MSC Latest News - February 2007

The year is away with January just 'flying by'. The Aussie season really gets into it's second half from February with the National Series events coming up regularly and the long course athletes stepping out again over the medium distances and gearing up for the first of the years Ironman events kicking of in late Feb with IM Malaysia. There is plenty on for athletes of all abilities and as always, having those performance goals to work towards is the way to stay focused. Some of the athletes MSC work with presently are shivering over the otherside of the world during the late arriving Northern winter. I have them working up a sweat indoors so they hit the ground 'running' come spring!

On a personal note - I have given a brief account of a recent hospital stint that really made me think about my own priorities with health and keeping things in perspective. Train Smart and never give up! Nick

"If you travel a path without obstacles, it probably doesn't go anywhere..."



Latest Results

State Series Robina - January 21
Dan O'Rourke 1.05.51 (5th 30-34),
Tom Mewing 1.09.46,
Soren Veiby 1.12.07,
Dan Fox - 1.12.33,
Neil Mc Phee - 1.16.44,
Leonie Pedrazzini - 1.20.12 - (3rd 45-49),
Lisbeth Veiby 1.27.04,
Peter Degnian - 1.27.38,
Graham Mccoll - 1.34.07 (1st 70-74)


Emil Veijby - (under 10) - 11.04,
Seb Veijby - (under 14) - 39.42



National Series Canberra - January 28
Doug Griffiths - 2.17.37,
Adrienne Willing - 2.22.43 - (2nd in 30-34 female),
Peter Seldon - 2.24.21,
David Coulter - 2.28.37 - (1st in men 60-64),
Nicola Gregory 2.29.26

Latest News


Graingers run hot in Quelle Challenge NZ
It was great to see Noosa locals Belinda and Justin Grainger have a great race each in the recent Queenstown Quelle Challenge Ironman event in NZ. Belinda won the female event while Justin was second in the men's - only 60sec away from race winner - Canadian Luke Dragsta.


Major back ' home' in January
Kate Major was back in Noosa for the month of January to recover from a big international year and stress fracture sustained during the last part half of the season. Kate swam with the squad at Noosa and got to visit her old favourite bike routes while starting the base miles in preparation for a big 2007.

During MSC's coaching relationship with Kate she managed wins in IM Arizona, IM USA Lake Placid, 2nd and 3rd Places at IM Australia, winning the 20-24 age group World IM Championship in Hawaii and 3rd Place overall female podium finishes in 2004 and 2005 in Hawaii. Kate has her own website now - www.majorkate.com

Good Luck to one of our Hervey Bay members Jason Cheshire who is Tackling the 82km Overland track from Cradle Mountain in Tasmania this weekend


QLD Triathlon Series
Less than 2 weeks to go for the Titanium Enterprises Caloundra Triathlon held at Woorim Park, Golden Beach on Sunday 11 February. This is race 5 of the Gatorade Series so if you are racing for points, be sure to nominate.

Caloundra Tri features the full distance QTS race, Look Enticer (shorter distance) and the Workplace Teams Triathlon. This event is competitive but friendly and there is a category to suit everyone. Reminder: Nominate before the cut-off date to avoid late fees.

Check out www.usmevents.com.au for all the race info

Coach's 'Meltdown'!
It's been over 7 years since I had a total colectomy (removal of the large intestine) and during that time with 2 Ironman completed along with a handful of half IM (all for fun!) made me a bit complacent and forgetful of what the old body has been through. With no real setback or complications directly related to that major surgery as well as no obvious physical tell tale signs (apart from some major scars up the middle) it's very easy for most (especially me) to forget the seriousness of having (had) the disease ulcerative colitis.

A bowel obstruction put me in hospital for 7 nights over the Noosa Tri weekend late last year. In great pain and not able to eat, the weekend was spent on 2 hourly doses of morphine and IV's. Surgery is a last resort but I was given a doctor who was seemingly very keen to get the hooks into me as he came in at least twice a day asking me if I wanted to be cut open! Having been there done that, I know it was an option I did not want to visit if I could help it so I had to hopefully let nature do it's work along with the nasal gastro tube (photo). Fortunately things slowly got better and was released after the week (8kg lighter) but was very sick for another week or so until digestion got back to normal and the kinks in the small intestine worked themselves out. Keeping healthy with regular exercise is now the priority for me with no (triathlon) racing in the immediate future - certainly for 2007 at least (I do reserve to right to change my mind though!)

Not a happy camper!


