IMPORTANT NOTES

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Tommasso Puccini📷

The Presidential Platform

Hello team!

Welcome to the new semester to all our uni students and welcome to our new members. Thank you to Nick, Oggi and James for organising O-Day where we got lots of interest on the club from uni students. We had our traditional welcome run on Friday 28th February and it was great to see so many new faces around.

We are very excited to have the Club Camp back and we are looking forward to you joining us for a great weekend full of training and enthusiasm. Follow this link to register to the event and this other one to stay up to date via Facebook. Those of you who have come in the past know how much fun this weekend is and even though we spend a fair bit of time training, it is also a good opportunity to relax and disconnect. So we hope to see lots of you joining us.

We've been having great training vibe, definitely great to see so many people embarking on club rides and training in general... let's keep the enthusiasm up!

I'll see you on the road!

Gaby Villa
President UWA Triathlon Club

What does the science say?

Beat the heat

Typically, triathlon events are held in the summer where athletes can be exposed to particularly hot and humid environmental conditions. Under overly oppressive conditions, both the capacity to perform and the health of athletes can be negatively impacted.
This document addresses Frequently Asked Questions regarding how to approach triathlon events held in very hot and humid conditions

If you have any recent discoveries you would like to share with the club just send them through!

All about... Alison Smith!

1. Tell us about yourself
I am 51, British, and moved to Perth in October 2018 with Toby and our 2 cats.

Born in Hampshire UK, my formative years were in Bahrain (from 9-16yrs old) and from then, I generally moved around - at boarding school, university, work life and play. Toby and I lived in Melbourne in 2008 for a year before settling back in Hertfordshire for 10 years. We still own our house there, and will at some point return.

I run my own personal training and triathlon coaching business, and love getting beginners into the sport; through skill and technique development, improved fitness, confidence and camaraderie.

2. How did you start in triathlon and when did you join the club?

I started triathlon in 1998 when I got bored of going to the gym. The gym I was a member of at the time had a ‘triathlon’ class – spinning sessions, pool and run sessions. The PT then took us out on group rides and encouraged us to enter the local pool-based triathlon.

I 'played' at it for a few years then got into rowing at a local Thames Club. Having won at Womens Henley and National Champs in a lightweight coxless 4 in 2005/6 I found I enjoyed competition, so when the rest of my crew started to have babies, I decided to get back into triathlon. I liked that I could do it in my own time and not have to stick with other peoples timescales. My rowing crew are still my best friends though and I love that sport brings people together so easily with a shared goal.

When Toby and I met in 2006 he had already done a few triathlons too, so the first one we did together was in2007 at Blenheim Palace and I still remember hating the entire thing! I did breaststroke for virtually all of the swim, got really annoyed with people pushing their bikes up the very little hills, and thought I was going to die in the run – it was a sprint triathlon!

I joined UWA in December 2018 and have enjoyed the group sessions and club spirit, although and still a member of Hillington triathletes back in the UK too.

3. What do you enjoy most about the sport?

The variety, the social aspect, the challenge. I love the sprint distance as I have a short attention span and like the short hard efforts – and the fact that its over and done with in less than 90 minutes!

4. Favourite leg and why?

Oh that’s difficult – I think it has changed over the years. I really used to hate the run, mainly because it was so tough. I still do, to a degree, feel a sense of dread when I am on the bike, but my run is probably my most competitive.

I actually love the bike most but its my slowest!

And the swim, well I found the swimming nerve-wracking!!! All these nervous people being herded from place to place in close quarters and then thrown off the edge into panic and chaos!!!

5. Best triathlon tip?

Practice transitions, listen to your body and take rest when you need it

6. What’s your next goal?

All being well (travel-wise) I have qualified for team GBR in my age group for Sprint World Championships in Edmonton in August 2020.

This will be my third year as an age-grouper and maybe my last, we’ll see. I hoping to improve my position from last year, and that’s always the carrot….the reason we keep doing this crazy sport!

