Word from the Coaches….
29 February – this day only comes around once every four years – an extra day in the year to do as you please. So why not make the most of it! With this week being recovery week, if you are feeling TIRED, then use this leap year day as a day to yourself to regroup, refocus and get back on track to finish the season off strong. Remember that after a recovery week you should feel refreshed and ready for the next 2 weeks of hard training, if you don’t you are doing your body a disservice. (Note our IM Melbourne athletes would be the only exclusion as they head into their last build before their 2 week taper – not long to go guys!!) So listen to the body, particularly if you have been consistently training for the last 10 months of the year. Trust us, having a session off when you are REALLY tired can actually do you wonders.
So what are you going to do with your extra day this year??? 🙂
_______________________________________________________________
LAST CHANCE TO VOLUNTEER WITH US AT IRONMAN MELBOURNE!
Volunteer entries CLOSE TODAY. So if you have been thinking about it and talking about, make sure you do something about it TODAY! 
How YOU can be part of the Ironman Journey!
Tri Alliane is offering YOU the chance of a lifetime to become part of the Ironman Melbourne Journey. We have secured TWO water (aid) stations on the run leg of the Ironman event which we are searching for athletes, friends and/or families to help man the aid station and support our athletes (and the 1500+ other competitors) in making their way to the finishing line of Ironman Melbourne. CLICK HERE to read more and to register as a volunteer.
_______________________________________________________________
MONTHLY DINNER – THIS THURSDAY NIGHT
Our next monthly dinner is THIS THURSDAY NIGHT and we encourage all athletes to make it along for a feed. This is a great chance to meet some of our newer athletes, as often it is hard at training to chat to others. So ensure you hang around after this Thursday’s Combo session and have a bite to eat with the squad. And as an athlete, what better excuse not to have to cook dinner for one night of the week!!
Where: La Porchetta, Elwood Beach – walking distance from training, so no excuse not to!
When: Post Training, approximately 8pm
Why: Why not! 🙂
See you there Thursday Night!
_______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW OUR IRONMAN NEW ZEALAND ATHLETES
Best of luck will be sent across to our New Zealand Ironman athletes competing this weekend. Unfortunately the weather doesn’t look to be favourable (again) for this race, but there are still a few more days for the forecast to be wrong! We wish every one of our athletes a great race, and look forward to following them LIVE on www.ironmanlive.com. The race starts at 7.00am on Saturday 3rd March (NZ time) which is 5am our time. So make sure you check out how they are travelling before you head out for your training session on Saturday and jump straight back on when you are finished to follow their progress throughout the day. For those who are new to Ironman, race times will be anywhere between 10-14hours. We will also update athletes via our facebook page, so be sure to keep an eye on this also.
Nick Sissons – #382, M30-34
Jason Nicholl – #610, M35-39
Greg Nugent – #1354 M50-54
Dale Beehre – #1013, M45-49
Jeannette Linehan – #971, F40-44
Paul Venner – #1179, M45-49
Rohan Belmore – #1015, M45-49
Justine Marshall-Owens – #972, F40-44
Mike Murray – #176, M25-29
Rob Scapin – #1155, M45-49
_______________________________________________________________
PRO IRONMAN ATHLETE JOE GAMBLES ‘ASCENDS’ ON TRI ALLIANCE!
Tri Alliance is excited to announce that ‘ASCEND‘ believer and Pro Ironman Athlete
Joe Gambles will join Tri Alliance at a training session before his next major race – Ironman Melbourne!
Joe recently finished 2nd at the Australian Long Course Championships at Falls Creek last month, and is now setting his sights on Ironman Melbourne on Sunday 25 March 2012, along with 17 Tri Alliance athletes.
This is exciting not only for our own Ironman Melbourne athletes tackling this course, but for every one of our athletes. To have a pro triathlete of Joe’s calibre sharing his knowledge, experience and stories of triathlon and Ironman racing – and we are excited to have Joe join us at our training session on Thursday 22 March 2012
There will also be ASCEND give-aways on the night, so you don’t want to miss out on this one in a life time training session!!
CLICK HERE to read more….
Tri Alliance would like to thank Joe for his time and Ascend for their ongoing support of Tri Alliance.
_______________________________________________________________
FACEBOOK COMPETITION: 
And the winner is…..
Our latest facebook competition brought in some great captions for this picture of athlete Anthony Leverington hydrating before his big Active Feet race Race 5 at Elwood. All you had to do was ‘like’ both Tri Alliance and Shotz Sports Nutrition facebook pages and provide a ‘caption’ for this picture to WIN a SHOTZ SPORTS NUTRITION PACK – simple at that!
