run Pete Jacobs has certainly gained respect amongst his peers,and sponsors…..

Misinformation vs train as you intend to race.

I Believe the author makes valuable points in the train as you intend to race paragraph that also mostly correspond with  the paragraph about health and  injury.

.Personally, I fail to understand in his misinformation paragraph,why he stresses the importance of Vo2 training  and disagrees with the book  author, when most beginner and intermediate Triathletes tend to race an  Olympic distance in a similar intensity than pros race IM(in fact i notice  more chatting in age group Olympic racing than during IM  pro racing ……)

I do not wish to enter and argument weather Vo2 training is in the top 3 most important factors of performance. I prefer to focus on, that this very much depends on the, level, fitness,years in the sport(or sport background), age,physiology and race distance of an triathlete.  Fact is an  elite oly  triathlete will race at much higher intensity than an intermediate oly triathlete, who in a proper paced race dosnt mot enter the red zone and therefore,it would be more important, for esp  beginner and intermediate ADULT athletes to focus, more to push their 2nd deflection point up, or their FTP (ie push the intensity percentage up, before  they enter the red zone) rather than focus on max speed when they are not  fit. Ater all triathlon is an endurance sport and not a5 k run race.

Even in elite Trithlon one could argue that for an athlete like Tim Don, who has one of the fastest 3k race PB,s ever run by a triathlete, but has a bit struggled to  hold the constantly  faster pace over 10k lately, Vo2 sessions would not necessarily  in the top 3 most important aspects of training (i believe he did less intensive interval work, in 2010..and won the race with the highest  price money in  2010). While one could argue that Javier Gomez,who has probably the biggest engine in Tri ,has his vo2 as one of his limiter besides just not having the kick that some Itu athletes have.

What i am trying to point out is, The devil is in the detail and its hard to generalize,.what’s most important for whom, and here we are talking about athletes that train in the whereabouts of 30 hours a week and have an extremely high level of fitness and are amongst the very  best triathletes in the world.

For the more average athlete I think the authors point to, train as you race  would make more sense for the majority of athletes. More focus on tempo sessions tend to give the majority of age group triathletes better value. Note, I do not say that there is no place for Vo2 training but especially for the improving athlete its more the icing on the cake rather than a bread and butter exercise. Certainly , If we talk about the more  traditional periodisation .  and of course thats also depends on the discipline….

Generally, i do observe too much flat out run intervals in Age group triathlon in Ireland.

I have  coached athletes that  respond well to a more high intensity approach and i have coached athletes that respond better to an  more endurance focused approach, and there is  many  factors that depend on what suits whom. However, its  a  quite normal that 8,5-9 out of 10 Ironman I coach, become also faster over the Olympic distance and only the once that have already reached a  pretty high level before they decide to approach an IM tend to slow down a bit.

Overall, one size does not fit all is I guess what I am trying to say. or in other words you can never say what works for one has to work for the other.  Different athletes have different needs,  and often you have to make the best of what you have. Thats why coaching is a  mix of art and science, especially  with athletes  that enter the  sport at  later  stages  of their  life, which is  very  common in triathlon.  At the end of the day, it does not depend that much on trainings doctrines it depends on results, so if it is successful its right, results are the ultimate test what works and what not,but we  can not just judge 1 race or even just 1 season. I think the  only  point science, coaches and athletes  all  agree  on is athletes are not built in one day and it takes many years to reach your peak, and there is  not  shortcuts.

yours  in sport

peter kern”

.

Please feel free to add more comments below.

Coach Dave Lonnen has been running for over 30 years and has run 14.20 for 5k, 29.20 for 10k and 65 mins for half marathon.  He has been coaching for the last 10 years and has been competing in Duathlons and Triathlons in Ireland for the last 5 years.  Dave provides personalised running programmes for triathletes and runners of all standards and can be contacted at: davelonnen@runcoaching.co.uk or on Facebook at ‘Running Coach’ for free tips and advice.

