Bondi water temp

Waverly Council has the following conditions bulletin on the surf at Bondi:

http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/the_beachie.asp

As of 9am this morning, the water temp was 18 degrees, up from 16.9 degrees yesterday.

Hypothermia - A Few Facts

Given that the ocean's water temperature is unusually low for this time of the year, it's important to be aware of how you are coping with it, and those swimming with you.

Here are a few facts on hypothermia from Wikipedia. Based on these three stages, I was in the second one when I DECIDED to get help during Sunday's swim. Fortunately, I realised that I was in trouble and I was still alert enough to get it.

***

Hypothermia refers to any condition in which the temperature of a body drops below the level required for normal metabolism and/or bodily function to take place.

Stage 1
Body temperature drops by 1°C - 2°C below normal temperature C (1.8°-3.6°F, or between 96.8°F - 95°F). Mild to strong shivering occurs. Unable to perform complex tasks with the hands; the hands become numb. Blood vessels in the outer extremities contract, lessening heat loss to the outside air. Breathing becomes quick and shallow. Goose bumps form, raising body hair on end in an attempt to create a insulating layer of air around the body (a vestigial response, but useful in other species).

Stage 2
Body temperature drops by 2°C - 4°C (3.6°F - 7.2°F, or between 95°F - 91.4°F). Shivering becomes more violent. Muscle miscoordination becomes apparent. Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear alert. Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm. Victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.

Stage 3
Body temperature drops below approximately 32°C or 90°F (normal is 37°C or 98.6°F). Violent shivering persists; difficulty speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia start to appear; inability to use hands and stumbling are also usually present. Cellular metabolic processes shut down. Below 86°F (30°C) shivering stops and the exposed skin becomes blue and puffy, muscle coordination very poor, walking nearly impossible, and the victim exhibits incoherent/irrational behavior or even a stupor. Pulse and respiration rates decrease significantly. Major organs fail. Clinical death occurs. Because of decreased cellular activity in stage 3 hypothermia, the body will actually take longer to undergo brain death.

[The treatment that I received was: get out of the water as fast as possible, wrapped in emergency blanket, warm to hot shower, take off wet clothes, wrapped again in emergency blanket and towels and anything else available and then given oxygen. And I was still shivering so much that someone watched to make sure I didn't fall off the medical table.]

So please be careful in the water when it's cold.

Positive psychology

There's an interesting story, I think, on the New York Times online site called: Happiness 101.

It's a review of positive psychology .. and it talks about getting into the flow, which is similar to be in the zone.

It's a long story. Just fyi!

Port Mac accommodation

Hi all,

I am about to let go of some accommodation I had booked for IM. Change in circumstances. It’s a new 2 bed unit near lighthouse beach situated at the round-a-bout as you turn to head to Lake Cathie . It’s near lighthouse beach, Coles across the road and ten mins to town.

Cost would be $875 and it can only be booked for 6-7 nights. Link is below.

http://www.portoasis.com.au/features.html

If you are interested or know someone please let me know before I cancel.

Regards

Steve Murray
email: smurray@mipi.com.au

Women's Tri at Penrith

Set down for February 4th at Sydney's International Regatta Centre, Penrith - the All Women's triathlons are based in a great venue that allows safe participation over two relatively easy and short distance triathlons, with a rare chance for women to relax as they particpate.

Women may enter as an individual entry, or together with a group of friends to make up a ‘team entry’.

There is a choice of two distances; the Enticer Tri - over a 250m Swim, 10km Cycle, 2.5km Run or the Sprint Distance triathlon of 500m Swim, 20km Cycle, 5km run.

For further information please check out the website at www.trinswrace.org > TriNSW Races > All Women's Information. Volunteers can also sign on withing the same website.

Roughwater results

If anyone is aware of a link, let me know and I'll post it here. I can't find anything yet about the event.

Canberra Capital Tri - Jan 28th

Canberra Capital Triathlon Sunday 28 January 7am start

Location: Commonwealth Park

Distance: 1500/40/10 - min age 15yrs

$99 for TA members, $120 non members

Closing date for entries January 21

http://admin.eventdirector.net/resources/TACT/SITES/68/default.asp?PageID=1498

Canberra January 26-28

Canberra Capital Triathlon Festival

This great long weekend of multi-sport events has expanded for 2007 to include an ITU Junior Triathlon National Series event and, with the road closures for this elite event, we are also able to offer a Kids Triathlon on the closed course as well!

The schedule of events commence on Australia Day and include:

Canberra Capital Lake Swim - Friday 26 January 2007 - 1.30pm (400m or 1500m)

Enticer Triathlon - Saturday 27 January 2007 - 2.30pm (300/10/2)

TA ITU Junior Series Race #1 - Saturday 27 January 2007 - 4.00pm (750/20/5). For current selection information for ITU Juniors, please refer to the document downloadable at the very bottom of this page.

Canberra Capital Kids Triathlon - Saturday 27 January 2007 - 6.30pm (100/3/500 or 200/6/1)

Canberra Capital Triathlon - Sunday 28 January 2007 - 7.00am (1.5/40/10 ATS selection event)

Roughwater finishers

Congrats to all who started the swim, and especially to those who finished. I did recognise Jacqui onshore as I was being escorted to the showers.

Too cold for this Canadian!

ell, the Roughwater swim wasn’t exactly what I had visualised!

The temperature was announced as 16.5 degrees. The air temperature was 23 degrees. I thought that I should test the conditions so I went for a short swim about half an hour before the 10am start. I was able to confirm that the water was cold – and I also convinced myself that I’d be able to stay warm as long as I kept moving.

I was looking forward to the swim and I wanted to have a benchmark of my swim fitness.

Cold is not my friend, even though I am Canadian. Ironic isn’t it? The one DNF that I have came in the Netherlands where a heavy rain and hail storm during the bike of a three-quarter Ironman led me to drop out of the race because I couldn’t stand the cold cutting through me as I descended the hills. It took hours, including a few in a medical tent while Margreet raced on, before I felt normal again.

The horn sounded and off into the surf at Bondi my wave went. I wasn’t aggressively racing in! I braced myself as best I could for the initial cold and then got on with it.

I swam well out to the first buoy and kept telling myself to focus on swimming and not being cold. The shape of the course seemed a bit different in the water than online. I passed the second and third buoys and began the homestretch. I felt strong, and eager to finish.

I stopped once to get my bearings as the waves were rolling at a decent pitch for me and I was a bit unsure whether everyone in front of me was going in the right direction. I didn’t want to swim any extra distance.

That momentary stop intensified the cold. I swam a few more strokes and stopped again. I repeated that once more and then headed straight for a surf ski – I was simply too cold and the finish was still too far away. It was time for me to get out.

I have no idea exactly how far I swam in total but I think I was in the water about 30 minutes – simply too long for me. At the moment, I have very little insulation.

I rather ungracefully boarded the surf ski and was helped to a surf rescue inflatable. We waited for a few minutes to see if anyone else might join me but I think as I started to shiver more forcefully the guys opts to head to shore. And off we went.

Onshore, I got an emergency blanket, then a second blanket and then I was escorted to the surf club for at least a 10-minute hot shower before a doctor intervened. It gets more interesting!

I was laid out in a medical room, wrapped up and even got some oxygen. And I was shivering uncontrollably for a few minutes. Fortunately Margreet tracked me down. On the doctor’s orders, she gave me a huge hug for about 10 minutes and finally the shivering started to ease. Whew! Perfect timing!!

We took a taxi home as recommended even though it’s just a 2-3km walk. When you have hypothermia all the blood rushes to the core and if it rushes back too fast to the arms and legs, there’s a chance that the hypothermia will return.

I had another hot shower, put on two layers of clothing, enjoyed several massive pancakes with maple syrup, a cup of tea and then I crashed in bed. I was fast asleep within minutes.

And I’ll be lying low the rest of today and Monday. See you Tuesday!!!

[Note to coach: I rode 50k in the park on my own before the swim]

Alice's Kona Report

Really the journey began when I qualified at Port Macquarie Ironman 2006. After battling a few personal issues I had the race of my life and qualified for one of the world’s most prestigious event. I was so excited but at the same time a little worried because now I had to do another Ironman. I had heard so many different stories about Hawaii. Some said it’s so windy, it’s hot, but the road is smooth – oh and there is pretty fish to look at in the swim. When I told people that I was doing the Hawaiian Ironman – some seemed quite surprised, even a little shocked. (Not sure why)

After Port Mac Ironman I decided to take about 6 weeks off training so the 1st bit of running training was the Sydney Half Marathon. John had told me to go easy (i.e. E1/E) so I went out as fast as I could and raced the whole 21 km in E3/E4. I think I totally blew up in the last 2-3 km and ended up running a PB by about 20 seconds. (Not to mention beating Stephen by about 10 minutes) As a result of not listening to John, thinking I was invincible & totally smashing myself I ended up with a knee injury. So just when I was more than ready to start my 20 week programme for Kona, it was already going pear-shaped. I had “runner’s knee”. John did say to me “I told you so, and that I need to learn to listen”. Not sure whether my injury was worth smashing Stephen by 10 minutes – maybe? Anyway after about 6 weeks of physio, massage, stretching, MRI scan, Yoga, being paranoid and thinking I could never run again - I slowly began to start to run – walk 2 minutes/run 5 minutes and then gradually increasing the running time. Finally I could run 4 kms without stopping. In the meantime I was focusing on my bike and swim and in some ways my running injury was a blessing in disguise because my cycling really improved. I did have a major extra added bonus – Giant sponsored me a brand new time trial bike. (which I absolutely love – it’s awesome.)

