In the southern hemisphere, we are getting into summer, it’s hot, and it’s sweaty… so what’s the G.O. on hydration? And how best should I do this hydration thing to maximise both performance and recovery?
Thanks for asking 😉
 
I was out riding the range this morning with my good man friends, soaking up the morning sunrise and trying to beat the late spring-time sun before it got up too high and started forcing the old sweat glands to fire up. However, before too long, there was sweat dripping everywhere, and the need for water increased. Today (Saturday long ride) was a good reminder that I need to be onto my hydration practices as the weather warms up, or I’ll be hindering the good work done, by jeopardising my performance during the long ride, and taking longer to recover afterwards, and also potentially hindering days to come.
 
If you have done a longer session in the hot weather, and then felt your performance decline later in the ride, chances are, you’ve either gone short on food or fluids. If you get home and you’ve eaten, had a drink, then been chilling on the couch for a while and you go to get up and get all light headed, that’s a sure sign you’ve under hydrated. Or the colour of your pee is a better shade of gold than clear, you’ve under hydrated. Or, you’ve weighed yourself before and after your ride and you’re down a coupla kegs, you’ve (you guessed it) under hydrated. It’s easy to do. But it’s also not hard to stay onto it either, with a little bit of common sense. We like common sense approaches, so let’s roll with a few strategies to help with hydration practices as we head into the scorching summer months (in the southern hemisphere anyway). Rules still very much apply to those of you in the north who are heading into the cooler months and in a lot of cases, training entirely indoors.
 
Righto, let’s dive into some proactive measures to stay hydrated and maximise our performance.

1. Drink to the conditions. Here’s the common sense part… if it’s hot and humid, chances are you’re going to require a bit more fluids going in. So, without drowning yourself, make sure you’re staying with the game, and maybe a little ahead of it. There’s definitely a high risk of over hydrating too, but use your nous, and drink to the conditions.
2. Learn your body and how it reacts to different weather conditions. If you know it’s going to be hot and you’ve got a long or intense, sweaty session coming up, weigh yourself before and after your session, and note the weight difference, if there is a difference. Ideally, you want things to be about the same before and after. But slightly under eg. I’m 72kg… if I got home and I was 71-71.5kg I wouldn’t be too concerned. I’d be making sure I drank a good 150% of that weight lost (1.5litres for 1kg lost) in the ensuing few hours to make sure I replaced that fluid loss. This is also a good lesson I probably need to drink just a little bit more during that session.
3. Electrolytes? Yep. For sure. You’re losing more than just straight fluid out of your body, so common sense says to put some back in i.e. electrolytes. Our body functions using electrical impulses sent from the brain, so to over simply things, if that concentration of fluids throughout the body gets out of whack, it has to rob fluids from Peter to pay Paula, and this doesn’t fair well. Whilst the research on the cramping side of things isn’t directly linked to electrolyte losses, the common sensical side of me says that if those messages aren’t flowing freely through the body because of electrolyte/fluid losses, then we’re not doing ourselves any favours. I’m of the opinion that everything is linked in the body so if something is out of balance, it’ll shut something down in order to stay alive and kicking, rather than let you power on and risk it all. Last time I looked at the research here, a high quality electrolyte mix like hydralite/gastro lite (the stuff designed for when we get gastro and dehydrated) is your best bang for buck. But if you’re onto it, most electrolytes are going to help your cause.

 
Let’s leave it there. Learn your body, and practice the 150% rule to ace your recovery. Use your nous… drink to the conditions (not necessarily to thirst). And yep, have some electrolytes during and after, they’re not going to hurt one iota.
 
Stay safe in the sun, and have fun out there.
 
Coach SF - click HERE to learn more about Head Coach Scotty Farrell

Michael Silk
San Francisco Bay Area/Oakland, California, USA
 
‘Quality is sometimes better than quantity.  I’m learning that I perform better when workouts are high-intensity, focused on building one aspect (FTP, Aerobic bases…), structured (intervals, warm up, specific targets) and allow time for full adaptive recovery.’ 

This month, our Fast Five feature athlete is Michael Silk. 

​Michael’s a relatively new addition to the T:Zero team but has been participating in triathlon for about six years. Over this time, he’s completed Olympic distance, 70.3 and iron-distance races, including the incredible Patagonman Chile in 2019 (you’ll want to check this one out - trust us!). 

Iron-distance is definitely Michael’s jam; with both the long training blocks and race day itself  pushing him to experience breakthroughs and moments of physical and mental clarity that keep the fire alive. He also credits the distance for pushing him to be more organised with his time - both in training and every day life.

Since becoming a T:Zero athlete, Michael says he’s started to focus more on hydration and core stability. Outside the standard swim/bike/run, he consistently incorporates strength training at the gym and is inspired to keep training and racing through seeing his own progress and improvement. He’s also deeply inspired by others who are pushing their own bodies beyond perceivable limits too. 

Under the watchful eye and steadfast guidance of Coach Rich, Michael’s plans for 2021 include tackling Ironman Arizona and attempting a sub-six hour bike leg. And while he does not currently possess a race day mantra, he’s keen and up for suggestions, so over to you team! 

Why and how did you get into triathlon/endurance/multisport?
I played sports growing up. I was injured playing post-college rugby and decided to take up running. I found a magazine that was advertising a sprint triathlon in a sauna at a YMCA in San Francisco. After finishing the sprint, I knew I loved the sport. 

Favourite race? Why? 
Patagonman is a tough ironman-distance race through the world’s most striking landscapes. You swim through a Chilean fjord, bike through Patagonia then run a trail marathon along the Ibanez River next to beautiful lakes, waterfalls, sheep herds, mountain towns and ends at a small port town on the border of Argentina. The community and race organizers are some of the most friendly and passionate people you will ever meet. Truly a bucket list race.

What’s your favourite thing about triathlon/endurance/multisport? 
Achieving a “runner’s high” or ‘peak/flow’ state while training or racing. It is usually followed by a sense of clarity and I believe it makes me a better person.  I also truly enjoy the opportunity it provides to connect the natural world through ocean swimming, running trails or biking through pristine forests.

Have you ever had an apparent training or race day “failure” that has set you up for later success? 
I wasn’t able to find my bike during the Oakland Triathlon because they were all racked tightly and in one corral. Since then, I’ve attached a flag, swim cap or bright coloured tag on my bike so that I can find it quickly after the swim. 

Do you have any tips for athletes struggling to find some motivation or who may have temporarily lost focus?
Go on an unfocused adventure (swimming, biking or running), try not to focus on HR, metrics or goals. Rekindle your love for the outdoors. 

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
It’s an admirable group of coaches and athletes. 

​BRISDIVIDE, 3rd-5th October, 2020 
640km 90% off-road loop, 14000+m of elevation gain (lots of climbing steep, rough trails/forestry roads).

Bikepacking is essentially... strapping a bunch of stuff to your bike (storage bags, bottles mainly). 

Depending on how long you’re going for determines how much and what stuff you need. Think of it like multi-day hiking but on a bike. Things need to be lightweight and stuffable. If going to remote areas you’ll need the ability to cook on a stove, heat water etc. If venturing not too far from towns, then a credit card, some sleep gear and some snacks are probably all that’s needed as you can just buy supplies from wherever to keep on truckin’. 

For the BRISDIVIDE being a Bikepacking race, the prerogative for us was to pack light, keep things tidy and move relatively quickly. I did the race with my two long time mates Robbie and Tony. Robbie has done a bunch of adventure racing so knows how to grind it out over a week, and TB threw himself into Bikepacking at the end of last year and has banked a bunch of overnighters including a week long expedition in NZ’s North Island from Wellington to Auckland over 7 days. For myself, I have a history of outdoor activities including many week-long and multi week long hiking expeditions throughout NZ and even 3 week trip to Everest Basecamp in Nepal, plus all the rock climbing, sea kayaking overnighters I used to do 20 years ago. It was our first Bikepacking race, but not the first trip we’ve been on. Normally, these races are done solo, but we decided to stick together for this one, which worked well and likely was lucky as we all made a few little errors along the way and helped each other out. 

Personally, I went into the race conservatively. Both nursing a sore lower back, and not as fit/strong as the lads, I wanted to get through it, so I paced myself accordingly. This likely wasn’t ideal for the boys who could quite easily have kicked on and gone a fair bit faster. But in the end, the extra rest they got, the spare Clif Bars in the last few hours, and a handy spare tube probably helped them out. 

The course started and finished in Brisbane atop Mt Coot-tha. On sunrise we headed south-west and ventured out and connected with the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) before heading north to Nanango, back across to Borumba Dam, Kenilworth, Kilcoy, Nuerum Creek, Mt Mee, Mt Glorious, Mt Nebo, and back to Mt Coot-tha. Plus a few other little towns along the way. The majority of the course was off-road and a mixture of really rough forestry roads, gravel roads, 4WD tracks, the odd single track, and a few short stints on sealed roads which felt amazing after the constant shudder and distinct lack of flow on the rough dirt.

