Let’s Go Camping! – TriCoachGeorgia

June 16, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

As #TeamTagg keeps up the fight, the youth team is heavy into swim meets and youth and age group triathlons this time of year and the adult team continues their builds for late season races. There were some big races and training days taking place across the good old USA this week!

We started off the week on a very positive note as Coach Slayer joined Ironman Maryland winner, Matt Bach, for a very well attended webinar on fueling for endurance sports presented by Generation UCan, one of our esteemed team affiliates. The webinar is located here.

Several of the TriKidsGeorgia took on Clemson Open Water race including Simon, the Slayers (Amy, Ellie, and Jake), and Allison and Ben. Results were strong, smiles were plentiful, and they all celebrated afterward!

While some of the reapers trained on the Augusta 70.3 course, TCGA/TKGA Coaches are supporting the Free Facebook Ironman Chattanooga Camp. Over 200 attended and the comments have been uniformly positive. Campers faced the heat and were able to swim, bike, and run the actual full or half course. They were very thankful to Coach BigBad and Slayer who were able to organize, sherpa, and guide along with some very other capable coaches. The social on the Riverboat Ferry was one to not forget.

Out West, temperatures were chilly and the scenery was stunning at the mid-June Yellowstone Half Marathon, which was set for its second annual running this summer just outside the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, a place filled with geysers, geothermal pools, canyons, mountains and forests spread 3,400 square miles in parts of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland was back at it after the Yellowstone 5k the day before. Results were strong like usual and his pictures were beautiful.

MadHatter aka Michelle Hughes took on Ironman Boulder 70.3 this week! The one-loop swim took place in the Boulder Reservoir. The water temperature of Boulder Reservoir is generally between 65-70 degrees F in June. The one-loop, 56-mile bike course was a fast and flowing course in North Boulder and Larimer Counties. It passed through the western neighborhoods of Longmont. With 1,200 feet of gain it tested her legs on the north end of the course. Finally, the two loop run course was very fast and only had 344 feet of gain. The 13.1 Mile route ran her along the Boulder Reservoir and the feeder canal. Most of the course is on dirt roads and trails. MadHatter did super with a 4th in age group and PR’ing the distance!

HFT took on the Not Father’s Day informal Half Ironman. This was described as a FREE self-supported 70.3 mile “race”. It was perfect for trying out all or any part of the 70.3 distance in a fun non-stressful environment! Results showed everyone suffered, showed grit and determination, and had a great time in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

On Sunday, the TriKidsGeorgia took on Peachkids Alpharetta. Keaton, Jack S and Luke, Harry, Addie, Isaac, Jack H., and Callie Rose rocked it out with astounding results in the heat. Most PR’d and/or were on the podium! You’d think that the race was enough for them but that was not the case at all. The TriKids practiced later in the stifling heat showing they are even more smoking than Mother Nature.

We now move to finish the month of June strong. Next up is Tinman Triathlon in Kansas and a birthday ultra for HFT in the Florida Panhandle, as well as The Lake Hartwell Olympic and Sprint triathlons (co-occurring) in the Go Race Endurance Series that we sponsor. No doubt the team will shine some more!

Pulling together to fulfill a child with special needs’ wish – TriCoachGeorgia

June 11, 2015/in Blog, News /by Slayer

TriCoachGeorgia (TCGa) & Community pulls together for Tagg

On June 2, Amy Burton Peavy Smith aka Ironmouse posted an update on Facebook about her son and his condition. Her and Steve Smith aka Viper’s son, Taggert, had just undergone another surgery to help him breathe. He has had nearly 50 surgeries in his five or six years alive. Amy posted that, before Tagg went back for his surgical procedure, he had asked if they could go to Disney World when he was released from the hospital. Amy posted on Facebook that with all of the expenses and her need to purchase a new car that a trip this year would not be possible.

Lester Benitez aka Speedy Gonzalez, one of her teammates, saw the post and contacted other TCGa teammates. Toni Corley, the better half to Paul Corley aka IronClyde, created a Go Fund Me account with the goal of raising $2000 for the family. The group discussed a secret Facebook page to use as a place for people to go to donate money. Toni set up the Send Tagg to Disney page and added the Go Fund Me Account. The group started adding friends and family of the Smith’s.

Donations started rolling in. After about 3 hours, the fund had close to $2000. The group decided to raise the goal to $5000. The $5000 number was surpassed on June 3. The group decided that they had to tell the Smith family about the fund. As the fund got larger, the secret was going to get harder to keep.

Harvey Gayer aka Coach Slayer and Seth Waltman aka TaxSlayer went over to the family’s house at 5:30pm. Amy and Tagg had only been home for about an hour when they arrived. Seth had decided to create a letter from Mickey Mouse telling Tagg that he and his family were coming to Disney World. Tagg opened the gifts, but did not really understand what was happening. He was tired and on medications to help his breathing.

Seth showed Amy and Steve what had been done for the family. As Seth scrolled through the Facebook page, Amy and Steve started to understand what had been done for their family. On the final page that Seth showed them, Amy and Steve saw the amount of money that had been raised. At the time of this writing, the fund has over $7000 in it.

The family is going on an all-expense paid trip to Disney and there is a lot left over to pay for medical expenses associated with Tagg’s ongoing care. A hashtag #TeamTagg has been launched. The Smiths were overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone. All who contributed felt very good in the end. It was a true community effort. The team was very thankful as well. More importantly, Tagg gets his wish come true to hold him through more dark times that are coming medically.

Coast to Coast! – TriCoachGeorgia

June 9, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

We are having an amazing year in 2015. There is no better way to put it. We have three worlds qualifiers, one in the Xterra Worlds in Maui and two for 70.3 Worlds in Austria, already and many USAT Age Group national championship qualifiers amongst are many other achievements! One can just imagine the team video in December and how difficult it will be for Viper, aka Steve Smith, to stuff it all in!

