Tri Alliance Athlete Profiles & Stories

Each month we will be putting a Tri Alliance athlete under the spot light and sharing their achievements, goals and aspirations with you.

Athlete Story........... Nick Sissons (10/02/10)

Now with Geelong 70.3 done for 2010 its time to share my experiences... Well actually Tri Alliance asked me last week if I would write about my first ever Half IM, joining Tri Alliance and my experience at Geelong 70.3. Somehow the three topics are connected...

My first ever half on Gold Coast was undertaken without any support of coaches and with an injury. Joining Tri Alliance introduced coaching and team support - which in turn lead to a very successful Geelong 70.3. A new PB (it was only going to get better from Gold Coast) and now a new Main Goal – Finish Foster Grant Half Ironman World Championship 70.3 on the 13 November 2010 in Clearwater Florida with another PB!

Here is the story... The 09/10 race season for me started early in October with my first ever Half Ironman. Three weeks out, time for my first ever half marathon (can I keep a constant pace) - no worries. BUT 3 days later, both archillies became severely inflamed and walking was not much fun. I put a stop to training immediately (and reinforce my hate for public transport commuting), with my main focus to rest (and compete at a dance competition in Sydney two weeks before the Gold Coast Half IM) and be ready to race in 3 weeks.  

Race Day had arrived, was I ready?... Too late my first ever Half IM was about to commence and my Main Goal was to finish – No matter what! Swim leg -well, I didn’t drown and was not the last out of the water, but a reasonable 45 minutes given no consistent swim training had been undertaken pre race. On the bike Leg - my speedo stopped (well never started) so no average speed, backup plan required – checked the stopwatch to keep track of time on each lap. T2 - as I stepped off the bike at the dismount, both archillies had inflamed again! Every step was painful!! So I ended up sitting in transition with gel, massaging each archillies for 5-10 minutes each, struggled to stand up and start running, but remembered my Main Goal - to finish no matter what! My Run Leg was so painful, that I considered pulling out by the 2 km marker (12 minutes for 2km was not a good start!) But I came back to my main goal again - finsh no matter what... So I told myself I would continue for at least one 7km lap. Finally I limped around and finish all three laps under the strength of the hot Queensland sun and strong winds that whipped up during the bike. End result was a 5hr 34min first ever Half IM – a little disappointed (as I was on track for a sub 5 hours coming off the bike) but still pleased to have finished and achieved my main goal! 

Two days later, I was about to change my triathlon training around... Immediately after arriving back from Gold Coast, I dropped the bike & gear at the office and struggled my way onto a tram and was sitting upstairs at MSAC with Coach Ollie telling beginners about the Gatorade and Brooks series - I was so keen to race another Gatorade this season (yes I have got the triathlon bug), I had been fortunate enough to received one of the 6 weeks free Tri Alliance packages (for the first 100 entries in Gatorade series). And here my Tri Alliance loyalty had commenced, albeit slowly at first ... still nursing the archillies for the first 5 weeks. 

Now four and half months later and the weekend past was Geelong 70.3 - Half IM number two! The build up for Geelong was great. The support for my second Half IM has been so much better having been with Tri Alliance, the team moral and competitiveness was building ever since Hell Week and continued right up until the day before with coach Johno trash talking me as we set up the tent (well we looked like we helped – we had a race to rest up for though!). Group training sessions in Geelong also helped get a good feel for the course in advance and assisted in being able to make a very strong race plan, knowing how hard to push up the hills, and being aware of the uneven road surface in the gardens.  Of course having now had much more swim training (including actual technique - thank you Ollie) my swim leg was much better, but it was still a very tough swim with 1100 people starting in a mass start, if you found clean water then well done! – and those damn jellyfish (I’ve had stings from every race this season)!

Anyhow a 33min swim and I was happy to be out and still in touch with the main groups. The bike felt great, 2hr 26mins (about a 37kph average) - the hills still hurt the legs every lap and the Half IM pelotons were to be avoided or risk a 5 minute rest penalty. I probably dropped about 3-5 minutes off my pace on the last bike lap, just thinking about conservation of energy and hydration for the run.