Noteable mentiones include:
- True Athletes fire off like a good shot with SHOTZ! – Iona (Jo) S
- Roofie told me this would make my hair grow back… Roooofffiiieee!!!! – Tim W
- With SHOTZ on my side, even a hectic modelling schedule can’t stop me achieving my goals! – Stuart W
- If my cals are right, 2 jam sandwiches, 6 egg whites, 2 bananas, an extra buff protein shake and 16 gels should just be enough to get me through…. Ahhh stuff it – just me me SHOTZ!! – Brinn T
And the winner is……
- Summoning the racing God – SHOTZ, Anthony raises the sacred horn to his lips and bellows the war cry of Tri Alliance…. – Mark J
Congratulations Mark – contact [email protected] to claim your Shotz Sports Nutrition Pack.
_______________________________________________________________
NEW TRAINING TIMETABLES & PROGRAMS
Our new training timetables for the month of March have been posted. There are a few changes due to the Grand Prix and with heaps of races happening, so make sure you check them out for training details. CLICK HERE to view our March Training Timetables.
New Training Programs for the month of March have now also been uploaded. We had an IT issue with some of our Olympic Distance athletes but this has now been resolved. If you are still unable to access your training program, please call us in the office on 9645 2223.
Accessing your Training Programs
We have put together a help document to help you access your training programs. So if you haven’t read through this document – make sure you do before contacting us to ensure that you are accessing correctly. And if you don’t already view your program on your iPhone, Blackberry or Android Phone, then make sure you read how to – as it is very user friendly on your phone and you can check it out anytime, anywhere without having to log in each time.
_______________________________________________________________
BIG BAY SWIM – WELL DONE TO OUR “TA-MERMAIDS”!
The Big Bay Swim is a swim from Sandridge Beach, Port Melbourne to the Williamstown Pier a 3.2km swim.
Renee Villani 49:53 – 5th in F18-29
Lidia Ursini 1:06:15 – 11th in F40-49
Claire Manley 1:07:05 – 9th in F18-29
Evalin Ling 1:08:14 – 12th in F30-39
Justine Marshall-Owens 1:12:09 – 13th F40-49
It was a PB for all the girls, being:
1) Longest swim they had completed
2) Swim in the deepest water ever! Deep water = Tall and wide waves
3) We all felt that our bodies were sinking more in deep water (water not as dense).
And as a bonus, the girls all came away with a spot prize at the end of the day.
Renee – Dinner Voucher
Claire – One night stay in a B&B (nice get!!)
Lidia – Salad Spinner (random much?)
Justine – Dinner Voucher
Evalin – Cupcakes, Engine goggles and swim cap.
Well done girls, great effort all round!
_______________________________________________________________
WINDTRAINER SESSIONS: PLEASE NOTE
All athletes attending windtrainer sessions at MSAC on Tuesday evenings must be aware of the following procedure at the request of MSAC:
- You must report the the front desk on entry and swipe your MSAC Club Card
- You must not use the stairs to transport your bike, you must use the lift – this is for OH&S reasons
- If you do not have an MSAC Club Card, you must purchase one at the front desk. Annual $50 fee grants you access into the centre for free during our training sessions AND provides you with FREE carparking.
Thanks
________________________________________________________
ATHLETE GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP – IMPORTANT INFO
Last years Goal Setting Workshop was a huge success with around 90 athletes attending our race specific goal setting workshops in preparation for planning their goals and races for the 2012/2013 Season.
For some of you it may seem early to be thinking about next season, but before you know it, this season will be over and you will be wondering what to do during the winter season and what races to focus on.
The workshops will be mainly focused around goal setting and will touch on an overview of the training calendar plus more.
DETAILS:
Saturday 10 March 2012
Tri Alliance Office 3/20-26 Sabre Drive, Port Melbourne
9.00-10.30am – Fun / Social / new athletes
11.00-12.30pm – Sprint/Olympic Athletes
1.00-2.30pm – Half Ironman Athletes
3.00-4.30pm – Ironman Athletes
Refreshments will be supplied for those who can’t go without food for that long. 🙂
We will be sending out full details on the email – including RSVP’s so keep an eye out for this.
THIS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT SESSION YOU ATTEND ALL YOU – YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!
*Please note we are aware it is a long weekend and it is the same weekend as Victor Harbour, but with so many races on the calendar this was the best available weekend.