DAY 1 
Day 1 started at 5:30am and we rode through until around 11pm clocking up about 250km with a heap of that being pretty fast riding along the rail trail which in the direction we were going was slightly uphill the whole way… 1-2% grinding all day. A couple of flats and a bent derailleur stalled us by a good hour all up across Day 1. We stopped for water refills, a bakery binge, and a burger in Blackbutt, but other than that we moved well all day and by the end of the day, my old man back felt better than at the start. I got talking to a 78 year old, recently retired fruit farmer from Blackbutt whilst waiting for my burger. Randomly he told me about an old dinosaur fossil he had ploughed up a while back and had it in the car. He asked if I wanted to see it… be rude not to really and what else was I doing at Blackbutt on a Saturday night whilst waiting for my burger? He also asked if I wanted to take a photo, so I kindly obliged. Turns out it was pretty cool (see pic) and is of a three toed something or other. He was taking it to sell to someone. 

After Blackbutt we followed the GPS route down through a sketchy looking “Private Property-Keep Out” sign and ventured down then up what can only be described as a dried up, boulder lined, white water rafting river bed with some resemblance of a skimpy little trail, that my dynamo light sure as hell couldn’t see very well. What an adventure it was hike-a-bikepacking down through that valley and back out. We were lucky to get through there unscathed really. We finally made Nanango and found a delightful, well lit, kinda shady (as in felt spooky), picnic table and roof to set up camp for a few hours. Rookie error number 1 for me - forgot to put my thermal pants in so I froze my nuts off for 6 hours whilst listening to the humming, knocking, and snoring coming from a cacophony of pool pumps (turns out we were next to the town pool) and the lads’ snoring their big hearts out. I had a bivy and sleeping mat, sans sleeping bag, TB a sleeping bag and mat, and Robbie just a sleeping bag. Nutbags! Night 1, I think I had maybe 20 mins of broken sleep and woke feeling very cold (shaking like a rattle snake) and rather shite. 

DAY 2 
The plan was to sleep for four hours then get up and hit it for Day 2 (Sunday). Six hours later one of the lads made some noise and we sprung into action. A quick stop at the local servo for a $1 coffee and a sanga and we were off. 

Despite not a great deal of climbing initially, Day 2 had a fair chunk of flat but really rocky old farm road that seemed to go on forever. It was flattish, but technical, so it was a hard slog through to Jimna for lunch. TB fell victim to the sleep dragon and passed out on the side of the road for a power nap whilst Robbie and I had a coke and chips party. TB got his second wind and we headed for Jimna. He’d also, in his OCD highly organised spreadsheet living life, pre-ordered us a lunch/dinner pack each from the coffee van at Jimna, and the guy had prepared it and left it out for us the night before. We were only about 18 hours behind where we thought we’d be, but man it was good to arrive there, see a couple of other racers, and chow down on a few sangas. 

Logistically we were behind the mark a bit and chasing tail to reach Borumba Dam/Kenilworth on time to eat a meal or refill snacks and food. But we hightailed it and got lucky… twice. At Borumba Dam, there was no visible potable water and the camp shop had closed earlier, but randomly I asked a lady if she knew where I might find some water and she just happened to be the owner and kindly opened the shop and gave us some bottles of water… score! 

After a brief climb out of Borumba, we settled into a good rhythm over the smooth forestry road (yep smooth for a change) to Kenilworth we arrived to a ghost town! Nothing but people cleaning floors with the ugly lights on. Robbie (the nicest guy in the world) must have sweet talked the other nicest guy in the world into opening the kitchen and reheating us some lasagne at the Kenilworth pub… winning! Leaving Kenilworth at 9:15pm we had ahead of us the biggest climb of the trip up Sunday Creek Rd topping out at 830m elevation, it took us about 3.5 hours to ride about 18k up the climb… hectic. We road through until 1:30am and set up camp for a few hours in the bush. Again, I was cold and had very broken sleep (if any). 

DAY 3 
We set off at 4:30am for Kilcoy and ventured down a very rough and steep downhill before popping out into prime farming country and a few of the straightest, smoothest, country roads I have come across. Another flat tyre saw TB chuck a mini tantrum after realising he packed the wrong size tube (hehe). Borrowed tube, (slow mate to the rescue) and we were off again. 

Kilcoy provided the best bakery feast ever… potato top pie, chicken wrap and a coffee. Food supplies stocked and home is calling. A brief stint on road before we hit the forestry/4WD roads for the rest of the day/night, and some of the steepest, roughest climbing and descending of the trip. The climbs on that final day were unrelenting. It was hot, dusty, rocky as all hell and steep. 

My knees felt the pinch on Day 3… not sure whether it was the uphill grinding, the downhill bracing, or the constant unclipping to stop for a quick drink that caused so much pain. Note to self, loosen pedals and keep lubed. 

I succumbed to two nights of next to no sleep and had a 20 min power nap on the grass at ‘The Gantry’ (wherever that is… I think near Mt Mee?), which was unreal. We hit the top of Mt Glorious after more of the steepest fire trails in the country, and were greeted by the smoothest road of the trip on nightfall and from there to the finish was fairly well downhill (apart from climbing back up Mt Coot-tha to finish). We hooked it downhill as best we could, the boys were running super low on fuel so we traded Clif Bars and this got them through to a last minute stop at Maccas before scaling Coot-tha for the finish at 10:30pm on Monday night. 2 days, 17 hours later (65 hours). 

What an epic adventure. It was a solid challenge for me. I paced it well based on my current fitness, and despite the lack of sleep and knees having had enough, I finished pretty well. 

Would I do it again? Hell yes. I’m already looking for another one and fine-tuning my setup some more.

Gear and Tech
My bike is a gravel bike. A Bombtrack Hook Ext-C. Running a SRAM mullet AXS 12 spd 1x groupset. Hunt 650b wheelset with a SON Dynamo front hub connected to an expsosure revo dyno light and a Sinewave USB converter to charge electronics. 

I navigated using a Garmin GPS Maps 66i which has built in SOS and tracking technology. For these races where you have to rely on the gpx files for navigation (pre set and reccied by the person setting the route/race) and you have to have a tracker, this device was awesome. I had a back up 10000mamp powerbank which I kept charging during the day. 

I carried 2.6 litres of water, plus a raincoat, thermals (sans leggings), hygiene stuff, tools, spares, food and first aid kit. 

Nutrition
Given the race was over 3 days (potentially more), my plan was to eat a variety of snacks and meals and compliment this with water (and coke when the opportunity presented itself and was needed). 

I pre-made 3 x Vegemite and cheese sandwiches before we left and ate them periodically across Day 1, and mixed this in with a couple of bakery stops and a burger and chips for dinner. 

Because the intensity was steady/aerobic, I went more with the ‘eat whatever you want approach’ than strategically sticking to easily digestible carbs like gels and bloks. 

I had a Clif gel every couple of hours, a couple of Clif Builder’s Bars each day, bought wraps from bakery stops, sandwiches, a couple of pies, and the best reheated lasagne I have ever had at Kenilworth pub. 

I was super diligent with my fuelling and just kept feeding the entire time really. I didn’t monitor carb content as such like I would a one-day event, but I was definitely mindful of not getting behind and having enough food logistically between towns/shops. Variety is key for these long events… too much of one thing and you’ll end up with flavour fatigue, especially the sweet stuff. Job done.

How did I end up venturing into the world of Bikepacking? 
TB went there first out of our crew. We’ve been looking at gravel bikes for a few years, and he took the plunge so we followed and haven’t looked back. 

After snapping my ACL a second time at the end of last year, I hit the pool, training for rehab and training for a marathon swim but that got canned and when opportunity knocks, I sold my TT bike and dived head first into the gravel world which has also been doubling has rehab for the knee. 

I’m back running a bit now, and looking forward to doing a few tris next year, as well as off-road tris, 12-24 hour mountain biking events, mountain bike marathon races, maybe a stage race, and another big bikepacking race! Whatever comes really, if it fits in with my work and family 😊

Ask not why, but why not! 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HEAD COACH SCOTTY FARRELL
​

Ciaran Kelly
Perth, WA
 
‘Every session has a purpose. Coach Scotty drills in the “turtle gains” every now and then to remind me of the big picture. You can get caught up in the present without understanding the longer term plan’

​Our October Fast Five athlete is Ciaran Kelly who has been training with Coach Scotty for just over 12 months. 

Ciaran’s been participating in triathlon since early 2017; finding his way in the sport after working FIFO for a number of years and making a personal promise to practise a healthy lifestyle once he finished working offshore. 