Introduction

Dave pacing out intervals on the track

Before you embark on a winter programme to improve your running, it is important to establish where you are now. A good indicator of this is to determine your current racing threshold pace. For example if your last 10k was run in 40.30 then your average mile pace was 6.30, this is your current threshold racing pace.  If  you were to increase your tempo to say 5.45 per mile during the race, you would be exceeding your threshold and quickly fall into oxygen debt. (most of us have experienced this feeling – commonly known as blowing up !)  So the training goal is to improve your threshold pace by over stressing your body for short periods of time, with reps much shorter than race distance, but quicker than your average mile race pace. (Interval Running).

Threshold and Heart Rate (HR)

If you would rather work on heart rate as opposed to pace per mile then the general formula is 90% of your theoretical max HR. For example a male aged 40:

Theoretical max HR = 220 Beats per Minute (Bpm) – 40(age) = 180 Bpm -10%

=162 Bpm –  threshold HR

With your threshold pace/HR established, you can then work out the times you need to be running in your intervals. The idea is to gradually teach the body to cope with a faster cruising speed, and subsequently a faster threshold racing pace.   The fitter and more efficient your body becomes, the faster you can run, for longer, with the same heart rate.

Intervals

As I have already mentioned, an effective way to develop a higher threshold tolerance and ability to hold an increase  in pace, is to break the 10k down into manageable repetitions or interval runs and to run them quicker than your current race pace.  As a rough guide, in the spring and summer, triathlete 10k runners should aim to cover a total of approximately 75/% of the race distance during an interval set, i.e.: 8/10 x 800m or 4/5 x 1 mile.  In the winter months you should be trying to build up base endurance, so you will be aiming for up to 90/100% of the race distance. For example, 12 x 800m, 10 x 1k or 6 x 1 mile.

You should be aiming to complete your winter interval sessions at 20-30 secs faster than your current average race pace per mile, or slightly higher than your current threshold HR. Remember it is not important to worry too much about flat out speed this time of the year, try to concentrate on endurance by keeping your volume high, and times even. Running your reps a little slower for the first few weeks to keep them even paced, is a good way to start and too learn pace judgement.

The longer interval sessions are stressfull and should not be completed more than once a week.  I prefer to do the long interval sessions on a Monday and shorter faster intervals on grass on a Thursday, but whatever you choose, try to be consistent in your training over the winter months, as this is a vital ingredient for improvement.

Mileage

To avoid stress related injuries, it is important not to increase the volume covered in interval sessions and the distance of steady runs at the same time. Do not increase your total weekly mileage or single runs by more than between 5-10% a week.  Allow 4-6 weeks to get used to longer intervals and then start to add a couple of miles to the steady runs.  If you keep training through tiredness or a minor injury, you may end up having to take weeks off anyway, when the niggle turns into a serious injury.

Rest and easy training between hard runs is the best way to improve. To train hard on the key interval days, you need to be fresh!!

Your body needs time to adapt to the increased workload.  No rest and training hard, hard, hard, is a guaranteed way to get injured!

Long Slow Distance (LSD)

Some people love it, some people hate it. Personally, and this is only based on my own experience….I much prefer to do my Sunday runs at a steady pace…so instead of 20 miles at  2 min per mile slower than race pace, I prefer to do15 miles at approx 1 min slower than race pace. This obviously depends on tiredness from the previous weeks training or a heavy bike session on the Saturday, but the message is try not to train yourself to run too slow or else you may just become an expert at it!  The quicker tempo may be tough at the start but you will soon adapt to it.

Winter Example 1: Current pb of 43 min for 10km (aiming to run sub 40min).

Mon                             2m warm/2m w down. 6 x 1km in  3.50  with 90 secs jog  recov (or 4 x 1mile in 6.15/20 with 90 secs jog recov)

Wed                            6/7 mile steady run approx  7.15/30 mile pace

Thurs                           2m warm up/2m warm down.   Pyramid set of  2 mins, 90 secs, 1 min, 30 sec. 1 min jog  recovery between runs. 2 min jog between sets. Repeat set 4 times. total 20 mins of intervals.

