The second half of the season is running away with races happening just about every weekend. The seasons end is only 8 weeks away so making every workout count is critical to making sure your at the start line in the best shape you can be. When you are racing frequently, changing your training to suit the race schedule is required in order to get the most from your races and focus on peaking at the right times. You don't want to peak for all your events, so treat some races as train through and test yourself with some fatigue already in your system.

The more important events need to be planned a bit more carefully as far as the training goes leading in to them so keep this in mind and be prepared to race tired sometimes in order to take the longer term approach rather than try to do a personal best each time you race. "Don't ever give up on a dream due to the amount of time it will take to achieve it. The time will pass anyway." Train smart to race hard! Nick

The International Triathlon Union recently announced that it has awarded four MultiSport World Championships in 2009 and 2010 to four different cities. They include:

Concord, NC, USA
2009 ITU Duathlon World Championships

Perth, Australia
2009 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships

Edinburgh, Scotland
2010 ITU Duathlon World Championships

Immenstadt, Germany
2010 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships

"All the selected sites have excellent Organizing Committees that are committed to hosting world class events and raising the profile of MultiSports around the globe," said Gergely Markus, ITU MultiSport Director. "For the benefit of our athletes, coaches and National Federations, ITU is planning ahead as much as possible with our MultiSport World Championships."

The 2009 ITU Duathlon World Championships returns to North Carolina ten years after Huntersville successfully staged the 1999 World Championships. The 20th edition of the championships are slated for September 2009. Concord next year will mark just the fifth time the ITU Duathlon World Championships will visit an American city since 1990. Previous American sites include Cathedral City, California (1990, 1991), Dallas, Texas (1993), Huntersville, North Carolina (1999) and Alpharetta, Georgia (2002). Duathlon consists of a 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike and finishes with a 5-kilometer run.

The perennial triathlon powerhouse of Australia has been awarded the 2009 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. Long Distance Triathlon is double the Olympic distance and contested with a 3-kilometer swim, 80-kilometer bike and 20-kilometer run. Perth is no stranger to hosting major triathlons, including the 1997 and 2000 ITU Triathlon World Championships. Perth will become just the second Australian city to host the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships after the 2006 event was held in Canberra.

In 2010, the world's best duathletes will travel to beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland. It will be the first time in history that a British city will host the ITU Duathlon World Championships. Last year Edinburgh staged the ETU Duathlon European Championships, which was won by local favorite Catriona Morrison. Over 850 athletes from 33 countries were in Gyor, Hungary for the 2007 ITU Duathlon World Championships.

Germany, host country of the wildly successful 2007 BG Triathlon World Championships, will again welcome the world in 2010. The ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships have been awarded to Immenstadt, nestled amongst the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. Last year's ITU Long Distance World Championships were held in Lorient, France.

Exact dates, schedules and course information will confirmed soon and available on www.triathlon.org.

Previously announced, Gold Coast, Australia will be home to the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships on September 13 while Budapest, Hungary will host the Championships in the fall of 2010.

QTS Robina (QLD) January
Jan Avery 1.19 - First 50-54

Wildside (MTB 7 stage) race (Tasmania) - January
Naomi Hansen - 7.53.00 - First Vet and 3rd overall

Canberra National series - January
Doug Griffiths 2.15.38
David Coulter 2.26.58 - second 60-64

Goondiwindi Hell of the West - February 3
Allan Moustoukas 4.32.34 - Third 45-49
Grant Callaghan 4.49.29
Peter Degnian 6.40.53

National Series event # 4 Perth - Febuary 3
(Australian Tri Champs) - Jan Avery 2.44.46 fifth 50-54

Tre-x Off Road Triathlon Series - February 3
Jeff Toohey - First Open Male
Renata Bucher - First Open Female

Geelong 70.3 Half Ironman - February 10
Matty O'Neill - 4.30.28
Justin Hunter - 4.39.01
Andrew Partington - 4.47.30
Jon McLachlan - 5.17.57

QTS Caloundra - February 10
Renata Bucher - 53.15 - First 30-34
Soren Vejby - 53.35 - Fourth 45-49
Sean Macphee 55.13
Mark Martin - 58.31
Rahel Baetigg - time not recorded
Neil Macphee - time not recorded
David Coulter - 1.01.11 - First 60-64
Karen Artis 1.07.56
Sue Stevenson - 1.14.34