Most recently, he’s competed in both Challenge Roth (2019) and Busselton 70.3 (2020). While Challenge Roth has been his favourite race to date (see question below), Ciaran is partial to the 70.3 distance, feeling that it’s just the right length to allow flirtation with pace to find that tipping point.  

Although he finds it challenging to incorporate triathlon training with the demands of his full time job, Ciaran’s favourite thing about the sport is the people he meets along the journey - everyone is here for different reasons but bound together by a common interest. 

Ciaran counts his proudest triathlon moment as placing 3rd in the Western Australia AG Triathlete of the Year Awards 2019. 

Currently, he’s gearing up for the Tour of Margaret River - a 3-day cycling race in November - and plans to focus on strengthening his run off the bike coming into the 2021 season. 

Favourite race? Why? Has to be Challenge Roth. It’s a race on everyone’s bucket list and now I know why. 200,000 volunteers and the area just stops and gets involved for the week. 

Favourite training session? Coach Scotty has a few classics, however, he likes dishing out a long bike session with a steady increase in power with a nasty 20min TT at the end. It requires a lot of disciple to hold back early on. 

Have you ever had an apparent training or race day “failure” that has set you up for later success? Watch not working. When this happens you forget about the data and just concentrate on yourself in the moment and run/bike to feel. Since this I try not to use a watch while swimming. I’ve realised that when I come out of the water I can’t change what has just happened so I might as well be in a good head space and keep pushing on for the bike/run legs with a positive approach.

What motivates or inspires you to train/race/participate? To constantly try and improve my performance. While I’m new to triathlon I’m also behind the majority of other triathletes who have been in the sport for a number of years. It’s good to try and keep pushing myself to progress and develop.

Best piece of advice for someone starting out in the sport? Or best advice you’ve received? It’s not all about the data (although some coaches might say otherwise). Don’t get caught up in the numbers when starting out. Progression comes from building page upon page of sessions stacked together and before you know it, you will have developed and learned quite quickly.

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
The personalisation of the program and the relationship with Coach Scotty. With a busy work schedule I need a coach who understands my work/life balance. 

Hi guys, I’m Annabelle Carey a 19-year-old starting out in the endurance/multisport world. I was lucky enough to be put in contact with coach Rich at the beginning of this year to help me on my journey. Thanks to COVID it has been an interesting year competition wise. But I finally entered the Blackall 50 and set my eyes on training for my first ultramarathon in mid-October (now the race is this weekend!!)

At about 8 weeks out from racing I was sitting down with Tracey Tucker a good friend and founder of a Brisbane based charity, Pushing Barriers which help refugee youth be included in club sport. I have volunteered with the charity since the beginning of 2020 and have seen firsthand the impact that sports can have in the lives of these children. It was during this conversation that we spoke about the difficulties they have had raising funds due to COVID 19 and the impact it had on them being able to continue running the program. It was at this point I suggested that I could do Blackall as a charity run, it would be the perfect opportunity to raise awareness and funds.

Running 50k on your own, out on the trails is no easy feat it is both mentally and physically demanding, but it is the ultra-running community that surrounds you that makes you feel apart of something greater and pushes you to keep going. These youth have been through so much in their lives often all alone and have constantly continued to push on. It is for this reason that involving them in club sport is so much more than just being active. It provides them with a community where they are considered an equal, and an opportunity for them to be free and express their emotions.

A little more about Pushing Barriers (PB) and what exactly they provide…
Pushing Barriers is a Brisbane based non for profit organisation with the primary objective being to improve the lives and welfare of refugee youth by providing them with opportunities to be included and welcomed into Australian culture through club sport. These youth do not have families with the capacity to support them to play sport therefore PB assists with club registrations and fees as well transporting them to and from training and games.  These volunteer drivers become role models to these young people.
​
For further information about Pushing Barriers watch this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf7tHjlV5Ak or check out their website here http://www.pushingbarriers.org/about-us.html you can also find them on Facebook and Instagram @Pushing Barriers.

It would be devastating to think that as a result of COVID 19 many of these refugees would be unable to play sport next year considering the huge impact it is having on their lives, helping them to feel connected in their new country. So, if you can contribute a small amount towards a great cause it would be much appreciated. Let’s make a difference together and help assist refugee youth be included in Australian club sport for many years to come. And who knows we may just see them out on the trails, in the pool or on the road riding beside us in the future.
 
Thanks again, happy training and racing!
Annie

​My name is Khloe Healy and I am a long course triathlete who enjoys long runs on the beach and carb-fuelled dinners. 

I found triathlon in 2018 after I went in search of health and a hobby. Since then, it has become so much more. 

For the first year I fumbled my way through on average bikes, tri suits from the op shop and a “give it a crack” attitude before signing up for my first Ironman. 

In 2019 I did Ironman Australia as a dare - I got help from a club coach, borrowed a friend’s bike... and absolutely loved the experience. I probably trained as much for that race as I did under Rich's guidance for Sunshine Coast 70.3, but more on that later. 

After Ironman Australia I stopped with the coach and bombed out at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast later in the year on the path to Ironman Western Australia where I qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  

World Championship qualification was not even on my radar but in the hype of the moment and FOMO, I emptied my savings account and booked my spot. 

A few weeks later I ran into a family friend at the pool who told me about a tri guy he used to train insane with and I was given Coach Rich’s number. On Boxing Day 2019, Rich and I met up at a coffee shop in Ashgrove and to this day, whenever I ride past that coffee shop to go on to  climb Mount Nebo I point out to my friends the coffee shop where my life changed. 

Since starting up with T:Zero nine months ago I have grown so much as both an athlete and a person. So much so, it’s even hard to put into words. 

I think back to 2019 Khloe and I am almost sad about how little I believed in myself and my potential. If I’m honest, I knew I had ability in there somewhere but I was too scared to address it. As Coach Carter says ‘our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, it’s that we are powerful beyond measure’. 

When I joined T:Zero I slowly started to understand the other part of that quote - ‘our playing small does not serve the world and there is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around us’. I was now in an environment that showed me it was okay to believe in myself and do all the crazy shit we do as triathletes to try and get the best out of myself. Not everyone gets it; in fact, a lot of people think the work we do is bonkers, but I’ve realised that as long as we’re loving the process and chasing our potential that’s what matters. 

To round out my Coach Carter theme - ‘we unconsciously give other people the permission to shine’ and that is what T:Zero did for me. T:Zero’s drive, passion and commitment gave me permission to shine. I’ve been able to leave my self doubt and fear of failure in 2019 to become a better athlete and person. 

I actually used to be a very anxious, chaos chasing and unsatisfied person. It’s like I was never quite happy with where I was or where I was going. I didn’t have a reason or a purpose. 

As most of you would know, triathlon has an amazing way of changing that! It has given me such purpose in my life that everything else has started to fall into place. I’ve stopped worrying what other people are thinking or what might happen because I am mindful and present in a process. I don’t have energy for drama because I am grateful for the opportunity and moments I do have and I’m satisfied because I am living my potential. 

My lifestyle has changed so much as a result to become what I lovingly call ‘the vanilla life’. It’s all about eating right, getting sleep and removing stress so that we can get stuck into the process and achieve our goals. 

I learned pretty early on into training with Rich that I could not keep up with the demands of the dream if I wanted to get drunk on a Saturday night and hang around people who weren’t good for my psyche. It was an adjustment but one I would never take back as it has lead to so many great feats in both my personal life and my triathlon life. When the simple stuff remains constant in my life I am able to nail the exciting stuff.

So, with all that said about the mindset and lifestyle changes, the real proof of T:Zero’s impact has been in the pudding… the results! 

Throughout COVID we had to get creative in keeping training inspired and consistent. We swam in murky waterholes while the pools were closed (ps. great way to help overcome a fear of OWS!), used the lock down time to learn how to “vanilla life” and set our own personal goals or events. 

To stay super motivated I set out solo to achieve my 2019 running goals of cracking 20min for the 5km and 90min for the half. I never quite achieved them in 2019 but 3 months into coaching I ran a 19.14 5km and three months later, brought my half marathon from a 1.34 to a 1.28. Quite literally my old 5km pace became my new half marathon pace and these achievements were very important for me. They instilled a new sense of confidence in myself, the process and the coaching experience. 

I was able to carry this confidence with me as we then decided to build for Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast this year. I did more volume, hours and intensity in the lead up to that race than I ever did in any self-guided ironman builds and it completely paid off, as hard work usually does. 

It was my first time with a race plan and we managed a 20 minute PB from Sunshine Coast the year before and went from 8th in my age category to being the first female age grouper over the line. Holy smokes. I didn’t imagine that in my wildest dreams. But my team did and they basically orchestrated the whole thing right under my nose. 

I came to T:Zero with a hint of ability I wanted to tap into and now I’m here I’ve found a potential I want to tap into! 