Or 5 x 2mins steady then10 x 1 min hard, 1 min recov between runs.

Sat or Sun                   10/12mile steady run  7.30 pace

Total 30-35 miles

Winter Example 2:    Current pb of  40 min for 10 k (aiming to run 38 min)

Mon                             2m warm up/2m warm down.  8 x 1k in 3.40 with 90 sec jog recov (or 5 x 1mile in 5.50 with 90 secs recov).

Wed                            8m steady  6.45 – 7 min mile pace.

Thurs                           2m warmup/2m warm down.   Set 1 – 3 x 3 min,  Set 2 – 4 x 2 min,  Set 3 – 5 x 1 min.  On grass if poss. 60 secs jog between all runs. Increase pace in set 2 and again in set 3.

Fri                                5m easy recovery run.

Intro

The swim part of triathlon is generally the most feared of the three sports. It needn’t be. With practice and determination, you can get comfortable and faster.

There are two main ways to improve your speed in the water; decrease resistance and increase propulsion. The drills and skills listed in these articles will target both of these areas.

Article 1 Body Position

First off we will look at body position. The most common body position faults I see in triathletes are poor horizontal alignment (head to feet) and poor lateral alignment (left to right).

In order for the body to be horizontally aligned it should be almost flat on the water.

Aim for:

• A natural head position
• A reasonably straight back
• Hips just below the surface of the water
• Long extended legs
• A narrow kick (kick should be within body depth)

Lateral alignment means the body follows and stays between shoulders

Aim for:

• Arm entry in front of shoulder straight ahead
• Recover the arm close to the body with elbow high and hand low
• Hips rotating in line with shoulders throughout the stroke (no snaking zigzag movements)
• Steady head

Practice drills

Streamlined kicking

• Lie on your front with arms outstretched
• Kick legs from hips with pointed toes
• Keep kick within body depth
• Lift head to breath

Kick on side (Improve core strength and body control)

• Lie on right side of your body with right arm extended, left by your side
• Kick as normal (keep within your body depth)
• Keep hips in line with shoulders
• Roll further to breath when needed
• Practice this drill on both sides

Single arm swimming (Body control with affects of arm stroke)

• Begin swimming as normal and leave one arm static in front (avoid waving for balance)
• Stroke slowly and concentrate on smooth pull, relaxed recovery and entry point
• Ensure hand never crosses the centre line of the body at any point in the stroke

Always remember that what feels like a big change in the water is usually only a very small difference.

“Let me first congratulate the entire Scottish organisation /the race organisers and the British triathlon Association for hosting a great race and showing us a great time.

This event was one of the hardest Duathlon experienced by any athlete this year. The race organisers managed to draw athletes from as far away as Japan, USA, Canada and Australia, but don’t forget the Europeans, British and Irish Teams who excelled in the event. The British team consisted of around 260 or so athletes with the Irish having the biggest team so far that I have seen at a major race 50 in total. The race lived up to all expectations with a field totalling 800 plus in all categories (Elite, Under 23, Vet, juniors and Para Duathletes in all categories)

This was the first time that Triathlon Ireland has sent a team of Para Duathletes to this event , Catherine , Fran and Enda made us proud , Enda competed in the T3 and Catherine and Fran competed on a tandem in the T 3 cat ,what a sight guys They used the term the Emerald Express on the day and yes you guessed it they didn’t just cycle faster that the ladies , they managed to come in second overall faster bike split on the day , what a result this helped them keep the British team at bay , they just sat in on the run and fired up the engines for the bike section, putting 4 minutes between the and second place , I would watch these girls for the future, Not forgetting Fran who mis counted on the last bike lap , he could have medalled but for a small over sight on his part , what out Spain 2011 for both athletes.

The Conditions for racing on the Friday and Saturday were great, however the wind picked up on the second half of the day on Saturday, and the Elites had to contend with the wind on Saturday morning, this was hard work on the bike for the leaders and also the athletes that were looking to get into the main bunch. The event organiser even when as far as to ban Tri and disc wheels up to 1 hours start for all of the Age Groupers. “We came, we saw and we conquered the mighty chair”

This event was for the mighty, the tough and the strong all would bow to the Chair or so it was called.