Kurnell Sprint (Sydney) - February 10
Mark Preston - First 50-54

Bribie Tri - February 17
Tom Mewing - 1.30.34 Third 30-34
Angelika Hannon 1.57.17 45-49
Brian Hannon 1.00.09 45-49
Annie Jennings 2.00.09 50-54
Nerissa Stafford 1.44.47
Ondine Shaw 2.34.12

Huskisson Sprint NSW February 23
Paul Argall, Mark Preston

QLD State Sprint - Suttons Beach February 23
Tom Mewing

Luke Harrop Tri Gold Coast March 2
Tom Mewing, Mark Martin, Jan Avery, Leonie Cook

Ironman New Zealand March 1
Carl Schmidt

Mooloolaba Triathlon - March 30
Tom Mewing, Brian Hannon, Angelika Hannon, Justin Hunter, Jess Fleming, Neil Macphee, Mark Martin, Sue Stevenson, Peter Fry, Jan Avery, Mark Powell, Jason Cheshire, Peter Degnian

Ironman Australia - April 6
Jon McLachlan, Matty O'Neill, Allan Moustoukas, Justin Hunter, Doug Griffiths, Andrew Partington, Grant Callaghan, Peter Degnian

Some swim tips for the last part of the season

As technical as the sport of swimming can be, it is tough to narrow down the answer to the often-asked question, "what should I concentrate on?" or what should the swim stroke look like. Here is a general "top ten" list of steps to improving your swim for a triathlon. These aren't necessarily in any order, but should go a long way in helping you achieve your goals, whether you are a beginner or trying to go pro.

1. Hand Entry. Slice your hand into the water right about at your goggle line, and drive it forward. Many swimmers attempt to get as much "air time" as possible by reaching the hand out before entering into the water, but it is actually more efficient to go through the water with your hand as you rotate from one side to the other.

2. Head Position. Keep looking straight down when swimming freestyle. It's important to keep your head down with only a small part of the back of your head out of the water. Also, as you rotate through the water, try not to move your head with the rest of your body rotation.

3. Pull. In freestyle, your hands should pull all the way back past your hips. The last part of the stroke before recovery (arms coming out of the water) should be an acceleration behind you, and not up out of the water.

4. Kick. Try minimizing your kick as you train for swimming. Most people will kick extra hard to make up for lack of balance in the water. Minimizing your kick will allow you to improve your balance, as well as conserve energy.

5. Training Intensity. The best way to measure your training intensity is to count your heart rate immediately after each swim. You can estimate your heart rate by counting your pulse rate for six seconds immediately after each swim. Add a zero to this count, and you will have your approximate exercise heart rate per minute.

6. Master's Swimming. Move to a slower lane to work on stroke improvement. If you belong to a masters team, don't feel that you always need to keep up with your lane mates at every workout. Masters teams typically have many people with many different swimming goals. It's important to do your own thing! Remember that technique comes before all else and if this means swallowing a little pride to make improvements, just think of how much faster you will be for this in the long run.

7. Habit: Keep your arm from crossing over.
One of the most common bad habits I see in swimmers is the arm crossing over to the opposite side on the pull. Breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing over, breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing. Often times this happens when one goes to breath, but sometimes it's caused just from over-rotating. To avoid this, make sure your head isn't moving with the rest of your body, and try to pull more in a straight line (still bending the elbow) and ending the pull on the same side you started (i.e. right hand slices into the water, pulls back and hand ends up near right hip).

8. Keep the Feel. If swimming is your toughest sport, it is important to "keep the feel" for the water, and get in the water at least 3days a week. This way, your body maintains its kinesthetic awareness of being balanced in water.

9. Work Those Lungs. Mix in some hypoxic training sets into your workouts. For example, do a set of 4x100's breathing every 3-5-7-9 strokes by 25, with 15 seconds rest in between each 100. Your lungs will thank you for it towards the end of the swim part of your race!

10. Work Your Weakness. In the sport of triathlon, most coaches agree that you should spend the most time working on your weakest of the three sports. For many this will be swimming! Within swimming, the same concept applies. Spend the most time working on the weakest part of your stroke. If balancing on your side is an issue, do some kicking drills on your side. If moving your head is a problem, focus on head position most of the time. Whatever it is, you will gain the most by spending your pool time improving on that weakness.