Lance wins his first 70.3 race

Another big weekend this weekend! It's the ITU WCS race from Madrid; the last chance for athletes to qualify for the Olympics. There are a lot of GB athletes racing in the men's race including Tim Don, Will Clarke and Jonny Brownlee. It's looking far more like Alistair Brownlee's first race of the year might be the Olympics. With no Helen Jenkins in the field Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand is the race favourite in the women's event. Both races are live on the BBC so check them out. There is talk of GB using domestiques in the Olympic triathlon. Would you be prepared to give up your chance of having the race of your life at the Olympics for someone else?

Last weekend Lance Armstrong won his first Ironman 70.3 race in Florida. By the time the rest of the field were exiting T2 LA was the best part of 2 miles down the road. His bike split was 10 mins quicker than anyone else and he ran a very respectable 1hr 15min half-marathon. It looks like LA is turning into a real triathlete. His body shape has certainly changed over the past few months. Check out the photos.

A number of you were talking about following The Time Crunched Triathlete (TTCT) training programs last weekend. This is a great book that goes into the science of triathlon training in quite some detail. A word of warning however. The training programs are based on making the most of high intensity training with a limited amount of time. If you are trying to squeeze in club sessions on top of the TTCT sessions things might come a little unstuck due to inadequate recovery or too many high intensity workouts. 


Our new coaches are getting into their session planning and delivering to you over the next few weeks. Make sure you give us feedback about how you thought the sessions went. Remember you will be using fins, pull buoys and possibly paddles so bring all your kit to get the most out of the sessions.

Lastly good luck to all those competing this weekend. There are a number of LFTC athletes competing in the 3km swim and triathlons at Dorney Lake this weekend. Give it heaps!


See ya, Tim (LFTC Coach).

Jenkins and Brownlee smash the field in San Diego

If GB weren't favourites already for Olympic gold in the men's and women's triathlon they certainly are now. Both Helen Jenkins and Jonny Brownlee ran away from the rest of the field in a dominant display over the weekend. There were a few big names missing from both the men's and women's line ups but there was still a lot of talent racing. Without wanting to put too much pressure on the GB triathletes I can't think of a better result in the Olympics than seeing Alistair and Jonny Brownlee finish one and two and Helen Jenkins number one in the triathlon. While I would love to see the Kiwi's getting a few medals I would be happy with bronze in the men's and silver in the women's if it meant GB took two golds and a silver. It's a tough pill to swallow. 

In the Kingfisher Aquathlon over the weekend the team did a fantastic job to finish second in the mob match for the second event in a row. We didn't quite make it into the league top three but we can't have been far off. Sam Burch was the fastest finisher of the lads and Hannah Moraa was the fastest of the girls. Well done to all those competing. There were some very close finishes amongst the team providing a little extra motivation for the next event. This weekend is the Crystal Palace Sprint Triathlon and then there is a bit of a gap until the Hillingdon Sprint Triathlon on July 15.

We will be giving our budding coaches the opportunity to plan and lead our swim and run sessions over the next few weeks. Any feedback from you would be great to help them on their way to becoming fab triathlon coaches. Make sure your bring fins and pull buoys to each session as we always have an element of technique in our swim sets that may require using one or both of the above.

Over the past few weeks I have been videoing a number of you in the pool. A common fault that I have observed is the tendency to over-rotate. This happens most often during the breathing stroke but not always. When it does occur on the breathing stroke most of you will say it is when breathing to your 'weaker' side. That sensation of weakness is probably caused by the over-rotation. To get a better understanding of body roll/rotation have a look at what the guys from Swim Smooth say about it here. 

There are a number of causes of over-rotation, some are quite simple like looking to the sky when breathing or pressing down on the water and others are more complex like stroke timing issues. Body rotation is essential for good freestyle technique but excessive rotation is just as detrimental as too little. Finding the cause in each individual is key but once fixed you will be more efficient in the water and reduce your risk of injury. Here's Jono (again!) to show you what you are striving for.

Good luck to all those competing this weekend. See you later, Tim (LFTC Coach).