________________________________________________________
LOOKING FOR A FUN SOCIAL RACE? WHY NOT RACE A TRAIN??
The ‘Great Train Race’ 6 May 2012
We have a group of athletes each year who race against Puffing Billy for line honours – a 13.2km run from Belgrave to Emerald Park. We also have previsouly had a select few who instead choose to watch competitors by simply taking a ride on Pufing Billy! Make sure you check it out if you are keen. And we can get athletes together on the day for a great social event to kick start the Winter Season. CLICK HERE for more details.
*Please remember that for most, April is our transition month, so if you have had a big year of racing you should be considering having an easy month and ease back into training in May, so use this as a ‘social’ event rather than a key race.
________________________________________________________
SUPPORT YOUR FELLOW IRONMAN ATHLETE
Ironman Melbourne Charity Raising Drive
One of our new Tri Alliance athletes, Dax Stanley, is completing in his first Ironman event in Melbourne and in doing so is raising money for an important but mostly unknown disease supported by Crohn’s & Colitis Australia (CCA).
His wife, Amanda, has been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis last year. Amanda has not let the disease stop her reaching her goals and she is completing in the Active Feet Series. This provides a confidence boost for other people with the disease that they can do it too. We would like to get behind Amanda and Dax in their drive to make a difference in combating this disease by raising money to find a cure so people like Amanda can stop suffering.
CLICK HERE to read more on Dax’s journey and details around why they are doing it and what the $$ are going towards. And Visit their Charity Page to donate – every dollar counts!
Want to rent some race wheels for your next race? Here’s a great offer!
The team at Elite Race Rentals are proud to support Dax in his fundraising effort and his foray into the land of Ironman. At Elite Race Rentals we know exactly how tough it is to compete in Triathlon and work a regular job. Our rentals aim to give you that edge and let you get through your day with the best time and least effort possible.
We hire out the full range of Zipp racing Wheels, Powertap Training and racing wheels, Fortius VR Trainers and Bike cases.
Mention Dax’s Blog when you book with us – we will give you a 10% discount off you rental price and will donate 15% of your rental price to support Dax and his Fundraising efforts. Be the best you can be. Click here to read more.
________________________________________________________
GET QUALIFIED – BRONZE MEDALLION & SURF RESCUE
Want to increase your skills, knowledge base and qualifications? Why not look at doing one of the courses Elwood Lifesaving Club has on offer in March.
Bronze Medallion – only $55 for ELSC members!
Surf Resue Certificate – only $55 for ELSC members!
Click on the above links for more info, or contact:
David Rylance
Chief Instructor, Elwood LSC [email protected] or 0418533824
________________________________________________________
TRIATHLON TRADING POST
Looking for triathlon gear at a chaeaper price? Why not check out our Triathlon Trading Post!
We’ve had some new inclusions this week including a ASICS RUNNING FLATS (new) and a SPECIALIZED TIMETRIAL BIKE! Click here to find out more and check out what you may be able to pick up at a bargain price!
If you have something you want to sell, email full details to [email protected]
________________________________________________________
TRAINING DETAILS THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY 3 MARCH
SHORT COURSE: Long Run & Open water swim skills, Elwood Beach Coach Mick
6.50am for briefing for a 7.00am start. No bikes required.
TRY-the-TRI’s / NISSAN CORPORTES: Triathlon Skills
Elwood Beach 9.30-11.00am
Bring all swim/bike/run gear. Coaches Bernadette, Mick & Evalin
LONG COURSE ATHLETES
Long Ride/Run off the Bike
Meeting at Cnr Pickles and Beaconsfield Parade, Port Melbourne. (Due to the Nissan Corporate Triathlon Setup at Elwood)
Ironman Melbourne 5.50am for a 6.00am start. Coach Ollie
All other long course athletes: 6.20am for a 6.30am start. Coach Sarah
________________________________________________________
SUNDAY 4 MARCH
SHORT COURSE: Speed endurance ride 40-90km
Meeting at North Point Cafe, North Road, Brighton. Plenty of FREE parking on Morth Road. (Starting here due to the Nissan Corporate Triathlon at Elwood)
6.20am for a 6.30am start. Please ensure you are ready before the start time.
For those new to riding, you will ride to Mordialloc return and focus on completing the distance rather than speed/endurance.
LONG COURSE: Long run (uncoached)
Meet Cnr Pickles and Beaconsfield Parade for a group run. Follow your programs for distances.
If you have any queries on distances for your specific races please ensure you contact one of our coaches.
Happy Training & Racing!
Team Tri Alliance
