Team Nagi Newsletter - May 2018 - Team Nagi Coaching

Team Nagi Coaching Newsletter – May 2018

Well what an extraordinary month of racing it’s been for Team Nagi athletes…I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath!

May has definitely been one of those months I wont forget in a hurry, largely due to the fact we had more drama in one month than we usually get in one year. Our guys and girls have had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at that them while out there racing. This was largely due to some pretty extreme weather conditions that saw two near hypothermic athletes in France, there were also 55km/hr winds at Busso 70.3 brought on tropical cyclone Flamboyan (it was sharks last year) and to top this off another 2 athletes faced extreme heat and humidity at Vietnam 70.3.

But to top it all our Aussie Girl Emily Loughnan put in a stunning breakthrough performance to win Busso 70.3 on her pro debut – or so we thought!…15mins later it was all taken away when all 3 top girls were disqualified for accidentally missing 400m of the run course. This was due to confusion in relation to the lead bike positioning on a section of the run course. Now from my (slight biased perspective) I would have hoped the race organisers could have seen sense and given the girls a time penalty, 4th place (Liz Blatchford) was nearly 10mins behind so even with all of the girls given a time penalty for the distance they missed the winner of the race was still clear. But rules are rules and the race organisers firmly adhered to them. Loughers graciously accepted the decision like the class athlete she is. But deep down everyone who was there to witness it knows who the true winner of that race was. One thing is for sure it will only make the fire burn brighter inside of her as she moves forwards.

I think what all of this highlights is that no matter how well you perform in training there will always be surprises thrown at you when you get out there and race. It’s about expecting the unexpected and realising you just have to deal with whatever is thrown at you in the best way possible. Your ability to do this will dictate the type of athlete you become, you can always find a way to keep putting one foot in front of the other and frequently the strongest athletes do. Adversity reveals character and character is what can make or break a race performance.

What these races also provide is an opportunity to refine your race craft, that’s why early season races are so important. They give you a barometer of how your off season training has gone, they also show you what’s missing and what needs further development. The clues are there if you look for them, so adapt your training and racing approach based on this. Think of it as a process of evolution and refinement as you move from one race experience to the next.

You also need to accept that peak performance will come at the cost of many failures and disappointment along the way. This should only be seen positive part of the training process. All too often triathletes are far to obsessive about getting things right. These things occur for a very good reason, they highlight an area of weakness in you that requires further work & development.

I think the legendary Coach Bill Walsh (4 time super-bowl winner) summed it best when he said:

“I would never write anything that suggests the path to success is a continuum of positive, even euphoric experiences—that if you do all the right things everything will work out. Frequently it doesn’t; often you crash and burn. This is part and parcel of pursuing and achieving very ambitious goals. It is also one of the profound lessons I have learned during my career, namely, that even when you have an organization brimming with talent, victory is not always under your control. Rather, it’s like quicksilver—fleeting and elusive, not something you can summon at will even under the best circumstances. Almost always, your road to victory goes through a place called “failure.

Team Race News

Busso 70.3 (Pro debut)

Emily Loughnan 4:02:56 (DQ but our non-official winner !)

Vietnam 70.3

Vicki Hill (40-44) 4:52:37 (swim 35:42/ bike 2:35:25/ run 1:36:38) 1st in category / 2nd female overall
Fastest female run split

Andy Rogerson (30-34) 4:37:26 (swim 29:28/ bike 2:21:54 /run 1:41:16) 2nd in category
First ever podium finish

2 stunning podium performances from these two athletes in furnace like conditions in Vietnam (not bad for a Scot Andy !). Huge congrats to both as they now prepare for Kona & the 70.3 World Championships in South Africa.

Ironman Lanzarote

Tash Jackson (30-34) 11:43:37 (swim 1:09:02/ bike 6:42:15 / 3:40:12 run) 3rd place female/ 14th female overall
Now as performances go this one was true stunner every sense of the word. To podium in your first Ironman is very special, to do it after missing 3 months of running due to injury and then learning how to manage it for the next 4 months is outstanding. The commitment Tash has shown in committing to rehab work, strength conditioning & mobility has been nothing short of remarkable. The result of this – the 2nd fastest category run split of the day. This girl is ‘Bad Ass’.

