Augusta Half Ironman Training Camp – TriCoachGeorgia

/in , /by

As the 2015 Tri Coach Georgia Augusta Half Iron Training Camp approaches, we are getting daily emails about the camp. Some are folks sharing their excitement, some question why we have changed formats or the order of events, other folks question places to stay, where to eat, what can friends or family do while participating in the camp. A lot thank us for hosting the camp which leads me to reflect back on how we got to this point and why we do this at all.

Coach Slayer and I met several years ago through BeginnerTriathlete.com. I was a newbie prepping for the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Augusta and looking for a used wet suit. Phatknot as was his handle in BT was selling one (and a newbie himself). We connected and I drove to Athens from Augusta one rainy March morning and met him at his now infamous Pain Cave on Slayer Lake; Although he had yet to place even a toe in said lake. We met at his house, I grabbed the suit and headed back home with us both happy about the transaction and never thinking of seeing one another again.

Fast forward to August when I was sitting in the Marriott Riverfront Hotel at my first ever triathlon camp and across the room I see Phatknot (I didn’t come to know him as Slayer until Ironman 70.3 Augusta race weekend when he stayed in my home and that’s a whole other blog about that!!). We acknowledged one another and during a break began recollecting as to why we were familiar to one another when we realized simultaneously that we had done business together earlier in the year.

We swam, rode and ran together that weekend and left the camp completely at peace about the race course and what to expect on race day. We also became friends and followed similar paths in the multisport arena which brings me to this camp this year.

We do this camp for many reasons. One is that we love the sport and the people that make it what it is. Another reason is we want everyone to have a chance to be the best athlete they can be whether that is a world champion qualifier to a cut off time beating finisher. We also know several very dedicated athletes that didn’t make cut off times and are still champions in our eyes because of the commitment to themselves to do their job. We do it to give back to a sport that has brought us new friendships and has taken us places we would have never thought to go without triathlon. We do this for the reasons why we went to our own camp, to ease the apprehensions of the newbie.

I received an email last week by someone telling me how nervous they were about the race. They were following the training plan and triathlon and long distance runs weren’t new to them and they were still nervous. The unknown does that to us. We fear, sometimes to the point of non-action, that which we do not know or understand. As coaches, we help you face those fears so there is no apprehension. A quote on my Road ID is, “Know pain, No Fear” as I believe fear is simply a lack of knowledge.

We do this camp so you can have no fear. We want you fearless on race day from knowing you have went through a long, hard, hot and arduous weekend traversing every inch of the race course guided by coaches and other athletes that have been in your shoes. We all worry about the cold and dark river. The river weeds, the current, the snakes and the alligators. We all worry about the bike course and hills (they get flatter the more your ride them) and the heat. We worry about that miserably long, flat run course. It takes mental toughness to run a straight, flat 1.5 mile segment only to turn and do it again another 7 times and we teach you how to do it. We do this camp so you see all the course and have the tactics to crush it!

We do this for all of you. We would do this for just one of you. We do this so on race day you #DOYOURJOB and #REAPWHATYOUSOW!

See you at camp.

Brian Patterson, aka Coach Spartacus

The Training & Racing Never Stops – TriCoachGeorgia

/in , /by

As our famed Augusta 70.3 training camp directed by Coach Spartacus approaches, the fun never ceases in the land of the Reapers! Racing is thinner in the hotter areas but still carries on throughout the month of July.

Training is getting serious as a heart attack for many of the team facing huge races in August, September and October. Coaches Spartacus, Slayer, BigBad, and KimPossible are going the extra miles to get their athletes ready to rock!

On July 19th in Bolton, United Kingdom, Gator aka Chris Keysor took on the Ironman UK as a destination race and his first and perhaps only 140.6 distance race. Along with Gator’s dedicated and loving family and 1000’s of spectators, Coach Slayer and DocSlay aka Julie Gayer were there in support. Coach Slayer could not race due to his injuries from the April bike wreck but was honored to be on course for his athlete and good buddy.

