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24 December 2014
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a Computrainer was stirring, not even its computer mouse.
The swim fins were hung by the finisher's medals with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The triathletes were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of Ironman Hawaii danced in their heads... [I can't take any credit for this - read the full
version here]
Membership 2014/15
We have opened the new season's registrations and so far a steady stream have been coming in. This might
be because of the excellent $10 Tri Club branded singlet deal we have pulled together (note this offer is only
available until the end of the year as outlined below), or maybe it's because of the free BBQ sausages we're
now providing to members at the Scorching races? There are some other new membership benefits this season
including free attendance to tri skills clinics and club organised Saturday swim bike run sessions from January
10th through to the end of March. If you are a regular pool swimmer you can save more than $100 on annual
swim membership. Simply use your Tri Club membership to claim the ‘Aquatic club discount’ through WCC. To
find out more about our membership benefits check out our website here and to register please go to this link.
Note that as of 1st January the fees for membership will rise by $10 so make sure you register within the next 8
days!
Club Uniform
We've had a great response on our awesome $10 offer on club branded running singlets with registration this
season. Unfortunately we only have a few in stock from last year but we have just placed a bulk order for a
whole lot more so we will get those out to you as soon in the New Year as possible - either by catching up with
you at one of our local races (Scorcher or Splash and Dash), collecting it off one of the committee members
during the week in town or if all else fails we'll post it out to you. Those of you who still haven't registered for the
season get in quick as this $10 offer on singlets will only be available until the end of the year. If you are keen
on getting your hands on some of our other club gear you can order it on-line here.
Some Results:
Being tri geeks, we do our best to track online how our members get on in races. However this can be a
complicated task so unfortunately we miss people, causing great angst I'm sure! Please make sure you contact
us here and tell us if we are constantly missing your amazing results or if you are doing a cool race overseas
and you want to get some kudos for it in the newsletter or on Facebook.
Wellington Sprint Champs/Tri-Arthurlon
Despite the weather we all had a fun time at the club champs with some entertaining trash talking going on
before the race and a few tall tales afterwards. Congrats to all our medalists! Read El Presidente's completely
impartial write up of the race here.
Taupo Half Ironman
There was a strange foggy mist for the early morning in Taupo that lingered well into the bike ride close to
Reporoa, where a nasty 2km section of re-sealed road both ways created sore backsides for all. The sun was
out by run time however and plenty of people ended up with sunburn. Club stars of the day included age group
winners Angie Keen (25-29, in 5.15), Viv Collier (40-44, in 5.03) and Paul Rodway (65-69, in 5.53). Matt
Appleby produced perhaps the best performance of the day amongst club members, his storming 4.33 a big PB
and good enough for bronze in the ridiculously tough 40-44 age group. Other great performance included Nicky
Sutherland’s bronze behind Viv in 5.11 followed closely by Simone in 5th, Dean Whiteman’s first time under 5
hrs (4.55), Matt Comery just missing the 5 hour barrier in 5.00 and bits, Nathan Masters just a bit behind him in
5.04, David Bedggood in 5.27, and Mel Childs and Phil Jacques both going 5.47. Poor Tanja Injac was well on
the way to a PB after going easily under 3 hours on the bike but suffered through terrible cramps on the run,
and Mirjam Morris stayed strong throughout for 6.31 after another tough run. It was good to see Rosco directing
things as lead official on the bike and the run, and George keeping everything in order in transition. A number of
other Club members raced in the teams race, with Nicole O’Donnell smashing out a great swim and run
alongside sometimes member (time to join again!) Emma C’s excellent bike leg, and picking up the top womens
team award.