Hell of the West at Goondiwindi - 4th February
Dan O'Rourke, Melissa Gaudart, Peter Degnian, Michael Broadbent, Allan Moustoukas

National Long Course Champs - Jervis Bay NSW
25th February Vanessa Williams, Doug Griffiths

Iron Man New Zealand - 3rd March
Peter Seldon, Melissa Gaudart

Mooloolaba Triathlon QLD - 25th March
David Coulter, Dan O'Rourke, Angelika Hannon, Brian Hannon, Catherine Spiteri, Sue Stevenson, Peter Degnian, Carl Schmidt, Peter Fry, Tom Mewing, Justin Hunter, Marc Withnall, Nicola Gregory, Peter Brown, Jess Fleming, Adrienne Willing, Leonie Pedrazzini, Vanessa Williams, Luke Reynolds, Arse man

Iron Man Australia (Port Macquarie)
NSW - 1st April
Steve Buth, Justin Hunter, Allan Moustoukas, Michael Broadbent, Shaneen O'Brien, Jeff Barker, Doug Griffiths, Matty O'Neill


Dan's Wedding

Dan O'Rourke aka 'The Barron' and Katarina (both MSC Noosa squad members!) were married early January at the Coolum Hyatt on the Sunshine Coast. Congrats to the lovely couple from all the MSC crew.

Training Tips

Before you embark on the adventure of adding more speed to your bike through a diet of time trial intervals, it helps to heed the advice of sports psychologist Alan Goldberg: "Get comfortable being uncomfortable."
Your winter of long endurance rides interspersed with a sprinkling of short, high-intensity intervals isn't going to cut it now that the competitive season is drawing near. Those training rides aren't enough to prepare you optimally - physically or mentally - for the specific demands of time trialing in a triathlon.

Beginner athletes often think that when they train to get faster, the sport will also get easier. Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond has been quoted as saying, "It (racing) doesn't get easier, you just get faster."

This reality hits you square in the face at your first triathlon of the year. You may think you're well prepared, but then once the gun goes off, you're cruelly reminded how much racing actually hurts. And if it hurts, you'd do yourself and your performance a big favour by preparing for it with interval training on the bike.

High intensity intervals
A 2002 study done at the University of Queensland in Australian had highly trained cyclists (they could all ride a sub-one hour 40k time trial) doing two interval sessions per week at an intensity above VO2 max for eight weeks. The duration of intervals within the groups ranged from 30 seconds to several minutes, with recovery intervals varying between groups. All three training groups showed an improvement of between 3 and 8 percent. Interval intensity was the key variable. Length of interval or recovery did not appear to be a factor in the cyclists' improvements.

To try this VO2 workout yourself, work through three-to-six 5-minute intervals above VO2 max, with recovery periods of 5 minutes between efforts. Start with two intervals in the first week and add one interval per week. If you notice your power output dropping by more than 10 percent during the interval sessions, end the session and cool down; you've done all the quality work you can do for the day, and you're better off going home and recovering.

Sustainable power output
Your ability to maintain your power and pace will allow you to maximize your speed on the bike and use glycogen efficiently. To reach this hallowed state, work through Steady State intervals (5-10 watts or 3-5 beats below your current lactate threshold (LT) effort), which will improve your power at LT and build muscle endurance. Swap between Steady State intervals such as 3x10 minutes with five minutes recovery between each interval and 2x20 minutes with 8-10 minutes of rest between each one. As your fitness improves, you can reduce the recovery time to 5-6 minutes. Your average speed from the intervals in the 2x20 workout will give you a good idea of your current 40k TT pace.

You long course triathletes can track how your wattage and heart rate changes during long race-pace training rides. If, over the course of a four- to five-hour ride, you hold your watts steady but your heart rate gradually drifts higher, this may indicate an overly ambitious race plan. This concept is called "decoupling," and you want to minimize this drift by figuring out a slower and more realistic pace.

Get used to it
Time-trial training and racing require you to build up a tolerance for pain and discomfort. Practice staying in your aero position for sustained periods of time at race intensity. This will enable you to become more comfortable holding a tight, low position. You also need to be able to run relatively easily immediately after you get off the bike, so practice that transition often.

Don't neglect the indoor trainer
Just because the weather improves, don't put the stationary trainer away. Interval workouts on the trainer can yield great results, because the trainer lets you focus on your intensity. There's no traffic to contend with and no stoplights to throw your intervals out of whack. Micro intervals, short high intensity repeatable intervals, such as 30 seconds max power followed by 30 seconds of spinning, are great for improving your tolerance to the blood lactate accumulating in your muscles. Ten to 30 intervals will train your legs, tune your lactate shuttle system and reset your mind to tolerate high intensity efforts. Plan on getting on your trainer once a week. This should be a short intense session, which can be planned in you schedule or inserted when time demands or weather dictate.

The goal from all this is to improve your bike split, which requires you to learn how to get comfortable riding for extended periods of time at slightly below to slightly above your lactate threshold. The payoff won't be an easier bike leg, just a faster one-possibly a much faster one.

Remember: Don't just train. TrainRight.