The Age Group Race was run in waves all starting around 8 O clock with 1 hr intervals between each start , First the men’s 20 M18s-29 & M55-59 followed by the women’s F55 class & M60 a further hour later , then the ladies 10.15 ( F18/39) the racing finished with the final wave at 15.30 M40-45. What a sight at the start watching everybody huddled together prior to the horn waiting for that moment to say I raced for my country in the World champs.

The course was different to the Europeans which was held in 2007, it started at the rear of the parliament building and the run consisted of an out and back course this allowed the spectators to have a great view of the runners on the course , the first run consisted of a 4 loop course , 2.5 km per lap this was not for the faith hearted , the run was flat for approx 500 meters and then gradually climbed to a height of 245 feet , slow and hard believe me I did it and it was not one of those courses that you could get a PB on.

The total distance for the age groupers was 10 km run, 41 km bike and 5 km run we had a total of 50 competitors from all area of the globe competing for there country (Gerry Deegan /Sheila Power from US, they had travelled a long way with family in tow to race with the best of the best and prove that they were the able to mix it up with them.

Eamonn Tilley with two of his athletes; Eilis Connery (IRL) and Danielle Stewart (GRB)

Leading home Irish charge was the Kelly Anne Speight in the 20-24 category and what a performance she put in, her experience in hilly running stood to her as shepicked her way through the athletes ahead of her one by one, our second medal came from a Carlow based athlete Eilis Connery in 25-29 category both young ladies took bronze medals, Ellis has been sent the wrong way, she was currently lying in 6th place on the 1st run on the second lap she was down to 30th position what a costly error, this was done by an official and this cost her dearly (silver medal). She ran the race of her life to catch and over take 20 athletes on the run and then one by one worked her way through the biking field to finish 3rd in her age group this equalled the performance put in by the Para Team of Catherine and Fran.

We had some great performances from Ann Paul she just missed out on a medal by 28 seconds, Anne I felt your pain; you deserved that medal with all the work that you put in.

What she lacks in height she gains in speed what an athlete (Ann Paul)

Not forgetting Paul Carroll who finished in 40 to 45 cat in 4th position to name few. we has a lot of experienced Irish athletes that put in some great results and the showed us that if you train hard you can achieve you goals , firstly by representing your country and secondly finishing in top 10 or even better in the medals. Well done to the women and men in sport for Ireland.( Gavin Crawford, Rory Mc Quire, Bronagh ni Bhriain, Cathy Wyse, Sheila Power to name a few )

The bike course was very technical in some spots some of the bends were quite difficult to manoeuvre yes there were some spills on the day and you will need to have nerves of steel descending down the hills of Hollyrood Park at a top speed of 60/70 Kmph, good luck to you. The distance for the age groupers was 41.6 km In total there was 5 laps, each lap got harder and harder as you started to run out of energy, be aware that like the run this wasn’t a flat and easy course most of the athletes has chose to use there road bike which allowed them to descend quickly and take the corners at speed , the wind started picking up on Saturday afternoon this didn’t make life easy for the Athletes that weren’t racing in the afternoon , they had both the hills and now the wind to contend with , yes it was tough out there the course did take some prisoners but thankfully it wasn’t the Irish this day out.

Ladies Elite result

The Ladies elite race was won from the gun by Catriona Morrison (GB) coming home to take the honours,

Emer Mullen represented Ireland in the women’s field and yes she gave it her all, the final lap of the first run got to her and she paid the price for a gallant effort in trying to stay with the pack on the day. She worked hard with a small group of 4 athletes and managed to catch one or two ahead of her, she finished 11th overall which was an outstanding result for her first elite Duathlon. She also had her Mum and Dad shouting and supporting her from the sidelines as did all of the Irish team.

