Team Nagi Newsletter - May 2024 - Team Nagi Coaching

Hi guys,

Hope you’ve all had a great month.

Race season has well and truly kicked off with a bang this month which has been terrific to see. There have also been some incredible performances from our guys & girls racing over all kinds of distances. Huge congrats to all that are listed below, you’ve now opened your racing account and it will be great to see how you progress and evolve for the rest of the season.

Remember this is only your starting point, peak performances are rarely ever found in the first race of the year. What this race does is give you a sense of where you are and ultimately where you need to go next from a training perspective to fill in any gaps. These gaps can be technical, physical or mental. It’s your goal to improve on all these areas as you move from one race to the next.

The opposite can also be true, some may have found such a peak in performance that it takes their confidence levels to a new high for the coming races. My advice when this happens is learn how to ride that sweet tasting high because it can break down all kinds of performance barriers in the races ahead. These performances can often be the catalyst to taking your game into new un-chartered territory. These performances unlock many doors as you start to believe just a little bit more. It’s a heady powerful mix so be prepared to ride that momentum wave to its fullest.

So be sure to get out there and race and have fun doing it, this is often mentally the best approach to finding peak performances. When it gets too pressured and all-consuming this can often inhibit peak performance and lead to disappointment. Thinking of each race as just a harder training session can often be the best medicine. That doesn’t mean to say you don’t go out there and give it your all, it just means that you stay relaxed and calm internally when you do. Focus on shutting out the noise and be clinical in executing the race you want to race. Do that and you’ll be well on the path to race success.

Very best of luck to all for the season and races ahead, they will be coming thick and fast from here.

Race results

Ironman Lanzarote

Andy Rogerson
Splits: swim 1:00:09 / bike 6:33:39 / run 3:20:22
Total Time: 11:00:21
35-39 category

Only the toughest of the tough choose to do a race like Ironman Lanzarote. The reason being is because the bike course is absolutely brutal. With over 2750m of climbing and wind that on some days can blow people of their bikes it is regarded as many as one of the toughest Ironman races out there. So, for Andy to choose this one as his first official Ironman for many years says everything about him & performance more than lived up to expectations. He was also thrown a huge slice of bad luck in the early stages of the bike where he got a complicated puncture that took 20mins to fix. He then spent the next 2 hours trying to get his head back into the game which thankfully he did because he then went on to run what only can be described as a dream marathon run. I told him he could do this time, I’m not sure he quite believed me at the time, so it was amazing him to see him achieve this goal. He also did it the hard way because he had to overcome a devastating early set back. So much to take from this race and carry forwards to the big one at Ironman Wales later this year. Huge congrats Andy on putting down an enormous piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Desaru Coast 70.3 (Malaysia)

Vicky Hill
Splits: swim 39:32 / bike 2:40:48 / run 1:52:18
Total Time: 5:18:21
1st in 50-54 category / 3rd female overall

Meta Sprint Triathlon (Singapore)

Vicki Hill
Splits: swim 14:29 / bike 29:03 / run 22:07
Total Time: 1:11:01:47
1st in 50-54 category / 5th female overall

After an unfortunate DNF at the horrendously hot Singapore 100 it was terrific to see The Pocket Rocket bounce back in style this month by taking back-to-back wins in May. Two very classy performances just shows what she is capable of with just a little bit of consistency in her training. Class is permanent as they say, she will only go from strength to strength from here on in. Great to see you back on that top step where you belong, you are only just getting started.

The Outlaw Half (Nottingham)

Angus Pollard
Splits: swim 27:10 / bike 2:18:03 / run 1:26:19
Total Time: 4:17:25
10th in 25-29 category

Dorney Lake (Olympic Triathlon)

Angus Pollard
Splits: swim 23:26 / bike 55:58 / run 37:17
Total Time: 2:00:01
1st in 25-49 category / 1st male overall

I couldn’t be any prouder to see Angus produce two of his best races this month since I started coaching him. Anyone who knows him knows his potential and all it took was a little bit of consistency to get him here. After a difficult start to the year, it was so good to see him finally hitting that top spot and winning a race outright. He then used this performance to then find his best ever performance over the half Ironman distance at The Outlaw Half where the field was absolutely stacked, due to it being a UK pro licensing race. Momentum is now with you so just keep riding that high until next time.