When we aren’t on the podiums, we are securing personal records (PR’s). When we aren’t securing PR’s we are fighting the elements and showing astounding grit. We are pursuing our dreams and realizing them. In the mean time we are laughing and smiling and doing good deeds for the community.

Perhaps most importantly, the TriKidsGeorgia feed off the athletes of TriCoachGeorgia and vice versa. The synergy between the two is clearly evident. Also, we are proud to be a vital part of TeamTagg that is pulling for Tagg Smith, son of IronMouse, aka Amy Peavy-Smith and Viper, to overcome some congenital medical issues and many surgeries. A lot of money (over $6660 as of this writing) for a trip to Disney World for the family and medical expenses was raised in a heroic social media effort led by Speedy Gonzalez aka Lester Benitez, TaxSlayer (winner of this week’s Oconee Enterprise Athlete of the Week, and IronClyde and his better half aka Paul and Toni Corley.

After a brilliant month of May, which saw astounding results in various races across the country, the team moved on to June, which, after an All-Comers track meet in Athens, Georgia, brought them to both coasts. According to Assistant Coach/Team Mom Fran, this was a new PR for Jack in the mile at the all-comers track meet tonight (5:54) and Luke had a great time running some sprint distances.

A few of our youth athletes raced the local Athens Tri the Y which is a nice introduction to the sport. Harry, Jack and Luke, Caroline and David Andrew, Lindley, Molly, Ethan, Nico, Hammer, and brothers Jack and Freeman showed good sportsmanship, solid effort, and strong results! Many other former teammates and friends were there too! Also, Coach BigBadWolfe, Half Caff, DarkHorse, Social D.,and MadDawg among others were on course to help along with our team affiliates from Athens, Georgia Cycle Sport Concepts and Athens FleetFeet.

In middle Georgia, the Rocket aka Chan Carter took the overall win in the inaugural WalkGA 5K & 1Mile Fun Run & Mutt Strut which took place in front of the UGA Cooperative Extension office in Sandersville, Ga. There were two hills and lots of curves as the course went through the various side streets and past beautiful homes.

Racing in the iconic Escape from Alcatraz was Coach Spartacus aka Brian Patterson, Todd H., Sparkles aka Candace Zipf, Godfather aka Chad Kimbrell. Godfather rode his motorcycle cross country and, in doing so, raised funds for charity. The team performed mightily as they did in fact escape from Alcatraz. However, the whole weekend, as fun as it was, was marred by an incident where we reached notoriety for the wrong reasons. Sparkles and Godfather’s bikes were stolen from the hotel prompting this news report.

On the other coast, many of our athletes raced the Trybee Sprint Triathlon in Tybee Island. This is one of the Go Race Productions’ Georgia Endurance Series and perhaps the crown jewel of such. There is still time to get your 4 races in and compete for the series awards!

TriKidsGeorgia athletes racing Trybee Sunday included Jack and Harry who just raced in Athens. Also the relay Reapers including Jake, Simon and Simon’s Dad, Jim, made another appearance. They are well known in this series for strong relay races. The young Slayers, Amy and Ellie, did their usual work, and Allison relayed it with her Dad, TaxSlayer aka Seth Waltman. Finally, Ben from Athens and Keaton from Atlanta raced hard as well!

On the adult side, we had Xena, aka Gina Farrell, DocSlay, aka Julie Gayer, and Tax Dr., aka Becky Waltman, in a dog fight in their age group. Other racers included podium winners FC aka CJ O’Mara (next year’s team entry for USAT Most Inspirational Comeback of the Year Award) and EMANBOOM aka Estevan Price in his team debut, and many friends of the team from all3sports.com, SwimBikeRunBoro and TriAugusta. Results were phenomenal and everyone came away with a smile except for a really tough swim!

The TriKidsGeorgia swim meets are in full swing now and they are practicing three times per week at no charge. These kids can’t be stopped in the water. The youth triathlon team, parents, and coaches are very welcoming and practices are free unless there is a special charge as for a special guest instructor. Contact Coach Slayer at [email protected] for more information.

The youth team is heavy into swim meets this time of year and the adult team continues their builds for late season races. Coaches are supporting the Free Facebook Ironman Chattanooga Camp. And there are more big races to come in June including the MadHatter aka Michelle Hughes taking on Ironman Boulder 70.3 next week! Look forward to seeing potentially another worlds qualifying level performance from her.

My First Half Ironman Experience – a detailed race report by RollingThunder – TriCoachGeorgia

June 5, 2015/in Blog, Race Reports /by Slayer

We chose to share this race report by RollingThunder aka Troy Garland because we believe that it illustrates the many variables that go into the lead up to and actual race of a first time half ironman.

This race was Ironman Chattanooga 70.3. The river swim lacked the current of the full Ironman there last Autumn. The bike had some slight challenges added and is described as rolling. A power meter was very helpful here. A challenging run course with some steep climbs amongst some flat stretches met the triathletes.

RT has been a model of consistency in training and he comes to us without prior coaching. He had done a few short course triathlons but wanted TriCoachGeorgia and Coach Slayer to take him to the next level.

In joining the team and taking on coaching, RT has lost significant weight, logged a ton of yards and miles, even coming in the top 50 overall in the USAT NCC Challenge. He has dropped his times at 5k through Marathon, as well as a PR in just about every triathlon he has attempted since starting coaching.

Please read this race report and let us know if you have any questions about the training required, the fueling or weight loss techniques we employed, or race strategy we employed. We hope it is informative:

Chattanooga, TN
Ironman 70.3

Total Time = 5:50:50
Overall Rank =
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 145/285

Pre Race

I arrived in Chattanooga on Friday, May 15 @ 6:30PM. Atlanta traffic prevented
the early packet pickup that I had planned. Checked into Choo Choo, and rode
down to Ironman Village to get a feel for the layout and parking situation. Silver
Diner (Choo Choo restaurant) pizza was for dinner then early to bed.