My run, felt good at the start (I thought I could still catch Crowi - he only had one lap complete when I started the run! But of course, he was just too strong on the day... It is awesome though that we have the opportunity in triathlon to race side by side with (or at least pass by) a two time world Ironman champion). Tthe heat and distance soon started to take a toll though, slowing the average down from 4.10 min per km to just under 5 min per km, with a result of a 1 hr 42 min run leg.  But most important for the day, was a new PB 4hr 46min (almost 50 minutes quicker than Gold Coast Half) and of course a roll down slot for the Foster Grant 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida 13 November 2010. Watch out Clearwater, here come Tri Alliance!

Onto the next goal for me, to work on shaving time off my Half IM PB to see if I can get it down to at least a 4:25 (or lower depending on the build up training progress) come November. The build up for Clearwater is already being contemplated and will include racing Half IM’s at Capricorn Resort (Yeppoon) in mid August and Gold Coast start of October, so if anyone else is interested in some domestic Half IM races let me know - I will definitely be going as a warm up for Clearwater!

Side note: I want to say massive thank you to all the Tri Alliance supporters (and coaches (Ollie & Sarah) and of course fellow athletes giving support from on the course) that managed to keep themselves scattered all around the course, and cheered for each and every Tri Alliance member. Thank you so much, it really made a difference to have the strong support during the race - can you all make it to Clearwater in November & Ollie any chance for the TA Taj???!!! Also, huge thank you to Steve the team masseuse for giving up his time to come down and help us all out before and after the race. 

P.S. For the completeness of the story, at the dance competition back in September 09 (pre Gold Coast Half IM), despite having limited movement in both archillies, I made four finals in the four categories I had entered, had a fantastic spotlight dance with Katie in the Champions Final and then managed to take home another third place trophy in Champions Dance with  Stranger section to add to the growing dance trophy collection!!! But unfortunately dancing will be second place this year leading up to Clearwater, but there is a Dance competition on in St Petersburg Florida (just off part of the cycle and run course) the same weekend???... Hmmmmm.....

See you out on the training track..

Nick

Athlete Story.......... IRONMAN Dale Beehre (11/12/09)

Hi Folks,

Thankyou for all the support over the last week. Ironman WA, again, lived up to the unpredictable nature of the day. A sunny 32deg day challenged all athletes and spectators.

My day started by swimming under my goal time. I then proceeded to vomit and deal with stomach pains for the duration of the bike course, to the bemusement of Jeanette passing me at an aid station. This is Ironman; you just deal with the situation and suck it up (or empty your stomach). Six months of training morphs into one-day, good or bad. My ride didn’t reflect all those winter kilometres in Melbourne. Spent 9 minutes in T2 vomiting, again. I would like to thank the volunteer who assisted me in applying sunscreen under trying circumstances. Their attentiveness at this time was beyond the call of duty.

The run was hot. Damn hot. I eventually managed to ease into the run and salvage the day with a consistent effort, considering the conditions.  

Note: It was concerning to see mature (otherwise rational) people lying on the road exhausted, and in two instances in the foetal position. To this end, most competitors went from racing to salvaging a finish (There was over 100 retirements from the race). There were exceptions, congratulations to Ollie on a well raced and deserved Ironman.

There was mandatory walking through each aid station ensuring that adequate ice was placed under my hat and in my race suit. Just before sunset my day and journey was realised. I am again an Ironman in 12:36:04.

In closing, it has been a memorable and satisfying journey over the past six months with Greg, Jeanette and Paul under Ollie’s guidance, a heart felt thank you. Thanks to Sarah, Dale and Lyndal for their support and camaraderie in Busselton.

My love to Toni, Adam and Samuel. They have been exceedingly tolerant in having a husband and father missing in action every weekend for the past six months. With Toni joining me this time in Busselton I hope she captured just a little of the emotional and obsessive journey that is Ironman.

