A bit of everything

There are a whole lot of club related goings on that I could blog about this week but I’ll keep it short and sweet as time is of the essence!

The club’s first training camp was a huge success. I think we had just the right combination of great fun with plenty of laughs and silliness and some great training sessions too. A couple of things that really impressed me were Claire Tomlinson finishing her first ever triathlon with a fine sprint finish, the group that descended the infamous Tabeyesco hill only to turn around and complete the 10km climb back up just for fun and the camaraderie shown by all those on the trip whether it was supporting club mates in races or helping keep the group together on long rides in rather testing conditions (read howling winds!). I am sure next year’s training camp will be even bigger and better for those that want to join in next time around.

Over the weekend the club also competed in our first (and the toughest) London Triathlon League event. A big thank you to those not competing who rode out to support the team and made so much noise it was almost embarrassing! But when you have to go up a steep hill no less that 27 times during the race it really helps to have the support we had at the top of the climb. It was great to see everyone finish and there were some very impressive performances given how tough the course was and the level of competition. Nice work everyone who competed and supported at the Dragon Slayer on Sunday! I also think our club kit looked the best out of all those clubs competing (nice work Guy).

This week the Tuesday run session will move back to the ash track in Victoria Park. If you are not familiar with the location of the track it’s not too hard to find. If you enter the park from the gates beside the Britannia Pub and continue straight ahead on the wide path you will pass cricket nets, tennis courts and the cafe on your left and you will see a fenced area on your right just after the cafe. That is the track. To attend the session you must be a paying member of the club. This Tuesday you will have a few options. Mick will be using a 2.4km time trial to help estimate VO2 max and predict 10km time. The session will include a thorough warm up prior to the time trial and appropriate cool down. We will also run an interval session for those that do not want to participate in the time trial. If you competed over the weekend then we will keep the intensity and volume low to allow adequate recovery.

Before Tuesday I would like you to consider what your goal 5km and 10km times are for the year (either as part of a multisport event or a running event). We will use these times to guide our pace during the upcoming interval sessions.

In other news Chrissie Wellington won Ironman South Africa placing 8th overall and posting the fastest run split of the day (yes faster than any of the men’s field) and setting yet another Ironman world best time! In Sydney for the first of the ITU World Championship Series, there were crashes and falls aplenty and if you’re looking for a little motivation check out Jonathan Brownlee’s second place and Javier Gomez recovering from a crash to go on to win the race here!

See you at the LFTC Aquathlon. Your support of the event is much appreciated! Tim (LFTC Coach)