P-town Run Drills

Coach Rachel reporting:

We had a great week here in Penticton, swim-bike-running and more.
We did a run drills session with the awesome Speed Theory boys and as promised here are some of the best links for run and run specific strength drills we practiced.

Check out Jerry Ziac in Vanrunnings videos on youtube, filmed by fellow MRT athlete and run coach Jeremy Hopwood:

Mobility Drills Part 1

Part II

Drills

Strength




Another drill I didn't share with you, you can do at home. It's one of my favourites. You start out like you'll do a stride, but instead of simply building speed, you start out with poor form. Maybe you start with your head down, shoulders hunched forward, arms dangling at your sides, hips too far back, stride too long. Begin running slowly and start at your feet, pick up your cadence, bring your hips inline with you ankles and shoulders, bring shoulders back, put a bend in your elbows and use them and bring your chin up, vision line to 30m ahead. As you do so pick up your speed and emerge from poor form to perfect form and increased speed.
You can do this a couple of times and each time focus on a different aspect, if you like.

Other run drills ideas:
walking on heels, tip toes, toes in, toes out.
skipping with or without a rope
ABC's
cross overs
and more!

Feel free to post any questions or comment with drills you like to include or others I failed to list.

It's been a wonderful week and I know all the campers are eager to keep up the training and will race well this season. We have some keen and talented folks in our group!

Congrats!

Happy training and DO YOUR DRILLS!!! :)

Great Day at the Desert Half for Coach Michelle & her Squad!

Coach Michelle along with 4 of her athletes, Mike Kulawik, Shannon Morgan, Laura Dodds and Lana Spreeman all made the trip to Osoyoos this past Sunday to compete in one of the toughest Half Ironman's around!

Mike inilated his time from the previous year by 20 min finishing the race in 5:10- with a swim time almost 6 minutes faster than 2010! Shannon had a major Half Ironman PB which is quite impressive on this course- Shannon looked fresh and strong all day! Tough as nails Lana Spreeman despite a bike crash at the very start of the bike, wiped the blood off, put her bike back together and got to the finish line! Laura Dodds competed in this race for the first time and finished with a smile securing her an Ironman Canada spot even after doing the whole swim with no goggles- Laura you are amazing and such an inspiration! Laura made it loud and clear after the race that she was likely the only athlete out there with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder).

Last but not least Coach Michelle smashed everyone in her Age Group by 44 min and dispite being forced to stop for 3 min after almosting crashing into an official, she still managed to capture 3rd place overall!

Two Good Weekends for Coach Clint

Rachel, Sara, Christine

Elk Lake Subaru 1/2 Ironman

Two weeks ago the Subaru 1/2 Ironman was held in Victoria at Elk Lake. I had seven athletes in the race and the day couldn't have gone much better.

My four local Island Triathlon athletes - the Four Horsemen:

Alison Dickson

Shay Averbuch

Steffen Hagen

and Derek Frohloff -

all enjoyed great races w/ Alison, Shay and Derek PBing over the distance.

Steffen was on track to great day after a strong swim/bike but had to settle for a good day when some cramping slowed him up on the run. Still it was clear he's on track and where he should be for IMC coming up in August - as are all four of them.

Shay recorded the 3rd fasted run with a 1:18 - not bad for an old cat!

Jeremy Hopwood jumped into the half distance only a few days before the race. He's been building slowly since the birth of his daughter Adalaide so this really was a test to see where he was at and what needed work. It turns out he's doing quite well indeed. He recorded a very respectable: 4:26:26

Rachel Kiers and Sara Gross (it's weird writing your wife's full name) both ended on the podium with Sara winning and Rachel close behind her for 2nd.

A MOST satisfying day!!

Yesterday in Vancouver was the next race in the Subaru series - the Vancouver 1/2 Ironman. Sara, Rachel and Jeremy were back in the mix.

Sara was using the day as a strong training day. The plan was to pull out after 30 minutes of running unless she felt good. The night before the race we reexamined that plan and decided that maybe running the whole thing - provided the wheels weren't coming off, would be just fine - so the race was on.

Shawnigan Lake champion, Rachel McBride was racing. She was coming off an awesome 3rd place finish in the Boise 70.3 close behind triathlon luminaries Heather Wurtele and winner Magali Tisseyre.

Unlike the Elk Lake race, Rachel Kiers' plan in Vancouver was to go in a little more rested and with higher intent. In the end both women ended up on the podium with Sara coming 2nd and Rachel 3rd. Great races for both of them.

Jeremy is a guy who likes his numbers. For Vancouver we wanted to set those aside (to some extend) and take some chances out there - just race hard. He did that and found himself at the pointy end of the stick. Unfortunately about 2/3 the way through the bike he found himself in some difficulty and had to notch it back for the remainder of the race. In the end, not his finest race but a great learning one. It's now clear to both Jeremy and myself that he can mix it up with the big boys. Some fine tuning and a couple good builds and he'll be there.

Mercury Rising gives a happy salute to our friend Scott Curry on his win. He's a class act and a quality guy!

Up next is the Mercury Rising Camp in Penticton - followed by the Peach Classic for many of the campers. Fun times!!

Great White North- Sara's Report

Last weekend was one of my best coaching weekends to date. Thank you to Kendall, Tessa and Julie for making that happen.

Most of my athletes have been with me for 3 or 4 years, i know them well, they know me, and i have to be on my toes to make sure they keep improving. We all hit plateaus in our training before moving to another performance level. These girls really are moving up!

Here are the details:

Kendall: Before the race, Kendall told me she didn't feel ready (do we ever?). I reassured her that she was and hoped that her consistency would pay off. It did. The outcome: Despite herself, Kendall managed a PB and went over 10mins faster than previously on the same course; 5h14. Nice.

Tessa: I knew Tessa was fitter than she has ever been, but i didnt realize she was that fit! A 20min improvement on the GWN course since 2009. Now that is impressive. This girl is coming into her own. The outcome: 5h35

Julie: This girl works just about as hard as she can. And as a coach, it has been a challenge to find out exactly what kind of workload Julie responds best to. Well folks, we found it! The new and improved Julie is taking this season by storm, with a win at the Elkford Sprint, a top 10 overall at Wasa Lake and now... drumroll.... a sub-5 half at GWN!! What a performance! The outcome: 4h58

I want to say thank you to the small handful of girls and guys who have stuck it out with me over the last few years. What a journey. Days like these make it all worthwhile!

Great White North Report Part 1...

A handful of MRT athletes made the trip to race in the Great White North Half Ironman race this past weekend, and it looks like it was a speedy day for all of them!

Kari Strutt suffered a devastating loss just days before the race. She chose to do the race, in honour and in memory of her dear nephew. To call that a difficult task would be a tremendous underestimation, I’m sure. She carried him in her heart from start to finish, and that strength enabled her to race her fastest half Ironman to date. What a great way to honour his life. The Mercury Rising team extends our deepest condolences to you and your family, Kari.

Bouncing back from a race full of learning experiences at the Oliver Half, Patty Infusino put those lessons to good use, and blazed her way to a personal best! She crossed the line at 5:19, over 10 minutes faster than her time at the same race last year! Here she is, running strong, and looking goooood. Watch out, Ironman!!

Stay tuned for more updates on Great White North...