Training in winter was really hard both physically and mentally. Up at 5 am in 4 degrees, dark, and cold - while everyone else was in bed hibernating. It’s just not pleasant and I honestly think that I couldn’t train through another Australian winter. I remember being freezing cold from the rain and wind and the only thing that kept me training was that I was competing in a World Championship – The Famous Hawaiian Ironman. There were some upsides about training in winter which was the group I trained with – Lisa, Jacqui, Vic, Gezz, John Mergler, Dingo, Damo, Stirling, Dave, Amanda. (Not John because all he just kept sending us emails about how warm, sunny and hot it was in Ibiza.) Then there was the “Scott Penny’s camp in Cairns & Port Douglas at the end of August with Prueski, Luke, Jason, Mathias and last but not least – Amanda. Bike camp was awesome – we rode about 700km, swam about 14 km, and ran 50 – 75 km in about 8 days. Back from Bike camp and all of a sudden it was only 4 weeks until I left for Kona. My training kms were getting pretty high and for awhile my weekends consisted of Saturday 100km bikes and then on Sunday 160 km – 180 km with 24 km run off the bike.

I entered Gold Coast Half as a team (3 x weeks before Kona) because I was only going to do the swim and the bike as I didn’t trust myself on the run as it was too close to Hawaii. My team runners kept quitting on me so I ended up racing all 3 legs but just had to take it easy on the run. It was really difficult to take it easy on the run because of my competitive nature but this time I did listen to John because I did not want to ruin my race for Hawaii.

The following weekend after Gold Coast I left for Honolulu. I arrived in Kona 2 weeks before the race to help acclimatise in the Hawaii heat. My 1st thoughts of Kona was that it reminded me of home (of where I grew up in outback Australia) There is a road between Broken Hill and Wilcannia which 180 km of straight road and not much scenery or changes so it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere – that’s what the Queen K Highway is like. On the first day I went for a ride and run with John and John Mergler – it was really hot and my heart rate was much higher than usual. I kind of expected that though from what everyone had told me but I must admit that I did think it would be hard to do an Ironman in those conditions. Eva arrived the next day – was so nice to see her since I hadn’t seen her for 7 months and after living together and seeing each other every day – was really great to catch up.

So 2 weeks in Kona and slowly it got busier and busier with athletes and spectators arriving. Everyone was talking about this and that, what about this, what about that. In the end I had to convince myself that there is no point worrying about the things you can’t control – just worry about the things you can control. My mum arrived and then Amanda arrived and so now I was getting a little nervous and only 2 days to go. Fit and tanned people everywhere so I blended in well….ha ha.

The day before I put my bike into transition – it’s very organised I almost felt like a professional. They escort you to your bike position and you put your race bags in – even though I had double, triple checked my race bags (I checked Eva’s, she checked mine) I was still paranoid that I had forgotten something. Race morning I was up at 3.50 am to eat my 800 calories and then Eva, Chris, Stirling and I drove down to the race start and then got our numbers stamped into our arms. Finally – it was the moment I had been waiting for – it was like a pressure cooker ready to go off. The atmosphere was amazing and there was so much energy around – I was pretty excited. Entered into the water, the chopper was circling above us and the gun went off.

I started swimming – not too hard because I knew it wasn’t an easy swim. So I thought to myself “where are the pretty fish” (I don’t really remember seeing them) however I did see John Hill after about 1 km. I said hello and he smiled – quite a funny moment. I could see the boat which was the half way mark and it didn’t seem to take long to get there which meant I just had to make it back to the big Gatorade Bottle – it seemed to be further on the way back. Eventually I made it back to the Pier and I was out of the water – checked my watch and it was 1.11 swim (that didn’t really mean much because you can’t tell much from the swim – I didn’t know whether it was fast or slow)

So I ran to get my bag, then into the change rooms and onto my bike. Loaded up with all my nutrition before I knew it I was on the bike course. I rode passed Mum, Mona and Amanda standing in the middle of the
“Queen K” and Amanda told me I was in 25th and I think Mum was almost crying with excitement (I was happy with 25th because I wanted to finish top 20 in my age group and it was early days) – I went to look at my heart rate monitor and wasn’t working - heck. I didn’t think I was going too hard but sometimes you can’t tell with all the excitement and adrenalin so I was trying to get my heart rate monitor working but still about 30 kms into the bike it wasn’t working. Finally about about 45 kms it started working – 145 (shit that’s only E1) so I tried to go a bit harder but I didn’t really feel myself and was also a little bit scared of blowing up. Greg Welch had told before the race – “Whatever you do – make sure you leave some for the run” I was waiting for the wind and the sun to come out but it wasn’t that windy and it wasn’t that hot either. There were a few packs that overtook me and I tried to go with them but it just didn’t feel right so I did my own race. I was riding along the Queen K and thinking “Wow – I am actually doing Hawaii” and then I would concentrate again and look at my speedo because exactly every 20 minutes I had a gel and also made sure that I drank at least 750 mls per hour. I was a little bit unco at the aid stations and I actually hit one of the volunteers with an empty water bottle – (I felt terrible about it) I was really strict on my nutrition so that kept my mind busy and before I knew it I cycled past all the “Tritravel Gang” just before you turn left to Hawi – that was great to have all the Aussies & Dingo’s crew cheering because there wasn’t much cheering along the Queen K. There was just black lava.

Up to Hawi and I saw all the leaders coming back – I didn’t mind the climb up to Hawi and it was a bit of change of scenery and then at the turn around about (95 km) Wendo was there cheering me on (it was awesome to have someone there – thanks Wendo) I flew down Hawi at about 60 km/hour and caught up to Nicole Ward (fellow aussie competitor in my age group). Before I knew it I was back on the Queen K and the road was wet but it didn’t rain on me so I missed that part of the race. I had ridden about 120 km and it was quite steamy and windy and I didn’t feel the best – every time I looked at my speedo I am sure it said about 27 km/h and I was trying to go faster but my legs just didn’t really want to go. In hindsight I probably should have had some caffeine to get me through. Nicole and I spent the next 30 km together taking it in turns (legally of course) and then I started to feel a bit better and I finally got to the cemetery which I think was about 30 km to go. On the home stretch now – just the airport (where Teresa Rider went flying passed) me and then I was back in town. What a relief – I made it through the bike course, no flat tyres and my ride time of 5.52 (that’s my fastest Ironman bike by 9 minutes so I was pretty happy) so now just the run to go.