Gator trained very hard for the race, executed his race plan perfectly, and it showed as he banged out a top age group result on a beautiful, albeit very rigorous, course under very challenging conditions. Many of his supporters followed along closely from home. The pictures tell the story and now he moves on to his A race of Ironman Augusta 70.3 in great shape!

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, the TriKidsGeorgia just kept hitting it hard in their training and racing. They travel the world and still find time to get sessions in. Even the adults have found time to travel long distances to train together.

On the youth side, Simon crushed the Georgia State Swim Meet. We also had Freeman take 2nd place in age 6-7 and Jack achieved 3rd in age 8-9 at Chopped Oak Youth Triathlon in Clarkesville Georgia. This was a great showing for the boys there and these races are always a fan favorite!

Also, TriKidGeorgia Keaton joined the crew to train with his teammates in Athens from his home in Atlanta. It paid off as he was back on the top of the sprint triathlon podium in Jacksonville, Florida at the Jacksonville Tri Series. He was joined by HOSS aka Bradley Odom, who raced and made the podium for the olympic distance and who battles through some trying times at work but still manages to do good racing!

EMANBOOM aka Esteven Price and All3Eedee took on Tri the Parks Mistletoe Sprint Tri. All3Eedee represented our affiliate www.All3Sports.com well with a 2nd in AG and EMANBOOM took out his new bike and burned it up on the hilly course with a mixed terrain run. He took 3rd in a stacked Male Masters.

Special shout out to Katie Fredo, BreakingBad’s girl, who crushed her 1st triathlon ever with the help of Coach Spartacus’ free training plan. Let him know if you want it as well.

Gruesome aka Dr. Lisa Harrigan showed up on the age group podium in the First Capital Sprint Triathlon in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The race, at Guthrie Lake in Historic Guthrie, consisted of a 500 meter open water swim, 12.6 mile bike, and 5k run. Now, she moves on to an even longer distance triathlon.

Down in the land of the Hargroves, Columbus, Georgia described by TriColumbus as the “mecca of triathlon”, Tom Hargrove repped the Reapers proudly at the Chattahoochie Challenge Sprint Triathlon.

Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland and Virginia Brooks got back to their racing roots and took on the Escape to Blue Ridge Tri the Mountain. This was an incredibly scenic sprint triathlon race in the North GA Mountains. The swim was in the crystal clear waters of Lake Blue Ridge. The bike was an 18 mile out and back crossing over the lake with mountains towering in the background. The run left the Marina and headed towards town on Old Highway 76 and he was cheered on as he entered the Historic town of Blue Ridge ending in front of the Gazebo with the band “Playing On The Planet” rocking as he ran past the finish line. Both performed admirably and Virginia grabbed a top spot on the age group podium sporting her Reaper kit!

Finally, Coach Cube aka Fred Meher of our friend firm, TriCoachFlorida.com brought the heat and felt the burn as he raced the next in the MultiRace Mack Cycle Triathlon/Duathlon Trilogy Series. Many of you know this is the the oldest triathlon series in South Florida. Cube has been stellar fighting through the elements this year in spite of big changes in his life including moving houses, building his coaching firm, and working hard, and his results were strong again. He proudly took 2nd in age group.

With July soon in the books, the team will soon focus on the big month of August where many will join together at the Augusta 70.3 half ironman training camp on August 7th to 9th. This will include the Gatorfest and the Ride for a Reason. Many are racing the Tri to Beat Cancer in Athens, Georgia later in August and this will serve as another important team event.

As you can see, the team is busy and happy. If they aren’t racing they are training. And if they aren’t training they are hanging out and laughing together. Hope you can join us. Thanks again for following along. We will look forward to seeing you soon perhaps at one of our free open water sessions, a triathlon clinic, or training camp!

Triathlon Coach Kim Hargrove and TriCoachGeorgia Interviewed for the Wall Street Journal

/in , /by

So the story goes that over at TriCoachgeorgia, we have been working hard at building our website www.TriCoachGeorgia.com. This is a major undertaking as anyone who has taken on such a task knows and it’s a fluid process as we keep unrolling new facets.