I ate a lite breakfast on Saturday morning at the hotel before heading to Ironman
Village. Arrived at packet pickup @ 9:15AM for a smooth check-in, chip
verification, and Tri Club check-in. Terminator (Dick) was exiting the village when
I arrived. We spoke briefly before I entered packet pickup. The transition area
was still being setup, so I examined the swim exit, bike exit, and run exit.

10:45AM practice swim in the river with wet suit. Water felt cool, perfect for a
wet suit swim. Swam upstream from swim exit to first bridge and back. Water
current was barely noticeable until swimming through the bridge opening. The
swim was about 15 minutes for @ 825 yds. Felt more confident about the swim
after the practice session. I headed back to the truck to put up the wet suit and
get on my bike. For lunch I grabbed a quick wrap sandwich and PowerAde Zero.

12:00PM started bike practice ride. Legs felt great and the bike was functioning
perfectly. Tried to follow the run course, but ended up getting frustrated with the
traffic and my lack of direction trying to follow the course. Never was able to get
into a steady training pace for any stretch. I punctured my rear tire on the wood
bridge returning to the Ironman Village area. No issues changing the tube or
airing the tire with CO2 cartridge, just considered it good practice that I hoped not
to need on race day. My 30 minute ride turned into an hour plus outing. Returned
back to truck to lock bike and change into running shoes.

1:15PM started the run by heading back toward the finish line before turning right
up the hill onto the run course. Legs felt really good, so I was constantly slowing
to keep my pace in check. The two mile run went by quickly and helped restore
the positive energy about the upcoming race. I checked my bike into transition
before heading back to Choo Choo to cleanup.

5:00PM Taco Mac for dinner with the Tri Coach Georgia crew. Love the TCGA
family for the support, advice, and helping relieve some of the pre-race nerves. I
had a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich with sweet potato fries plus chocolate
cake (thanks Slayer) to top off the fuel reserves before heading back to the hotel.
I packed tri bag and double checked gear, nutrition, and supplies before mixing
UCAN, water, and PowerAde Zero for bike and transition. In bed @ 11:00PM, but
did not sleep much.

Race day and I am up at 3:45AM to eat and triple check everything. Water, peanut
butter, crackers, UCAN bar are for breakfast. I eat as much as I can, but I am not
hungry as race day excitement and nerves build. I grab a bottle of water, load my
gear, check off everything on the list for the finial time, and leave for Chattanooga
70.3. Parking was quick, but the few dollars paid on Saturday had turned into $15
for event day parking.

5:00AM setup transition area, load hydration bottles, and check tire pressure on
bike before proceeding to the bus for swim start. Quick bathroom stop before
getting on the bus. Rode with Nasser on the bus across the river. It was good to
have someone familiar to talk with while waiting for go time. I ended up
somewhere in the middle of the swim start line. I should have taken shoes and
extra fluids to sip on while waiting on line. My race finally got underway @ 52
minutes after the pros started.

Swimming

00:38:02 | 2112 yards | 1:58 / M
Age Group: 211/285
Performance: Good, about what I expected
Suit: Xterra Vector Pro Blaze
Course: 200 yd up stream, right turn to middle of river, left turn to exit at
Ross’s Landing Start type:
Water temp: 72

The water was cool when I jumped feet first into the river. It felt good
with a wet suit. The toes on my left foot cramped a little as I hit the
water, but worked out quickly as the swim started. I got into a good
steady pace as I followed buoys upstream to the first turn. The course
was crowded until we started on the downstream section of the course.
Continued to use the buoys to sight as I turned downstream to make my
way to the swim exit. The bridges were good reference points for
sighting, but still did not swim as straight as I needed. Left calf cramped
mildly about twenty minutes into the swim, but loosened-up after about a
minute of flexing my ankle. Things began to get tight again as I
approached the steps to exit the water. It was great to hear from the Tri
Coach Georgia crew as I exited the water and moved to transition. The wet
suit peelers were able to snatch my suit off with on quick pull as I had
managed to get it off my shoulders and arms. I felt god about the swim as
I made my way to transition. I did what I expected to do for the first leg.
I entered transition feeling good, warmed up, and ready for the bike.

T1

Time: 05:47
Performance: OK, slower than I wanted

The transition area was fairly congested as I made my way to the bike. I sat by
my bike, dried my feet, and put on socks and bike shoes. The race belt with bib
number, helmet, and sun glasses went on next as I got a shot of PowerAde. As I
grabbed my bike and started toward transition exit there was a traffic jam of
athletes trying to get on the course. Everyone ended up having to walk most of
the way to the mount line due to the congestion. As I exited transition I
immediately moved to the far right to an open area for a clean mount.

Biking

02:58:52 | 56 miles | 18.78 mile/hr
Split 25.9: 01:26:17 | 25.9 miles | 18.01 mile/hr
Split 56.0: 01:32:35 | 30.1 miles | 19.51 mile/hr
Age Group: 145/285
Overall: 1233/2214
Performance: Good, a little better than expected
Course: Rolling hills
Road: Mostly good asphalt roads with several very rough spot and
railroad crossings
Cadence: 80 avg / 104 max

I made it to the far right of the course to mount after crossing the line. The bike
was set in the proper gear to head out onto the bike course. The bike did not feel
right as I got started, so I stopped to check tires. It was just paranoia from the
flat tire I had the day before the race, since both tires were good to go. As I
started the climb up the first hill away from transition I realized that my Garmin
and power meter were not synced. It took me a couple of minutes to get my
watch squared away. A short distance into the ride the first of several bumpy
areas was traversed. I lost my gels, CO2 cartridges, and adapter when I hit the
bump too fast. The area looked like a used bike swap meet with all of the bottles
and other bike parts scattered on the pavement. I felt very good on the bike after
somewhat of a rough start. I worked to manage my power output on the hills. I
got passed a lot on the uphill and passed more on the downhill side. After
worrying about the “hilly” course leading up to the race, I thought the course was
fun and fast. The rain caused me to hold back on the faster downhill sections and
sharper curves. Car traffic caused slowdowns on several parts of the ride. I drank
water and UCAN (3 scoops), water, PowerAde zero mix during the ride. At the 2nd
aid station I got a few hits off of a bottle of orange Gatorade. The entire ride went
better than I expected. I managed to stay tucked in aero position the vast
majority or the ride, and my legs felt good. Looking back I feel that I could have
gone harder on the bike, but I was trying to play it smart in order to have a good
run. The ride into transition and dismount were uneventful. My plan to take a gel
at the end of the ride did not happen since I lost both gels early in the ride.