Back into transition – the one good thing about Ironman is that they take your bike for you and I was so glad to give it away and start the marathon. Nicole and I were in the change tent together and she was bit quicker than me but I wasn’t far behind. Out of transition and up the hill and I overtook Nicole in the 1st km and I felt ok. It was hot though – bloody hot in fact and I saw Mum, Amanda and Mona again and I they were cheering like crazy. So up Alii drive and I saw John Hill, John Mergler, Dingo, Stirling Chris W, Eva and they all looked pretty good at that stage. I was glad that everyone was having a good race and it’s nice to see everyone and know that you’re not alone. John Hill said – “Its cooler on the way back” I made it to the blue church which is the turn around and every station along the way I drank cola and water and grabbed some ice and let it melt into my hands. It didn’t seem to be much cooler on the way back so I am not sure what John was on about. I was overtaking a few people I was running a bit under 5 min/km pace – my heart rate was high though – I was in high E3 for the first 10 km which I did in 47 mins and then back on the Queen K and there was still people coming in on bikes (I was so glad that wasn’t me). I had divided the Queen K into sections – traffic light, boat harbour, brown sign (half way). Blue shed and then the energy lab so I didn’t find it too bad and at the half way mark I did in 1 hour 45 min so I just had to keep that pace for the rest of the way but I got slower and slower. Some people had started to walk now and they were running in and out of the porta loos, sitting on the side of the road, walking, stopping, vomiting etc. There was no way that I was going to stop or even walk. I could see the energy lab now and I didn’t feel too bad. I turned right into the energy lab and the music was pumping and there was a sense that kind of told me that it’s ok to walk now because everyone else was walking. I remembered what JC had told me in his good luck email about the carnage in the energy lab and not to give up like everyone else so I stayed strong and kept running. I actually ran out of caffeine gels because I miscalculated the special needs station – its was at 30 km not 24 like I thought so I kind of started running low on energy but didn’t want to try anything new so I had to wait until the special needs for my next gel. I was a little worried but knew it wouldn’t stop me from running. I made it to the turn around at the energy lap and now just had to run up the hill and back onto the Queen K – I wasn’t feeling too bad although the sun was going down and I didn’t want to finish in the dark. Back onto the Queen K and Nicole was still just behind me but all of a sudden I started feeling really exhausted and my legs were just ticking over at about 6 minute km pace. Nicole took off and I tried to go with her but my legs wouldn’t go any faster. I made to the 23 mile mark and I looked at my watch and tried to work out how far that was in km and whether I could break 11 hours. I worked out it was about 4 ½ km and that if I kept running then I would break 11 hours – that’s the only reason I kept running. My legs were totally gone but I could see Kona and knew I just had to run up the hill and then down Palani hill. So I made it up the hill and then running down Palani hill was so hard – my toes and feet were hurting – infact everything was hurting. I think the crowd kept me going though. I turned left after Palani hill and knew that as soon as I saw the “Service Station Ball” I only had about 500m metres to go and then onto the famous Alii Drive. It seemed to take forever to see that “Service Station Ball” but I made it and then onto Alii drive. The crowd were going crazy – you would have thought I was winning the whole race. I was pretty emotional, I stopped to get the Aussie flag from my best friend and supporter, Amanda and then ran across the finish line with Mum yelling and crying - “Go Ali – you’re just wonderful” – then that was it, my glory, the build up – My first Kona was over - just like that in 10 hours, 58 minutes and 26 seconds.

I think the whole journey to get there has been the highlight of my life and has taught me so much about myself, goals, sacrifices and what’s important in life – never give up on your dreams.

Last but not least I couldn’t have done it without John Hill – both on a personal level and coaching level his support & understanding has been amazing. My family, especially my sisters and mum for believing in me and always being there. Amanda for keeping me sane while trying to stick to John Hill’s programme and for listening to all of my crap. Margaret-anne – my manager at work for being so supportive both personally and professionally and for also being my no. 1 fan.

Sydney weather forecast

Friday Mostly sunny Min: 18°C Max: 26°C

Saturday Sunny Min: 19°C Max: 28°C

Sunday Late shower Min: 20°C Max: 29°C

Monday Showers Min: 20°C Max: 25°C

Tuesday Clearing shower Min: 18°C Max: 22°C

Wednesday Mostly sunny Min: 17°C Max: 25°C

Bondi Swim Sunday

http://www.oceanswims.com/nsw67/roughwater07.html

$30 prerace

$40 race day

You can enter online, just follow the link above.

The Roughwater, to Creek Swim, 2km

Sunday, January 7, 2007, 10am

M-shaped course inside Bondi Bay. Start and finish at North Bondi SLSC, out to sea past Ben Buckler, in towards the centre of Bondi beach, out towards Mackenzies Point, in towards the Icebergs, then north behind the break back to North Bondi.

The start and finish are in relatively protected corner of North Bondi, which can take a wave if conditions are particularly difficult. It's a much more even break here, though. Don't forget the runout as a means of getting out through the break quickly. Once out past Ben Buckler, conditions can be very bumpy. Swell usually peaks in mid-beach at Bondi, so follow the set course well and don't come in too close to the break, just in case a rogue wave comes through.

563 finishers last season. 15th season for this swim.

Weekend Training

sat bike..optional
6 am york rd gates...easy ride kurnell..do it if missed a session this week
(as of this moment, oli, lisa and i will be riding for sure)

sat swim..email me if interested say 5pm bondi?

sun bike..
6:15 am york rd gates...waterfall return or longer if missed long bikes
(as of this moment, i'll be riding .. i've got 140k to do - easy)

sun run after optional

or sun calga tt optional

Friday morning swim

Meet at North Bondi at 6am .. if surf is NOT user friendly, then we'll hit the pool at the icebergs! $4.50 entry fee.

Kurnell #2 - Jan 14th

The early bird entries for this event will come to an end Friday January 5th at 5:00pm and so now is a good time to act.

If you are looking to enter the Sydney Triathlon Series Rnd Two - please go to www.trinswrace.org> TriNSW Races > Sydney Triathlon Series - for all the event information and for the secure ED System online entry.

$65 for TA members .. $80 for non members

Left Town

Steph and Declan headed east, middle east, yesterday evening for a new set of adventures in a truly H O T part of the world.

We look forward to the occassional update on life in Dubai!!

New 1/2 Ironman Book

VeloPress is pleased to announce the release of:

The Perfect Distance: Training for Long-Course Triathlon by Tom Rodgers

Rodgers is a USA Triathlon certified and Ultrafit coach. The Perfect Distance is the first and only training guide focused solely on the half-Iron triathlon race distance.

The book is available now from VeloGear.com and through major booksellers.

Return to normal training schedule

With the New Year begun, the training schedule returns to its normal time and place.

Luke McKenzie on xtri

His recap of 2006!

http://www.xtri.com/article.asp?id=1919

New Track Target!

Australian Craig Mottram broke the Australian 10km road racing record in finishing third in the prestigious San Silvestre Vallecana race on Monday night.

Mottram clocked a time of 27 minutes and 38 seconds through the streets of the Spanish capital, stripping 15 seconds off the mark he set in the same race two years ago.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the race in a world best time of 26:54, just edging out Eritrean Zersenay Tadesse.

Australian Andrew Letherby was eighth in 29:17.

In the women's race, Mottram's training partner Benita Johnson finished second to two-time New York marathon winner Jelena Prokupcuka of Latvia in 32:05.

Prokupcuka's winning time was 31:26.

Mottram went through the halfway mark in a slick 13:07.

He duelled with Kipchoge for the lead for another kilometre before being passed by Tadesse.

"I just couldn't hold on to the pace beyond that - you just don't expect people to be breaking world records on New Year's Eve," Mottram said.

"I ran on alright up the hills at the end but we were just going way too fast at the start for me to be competitive at the end.

"It was pretty obvious Eliud's plan was just to keep trying to go faster until I dropped off."

Kipchoge was second to Mottram when the Australian set a 3km world road best in Newcastle in September.

"He did the same thing that day but it was only 3K and I was able to hold on - but at 10K he was much too strong today," said the Australian.

Tick tock tick tock

Time to hunker down and refocus as the New Year begins and race dates fast approach.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Holidays Training Sked

23/12-sat bike 6 am york rd gates-hilly long hard session...course to be advised
sat run after bike

sat swim 5 pm north bondi surf club with lisa marathon(please email if doing this)

24/12-sun bike 6:15 am york rd gates easy 90-100k

25/12-mon swim/run-bondi to coogee run/swim..7 am north bondi surf club ...run and short swims at all the beaches for fun...(email if coming please)
and MERRY XMAS !!!!!!!!...run and bring shorts goggles to swim in

26/12-tue bike hard--5:45 am york rd gates

27/12-wed swim 6 am nbondi surf club
run after (email me if doing this please)

28/7-thurs bike east 5:45 am york rd gates through the hills easy
biathlon 7 pm nb surf club with sophie

29/12-fri run -6 am mckay oval track (email if doing this please)
swim after (email if doing this or want to at pm)

30/12-sat bike 6 am york rd gates easy ride kurnell
swim 5 pm north bondi with lisa (email if doing this please)

31/12-sun bike 6:15 am york rd gates-hilly long hard session...course to be advised
run after bike

1/01/07 swim-10:30 am north bondi ramp with stg HAPPY NEW YEAR

after this sessions as usual

jh

Sprinting in Penrith

SUMMER SPRINT SERIES PENRITH

The next Summer Sprint event (January 7th) entry forms can be found on the Nepean Triathlon website.

The website is http://www.nepeantriathlon.com/summer_sprint.html

Women's Only Races

All information and online entry is now in place (and entries are open) for the Women's Only races - the Enticer and Sprint events at the Sydney International Regatta Centre on the morning of February 4th 2007.

Racing is open to all females only; though husbands, boy friends and family are sure welcome to help out on the day and we know the ladies will appreciate your assistance.

Generous times are allowed for each race so you can be as competitive - or as non competitive - as you feel like on the day! There's no pressure; we make it a whole lot of fun and there'll be some great lucky draws for afterwards as well.

So come try a tri in the best possible atmosphere!

All details at www.trinswrace.org> Women's Only Racing.

Kurnell Two entries still open

Entries remain open for Round 2 of the Sydney Triathlon Series - Kurnell.

Although filling fast (the 2007 series looks set to break records) the good news is we have 50 additional slots for entry this year and judging from round one a whole lot of fun was had by all competitors.