------

db

Athlete Story....... MARTIN KRSEK (9/12/09)

Upcoming "Tour de New Zealand"

I have been counting down the days over the last month to an event which I am participating in this month. It is now less than a month to go!

About six months ago a couple of ex colleagues asked me whether I would like to do a tour in New Zealand with them at the end of the year. I had been cycling for about nine months, and without giving it much thought, I accepted the challenge. It was only over the following month or so that the extent of this commitment really began to sink in. I had been doing a couple of rides, even in Melbourne's surrounding hills, but never longer then about 100km at a stretch, and I really struggled doing any meaningful climbs.

Thankfully I got an introduction to Tri Alliance through CBD Cycles. After 2 months of focused training, I now feel much more prepared, although this will be no easy effort by any stretch of the imagination!

In the style of a "Grand Tour", this the tour will cover about 1300km over a period of ten cycling days. It takes place on New Zealand's south island and will traverse the Alps, with some climbs graded at about 12+%. Over the ten days we will have climbed a total of 11,500 metres! The distance to be covered ranges from about 80 km on the days involving difficult climbs, through up to 170km on days where the route is relatively flat. The scenery and natural environment will hopefully provide some compensation for the difficult rides as long as the notoriously unpredictable weather plays along! Part of our ride will be along the island's west coast which, on average, gets rain on more than 300 days of each year! So other than being physically and mentally fit, we also have to be prepared for almost any weather conditions - the Alps can also be very cold, even in December! We will commence and end to Tour in Christchurch, and will be visiting Lake Tekapo, Queenstown, Franz Josef Glacier and the Marlborough wine regions, amongst others.

I am happy with my preparations to date and am now looking forward to the challenge as I finalise my training over the next week. I hope to be able to give a favourable report on my return in January.

Martin Krsek

Athlete Story....... BERNADETTE SHANAHAN (26/11/09)

Shepparton Half Ironman – Race Report

12 months ago, over an after-training pub meal, I shook on a deal to complete the Shepparton half Ironman in November 2009. At the time I had only completed a couple of sprint distance triathlons so in retrospect, I have no idea what I was thinking!

12 months seems like such a long time, until you start training for a 1.9k swim, 90.1k cycle and 21.1k run. Time flew and, as it always does, life got in the way of my envisaged perfect training programme. Before I knew it, I was counting down weeks, not months, and nervously wondering if I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

The emotional rollercoaster leading up to the event was overwhelming. If it had not been for Coach, Ollie Allan and the awesome friends I have in the Tri Alliance squad, I don’t think I would have made it to the starting line. I honestly don’t know how people participate in this sport without the support of a coach and training squad like Tri Alliance.

Race weekend arrived smack bang in the middle of the longest stretch of November heat in Melbourne since 1925. On race day the temperature gradually grew to a sweltering 36 degrees and the race was declared a non-wetsuit swim as the water was 26 degrees.

The race started late, just after 7am, and I completed the 1.9k swim comfortably within my target time. I took it fairly easy in transition, donning my cycling knicks and jersey and ensuring I had enough nutrition on-board.  The cycle consisted of three 30k flat but windy laps. I had to laugh (sort of) when riding through the first drink station, the drinks-volunteer handed me a bottle of water with a freaking HUGE spider on it! I almost wiped out the entire drinks station trying to get the bottle into my bike cage without touching the bloody spider!

After 90k on the bike I was pretty happy coming into transition to go out onto my run. The crew was there supporting me and I was in great spirits! Maybe a little un-focussed though as I ran down the wrong bike rack aisle (after 2 years of Tri Alliance Tips and Tricks sessions too!) and almost took off with my cycle knicks on still!

The first 7k lap of the run hurt. A lot! It was hotter than I’ve ever experienced and I started to question whether I was going to be able to finish this thing! The event organisers had ensured there were plenty of drink stations though, and I took up to 6 cups of water at each one. Drink one, pour two over the head ... repeat! After awhile I started taking the ice from the water and putting it down the front of my tri suit – I swear this is the only thing that got me through the second lap!