Zone3 visit postponed

Unfortunately due to vehicle problems Zone3 are unable to visit us tomorrow. The session will still go ahead but obviously we won't be able to provide wetsuits for those without wetsuits of their own.

Sorry guys but it is out of our hands. See ya, Tim (LFTC Coach).

Zone3 visit this weekend...test out a wetsuit.

We all new it was only a matter of time before the LFTC lads started to show the potential we all knew they had. At the Marshman Middle Distance Triathlon last weekend Nathan Dytor was 3rd in his age group and coach Mick Cairns was 1st in his age group. The chilly conditions meant that the swim was cancelled and the race was run as a duathlon. Both are strong runners and made the most of the altered race format.


At Park Run on Saturday we took first, second and fourth place (Joe Dale, Paul Cashman and Andrew Finn). We had 6 out of the top 10 athletes (the three above plus Ruth Ashton, Jonathan Pollard and Abigail Swales) and there were 7 PB’s for the group (Paul Cashman, Abigail Swales, Rohan Byles, Colin Steele, Sarah Paterson, Sarah Deeney and Claire Tomlinson). So the girls contributed a little to our great results over the weekend it must be said.


I have look forward to see how the team go this weekend at the Kingfisher Aquathlon. We have 16 triathletes in the team which is fantastic and it's a mix of strong swimmers, strong runners and those lucky enough to be great at both. Good luck team! Remember there are more London League races to sign up for. The Hillingdon Triathlon is an awesome event, one of the longest running triathlons in the country, with a different format (swim, run, bike). I did the race last year and loved the course. It is race three in the Hillingdon Triathlon Series on July 15th.


Everyone loves an acronym these days. The acronym for this weekend's training is RST - Race Specific Techniques. Starting with the Saturday swim then we have Zone3 coming to visit and let you test their wetsuits out. The swim will be a compulsory wetsuit swim. You can either bring your own or try one of Zone3's wetsuits. We will be looking at deep water starts, drafting and sighting techniques as well as getting a wetsuit on and off properly. 


Gabriel will be taking us through changing an inner tube and using CO2 cartridges before we look at mounting and dismounting your bike if we have time before heading down to Victoria Park for the mob match (or should that be grudge match) against the big group that take over the track on Tuesday nights...only joking Mick! Yes it's the VPHTHAC (another great acronym) 3.5 mile Championships. The race starts at 10am and you must be registered by 9:30am. Let's spoil the party and get LFTC on the podium!


This weekend is the ITU WCS race from San Diego. It's shaping up to be a great race as it is the second to last chance for athletes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics if they have not already. There is only the Madrid race at the end of May to qualify after San Diego. The race will be live on the BBC Red Button so check it out on Friday 23:00 (women) and Saturday 22:30 (men).


For those of you who like a little geeky tri stuff and performance analysis check out this analysis of Lance Armstrong's IM 70.3 results so far. How much pressure is on LA to perform? 


See you in the weekend, Tim (LFTC Coach).

LFTC takes second place at the Dragon Slayer Duathlon

You know it's been a bad week when you get a puncture on the turbo trainer! I kid you not. Anyway, all was made good when I checked the results of the Dragon Slayer Duathlon, part of the London Triathlon League, which a hardy bunch of triathletes from LFTC took part in last Sunday.


LFTC finished second in the league. Whoop, whoop! Our highest finish ever in a London League event. Anna McNestry led the way with a third place in the open women's event. This is our highest individual placing in a London League event also and it was only Anna's third duathlon ever. Optima Racing Team here we come! 


If you have forgotten how miserable Sunday's weather was let me tell you it was absolutely awful. The race had to be shortened due to the conditions and the offroad run became a bit of a mud fest. Well done to all those who braved the conditions and took part in the race. 


This weekend is the last of Seb's linked swim sessions. Those in the high volume lane be prepared for a real test. In the low volume lane we will be mixing up a little more technique and fitness for you. Lastly, remember it is Park Run this Saturday so make sure you register before the weekend. A chance to stretch the legs against your fellow clubbies and see where you are at with your running fitness.


Another little video for those Javier G fans. A typical training week for those at the top of the sport is pretty hard to comprehend.


See you in the weekend, Tim (LFTC Coach).