SO shake off the Christmas / New Year excess and enter for a great work out January 14th - there's points and some great prizes to be won; a sensational sprint race to be competed in and a whole lot of extras as the series improves each and every race.

We need some more volunteers and you can sign on at www.trinswrace.orgto assist competitors on the day. So, if you are not competing you can still be part of the action! And right up close too!

Entries open now at www.trinswrace.org> Sydney Triathlon Series

Weather forecast

A bit grim for the weekend but you never know til the alarm bell rings ..

Saturday
Showers
Min: 17°C Max: 19°C

Sunday
Clearing shower
Min: 17°C Max: 21°C

High5 Specials

As per Santa helper Hills message, contact him for details on his pre-Christmas clearance .. some bargain prices for sure

Next few days of training

friday run 6 am mckay oval grass track....i,ll be there taking this(make sure u have done easy 2k before 6 am start)

friday night swim 6:15 pm north bondi with colin and stg (i think..i will confirm this..otherwise if anyone else is keen please email me)

sat 6 am york rd gates ...easy ride to kurnell and including hillbillie short fun handicap race at kurnell..bring your swimmers

sun 6 :15 am york road gates...120k plus and back to strengthwork and hills.
run after

regards
jh

Hot in here

Christmas Special at Bondi Junction Bikram Yoga

$99 Monthly is now available for anyone that has never done a $99 monthly before.

If you missed out on purchasing an intro monthly at $99 in the past then now is the time. This offer expires on January 30th, the pass must be bought and activated before January 30th. 2007. There are no extensions or suspensions with this pass.

Cervelo R2.5 Recall - FYI

Cervélo has identified a potential safety issue involving the down tube loosening or separating from the head tube on some R2.5 frames. Therefore, Cervélo Cycles is voluntarily recalling a limited number of 2005 model year R2.5 carbon bicycle frames.

Although the 2005 R2.5 carbon road frame passed all the standard industry frame tests, this particular problem was not uncovered during those standard frame tests. Cervélo has now discontinued the R2.5 model. The currently produced carbon road frames do not use the same lug design and are not susceptible to this problem.

This recall only applies to 2005 R2.5 road frames with serial numbers greater than R251700. These frames could have been purchased as a frameset or built with Shimano DuraAce (red decals) or Campagnolo Chorus (blue decals). All affected R2.5’s have clear coating over carbon fiber – see photo’s along the left of your screen.

If you purchased a 2005 R2.5, and have since sold it or given it away, please email the recall coordinator at recall@cervelo.com as soon as possible with the name, phone number, email address and or full mailing address (or any and all contact information you have) of the person who purchased the frame from you, so Cervélo can inform them of the recall process.

http://www.cervelo.com/r25recall/default.aspx

Polar HR Monitors

http://www.pursuit-performance.com.au/polar/html/local/polar_superseded_models.html

As I was searching for a new wristband for my Polar watch (it broke this week), I came across the link above for the sale of superseded models. There appear to be some good prices among these clearouts. So fyi.

Gearing by Scott

http://www.triathletemag.com/Page966.aspx

Dave Scott's thoughts on bike gearing.

One less car!

A motorist who travels 22 km a day in Sydney will spend three days stuck in traffic each year, says a transport report by the independent Centre for International Economics (CIE) titled A City Going Nowhere Fast.

The costs of traffic congestion in Sydney was around $5 billion in 1995 and could rise to $24 billion in 2020, said the City of Cities report.

Urban planners warn Sydney's economic, social and environmental welfare will suffer if its public transport problems are not solved.

While air pollution contributes to 1,400 deaths a year, according to a government report.

"The simple fact of urban life is that if we want to enable people to really remain citizens of their city we need to reduce our dependency on the automobile," says federal MP Malcolm Turnbull, who's electorate includes Bondi Beach.

from the Sydney Morning Herald online

Fastgear Holiday Specials

From the newsletter:

products on sale this month:

great Christmas gift idea...

defeet socks celebration!!! 30-50% off !! Fastgear is now the new Australian defeet distributor and as a promotion we'll sell any Airator sock for $10 and Levitator for $15 (usually 25-30) plus post to all email orders. all defeet socks can be seen on www.defeet.com, please note they do the best custom socks in the business.

with the introduction of new highfive supercarbs replacing our original energy source and isotonic drink powders which are now known as energy source supercarbs and isotonic supercarbs we are selling off any old stocks of energy drinks for 50 per cent off rrp. email for prices and get some great bargains.

note: new supecarbs allows more calories through the intestine to get greater energy into your system.

looking for a bargain with wetsuits and clothing? we have old stock of desoto that must clear at 50-70% off, email with your size and colour and we'll see what we can find for you

lastly all tufo tyres are on special at 30% off rrp, just contact for products or prices and we’ll look after you. There are some great singles for racing for under 100$ that fly around at pressures up to 220 psi !! ... less rolling resistance and great speed !!

next month fastgear australia will have a new website with shopping cart, dealers in your area, lots of specials, more technical information and dedicated products to australia. so look out for some great bargains and info in our next newsletter.

we’ll also have more articles and great giveaways to celebrate the new look fastgear australia.

until next month train safe and recover well.

John Hill

Manly Ocean Swim

http://admin.eventdirector.net/resources/PONT3/SITES/206/

Saturday Dec 16th, 10am 2km ocean swim

X-Tri Australia 2007 race schedule

February 17th - Bluff2Beach Swim over 1 and 2km - Front Beach - Torquay - www.bluff2beach.com

February 18th - Surf Coast International, Victorian LD Champs - 2/80/20 - Torquay - www.surfcoasttri.com

August 19th - Seaspray-Rydges Capricorn Half Ironman Triathlon - 1.9/90/21 - Yeppoon - www.capricornhalf.com

September 2nd - Singapore Ironman 70.3 triathlon - Singapore - www.ironman703singapore.com

December 16th - Canberra City Half Ironman Triathlon - Canberra - www.canberrahalf.com

For more details, see: http://www.x-tri.com.au

First Fastgear newsletter

It's out .. sent direct ..

If you didn't receive it, please email JH.

The Timing Chip – Ironman WA

The results from Sunday’s race in Busselton were outstanding in many ways, buoyed by superb conditions for the swim and minimal wind at the start of the bike. With the temperature rising to 30C degrees during the run, the earlier you began the less time you spent in the heat of the day.

Seven pro women and two pro men were faster than the respective women’s and men’s winners a year ago. The fastest splits on the day, based on those who completed the race, among the pro men were: a 49:31 swim, a 4:18:07 bike and a 2:43:58 run. These were accomplished by three different athletes.

For the pro women, it was a 53:31 swim, a 4:50:49 bike and a 3:10:50. The winner, Lisbeth Kristensen, recorded the first two splits, building enough of a lead to outlast several faster runners.

Seventeen men finished sub9 this year, five more than a year ago. And 103 athletes finished sub10, almost twice as many as in 2005 when athletes were met with a thunderstorm that delayed the start of the race by half an hour, left them swimming in rough water and battling strong winds on the bike. And then it got hot!

In this year’s race, the most competitive age group was the men’s 40-44 category where the top three athletes finished sub9; just 18 seconds separated first and second place with all three within 5 minutes of each other.

The speediest men’s age grouper on the day was in the 40-44 group, with a time of 8:55:57.

Not unexpectedly, the men’s 25-29 age group was next fastest – with less than 9 minutes separating first and third place. The first crossed the line in 8:59:20.

The third-fastest group, in terms of the top three finishers, was men 35-39, followed by the men 30-34 and men 45-49.

Looking at the depth of competitiveness at the event, 14 pro men, nine in the men’s 30-34 age group and seven each among the pro women and the men’s 25-29 group had finished the race sub9:30.

At the 10 hour mark, 30 in the men’s 30-34 group had finished their day, as had 15 pro men, 14 in the men’s 25-29 group and the men’s 35-39 group, 11 pro women and 10 in the men’s 40-44 group.

The most competitive women’s age group was 30-34, followed by those aged 25-29 years. The fastest woman age grouper, from the 25-29's, crossed the line in 10:22:28.

While the group performances were uncanny, there were some huge individual personal bests and some massive improvements from a year ago.

TriSpecific’s Charlotte Paul finished in 9:17:46 and had to settle for third place, compared with the 9:47:28 that secured her second place a year ago.

Team High5 Multisports Lisa Marangon finished in 9:35:16 after riding 5:04:42, or almost 20 minutes faster than a year ago. She also ran almost half an hour faster too.

The finishing times were massive PBs for both Paul and Marangon.

No doubt another year of training, with more time to finetune one’s nutrition plan and racing strategy, helped bolster individual performances, but even individual records weren’t enough.

Mitch Anderson, who set a bike course record of 4:18:07, had to settle for second place in 8:18:01. A year ago he rode 4:30:40 and won the event in 8:27:36.

There were 766 finishers this year, up from 588 a year ago.

