THE T:ZERO BLOG
Free advice, content and media for all. It's our way of giving back to the tri community who have given so much to us. Enjoy!
At the start of the month I headed over to the other side of the country for Ironman WA and Ironman 70.3 WA. It was a massive weekend and a race that didn’t finish for me until our last T:Zero athlete crossed the finish line in 16 hours, but it was 100% worth every minute. Here are the top 5 take aways from that weekend:
1. Take a bow, Busselton This was my 7th trip to Busso, and while it is an incredible location, often there is some caveat to the weather. Despite some heavy winds as late as the day before the race, Sunday came and it was a sight for sore eyes. Breathless, glass like conditions out on the water made for some fast swimming, a light breeze (if you wanted to call that) on the bike and moderate temps throughout the run, not only made for fast times but really enjoyable conditions for the athletes. More please Busso! 2. Exercising your strength when the course is consistent When the course is so as flat as it is at Busso, whether it is for the Ironman or the 70.3, it forces you to play to your strengths. We saw 4 T:Zero athletes reach their AG podiums (3 taking their spot to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii next year) and while not one of them had it all their own way the entire day, they all pushed the limits with their strengths and benefited greatly from it. We had Andrew Perry clock the top 3 fastest bike splits in all age groups, and Brett Dunstan arrive into T2 leading his age group. We also had Jac Crofton, who was patient on the bike to arrive into T2 just making it inside the top 10, to unleash her strength on the marathon to get on the podium! Pays to play to your strengths! 3. The Flies They are still there. People walking around on the Sunday with nets covering their entire head, making every single person jealous. Though truth be told, after the first few hours of swatting close to your face every 12-15seconds you really forget you are doing it. Oh Busso. 4. The T:Zero Family is everything to us We caught up with some of the T:Zero athletes the day before the race at a local café. It was such a wonderful time to meet these incredible humans, listen to their story, wish them the best for the impending date with destiny and share the common bond of being part of this wonderful community that is T:Zero. We had athletes around table from Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – such a cool experience to be a part of. 5. When you trust the process, amazing things can happen on debut There isn’t much greater satisfaction in guiding an athlete to their first Ironman. Coach Stu Hill had that very task with his athlete Jade Pavitt. She was nervous in the days leading into the race, but was a pillar of strength and inspiration throughout the race. Not only did she break 13hours but it was the smile she had from ear to ear seemingly all day. Speaking with Coach Stu about Jade’s prep – and he struggled to find a way to explain how committed she was to the process. “She came to me in a moon boot and a history of multiple injuries. To see her race the way she did – goodness I was so excited. Her prep was so measured. She had a family of four kids, has a lot of balls in the air, but she got on with the job, never complained and committed to the goal. I am so so happy for her”. Trust the process – it is an incredible journey. That is the wrap from Ironman WA and Ironman 70.3 WA – Well done to everyone who raced – looking forward to a full line up of races in 2020!
0 Comments
It was an incredible weekend of racing at this year’s Sunshine Coast IRONMAN 70.3. A picturesque morning greeted the athletes with the Mooloolaba Bay offering flatter swim conditions than your local swimming pool. We saw two Kiwi professional athletes take the line honours with hundreds of athletes following them with their own awesome story to tell! Head Coach Richard Thompson has been heavily involved with IRONMAN racing for almost two decades! Here, he shares his hot takes from the SC70.3 in 2019… 1. 70.3 World Championships close by means stronger competition When it was announced last October that Taupo in New Zealand would play host to the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, hundreds of athletes in the southern hemisphere collectively gave a quiet fist pump and put that at the top of their list of goals. While every year the 70.3 worlds travels across the globe, it does not yet have the history or prestige as Kona does whereby athletes will want to race at that event regardless of the location. So it is common sense that when it comes close to Australia, you go all in to the process to try and qualify. Sunshine Coast 70.3 was the regions first qualifying race for the 2020 70.3 World Championships and the age groupers knew it. With a combination of a a large contingent of experienced athletes racing, together with everyone's eagerness to get that coveted world champs slot, there was little room to move at the roll down ceremony for all those wanting to head to the North Island of New Zealand in November 2020. We are proud to see that three of the T:Zero family accepted their spots on the weekend to race at the 2020 70.3 World Championships, a number that will no doubt grow as the next nine months ensues. But, knowing how competitive this Country is in triathlon, don’t expect a spot at the worlds to magically land in your lap. Train with