Is it really November 1st?

Just watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series and it is November 1st! Wow, late for baseball and is it really November 1st already? Anyways, the KW Fighting Koalas are growing still, adding new members in October! We are currently in our fall schedule and for those who have been training all summer, this is a good time to transition. Maybe get a little rest or get caught up on chores etc. But it is also a good time to start to get ready to train. We have had some really good pool sessions working on technique and stroke correction. Nice to see the improvements and the athletes embracing the coaching that I am coaching to them!
As of this week we have a Tuesday swim followed by a run practice, Thursday swim and Saturday noon swims. We will then be adding in a Wednesday indoor biking practice next week! Very excited to add this practice into our schedule. This time of year it is going to be all about technique in the pool while building our endurance. On the bike, learning how to bike proficiently, getting the best cadence for each person and a proper pedal stroke all the while building our aerobic base. Same for the run, good cadence, proper run mechanics and mid-foot strike all the while starting to build an aerobic base. The athletes on their own have their individual training plans which includes strength and core workouts and lots of stretching!! This whole period is a great time to refine skills, gain strength and build endurance all the while staying loose through lots of stretching!!

Tardy blogger

Yes I have been tardy in my blogging! It has been too long for sure. Every time I look at the blog and think of all the information I need to put into it to get caught up, it overwhelms me right now! Suffice it to say, the end of the triathlon season was very successful for the KW Fighting Koalas triathlon club! At the Lakeside triathlon on Saturday and Sunday we had four athletes and one triathlon relay team racing. Out of the four we had three of the athletes get on the podium with a silver and two bronze medals and the tri-relay team getting a bronze medal! I was so proud of my athletes this weekend and seeing their hard work paying off! I love that it was the last triathlon of the year as well because I am a big believer in ending the season on a high note. They all are eager to continue training and looking forward to next year now! If you go to the Koalas banner on top and click on it, it will take you to our web page and there you can see some of the pictures taken at Lakeside.
You will also be able to see our fall schedule and program. We are looking to expand our junior and KOS program for the fall and have been out marketing some of the local high schools handing out our flyer. We also went around to the local bike and run stores! So look for our flyer and if you are looking for a junior and KOS triathlon program in the K-W area then this is the club to contact!

Awesome weekend

Wasn't this just an awesome weekend? Great weather, sunshine, slight breeze, no rain! The KW Koalas got out for a bike ride on Saturday morning and did a nice 63km ride. We tried to keep the ride mostly aerobic at a relaxed pace with a couple of quick stops. Here was one of the stops. As you can see full smiles all around! The route we took a haven't been on one stretch of road before and was wondering why I never have? Nice gentle rollers into a steady climb. At the end of the road is a really nice view! In the picture behind and to the right is Wellesley. This stretch of road has been repaved recently and is great for biking, along with the newly paved Hessen-Strasse road. I really love biking this time of year when it is sunny and warm. I will get out to bike far into the fall with sunny weather. Oh I've been on lots of rides in the fall with crappy weather and as long as its still a little warm out I'm good with that also! The next three weekends are going to be busy race filled weekends. First up Guelph Lake 2 this Saturday, then Wasaga Beach on the 11th, then Lakeside tri on the 18th, which i am signed up for. Looking forward to the KW Koalas rocking these upcoming races!

Training and upcoming races

The month of August, the dog days of summer! Hot and humid, sometimes rainy, sometimes not. But the Koalas have had a really good stretch of training these past 3 or 4 weeks! I'm really looking forward to the members getting out into the late season races to see how they perform. Tonight's swim and run went well. I myself had an excellent main set of 3x400m and felt very strong and was able to drop my time each 400m, especially the last one. The other Koalas are getting there with these sets. I feel that longer interval sets are needed for them to be able to feel more confident once they get out into the open water.
We then had our run practice and only a couple members were able to make it out. A lot of members are on holidays this week and next (me, we are going camping for 3 days!) so attendance is down slightly. The advantage is, that I really get to watch the runners very closely. Since the start of the year I have been preaching the benefits of proper running form, and proper form for swimming and biking as well. But with the run I see a lot of recreational runners running with really bad form. You need good form to conserve energy and to help you run faster and avoid injury. I searched online and found a very good video which describes everything I've been coaching to my members this year.