Weekend Training ETC

Dear all,

The end of easy week approaches so enjoy it while u can ... after my ironman I couldn't help but oversleep both Tuesday and Thursday mmmmm I needed it, apologies for not taking the group.

Those thinking of bludging over Christmas please note there's only about 16 weeks
to Port Maq Ironman ... as usual everyone goes all lazy ... if u have goals to do well in that or even husky long course champs ...

This weekend I will be away at shepparton but not racing, please ride safely.

Good luck to Jacqui coming off her win in newcastle !!

After this w end I,ll be back at every session starting our block of strength work

I'll also be ordering our new cycling kit next week

Congrats to wendo and mona in joining me and others for the 6ft track 45k
mountain race on March 10th ... after qualifying for hawaii early I'll be
doing my all-time "want to do" race which is the comrades marathon in south
africa in june which is over 80km ... ouch

And lastly I still need people for the high5 trials in january, u get 100$ of free high5 each week for 4 weeks ... please tell your friends and let me know

Regards
John

Skin Cancer Check

Dear everyone,

As many of you know I work at the Cancer Council NSW on the Cancer Helpline. We advise people on skin cancer checks and skin cancer clinics every single day.

For information on checking your skin cancer please look at: http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=354&fromsearch=yes

Please read the following information before you go to a skin cancer clinic: http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=1303&fromsearch=yes

This video is a great laugh to watch - just click on view video http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=2166

We are all at risk of skin cancers so please slip, slop and slap. Also now with the new campaign strip, search and save!

Bindy Lane
Cancer Helpline Consultant
The Cancer Council NSW
Cancer Helpline: 13 11 20

JH on Busso

this will be short and sweet due to lack of time but the basics are

swim
59 min woohoo..got bashed but enjoyed it,great temp and pretty flat...put me in a good position on the bike

bike
legs wouldn't work first 60k due to cold legs i think, came good second lap...spent the whole first 120k with john mergler covering his surges to get away...by the 120k mark a good pack had formed behind us watching the 2 johnny's show...they were even bloody commenting "dont let him go" everytime a surge came....anyway last 60k i made a decision to let him go alone in the wind so i could hide in pack and save my legs to run him down...unfortunately the pack slowed and he got about 7 mins on me but i didnt know until the end...stretched like crazy and was ready to run...time was 4:54 ish

the run
well not all plans work, my back just went straight into spasm because my new bike position after 5 mins running, ouch ouch ouch that hurt...came good after an hour as usual then plan b caf trial in place...that didnt work for me either...mona told me i was 3rd so got into gear as i knew i had to be in 2nd to get my hawaii spot, went back to old system...took the guy and put 20 mins on him then cruised home with spot intact...3:35 ish run

all in all happy that i got my hawaii spot which was the purpose...a good time of 9:30

***

well done to lisa in her pb, lots more coming from her i know that, not everyday turns out perfect but with commitment consistancy and determination we all get our goals.

jh

Long distance petition

In light of the recent decision by ITU to shorten the "long-distance" championships and races from current 4-120-30K to 3-80-20K, a few of us at dinner the night before ITU Worlds LD in Canberra seemed to agree that it was a very bad decision and maybe in stark contrast to what we, the athletes think. So I took it upon myself to write a petition. The following day at the pre-race briefing I passed it around and yes, just about all the elites did in fact agree and sign it.

we have a number of votes from Canberra, among them the winners Torbjorn Sindballe and Bella Comerford, and we’re now continuing to collect votes through the athletes’ website http://www.triathlon-professionals.org

We’ll later forward all these names to the ITU.

Anyone agreeing with this petition may e-mail me at colting@telia.com

Best regards
Jonas

For more details, see the xtri posting:
http://xtri.com/article.asp?id=1907&page=1

Athletics Australia website

Athletics Australia has a new website. You can sign up for a newsletter too.

http://www.athletics.com.au/

Kona Lottery

In search of the perfect holiday gift for the Triathlete who has everything?

Entry into the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship Lottery is the ultimate gift idea. Sign them up for a chance to compete at the world's most challenging endurance event taking place on October 13th, 2007 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

The Ford Ironman World Championship selects 200 athletes each year to participate through a lottery system. One hundred and fifty of the athletes will be selected from the United States applicants and fifty athletes will be selected from other countries. The Ford Ironman World Championship is one of the most in demand athletic events in the world. Qualifying gets more difficult each year, so the lottery is another option to enter the race.

As part of the lottery process, Ironman in 1990 established the Passport Club in the United States. This year the Passport Club has been opened to all athletes worldwide. The Passport Club offers many benefits including increasing your chances to be selected through the lottery.

Lottery Application US$35, Passport US$50 Additional- Membership

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1363504&group_id=10701

There are 50 lottery slots available to International applicants. CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT BE ENTERED. 25 names will be drawn from the Passport Club. 25 names will be drawn from the International Applicants and any unselected Passport Club members. Lottery selections will be available on April 15, 2007 at 12:00pm EST on Ironman.com.

US/INTERNATIONAL SELECTED ATHLETES

Athletes who are SELECTED through the Ironman Lottery must have completed an event that is 70.3 (1.2 Mile, 56 Mile + 13.1 Mile) distance or greater within one year of the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship to validate his/her lottery slot. Lottery winners must complete the validating race before August 31, 2007 and all validating information should be received in the Kona Race Office by August 31, 2007. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of the lottery slot.

What a day!

The Weather

It was a field day for those people who raced at Busselton yesterday and a lot of personal bests were set.

The conditions were near perfect from the start of the swim through to the finish – a huge contrast with some of the weather that athletes have had to endure at a number of Ironman races in the past 12 months.

And also a huge contrast to what greeted athletes on race morning at Busselton a year ago. Here’s what Dingo said in his race report on the 2005 event, after waking up to a pre-race thunderstorm:

``Transition shut at 6am (half an hour late) and everybody walked to the pier and realised that the crystal clear water of the past week had turned into a grey ugly washing machine.’’

It didn’t get much better than that last year as the wind howled on the bike and then the temperature rose during the run. This year there was little wind on the bike, a huge advantage to starting and completing the run with as short as time possible in the sun - the temperature peaked at 30 degrees yesterday at 4pm, according to the race coverage.

A review of some of yesterday’s results shows how many athletes were able to take advantage of the conditions, least of which Team High5 Multisport.

In yesterday’s race, 16 men finished in less than nine hours, four more than a year ago. And while it may not be fair to directly compare the group of athletes competing this year and last, this statistic is just the tip of the iceberg.

The winning time this year, 8:08:57, compares with 8:27:36 a year ago. It wasn’t just the pro men who excelled though. The superb performance by Jason Shortis was matched by the women’s winner, Lisbeth Kristensen.

Kristensen had a 9:10:01 time, compared with 9:31:32 when Angela Milne won in 2005.

A range of pro and age-group athletes set personal best times yesterday. Charlotte Paul finished in 9:17:46 for third place, compared with the 9:47:28 that secured her second place a year ago.

In all, seven pro women finished with faster times than would have won the race in 2005. Team High5’s Lisa Marangon finished in 9:35:16 after riding 5:04:42, or almost 20 minutes faster than a year ago. She also ran almost half an hour faster too.

No doubt another year of training, with more time to finetune one’s nutrition plan, helped bolster individual performances, but even individual records weren’t enough yesterday.

Mitch Anderson, who set a bike course record of 4:18:07 yesterday, had to settle for second place in 8:18:01. A year ago he rode 4:30:40 and won the event in 8:27:36.

Among some of the age groupers the results were similar. John Mergler went 9:08:43 yesterday versus 9:34:43 in 2005. John Hill swam under the hour yesterday, more than eight minutes faster than a year ago and helping set the stage for a 9:30:53.

Both Mergler and Hill also had superb performances in Kona in October, where conditions for that course that day were considered near ideal.

In all, 103 Busselton competitors finished in less than 10 hours, about twice the rate as in 2005 and more than the 86 competitors with sub10 finishes in the race’s debut in 2004.

There were 779 finishers in Busselton yesterday.

Weather is one of those intangibles beyond anyone's control. Those athletes who were well prepared made sure to take advantage of the superb conditions.

Busso !!!

Congrats also to adventure racer/ironwoman Grace ..


Hotter than ever in Busselton

At 4pm the temperature is a cooking 30 degrees at the finish line, the hottest it's been all day!

Zoom Zoom Zoom in Busso

Wow!! Results so far.

John Mergler 9:08 1:02, 4:45, 3:21

John Hill 9:30 59!!!, 4:54, 3:37

Lisa Marangon 9:35 54, 5:04!!!!, 3:35


Jason Shortis won in 8:09 (with a 2:49 run), and Lisbeth Kristensen in 9:10 (with a 4:50 bike.

Congrats to Charlotte Paul who finished third.

