weekly newsletter 26 june 2015

Firstly, a short message from Griffo...
Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club 2015-2016 season races will start in September.  At this stage I would just like to remind members about renewing their membership and nominating a volunteer duty.  In mid June, everyone should have received an email from Tri NSW about the auto renew feature for our memberships.  Of note in that email:

Manage Your Membership
If you have not already done so, we encourage you to visit your member portal. Here you can view and update your membership details, and see all of the current memberships that you have. Please ensure that your mailing address, phone number and email address are up to date so that you receive future email notifications, member newsletters and your new membership card. Please use Chrome as your internet browser on a PC for the best user experience. 
Membership Renewals
Our system will automatically renew your membership on 1 July, however you can turn this setting off in your member portal if you would prefer to manually renew. You will be able to manually renew your membership from 17 June onwards via your portal. You will receive an email from our system when this is available. 
Please note: All junior and family/group membership are not set to automatically renew.’
 
Duty
You can login to Dutyman using your existing Dutyman sign-on (from 2014-2015 season) and volunteer for duties now.  All Coffs Harbour Triathlon club members must volunteer to preform one duty at a club race each season.  
 
Club race dates: 13/09/2015,  27/09/2015, 25/10/2015, 08/11/2015, 22/11/2015, 
06/12/2015, 20/12/2015, 3/01/2016, 17/01/2016, 31/01/2016, 14/02/2016, 28/02/2016, 
20/03/2016, 10/04/2016, 24/04/16
 
Duty types: Water safety, Bike safety, Escort Vehicle & Signs, Drink Station, Timing.  
 
If you can’t login to Dutyman then you will need to email the Duty Coordinator at [email protected] (or click on the DutyRoster tab on our web page, click on link at 'Joe Kane') and request your preferred duty date and duty type.  Failure to nominate a duty before the first club race will result in a duty being nominated on your behalf.
 
Enjoy the ‘off season’ and looking forward to seeing you all in at our first club race.
 
Griffo

Some of our members have been very busy in the off season. Of note are
Pim Heaney, Caron Mackie, Michelle Clarke and Peter Wood went north for the Cairns Ironman The faithful Pim has asked me to include her race report.