T2

Time: 04:07
Overall: OK, could have been a little quicker

Dismounted at the line and trotted with the bike into the transition area. The row
my bike rack was on was congested with several other bikes and athletes, so I
took a longer route around to get racked. The helmet and sunglasses were shed
as soon as my Shiv was secure. I sat down to remove my bike shoes, dry my feet
(wet from rain), put on dry socks, and put on my Hokas. I took another shot of
PowerAde before moving to the run start.

Running

The run started really good right out of transition. I got my run legs
under me quickly. The hill up from the river went smooth. It was great
seeing the Tri Coach Georgia tent and hearing all of the cheering as I
climbed the hill leaving the river. My pace over the first two miles was
much faster than I had planned, but my legs felt really good. Around mile
two I took a Gu gel with water and concentrated on getting my pace under
control. The first lap went according to plan with good pacing and a few
sips of water or Gatorade at each aid station. Hit another Gu at mile 7 aid
station. The sun came out from behind the clouds and the temperature
was starting to rise as I got into the second lap of the run course. Around
mile 8 my left hamstring started to tighten. I tried the cola at the mile 8
and mile 10 aid stations. The cola caused me to burp each time after
ingesting, and I could not tell that I received any benefit from drinking it.
Then both quads began to tighten-up around mile 9. Just past the mile 10
marker my left calf cramped. I walked / ran the last 3 miles of the race. I
caught up with Paul Corley around mile 11.5. He gave me some salt, but it
was way too late for this to help my cramping. I struggled
walking/jogging to the finish. Coach Slayer was waiting under the bridge
yelling as I headed down the hill to the finish line. I was extremely happy
to finish, but disappointed with the run. Should have had a sub 2 hour
half.

Post-race

Overall: I had a good race until cramps got me at the end of the run. I went into
the Chattanooga Half Ironman hoping to come in under 6 hours. I was shooting
for a sub 45 minute swim, a 3+ hour bike, and 2 hour run. Overall I
accomplished the main goal of finishing my first 70.3. I was mentally and
physically prepared for the challenge of the half distance. I think with a few
tweaks to my nutrition plan I can have an even better race at Augusta in the fall.

I stayed in Chattanooga Sunday night after the race. Ate dinner at Blue Plate
with some of the Tri Augusta members. Felt good the morning after other than
sore quads and extremely sore calf. Slept in and had a late breakfast buffet at
the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. At 11:15AM I took in the Chattanooga
Lookouts minor league baseball game before driving home. Quads and calf were
much sorer on Tuesday two days after the race. By Saturday morning all of the
soreness had been worked out of my legs.

Mental exertion [1-5] 3 (Most of the mental exertion came from the unknowns
before the race)
Physical exertion [1-5] 4 (Hills and rising temperature on the run were the
biggest obstacles)

Evaluation

Course challenge: Moderate
Organized: Very well organized
Events on-time: Everything started as scheduled
Lots of volunteers: Plenty of volunteers all over the course
Plenty of drinks: Aid stations were well stocked
Post-race activities: Food spread was disappointing after the race
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

TriCoachGeorgia Team Member Named Oconee County Athlete of the Week

June 4, 2015/in Blog, News /by Slayer

The coaching staff of TriCoachGeorgia is very proud of TaxSlayer, aka Seth Waltman, as he was named the Oconee Enterprise Athlete of the Week. He is a great athlete and a huge part of the team. His training has been impeccable as evidenced by his top 10 overall result in the USAT’s NCC Challenge and Seth has made dramatic improvements in his racing since joining TCGa.

Prior to joining the team in late 2012, Seth had never been on a podium in any race and now he is a regular on the podium. Seth continues to set personal records in almost all of his races. He finished 20th out of 402 in the swim portion at Ironman Chattanooga. He has taken over 12 minutes off his best half marathon since he joined the TCGa. He battled through some terrible vomiting in Raleigh to finish strong. Seth’s continued success as an athlete will show as he competes in Ironman Louisville in October.

Seth is not only a great athlete. He is willing to help his teammates out when they need him. He has been a Sherpa or helper for our team on numerous occasions. Also, he played a pivotal part as the team rallied around the son of other team members in a fundraiser that will send the family to Disney World.

In the Autumn of 2014, Seth helped to bring the youth team under the auspices of TCGa and helps with issues outside of coaching the kids. He has organized team travel, planned numerous events and helped with team purchases. He sponsors the team as well. The TriKidsGeorgia team is lucky to have a dedicated parent, like Seth, help with the team. All told, there are not a lot of teams that have a guy like TaxSlayer and we consider him a huge part of our core. Read more about him in the Oconee Enterprise article below:

Athlete of the Week: Waltman excels in national triathlon

[Full Article & text taken courtesy of The Oconee Enterprise Newspaper. Written by Benjamin Wolk]

To get into triathlons, all Seth Waltman had to do was make his wife a little mad.

In May of 2009, Waltman bought a bike. At the time, he wasn’t very active, so his wife questioned his motive for buying it. She made it quite clear that he “better use that bike.”

Waltman knew he’d left himself no choice, so he signed up to race in the inaugural Tri-2-Beat Cancer Triathlon held at Sandy Creek Park in Athens.

“I’ll do that because she was really angry,” Waltman said. “So I did it that year — slow, but I got through it. I did it the next year, then I didn’t really do it again.”

