We all new it was only a matter of time before the LFTC lads started to show the potential we all knew they had. At the Marshman Middle Distance Triathlon last weekend Nathan Dytor was 3rd in his age group and coach Mick Cairns was 1st in his age group. The chilly conditions meant that the swim was cancelled and the race was run as a duathlon. Both are strong runners and made the most of the altered race format.
At Park Run on Saturday we took first, second and fourth place (Joe Dale, Paul Cashman and Andrew Finn). We had 6 out of the top 10 athletes (the three above plus Ruth Ashton, Jonathan Pollard and Abigail Swales) and there were 7 PB’s for the group (Paul Cashman, Abigail Swales, Rohan Byles, Colin Steele, Sarah Paterson, Sarah Deeney and Claire Tomlinson). So the girls contributed a little to our great results over the weekend it must be said.
I have look forward to see how the team go this weekend at the Kingfisher Aquathlon. We have 16 triathletes in the team which is fantastic and it’s a mix of strong swimmers, strong runners and those lucky enough to be great at both. Good luck team! Remember there are more London League races to sign up for. The Hillingdon Triathlon is an awesome event, one of the longest running triathlons in the country, with a different format (swim, run, bike). I did the race last year and loved the course. It is race three in the Hillingdon Triathlon Series on July 15th.
Everyone loves an acronym these days. The acronym for this weekend’s training is RST – Race Specific Techniques. Starting with the Saturday swim then we have Zone3 coming to visit and let you test their wetsuits out. The swim will be a compulsory wetsuit swim. You can either bring your own or try one of Zone3’s wetsuits. We will be looking at deep water starts, drafting and sighting techniques as well as getting a wetsuit on and off properly.
Gabriel will be taking us through changing an inner tube and using CO2 cartridges before we look at mounting and dismounting your bike if we have time before heading down to Victoria Park for the mob match (or should that be grudge match) against the big group that take over the track on Tuesday nights…only joking Mick! Yes it’s the VPHTHAC (another great acronym) 3.5 mile Championships. The race starts at 10am and you must be registered by 9:30am. Let’s spoil the party and get LFTC on the podium!
This weekend is the ITU WCS race from San Diego. It’s shaping up to be a great race as it is the second to last chance for athletes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics if they have not already. There is only the Madrid race at the end of May to qualify after San Diego. The race will be live on the BBC Red Button so check it out on Friday 23:00 (women) and Saturday 22:30 (men).
For those of you who like a little geeky tri stuff and performance analysis check out this analysis of Lance Armstrong’s IM 70.3 results so far. How much pressure is on LA to perform?
See you in the weekend, Tim (LFTC Coach).