Thank you T:Zero for giving me support to shine. 

​Ironman Cairns & 70.3 are next up on the return-to-racing agenda and we couldn’t be more excited! 

T:Zero athletes have a very tidy history of absolutely crushing this spectacular course. There’s so much to love about this race, but here are the top reasons it holds a special place in our hearts… 

​The epic scenery 
Rainforest or Reef - take your pick. Or don’t. Have them both! This course is truly spectacular in every sense of the word and is no doubt one of the reasons Ironman Cairns was voted ‘World’s Best Ironman’ in the 2018 Athlete Choice Awards!

Natural beauty abounds wherever you look, but particularly on the bike leg - where the magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean and seaside rainforest will 100% help to distract you from feeling sorry for yourself! Carry on!

​The atmosphere 
Although it might be a little different this year, Cairns is generally bustling with tourists. Add Ironman athletes and their families and supporters to the mix and you’ve got a fun-loving party atmosphere that’s bound to keep a spring in your step during the final throes of the marathon. 

The four-lap run course means plentiful opportunity for supporters to see and cheer their athletes on, while the final stretch through vibrant Cairns Esplanade is second-best only to reaching that beautiful red carpet finishing chute. 

T:Zero Represent! 
T:Zero has a pretty epic history of successful outings in Cairns, and we’re sure at least part of this success comes down to the incredible on-course support our FNQ T:Zero Family has provided over the years. 

Coach Mon is Cairns-based, as are a number of our athletes, so there’s never been a shortage of family, friends and fellow teammates lending cheers of encouragement throughout the day. 

And we all know there’s nothing like your very own cheer squad willing you to keep turning the legs over in those final few kms… 

​​
​Athlete-friendly course 
By this we mean … if you’re thinking of signing up for your first Ironman, this one should definitely make the shortlist. And if you’re looking to step up from short-course to long-course there’s always the 70.3 option on the same day! 

A rolling-start ocean swim at Palm Cove Beach followed by an undulating three-lap bike course on closed highway and a four-lap flat run is a nice, neat little package for an Ironman course. Multi lap courses might be polarising but they do mean that cheer squads and mechanical assistance (in the event it may be required) are never too far away. 

​Pre & post race activities abound
This one is an all-important factor for athletes planning on tying a holiday into their race plans or for those who have convinced their families to tag along and cheer for 10+ hours with the promise of pretty sweet rewards (beyond witnessing their loved one cross the coveted Ironman finish line of course!). 

Cairns is traditionally a tourist hot spot so not only does the city know how to cater well for a significant influx of visitors, it also already has a host of activities suitable for everyone (Great Barrier Reef trips, Kuranda Scenic Railway, markets, Esplanade etc.). 

If Cairns doesn’t float your boat beyond the IM weekend, Port Douglas is only a relatively short drive away, as is the Daintree Rainforest. Paradise awaits!

Good luck to all our T:Zero athletes racing this weekend! We will be eagerly tracking your progress and cheering you on from afar, if we can’t be there in person! 

​‘Working with Andy has definitely forced me to be more resilient. A session that was too hard a year ago probably would have led to me getting off the bike and being really shitty about it. Now there is someone watching from the other side I feel way more accountable and know I have to give it a good crack.’

​Our September Fast Five athlete is Kristen McMillan who has been training with T:Zero under the watchful eye of Coach Andrew Perry since November 2019. 

Kristen made her triathlon debut in 2012 as a team swimmer at the TreX cross tri series, later moving into Bribie triathlons and jumping up to Ironman 70.3 in 2019. She recently completed her second Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast a few days ago with a cracking 32 minute PB!

Unsurprisingly, Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 has been her favourite race to date - the atmosphere, support from family and friends and race distance (“the sweet spot”) ticking all the boxes. 

Kristen’s favourite leg is the bike where she really looks forward to the weekend long sessions, and is motivated by seeing improvements and progress in this area. A natural swimmer, her favourite training session is “any swim with 200m sets” which suits her lack of patience perfectly ;-) 

Kristen’s currently training for Ironman New Zealand in March 2021 and Ironman Barcelona in October 2021 (rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 due to COVID). 

What’s your favourite thing about triathlon/endurance/multisport?
You don’t have to be the best swimmer, cyclist, or runner, but you can be decent at all 3 and still compete.  

Favourite distance and why? 
That’s a hard question because I jumped from team swimmer, to short course, to 70.3 and back to Olympic and I’m currently training for an Ironman. Looking back, I think the 70.3 is the sweet spot where the training load is pretty achievable to fit around a job and social life. 

Proudest triathlon moment? 
Definitely crossing the finish line at my first 70.3. I was really going through it before I signed up for that race and that finish line symbolised so much more to me than just swimming, riding, and running 70.3 miles. 

What motivates or inspires you to train/race/participate? 
Seeing how far I can push myself and trying to get as mentally strong as I can. I’ve definitely realised how much your mindset affects your training and how you cope with challenges. 

Do you have a race day mantra? Or something you think about to get you through tough periods during the race or calm your pre-race nerves? 
I think about how fortunate I am to even be out there racing. There’s so many people who don’t have the opportunity to, so I think about how lucky I am to even be there. 

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
The T:Zero community is so approachable. Whatever you’re training for, you can bet someone on the team has done something like it and is happy to pass on their advice.  

By Head Coach (and qualified nutritionist) Scotty Farrell

​When it comes to race day nutrition, experienced athlete or not, I still hear and see so many basic boo boos. We know this stuff, we just forget, especially if we are not racing often, as has been the case this year.
So… a refresher for your convenience.

The please do’s:

1. Practice your race nutrition many times (5-6x) before the event. Experiment with different products, amounts, and timing strategies in the lead up to your race and find out the product and the amount of fuel you can handle. With plenty of concerted practice, you can really dial this stuff in, so that race day isn’t such a gamble on the gut
   1. For running specifically (as this is where we tend to see gut issues happen most often) aim for around 50g of carbs per hour and work up from there.
   2. Smaller feeds more often works well, especially for more intense racing. I personally like 15-20’ between feeds (a couple of bloks or half a gel).
2. Practice your pre-race eating routine.
   1. If you’re wanting a big brekky, let’s say you’re doing an Ironman, then it’s a good idea to work backwards from race start and aim for about 3 hours for a bigger feed (big bowl of oats and fruit).
   2. If your race is shorter or you’re not a big fan of eating whilst having the butterflies, you might prefer to nibble on an energy bar or a banana. But keep to small bits and every 20’ or so, like you would during a race.
   3. Big feed/longer racing = think 3 hours or more pre-race for time to digest. Smaller race or don’t like eating then think small feeds and spread the love.

 
Please don'ts:

1. Smashing down a clif bar, a banana and a bowl of cereal with an hour to go until race start isn’t enough time. Expect a good bout of stitch or some gut cramps and trip or two to the porta loo.
2. Have nothing and expect your body to go all day.
3. Aim for high amounts of fluid and carbs when you haven’t practiced it beforehand.

 
Think of your gut like any other muscle in the body. If you want it to perform well on race day, then you need to teach it what’s expected and train it accordingly.

On the bike, in my experience, I find it’s a lot easier for athletes to consume a higher amount of carbohydrates, so perhaps start with 60g/hr and work up from there. Using a glucose/fructose mix, athletes can train their gut to absorb around 90g/hr and in some cases even higher than this. Personally, I like the 70-80g/hr mark on the bike.

On the run, with pavement pounding happening, I find my gut struggles a bit more and I need to down regulate and aim for more like 50g/hr. But again, practice and trial it out.

Same deal with hydration… train your gut to handle the amounts of fluids you will ideally need on race day. If your race is going to be hot, then it makes sense to keep your fluid intake up, so train for this. If it’s going to be a cold weather race, then maybe a bit less fluid is needed? Use your nut, it’s common sense stuff, we don’t need to over complicate it, we just do.

The other thing to consider is that if the race is intense and short (let’s say under 90 minutes in length) then smashing down carbs and fluids isn’t as important. A well trained athlete could very well punch out a 80-90 minute race with barely any nutrition at all, maybe a gel or a couple of Clif Bloks and a few mouthfuls of water. And the more intense a race is, the more blood flow is diverted away from the digestive system to the working muscles, and the harder it will be to digest anything.

If the race is longer than 90 minutes, then nutrition and avoiding total energy depletion and the dreaded bonk, becomes more important.

The longer an event goes, let’s say all day or multi-day, the lower the intensity, but the more important it is to keep the fuel going in steadily. An Ironman, in my opinion blurs the lines of pushing ‘hard’ all day and being classed as ‘intense’ for most of us. And therefore, it’s super important to be practicing and training your gut for the rigors of race day stress. For multi-day events or ultra distance runs, we find that the intensity is generally low enough, that we can train our gut to eat almost anything. The longer an event goes too, the more important it becomes to avoid flavour or texture fatigue and mix up your nutrition between sweet, savoury, umami etc.