But Waltman’s world of competitive racing had only just begun.

In the fall of 2012, he started seeing some of his friends posting to Facebook about a variety of different races. Then he saw a post for an Ironman in Augusta. Waltman figured if they could do it, so could he, though he knew he’d have to train.

At the time, Waltman’s son competed for a youth triathlon team coached by Harvey Gayer. Waltman approached Gayer to see if he could train him to get ready for the Ironman.

Gayer was happy to help.

“The rest is history,” Waltman said. “I’ve done two more half Irons. I did a full Ironman and numerous sprints. The list goes on.”

As Waltman lost some weight, his times got faster. He built a bunch of friendships, Gayer included, that helped motivate his progress. Because of his improvements, Waltman joined TriCoachGeorgia, a local triathlon team headed by Gayer.

From December to February, the team competed in a USA Triathlon national competition called the National Challenge Competition that helps encourage triathlon training during the winter months.

Each team tracked individual mileage over that time, which translated to a points system. Swimming a mile earned 10 points. Running a mile was worth three. A mile on the bike was good enough for one point.

As the competition developed, Waltman — at the end of each month — found himself in the top 10 nationally among 4350 athletes. In the middle of February, still in the top 10, Waltman finally decided that he wanted to prove to himself and others that he could finish in the top 10.

After running 767 miles, swimming 53 miles and biking 2621 miles, Waltman placed 7th out of all competitors. As a result, he’s been named this edition’s Ellis Pain Center/Oconee Enterprise Athlete of the Week.

“Not everybody knows, but in the triathlon community, it’s a pretty cool thing,” Waltman said.

But Waltman wasn’t alone in his successful endeavor.

As a team, TriCoachGeorgia — a team made up of Waltman, Gayer and numerous others, including member of the club’s youth team TriKidsGeorgia — took the first-place crown over a team from Atlanta. They did so just barely, however, winning by about 200 points, which isn’t much when dealing with 70-person teams.

“We beat the team from Atlanta on the last day,” Waltman said. “Over three months, we’re talking about a pretty small margin it was close.”

Call Me May Be – TriCoachGeorgia

June 2, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

This exciting week in TriCoachGeorgia and TriKidsGeorgia history started off early on Memorial Day on Monday. While many were recovering in some form or fashion, others fought it out on race courses throughout the world!

Rolling Thunder celebrated in his typical fashion running 8k 5k 4k 3k and 2k at the Cordele Kiwanis Memoral Day Running Celebration. He came first in AG and was fifth age graded OA and 9th OA for the 8k (38:15)! The man can’t be stopped.

In Athens, Ga, TriKids Caroline and D.A. ran the Running with the Dawgs 5k. TriKids Dad David ran a 19:53 and won male masters. Caroline had a good race, and was only about 10 secs off a PR and was 2nd AG. D.A. at still 8 years old was 3rd AG behind two 10-yr olds.

On Saturday, Taylor Lewis aka HFT headed out for a little appetizer along with Tom Hargrove, father of Team Hargrove. They raced the Publix Grandman Triathlon which began with a 1/3 mile swim straight out into picturesque Mobile Bay and back beside the Fairhope Municipal Pier. After the swim came a 18 mile bike ride through the charming city of Fairhope. The ride began with one steep hill and five miles of rolling countryside. The race to the finish line began with a 3.1 mile run through the streets of Fairhope and along the Bay. Results were strong for our two participants who smiled wide before and after the race.

Saturday morning brought out #TeamHargrove to the Lacing up for Lupus 5k where Coach KimPossible aka Kim Hargrove and Bear knocked it out, while Dad, Taz aka Wes Hargrove, won the walk with a blistering 16 min 5k time. He took no prisoners during this time trial!

New team member, Virginia B., had a rousing entry to her team membership. She crushed the Xterra Deep South 15k trail run and took masters.

On Saturday evening, we had several TriKidsGeorgia and a couple of older reapers including Tyler Chambers aka LoneRanger and RollingThunder race the Warrior Romp XC at North Oconee High School trail. Addie, Caroline, Jack H, David Jr., Nicolas and Simon represented the youth squad admirably and ran their own races without pacing. We value independent mentally and physically strong kids. AG winners took home huge trophies (see below)!

We had several friends of the team and athletes race Ironman Raleigh 70.3 including Judith Garrard aka Judas Priest (who won her age group and qualified for her 5th 70.3 world championship), Seth Waltman aka TaxSlayer, Chris Keysor aka Gator, and Karl Langenbach aka Longman. Also Pounder McGritty was out there with the Greenville, SC crew knocking down his first half-ironman and Frank H. joined us for some laughs too. Coach Slayer was on the run course with McGritty and her Greenville crew cheering our reapers and friends on! Results were pretty astounding on what was a tough swim and brutally hot and unshaded run course.

Special shout outs to Gator and Longman for top percentage finishes and TaxSlayer for finishing off his race under 6 hours after a tough bout of vomiting early on would’ve had most DNF.

All told, this was another great weekend for the Reapers of TriCoachGeorgia and friends of the team far and wide. We continue to have fun, smile, and prove doubters wrong on the way to PR’s, new distance races, and in who can have the most laughs while kicking ass in triathlons and single sport races across the world!

See you next weekend with races on both coasts including Coach Spartacus, Sparkles, and Godfather at Escape from Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay and many youth and adults at our favorite local race of the year, Trybee Sprint via our affiliate Go Race Productions in the Georgia Endurance Series, in Tybee Island, Ga. Bring on June!

USA Triathlon National Challenge Competition Champions TriCoachGeorgia 01

Against the Odds, Local Athens Georgia Triathlon Team wins National Challenge Competition – TriCoachGeorgia

May 28, 2015/in Blog, News /by Slayer

TriCoachGeorgia, who also included several members of TriKidsGeorgia, won the Division IV 2014-2015 USA Triathlon National Challenge Competition.

