Training Noticeboard Reminder

The long training spins mentioned below are suggested routes for serious distance racers but may not suit all members.

Four club coaches have recently been trained and we will be organizing weekly coached cycling training to suit all levels taking place on Saturday mornings, starting after the AGM (Sat 13th in the Glasshouse -all welcome, especially new members). This will be in addition to midweek lectures/ coached runs and indoor bike "turbo trainer" sessions also due to begin shortly -details will follow.

There is a club noticeboard which can be accessed by clicking under the section to the left of the blog or by visiting the club website for arranging training outside the official sessions -the level and type of training varies for triathlon distances so it is a cert that there will be a session to suit most levels on any given weekend (fair play to Pauric and Ronan for getting the ball rolling).

IMPORTANT - Friday's Swim Moved to Avina

The sports complex pool won't be open on time for our Friday swim (29th Oct) so we're moving it to the Avina Pool in Ballysadare to 10pm, it's the only time we were able to get in the circumstances and is better than cancelling.

As of today the Complex is due to be reopened on Saturday (30th Oct) but please keep an eye on the blog in case we need to make any more venue changes.

Monthly Long Cycle Training

Monthly Long Cycle training: (revised Dates)

Due to the adverse Weather experienced over the past Month we have effectively cancelled 3 of the cycles so its back to basics starting Sunday 23 Jan with an 80k cycle. The rescheduled times are shown below:

Well guys the time has arrived for the old saying – long winter miles equals summer smiles! The proposal for the long distance cycle is to start at approx 80km and build to 180km over a four month period. This training is primarily for those aiming for half Ironman and upward or for the Etapes cycling event which allows you to ride a stage of the Tour d’France on closed roads or indeed if you are thinking of doing the tour of Sligo or the Wicklow 200. The emphasis of the rides is not to race each other but to stick to heart rates of about 65-75% Max HR or just below your lactic threshold. If you are looking to burn more fat, loose weight and get some conditioning then it is better to stick to about 60% max HR, above 60% you tend to burn more carbohydrate than fat. These HR are indicative and not necessarily true for everyone, the only way to really know is to get tested. I have tried to keep the circuits so that there are plenty of options if people want to take shorter routes but join the main bunch for say 40-50km. These cycles are Long Steady Cycles so you’ll need a fair bit of base already in the tank to start them, they wont be easy but they do promise a bit of fun talking to others rather than yourself. Bring plenty of food and at least two drinks to sustain you, there will be no coffee stops! There will be no racing! If people want to show bravado they can do it on their own time! We will keep in touch nearer the dates in case of adverse weather etc. Meeting time will be 8:45am and leaving at exactly 9:00am on the button these are long rides and everyone has family commitments so no delays!

The proposed Revised dates are:

Sunday 23 Jan 2011 – 80km – Sligo IT- Ballygawley – Keadue – Drumkeeran – Dromahaire- Sligo IT.

Sunday 27 Feb 2011– 105Km Sligo IT – Dromahaire – Drumkieran – Drumshambo – Ballinagleragh – Drumkeeran – Dromahaire – Sligo.

Sunday 27 MArch 2011– 130km – Sligo IT – Geevagh – Over Arigna – Drumshambo – Ballinagleragh – Glenfarne – Manorhamilton – Dromahaire – Sligo.

Sunday 24 April– 155km – we’ll do the tour of Sligo route. (I think the actual Tour is the 8 May?? this year)

Then the real deal the tour of Leitrim!

Sunday 22 May – 180km – Sligo IT – Geevagh – over Arigna – Drumshambo – Ballinamore – Drumbeagh – Drumakeever – Blacklion – Cornageeha – Drumkeeran – Manorhamilton – Newtownmanor – Drumahaire – Sligo – phew!

Map shows the main areas apart from the Tour of Sligo route.

For more details contact John Hanly johnhanleynazareth@eircom.net

IMPORTANT - Tues Swim Moved to Avena Pool

The sports complex is still having problems meaning they won't be open till later in the week with the date yet to be confirmed.