Beautiful day in Busso

Superb weather conditions for the start of the race as the photos showed clear as glass water. The reports suggested little wind for the bike, unlike a year ago, and that helps explains the super speedy bike splits.

Still waiting for the final race results at this point.

Central Coast Surge

Three entered and three first-place finishes were recorded on a very wet and windy day on the NSW Central Coast at The Entrance.

The race start was delayed by about 25 minutes as organisers were overwhelmed by entrants, running out of bib numbers and having to resort to writing numbers on arms.

As a Hash Harriers event, it was low key. The start was a simple: ``Go''. And both the 9km and the 21km races started at the same time. The majority of people were running the half marathon.

It was stormy from start to finish. The turnaround point for the 9k suddenly appeared, a marshall directing those running short back from where we came. Both Gina Unwin and Tim Moore (me) headed back to town.

Gina took first place in the 30-39 age group; I took the 40-49 title. As we celebrated Margreet Dietz was surging to the lead in the half marathon, taking control before the turnaround. She was determined to set the pace.

Gina, Dingo and I waited patiently at the finish line. And then she appeared in the distance, leading. She took out the women's title!

Three trophies for three wet and wind blown competitors!! Thanks to Dingo for keeping us focused, and dry!!

Mark Allen - xtri

There's a comment by The Man on training advice on xtri. Just fyi.

And a second one by Lance Watson on setting goals.

Ironman WA - anyone home?

The latest `news' on the official ironman WA site is now more than a week old .. a preview of the pro men's race. There's still no preview of the pro women's race. And there's nothing else to build the race's profile.

The one profile on the race, as searched through Google, was on a Canadian running and triathlon site. So what gives? Why aren't the organisers here getting the word out?

Really, how hard is it to write a few sentences for the race's own website and build a bit of enthusiasm?

Even ironmanlive can't be bothered to mention the race, except indirectly in a US Thanksgiving post.

Is anyone home?

No Adverse Findings!

Tarpon Springs, FL (November 30, 2006) - Today, Ironman announces that all drug tests conducted on behalf of the 2006 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii were negative.

All top ten male and female finishers were tested and there were no adverse analytical findings (AAFs).

Ironman continues to conduct the most comprehensive drug testing of any race organization to ensure the cleanliness and health of our sport.

Ironman is committed in its pursuit of excellence and controlling doping through adherence of the WADA code, comments President and CEO of Ironman, Ben Fertic.

Drug tests were conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), following the top ten male and female' finishes. All tests were conducted on-site on Saturday, October 21, 2006.

Sydney Forecast

Friday Mostly sunny Min: 17C Max: 30°C

Saturday Showers Min: 21°C Max: 26°C

Sunday Clearing shower Min: 17°C Max: 22°C

Monday Clearing shower Min: 15°C Max: 22°C

Tuesday Mostly sunny Min: 17°C Max: 28°C

Busselton Forecast for Sunday

Sunday December 3rd Sunny Min: 13°C Max: 25°C

Bondi to Bronte Swim Sunday

Not training all that hard .. can't be bothered to ride or complete a brick session .. and yet eager to get some training in ..

the Bondi to Bronte Ocean Swim is set for Sunday $30 online, $40 on the day

http://www.bonditobronte.com.au

online entries close at 10pm Friday (tomorrow)

Weekend Training

John's in Busselton till Monday.. so training this weekend is;

Saturday
6:00am
90-100k Easy Waterfall and return stopping at Sutho Servo on return

12:30 BRAT Expo at Heffron Park
1:30 BRAT Race - come and watch Dingo battle it out (guaranteed this is more competitive than any other race)

Sunday
6:15am
120k Easy out past airport tunnel - hit starts after first set of lights after tunnel. Out to Kurnell 2 loops of Kurnell (turn before rough bit and include Caltex loop).
re-Group at usual servo - head home easy.

Some have runs off the bike

Go home and follow Busso..
Good luck to Lisa, Grace, Hilly, John M and Thomas

Damo

M-Dot WA

Ironman WA is set to begin at 6am Sunday and promises an exciting day.

On the pro women's side, there are Lisa Marangon and Charlotte Paul - both looking for their first wins at this level. Both Lisa and Charlotte have showed good form in the past few weeks.

They'll have a bit of competition from Angela Milne (who won last year) and Jo King as well as Switzerland's Lisbeth Kristensen. The women will be fighting it out for one qualifying slot for Kona.

As for the pro men, Mitch Anderson is looking to retain his title. He'll be challenged by Luke Bell and Jason Shortis. There are three slots available for the men.

Among Team High5 Multisport athletes, John, Thomas, Mark and Grace will be on the starting line. Other competitors include John Mergler and Stephen Firth - they simply can't resist entering a race.

The event has attracted 850 competitors from 33 countries. The are 26 qualifying slots for age groupers.

No Canberra race

Road works and a lack of SES personnel to help marshal the course have resulted in the Canberra long distance triathlon set for December 17 being cancelled.

``It is therefore with sorrow that we announce that we are forced to cancel the event on December 17th,'' the organisers, X-Tri, said in an email statement.

``X-Tri prides itself on providing a safe, well marshalled event course and anything less than this is simply not acceptable for you our customers nor to us.''

Training in the sun

From the New York Times on November 21 ..

``Marathon runners may have an increased risk for skin cancer, a small study published Monday suggests, and excessive sun exposure and exercise-induced suppression of the body’s immune system may be involved.
The lead author of the report, Dr. Christina M. Ambros-Rudolph, said the pilot study had reached no conclusion about the exact increase in risk that marathoners face.

But, Dr. Ambros-Rudolph said, “Our results show that there is a difference, in particular in sun exposure and measurable consequences such as increased solar lentigines.”

Solar lentigines are “age spots” caused by long-term sun exposure.''

24.5 words per kilometre !!!

Yes, the Dingo has released his Kona report.

It is 5489 words, minus the photo captions. Wow ..

See the link on the right hand side to Dingo's blog for a full read. Photos from the email that he circulated earlier today may appear a bit later.

Ironman NZ deadline tonight

Beat the price rise

For those still to enter the 2007 Bonita Ironman New Zealand, note that the early bird discount ends at midnight on the 28 November (TONIGHT) and the price goes up from NZ$625 to NZ$675.

Entries are limited

Ironman New Zealand is limited to just 1500 athletes. You DO NOT need to qualify for this race and with 80 Kona slots up for grabs and only 1500 athletes this race should be at the top of your ""to do"" list.

Saturday March 3rd!

http://www.ironman.co.nz/

Canberra Long Distance

Just fyi .. a late fee applies for entries after Dec 3rd!!

See: http://canberracitytri.com/

2k swim - 94k bike - 20k run

individuals or teams

Weekend Wrap

well done all some windy conditions but a good hitout...

newcastle worlds qaulifyer olympic distance
dean king..2nd overall ..woh great effort for little training !!
jh.............2nd..a great course..saving legs for busso and happy
oli ...........11th...great effort and still learning,getting better each week..watch out for this fella
jackie .......1st...never seen her with a 1st before woh!! great effort


kurnell sprint distance
dingo......... 4th...needs to come back to training,beat by mark preston 50 y old? haha..c u tuesday
tim .............7th..will beat rod grace next time by hook or by crook lol
tony g..........4th...alice nearly got u !!
alice............2nd...good effort for not much training,c u tuesday
damo..........19th...either a swim split mistake or see u at surf swim training?

couldn,t find any others??

regards
jh

Kurnell Results Link

http://www.trinswrace.org/default.asp?PageID=7455

Some race highlights (the swim times are all over the bay!):

Dingo 4th in his age group
Me 4th fastest run in my age group
Tony G 2nd fastest run in his age group
Alice 2nd in her age group
Damo 5th fastest run in his age group 17:40!!!!!

Race Reports Update

There's speculation that Dingo may be the first to hit the blogstand with a take on Kona. Watch your email!! And this space too!!!!

Now .. Eva .. Alice

And how about those adventure racers? .. Grace and Gina ..

Inquiring minds want to know!

Different course for each wave

The Kurnell series began with a blast. And with every gust of wind, and wave in Botany Bay, the buoys drifted further apart and further out!

Starting with the youngest group, which led the day, the swim course changed for every successive wave. As last group headed out, those between 40-49 years old, there was just one buoy to round. Swimmers were all over the bay.

Back on land, the bike and the run proceeded without much ado. It was windy and you had to make the most out of every less windy patch.

Macca was in the crowd alongside Anthony Donnelly, Margreet Dietz, Mel Mcdonald and unconfirmed reports of Michael Croft and Darren Brewer. Mone was running the shop.

No results at this point .. Damo, Dingo, Alice and I raced as did Tony Golden, Scott Mcdonald, Stephen Elliott, Craig Johnston, Rod Grace, Michael Moore and Charlotte Paul.

Next Kurnell - Jan 14th!!!