TriCoachGeorgia won the Division IV (teams with 33-80 members) competition for Biking, Running, and Overall. More than 2,000 teams competed, and with only 50 members (30 short of the maximum allowed), the title of “Champions” in 2/3 racing categories and the overall win is astonishing.

How the National Challenge Competition Works

“Designed to get triathletes excited about offseason training at the club level, the National Challenge Competition features official USA Triathlon clubs from across the country going head-to-head to see who could log the most training miles during the competition.”

According to the USAT, “the NCC featured three sessions, each one month in duration. Clubs recorded their training miles and submitted them on the NCC website for automatic calculation and ranking. Mileage totals were weighted with each swimming mile equaling 10 miles and each running mile equaling three miles. Cycling miles were not weighted.” TriCoachGeorgia, one of the smallest clubs competing, outpointed on a per person average basis most of the larger competing clubs from the rest of the country.

In Division 4, TriCoachGeorgia was in a dog fight with the Black Triathlete Association (BTA), who had the overall individual point winner, Kevin Petty, who was selected to race this year’s world championship in Kona. This battle was waged in pools, on trainers and tarmac, on treadmills, trails and tracks. BTA won the swim month and TriCoachGeorgia pulled out both the bike and run months for the overall win. Much on social media was made of the head to head competition between two of the most active and growing clubs in the country.

TriCoachGeorgia Individual Highlights and Sponsorship Recognition

Many of the TriCoachGeorgia team members pulled down awesome numbers and Seth Waltman and Head Coach Harvey Gayer were top 10 overall for the competition. Right behind was Reuben Adams who was a top 10 male overall. Lester Benitez and Troy Garland rounded out the top 50 overall. Age group winners included Cullen Goss, Judith Garrard, and Dick Thompson for the squad who relied on fewer members than the majority of clubs for points, meaning the team members that contributed all did so in a big way.

TriCoachGeorgia was very thankful for their fueling affiliates and sponsors, Generation Ucan, Nuun, and Infinit. Some prefer slower acting carbs and some prefer faster acting carbs and and these firms covered all options through some difficult, long and back to back training sessions wonderfully.

The team received much support from triathlon suppliers All3Sports.com, Fleet Feet Athens, and Georgia Cycle Sports Concepts. A wide variety of goods at good pricing points is available from these good folks. Special shout out to Fusion Sports USA for eliminating our chafing issues nearly 100%!

More Info about the USAT NCC and TriCoachGeorgia

Full NCC results are available at race-tracker.net/usat. Registration for the 2015-2016 competition will begin Nov. 1, 2016. TriCoachGeorgia is off to a great year following their participation in the NCC. They help you to #DoYourJob (the official TriCoachGeorgia slogan) by assisting children and adults of all levels and abilities map out smart, strategic plans to get them to their priority races strong and healthy. Their coaches care – they are available, involved and celebrate your achievements.

The Week After – TriCoachGeorgia

May 24, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

Last weekend was virtually impossible for us to track all of our athletes. There simply was not enough time in the day. Success was found on so many levels at so many races from overcoming wrecks, flats, vomiting, etc to first timers at half and full Ironman distances to personal records at different distances to podiums and world championships slots.

We are celebrating these successes. The team is on fire. However, the party doesn’t end. It is only beginning.

Most of us are recovering in some form or fashion but like the river that flows, some of us are racing again. Others are on a taper for races in the near horizon. We have quite a few racing Ironman Raleigh 70.3 in two weeks including Judith Garrard aka Judas Priest, Seth Waltman aka TaxSlayer, Chris Keysor aka Gator, and Karl Langenbach aka Longman. Coach Slayer sits this one out but is showing some nice improvement in his recovery from the bike wreck in early April.

Many are still in the throes of training for early season A and B races like Trybee of the Go Race Georgia Endurance Race series, Ironman Coeur D’Alene Ironman UK, Ironman Steelhead 70.3, and Ironman Muncie 70.3. There is also the self supported HFT endurance races in Florida. See our FB page for details of the latter.

Our weekend got off to a huge start. Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland took 4th OA at the Melvin Ingram 5K with a huge PR only one week off his first half ironman! The annual run/walk at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, GA was established to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and money to support the Willie R. (Bill) Ingram and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Melvin Ingram, USMC, Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships annually to full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, NROTC or chemistry.

Coaches sent several racers to Go Race productions Old Capital Sprint Triathlon and Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga. Those racing included Rolling Thunder, Chan and Erica Carter aka Rocket and Firecracker, Darsh Cook aka Darsh Vader, Kim Mickalonis (along with RT also in her backyard one week off of Ironman Chattanooga 70.3) and Danielle Cheek aka Social D. The Slayers and TaxSlayers also showed up and the Reapers relay rocked it. The team dug deep again. Results were awesome and the podium was loaded with team members, both youth and adults. Others improved their times massively from last year and smiled while the reaped what they sowed.

TriCoachFlorida Head Coach and TriCoachGeorgia athlete Cube aka Fred Meher, took on Miami Man 70.3 in the windy horrid heat. This is South Florida’s longest running Half Iron Distance Triathlon. Cube banged out a 1st in AG and 17th OA for a huge day.

From TriKidsGa, D.A. went to PAALS Cycling Festival and took 6th in AG and the youth team sent several to 1 Can Tri Super Sprint in Snellville, Ga. This is another one in their Five Star series. These events are designed to be fun and for the entire family.

According to Megan Hayes, “Harry, Jack, Lane & Nathan raced in the adult super sprint. Harry was in the 1st wave and the other boys were in the 2nd wave. Unfortunately, the volunteer on the bike course sent the first few racers the wrong way so Harry ended up doing the bike and run leg on his bike (+2.25 extra miles); his time did not get adjusted and therefore he ended up in 4th place in the 19 & under.

Jack got 1st, Lane was 2nd and Nathan 3rd in the 19 & under. They all competed well today.

