Southern Hemisphere athletes in great form

It's not long now until the best triathletes in the world hit Hyde Park and unleash four years of training in one race. In the final ITU WCS race before the Olympics the Southern Hemisphere athletes proved they will be in the mix come August 4th and 7th. Richard Murray used his strong duathlon background to outrun the rest of the men's field in Hamburg. 

In the women's race Erin Densham, one of the fastest runners in the sport, and Emma Moffat, former world champion, beat a very strong field to take first and second place for the Aussies. The Kiwis, well I am sure they were just 'playing possum' as we say back home, lulling their competitors into a false sense of security before the big day.

Good luck to Andrew Finn this weekend in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Andrew will be putting on the GB tri-suit for the first time this weekend when he competes in the ITU Long Distance World Triathlon Championships. The format for the race is 4km swim, 120km bike and 30km run. Give it heaps Andrew!



If you are coming along to one of our swim sessions this weekend remember to bring fins and a pull buoy. We always mix a little technique work into our sessions using these basic bits of swim kit. Saturday is our 'long swim' day with a focus on aerobic endurance and Sunday is our 'technique swim' with a focus on refining your stroke technique. 


Haggerston Park to watch the opening ceremony anyone? Bring on the Games! See ya, Tim (LFTC Coach).

Race round up.

Congratulations to all those who have been competing over the last couple of weekends. Here's a little review of how the team went.


The forecast was pretty awful for the Cowman Middle Distance Triathlon. Thankfully the weather gods chose be kind to the LFTC crew that headed to the race which was also the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships. When we registered on Saturday the transition looked more like a bog than a setting for a race. A very substantial feed of Italian (thank you Steve Marks) on Saturday night set everyone up nicely for some massive performances on race day. It was an early start with the first wave heading off at 6:30am and the second wave at 7:00am.


Richard Jelfs was the first of the LFTC lads to exit the water in 30:51 followed by Jamie Kerr in 32:31 and Nick Hill in 32:38. The big man held his lead with a solid bike leg of 2:47:36. Stuart Hitchcock was gaining ground though and posted the fastest bike split of the day from the LFTC crew with a 2:43:00. He passed Richard at the end of the first lap of the run and held the lead into the second lap of the run. Joe Dale came storming through the field with the fastest run split of the LFTC team in 1:13:53. Unfortunately a school boy error from Simon Tulloch ment his time was not registered. How many ways can you go wrong with a timing chip? Probably just the one. You put it on your wrist and not your ankle!


Gail Wilkinson was the first of the LFTC girls to cross the finish line. She went on to finish 6th in her age group. Remember this was a National Championships so that is a fantastic achievement. Kristel Pous was first out of the water in 35:05 followed by Jane Dennyson in 39:37. Gail had the fastest bike split of the girls, she took the lead with a 2:57:53 bike, she was followed by Amanda Wilmer in 3:15:37. The fastest run split of the girls went to Gail in 1:33:44 followed by Amanda in 1:36:03. Deborah Coyle finished first in her age group. Middle Distance National Champion female 35-39! While she was racing in Grenwich Tritons race kit but we will claim her as one of ours as she comes to our Saturday sessions on occasion. Nice work Deborah! May be we'll let your wear the LFTC colours next time. Well done to all those LFTC athletes that raced the Cowman. It was a great day out with such a big team involved.


The Hillingdon Triathlon was last weekend. The last of the triathlons in the London League Series. LFTC had a sizable team participating again. Unfortunately Felipe Almeida suffered a puncture on the cycle leg (which comes last by the way) and had to pull out. Amanda Wilmer was the first of our girls across the line and Jamie Kerr was the first of the lads. Am I right in saying this was Shahab Udin's first triathlon? Again well done team. Two more races to get the club on to the podium!


Ironman Switzerland was also last weekend. Unfortunately Guy Holbrow had to pull out due to illness. Gabriel Sayer, Joe Dale, Nathan Dytor and Tom Picking all completed the event. Joe, Nathan and Tom were competing over the Ironman distance for the first time. Gabriel was the first man home, then Joe, then Nathan and Tom on the exact same time. Nice work fellas. You are all now Ironmen!


This weekend we go back to the short stuff. It's the latest round of the ITU WCS for Hamburg. This is a great event that attracts a massive crowd to watch the best triathletes in the work race around Hamburg's city centre. There are no Brownlees and no Helen Jenkins but otherwise the men's and women's fields are stacked with talent. A win in Hamburg in the final race before the Olympics will give a couple of athletes a huge psychological boost. It is a sprint distance race so it is guaranteed to be fast an furious from start to finish.


You'll need pull buoys and fins for this week's swim sessions. Saturday is our long swim. We'll be mixing up some long intervals and short sprints. Sunday is our technique swim session. It's a great little set with a mix of drills to tune up your stroke and improve your breathing control.


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

A new race!

LONDON FIELDS TRIATHLON CLUB & CAPITAL TRI ANNOUNCE THE HACKNEY SPLASH & DASH 2012


LFTC and Capital Tri will be hosting the first open water triathlon event in Hackney on 25th August. It's a race we have been hoping to make happen for over a year and we are finally there - so it's over to you...

Taking place at the stunning West Reservoir, there will be an aquathlon with two race distances - 1500m swim/10k run and 750m swim/5k run

Sign up here

There will be no LFTC training sessions that weekend so get your name in and join the fun!

Go the LFTC crew at the Cowman!

It's another huge weekend for triathlon this weekend. There is a massive group of LFTC athletes taking part in the Cowman Middle Distance Triathlon. For some this will be their longest race yet! It's going to be great fun being surrounded by so many team mates. It's my first race of the season too...eeek! 

This weekend is also Challenge Roth. Roth is one of the most legendary long course triathlons in the world and is a course on which may elite athletes have posted world record times. It attracts crowds as big at the Tour de France and is definitely a race for the bucket list if you fancy long course racing. There is no sign of Lance Armstrong on the start list as yet but I'll keep my fingers crossed! Actually it is looking more and more like he might be caught up in court battles.

We've go our newly qualified coaches taking the Saturday and Sunday swim sessions. Bring your fins, pull buoys and paddles as there will be drills to clean up different aspects of your stroke and a fitness element as well. Check out this blog from Swim Smooth's 'Feel for the water' for a great technique tip about the 'basic extension drill' i.e. kicking on your side. This drill forms the base from which many more advanced drills are built and is therefore a key drill to really get nailed.

It is not uncommon to feel a little faint when you exit the water in a triathlon or in training. In fact sometimes people do faint. The reason is postural hypotension - a sudden drop in blood pressure when you go from a horizontal position to a vertical position. The risk increases when swimming because blood had been directed to the working muscles, predominantly the upper body and then all of a sudden it has to be redirected to the legs once you are able to stand. If your body temperature is also elevated blood is directed towards the skin to assist cooling and the risk of faint may be increased further.


What can you do? Prepare yourself by increasing the effort you put into your kick for the last 100m or so. This way you start to redirect blood to the legs before moving from horizontal to vertical. Don't allow yourself to get too hot. Choose appropriate days and venues to practise swimming in your wetsuit and if you are getting too warm flush some fresh water through it to help cool off or finish your session without it.


See you Saturday poolside or at the Cowman! Tim (LFTC Coach)