The next month or so is going to be busy time for our Koalas at the races! Chemong Lake, Guelph Lake, Wasaga Beach and Lakeside triathlons are all coming up! Plus Muskoka 70.3, a very demanding race, especially on the bike and run! Good luck Koalas and continued great workouts and races!

Updates - August 3rd

Since my last posting we had one athlete compete in the Muskoka long course swim cycle event and placed 3rd overall! This was his second swim cycle event this year along with a sprint race. I also have done two swim cycle events due to my knee problems which resulted in knee surgery July 8th. I had a torn meniscus and a little bit of arthritis in my right knee which. They performed arthroscopic surgery and it is now feeling much better, so much so that yesterday I went out and did a 50km bike ride and then a 20 minute run! And no pain! No pain today either!! I am going to run 2 or 3 times a week now for 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes on the weekend, to build it up. As long as there is no residual pain I think I am good to go. It will take awhile to build up my running endurance and ultimately running speed, but I can be patient. After all, I've waited this long to get it fixed so what's a little bit longer?
Wow, hard to believe it is already August 3rd! July just flew by. I guess being laid up for 2-3 weeks at home took a big bite out of July for me. Super hard to sit around and recover when I'm used to getting out nearly everyday. But now all is good, or at least looking hopeful!
The next two months should be a busy time for club members, practices, holidays, races, family time, working and the dreaded back to school! Well, not for me anyways.
Some of the members are looking to do races after Labour Day weekend. This is a great idea by the triathlon series as the weather is still pretty nice, water temps are still nice and warm. So if my running comes along I too may enter in a late season sprint triathlon to end the year up. We shall see in the next couple of weeks.
We have been having some great practice sessions this past month as well. I am looking forward to seeing their race results. But we also had one set back due to injury which hopefully will heal quickly! So all the best, get out there and swim, bike and run and have fun at the races!!

Belwood and Gravenhurst and my knee!

This past Sunday we had five athletes racing at two different places. Belwood Lakes and Gravenhurst. In Belwood we had four athletes racing and they all did awesome! For the duathlon we had an age group winner in the females 30-34 and two others in the sprint triathlon placed in the top ten in their age groups! For the Gravenhurst event we had one female athlete competing in the sprint duathlon and finished 1st in her age group of 25-29! Awesome by all this past weekend and as their coach I couldn't be happier for them!
My knee. Yesterday morning I had a follow up visit with the surgeon and he said I was good to go but just go easy and ease back into all my training. I think today I will get back to the pool to start with then tomorrow try going for a super easy ride on the bike just to get the legs spinning a bit. I also have a few strenghtening exercises to do each day to help out. It is feeling better each day and so far no physio is needed but I may schedule one or two sessions to make sure the any scar tissue is eliminated.

Koalas at upcoming races and knee update!

Been alot going on since my last posting. Had my right knee scoped last Thursday and an now at home recovering. This in itself is hard to do! No biking or swimming or work, just chilling! Watching the Tour in the morning and movies later on. I have been able to get out this past Tuesday for the swim and run practice and last night for the brick workout. Mind you I just sit and watch and coach! But all three workouts were awesome and got great feedback from everyone! In my spare time I have also been working on NCCP coaching bridging material, which I finished! I think it looks and reads awesome:) Now I just have to find out from OAT whom to send it to.
As for my knee it is healing and I am feeling better but walking around is minimal ans stairs are hard. I go back to the Dr. on Tuesday for a follow up visit and will find out everything he did and what needs to be done going forward.
Now for this weekend! I have 4 athletes racing this weekend! Two doing the Belwood triathlon and one the duathlon, and one doing the Gravenhurst duathlon!! For three of them it is their first race of the year! Best of luck to the KW Fighting Koalas!!!