Ironman Cairns Race Report  (or How I Popped My Iron Cherry)
By Pim Heaney
After a bad bout of ‘flu prevented me from doing Challenge Forster last year, I decided to take revenge on my body by doing an Ironman. It was a toss-up between Port Macquarie and Cairns. Talking to Caron Mackie, who has completed both, convinced me that Cairns was the way to go. Having a weak bike leg, it would be better to have a less-demanding bike course with some stunning scenery to keep me occupied.
So after a few months of training, and coming to the realisation that 180km on a bike is a really really long way, I found myself in Cairns waiting for the race to start. I had a week before the race to acclimatise, study the course and soak up the atmosphere. It rained the whole week. Except for the one hour when I was having a training swim in the pool, heedlessly without sunscreen. Yes, I got sunburnt.
Nerves set in pretty hard the day before. I was teary, inarticulate and muddle-headed. Riding my bike out to T1, I made a poor decision to take a new route along the bike path. All of a sudden there was a fence in the way. OK, just turn around and go back. Oh that’s right it’s raining and I have really narrow tyres! Time to kiss the ground! (Stop laughing Vicki). So with a skinned and bleeding knee, a bruised hip, a jarred shoulder and a wounded pride I rode out to rack my bike in T1. The first volunteer that spoke to me copped the shock and the tears. She hung up my bag and gave me a big hug while I blubbered my way through bike racking and the transition tour. With that out of my system, I felt better and decided that I was just channelling Chrissie Wellington by coming off my bike before a race. It was a good sign!
Race morning started early. I was up by 3:30am to get on the shuttle buses out to the swim start. The challenge was to keep eating just enough so that I wasn’t hungry by the time the race started at 7:45am. Not easy on a nervous belly! I was very fortunate to be with Caron so that our nervous chatter kept us occupied. All too soon we were called to the start line. Andrew Rowlings had convinced me to get into the first wave of the swim starts. I was reluctant and thought I would end up being swum over by all the stronger swimmers. As it turned out I was overtaking others and found a pack to hold on to. I felt good coming out of the water and jogged up to the transition area, found my bag and proceeded to be pampered and dressed by the lovely volunteers in transition. They smothered me in sunscreen, put my socks on my feet and sent me on my way to tackle the 180km bike ride.
This is where the challenge began. Not being a very strong cyclist, I watched as hundreds zoomed past me on their super-slick bike porn. I had expected this to happen, so I just drooled over the machinery and stuck to my own manageable pace. The scenery was stunning! The course follows the Captain Cook Hwy up to Port Douglas, a winding and undulating road metres from the water. There was plenty to keep me occupied along the way. However it seems I missed the local crocodile on the Mowbray River. Must have been too busy singing trashy songs that my brain dragged out of my childhood memories! (Grease 2 soundtrack! Seriously brain?? You have 44 years of repertoire to choose from and that is what you come up with??? Where are the running songs & “getting psyched” songs that I have primed you with over the past few weeks?? Not happy Jan! I’m STILL singing that song!).
So as the kilometres slipped away and time ticked on, I stuck to my nutrition plan and tried to stay as hydrated as possible and take on as much nutrition as I could without feeling “sloshy” or too full. I knew I would be on the bike for about 7 hours, so pacing my nutrition was part of my strategy. The volunteers at the aid stations were awesome and I kind of felt guilty for not taking what they had on offer. They seemed so happy when you took a new water bottle or a banana!
After 160km I was well and truly ready to get off the bike. The backside was getting sore and I just wanted to get onto the run. Pedalling back into Cairns into a coastal headwind was hard work. But these last few kilometres were made all the more easier by the very enthusiastic and supportive crowds that lined the streets. Finally, I hit the bike dismount line, gratefully (but definitely NOT gracefully) dismounted and left my trusty steed in the hands of the volunteers.
T2 was pretty slick. Change shoes, change hats and go! I was finally on the run. Now it was just a matter of ticking off the aid stations. I was amazed that my legs felt pretty good and I didn’t feel as stiff as I had expected. The vibe along the course was electric and this buoyed me and helped to numb any pain. I stuck to the race plan – run to feel comfortable, walk the aid stations to take on at least a little bit of water & nutrition. This strategy was a winner! With each lap I knew I was getting closer to the finish line, but was terrified of the dreaded “wall” that everyone kept talking about. Kilometre 32 – that is when it will get me. At 24km I started to sip on one of my uber-caffeinated gel in the hope it would see me through. And that it did! Oh baby! I barely even noticed the sensation of my kneecaps trying to pop out, or the stiffness in the quads as I stopped to walk at the aid stations. With each lap I had looked at the 40km marker and thought how good it will be to hit that target. So when I passed it on the final lap, the adrenaline surged! 2.2km to go! I was about to become an Ironman! Grinning from ear to ear, I ran through the crowds in the last 2km until I hit the red carpet. I couldn’t help myself! I jumped & whooped & skipped my way down to the finish line with the words “Belinda Heaney. You are an Ironman” being shouted on the PA. Words cannot describe that feeling. I had finished! I had done it! My time of 12:32:55 was way beyond my expectations! I was even interviewed by the guys at First Off the Bike! It was awesome! I want to do it again!

There are some upcoming events to include on your calendar
July 11
In August and September Paul Grant, who works at MBT Lawyers in Coffs, is cycling solo from Perth to Melbourne, a journey of over 3,000km in only three weeks! He's taking on this epic adventure to raise funds and awareness for the Jodi Lee Foundation and their work in raising awareness about the importance of screening for and early detection of bowel cancer.
 
Paul is having his major fundraising event at Opal Cove on July 11th. It's a Cocktail party with fundraising raffles and auctions of everything from sporting memorabilia to accommodation packages everywhere from the Hunter Valley to the Gold Coast and even a bottle of bourbon valued at $150 retail.
Tickets are $70 per head and includes food plus beer, wine and soft drinks.
 
6th September- Bendigo Bank Running Festival

20th September- Woopi Tri

Classifieds

1. Marlene Power has a York treadmill for sale $150 pickup. Marlene 0432430301 or [email protected]
2. Up and coming triathlete Tara Everson (13) is looking for a XS wetsuit suitable for competing in triathlons. If you have an old wetsuit you or your son or daughter no longer requires, tara would be interested in trying on for sizePlease contact Tara's mum Sandy at: [email protected]

 
Disclaimer
As a note from your new newsy. I am not psychic (often psycho) and I am not in the loop. If you want something in the newsletter or have a race result please email me: [email protected]
If I don't know, it won't be in there