Age group team

Kelly-Anne Speight F 20-24

Eilis Connery F 25-29

Fiona Stephenson F 25-29

Caroline Coulter F 25-29

Bronagh Ni Bhriain F 30-34

Sarah Lane F 30-34

Judith Lowry F 30-34

Cathy Wyse F 35-39

Fionnuala Ni Bhradaigh F 35-39

Anne Paul F 45-49

Marie Therese Speight F 50-54

Sheila Power F 50-54

Eoin Fitzpatrick M 20-24

Ian Richardson M 20-24

Kevin Donagher M 25-29

Owen O’Neill M 25-29

Mairtin Grealish M 25-29

Desi Foley M 25-29

Rory Maguire M 25-29

Edward O’Donoghue M 30-34

Paul McIntyre M 30-34

Neil O’Grady M 30-34

Gavin Crawford M 30-34

Michael Black M 30-34

Thomas Leitch M 35-39

William Byrne M 35-39

Kenny Curran M 35-39

Philip Nolan M 35-39

Colin Porter M 35-39

Robert Fowler M 35-39

Adrian Callaghan M 35-39

Senan O’Dwyer M 35-39

Stephen Harkens M 40-44

Rodney Young M 40-44

Dan Cahill M 40-44

Rolf Power M 40-44

Paul Carroll M 40-44

Stephen Hoey M 40-44

Eamonn Tilley M 40-44

Gerard Deegan M 40-44

Ian O’Neill M 45-49

Marc O’Dwyer M 45-49

Stephen McAlister M 45-49

Charles McGilligan M 45-49

Philip Cullen M 45-49

Dave Quirk M 45-49

Noel Brady M 50-54

John Mc Carthy M 55-59

Well done these fine athletes who by my account gave it there best shot, for me there Team Manager, , and for there country. The support was fantastic on the day , all of the athletes that were racing finished there race and then came back to help and support the athletes that were about to enter into the lions den, Yes I was one of those who entered into that cage at the start of the race , but I was proud to put on the colours of my country and given it 100% as did all of the other athletes , that extra support was welcomed by all on the day and I am sure that all of the athletes would agree with me that the friends , family member , brothers , sisters , mums and dads were there to lend a hand were possible , we were the team of the tournament , we could be heard for miles , not forgetting the cow bell brought over by Mr Deegan family members( Sister and girlfriend ) and Geoff , Sheila partner who could be seen all over the course even running up the hills with you side by side , encouraging , supporting and just being there that’s what made us the Irish stand out from the other team.

And finally I would like to thank, firstly my wife Cindy Daniel and Adam for being so patient with me in the lead up to the event, Im luckily to have such an understanding wife and kids. Not forgetting the team and family members who were great and gelled well together and worked hard on the days leading up to the event and on the day of the event.

Motivated and Inspired by others in Sport”

Eamonn Tilley,

Coach

Scotland Duathlon Sept 2010

Strength and Honour

New 2 Triathlon talk

Location: Wheelworx bike shop on Monday the 26th of April at 7pm.

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Kilcock Triathlon Training on the course

Location: North Kildare Sport Club (race HQ), Kilcock on Sunday the 9th of May at 1pm.

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Skerries Triathlon Training on the course

Location: Skerries South Beach on Sunday the 13th of June at 1pm.

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Dublin Triathlon on Facebook

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To allow us to plan for the days, please do click attend on the facebook events page or fill out this online form http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dublin-triathlon-training

There are certain nuances of riding a bike that are passed down by word of mouth or that some times will be demonstrated (by a good coach!). Many are simple, but if you are never informed, how will you ever know? Here are 10 of the most important, especially for those starting in the sport;

1.      Protect your rear, Wear the right gear!

Countless times over the years I have seen people out on bikes (even doing triathlons!) in shorts you would see on a GAA or Rugby Field! And even wearing stuff much worse!

Please note that all cycling shorts are designed with a padded chamois to be worn next to the skin. You may feel naked the first time that you do this but you will get used to it quite quickly. The seam of any underwear will cut into you and is a surefire way to get a saddle sore or to end up walking like John Wayne after a spin.