There you go. Keep it simple. Control the controllables.
​
Coach SF

​Our August Fast Five athlete is self-confessed “race fiend” Khloe Healy who has been training with Coach Rich and T:Zero for 8 months.

Khloe’s triathlon debut was at Kingscliff in early 2018. Since then she has completed 30 events including sprints, ultra trail runs, long course triathlons and marathons. 

Qualifying for Kona at Ironman Western Australia in 2019, Khloe is now firmly focussed on Ironman - her favourite distance simply because she loves racing and triathlon so much that she wants to be out on a course for as far (not long) as possible! 

While Khloe can’t pick a favourite training session (Parkrun, weekend long rides and pool sessions tick all the boxes), her least favourite is the wind trainer recovery ride (boring!).

Khloe loves triathlon, endurance and multisport for many reasons including “the people and sense of purpose” it brings as well as “hitting the numbers and seeing progress”. She also appreciates the fact she can eat just about anything she wants with the training load that Ironman requires! Khloe lists “chafe and the logistics” as her two least favourite things about the sport … and we quite agree! ;-P 

Outside of triathlon, Khloe enjoys cooking (and eating) good food, reading and hanging out with her friends and family. 

At the moment, she is training for both the love of it (v. Important) and Kona, where she is hoping to achieve her endurance goal for 2021 and break 10 hours. We’re behind you all the way, Khloe!

Why and how did you get into triathlon and multisport? 
It's been a bit of luck, magic and accident... One minute I was partying and travelling and the next I'd printed a Parkrun barcode and started trying to run 5km without walking. I met some triathlon people at Parkrun who convinced me to free trial their club and I just kept showing up and the habit and then love of training just kept growing. 

Favourite leg and why? 
The swim! Helps that it’s my strongest leg but I also like that you’re very much in your own race in the water- you don’t know who’s who or what’s what so you just swim your swim and deal with catching up or staying ahead when you’re out on the rest of the course. Also the water is refreshing instead of hot and sweaty.

Any funny or embarrassing race memories you’d like to share? 
I didn't realise how embarrassing these things were at the time but looking back I did so many silly things because I didn't know any better. You don't know what you don't know. Like insisting that cleats didn't make a difference so I didn't use them for sunny coast 70.3 2018. Or when I signed up for the whole QTS series as an 'open' because I thought that meant the 'fun for everyone' category not elite!

What motivates or inspires you to train/race/participate? 
My parents and brothers. My parents were unwell and absent which has greatly impacted my life but they gave me a good set of genetics for triathlon and I feel that triathlon is my way of being connected to them and learning to appreciate what they gave me instead of what I missed out on. Triathlon has really shown me how to let my past make me better not bitter. 

Best piece of advice for someone starting out in the sport? 
Don’t get caught up in all the gear and technical stuff. Just start moving and let the bike upgrades and fancy workouts come as your increasing fitness and experience demands the upgrade. Best piece of advice I ever got given was to always keep it fun. Even since starting more serious training I keep training as social as possible and probably joke around a bit too much but training has never felt like a chore and I think that’s lead to great consistency and hopefully longevity in the sport. 
 
And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Having access to Richard's expertise and support.

Our July Fast Five athlete is Sydney-based Stephen Reville who has been a triathlete for almost 6 years and training with Coach David Dellow and T:Zero for the past six months. 

Originally from Ireland (more on this below) and a former boxer, when it comes to triathlon, Stephen is partial to half and full iron-distance races. Motivated by the desire to test himself against the best in the world under extreme conditions, Kona 2021/22 is his big goal. 

Stephen counts his proudest triathlon moment as breaking the 4:30 mark at  Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast. The run and bike are his (equal) favourite legs as they come most naturally to him. Outside of triathlon, he enjoys surfing and boxing occasionally. 

While Stephen's currently focussed on rehabilitation following an injury, he’s hoping to shift that towards racing 70.3 and Ironman again in the very near future. All the best, Stephen!

Why and how did you get into triathlon and multisport? 
When I was 24 years old, I was asked by my gym manager at the time to do a lifeguard course. I told him I couldn’t because I couldn’t even swim a quarter length of a 25 metre pool and I was scared of the deep end. I had to learn to swim so I could do the lifeguard course. I then moved to New Zealand and endurance events seemed to be all the go and my mates back home were doing triathlon so I thought I’d give it a try. I did my first ever triathlon in New Zealand (the South Island Half) after only 10 weeks of training! 

Favourite race and why? 
Sunshine Coast 70.3. I love the scenery up there and I love hot humid conditions.

Any funny or embarrassing race memories you’d like to share? 
I was racing a double Olympic triathlon and moments before I asked this random guy to zip my wetsuit up for me and he ended up ripping the zip completely off my wetsuit so I couldn’t get it back on as it was broken. My mates then grabbed safety pins to hold it together! A few popped right away but some stayed. Off the gun went. We were swimming and during my first few strokes all the pins blew out and I had an open-back wetsuit in a really cold Irish river for 3 kilometres! It was great crack* really.

What’s your favourite thing about triathlon/endurance/multisport? 
You can train at anytime. When I was a boxer you had to be in the gym same time every week and with my job being 60 to 70 hrs per week and physical it’s always been hard to maintain that. 

Do you do other training outside the normal swim/bike/run? 
Strength work every day as part of my rehab. Sometimes I’ll go surfing and a tiny bit of boxing training.

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Because my coach Dave Dellow is THE MAN.

*crack - Irish word for “fun” :-P 

With the recent announcement from IRONMAN that, “due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the 2020 editions of the IRONMAN World Championship and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship have been cancelled”, perhaps it’s time that we (the athletes) readjust our reasons – our ‘why’ – for training and participating in all things swim, bike and run.
 
While the recent announcement will no doubt leave many athletes deflated, disappointed and unmotivated – perhaps even adding to the negative mental health impacts that this pandemic has had – with everything going on at the moment (looking at you, Melbourne), really, the decision doesn’t come as a surprise.  
 
And, deep down, we all know this is the right call by IRONMAN.
 
“It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 editions of the IRONMAN World Championship and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship,” said President and Chief Executive Officer for the IRONMAN Group, Andrew Messick in a statement released by IRONMAN.
 
“While we were hopeful that we could welcome our athletes, their families, and supporters to these events in early 2021, the continued impact of the pandemic makes this impossible.  It’s tough to make this decision in July, but it will provide the necessary clarity for our athletes, cities and partners."

"We will endure … and look forward to the day when we will again assemble the greatest professional and age-group triathletes in the world, and crown world champions.”
 
TAKE STOCK AND READJUST
 
For many athletes, a big motivator to train – especially in winter, when it’s cold, dark and possibly raining outside – is a looming race.
 
There’s nothing quite like the fear of a race on the horizon to help you get out of bed at 4:30am.
 
Am I right?
 
But now with a lot of races off the calendar, perhaps one way to stay motivated is to readjust your ‘why’.
 
Besides race day, what are your other reasons for training? What are the other benefits for getting out the door for that run, ride or even swim?
 
Some of the reasons for training could be:
 

• Mental health. It’s no secret that exercise makes you feel better (hello, endorphins). For me, this is a big reason why I’ve continued to train.

 

• Getting back to basics. T:Zero coaches time and time again speak about the benefits of getting back to basics.

 
So, think about training during COVID-19 as an opportunity to strip it all back; to build a serious base, without the added pressure of an upcoming race.
 
I, for one, have reaped the benefits of this, especially when it comes to my running – thanks, Scotty!
 

• Exercise as a way to spend time with friends/family. While this one is a little tricky, and social distancing measures still have to take place, during COVID-19 think about training as a way to spend time with a friend or family member – this is especially beneficial for those who live alone.

 
Getting out for a run with a friend can enhance the feeling of connection while living in a world of social distancing and isolation.
 

• If nothing else, think about your health. As someone who has been covering the pandemic for work over the last few months, it’s no secret that staying healthy is beneficial to avoiding infection.

 
While, of course, there have been stories of even the strongest, healthiest people contracting the virus, exercise will help you stay as healthy as possible.
 
Every time you step out the door, think about the good it’s doing for your body and mind.
 

• Think about the long-term game. While races are being cancelled left, right and centre, use this as an opportunity to develop your long-term mindset.

 
COVID-19 doesn’t have to crush your race dreams completely, and certainly not forever.
 
The virus will eventually pass, and races will once again fill calendars – remember this.
 
Because before you know it, it’ll be 2021 or even 2022 and what will you have done? Use this time wisely.
 
A conversation I recently had with a friend from Melbourne went a little something like this:
 
“Looks like my running will be the only time I’ll be allowed out without a facemask … think I’ll be running a bit more now (laughs).”
 
