June 2017 Newsletter

Now that the official 2016/17 season is behind us many will have a break and some down time. While for others the focus starts towards the events early in the 2017/18 season.

These include Sunshine Coast 70.3, the QTS Series, World Champs qualifying races, Noosa and Bussleton.

With Sunshine Coast 70.3 now less than 12 weeks away the more structured solid training sessions for that have started.

Considering the time of year we’re now in my experience tells me that is the right amount of time to more than adequately prepare for a 70.3 race.

Any longer and you risk mental burnout and not getting to race day in the right frame of mind. It is for that reason we have also had a couple of easier sessions at some of the squad sessions over the last couple of weeks.

For those targeting these early season events we will be doing a lot of strength endurance work across the swim, bike and run. Hills in the run sessions, paddles in the pool, long grinding efforts for the WT sessions.

We need this type of training to be able to race well but also to carry you through the rest of the season. Remember Triathlon is a strength endurance sport and so our training needs to reflect that.

Use the squad session for the harder interval based work and while you’re easier sessions are the ones done on your own. Easy on the easy and hard on the hard. Recover properly between sessions, be consistent and you will improve.

Cairns 2017 was a great end to the last season with many outstanding performances from the team. The buzz around the tent and the supporters was massive on race day as the team was cheered on throughout the swim, bike and run.  We couldn’t have been more happier or impressed with how everyone performed and it was a true testament to the hard work that everyone put into the campaign. Below are the full results from the squad, special congraulations to our Kona Qualifiers Mark, Stella and Brad and our first timers across the Iroman and 70.3 Geoff, Suki, Brian, Kiara, Jane, Gary, Fiona, Anthony, Tina, Mel, Cassie and Greg.

Ironman Result:
* Mark Gleeson – 9:23, 1st 45-49, Kona Qualifier
* Dave Stevenson – 9:29, 9th 30-34
* Brad Jones – 9:41, 11th 40-44, Kona Qualifier
* Mike Zink – 9:42
* Mark Turner – 9:56
* Andrew Hancox – 10:12
* Stella Foley – 10:17, 3rd 30-34, Kona Qualifier
* Matt Dalmau – 10:56
* Craig Stocks – 11:06
* Geoff Miller – 11:24, 1st time IM
* Suki Bloom – 11:26, 1st time IM
* Kristin Muir – 11:37
* Christy Collis – 11:51
* Brian Brady – 12:15, 1st time IM
* Gary Merkel – 12:24
* Clayton Kenny – 12:24
* Michael Hoey – 12:34
* Johnny Van Rooyen – 12:50
* Christian Seymour – 12:50
* Claire Lynch – 13:08, 6th 55-59
* Kiara Matthews – 13:44, 1st time IM
* Jane Parnell – 13:57, 1st time IM
* Marjorie Van Rooyen, 15:02, 9th 55-59

Cairns 70.3
* Emily Donker – 4:41, 2nd 25-29
* Gary Merkel – 4:49, 1st time 70.3
* Eamonn Ring – 4:52
* Michael Sutherland – 4:52
* Jeremy Bridges – 4:57
* Fiona Day – 5:15, 5th 50-54, 1st time 70.3
* Maree Rostirolla – 5:22
* Halina Clare – 5:32
* Anthony Iwers – 5:36, 1st time 70.3
* Tina Kavanaugh – 5:43, 1st time 70.3
* Connie Ganser – 6:07
* Barb Thurgood – 6:16
* Sandra Klingberg – 6:27
* Mel Boyle – 6:36, 1st time 70.3
* Cassie Matcham – 6:42, 1st time 70.3
* Greg Epps – 6:57, 1st time 70.3

Also over in Japan we had Megumi racing to qualify for the Age Group World Champs team, resulting in 2nd place and her first ever podium!

Outstanding Male – Brad Jones
Brad has had a fantastic season with numerous podiums, PB’S and culminated with a 9.41 Ironman Cairns and his first qualifying spot for Kona. And this was despite a heavy crash during the race.
Brad has been a long time member (around 8 years) so to see him qualify for Kona was a huge thrill.

He thoroughly deserved the spot and balancing training with family, coaching for Tri Nation and work was testament to his dedication and hard work.

Outstanding Female – Stella Foley
Stella has done 3 Ironman races and qualified for Kona 2 years in a row. This year was another pb at Ironman Cairns and another podium. She is rarely off the podium in any race she does whether it’s a major competitive race like Ironman or a sprint race.