Triathlon de Choisy-au-bac half-distance

Remi Fackeure (40-44) 4:51:52 (swim 34:35/ bike 2:40:04 /run 1:32:05) 7th in category
On a freezing cold wet windy day our man in France came through to post a brilliant top 10 finish.

Mallorca 70.3

David Rueda (45-49) 5:34:13 (swim 33:01/ bike 2:54:33/ run 1:57:56)
A huge performance from Mr Motivator himself ! Congrats Senor Daveed on a stunning new 40min PB

Grafman middle distance

Alex Tanti (35-39) 4:52:14(swim 28:24 / bike 2:39:47 / 1:40:06 run )
Another really strong showing for AT as he continues to get stronger from race to race

Outlaw half distance

Jerome Jones (45-49) 5:03:15 (swim 33:42/ bike 2:35:20 /run 1:50:20)
Despite a tough year for many reasons it was great to see JJ nailing a great race (and smiling!) to kick off the season

St Neots olympic

Jeremy Cole (55-59) 2:20 (swim 26 / bike 1:05/ run 46) 5th in category
This tough guy just keeps getting tougher. A tremendous performance on the back of some niggling injuries that have plagued his training year so far

Eton Sprints

Toby Dean (45-49) 1:13:33(swim 13:09/ bike 37:43 /run 22:41) 4th place age group
“For the first time I was at the front of the race so I just went for it!”. Love that kind of feedback, just rewards for some great training consistency & commitment Toby Dean

Cian Brennan Gavin (25-29) 1:18:37 (14:23 swim/ 40:26 bike/ 20:24 run)
Not bad at all after just cycling 449 KM cycling to Paris only days before!

Thames Turbo sprint triathlon

Cian Brennan Gavin (25-29) 1:16:23 (8:46 swim/ 40:31 bike/ 19:54 run)
The Irish rookie continues his climb into the triathlon world with a stunning run

Q & A with Team Nagi athlete – Vicki Hill

Name: Vicki Hill

Age: 43

Star sign: Sagittarius

Years in triathlon: 6

Occupation: PE teacher

In another life you would have been a…..?

An entrepreneur of some sort so I could be my own boss and work my own hours!! Or a Physio so I could sort out my own ailments.

But none of these can beat a teacher’s holidays so I would probably still be a teacher in another life.

Favourite training session:

Runs where I can just run and not focus on pace or a garmin!

And long cycles where I can have a few training buddies join me.

Least favourite training session:

Endurance swims as I feel like I am in the pool forever.

Although I won’t be sad to see less of the 8min or even 15min big gear work @ 90% RPE on the turbo that are appearing frequently at the moment. I can hear Julian laughing at that comment as no doubt those sessions are here to stay! I know “they will pay off” J

Favourite training track:

I have lots of favourites on my training play list but probably Dakota by Stereophonics, Mr Brightside by the Killers are up near the top of that list.

Favourite training venue/location:

Cycling in Phuket

And the 50m pool I get to train in where I work…..when its 6am in the morning and I have a long 4K swim to get through I get to that pool and realise how lucky I am and actually that swim is never as bad as I think it is going to be!

If you could choose 3 famous people to come to dinner with you who would they be?

Mo Farah
Chrissie Wellington
Prince Harry

Favourite book:

I really don’t have an answer to this one! I don’t have time to read books although I have got a long list of other people’s favourite books that one day I will get around to reading.

Training hours per week:

14-15hours

You’re a British girl living & teaching in Singapore, how did that happen & can we come and use your 50m school swimming pool?

Of course, you are welcome to come and use the pool anytime.

Before I started teaching I spent a year backpacking around Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia. I definitely got the travel bug and after a few years of teaching in the UK I realized that there were loads of opportunities out there to teach abroad. I saw a job advertised for an International School in Singapore and thought that sounds like a fun 2 year adventure. That 2 year adventure has now turned into 16 years!!

What’s next & what is your main focus for 2018?

First up is Ironman Philippines – next weekend in fact. That will give me a good indication of where I am at and then starts the work for my big goal of the year – the World Champs in Kona! Woohoo!

Team Nagi out & about this month