“Haha yeah, use it as an opportunity to get super fit, too! By the time we have some fun runs back … at this point we might all qualify for the Olympics, haha!”
 

• Try new things. Why not use this time to try new things.

 
Always wanted to do yoga but didn’t have the time? Do it now.
 
Adult ballet taking your fancy? (*raises hand slowly*) Why not! It’s a great way to work on strength and core, and to improve your balance.
 
Now is the time to try all the things you never got a chance to do because you were too busy … #training!
 
LEAN ON YOUR COACH
 
As with other disappointments in life, one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received is that it’s also important to feel all the feels when trying to get through a tough situation or setback – be that an injury or a cancelled race.
 
Allow yourself some time – cut yourself some slack.
 
If you feel down or unmotivated, don’t beat yourself up about it. Chances are, a lot of athletes are feeling the same.
 
Take the time you need to come to terms with the situation and to readjust to the new normal. Just don’t stay down for too long.
 
And if you’re struggling, speak with your coach.
 
Coaches are great at getting you to your race, but they can be so much more than simply the experts who keep an eye on what colours are appearing on your TrainingPeaks.
 
So, reach out to your coach. Speak with your fellow athletes, friends and family. You don’t have to go through this alone.
 
As Coach Heidi says in her recent blog: “As we hit a potential second wave of the virus and uncertainty, it may now be the perfect time to review your trajectory and create a second COVID inflection point by making a decision about your direction, locking into a goal or creating a positive change to your mindset.” 

#liveyourpotential #tzeromultisport

Let’s talk business… and the current state of the world.  I am no means a business expert.  However living with three intelligent folk who love talking business, I do pick up a few general themes that every now and then make me pause and think huh, sometimes business mimics life! 
 
One such business topic is the INFLECTION POINT.  In business, an inflection point is an event that results in a significant change in the progress of a business,  a turning point after which a dramatic change, with either positive or negative results, is expected to result. 
 
In 2020, to me, it is obvious that COVID was an inflection point for a large percentage of triathletes and endurance sport folk. 

We all had decisions to make when COVID hit.  The business of moving forward with exercise or training came down to each individual. For a large percentage, these decisions resulted in a training inflection point - some had renewed vigor around training and exercise as part of their lives. Others let it all fade to dust and stopped training and exercise all together.
 
For the ones who decided on the upward trajectory, life still had to change. I fondly remember the initial wave of enthusiasm and rush to secure a couple of kettlebells or dumbells for the home gym.  Bunnings stocking gym equipment. There was the sellout of indoor trainers, bikes, the Zwift craze, yoga online and the slew of virtual events that still continues to flow through the social media. Some discovered a newfound appreciation for outdoor activities, mountain biking, open water swimming, kyacking and trail running.
 
Very few parts of society and life have flowed onward without some scarring by the pandemic.  Sport has, necessarily or not, faded into the background as the management of the nation’s physical and economic health has become a more critical and immediate issue. 
 
Yet despite the craziness of the world around us, one thing that truly stands out to me is that our RIGHT to exercise and train has remained an untouchable factor, …..no matter the lockdown status imposed.  Despite pools and gyms being forced to close, races being cancelled, and community sport having been taken off the table for a period.  For all but the few quarantined folk, we all HAVE retained our ability and right to exercise and train during COVID. 
 
Yes it has required some creativity at times to continue. But ultimately - the decision to train or exercise had been ours alone, not COVID’s.
 
So, for those who may have decided to put their endurance goals to aside and lay off the focus and dedication, I wonder why? We all know the positive impact of structured training has on our physical and mental health and if we truly want to achieve those goals, nothing should stand in our way, not even COVID.
 
And for those of us still training, still focused, are we progressing in the direction we want?
 
So as we hit a potential second wave of the virus and uncertainty, it may now be the perfect time to review your trajectory and create a second COVID inflection point.   By making a decision about your direction, locking into a goal or creating a positive change to your mindset.
 
For me, I have made the decision to dig my heels in right now, believe that races will eventually return and be totally optimistic about the future of our sport.
 
That is my inflection point.
 
Bring on the upward trajectory.
 
Explore deeply, live boldy.
Coach Heidi

Click here to learn more about Coach Heidi and what incredible work she is doing for her athletes

Caitlin Davis
Canberra, ACT
 
Our June Fast Five athlete is Canberra based Caitlin Davis who has been training with Coach Andrew Perry and T:Zero for just over 12 months. 

Caitlin has participated in triathlons for 18 months but has already competed in sprint, Olympic, long course and 70.3 races, her favourite distance being the latter as she likes the extra time to settle into things!

Caitlin is currently studying law full time so for her, triathlon is the hobby! When she’s not training she likes to practice yoga and hike. 

Caitlin is inspired by the supportive people in her life who have taught her that possibility is endless. For her, the greatest feeling is seeing these people at the finish line. 

For anyone starting out in the sport, Caitlin’s best advice is to surround yourself with positive people who believe in you and lift you up, followed by, quite simply, “just have fun!”. 

With the race season being up in the air for much of early 2020, Caitlin’s set herself a #coronagoal of completing a half marathon PB, choosing to focus more on her overall wellbeing, and building consistency in training. When everything’s back up and running, she hopes to compete in her second 70.3!

Why and how did you get into triathlon and multisport? 
I came from a background of competitive tennis and hockey, which fell away once I started university. I got to a stage where I realised I didn’t have a lot of balance in my life, and everything basically revolved around study. Sport is such a huge contributor to my wellbeing, and I was ready to try something new and was looking for a challenge! I joined a local triathlon club in Canberra and completed their novice program and then my first triathlon in November 2018. 

Favourite leg and why? 
The swim – I find it’s where I can set my focus for the rest of the race, and somehow, I find it calming to be in the water. 

Since becoming a T:Zero athlete, what is the one new belief, behaviour, habit formed or skill honed that has most improved your athletic (or everyday) performance? 
Coach Andrew has definitely taught me a lot about consistency and patience. If you remain consistent and trust the process everything else will come. 

Do you have any tips for athletes struggling to find some motivation or who may have temporarily lost focus? 
I think it’s important to listen to what your body is trying to tell you, and to trust that your intuition is often correct. Sometimes I find that I simply just need a good couple of rest days and then I’m reset and ready to go. Remember that everything will fall together, just be patient. 

Do you have a race day mantra? Or something you think about to get you through tough periods during the race or calm your pre-race nerves? 
When I’m going through a tough period during a race, I like to think about what an incredible gift it is to be able to swim, bike and run. Oh how lucky I am to suffer like this! 

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
I love the positive energy that comes from the T:Zero Team. Everyone is so supportive and it’s great to be part of a community that lifts each other up. 

*Caitlin has also previously contributed an epic race report on her debut 70.3 (Sunshine Coast) to our blog! It's certainly worth a read!

“There is no royal road to anything, one thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.”
 
Our May Fast Five feature is Brisbane based athlete Melissa Speare who has been kicking her endurance goals with the help of Coach Scotty and T:Zero for the past four years! 

Melissa’s favourite thing about triathlon and endurance sport is getting to hang out with other people who think it’s all totally normal! She’s got a love/hate relationship with each tri discipline but says the run is perhaps a soft spot purely because it’s so uncomfortable for her that she challenges herself to love it.

Although she doesn’t have a favourite training session, Melissa says her favourite training week was attending the TZ Bright Camp and training up a storm with her buddy Farragio. Her motivation comes from setting the goal which she says makes her feel like she’s “on track” in life sometimes. 

When she’s not training, Melissa likes to play hunt, catch and cuddle with her kids... even though they’re all grown up 😊

While 2020 has seen her take a bit of a hiatus thus far, Melissa still has her eyes set on Noosa Triathlon in November, aiming to give it a crack for the first time since 2014! Fingers crossed Melissa!

Favourite race? Why?
Most recently…my first 100km trail run in Tassie a couple of months ago.  Getting to the end with spirits high throughout the whole event.  Magic.

Proudest triathlon moment?
My first Port Mac IM in 2018 where I finally got to do something I never thought I could do – finish a 42km run leg. 

Do you do other training outside the normal swim/bike/run?
I’m loving throwing myself into yoga right now.  So much so, that I decided I to undertake some yoga teacher training. Doing yoga regularly seems to be a great alternative to spending $$$$ at my physio at the moment.

Have you ever had an apparent training or race day “failure” that has set you up for later success? 
Doing my first OD tri at Byron Bay with my brakes on.  Never has that happened again.  Seriously,  the learnings are endless.  

Do you have any tips for athletes struggling to find some motivation or who may have temporarily lost focus? 
Just roll with it….keep moving however you want…mix it up…..try to maintain a sense of perspective not just for the sport you love, but for everything that makes up the kaleidoscope of your world. 

