Rob & Lisa : Goodbye for now        

It is with much sadness that we say goodbye to Rob and Lisa who are moving back to the US on Monday.  They have been with the club for many years – first as just members and then on the committee.  Rob served as Vice President for many years and Lisa was the Treasurer up until recently.   I would like to thank them for all their commitment and effort on behalf of the club over those years and wish them every happiness and success in their new life.  

They will be expanding the Steam chapter in the US and will be based near San Francisco and I’m sure will welcome any visitors from Steam who happen to be over that way.

 

 

Stephanie and Declan

Best wishes to Stephanie Yeung and Declan who are getting married on Saturday.   Every happiness in your life together and much Ironman success !! And don’t worry if it rains as it is lucky in Italy for a bride to be rained on.

 

 

 

More Noosa results

 

Time	Team name	Cat	Cat place	Swim	Bike	Run
2:28:47	Once-Were-Has-Beens	TO	15	0:20:38.0	1:08:31.0	0:59:38.0

 

Race report from Stephen Doolan who was responsible for that great bike time ….

 

“I was reading an article recently about triathlon written by a cyclist who mentioned the best way to ruin a good bike ride is to go for a run straight after..I completely agree.....i only had to run 150 metres after my ride leg to the runner in our team waiting in the transition... but it was sheer murder!!!

Our team "once were has beens" did quite well at Noosa with a time of 2:28.47. I had a goal of finishing under 1:10  and ended up with 1:08.31 for my first competitive ride (from mount to dismount i did 1:05.15, i think i was a bit ripped off in the transition). All up i was really happy with my time and have Daniele and Steam to thank, as i have learnt so much in the last 8 months and due to some smarter and consistent training I am so much stronger on the bike.

i did learn a couple of lessons....stretching before you race is a good idea. I didn't do enough and lost a lot of power in the last 6 k's due to major fatigue at the top of both my hamstrings. Also, those skill drills we do with water bottles are quite useful, but i think i need to do more. at the 30k mark i dropped a bottle attempting to put it back in the cage, i was doing about 44kph (heart rate was 195) and had people all around me. Thankfully i did not bring anyone down.”   SD

 

Weekend Rides 

Sat – 6:45am Two groups riding to Sutherland 60km return and back in the park by 8:30am

Sat – 4pm and 5pm Steam crit championship continues at Heffron with A,B,C,D and E grades

Sun – 6:15am Two groups riding to Waterfall 90km return and back in the park by 9:15 – 9:30am

Sun – Waratah Vets race at Eastern Creek – please see Daniele if you are thinking of racing (must be a Master).

Sun – 10:30am Pilates at the Musgrave gates.   Due to Vix’s availability this has been moved to Sunday for this week and a special introductory price of $15 per session.  We need at least 7 starters for a class so if you haven’t tried it please come along and for those racing at Eastern Creek you have plenty of time to get back to the Park to increase your core strength.  Please email Vix on vixbodyfix@ozemail.com.au if you can come this week.  Please see Vix’s tips further on in the email.

 

                                             

Next weekend Shoalhaven

 

Next weekend is the Steam Shoalhaven weekend away (26^th and 27^th November).   Unfortunately, the accommodation has been booked out for some time now.  However, all members of Steam are welcome to come down for the day and join us for the Saturday ride.  We plan to leave at 8am and the distance is approx 100km with some climbs in it.   If you are interested in joining us, please let us know (ciclismo@tpg.com.au) so that we have an idea of numbers by latest Tuesday next week.

 

 

 

The Hamill Cup

 

 

The most sought after trophy in the Australian sporting calendar is on again ….. dust off those wheels, practice that time trialling and pick your partners.  Since the inaugural championship in 2003 when Alex Hamill threw down the gauntlet to the Steam membership, the hotly contested award has been a Steam highlight.    Teams of 3 are eligible to take part – must have one female rider and ages should add up to as near 120 as possible otherwise there will be a time penalty.  For ages over 120 years, there will be time bonuses.  If you are wondering who to team up with, let Anna, Daniele or Rod know and we can organise some teams for people (especially if teams are running short of girls – nice to be in demand isn’t it ladies ??).  

 

So put Sat 17^th December in the diary as it’s on again – the Steam Team Time Trialling Championship.

 

2003 champions – Kate Everett, Rex Wood and Paul Angel

2004 champions – Alison Urquhart, Adam Radford and Dave Pegley

2005 champions – IT COULD BE YOU ……….

 

Trophy will be awarded at the Steam Christmas party on Sunday 18^th December at the Steelcase Showroom in Union St, Pyrmont.

