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Hi All,

“I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me.”
- Michael Jordan

A big congratulations to everyone who competed at the Robina Triathlon on Sunday.  It was awesome to see everyone having a crack!

RESULTS:

Enticer:

Mike McKenzie (2nd 35-44), Daniel Friend, Stephen Spence, John Miles, Kate Weir, David Middleton, Kay Going, Tanya Grimshaw, Maria Sbeghen

Sprint Distance:

Peter Court (1st 25-29), Daniel Edey (2nd 16-19), Brad Dalrymple (1st 30-34), Chris Thompson (1st 45-49), Andrew Kent, Sam Sheehan, Stephen Blunt, Alison Ryan (1st 30-34), Mel Newton (2nd 35-39), Chris Brittain, Nigel Peacock (1st 35-39), Janine Wilson (3rd 35-39), Neil Cullen (2nd 50-54), Lancelot Wearmouth, Vanessa Williams, Michael Oldham, Phil Moss, Lyn Hansen (1st 50-54), Karin Thompson (2nd 45-49), Elisha McDonald, Belinda Harris, Tracey Stinson, Cherie Banks, Dave Tynan, Nicole Singer, Scott Waters, Kelly-Ann McHugh, Katie Richards, Dean Theofanes, Kathryn Jacobson, Steven Anderson, Andrea Nicolle, Christian Kohl, Matt Swan, Gisela Brittain.

AUSTRALIA DAY – TUESDAY 26TH JANUARY:

Join us for the only training session of the day.   A gut busting 5 km time trial on the UQ running track at 5:30am.  The session will be followed by “Simon’s Sensational Sausage Sizzle”.  

UPCOMING EVENTS:   Remember to mark them in your calendar!

Goondiwindi “Hell of the West” Triathlon – Sunday 31st January
www.hellofthewest.com

Gatorade Qld Tri Series
www.usmevents.com.au
Caloundra Race 5 – Sunday 7th February
Raby Bay Race 6 – Sunday 28th February
Triathlon Race 7 – Luke Harrop Memorial – Sunday 18th April

Kingscliff Triathlon – Sunday 7th March – entries open
www.qsmsports.com

Reddog Triathlon Training Mooloolaba Experience – Sunday 21st March – details to follow

Mooloolaba Triathlon – Sunday 28th March – entries full
www.usmevents.com.au/mooltri

Port Macquarie Ironman – Sunday 28th March
http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/index.htm

2nd Annual Reddog Race Day – Eagle Farm Race Course – Saturday 3rd April

Byron Bay Triathlon (a must do event for all Reddog party goers) – Saturday 8th May – entries open late January/early February 2010
www.byronbaytri.com

Qld Half Marathon, Doomben – Sunday 6th June
www.queenslandmarathon.com.au

Gold Coast Airport Marathon – Sat 3rd and Sun 4th July
www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au

REDDOG SPECIAL OFFER

Aqua Shop as Australia’s Swimming and Triathlon Specialists are very excited to be a sponsor of Reddog Triathlon Training.

Aqua Shop specialise in Wetsuits, swimsuits, goggle fitting, swimming accessories, nutrition (Endura, Carboshotz, High 5, Accelerade) and triathlon accessories including Newton Running shoes.
Please visit us at 61 Edward St, Brisbane or 448 Old Cleveland Rd, Camp Hill for specialised one on one advice and service.

As an introductory offer between now and 7th February, all Reddog athletes will be entitled to an amazing 20% discount off any wetsuit or Newton running shoe!!!
All Reddog athletes will always receive a minimum 10% storewide discount plus special Reddog only deals!!
Craig and his team have a full listing of Trent's coaching equipment preferences to ensure you have the correct gear.

INTERESTING READING

Open water swimming

Open water swimming can be daunting, even for a seasoned competitor, but the weather is starting to warm up and you know it’s time to get out in the bay.
Don’t worry, there’s no need to fear. With some helpful tips and a little practice, we’ll help you learn the skills and gain that confidence to have you ready to race come race day!
So here are some great tips to help you get started:
Safety

• Never, ever swim alone! Seriously, just don’t do it, it’s as simple as that. Know your skill level and don’t go too far out of your depth.
• Learn to feel comfortable to float on your back. If you get into trouble, you can simply flip onto your back with your feet to the shore (this stops the waves hitting your face). Wait until you catch your breath and feel comfortable enough to make your way back to shore.
• Entering the water
• Practice entering the water. You want to run off the beach into the water with knees high and legs kicking outwards to avoid resistance from the water on your way in. When your legs start to resist against the water (usually mid thigh - no deeper!), you then need to start ‘porpoising’.
• Porpoising involves diving down to the bottom with your arms extended and head tucked in. Grab the sand as you hit the bottom and ‘pull’ yourself through and back up to the surface. Dive again and repeat until the water is chest height. Then commence swimming towards the first buoy.
• If the water is chopping, try to time your porpoising so you dive under the white ‘broken’ waves - you can go over rolling green waves.
• Use high elbows when you begin to swim to get you over the waves or rough water that forms close to the shore.
• Breathing
• You want to practice and learn to breathe both sides. This will assist in races where you might be swimming in different directions and waves could be coming from either side.
• So if it is chopping make sure you breathe away from the waves!
• Sighting and navigation
• Sighting is one of the most important parts of open water swimming. If you are not good at sighting, then you will find yourself swimming a lot further than you have to!
• So practice sighting. Look up every 5-10 strokes to make sure you’re going in the right direction.
• Sighting should not slow you down or break your stroke. Simply lift your head so your eyes just come above the water. Have a quick glance to make sure you are on the right track and then turn your head to its normal position.
• You don’t want to hold your head up for too long as doing so will drop your lower body in the water, which creates unnecessary and will therefore slow you down.
• Sighting buoys can sometimes be difficult as you cannot see them above other swimmers and or waves. So before you start, pick out a landmark that is in line with the buoy. This could be a distinctive house, tree of pole in the distance. Use this are your marker to sight and navigate.
• Navigating around buoys
• There are a few things to remember when coming to a buoy. You may not want to head straight for it if you are in a pack. Swimmers tend to bottle neck trying to get around the buoy as they try and turn around it as close as possible. Save yourself the trouble and swim a little wider. This will stop you from getting stuck in the traffic and having to slow your stroke down.
• When you approach, make sure you have the buoy in your sight. As you approach pull your inside arm (arm closest to the buoy) under your body as your round the buoy. This will get your around faster.
• Drafting
• In the swim drafting is legal! And you can save a lot of energy (and time) by swimming behind someone who is a little faster than you.
• Once you are comfortable in the swim, try and find someone in front or alongside you who is swimming a little faster. Surge to catch them if they are in front, or keep swimming and wait for them to pass you. Once then do, swim as close to them as possible - literally nearly touching their feet. You will gain an advantage by getting ‘pulled’ along in their wake.
• You can practice this technique in the pool with your training partner/s or squad and notice how much easier it is to swim.
• Exiting the water
• The biggest mistake competitors make is trying to stand up to early. You only want to stop swimming and stand up when your hands touch the sand as you stroke. This means the water will be about waist height.
• Stand up quickly and porpoise in until you can easily run above the water. Do not try and start running if the water is still above mid thigh.
• Depending on the race, you may need to run in soft sand. If so, run on the balls of your feet to avoid sinking too much into the sand.

See you at training,
Trent Patten  www.reddogtriathlontraining.com

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