It was great to see on Friday night that the social side of the club is well and truly alive and kicking (see photos here for proof). I was reminded on Friday by Alex that she too completed the Nice Marathon. Nice work Alex Adames! You did 3:12 didn't you Alex? 'Chicked' Dan by 3mins if I recall correctly. As it was Friday night there is every chance that I have not recalled that correctly. The night ended with a group hug and Amanda 'Minky' Wilmer making a speech that would have made a grown man cry about what a fabulous bunch of people the club has attracted. Are we putting 'Minky' on your trisuit Amanda?
Just in case you missed the social on Friday and didn't make the training session on Sunday Karl and I gave out a few "coach's awards" to a number of club members who have made great progress over the past year. Laura Turner received the Most Improved Swim Award; Sebastian Arroyave received the Most Improved Bike Award; Russell Webley received the Most Improved Run Award and Lindsey Smith received the Coach's Triathlete of the Year Award. There are any number of people who could have received awards. We had people completing their first ever triathlon, people stepping up a distance for the first time and people showing great strength of character when injury prevented them from training and competing as they had hoped to. Big ups to you all!
A few club members are heading out for a ride on Saturday morning. The route they will follow can be seen by clicking here. The plan is to catch the 8:48am train from Hackney Downs to St. Margarets (Herts). The ride starts and finishes at St. Margarets train station. As it is an out and back course you can choose how long you ride for. I suggest you take the route via Stocking Pelham as written in the second comment in the link above. Some of us, who have done the ride a number of times, turn around at Ickleton which is an 85km ride in total. Not everyone will be riding this far obviously. If you choose to take part you must be completely responsible for yourself in terms of food, hydration, route map, spares/puncture repair kit, appropriate clothing etc.
A little feedback from today. The new lane set up worked well but there are a few things we could do to improve it. When swimming up the outside of the lane keep close to the lane rope/poolside to avoid forcing everyone towards the centre. When tumble-turning take care not to push off straight back into someone who may be right on your toes but rather push off on an angle. If someone taps you on the toes let them pass you when you get to the end of the pool. Take care when passing, check the way is safe first and if you are nearly finished your rep/set think about holding back a little to avoid having to pass at all.
I had someone say to me today that they were concerned they were holding people up. Don't worry if you feel this way. Our sessions are self-paced. You swim, bike or run at your speed. If we ask for an 80% effort don't be tempted to work harder to keep up with a faster club mate. Save the competition for the races. This brings me to my final point and that is I am concerned some of you may be pushing yourselves too hard at this time of the year. I realise that a number of you have set some big goals for next season including Ironman distance events over the summer but that does not mean you need to be putting in huge miles or double run sessions at this stage of the year. We may not be able to give you personalised training programs at this point but we can give you advice or point you in the right direction. Don't be afraid to ask.
Phew, that's it from me. See you Tuesday or Sunday or both. Tim (LFTC Coach)