 

 

 

Steam Xmas Party

 

We are furiously planning for the best ever Steam Xmas party on Sunday 18^th December from 3pm at the Steelcase showroom in Pyrmont.   We will have great lucky door prizes, the Steam awards for 2005 (both serious and fun) as well as a great chance to socialise with your Steam members who you have been training with for 12 months.  We will also be awarding the prestigious Hamill Cup and the first 3 teams will also get a trophy.  So put the date in your diary and make it the best Xmas party we have had yet.

 

 

WHY PILATES SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR WEEKLY TRAINING

 

Pilates will benefit you on many levels. As you know cycling is great for keeping fit and healthy as well as working and toning certain muscles. As with all sports, certain muscles work hard and others don’t. This invariably means that you suffer from muscular imbalances which then have an impact on your skeleton and other muscles.

For example, tight hamstrings caused by cycling can cause lower back pan and tight hip flexors may lead to hip problems. Being hunched forward over the bars causes the chest to close and tension in the shoulders, leading to poor posture which also affects breathing.

Practising pilates regularly improves flexibility and strength. The more flexible your muscles, the greater range of motion around your joints, which reduces the severity or impact of injury when you fall.

You will also benefit from improved balance, posture and core stability.

Not a bad return for just 1hour on Saturday mornings 930am at Centennial Park.    Date and time can change so please see weekly update email for details or just email Vix for details vixbodyfix@ozemail.com.au

 

 

Hawaii Race report : Mel Ashton

Mel has trained on and off with Steam for a couple of years now and is one of our sponsored athletes.   Here is her race report after a fantastic top 10 finish in her first Hawaii.

 

Hawaii Ironman – World Championships

15^th October 2005

Race Review

Melissa Ashton

 

With the Hawaii Ironman now behind me I can reflect on what a truly awesome experience it was to race in the world’s greatest triathlon.  For years I have heard about the Hawaii Ironman and been asked if I have ‘done that crazy race in Hawaii’.  I can now say ‘YES’ and brag for the rest of my life – well not quite.  My resolve to return to ‘The Big Island’ as a better athlete is stronger than ever.  After a 10^th place in my debut race in Hawaii, I have re-qualified for next year’s event and will definitely be making that my major goal for 2006.  It really says something about an event which takes 9.5 hours and then within minutes of finishing I was determined to come back next year – much to the horror of my mum!

 

I will give you a run down on my experiences in Hawaii and my love affair with the Ironman distance races.  I know it sounds crazy to say that I ‘love’ the Ironman as it is a love/hate relationship but I love the fact that the race evolves over many hours and you are confronted with many emotions for the duration of the event.  The race is not just about swimming 3.8km, cycling 180km and running 42.2km; there are many other facets that contribute to a worthy performance in the Ironman, including nutrition, mental application and the desire to keep on going when your body just wants to stop.

 

After training in the sunny climate of the Queensland’s Gold Coast under the guidance of Bill Daveron, I felt I was as ready as I could be to tackle the extremes of the Hawaii Ironman.  Although not one to underestimate the race or my competition, I was confident that I had given everything to my preparation.  However, the Ironman, especially the Hawaii Ironman, is not a race that is easy on debutants.  In fact, the race in recent times has only been won once by a race rookie and I don’t think ever in the women’s.

 

Anyway, I arrived on the Big Island just on 2 weeks before the race so to acclimatize as best I could.  Once thing I noticed on my arrival that this place was extremely different to anything else I had raced in. The landscape was black lava fields and non-stop wind.  The ocean was however beautiful, crystal clear blue with many tropical fish.  I was very excited to be in Kona and preparing to race the Hawaii Ironman.  I had watched numerous videos of the race and felt I was sort of familiar with the island.  Although I was not totally prepared for the wind.  About 1.5 weeks out from race day I decided to ride the turnaround section of the race.  This involved approx 30km of an uphill section - not necessarily steep but quite taxing as about 4 miles from the top a roaring crosswind kicked up.  In fact, the return journey down the hill was even worse and another guy I was riding with was actually blown off his bike!  It was pretty crazy.

 

My training before the event went smoothly and each day brought more of my support crew into town.  It was wonderful to have my husband Biff, along with my brother and mum and dad make the journey over to Hawaii to watch me race.  Apart from my family’s support, I was also lucky enough to have heaps of my friends over in Kona to cheer me on.  The amount of Aussie support was tremendous and made the race seems more bearable. 