Chamois cream is a great way to cut down on the natural friction that occurs when pedaling at 90 rpm for a couple of hours. This can be applied to either the chamois itself or directly onto the skin where the point of contact is. Whilst everyone has a personal choice in saddle styles, in general they should be narrow for road bike use, as you will be sitting more forward and a wide saddle may cause chaffing between the legs. All saddles should be level, not pointing up or down. If you feel that you need your saddle pointing down towards the front hub, chances are that it is too high in the first place and vice versa. It does take time to get your rear end used to sitting on a saddle for hours on end, but this too is all part of training.

2.      The Dreaded Puncture!

There are those who will phone a family member or friend to come and collect them after getting a puncture whilst out training and then bring the wheel to a bike shop to get fixed. If you had no way of communicating with someone who may come to pick you up there would be a much greater incentive to learn what to do yourself. And it really is pretty simple.

Forget about patches, that puts people off straight away. On every training spin bring a pump, tyre levers and 2 spare tubes. If you get a puncture, take off the wheel (if it’s a rear drop it down into the outside sprocket first as this will help you know where to hang the chain when putting the wheel back on).

Use your tyre levers to remove one side of the tyre and then pull out the tube. Pump the tube to see if you can find where the air is coming out. This will give you a good idea of where to check the tyre for the item which caused the puncture in the first place.

Locate the thorn, piece of glass, thumb tack, or whatever and remove. Then check the rest of the tyre. If you cannot find anything whatsoever in the tyre and the tube has two holes very close together, this may be a pinch flat. These are caused by riding an under inflated tyre over a pothole or stone. Next slightly inflate your new tube and fit into the tyre. Re-seat the outer bead of the tyre and finish near the valve. The reason for this is so that if a part of the tube remains under the tyre bead by pushing the valve back up into the tyre you can re seat this properly. Now pump the tyre as hard as possible using your hand pump and refit the wheel.

Don’t be afraid of it, have a bit of patience, you’ll be back riding in a few minutes.

3.      Riding in the Wind (The Cyclists Greatest Enemy!)

With a little practice you can make life much easier for yourself when the trees start to sway. If you are riding in a group stay close to the rider in front. If the wind is coming from the left place your front wheel slightly to his right and vice versa. When riding on your own be conscious of any protection or shelter that a ditch or wall can offer. Use your gears and try to keep a good pace going.

Riding against a strong headwind is very similar to climbing. They say that’s why so many Dutch riders have excelled in the mountains of the Tour de France over the years. Always try to begin your training spins with a headwind so that you can enjoy the tailwind on the way back. Just like running!

4.      Food and Drink.

Many will have a different take on this one! In general, for spins under 2 hours you do not really need to eat anything. Bring a gel in case you are having a bad day. For longer spins bring an energy bar (or even a Snickers/Mars bar), some ride shots, fruit (Bananas are very popular). or whatever you like to eat and nibble away from the 1.5 hour point onwards. Nutella on bread or toast can fuel you up very well for a long spin.

In all sports hydration is very important and can depend on the weather. It is a good idea to begin sipping within the first 5 minutes as this will set the tone for the rest of the spin. There are loads of sports dinks out there on the market, with trial and error you will find one that suits you or keep it simple and just drink water.

5.      Using the Gears!

This has to be learned and takes a long time to get right. It is always easy to spot an inexperienced cyclist. They are trying to churn a huge gear with their shoulders. Take a look next time you see one and you will see their shoulders move at least 12 – 18 inches with each pedal stroke. Bikes nowadays can have anything up to 33 gears. Even if you only have 10, use them to keep a nice steady economical cadence. Spin, Spin, Spin! The average should be about 90 rpm on the flat and 70 rpm whilst climbing.

6.      Clean your bike!

20 – 30 minutes once per week (I know we can’t all make that time!) will keep your machine running much better. Brakes, gears, handling will all run a lot smoother when a bike is well taken care of.