Others raced there too. Megan wrote “Addie got 1st in 10-11 year old girls and had a flat tire with about 1 mile to go but still finished strong!

Isaac was 2nd in 8-9 year old boys and his friend, Jack, was 4th in that age group. This was Jack’s first race and he just decided to do it last night, so he had no training and rode Isaac’s mountain bike. Finally, Callie Rose was 2nd in 6-7 year old girls, and she missed 1st by 4 seconds! She did better on her bike but is still a little scared. “We have little doubt she will conquer those fears.”

All told, this was another great week for the team. We have done our jobs in training on a consistent basis. Now our tactics and athletes’ commitment to them are proving themselves on the race course.

A very BIG week – TriCoachGeorgia

May 21, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

We couldn’t wait any longer. The huge week arrived. And we answered the bell in stellar fashion!

While the youth squad put in a huge training week, Taz aka Wes Hargrove left Columbus, Ga and headed out to race Ironman Texas for the 4th time this year on Saturday. He hammered it despite some horrible vomiting. PR’s on the bike and a huge swim. We also had Brad do his job there overcoming all kinds of odds to arrive at the finish in 12 hours. Friend of the team Dustin from Fleet Feet Athens ran into a bike wreck and had to pull out.

Also, we had Coach BigBad race the 10th edition of the XTERRA Southeast Championship at Oak Mountain State Park in Shelby County, Alabama. The race doubled as the 2015 USA Triathlon Off-Road National Championship race. He lit the course on fire and made it to MAUI for the world championship later this year!

Coach BigBad had a lot on his mind this weekend too with a lot of his athletes racing. While he raced, another one of his athletes @all3sportscom All3Eeedee hit Challenge Knoxville. This is the USAT long course championship and she came in 2nd in AG for the olympic!

Also, over in Chattanooga, Tennesee, we had over 10 doing Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga aka #IM703CHOO. Kim M., Terminator aka Dick Thompson, IronClyde aka Paul Corley, Ingo, DarkHorse aka Angela Adams, IronHorse aka Reuben Adams, Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland, Xena aka Gina Farrell, McGritty aka Rhonda McGinty, BigBen aka Richard Nasser, Lone Ranger aka Ty Chambers, Alabama Slammer aka Chris Cosby, and The Cock, aka Peter Schriver raced. Coach Slayer and Spartacus were on course in support along with Tax Slayer aka Seth Waltman, Viper aka Steve Smith, and a whole host of family and friends. Results were super strong across the board and PR’s and first time finishers were commonplace.

Meanwhile, Todd H., Social D., and HOSS hit the Turtle Crawl triathlon in Jekyll Island. Both had a blast and showed commitment to the task at hand and great results.

In Brookhaven at the Bolt 5k, TriKids Jack and Luke tore up a hilly course. Each came in with a top placing.

Along with TriKid Caroline, her Dad David, and TriKid’s Ethan’s Mom Laura, Alan, owner of Jittery Joes in Watkinsville, hit a well respected local 10k for PR attempts at the Marigold 10k. This flat and fast USATF-certified course and Peachtree qualifier (#GA13032WC) is the oldest 10K race in Georgia, second only to the Peachtree 10K. The race was held as part of the annual Winterville Marigold Festival Festival in Pittard Park. Uniformly strong results were garnered and more PRs too!

All weekend long, Godfather aka Chad Kimbrell, Sparkles aka Candace Zipf, TTT aka Todd Nixon, and Hurricane Sandee Daust did the American-TTT in Ohio. This race is described on the website as a triathlon achievement of epic proportions! “Experience 3 consecutive days of racing, gelling together 4 races covering a total of more than 140 miles for the weekend. You will find yourself swimming in the chilly spring-fed lakes, riding the most technically challenging hills in Ohio, and finishing with breathtaking runs along the trail systems climbing and descending those same hillsides.” Results for the crew were very strong as Hurricane placed first solo female (again) and TTT got the demons off his back. Sparkles and Godfather had great races going but ran into some awful flats and a wreck for the former (no injury but the bike may be hurting).

You’d think we could rest and recover. However, this team is like a flowing river. There’s no stopping us. Bring on the next weekend of races and solid training!

Taper and Tall Pines Madness – May 2015 – TriCoachGeorgia

May 12, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

TriCoachGeorgia is just now starting to hit our stride. Races are coming fast and furious for the youth and adults on the team. Training is in full swing for many too. This weekend may seem a bit light as many of us are facing our hardest taper week, but next weekend all hell breaks loose with Ironman Texas, Ironman Chattanooga 70.3, Xterra Southeast Championships, American TTT, Marigold 10k as part of the Winterville, Ga Marigold Festival, etc.

Our number one race this weekend is a two part slug fest at Clarks Hill Lake in Lincolnton, Georgia. There we will race the Go Race Productions, two Tall Pines events. There is an olympic distance on Saturday and the Sprint distance triathlon on Sunday. We really jammed out last year at both races and stamped our place in the Georgia Tri Series history books.

Some of the folks racing the olympic distance included IronMouse aka Amy Peavy-Smith finally getting to race after her previous cancelled one, BigBen aka Richard Nasser in a tune up for Choo 70.3 next week. Also we saw former team members Hurricane Sandee the racing machine and TTT, aka Todd N, just getting back on the course. We have Ironmouse for the double, the Slayer girls, including DocSlay, RedVenger, and Jr. Slayer, as well as Harry from the youth team.

For both races, conditions were rough in the swim and the heat really picked up on the run, but we seemed to fight through it. Results for theSaturday olympic went very well as expected. Mouse with a first in age group and Big Ben with a second in age group and a blistering run. Hurricane was first overall woman. TTT ran into some problems with his swim.

On the sprint, TTT bounced back for a big race. Mouse was back on the podium, and Harry, and every one of the Slayers were first in AG. Number 14, Simon and Jim Casey also came in as first relay team! Hurricane won overall female again and Go Race put on another wonderful set of races with all mothers recognized. It was great to see Ingo, Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland, and Coaches Slayer and Spartacus out in support, along with a lot of family and friends.