Race day dawned on the 15^th October and I awoke to what I knew was going to be a great day.  I made my way down to the transition area with mate and fellow Hawaii IM virgin, Dunstan.  It was an early start as we had to be ready to race at 6.45am for the professional and 7am for the rest of the field.  My day starts quite a bit earlier than this as I have to get up at about 4am so it makes for a long day.  I was trying not to think too much about what lay ahead and concentrated on getting myself and equipment ready for the day.  It was not easy to stay relaxed as this was definitely the biggest race I had ever competed in.  After kissing Biff goodbye, I entered the water to start the 2005 World Ironman Championships.  The race start was messed up a little as the announcer in his excitement called out ‘GO, GO, GO’ before the start cannon had been fired.  Needless to say, the pro started before the official start but there was no way that they were going to be bringing us back.  The swim was pretty routine with the usual kicks and punches but I managed to emerge from the water in a good position and not having used to much energy.  Entering the transition area was very cool as there were thousands of bikes and millions of dollars worth of equipment.  I charged through the changing tent where I only stayed to put my bikes shoes and helmet on and then it was out onto the bike course.  There were thousands of spectators cheering and I even managed to recognize a few familiar voices giving me words of encouragement.  I wanted to try to enjoy the experience of the IM even if I would not exactly describe the race as enjoyable. 

 

It wasn’t long before I left the comfort of the township of Kona and was heading along the Queen K highway.  Let me tell you, there is not a lot out there!  Settled into the bike and concentrated on eating and drinking as I didn’t want the efforts of the day to catch up with me later because I had neglected my nutrition needs.  The bike was going quite well until we started the climb up to Hawi.  Once again, a few miles from the turnaround, a big head wind hit.  It made riding pretty tough but once up there I knew I would have a terrific tail wind.  The turnaround at Hawi saw me in a pretty good position but I think the windy experience of 10 days before meant I was a little hesitant on the downhill section.  I guess I was expecting to be hit by the cross winds and thrown across the road.  Luckily for all competitors, the winds were extremely kind to us and allowed for very fast bike times.  This was also the first time I had the chance to see where all my competitors were.  This was good to see but there’s not a whole lot you can do about it as you basically have to run your own race. 

I slipped a little off the pace on the way back into Kona and I couldn’t wait to get off my bike and begin the marathon.  It certainly says something about the event when you are looking forward to running a marathon in the heat of the Hawaiian lava fields!  Anyway, it was great to be back in town and in amongst the cheering of the spectators.  I was lucky enough to have many friends and family scattered all over the course (many with signs) so it was always fantastic to see someone I knew.  The first 15km of the marathon is run through the town so there are lots of people cheering and urging you on.  Funnily enough, I didn’t feel all that flash in the beginning but knew I had to hang in there and hope that things would improve.  Luckily they did.  I started to feel stronger when I began running up a decent size hill to the Queen K highway to head out into the lava fields.  There is not a whole lot to report on the run other than the scenery is quite uninspiring but the aid station volunteers were excellent.  They were very professional and always had a drink and ice ready for me.  I did however, find a running buddy.  I ran with a young German guy called Andreas for about 30km.  We didn’t say a lot to each other but it was quite nice to have some company and help each other through difficult patches.  Unfortunately, with about 7km to go, Andreas cramped and had to walk a little.

 

I was actually excited about running the marathon as I had seen and heard about the infamous ‘Energy Lab’.  This is a section of the race at about the 25km mark which heads off the Queens K and down into a very hot scientific solar energy lab.  This is a portion of the run where many athletes suffer as it becomes very hot and there is very little wind to cool you down.  I found this section to be OK and was still feeling strong when I exited it and felt I was ready for the final 11km assault home.  I was feeling reasonably good for the next 6kms.  With 5km to go, I started to feel pretty average.  I didn’t know that my stride length could be any shorter but I felt like I was taking lollie-pop steps.  This was a tough part of the race but I knew I was almost there and had to keep pushing as I was holding down 10^th place.  I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and driving up over the final few hills.  I knew that once I had reached the outskirts of town, the crowd would carry me home.  I started to smile and enjoy those last few minutes of what has been a long, tough but extremely rewarding day.  The final couple of hundred metres were magic and to recall the emotions of finishing the holy grail of triathlon really does bring tears to my eyes. 

I was extremely lucky to be greeted at the finish line by my wonderful and supportive husband, Biff; and also my mum, dad and brother who have definitely been my biggest fans since I started in this sport. 

 

The day and my journey of the Ironman have been terrific but would not have been possible without the support that my family, friends, sponsors and coach have given me over the years.

 

Thank you at all who have helped me with my triathlon achievements.

 

Mel.