In this weeks Strava table Sheila Lammas has taken the overall training time title with 10:56hrs of training done. Sheila had a nice spread of time across the sports with 4:03 of swimming, 4:52 of biking and 2hrs of running (I even spotted some strength and conditioning in there Sheila – I thought your shoulders looked pumped this morning! ;)). Not only that, but Sheila also took the swim title with her 4:03hrs! Great work again this week #scottishrocket!
Ok. So it's starting like we will need to start handicapping Shin on the bike to give others a look in! Yep, Shin Braich was top again with 10:42hrs worth of time in the saddle. Lets see if anyone can give Shin a run for his money next week! (great work again Shin, by the way :) ).
Finally Iong-distance legend Paul Nash topped the running charts with 3:48hrs hrs on his feet. This included a solid run at Cheltenham Half Marathon despite having to battle through the traffic and parking issues before the start, followed by a mile sprint to start the race 15 mins late! (the organisers fault, not Paul's!). Good effort Paul – aaannnnddddd now rest!
Elsewhere Mel 'rapidly becoming a mermaid' Knight took on the New Forest Middle Distance Triathlon! This 1.9k swim, 90k bike, 22k off-road run event was Mel's second attempt race at this distance and she finished in a very respectable 6:46. Nice one Mel, and super well done on the swimming!
Keeping the 'Mel' theme going. Not training or racing or training related directly, Coach-in-training Mel Tandy 'went under the needle' and had her Ironman Tattoo done following her epic race at Ironman Copenhagen. I have hunted Facebook to try to find an image of it but I suspect it is being hidden in fear of daddy finding out! ;) Seriously though, well done on the race Mel. Thanks also for your help poolside this week.
Finally new Triathlon addict John Wrottesley (aka Paul Nash (its a long story…)) raced the Huntsman Sprint Triathlon down in Hampshire. John put together a really solid performance and finished in 1:20:52 which placed him 13th overall and 8th in his age-group. Nice work John, looking forward to seeing what you do from here!
Star Squadder - This weeks star squadder award is going to Paul Nash. Paul has worked so hard throughout this whole year racing a multitude of races (and not to mention charity fundraising along the way) and finished off the season with a solid Half at Cheltenham in difficult circumstances. Well done Sir, I will find something suitable to give you at the next squad session (it will be small and very cheap!).
Our Strava Group is now up to 33 members!
Do3 Run Squad is starting on the 5th of November! Sessions will be held at the track at Stratford High School from 10am to 11am on Saturdays. This should allow those who wish to run the Park Run beforehand to potentially do both. This mid-morning time will also provide time for those who wish to ride beforehand to do so and potentially turn the ride/track into a brick session.
The content of the the track sessions will vary from week to week but in general will include warm up, run technique work, main element and cool down. In a similar way to the swim squad there will be regular benchmark testing to monitor progress.
The track sessions will require you to book in beforehand via the app and will be need to be paid for through the app too. I have tried to keep the price of the sessions down as low as possible at £5 for the hour.
What will the sessions be like? Again, in a similar way to the swim squads, they will be suitable for all abilities. Sessions will be designed to improve your speed over distances from 5k upwards but will also include some work faster than 5k pace to help improve top-end speed and technique. These sessions will ONLY be open to Do3 Squad members and as such you will be amongst all the faces you are already used to at the swim squad. Drop-in's will not be allowed (apart from the one-off trials to allow people to try things out).
The track sessions are available to book through the app NOW!