Tuesday (25th Oct) session is going to take place at the same time as usual, 10pm but will take place in the avena pool in Ballysadare www.avenaleisure.com

We use this pool for our sunday session, it's a really nice pool but is a bit smaller than the complex but will be fine as a once off.

Swim talk will proceed as planned at 8pm in Carraroe community hall

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ON THE CHANGE OF VENUE
We will do everything we can to get word out but may not get everyone.

STAY TUNED TO THE BLOG FOR DETAILS ON THE FRIDAY SWIM, THIS MAY NEED TO BE MOVED AS WELL, THIS IS QUITE LIKELY AT THE MOMENT.

For more info contact shane_odoherty@yahoo.co.uk

SOLDSOLD SOLD Bike for sale

One of our club members has a bike for sale:

For sale Merida 903 road bike.
Gears - shimano tiagra 18 speed gears and
Brakes - shimano tiagra
Colour - Red and Black
Wheels - Shimano lightweight
Clip in pedals.
Carbon Fibre Forks

Bought in June for €1000, used 4 times selling for €650 due to ongoing injury problems.
Available to view in Sligo, contact Padraig 086 1621378

Swim cancelled tonight 22nd oct. Plant problems have shut pool

Lough Gill Swim

Congratulations to Sligo Triathlon club members Paul Mc Garry and Kieran Fitzgerald on succesfully completing a 8.5km full length swim of Lough Gill. The swim took place on Saturday the 16th of October at 10:30am. Paul and Kieran began their swim at Shriff the furthest easterly point on the lake and finished in Aughamore boat house. Weather conditions on the morning were perfect with glassy water in the absence of any wind. The water was 12 degrees. Both swimmers were accompanied by two canoeists and a speed boat. kieran finished the swim in 3 hours and 1 minute and a delighted Paul Mc Garry finished in 3 hours and 26 minutes. Kieran plans to put this swim on the 2011 open water calander sometime at the end of august next year. Leitrim man Keiran adds this to an impressive list of swims including the English Channel while Paul becomes the first Sligo man to swim the length of the lake.

Swim Video Analysis Session - Tues 2nd Novemeber, Sports Complex

We will be taking our cameras to the water again on Tues 2nd Nov. The session will get underway at 9:50pm sharp. All swimmers must be on the poolside and ready to get into the water by then. All swimmers need to register and be assigned a number before the session. Registration is quick and will start at 9:20pm on the poolside stand. It's essential that everyone gets a number and stays in sequence otherwise we won't be able to indentify swimmers. If you arrive to the complex at 9:50pm or later you won't be allowed take part so make sure to get there on time for registration.

The stills show the camera angles we will be using, 2 under and 2 over water.

It's useful to bring a bathrobe or big towel to keep warm in between your videod lengths. You will only swim 2 lengths in the session, one for two front camera angles and one for two side angles and will be sitting on deckside getting cold in between.

We will gather at a later date to analyse the strokes and all swimmers will get a CD with their video on it (only theirs, no one elses). The purpose of the session is to allow people see what their stroke actually looks like and to identify areas for improvement. This is the 5th session the club has ran with previous ones proving very successful. There really is nothing like seeing your own video to get an instant understanding of your strengths and weaknesses in the water. This will be discussed at next weeks swim talk.

Everyone attending the Sunday, Friday and Tuesday swims are encouraged to attend. Any club members outside of swim sessions are also welcome but please email shane_odoherty@yahoo.co.uk so we know our numbers. The sessions is not open to non club members.

Club member Mark Capillitan will be kindly doing the underwater video again, check out Mark's website http://markcapilitan.com/

Club members will avail of this session for free.

Any questions email Shane.

