racers at the ready

A cold and blustery day greeted all the athletes taking part in the Ennis Tri Duathlon. Spring is here but the winter weather has all athletes wondering when the sunshine is coming. The weather however did not deter the 125 athlete s who took part and the great showing by Ennis Tri marshals and event organizers was great to see.

The team out on the day were all smiles and a few nervous looks from Mags and Olivia. Darragh didn’t shave for fear he could lose strength for the bike while Mark, Trevor and Liam were all wondering who looked better in tights…….

Run 1 3.4km

smiling as usual

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Ladies

Group cycling training are you interested ?

Club Rothaiochta Na Sionnaine ( shannon cycling club ) are hoping to organise group training spins and education every sunday morning for an intial 8 week program.

The program will include things like…

• group cycling edict/maneuvering within a group
•  calls/signals
• basic bike maintenance
• cycling language
• basic training knowledge /health and well being advice for the female rider
• and lots more

coach to finalize program this is an example

Currently the club are searching for an experienced rider/ex rider/coach to take the position and guarantee a program of education and enjoyment for all

We are hoping to organise a ladies only group cycling session every sunday where female cyclist can meet and cycle together to learn and teach other.

1. leisurely pace

2. Friendly and encouraging

3. Learn and teach each other and from the coach

4.Advance together and enjoy

You will need a road bike or a hybrid with road tires

Is this something that you would commit too and find enjoyable?

We are searching for an experienced cyclist /or coach to manage and train with the group for 8 sundays in a row, introducing a program of activities and helping all the group to advance. More info to follow

If you are interested and think that this would be something you could benefit from we would love to hear from you.

Sorry guys ladies only

Clubrothaiochta@hotmail.com

DRILLS FOR SKILLS 

Deciding that drills are needed over punishing yourself in a swim session with a grueling workout is not that hard when you decide to pay attention to hydrodynamics and resistance.

Fighting the gorrilla is hard enough, you dont stop when you want to, you stop when the gorilla decides your dead!! what I mean by this is… drills are swam everyday by the bet of the best in the world, why would you not want it to be a part of your warm up and cool down for each and every training session?

For the time crunched athlete, drills are still your number one chance to lower the effort levels or levels or exertion during the triathlon swim portion, while trying to save energy for the bike and run legs of the tri.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a point of no return on drills for swimmers and there is a point when certain athletes will always be high volume swimmers. however here is my Question to you, ” do you think about every stroke you take’?? give me an honest    answer of yes and there is no need to continue to read this post. however if like most of us, the pure bred water fish or the amateur extortionist a simple rule to engage the brain will lead to huge swim time deductions.

 Now before I go any further with this I have some rules for triathlete swimmers 

1. swim cadence or stroke rates — triathletes need the ability to be able switch / match /alter their individual strokes to suit races, race types and conditions.

2. Hips and shoulders must move together – hips are the driving force of the stroke- just because your moving your shoulders doesnt mean your hips are following

3. bilateral breathing in training– I don’t care what you do in races. do what comes natural.

4. A neutral head position – keep working on rotation drills, please do not neglect your kicking drills

5. Get the sequence right when choosing your drills and remember technique over speed with these, the speed will come eventually

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Well done to all the athletes who took part in the GoTri training camp this weekend. The training was tough but spirits were high on Saturday morning when we set off on an introductory warm up hour run. It was great to see athletes from so many different tri clubs get the chance to discuss their training and plans for the year ahead.

After this we descended on the 50m Olympic sized pool at the University arena. It was a fantastic sight to see nearly 40 swimmers and 6 coaches take over half the pool for a technique focussed set. There were lots of swim tips picked up throughout the day which hopefully the group can use to continue their swim progress into the triathlon season!

The group still all smiles after the swim session

After a quick lunch it was out to Kellys gym for a bike session. Some of the group braved the cold and the rain for hill repeats, while the other half did a tough turbo core set…. By the end of the day there were a few tired bodies. That evening there was a nutrition talk for the group from the GoTri Sports Dietician Gillian Quinlan. Some of the links Gillian gave in her talk are given at the bottom of this page.

Gillian giving important nutritional advice to the group

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