TP Massage Discount

FYI .. http://www.tpmassageball.com/

As our way of saying THANKS for your support, we're offering 20% off on holiday orders placed on our website. Just enter the discount code: HOLIDAYBALLS when making a purchase on our website.

Offer valid through December 31, 2006.

Boy Charlton Biathlon

The Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool, Mrs Macquaries Road, The Domain

Cost: Adults: $15 per race; $140 for a 10 race pass ($14/race.

When: Every Thursday through March 22nd 2007.

Distance: 4km run & 300m swim

Start: 6.30pm

Weekend Training

friday run
friday swim with stg 6:15 north bondi see below
friday swim..north bondi surf club bi athlon for fun 7 pm start ..400m swim/800m run hard sand,800m soft sand.400m swim

sat bike 6 am york rd gates -easy 90-100k to waterfall....(i wont be here .).....apparently last week was a shambles....a leader will be nominated..any takers??...please obey your leader as its dangerouse on the roads for everyones safety.

sun bike 6:15 am york rd gates...120k via la paruse to kurnell as per last week.(i wont be here)...over 40k e2 people start and lead e2 after right turn end of anzac parade,under 40k e2 hit people sit on and start at kurnell...2 laps kurnell as per last week...re group at garage at end of kurnell..easy home ,run after

optional -kurnell tri or newcastle tri

programes-please note i need xmas holiday schedules now ie things i need to know to write your prog as i,ll be doing most of this before i go away to bussleton

regards..jh

Port Mac - 1800 spots

Port Mac will now be open to 1800 athletes .. about 300 more than last year .. [It will be interesting to see how many more people are walking during the swim]

Race Director Ken Baggs points out that everyone wanting to qualify must complete in at least one race in the Snap Australian Half Ironman Series, and if not given a qualifying slot at the race they compete at, to make sure they enter the “End of Season Lottery” – see “Lottery” button on www.ironmanoz.com / Event Information / Lottery.

This lottery will be drawn on 17 January 2007.

There are only 2 races remaining in the Series – Campbells Shepparton Half Ironman on 10 December 2006 and the Bruce Gowans Toyota Tasmanian Half Ironman on 14 January 2007.

Thomas Back on Bike!

Thomas returned to cycling on the weekend and looked in good form on his temporary bike (courtesy of Ish).

And Lisa was cruising on her borrowed Kuota .. surging by Jac, Oli, Ian and me as if we were standing still ..

It was an all-star group that headed out into Kurnell - Mr Hill, Mr Mergler (whose Carbon P3 is equipped with a mountain bike seat for greater comfort) and Damo pushed the pace. The rest chased.

There's speculation that Dingo may reappear on Tuesday!

Kona drug rumours

There's a lengthy comment/story on slowtwitch about rumours of at least one positive test out of Kona - no names and there's the qualification that the substances may be natural in the athletes in question.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/

High5 Kit, Product Testing

high5 multisports bike kit:19 have pledged to purchase so far so getting near to the reqt of 25 needed to order ... anymore? ... most have ordered 1 set which wont last 4 rides per week unless your a quick washer :-)

high5 nutrition testing in january-still need more for this,remember u will get 100$ per week of free product for 4 weeks if u take part plus will see what products work best for u against other brands...please email if u want to be in it.

regards

jh

Weekend Training

dear all, welcome to winter...training as follows if u dare :-).....

thurs night swim with stg 6:15 north bondi (i,m not sure if on in this weather)

thurs night mini biathlon with sophie and friends 7 pm north bondi (short swim 2k sand run short swim)...ditto

fri swim run-please click "reply to all" if u want to run with someone to set up a meet (i,m swimming uni nsw)

sat bike 6 am york rd gates....to waterfall easy...(note i wont be at this session)...only do if on yr prog

sun bike 6:15 am york rd gates ...kurnell key session day as per prog..(e2 hitout around kurnell) .. sun run after bike

weather should be good after today

jh

Sydney Forecast

Friday Clearing shower Min: 10°C Max: 20°C

Saturday Mostly sunny Min: 12°C Max: 25°C

Sunday Mostly sunny Min: 16°C Max: 27°C

Monday Mostly sunny Min: 18°C Max: 26°C

Brrrrr - winter returns

A goosepimply, teeth-chattering Sydney has another reason to shake its collective head at the weather gods today.

This morning's recorded low temperature of 8.3 degrees is the coldest November minimum in more than a century.

Not since 1905 has a November day experienced such chill.

But don't put away the swimming cossies just yet, says bureau forecaster Chris Webb, because we're in for a fine and sunny weekend with temperatures in the high 20s.

From the Sydney Morning Herald online

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/16/1163266674135.html?from=top5

Centennial Park 5k loop

THE START IS WHERE THE BRATS START RUN RACES AT SHOWGROUND GATES ON THE CORNER,INSIDE WHITE FENCE

GO ANTICLOCKWISE ON USUAL 4K LOOP CIRCUIT

TURN LEFT AT FIRST ROAD TOWARDS MIDDLE OF PARK WHERE THEY MEET FOR COFFEE AT THE CARAVAN ON W ENDS

RUN PAST CARAVAN THEN U GET A FORK, TAKE LEFT OPTION WHERE IT MEETS PARK LOOP TURN RIGHT ONTO 4K LOOP PATH THEN AFTER FEW HUNDRED METRES RIGHT TURN AT KIOSK

FOLLOW BACK PAST CARAVAN AND REVERSE TO WHAT U DID TO GET TO CARAVAN BACK TO START

Tasmanian Tigers

The all-female Cadbury team, led by Ironwoman, Grace McClure, have shot up the rankings in the last few days of competition to claim their place as fastest female team, ahead of the local team, Hydro Tasmania.

(The Cadbury team was fifth out of 11 finishers overall.)

McClure said; “We’ve had an absolute ball. We’ve done everything – the entire map of Tasmania. We’ve had ups and downs, but no major injuries – we faced everything as a team. The highlight for us was the Montezuma Falls mountain bike stage. It was fantastic.''

Final Race Standings – End of Day Six: (unofficial)
1. Pure Tasmania 28hrs18mins21
2. All Stars 29.09.35
3. Telstra Men 29.18.03
4. Royal Bank of Scotland 33.27.59
5. Cadbury (all female) 33.57.09

Athletes Wanted!

In January 2007, High5 will be conducting scientific testing to compare various elements surrounding their new ‘SuperCarbs’ products. They need 30 riders to
participate in weekend (one day) bike and run trials.

The bike test will be a three hour, monitored, moderate ride, followed by
a 60 kilometre TT for four consecutive weeks, held at Kurnell, NSW. Eight of the
selected participants will also be required to go for a run, following the bike.

All participants will receive $100 worth of free product, in addition to product
consumed while testing. Participants will also receive information surrounding their
results, which can be used to develop an accurate nutrition plan.

Several runners are also required, for distances up to 32 kilometres. For more information, or to volunteer, email John Hill on fastgear@bigpond.com

Tri NSW race sked

The first round of the TriNSW Sydney Triathlon Series - Kurnell is now just two weeks away - as triathlon returns once more to its Sydney roots on Sunday 26th November in the 'shire'.

Further north the second round of the Australian Triathlon Series also happens on November 26th, in downtown Newcastle. An official qualifier for the 2007 World Champs, the race is already attracting a gun field of age groupers.

The Olympic course will cover the usual 1500m, 40km and 10km but this time the course highlights Newcastle's favourite beach, Nobby's starting at Lee Wharf and taking in some famous Newcastle icons as it swims, rides and runs to the finish...

Further details are available at: www.atsnewcastle.netor the RD, Paul Humphreys on (02) 4934 8138...

And as a warm up, why not head to Canberra and cheer on Team Australia in the 2006 ITU Canberra LD Triathlon World Championships on November 19th.

More at www.worldlongdistance2006.com

More racing real soon!

Don't forget the TriNSW Sydney Triathlon Series - Round 2 - January 14th 2007 and the Panther's Summer Sprint Series at Penrith on January 8th. And for a quick hit out before Christmas, head to Canberra for the Canberra City LD Tri on December 17th, Canberra see www.canberracitytri.com

There's lots more racing on, including the U23 Oceania and All Women's races at Penrith on February 4th 2007 and the Club Champs is back too set for April 28th - and before then there's a whole lot of racing across February and March!

Read all the info at www.trinswrace.org ...

Cheers
The TrINSW Race Team

Team Outfits

if you haven't received the email with the proposed new design (and pricing), contact jh

the key change from the previous jersey is a big high5 multisports logo in the middle of the shirt

defeet high5 socks are coming soon and i,ll throw in a free pair for anyone who places an order

if interested please email with your order and i can go from there... just qty and size

thanks
jh

BRAT dates

Wed 22 Nov
BRAT 5k Training Time Trial, start time at 6.30pm @ South Bondi Promenade.