I can safely say that the last 7k lap of that half-marathon was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The athletes on the course were no longer smiling and there were no more encouraging comments and high fiving. People were truly suffering and I was right there with them. Every muscle in my legs screamed in pain every step that I took.

Turning into the final hundred metres before the finish arch was truly awesome. The Tri Alliance crew screamed so loud that I was overwhelmed with emotion. It meant so much to me to have them there supporting – it really does make all the difference. And of course, Ollie was at the finish line to carry me to a chair when my legs wouldn’t work anymore. I really do love this crazy sport called triathlon – true friends, progressive challenges, personal mentoring, positive living..... I couldn’t ask for more.

A big thank-you to Ollie. I am under no illusion that I would be able to claim to be a half-Ironman without your coaching, support and friendship!

Athlete Story....... JOE ACKLAND (29/10/09)

"Hi all

In January last year I struggled to swim 25m after being hospitalised alongside a group of 80 year-olds with a heart arrhythmia. I commenced swimming with Tri-Alliance last November with the goal being to regain my health and fitness. With consistent and progressive training and encouragement from Coach Ollie, I improved rapidly until a few weeks ago I found myself again surrounded by 80 year-olds - this time competing in the World Masters Games in Sydney!

Not to be intimidated by former Olympians Chris Fydler and Daniel Kowalski also competing (not to mention Kerri-Anne Kennerley doing a live broadcast!), I finished 3rd in my heat of the 400 in 6:01 (9th overall) and 7th in the 200m in 2:46 (11th overall).

What was inspiring, however, was seeing the large number of elderly competitors enjoying the benefits of a lifetime of physical activity - including one woman 99 years of age!

I now look forward to the open water swim season, and supporting at a few triathlons.   All the best to everyone for the season ahead! 

Joe"

Athlete Story....... LYNNE EVANS (14/10/09)

I couldn’t even run 3km continuously when I arrived in Australia from the UK two years ago, but last Sunday, thanks to some awesome training buddies and a committed coach, I ran the Melbourne Marathon. The sense of achievement I felt when I ran past the Tri-alliance team and into the MCG was overwhelming. I remember watching the London Marathon when I was a child thinking I’d love to do that one day and last week I realised this goal and it only took 4 hours and 9 minutes!

Triathlon has really made a huge impact on my life, helping me get healthier, feel more positive and set goals and then go out and achieve them. I like the variety to Triathlon training, the support you get from being part of a group and the buzz that surrounds race day and the after parties!

I guess if I had to sum up what Triathlon means to me, it is:

Thousands of dollars

Running for hours at a time

Individual goals and smashing them

Alarm going off at 5.30am

Trips to the physio

Hours on the bike (ouch)

Loads of great training friends

Open water swimming

Noosa baby

Athlete Story.... - BRETT MILLER - (5/10/09)

In January I went to New Zealand to qualify for the World Long Distance Triathlon Champs in Perth. It was the National Champs. Distance 2km/90km/21km, where top 12 qualified. I had a good race and finished 6th. in 4hr.30 mins.

I have since joined Tri-Alliance during June and it has been both the fun and motivation I needed to get through winter. The Saturday rides and great people I have met have really ensured that there has been a 'fun' element to the training.

I have just finished a good base, where I have simply being trying to fit as many Km's in around work as possible. This has been around 9-12km swimming a week, 300km cycling amd around 50km a week running.

Now 3 weeks out I will commence some speed sessions, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Distance's are 3km swim/ 80km / 20km in Perth. Estimated times for each leg are 45-47 mins for swim (I much prefer open water, and wetsuit!), Bike 2.05-2.10 and run around 1.20ish, so around 4.15-20 I will be rapped with. As for placing's have no idea of the quality of the field, but 30-34 is generally quite competitive and there are some pretty fast Aussies.

It's a busy few weeks following Perth with Noosa and Shepperton to follow, and the real goal for me is Hawaii qualification at Ironman New Zealand in March, where I will need to finish in a time of 9hr, 30 mins.

See you on the road...