Chains and cassettes will not wear out as quickly and you will spot problems such as glass or thorns in tyres before they become an issue. You will also feel better as a nice clean machine whirring along underneath you will always lift your spirits. Try it and see.

7.      Give it Time!

Cycling takes time. It takes time to go for a spin and it takes time to improve. Some day you will be out on the bike in the Wicklow sunshine thinking to yourself that you are actually enjoying what you are doing. Then the better you get the further you can go and it takes even more time again. With family, work and social commitments there will always be something else to do; you just have to find a way around them.

The biggest obstacle many people find when preparing for events is finding the time to train. Well, here are a few ways around that problem.

If you know the names of three or more characters on any of the Soaps or whatever TV show is on, you have the time to train (I’ll make an exception for the box set of ‘The Wire’, only viewed after 9pm though!) .

If you spend your lunchtime sitting in a cosy cafe, you have time to train.

If you sit in traffic for 1 or more hours per day, you have time to train.

Perhaps easier said than done, all you need do is to become a little more disciplined with your time management and you will find the hours needed to train. Train better and you will Race better.

8.      Bend Your Elbows!

Experienced cyclists will all advocate ‘bending the elbows ‘. It makes sense really. If your arms are locked all the vibration from the bars travels up along to your neck and shoulders which causes neck and shoulder pain. You are also less flexible if someone bumps off of you in a group. It does take a bit of practice but will be well worth the effort.

9.      Another Dread! Getting up those hills!

Many of us have a mental block about climbing, some love it! The main thing to know is that climbing does involve a certain amount of pain for everyone. The experienced cyclist will tell you that the best climbers are not the ones who can climb the best, but the ones who can suffer the most.

So be prepared for some pain, but also be conscious that everyone else is suffering too. This makes it a lot more tolerable. On short, sharp climbs, try to power over them but for longer climbs it is important to pace yourself a little. Find a gear that you are comfortable(ish) in and get into a rhythm. When rising out of the saddle change up a gear to maintain your speed and change back down when you sit down again.

The only way to improve your climbing is to climb, so don’t be avoiding any hills when out training

10.    Look Up!

If you have ever been sea sick or car sick, you will have been told to look up at the horizon to make your body feel still. This is because 20% of your balance is related to your optic nerves (Science talking here!). This is important on the bike as well.

When descending you are much more stable when you look on up ahead than 5 feet in front of you. The speed of the road passing by can actually make you feel dizzy. You need to look where you want to go, not where you don’t. In a bunch too, it is important to look up. Your peripheral vision will take care of what’s around you and by looking up ahead you can look out for any parked cars or any other hazards etc. and also be more stable on the bike itself.

And finally; always wear your helmet about 1” above your eyebrows , not on the back of your head , call the potholes and obstacles when riding in a group and don’t be afraid to ask your more experienced cycling buddies if your not sure about something. You should get the answer you are looking for. Well, most of the time anyway. And don’t forget SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! See you on the road!

Dublin based Triathlon coaching company Tri-Planet today officially launched two New Boot Camps – a Triathlon and Duathlon Boot Camp. Starting on Monday 28^th March and aimed at novices and newbie’s, the Camps will run over an 8 week period. They will include up to 24 coached sessions, Pool Fees, and Race entry to Kilkock Triathlon on the 23^rd May and the Runways Phoenix Park Duathlon on the 2^nd June. The Camps will be based out of Bushy Park and Terenure college.

Tri-Planet Coaches Richard Cattle & Craig Moore said: “These are more than just the get down and give me 20 Boot Camps. You get to be coached in all three disciplines with like minded people in a friendly environment, and most exciting of all, you get to race at the end of it”.

With their Spring Swim Camp already booked up, demand for places will be high, so book early to avoid disappointment. – www.tri-planet.com

Note:  Before you set out to complete your first every Triathlons please make sure that you are Medically fit and have had a complete check up by your local GP and you have the ability to swim over and above the required distance in the pool…

For RPE (Rate of Perceived  Effort) see notes at end of the programme.

Rate of Perceived  Effort