Stella has an unbelievable work ethic and we will go into Kona trying to improve on her 21st place and second Aussie in her 30 to 34 age group.

Performance of the Year – Andrew Hancox
Andrew had a break out performance at Ironman Cairns this year finishing in 10.12 which was a huge PB, over an hour on his previous best Ironman race.

Andrew was “UP” mentally for race day. He did a lot of visualisation pre race day and on race day said he was in the “zone”. He swam 59 min, rode 5.05 and ran 4.01. His race at Cairns was simply outstanding. Mentally and physically he executed an outstanding day.

Masters Athlete of the Year – Brian Brady
Debut Ironman at 55 years young in 12:15 but would have been well under 12 hrs had it not been for sprained ankle at 20km into the marathon in IM Cairns.

He still finished and is now walking in a moon boot with torn ligaments some 2 weeks post race. Brian spoke of being in the zone on race day and feeling like he could accomplish anything. For 48 hrs after the race he was in hospital with his ankle injury so it was a significant injury. His pre race mental training made a massive difference.

Rookie of the Year – Megumi Tokiwa
Megumi joined us about a year ago having never completed a triathlon and with little cycling and run experience. She has since showed that she is a little pocket rocket and is now working towards qualifying for the Age Group World Champs on the Gold Coast next year representing Japan.

Most Improved – Greg Epps
Greg joined the squad a couple of years ago with his daughter Jen and son-in-law Clayton. Greg could hardly swim 25m and had no experience on a bike having come from a marathon background. It was a thrill for everyone at Cairns to watch Greg complete his first 70.3 at Cairns and witness how far he has come particularly in the past 5 months.

Endurance Award – Marjorie and Johnny Van Rooyen
Marjorie and Johnny have been long time members of Tri Nation and continually impress us with their families commitment to training, competing and enjoying being fit and healthy. The Van Rooyens have completed numerous Ironman, 70.3, marathons and more all with huge smiles on their faces and cheers for their teammates. An obvious choice for the award, we can’t wait to see what they have planned next.

Club Spirit Award – Steve Davy
The Club Spirit recognises someone that goes out of their way to help out at events, welcomes new members, is thoughtful and caring towards others and loves to race and support. An illustrous award with many worthy previous recipients but we couldn’t go past Steve Davy this year. We think that over the past season, Steve has helped set up and take down the tent at just about every event. He also knows most people in the squad and is always happy to have a chat and a coffee especially on Sunday mornings. Steve’s love for triathlon and the squad culminated at Cairns this year when he and wife Marnie flew up to support everyone. Steve was enthusiastic all day and cheered on every one of the team from the first 70.3 athlete to the last Ironman through.

With the triathlon season ending, now is the perfect time to save up to $660 on race wheels so you are ready to ride faster than ever before when the new season starts in a few months.
Pace 4.0  $1,130   Save $565
Pace 6.0  $1,249   Save $626
Pace 9.0  $1,335   Save $660
Pace has a Rideaway package for an additional $200, which includes all accessories needed and complimentary fit to your bike.

They have a limited number of wheels available so be quick.

View their entire range on their website at www.pacewheels.com.au

Contact Brad and Sarah to secure your set today at info@pacewheels.com.au, or call Brad on 0403 292 457.

Our Noosa Camp is coming up soon from the 11th of August. The camp will cater for those training towards the Noosa Triathlon as well as the Sunshine Coast 70.3.

The camp is based in Noosa and covers all aspects of the triathlon course. The camps are great for those who are competing in the Triathlon for the first time as well as those more experienced athletes that have specific race goals.

The camp runs for 2 nights starting with a session in Brisbane on Friday morning and finishing at lunch on Sunday.  For full information or to register visit the website. 

Thanks to our friends at Avanti Plus The Valley and Shoes Feet Gear we have started an Athlete of the Month Award. The prize for the lucky athlete includes a service at Avanti and a $50 voucher to spend at SFG.

For our first month the award goes to Jane Parnell who completed her first Ironman at Cairns 2 weeks ago. Those who have been at training regularly over the past 6 months will have seen Jane consistently working hard at squad sessions and will have noted the big improvements she has made across the board.

This hard work culminated in a 13:57 at Cairns, testament to how far she has come.

Congratulations Jane we can’t wait to see what you have planned next. 

Upcoming events that Tri Nation will be at in the next three months are:

?• Gold Coast Marathon Festival – 1st/2nd July
?• TQ Springfield Duathlon – 23rd July
?• Sunshine Coast 70.3 – 10th September
?• Raby Bay Triathlon – 17th September