The Outlaw Half (Nottingham)

Helen Burton
Splits: swim 44:09 / bike 3:55:23 / run 3:38:05
Total Time: 8:30:40
2nd in 70-74 category

To see our ‘Super Gran’ finally finish a race after 2 years of bad luck and injury disappointment was amazing. So much hard work & dedication went into this one. What this lady continues to do day by day and week to week simply amazes me. I get exhausted just thinking about it! Huge congrats H, you more than deserved your finishers medal for this one. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.

Mallorca 70.3

Hollie Strawson
Splits: swim 32:04 / bike 3:01:14 / run 1:48:25
Total Time: 5:29:59
25-29 category

Elyas Coutts
Splits: swim 29:58 / bike 2:55:54 / run 1:56:01
Total Time: 5:32:41
30-34 category

David Rueda
Splits: swim 32:23 / bike 3:03:26 / run 2:08:46
Total Time: 5:53:57
50-54 category

Huge congrats to Hollie, Elyas and David who had fun in the sun out in Mallorca. On a very hot day they all managed to make it to the finish line with some really solid performances.

Dorney Lake (Sprint Triathlon)

Toby Dean
Splits: swim 12:21 / bike 29:00 / run 19:47
Total Time: 1:04:09
1st in 50-54 category / 4th male overall

Philippa Paxman
Splits: swim 13:08 / bike 32:44 / run 23:02
Total Time: 1:12:45
4th in 30-34 category

James Gordon
Splits: swim 15:51 / bike 35:57 / run 26:02
Total Time: 1:23:12
5th in 45-49 category

The team were out in force at Dorney lake and more than showing some early season promise. Huge congrats to all of you for finishing in the top 5 and special shout out to Toby for an outstanding performance to take the win. Great work guys and girls!

South Downs 20-miler

Kendra Marsh
Total Time: 3:17:00
1st female overall

Big shout out to our ultra-runner Kendra Marsh who took the outright female win on the tough 20-miler in the South Downs. Perfect preparation for her 100k run in July.

Fulham Palace 5k Park run

Great to see Toby & Viola trying to build some early seasons speed at the local Fulham Park Run. Huge congrats to Toby for taking the age group win yet again!

Toby Dean: 19:21 PB (1st in 50-54 age-group)
Viola Traem: 25:31

What I’ve been watching this month…

Giannis: The Marvelous Journey

I could imagine no more fitting title to this wonderful heart warming story of the life Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s a true rags to riches story that started in extreme poverty & danger in Nigeria and ended up with Giannis becoming one of the best NBA basketball players in the world. It’s a story of hope, the power of family and how when people are given opportunity they can shine like the brightest of stars. To say he’s one of those ‘special’ athletes that combine great ability with being a great person to match would be a huge understatement. If you want to be inspired and uplifted this film is for you.

Product review

Stykrk

I rarely ever feel compelled to write product reviews but, in this case, I thought I would make an exception. For the past few weeks I’ve been testing these nutritional products in training, to say I’ve been massively impressed would be a huge understatement. It was a few of my athletes that put me onto these products in the first place and I can see why. They are delicious! They also deliver calories in abundance.

The bars are some of the best I’ve ever tasted and come in 3 delicious favours. I was also really surprised at how refreshing the gels are considering the high calorie content (although there are 30g & 50g options). The carb drink is also incredibly refreshing with a flavour that is just balanced perfectly without being too sweet or flavourless (there are 60g & 90g sachets available, I’ve tried both and couldn’t taste much difference).

The only product I didn’t like that came in the package I’ve highlighted below was the recovery bars. They taste delicious but for some reason they’ve made these with sweeteners, and it leaves an unpleasant after taste in your mouth. Other than that, I would happily be scoffing them down.

Their introductory special offer was also a great way to try to their range of products, you can get £90 of their products for only £45. I started with this and once I ran out, I placed a bigger order of gels, bars and the carb drink immediately. See link

I have no links or kickbacks from these guys, just happy to recommend a product that for me has been outstanding value and truly delivers on performance and flavour.

Team out & about