We have been working with the best multimedia brand developer, Mr. Flynn Kaplan of DoggHouse Productions. He has designed new art, helped organize our content, made us standout. In short, he has raised our google rating to the highest levels.

Thus, we should not have been surprised when we were cold called recently by the Wall Street Journal writer, Ms. Rachel Bachman. When we asked her how she got our our name and number, she said she searched for Triathlon Coach and we were the first ones that came up on her search. She was writing on the topic of how to hack time. In other words, how do busy triathletes find the time to train.

After interviewing Triathlon Coach Slayer and Triathlon Coach KimPossible, she also interviewed one of our athletes, Seth Waltman aka TaxSlayer. She obviously interviewed some other athletes. In the end, she took the content she wanted most and that came from Triathlon Coach KimPossible. Below you can see the article in its’ entirety. There are many great tips therein. The moral of the story is if you work hard, often their are positive results. Hence our team hashtags of #DoYourJob and #ReapWhatYouSow!

 http://www.wsj.com/articles/secrets-from-triathlon-training-how-to-find-extra-hours-in-the-day-1434989146

Freedom and Liberty – TriCoachGeorgia

/in , /by

The Summer keeps on rolling for our reapers. July 4th was our nation’s independence day and our crew went out strong for their country, families, and team. Lots of smiles, PR’s, and podiums again were the story. TriKidsGeorgia and TriCoachGeorgia represented well alongside many of their counterparts from other clubs and teams.

Early in the week the TriKidsGeorgia had their King of the Mountain championship before bike practice. However, little did they know that to win the title and the donated KOM jersey from World Champion Melissa Hauschildt and her husband Jared they would have to climb the mountain of pickled beets by eating 6 in the quickest time among their male and female counterparts. This competition was designed to keep it fair despite age and ability as every kid can eat pretty fast. Congratulations go to all the participants, even those who vomited, and the winner Ellie.

Later in the week, several of our athletes ran through the pouring rain in the famous longstanding Peachtree Road Race. According to their website, the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race, organized by Atlanta Track Club, is the largest 10K in the world. In its 46th running, the AJC Peachtree Road Race has become a Fourth of July tradition for thousands of people throughout the metro Atlanta area and beyond.

Darth Vader aka Darsh Cook, Kim M., the Duncans (Caroline and her Team Dad David), IronMouse aka Amy Peavy-Smith, the Drs. Terminator, and new team member Wendy Metcalf ran hard. The latter even achieved a massive PR in her first race with the team under the stellar coaching of Kim Possible. Kim M. also did the #PRR race after scoring a midweek 3rd overall woman at the Robbins AirForce Base 5k!

Over at the Firecracker 5k/10k Road Race in Hampton Georgia, Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland and Firecracker aka Erica Carter both took top honors in their respective age groups (RT at 5/10k and FC at 10k). The former even took an astounding two minutes off his previous 10k PR!

In Devil Hills near the Outer Banks of North Carolina, TaxSlayer and TaxDr. aka Seth and Becky Waltman and their kids Ben and Allison ran the Freedom 5k while on vacation on Monday July 6. Results were strong across the family. Lots of smiles were to be had too.

Many of the other Reapers are digging deep for their late season races. Long bricks and runs are on the docket and the team is already stacking up yards and miles in all three disciplines.

A couple of the other bigballers from the team, BigBen aka Richard Nasser and Speedy Gonzalez aka Lester Benitez are staring down their Summer half ironman races, Ironman Muncie 70.3 and HITS Kingston, NY 70.3 respectively.

To wrap things up in this weekly summary blog, we should mention that training and racing are not all that is going on with the team. We are losing weight, keeping fit, and giving back to the sport in various forms and fashions.

We are working hard and looking after our families. We also find time to socialize online and in person. We support the TriKidsGeorgia achieving their dreams. The team is all about developing a close community that is welcoming of diversity and a range of ages, ethnicities, orientations, and abilities.

We don’t court professionals and elites. We court you, the everyday man and woman who uses multisport athletics to round out your life. Give us a call if you want to learn more about what we can offer you!