Make sure you keep talking with coach and surround yourself with good energies.

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Motivation, sharing knowledge that spans in a web of wild direction and camaraderie. 

With Coach Andrew Perry
 
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone comes to terms with the measures needed to flatten the curve, such as social distancing and isolation, many race plans have come undone.
 
The IRONMAN World Championship, which was originally scheduled for October 2020 has now been postponed to February 2021.
 
The Gold Coast Marathon has now officially been cancelled. The Sunshine Coast Marathon has also been cancelled.
 
These are just some of most recent changes to upcoming events, to name a few.
 
And with race plans derailed everywhere you turn; it can be easy to get down and to lose focus.  As triathletes, we’re often told to ‘control the controllable’, a sentiment that rings true now more than ever.
 
To get through these global unprecedented events it’s time to change the mindset ­– to look at this as an opportunity for becoming a better you, rather than an absolute derailment of goals and plans; dreams you’ve worked hard to achieve.
 
It’s about shifting your perception of recent events and developing your long-term mindset.
 
Do you really need to race every other weekend, or every year to be a better athlete? Or can you still achieve great things – to become a better you – by setting smaller milestones that can take you on a journey towards not only physical but also mental strength and wellbeing?
 
My answer is: yes, you can. I’ve seen this in the athletes that I coach.
 
While the pandemic has been a challenge (for coaches as well) I’ve had the pleasure of seeing my athletes achieve some great things during this forced ‘downtime’ – without the stress or pressure of race days, race times etc.
 
Some of the notable improvements I’ve seen in my athletes, include:

• Two athletes achieving FTP increases of 8% and 15% respectfully in training.
• An unintentional 5km PB achievement in a training run – the athlete didn’t set out to achieve a PB, through continued regular training in lockdown, it just happened.
• An athlete completed a 10km run, in training, for the first time – without the need of a race to prompt the achievement.

 
So, my advice to athletes during this time is to look at the long-term (keep the bigger picture at the front of mind) while focusing on the short-term.
 
Improvements come through consistency – by ticking off sessions as they come, every day. It’s about actually doing the work.
 
Races will eventually come back – your racing calendar will once again be filled with exciting plans and race adventures.
 
But for now, rather than focusing on what you’re missing out on, focus on what you can do to get stronger; to build a great base; to work on your weaknesses.
 
With pools closed, why not focus on improving your running? If you can’t ride outside, why not focus on improving your technique on the bike while riding on the trainer?
 
How often do we get the chance to focus on our weaknesses? Use this time wisely – to your long-term advantage.
 
Without the added stress and pressure of short-term race goals, you can really get back to basics and build a stronger base that will set you up to achieve great things when we’re finally given the green light to race again.
 
If you do that, you’ll come out on the other side better than ever. 

Cheers

Coach AP

Click HERE to learn more about Coach Andrew Perry
 

​First of all, I’ll start off by saying that there are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to what data you have showing on your bike computer screen, but if you are new to riding with power, or are looking to start riding with power, please read on for some learnings that I have had over the years of being in the sport from both riding with and without power at different stages. 

Do I need to ride with power? Is it worth the expense? As per most, I asked these questions of myself about five years ago, and in my experiences since, the answer is yes. 

What are the benefits?  It’s my opinion that power is a number that can’t be cheated, no matter if you are riding into a block head wind, with a humming tail wind, rain, heat, cold, uphill, downhill; it doesn’t change anything……

200W IS STILL 200W in all these circumstances.  

On the other hand, if you are riding to speed and/or heart rate, they are massively affected by all the elements, terrain and conditions listed above. If you’re going into a race with a pre perceived plan of “I’m going to ride 36k/hr tomorrow” and you come up against a 30k head wind, you are going to be looking down at your screen wondering what is wrong with you, push harder into the wind to get your speed up and burn match after match which is going to come back to haunt you on that run.  You also need to remember that the conditions are the same for everyone racing when you are faced with these challenging situations, and those that race smart and stick to their plan will be the ones smiling at the end of the day.  The time will be what it will be, and if you walk away from the race knowing that you nailed your plan, you will be happy.
Personally, I no longer have “current speed” on my bike computer, and I haven’t missed it.  If anything, it has kept my head clearer in challenging conditions in both training and racing by just focusing on my power and cadence. 
​
So, you’ve got the power metre, and now you are messing around with the screens on your bike computer trying to work out what you should be looking at and why.  As mentioned above, there’s a heap of different options that you can be looking at, but I like to keep things as simple as possible. You can go through trial and error for what works for you but from my own experience, below is what I have on my screen and why.

 
3s POWER

• Rather than using straight power, which jumps all over the place whilst it tries to keep up with what is going on at your cranks or pedals, “3 Seconds Power” allows a bit of consistency to show through as it only updates every three seconds. This helps, because the main focus in training and racing is to keep as consistent as possible to the numbers your coach has noted.  Something else to be thinking about when riding to power is what your “perceived effort” feels like at different power levels. The reason being is that I can almost guarantee that at some point in the future you are going to lose your power number in a race situation and have to go to plan B. If you have been thinking about your perceived effort  during training, it won’t be so daunting. This extends to the run as well, electronics are a wonderful thing when they are working, but you can’t solely rely on them, really think about how you feel during sessions.

CADENCE

• No brainer that cadence is our next most important number to be looking at.  Your coach will more than likely be prescribing what cadence he or she wants the session done at, and there is reasons behind that so you should focus on nailing that as much as your power.  This can be for building strength (low cadence) or recovery components (high cadence)  Your cadence is also a great number to really get in tune with during training as it points out where the sweet spot is for you in regards to your gearing.  Sometimes you will go one gear easier and your power goes up considerably, creating a situation where you are using less perceived effort for a better result.

LAP NP (Normalised Power for the Lap)

• First of all, what is Normalised Power, and how is it different to normal power? Normalised power takes into account the variation in workouts, ie efforts, hilly terrain etc.  eg If you are riding around a flat crit track, riding a consistent power number, you will find that your power and normalised power will be very similar. However, in a hilly ride, or a ride where you are fluctuating your efforts quite a bit, you could potentially see variance in these numbers in the vicinity of 20 – 30%.  Normalised power will also give you a more accurate read of the actual physiological impact the ride is having on your body… how many matches are we burning at this effort level?  So for mine, this is the number we focus on so we can get off and run on race day. 

 

• The reason for using “LAP” NP on the screen is that when prescribing workouts for athletes, it may be something like 5 * 10min at 75% of FTP with an RPM of 85.  With a 2-minute spin between - as an example.  Or in a race situation, a coach tells you to ride 230W for the first lap, 240W for the second and 250W for the third.  By using this selection, it is as simple as hitting the lap button on your bike computer to reset the lap data so you can focus in on this number for the proceeding laps.  Also, by hitting the lap button at the end of each effort or rest in training, or after each lap in a race, it also captures it as a piece of data that can be reviewed by you and your coach.

 
LAP TIME.

• Do you find yourself having to become a mathematical genius when a training session has a lot of variance in efforts and rest, having to remember what time you started that effort on etc.  By having “Lap Time” on your screen, each time you hit that lap button at the end of each effort or rest, as per above it resets so you can know exactly how long you have been going / left to go of an effort or rest. 

 
LAP CADENCE

• Along the same lines, this will reset each time you hit the lap button, which is useful in both training sessions and on race day, keeping check that you are on the money against the planned cadence.  It’s a real good check on race day, if the number is under the plan, fair chance that you are pushing too big of a gear, therefore burning those much needed matches again.  This number will clearly call it out.  

 
AVG SPEED

• Although I said that I don’t have current speed on my computer, I do like to see what the average speed is for training sessions, and on race day.  This number keeps you a bit honest when completing training sessions, and on race day  but it doesn’t mess with your head like current speed does, as it takes time to vary unlike looking at your computer going up a hill at 14k/hr and feeling like you have to push harder because you are going to slow.  If you are hitting your power plan, speed will be what it will be.

 
DISTANCE

• Bit of a no brainer, but we need this on screen if we are measuring efforts by distance, and or riding an overall distance rather than time in training.  The other benefit is having those key mental moments as you tick through the ks during a race bike leg.     

 
TIMER

• This is the overall time for the session.  Much like the distance this is covering off the total duration, so you know where you are at in your training day, and keeping an overall view on your race time.

 
As I said in the very beginning, there is a plethora of options in your device to display on the screen, and you can obviously set up multiple screens if you want to see extra data like heart rate if that is key with your coach.  For me, I’m not looking for much more outside of my screen above to be honest, and that’s in training and racing. 
​
Should you have questions, I’m more than happy to chat further, feel free to reach out in the comments or send me a PM through messenger.

Robbie Andrews 
Sunshine Coast, QLD
 
“Go hard. And when it starts hurting…go a little harder!”
 