Swim Talk - Tues 26th Oct 8pm

There will be a talk by club swimming coach Shane O'Doherty on Tues 26th October in the Carraroe Church Hall at 8pm. The talk is aimed at newcomers to swimming and triathlon but all club members and people outside the club are very welcome to come along to this free session.
The talk will take approximately 1 hr and there will be an opportunity for questions afterwards. The talk won't be complicated and will present easy to understand principles you can apply to your training immediately.

Topics to be covered will include:

• Equipment
• Technical aspects of the stroke
• Training Effect
• Training Plans
• Explanation of drills
• Common stroke problems and how to correct them
• Underwater video analysis
  

It's well worth going along to since there's a lot of stuff that can't be covered during the pool sessions for time and other practical reasons.

To get an idea of numbers, if you plan on coming please email shane_odoherty@yahoo.co.uk

Sligo 'try'athlon race report

Thanks go to Dermot Cunningham for this report from last Sundays race; Dermot managed to bag both his first triathlon and a top twenty finish on the day -

"From 8.30am on last Sunday, when the registration for the Try a Tri opened in the Sligo Sports Complex the buzz amongst competitors, marshals and supporters was electric.

The Sligo Triathlon Club Members had been busy from 7am that morning ensuring that everything was put in place for the 3rd running of this annual event.

Out of a field of 93 starters, Colin Harte was victorious in the men’s section, with Sheila Ryan taking first place in the ladies race.

Colin had been pushed all the way by the teenage sensation Ethan Melvin, with only 20 seconds separating them at the end. Second place in the ladies race went to Leona Moran, who was less than 2 minutes behind Sheila.

As all the competitors were wearing timing chips, it was possible to run 4 separate swim waves, with the slower swimmers going in the earlier waves and the fastest swimmers going in the final wave. On completion of the 10 lanes in Sports Complex Pool, it was out to the Transition Area in the car park to put on the cycling helmets and pick up the bikes. The 10km bike route brought the competitors out past the Cemetery, The Sligo Park Hotel and on to Cararoe. The assistance of the Gardaí was essential at the busy junctions and the co-operation of the Sligo County Council was also appreciated. The good surface on the road towards Dromahair allowed the cyclists to build up the speed, and the decline to the Holy Well also was a great help, bearing in mind the 2 tough ascents that awated towards Tonaphubble. With the final kilometre practically downhill, the cyclists had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the 4km run that follow their arrival back again to the Transition Area in the Sports Complex Car park. Many competitors commented that one of the toughest aspects of the race was the steady hill up to the Sligo Race Course, where they completed their 2 laps, but then at least they had the benefit of the nice downhill back to the finish line at the Sports Complex.

On crossing the line the successful athletes received their commemorative medal from Sligo’s International Triathlete Neil Walton, the winner of the Sligo Sprint Distance Triathlon in Rosses Point this year. With Michael O’Connell on commentary, all the athletes received a great welcome from the large group of supporters. There was constant activity in the Transition area, with people entering from the swim, people heading out for the cycle section, people returning with their bikes and others heading out for their run.

The Club were very lucky with the fantastic weather, and thankfully the Civil Defence and Dr Bernie O’Connor who were there to support the Event, were not called into action.

With over 50 Club members and friends involved as marshals, the organising Committee were very grateful to everybody who worked so hard to ensure the safety and success of the event.

With out the Sponsors it would have been very difficult to run the event, and the 2 mains sponsors were Chain Driven Cycles, and the Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership. Other valued Sponsors included Key to Health, John Kent Sports, Legginit.com, Tipperary Water, The Running School Castlebar, The Sligo Golf Academy and Voya Seaweed Products.

Special mention must go to the Team at the Sligo Sports Complex for their help on the day, and also to the Sligo Race Course for making the course available on the day."

Training Noticeboard

As this is the off season a lot of triathletes hang up the wetsuit and park the bike for a while but some members are still out and about. The official training times are 9am for bike on Sat and 9:30 for run on Sunday but a lot of people train around those times. Now would be a good time to get beginner and advanced out together so as newer members could step up a gear for next season.