Rotorua Half Ironman
Annoyingly held on the same day as the Taupo half ironman, the Rotorua half ironman is a pretty special race in
a beautiful part of the country. This was my third time there and the first time that it wasn't pouring with rain! In
fact, we experienced pretty much perfect race conditions with a flat as a pancake swim (wasn't that water nice
and warm!!), a return to the original bike course out to Lake Rotoma, and an off-road run with a handy cloud
cover to stop us overheating. It was great to see club members represented on the podium by Sierra Ryland
(3rd female overall and first in the 30-39 age group) and Valentino Luna Hernandez (3rd in the 30-39 age group
and also claiming the honour of being the last male not to get chicked). We also had some solid top 10 age
group performances by Mike Cousins (4th, 30-39), Deb Peach (5th, 30-39), Anthea Morrison (6th, 30-39), Karen
Ward (6th, 50-59), Mike Lynch (6th, 50-59), Kane McCollum (8th, 30-39), Claire Samuel (9th, 20-29) as well as
the super power mixed team M&M (Gene and Vicki) coming in 5th. Special mention must also go to Karen
Ward's first place in the uber-competitive musical chair competition at prizegiving! (and no... I wasn't at all bitter
about being eliminated in the second round after trash talking Karen beforehand! haha)
The Scorcher Triple
A fun new concept hit Scorching Bay this last weekend with the option of doing one, two or three short triathlons
(250m swim, 6km bike, 1500m run), with the top 20 finalists going onto do a fourth race with prize money - yes
prize money! (thanks Pridex Kitchens). There was a lot of pre-race whispered discussion about tactics - how
easy to take it in the first three races, whether to wear wetsuits etc. In the hotly contested final it was two
foreigners (well, non-Wellingtonians) who took out the first two podium spots with Christian Davey the first local
coming through in third. Closely behind him was an epic sprint finish with Big Diesel Wolken eventually getting
chased down by Twinkle Toes Lachie Davey for fourth place. Loved the finish line video camera showing that
everyone was definitely leaving it all out there - we almost got to see what Tony Buckingham had for breakfast,
awesome! Check out the mayhem here. All in all we had a great day at the envy of those who didn't make it so
here's hoping this race becomes a regular on the Wellington tri scene.
Chicago travel packages
A lot of you will have the Chicago World Standard Distance champs on your radar for this year. Sport by BCD
Travel, a sponsor of the Wellington Triathlon Club, have prepared a pretty cool travel package for members
hoping to qualify for the ITU World Triathlon Champs which will be held on the 15-20 September 2015. It would
be great to travel and stay together as team Wellington - read more about this fantastic offer here.
Coach's corner
Club coaches Gerrard Smith and Jenny Rose are leading FREE Saturday morning swim bike run training
sessions every weekend through summer. These are an opportunity to get together as a club, do some fun /
challenging training, and learn some new skills. We have something for everyone including newer people,
youth, Ironman athletes, and everyone in between - come join us!
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The first session is Saturday 10 Jan 7.30am Fryberg Beach
FREE for club members / $15 for non club members
Check for updates on https://www.facebook.com/WellingtonTriathlonClub
Tip from the coaches: Christmas is here which means holidays and relaxation for many of us, but amongst all
that do keep some training going. If you do nothing for 2 weeks you'll loose a substantial amount of fitness. If
you do a few swims at the beach, get a bit of riding with some friends or family, and make a few short runs
happen, you'll retain more of your fitness. Remember that consistency over the long term is key to success, but
doing something is a lot better than doing nothing! Enjoy your holidays, and enjoy doing some different kinds of
training.
Techy stuff
Remember the SufferFest from the October 'On the Move'? check out Nine Hammers.... Nine Hammers, by The
Sufferfest, is a one-hour cycling workout featuring nine VO2 and threshold intervals. Workout designed by Sir
Neal Henderson. Exclusive on-bike camera footage from the Tour of Switzerland.
Watch the trailer: http://vimeo.com/113886666
http://www.thesufferfest.com/
Traveling overseas (maybe for the World Champs in 2015) and don't want to take your Tri Bike? Check out
Spinlister Bike Rental.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rOVopiLp40
https://www.spinlister.com/
Each to their own, but here is a few tips on Triathlon Bicycle Fit & Position:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9qKyNz-zI
Monthly Quiz
Every newsletter we usually have a tricky 'Who am I?' puzzle for you to work on. There are no prizes, just the
honour of being named in the next newsletter. The last quiz result was Yvette Williams. Turner grabbed gold,
Workman silver and young Anthea Williams the bronze.
Sorry to disappoint you folks but with the quiz master currently on holiday you will have to find other ways to
amuse yourself this month... but never fear, he'll be back with a suitably ridulous question for you to all puzzle
over next month.
Sierra Ryland worked hard over the off-season and stormed onto our radar with a stellar performance in
the Rotorua half ironman in early December, coming in 3rd female overall and 1st in the 30-39 age
group. How does this stack up to her bronze medal placing at the tri club sprint champs the weekend
before? Read on to find out...