Our April Fast Five athlete is Sunshine Coast based T:Zero stalwart Robbie Andrews. 

Robbie’s been competing in endurance and triathlon events for over 30 years and has been a T:Zero athlete in Coach Scotty’s stable since the very beginning. His last race was Ironman Cozumel 2019, where he posted a cracking time of 9:35 (his fastest ever; with his previous best being 9:38 at Forster in 2003), earning himself a coveted Ironman World Championships slot for 2020. 

Robbie balances his swim/bike/run training with sessions in the gym and says he doesn’t need any motivation to get out there - he just LOVES to train! In 2020 he’s focussed on preparing himself for the start line in Kona, and we’re all crossing our fingers and toes it will be going ahead. Until then, it’s head down, bum up and train on! 

Why and how did you get into triathlon/endurance/multisport? 
It was what I did to keep fit for AFL footy back in the 1990’s. 

Favourite distance? Why?
Ironman. I’m not a great swimmer so I need time to catch the front guys!

Proudest triathlon moment?
Third place at the Long Course World Championships in Penticton, BC, Canada in 2017.

What keeps you coming back time and again to compete in endurance events? 
I keep doing endurance events because I love to challenge myself. Most longer training is done by yourself and I'm happiest when I'm just training. Also I still want a 3.15 marathon off the bike!! So that drives me a little.

Best piece of advice for someone starting out in the sport? Or best advice you’ve received?
Go out the door every day for training, no questions asked! Even when you’re not feeling like it, if you still feel shit 30mins into it, you’re allowed to go home!

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Coach Scotty. I could probably write my own training plans (been doing it long enough!!) but I like the accountability that I get from him, and we can chat about what I think about training and he listens to what I have to say.

Rachelle Mulligan 
Brisbane, QLD
 
“Anything is better than nothing. Just have a go and start small to prove to yourself you can do it. Then the sky’s the limit!”
 
Our March Fast Five athlete is Rachelle Mulligan. Based in Brisbane, Rachelle has recently celebrated one year of being a T:Zero athlete, under the tutelage of Coach Steve. 

For the last four years Rachelle has participated in numerous running and triathlon events - from fun runs and half marathons to sprint, olympic and half ironman triathlon. Her preference is the longer distances that play to her endurance strength and completing the Sunshine Coast Half Ironman with her family at the finish line has been her proudest triathlon moment to date. 
 
While her best leg is the swim, she gains most enjoyment from the run; her favourite training session being the long L2/L3 runs which give her time to “chill and reset”. 

As an Associate Nurse Unit Manager on a Cardiothoracic Surgical Unit at one of Brisbane’s largest hospitals as well as a mum of two young children, understandably, Rachelle’s biggest challenge is working around the logistics of managing training, shift work and home life. Fortunately, with a supportive family and coach in her corner, she’s been able to achieve balance between all three with careful planning, focus and dedication. 

Prior to the COVID-19 cancellations to events announced earlier this month, Rachelle was focussed on the goal of completing her first marathon at Noosa in May, as well as the Gold Coast Half Marathon and her first trail run at the Brisbane Trail Ultra 30K. In true T:Zero spirit, she’s now revised her plans and has the Virtual Triathlon Series on top of her list and is setting a date to run her own marathon in the coming months. She’s still got her fingers crossed the Sunshine Coast Half Ironman goes ahead later this year - as do we! 


Why and how did you get into triathlon/endurance/multisport?
After having my second child in 2015 (2 children under 2) I found myself possibly selfishly looking for something just for me to achieve and a bonus was I got a bit of alone time.

My sister-in-law who was a runner dragged me down to parkrun and encouraged me weekly after that. The feeling of participating in a weekly event with people of all abilities made it the perfect environment for me to get started. 

I then was asked to be the swimmer in a team triathlon and the atmosphere from that day sparked the hunger in me to want to be part of that!

Favourite race? Why?
Sunshine Coast Half Ironman. 
It was a long lead up with lots of training and sacrifices (not just for me but my husband and children) that went into one perfect day. With lots of family and friends on the sideline cheering me on to complete something that I never thought possible. 

What’s your favourite thing about triathlon/endurance/multisport?
I think the atmosphere on race day is something that is unbeatable. I am always a nervous wreck as I just want to be able to do my best and make all the training count. When I cross that line I am already thinking about when I can do it again (maybe not my first thought but definitely always have that post tri week high which results in entries to more events!)
 
What motivates or inspires you to train/race/participate?
Initially I wanted to get fit and healthy and have found a way to do this while having fun with triathlons. To have an event coming up pushes me to be race ready and have another focus in life outside of family and work. The love and support of my family to participate in this sport is also a big motivator.  

Since becoming a T:Zero athlete, what is the one new belief, behaviour, habit formed or skill honed that has most improved your athletic (or everyday) performance?
The fear of the red session on Training Peaks!!!! 
I guess with that deep down is being accountable for my own success. I have an amazing coach who sets well thought out sessions and if they are not completed then that is all on me. If I want to improve and smash goals then I need to put the work in and not make excuses. 

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Steve’s coaching is second to none and I have really enjoyed the support and training he has provided over the last year. 

Meeting the extended T:Zero team before the Sunshine Coast Half IM last year was great to put some faces to names and felt nice to be a part of a team in a primarily individual sport. Out on the course it helped pass the tough times by spotting the T:Zero kits and the famous pink socks and I heard a lot of encouragement every time paths were crosse

We are in an unprecedented situation.

The Coronavirus is taking a grip around the world and Governments are taking action.  The spread of the virus is inevitable, it is simply a matter of doing everything possible to reduce the speed of which is spreads.
It is a result of this, that sporting events are quickly becoming impacted.  Just this week, the NBA put a hold on its season, and today the Formula 1 made the call to cancel the Australian Grand Prix. 

Ironman, today, sent out an email to all and sundry, whereby CEO Andrew Messick said:
“We expect that there are going to be substantial and widespread event postponements in the coming weeks and months.”  This comes on the back of Ironman postponing both Greece and Puerto Rico’s 70.3 events and Ultraman postponing Arizona. 

This afternoon, the Australian Federal and State Governments have directed that all non-essential gatherings of man than 500 people to be suspended.   It is likely that we will see this worldwide in the coming weeks.  If this becomes the reality it will quite possibly mean that a lot (if not all) of the 2020 race schedule for all of our endurance athletes will be postponed until 2021.

So, if this occurs, how can we turn this into a positive? Almost every athlete in the T:Zero stable has a priority A race in 2020 but if these races are postponed to 2021, where does that leave us?

Your goals - A matter of when, not if
At T:Zero we have always believed that you can achieve anything in this sport. For us, it has always been a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’ you will achieve your goal.
Whether or not you want to finish your first triathlon, break that certain time in an Ironman, qualify for the world championships, or do your first Ultra – these goals do not need to change. Nothing should get in your way.  Whether you achieve them this year, or next year or in 2025, it is always a matter of when, not if.

When racing is not the answer – A case in point
The possibility of having your goal race postponed until 2021 will no doubt cause for some disappointment. But quite possibly, we will look back and concluded that it was the best outcome. 
A case in point was Coach Andrew Perry. After a solid debut Ironman Melbourne (40th in Age Group), he raced again in Ironman WA and had an underwhelming performance, coming 15th in his age group.  His goal was to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii but knew he had to improve.  He made the decision to not race a single race the ensuing year – to simply train, develop and improve. Do everything possible in his power to be the best athlete he could be for an entire year. The data, the speed, the power, were all able to provide the necessary feedback as to his development over the year off racing. 
What happened? The year immediately after his hiatus from racing, he raced an Ironman, became Age Group champion and qualified for Kona!

The lesson here – the obstacle is the way
The COVID-19 is worrying. It will likely have a detrimental impact on the racing calendar this year – but how you react to this, will set you apart from the rest.
​
Are you someone who will use this as an excuse to drop the ball for your athletic development, or will you see this as an incredible opportunity to double down, to go all in and use this year as a year to develop into an even stronger, fitter, faster version of yourself?  The decision is ultimately yours, but if you ask Andrew – taking a year off racing to concentrate on his training – was the best decision he could have made.
Marcus Aurelius said “The mind adapts and converts to is own purposes the obstacle to our acting.  The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”

What defines every T:Zero athlete, is their drive and determination to achieve their crazy awesome goal – whatever that goal is. We know there will be obstacles, and in fact, it is because of these obstacles that make the journey and achieving the ultimate goal worthwhile.  At T:Zero, we embrace the obstacles.   
We know that this sort of temporary delay in the 2020 calendar, will only encourage the T:Zero athletes to see the opportunity that it presents.  To improve our craft, to improve our strengths and work on our weaknesses, so when we do race, we will be ready to live our potential. 

Richard & Scotty