Latest Energy Link Coaching News

We hope training has been consistent and life is good. We have been keeping busy writing training programs and coaching athletes locally, interstate and across the world ... there are so many amazing events to do and people to meet. It is always very inspiring to know the backgrounds of our athletes, their goals, the challenges they face and the effort they give in order to be their best. Triathlon is booming and it is very exciting to be involved in the this great sport . Remember to love what you do and do what you love ... don't lose sight of the fun element! 

Hawaii: Bruce has been coaching two great athletes as they prepared for the Ironman World Championships is Kona and both athletes trained hard and stayed focused to achieve great results. Warren Squires is based in Singapore and finished in an impressive 9:38:13. He swam 1:05:15, road 5:10:11 and ran 3:16:13 and Ron Wilson finished in a time of 13:05:25 with a 1:16:10 swim, 6:54:46 bike leg and a 4:42:03 run to the finish line. Congratulations Ron and Warren and we hope that you are enjoying the rest and recovering well.

Upcoming Events: There are a few major events on the radar for Energy Link athletes. Good luck to everyone racing! Please send us any photos and or race reports so we can share them.

Taiwan 70.3  30/10 - Bruno Lebeda, Tom Hardman and Raynard Picard.

Noosa Triathlon 31/10 - Amy Wilkinson (racing open age) and Ann Swinney and Andrew Vanheyst.

Port Macquarie Half Ironman: Tracy Webber, Sarah Stephinson, Andrea Gardiner, Kent Lipman, Lew Hartley, Callum Mackay, Martin Lord and Sam Purcell.

* Bruce is heading up to Port with Steve Edwards to support and cheer this weekend!

TRISHAVE all women's Triathlon 31/10 - Tegan Cox (going for pb!)

Athens Marathon 31/10 - Stu Raymond and Mark Zaglas - Go Guys, cant wait to see your pics finishing in the Athens Olympic Stadium http://www.athensmarathon.com/marathon/index.html

Race tip:  While recently travelling home from Forster we had a small car sit in our slipstream for the entire 3 hr trip ... if we moved, he moved This guy was trying to save his car from doing the hard work and he wanted to save his petrol. If you can adopt this energy saving technique on race day while you are swimming then you could also save your energy and bring your times down. The key to a great swim is to get a good start and swim hard (you must train for this) for 150-300m depending on the race distance. During this time it is important that you find your own water and set up your position so that you can work at your own rhythm. Once you have established your position and your pace,   you can move onto your competitors feet, sit in their slip stream, finish with a solid time and have more energy for the bike leg. If you know your competitors and how they are going to swim then you can swim the start on their feet as well.  Always make sure you navigate to make sure they are taking the right line... once you are confident with where they are heading then you can afford to look up less and this also saves energy. It is well worth working on this drafting technique; it can also help you in the run on a windy day (anti is legal in the swim and run - don't get caught trying it on the bike!).

TRISHAVE race tips: Larisa Alexander from Trishave is doing a great job supporting this great sport and the athletes involved. TriShave offers some great products to help you look after you skin while training, racing and shaving down! Next time you are doing you are shopping, add TRISHAVE products to the trolley and you will never look back! Why do you think Bruce's skin looks so good!  Below are some race tips for the TriShave women's race out at Penrith this weekend.... many of these tips apply to all events and you may find them useful. The next TRISHAVE event is on the 13th March so lock it in!

Jindabyne Triathlon Training Camp: Places are filling fast for this great camp but it is not too late to come along for a week of great training, great company and great memories! The week includes 1 weeks intensive swim, bike and run coaching, accommodation, evening meals (apart of from two out), swim squad fees, National Park fees and a camp souvenir.More information can be found at: http://www.energylink.com.au/training-camps/energy-link-camp-details.shtml

Fees: A reminder please that we appreciate program payments to be made at the time of your current program. If fees are not kept up-to date you cannot expect ongoing coaching and programs. Program fees are now as per 2010/2011 season fees - $200 per block unless otherwise confirmed. Thank you.

Coaching Sessions - Bike skills for beginners and swim technique session:  We have had a small group of athletes join us on Saturday afternoons each fortnight at Waves Aquatic Centre to work on swim technique and efficiency. The sessions have had great feedback and everyone is working hard on the way they swim each stroke (rather than going fast without thinking). We have no doubt that this hard work will pay off and we have already seen some very positive changes. We also looked into bike skills for beginners at Centennial Park recently.

Thomas Family Update:  We have our kids enjoying sport each weekend at Little Athletics and it is great to see so many kids having fun and aiming for pb's. Our middle daughter Carley recently raced in the Junior Girls 4 x 100m relay at the School State athletic Carnival at Homebush. They made it through to the semi's and finished 14th out of 50 schools and managed to beat their best time by 2 seconds so we were all very excited!

TriZone - powering the world of triathletes:  Many of you will know David Stewart and Karl Hayes through Energy Link and Balmoral Traithlon Club. David and Karl have produced a fantastic website that offers the latest information from the sport of triathlon ... from equipment through to race reports and athlete interviews. Check it out at http://www.trizone.com.au/Trizone-Triathlon-Home-Page.aspx