What do you do when not training or racing?
Is there such a thing? I am really bad at resting, just ask anyone! After Ironman 2014 I decided that it would be
a good time to finally get a sub-20min 5km. Because I'm also the women's captain for the Scottish running club
(can you mention them!) I spent the winter focusing on running and helping to organise club races. But in all
seriousness when I am not training I am usually eating chocolate...
So how did you get into triathlon?
It actually wasn't even my idea. Each year I try to complete a new challenge. I had been doing half marathons
for a while and had been chasing a sub-90mins without much success. A work colleague then got me started on
mountain running and a group of us would travel up to Tongariro to do "The Goat" and we did that for a few
years. Then I guess my husband, Scott, must have felt left out and he decided to get into shape (after our
wedding of course). He set himself a goal at the beginning of 2012 of completing the Taupo Half Ironman and
lost over 35kg in the process! I thought that I would be supportive and enter with him and we could train
together. He had done no triathlons at all and I had only done a couple at school (my first one involved
completing one lap of a swimming pool at the end, which I walked because I was too tired to swim). As it turned
out, I train in the mornings and Scott trains after work. Then the bets started about who would do the half the
fastest. I never lose a bet! [Sierra beat Scott by 30 minutes in that half ironman... all on the run too!]That
summer I was also running with the likes of Nat Gaskin and James Turner and they would talk about Ironman all
the time. I started to feel left out and they made it sound so exciting. So I entered for 2014 with the mindset that
I would just do one. Yeah right! The day after the race I knew I was entering again.
Your most significant triathlon achievement?
They are all happening this year. I have been focusing on improving my Ironman time for 2015. I entered
Rotorua for a change in scenery and I had heard that the event had a good atmosphere. So then began all the
hill training! It all paid off though as I had a fantastic race and a great run off of the bike. I finished 1st in the 3039 year age group and 3rd women overall in 5:01 (however my curse of finishing a couple of mins over the hour
continues!)
What else would you like to achieve in your triathlon career?
I'm toying with the idea of trying to qualify for Kona. I guess we will see how many years I kept coming back.
What is your favourite race and why?
I guess it would have to be the Rotorua Half. I had such a good race that it is going to be pretty hard to top that.
Plus I love running on that type of "off road" terrain as I'm good at running downhill fast but doing that on
concrete really screws up the legs.
What would your words of advice be for a beginner triathlete?
Triathlon is one sport where if you put in the effort you will get the returns. It does take time and patience,
especially when adjusting from one disabling to three but you do get there.
Quick Questions
Best discipline: Run, but as of 2 weeks ago I now enjoy swimming!
Your most epic bike ride: 180km in Ironman. I can't imagine doing longer!
Ironman or Olympic distance: Ironman
Your role models: Bevan Docherty, Chrissie Wellington and Nat Gaskin.
What tri means to you in 10 words: Pushing myself and seeing what happens.
Sierra with her 3rd place teddy bear at the Rotorua Half Ironman prizegiving
Mmmmm... Frittata
I've been rocking out the frittata a lot lately, it's so quick to make on a Sunday night with a few left over or old
looking veges and then works as an easy high protein lunch for the next few days - bonus! Here are a couple of
my favouite recipes:
http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2008/may/patty-pan-frittata-with-bacon-and-corn
http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2007/may/oven-baked-vegetable-frittata
http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2008/february/roast-tomato-and-ricotta-frittata
(I often use a combination of a few recipes - depending on what type of cheeses I have in the fridge. That's
what's great about frittatas - anything goes!)
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January 24th - Club novice and youth champs (for ages 10-15) as well as all the usual distances at the
next Scorcher (details here)
January 28th - Splash and dash (enter here): the tri club sponsors an unofficial non-wetsuit edition at
this event by providing a box of chocolate nuts to the first non-wetsuit swim/runner across the line.
Prepare to see things you wish you hadn't.
February 7th - the inaugural Marlborough Sounds half ironman (check out the spectacular course here)
March 1st - Club Standard distance champs (for ages 20+) at the last of the regular Scorchers for the
summer (details here) .
Apply for membership of the tri club here:
https://regonline.activeglobal.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1310887
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