Good luck guys and keep training safe!
Club night out at Toto's - Thursday 20th march 2008
Club dinner at Toto's, Five Dock - Thursday 21st February 2008Club race gear
"O" Day at the University of Technology, Sydney
During Feb, we were invited to the “Clubs Day” at UTS in the city. This was a great opportunity for us to showcase our club and build on the recently established relationship we have created between the UTS Student Union and ourselves. There were literally 250 clubs that had set-up stations to do the same thing as us, maximise exposure to get new members.
Well, the function was fantastic and there were in excess of 3,000 students that came through the doors all looking for an affinity that would link them to a common interest. It is amazing what some advertisers would do to get hold of the student population. All the big guns were there...you name them...Vodafone, 3 Network...and so on! This O’Day would be one of the most organised set-ups I have come across and it made it really easy for all the clubs to be located. We did really well and had in excess of 30 new member enquiries. We are in the process of the students signing up, and had a few turn out at last weeks running...so watch this space for further updates.
I would just like to thank KB1 (Cheri Lutz), and Nemo (Lisa Tulic) for their help and support across the day. The day was a success, and we are surely benefiting from our newly established partnership.
Power
A good day to stay in bed;
But Quick Stop, KB1 and Kingo decided
To do a triathlon instead.
They made it to the start line,
Their stomachs all achurning;
Not knowing what lay ahead of them,
Except that their muscles would be burning.
Quick Stop was the first to start her plight,
The enticer was her race;
This was only her second triathlon,
And she had some demons to erase.
The swim went off without a hitch,
The demons cast aside;
She came out of the water all relieved,
And ready for her ride.
Quick Stop was new to the sport of cycling,
But you wouldn’t know;
She completed the ride in an awesome time,
And put on quite a show.
After a tumble at transition,
She got ready for her run;
She took off at a breakneck speed,
And determined to have some fun.
The finish line was looming,
And Quick Stop still looked fine;
She vowed to return for another race,
As she finished in her best time.
Next it was KB1 and Kingo’s turn,
The sprint the choice of distance;
They walked out to the swim start
And prayed for some divine assistance.
It was KB1’s first sprint triathlon,
And she was excited about the promotion;
Whereas it was Kingo’s first tri since she’d had a bub,
So fear was her primary emotion.
The siren sounded, the seaweed cleared
And the swim leg was underway;
The girls took a deep breath and started their swim
Banishing all their nerves away.
Amongst all the thrashing
KB1 had a small panic attack;
But a smile from the buff lifeguards
Put her straight back on track.
Kingo followed the underwater rope
And the feet just ahead
And started thinking about the next transition
And the clothes she would need to shed.
Through the first transition,
The girls started the ride;
A four lap flat course
With Balance cheer squad on the side.
The ride was uneventful
Although not quite pain-free;
Both girls cruised into transition
Now on to leg three.
KB1’s run was consistent
And worthy of much praise;
Whilst Kingo’s legs were not as fast
As in her pre-pregnancy days.
Both girls crossed the finish line,
With pride in their racing hearts;
They had each conquered their challenge,
And the pain had now passed.
Both races were made better
By the cheers and the chants;
So thanks to the Balance tri club members
Who made their experiences enhanced.
The motivation is now high
And new goals have been set;
So stay tuned to these girls movements,
As they haven’t finished yet!!!
Enticer (250/10/2.5)
After brekkie, Julie Owens MP gave us an inspirational speech about how she got back into cycling… can you believe after buying a hybrid bike, six weeks later she rode to Canberra over 2 days with a group of cyclists to lodge a petition?!? Wow what an effort! Julie loved riding so much that when she returned she purchased a road bike and hasn’t looked back since.
We then took part in two workshops: basic bike mechanics and nutrition & training. The mysteries of changing a flat were revealed (I need to practice this skill at home a few times as I wouldn’t like to be caught out on my own with a flat yet). The nutrition and training workshop was somewhat interesting…however the speaker wasn’t… think he must have had a big night out somewhere and was still high on energy…
Vania very interested in tyre changing
Gear Up Girlies - Vania, Cheri & Tarn having lunch after the workshop
Jervis Bay Triathlon Festival incorporating the Australian Long Course Triathlon Championship (& numerous other fun events!)
23rd - 24th February 2008
Report by Stu "Shoes" Thompson
A big weekend was planned for 23-24th February as the Husky triathlons where on again in beautiful Jervis Bay. There was a multitude of races on over the weekend and it seemed many club members were coming down for some kind of involvement.
A couple were on the injury list, some were at Husky to cheer and Balance had a fantastic 10 people competing over the weekend. Saturday races included the Sprint triathlon, juniors, pro enduro, criterium, and 2km, 5km and 10km fun runs. Our first competitor was KB1 raced the 5k fun run. This was over a similar course to Sunday’s run leg in the long course tri and KB1 was out there on reconnaissance for Helmet. They may tell us differently but no doubt about it there would have been some information whispered post race to work into Helmets race plan for Sunday.
As the Knights started to turning up Sunday’s competitors headed off to register for the long course and for a planned swim in Shark bay. Most doing the long course were using the race as a tune up for Ironman OZ in April, and, given they wimped out of the swim due to a small amount of chop, they need long hard look at themselves in the mirror and consume a few cans of HTFU over the next 6 weeks.
Now with time on their hands and looking for something to do they took the only feasible option and headed for the pub. The odd nerve settler was consumed and a decision was made not to attend the briefing as we knew the drill. We left the pub and headed back to the Balance castle where Kezza put on a fantastic spread. Big thanks go out to Kezza for dinner as she must have slaved for hours. It was a feast fit for the balanced Knights heading off to race the next morning, which filled them all ready for the battle.