Upcoming races and events

• 14 March 2020 - Karri Valley Triathlon
• 20 - 22 March 2020 - Club Camp
• 2 May 2020 - 70.3 Busselton Festival of Triathlon

Latest race reports

Bunbury OD, Disastro. What Not to Do - Alberto Puccini

Seasonal Goal

It all started at Perth Airport on Tommaso’s return from School Sport Nationals last April. Tommaso did not have a good race as he made a mistake in T1 and lost the bike pack, so his race was over very quickly.

He was disappointed, but determined to do better this year, so when I met him at Perth’s airport he was all about training more and better for next season so that he could have a great race at School Nationals 2020 (fast approaching).

I had just completed my first OD in Bunbury with a time significantly faster than my expectations (this proved not to be a good thing for this year’s race…) and, when still waiting for Tommaso’s luggage to appear on the conveyor belt, in the excitement of the moment, I said to Tommaso: “Next year you win your race at Nationals and I do a Half Iron Man…”. He accepted and we shook hands… Deal Done.

Now, I haven’t been fair to Tommaso, as despite all the effort he can put in his training, winning Nationals does not depend only on him, so I am prepared to not hold him accountable for that, and so, in trying to be as good as a parent as I can, I have tried to not put any pressure on his performance at Nationals and I have suggested him to focus on enjoying his race in Hervey Bay and the time he will get to spend with a significant contingent of young athletes half of which are of the opposite sex…

For me though, that deal counts, as finishing a Half Ironman this season is on me and on me only…

The plan

I spoke to Grant and asked if he thought I could do a Half Ironman this year, and he said that I might be able to, if I was prepared to find the time to add some long training sessions including some 6-7 hour long rides. I thought that I should be able to do that, however leaving those very long sessions closer to the actual Half Ironman event.

My plan was to repeat a training and competition plan similar to last year’s until the Bunbury OD in February, then finish Bunbury’s OD slightly faster and less exhausted than last year. In my plan, Bunbury OD had to be an intermediate step towards my seasonal goal, Half Ironman.

Following that I would have to talk to Grant again and make a more detailed short term plan for the Half Ironman event (I am still aiming to do that soon).

I still had to decide which Half Ironman to race, and I had shortlisted two events, Busselton in May or Cervia (in Italy on the Adriatic Sea) on 20 September. Unfortunately this week I realized that the Cervia event (calm waters and flat ride…) is already sold out, so I have to select another one or go for Busselton…

I implemented my plan very well as I raced most of the events that I did last year to which I added a Half Marathon (Perth Running Festival) and replaced the Cottesloe Mile with the Mullaloo 2.5 km Open Water.

Read full race report
 

New Tony Smith - Great Southern Ultra Challenge Gaby Villa - 70.3 Los Cabos 2019 Alison Smith - ITU Lausanne 2019 Older Justin Ghosh - 70.3 Philippines ahul Jegatheva - Aquathlon Nationals Sarah Meyer - IMNZ Lottie Thompson - National Youth Champs Alberto Puccini - Bunbury OD Phil Madden - Busselton Jetty Swim Rahul Jegatheva - Metasprint Aquathlon Alexandra Meek - IMWA Alex Williams - IMWA Nathaniel Wells - IMWA

📷Tony Smith

Have your own race report to share? See the website for some instructions on how to send it through.

Esperance Olympic Distance

Follow this link if you are thinking of heading down to Esperance to participate on the Olympic Distance Race over Easter to find out more information about travel and accommodation.

Physically active females invited to participate in research study

Physically active females are invited to participate in this research study investigating the use of ultrasound to measure the layer of fat that is stored just beneath the skin.

Training payment details

Running/cycling: Visit the UWATC website to get all the info and sign up.

Swimming: Visit UWA Uniswim for more information and register/sign up here.

To discuss personal programs, speak to Charles Biddle or Grant Landers.

HELPFUL PLACES TO FIND INFORMATION

** See official UWATC Facebook page for most up to date information

** See swimming Facebook page for swimming specific info

** See the UWATC website for training and payment information and season calendar

** See Facegroup group 'Who wants to go (for a swim/ride/run)' for uncoached/informal group sessions

** See UWATC Strava group to check what training everyone is up to

** Any queries/feedback, message via the official Facebook page or email committee@uwatriathlonclub.com.au