The yahoo forum seems to be gathering dust so there is a noticeboard to the top left of this page (and on the club website homepage) -no login is needed so just post a time/ date using a name and email address.

...Sundays race report is on the way, well done again to organizers and competitors...

Annual 'try' results

Well done to all involved in yesterdays 'try' athlon, full results are available here. Race report will follow...

Good luck to Ronan and Joes 2 Pros

Good luck to Club Member Ronan McNamara with his new personal training venture Joes to Pros. Check out the flyer or website www.j2pfit.com for more information. There is a 10% discount available to all Sligo Triathlon Club Members.

Calling all marshalls, quick reminder...

The plan for Sunday is for all marshalls to meet in the Regional Sports Complex @ 9:15 for a quick briefing before the race; the conditions look set for perfect sunshine (which will be a first!).

Sunday Swimming

Will be going ahead as normal at 8am in Avina in Ballysadare.
Anyone that's marshalling at the try event should go up immediately afterwards.
We'd expect everyone up to give a hand.
If you have not already volunteered please contact Pauric Deery pauricdeery@hotmail.com to be assigned a role.
If anyone has to be at the event earlier meaning they have to miss the sunday session, they can go to one of the friday (7pm complex) or tues (9:50pm complex) sessions instead.

Calling all marshalls...

The annual club 'try' athlon takes place this Sunday (starting from 8:30 in the Regional Sports Complex). This years event, the third running, looks set to be a good one with the number of participants in multisport booming in the County. It is important for all members to come out and lend a hand on the day so beginners can get a proper feel for what the sport is about. Marshalls are needed for all sections of the course so if you can spare some time bring your family and friends along, enjoy the racing and join in the post event celebration. Full race briefing can be downloaded from the club website. -For any new members taking part; good luck and enjoy the day (be warned -the sport is addictive!).

Greek Swim Report

Thanks to Club Member and Try a Tri committee member Lynsey Dunne for providing a great description of her recent swim trip in Greece. Good read for anyone interested in something like this. The trip forms part of Lynsey's preparations for a cross channel relay swim and we wish her the best of luck in her preparations.


Swim Trek Adventure Holiday

For anyone interested in a slightly different holiday Swim Trek have the answer. Swim Trek are an English company that offer swim adventure holidays in different locations around the world. I am just back from a Swim Trek holiday in Greece.

This 7 day trip was based around the Cyclades Islands, which are ideal for Island Hopping and a swimmers paradise! The trip started on the island of Schinoússa, with a group meet and greet. The group consisted of 3 tour guides and 14 swimmers. The swimmers were a mix of nationalities, ranging in age from 28 – 64, with different swimming abilities from experienced open water swimmers to casual breast strockers. Day two started with an acclimatisation swim where the group was divided into 3 smaller groups (with different coloured swim caps) based on speed and ability. Each group was assigned a tour guide with an escort boat. The acclimatisation swim was followed by a coaching session with a focus on open water technique and video analysis on stroke technique. Following a relaxing lunch on the beach we were divided up into the three groups and set out on our first significant swim of the week. The swim was an amazing 4KM coastal swim in and out of sandy coves and small caves with plenty of marine life. Over the next few days we swam between / around several islands, some of which were uninhabited and inaccessible by any other means. The islands were off the beaten track giving you a great opportunity to experience authentic Greek life and in some cases it was like stepping back in time. On day 4 we departed Schinoússa for our new accommodation on the island of Koufoníssi. However, in true Swim Trek style we swam most of the way! From Koufoníssi more fantastic swims followed including coastal swim in and out of bays and over reefs and island crossings. On average we swam approximately 5/6 KM a day. Typically, we did a long (4KM) swim each morning and following lunch on board our escort yacht we completed a shorter (2KM) swim in the afternoon.

The trip was an amazing way to experience open water swimming at its best in some of the best swimming water in the world. It is also a great way to meet a variety of different people, which share the common love of open water swimming, which made the trip even more memorable.

Check out www.swimtrek.com for further details.

Lynsey