purpose, believe and give yourself every opportunity to reach that goal. 2. A team is stronger than a group of individuals It was amazing to see over 30 athletes representing T:Zero over the weekend. The athletes, together with the nine of our 12 coaches came together on Saturday morning to share a coffee and a local café, have a chat, take home some awesome products from our supporters (Ener-C and Zen Spray) and generally be motivated to perform when the sun came up the next day. The overall feeling within the team was just incredible. And the old adage that a team is greater than the sum of its parts was no truer than what was shown on the weekend. Although we are a worldwide coaching group, and although the athletes live all over, the sense of community and belonging was really evident on Saturday and particularly Sunday with everyone encouraging each other to push their limits and live their potential. It also helps that everyone was decked out in some epic new T:Zero pink socks! 3. The role of weather for athletes and spectators Weather. It is a fickle beast. As a coach on the side lines, it was magic on Sunday. A little breezy but the sun was out and it was a beautiful temperature. It all in all made for a great morning on the side line (compare this to the torrential conditions 12 months prior). For the athletes, however, the conditions play a much more specific role. The perfect swim conditions lent itself to very fast swim times - example being that the lead swimmers came out in 22mins. The course was true in terms of distance, so it was nice to see that for once, mother nature took it easy for the athletes in the swim (we just need her to come back in June up in Cairns, for once). The wind on the bike, however, proved to be strong. While not devastatingly difficult or dangerous, it was just enough to make the second lap of the bike a fair bit slower back into the side and head winds. On a global scale, this meant slower bike times for everyone– from the pros to the weekend warriors. So while you may have trained your backside off over the winter, the bike split may not be as impressive as you would have liked. Tip your hat, or your aero helmet as the case may be, to the winds for that. Then the run came and went, the winds weren’t as strong at the beach as they were out on the motorway, and with the temperature being fairly mild to slightly warm – it was near perfect run conditions. So what I am getting at here? Don't be disheartened if your overall times are a little off. The conditions (and therefore the speed) of the bike is always the biggest contributing factor to the ebbs and flows of your overall time. Nonetheless, I feel that the conditions on Sunday were incredible for athlete and spectator a like. 4. Drafting is always a problem, but what is the solution? Ah drafting. It doesn’t go away. When I started racing 70.3s back in 2003 (where you had to qualify for Ironman Australia through a half ironman like you would for Kona), there would only be 600-800 athletes racing at once. We would go off as age groups, over the course of a 60-90mins and there just didn’t seem to be any drafting issues on the road. Coach Scotty was up on the Maroochy Bridge and witnessed the congestion first hand. I feel for the athletes out there. I assume 99% of them want the ability to race their own race at a true 12m. Unfortunately, with only 22km of road in one direction and dealing with 1500+ athletes racing, the inevitable will happen. Again, not the athletes’ fault at all. So the question has to be asked, what is Ironman doing about this? Is the answer a one loop bike, less athletes, a larger window of start times, more marshals? I don’t know, and I don’t envy the position that they are in, but it is a problem Ironman have brought on themselves. I just hope that there is much of a desire to fix it from the powers that be, as there is in the age group peloton. 5. Glorious PBs for those who believe
I read a blog article by a coach this week that basically said that qualifying for Kona is simply out of some peoples reach. I found this confronting given my background and how much I believe the human body can evolve over time to become much more efficient and faster. I truly believe anyone can qualify for Kona, if that is something they want, and the drive is there. No matter of their ability, if the “why” is strong enough, the how will take care of itself. It becomes a question of 'when' not 'if'. We had some incredible Personal Best performances on the weekend (despite the slower bike times aforementioned). A particular mention to one athlete who put down a near sub 5 hour performance representing a 45mins PB! This athlete is extremely dedicated to the cause, focusing on the weekly improvements, the daily grind, the 1%ers. They are incredibly focused and determined to see themselves improve as an athlete, as a person. It was so amazing to see them in their element on Sunday. So, wherever you are on the journey of this amazing sport, don’t put yourself in a box or define yourself. You are far more powerful than you ever can imagine. Remove the doubt, distance yourself from people who doubt the journey and take it day by day. Thank you Sunshine Coast for putting on a wonderful treat for us on the weekend...until next year. RT |
AuthorSAn amazing collection of training and racing advice from the T:Zero Multisport coaches- with the occasional guest blogger! Read this blog to help you live your potential! Categories
All
|
About |
|