Thurs 30 Nov
BRAT Aquathon, meet on the steps of North Bondi SLSC no later than 6.50 for a 7pm
start. See the Training section for details

Sat 2nd Dec BRAT Triathlon BRAT EXPO

Sat 2nd Dec BRAT Triathlon, at Heffron park @ 1:30pm

Sat 9th Dec BRAT 10k Run - Guess your own time. Cent Part 4pm near showground Gates

Nowra results

The results are online .. but as JH has already noted:

Lisa was edged out of first in the Olympic distance .. though she ran a very impressive 40:43 for the 10k. Alice took 4th in her age group.

Others spotted in the results, Mr Waterhouse and Mr Hanrahan.

Seven-day Sydney forecast

Thursday Clearing shower Min: 13°C Max: 21°C

Friday Mostly sunny Min: 13°C Max: 23°C

Saturday Mostly sunny Min: 16°C Max: 28°C

Sunday Mostly sunny Min: 19°C Max: 29°C

Monday Late shower Min: 20°C Max: 29°C

Tuesday Clearing shower Min: 16°C Max: 23°C

Wednesday Possible shower Min: 15°C Max: 21°C

Kona Komments

Race reports from far and wide and komments from that day in Kona last month have been requested and promised by a few athletes we all know.

As soon as they are ready, they'll be posted.

(Note that the blog will fall silent through early next week. Safe training.)

For Tasmania updates

This link should get you to the media centre area on the Mark Webber Challenge site.

http://www.markwebberchallenge.com/media/

Tasmania Day Three

Since kicking off in Launceston on Sunday, competitors have travelled more than 200km by foot, bike and kayak, and the course has been testing. Even proving too much for the professionals, as World Ironman champ and Webber team mate, Guy Andrews became the second elite sportsman forced to pull out of a day of competition.

Combined Race Standings at end of Day Three (Tuesday):

1. Pure Tasmania 16hrs06mins19secs
2. All Stars 16.39.56
3. Telstra Men 16.55.36
4. Royal Bank of Scotland 19.36.53
5. Foster’s 20.06.17
6. Cadbury (Grace, Gina) 20.22.21
7. Hydro Tasmania (all-female) 21.05.52
8. DWS 22.20.09
9. MIA (Missing in Action) 22.22.30
10. SecureCorp 23.48.33
11. Spinvox 23.57.13
12.Telstra Women 23.59.12

Port Mac accomodation

*Reminder from TriTravel to book accomodation for Port Mac ironman

Choice of properties includes:

Flynn’s Beach
Macquarie Waters
Rydges Port Macquarie
Sails Resort
Port Pacific Resort
Beach Blue Resort

Contact Tri Travel on 1 800 225022 or email res@tritravel.com.au

Row the girls!

(Mark Webber Challenge - from Monday)

After the 33km hike from Lake Ada to the Walls of Jerusalem and a short mountain bike stage, the teams took to the Mersey River for a white water rafting show down.

While Cracknell and McKay have the pedigree on the water, it was the women in the field who came out on top. The all-female Cadbury team, lead by Ironwoman and Personal Trainer, Grace McClure, surprised everyone by clocking the fastest time for the white water stage.

McClure said; “The rafting was awesome and spectacular. The four of us pulled out all the stops. I can’t believe we beat Cracknell and McKay – go the girls!”

1. All Star Celebrity Team 6hrs.57mins.22secs
2. Pure Tasmania Team 7.22.02
3. Telstra (men) 7.48.41
4. Foster’s (lead mixed team) 9.01.54
5. Royal Bank of Scotland 9.07.03
6. Cadbury (lead all-female team) 9.08.25
7. Hydro Tasmania (all-female) 9.34.59

Oli's borrowed bike?

Well Oli has set a high standard with a solid sub5 hour first time 1/2 ironman effort. The question is: how fast can Thomas get a new bike?

Oliver LAMB 4:53:16 he was 20th in the 25-29 age group .. a strong performance

swim 36:10
bike 2:45:31
rum 1:31:34 13th in the age group

Dave's going to Florida!!!

congrats to dave on qualifying and taking up his world 70.3 spot for florida next year

jh


his stats at port mac

David RAY 4:53:28 10th in his age group,18-24

swim 41:34 25th in age group
bike 2:41:59 8th in age group
run 1:29:53 2nd in age group

Goals by JH

well well what can i say, the best race of her life to date, the story of the 5 balls shows the marangon marathon bounces back !!!

with a great run after a great bike(borrowed after her crash last week), she nearly ran down belinda granger for first, got 2nd by about 30 seconds which was one of the most exciting races i've watched for a long long time

with angie sharp closing in she didn't panic or loose it mentally, she kept chipping away at belinda .. well done lisa!!

as an added note which i have to say, i don't think there's one of us in the group that knows that she deserves it and has it in her to make it to the top, what she did on sunday is what champions are made of, and everyone thinks champions are made overnight .. they are not!!

they go through ups and downs and tough days, depressing days, feeling like packing it in days ... it's part of the apprenticeship and lisa's been on that apprenticeship and has the goods

she's the new blood of twenty odd year olds coming up .. take heed from lisa, if u want your goals u got to work for them just like belinda has

jh

WOW! What a finish! Go Lisa!!

Belinda Granger has held tough for a sensational win at Port Macquarie Ironman 70.3 in a time of 4:35:55 with Lisa Marangon, recovering from a car crash just a week ago, 300 metres behind her and taking second in a time of 4:36:26.

http://vnews.ironmanlive.com/events/ironman70.3/australia70.3?show=all&y=2006

Angie Sharp was the leading female from the water but behind her Charlotte Paul, Belinda Granger and Lisa Marangon all exited within 20 metres of each other.

A fiercely determined Granger forged a lead in the bike leg she was not to concede and she continued to move ahead of her challengers throughout the 90kms.

Marangon moved into second, with Sharp slipping to third and Paul in fourth.

Into the run Granger looked strong but late in the race was put under pressure by Marangon, who came within 300 metres at the finish line!

“Forget my race, Lisa had an awesome race here today, I’m just amazed she even started after the car accident,” added Granger, mentioning her friend was involved in a major accident just one week before the race.

It was for Marangon an emotional second place but she was sure happy with the result.

* Belinda Granger AUS (#20) 4:35:55
* Lisa Marangon AUS (#24) at 4:36:26
* Angie Sharp AUS (#23) at 4:40:00
* Charlotte Paul AUS (#21) at 4:53:01
* Kelly Jarrett AUS (#423) at 5:02:59

Lance's pacers

The members of Lance Armstrong’s cycling teams escorted him to seven consecutive victories in the Tour de France, but Armstrong will lean on a different group of athletes Sunday when he competes in the New York City Marathon: three legends of long-distance running.

The former marathon champions Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham el-Guerrouj, the defending Olympic champion in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, will pace Armstrong for his debut in the 26.2-mile race, each running with him for a different section of the course.

Salazar, 48, will run the first 10 miles, while Samuelson, 49, will take over for the next 10. Guerrouj, 32, will join Armstrong for the next six miles. For the last, short stretch through Central Park, Armstrong will be on his own.

See Lance Run

The New York City marathon is on Sunday .. 37,000 or so starters including the guy from Texas ..

The New York Times has been running, so to speak, a lot of stories on the event and marathons in general this week. It costs nothing to register online to read the stories.

The latest story is titled: Everything you know about marathons is wrong.

Here's the first two paragraphs:

Most runners have heard the marathon lore: Your time will be best if the weather on race day is about 55 degrees and overcast, or even drizzly. And avoid dehydration at all costs, because it will cause your muscles to cramp and you could collapse at the finish line.

But none of that is true, researchers said at a recent marathon medicine and science conference in Chicago.

Easy weekend

sat optional ride 6 am york rd gates easy 90-100k kurnell return

sun 90-100k ride 6:15 am york rd gates to waterfall easy
optional run after as per prog

or option

BRAT ‘SPRINT’ TRIATHLON THIS SUN Nov 5th 10.30AM

VENUE: Heffron Park Maroubra.

DISTANCE: 750m/20k/5k- 300m/10k/5k Junior and Beginners
TIME : 10.30 PM Start

REGISTRATION: From 9.45-10.15am.

jh

Port Mac 1/2

Lisa, Damo and JH heading north .. any others .. well enjoy the day ..

http://www.ironmanoz703.com/

Go Grace and Gina!

Cadbury is proud to be a sponsor of the 2006 Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge and has long been linked with Mark and the Grand Prix. Cadbury Schweppes sponsored the 2003 Mark Webber Challenge, and have been a major sponsor of the Melbourne Grand Prix.

In 2006 Cadbury's team comprises 4 amazing women, each dedicated to training for the Challenge while also holding down day jobs. Grace McClure will lead the team and will be accompanied by Melbournians Del Lloyd and Gillie Hilton - Gina Unwin from Sydney completes the team of four.

http://www.markwebberchallenge.com/index.cfm