Ice, one very experienced knight, was convinced by Coolio that the way to steal an advantage would be to try out his “calories in a can”. After a massive meal and ignoring his own advice he took to drinking ½ a days calories in a 500ml drink. He then went to bed early determined for the perfect preparation. Less than an hour later he was driving the porcelain bus. For the rest of the night he would alternate between his bed and the toilet. His race seemingly over before it even started.
Race day dawned perfect, cloudless and still - a perfect day for racing. All the balanced knights started to show up at transition in varying degrees of excitement, some busting to get in the water others a little less relaxed.
I was happily chatting to Helmet on the shore about how he just wanted to survive the swim while watching the 30-34 wave start when Helmet said we’d better get in, I said it’s the 30-34’s. He told me no, it’s us. A closer look and they all had the same swim caps as ours, glad you’re here Helmet.
So the gun went off Helmet disappeared and so did I, however I went straight off the back. A little water in goggle’s and I took a quick stop to fix and realised that in about 100 metres the main group had about 50 metres on me. I started to think my approach has been a little too relaxed. By the first turning can Winky and Aunty had probably swam past me. I struggled to shore in a time I don’t want to repeat. Helmet sprinted out in 37mins, “just surviving” the swim.
Looking to the positives, I thought I’m back on land and it will only get better from here. I ran up the stairs from the beach got a cheer from Nemo, Power and Shot’is and headed for my bike. Wetsuit was off quickly, nutrition in the back pocket, glasses and helmet on. Shoes. Where are my bike shoes? They’re not on the ground, not on my pedals. Where are my shoes? Slow down & think. Oh, I’m going to hear about this, realising they were back at the house. Don’t panic, various options went through my head. Best two were ride back to the house and get them, or go back and get Shot’is to get them.
I ran back to the guys who were a little surprised to see me I might add. “Shot ‘is run back to the house and get my shoes”…. a little laughter was heard…. Shot ‘is kindly reminded me he couldn’t race due to running injuries. Bad option. Power offered his that he was wearing for his ride. What size? 10? Me too! What cleats? Keo’s? me too! A match, how lucky is this? Back to bike, shoes on & I’m running out of transition finally in a set cycle shoes. I took about two steps to realise Power’s 10 and my 10 were not the same. These must have been two sizes too big, but I had shoes and I was off. I got through town thinking, what an idiot, this is not the relaxed race I was thinking of.
The first few hills approached and it didn’t take long to realise that it’s hard to get any power down when your shoes are that big. I knew the guys were going to have a field day with this. Half way around I decided I had to get my own shoes back, so I needed to stop into the house at the end of the first lap, so I did but the shoes were nowhere to be found. Back on the bike a little further down the road I saw Shot ‘is who told me my shoes were 100 metres ahead with Power and Dazza K. I pulled over and the boys had my shoes nicely laid out ready for me to step into and take off. A quick swap and I was off again. I pedalled away from the Balanced Knights as one I heard the call, “SHOES” – my new nickname!
My shoes actually took a bit of getting used to again, but the second lap was a lot more comfortable than the first. Finishing the second lap, I gave the Knights a wave, “SHOES” came the cry. The rest of the bike passed without incident, other than some name calling (SHOES every time I saw a knight) but I had no idea of where anyone else was until we hit the run. 5k out and back twice and we’d all get the chance to see each other somewhere. It really is a great run. Both ends have a hill or two and the middle 3k’s or so is basically flat, some in shade some in sunshine. It’s got a bit for everyone. As we passed each other there generally was some words of encouragement to each other. All knights finished in varying states mostly in good shape.
Nick picked up a injury from the bike but completed the run in a bit of pain. Winky had clearly spent some time on the road and not dozing off to sleep, putting in a great run. The support from the Knights was fantastic, giving us a cheer or well deserved heckle and a laugh each time we went around and at the finish line.
The fun hadn’t ended though, we all heading to our various accommodation and showered / rested for a bit then headed back to the clubhouse were me meet up for a debriefing session. A long afternoon of story telling followed and final plans were laid for our assault on Port Macquarie and other races. The longer the afternoon went the better the stories and excuses. When it rolls around next year do yourself a favour and get down there for the weekend and a race
A big thanks to Kezza Kemp for accommodation and catering. The Sat feast was fantastic. Mucho Gracious for all the Balance supporters down there cheering us on. And a personal thanks to Power for the loaner (hope they were dry when you got them back…) and keeping in the game.
Shoes
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RESULTS
Long course (1/83/20)
Rob (Helmet) Lutz: 37:50/2:35:30/1:40:09 - 4:53:29 (great swim)
(Aunty) Karin Kaehne: 41:31/2:55:27/1:48:05 - 5:25:04 (cruised)
Hally (Winky) Bolt: 36:46/2:35:52/1:42:26 - 4:55:05 (massive PB)
Stuart (Shoes) Thompson: 42:04/2:41:59/1:39:05 - 5:03:09 (goose)
Vania Dauner: 44:29/3:29:33/2:15:53 - 6:29:56 (superstar)
Nick Taylor: 36:34/2:43:12/1:58:42 - 5:18:28 (sore ankle)
Scott Aliprandi: 32:59/2:33:40/1:37:10 - 4:43:50 (on no sleep)
Porcelain bus race
Dallas "Ice" Locke - 1st in age group
Other races
Geelong Half Ironman - 10th February 2008
Dallas "Ice" Locke 37:46/3:02:41/2:09:09 - 5:49:37
Matty "Coolio" Clarke 36:36/2:45:47/2:01:50 - 5:24:15
Stu "Shoes" Thompson 43:00/2:58:39/1:47:04 - 5:28:44