Also on Sunday, the team had Darsh Vader (Cook) take on the Mother’s Day 13.1 in Dacula, Ga. The entire course ran on a wide paved road through a gorgeous and scenic park. Darsh had a blast on the 3 loops and an out-and-back to make up mileage. Her run progress is evident almost daily. Augusta 70.3 won’t stand a chance!

With another great week in the books, the team turns to a huge weekend of racing! Time to #DoOurJob #ReapWhatWeSow so we can #PartyInTheUSA!

Smell the Wildflower – weekly summary May 2015 TriCoachGeorgia

May 7, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

You can’t have every weekend packed out with races and big swims or rides. Although we have had a packed out schedule lately, we are facing a relatively lighter one this weekend. Still there is plenty of action, and we have a huge month of May on the way!

Starting off for us this week, Young Stud, Cullen, takes on Wildflower, an Olympic-distance (1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km) race in Central California, where he’s at school Cal-Poly. According to common internet sources, Wildflower is known for a particularly hard, hilly and technical course. It is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators attending each year. Traditionally it is associated with a Wildflower festival, though in recent years the festival has been eclipsed by the increasingly large athletic event.

Next we had Terminator, Dr. Dick Thompson, and Alan W. of Jittery Joes Watkinsville, Ga take on a 5k. Terminator works towards Ironman Louisville and Alan works towards a 10k PR at the Winterville Marigold 10k later this month. Terminator scored a 1st in Age group and Alan banged out a 2nd OA on a very tough downtown course. Terminator came back out later in the evening and won another AG too at the Dacula Revolution Glow Run. More impressive was the fact that, in his late 60’s, he still had to compete in the 50 and over group.

Earlier in the morning we had Judas Priest racing again. She is happy and healthy again and came in with a sub30 time! This was good for 1st place AG at the Fiesta 5k Run For ALS. This was a very special race for her and we were all pleased after her difficult year last year before she joined us.

Continuing a trend of late, we also have youth racing Georgia and in Florida. Both states look to hold great races worthy of some travel. We also had some endurance events participants racing nearby.

First off, several TriKidsGa were in Rome for the Tri for the Kids Triathlon. According to their webpage, the 7th Annual Tri for the Kids Triathlon was a sure bet for a great, safe, fun and competitive race for youth that was held on Darlington School’s campus for youth ages 6–15. Jack placed 1st place Elite Division, Simon 2nd place Elite Division, and Luke 4th place! Simon’s mother said she wished she had a video of his finish- NEVER has he moved like that!

Secondly, we have more TriKidsGa racing the The First Coast Kids Triathlon. According to their website, this event was held at Everbank Field in beautiful, downtown Jacksonville on the banks of the St. Johns River, and it will become the first triathlon ever to finish inside an NFL stadium. The center of all the action will be the Pepsi Zone on the South End of the stadium. Issac scored a 2nd in age group and Callie Rose faced her bike fears to bring it in 7th in age group. Jack and Addie had great days too, coming in 2nd and 4th in a stacked elite field!

Thirdly, while Coach Spartacus was a volunteer course marshal, Hurricane Sandee did a 3 mile swim and 50k at the Wildwood Games in Appling, Ga as she progresses to Kona for the Ironman World Championship in Fall. This is her second time competing there.

Finally, BreakingBad, aka John Dunavant, took on the full century ride at Chattanooga, Tn. This ride took him up and down 3 Mountains Century — Suck Creek, Sand and Lookout, in 3 states – Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Riders left Chattanooga and headed north. He is on his way to Ironman Coeur D’Alene and this should help give him some confidence for the task at hand. We now move on to races around Mother’s Day including a double race “Tall Pines” via our Georgia Triathlon Series and directed by Go Race Productions!

All Over the Place April 2015 – Tri Coach Georgia

April 30, 2015/in Blog, Team Summaries /by Slayer

First off the team welcomes new athletes even at this point in the year. As mentioned before, we were pleased to add the Mad Hatter, Michelle from Colorado, and now we add Julie R. from Pooler. The team that trains hard keeps racing well!

Coming off a great winter or “off-season” where we won the overall division and bike and run months in the USAT NCC Challenge, TriCoachGeorgia and TriKidsGeorgia were poised for a huge season of racing. The team has been simply crushing races all around the country this year so far. We have raced from Boston to New Orleans, Charleston to Oklahoma City, and often in and around the Southeast USA. This weekend was no different.

We started off the weekend with a terrible lightning storm. Initially, the team set up with the Chattahoochee Challenge 70.3 in Columbus, Ga, the home of Coach Kim Hargrove and her husband Wes. DocSlay, aka Julie Gayer, and IronMouse, aka Amy Peavy-Smith, were there to test their fitness out. Each were bummed to learn the race was cancelled due to awful weather.

In contrast, at John Tanner sprint tri in West Ga, the race was able to be pulled off after a postponement and All3Eedee knocked it down! Likewise, the Xterra went down in some terrible conditions but Todd H. wore out the course after a great night partying!

Back in Athens, Ga some of the youth and adults participated in the Athens Criterium weekend, which has cycling as the centerpiece, as in the Gambler group ride, but also a nice 5k called Athens Twilight 5k. Strong performances were delivered by several team members throughout the weekend. For example, podiums were garnered by family members from the Hayes and Duncan families. PRs to Ethan and others too!

Also, FC, aka Cj O’Mara, went 2nd AG with a massive PR as he comes back from kidney cancer! He’s our next year entry in USAT’s comeback of the year award challenge.

Next up was the Gainesville Park and Recreation Sprint and Supersprint triathlon in Gainesville, Ga. Many of the youth team and their parents went there and demonstrated great skills and sportsmanship, winning big in the game of life. We saw brilliance from Jr. Tax Dr. and Hatchet Jack S. in the sprint and Simon and Luke in the Youth race!

Down south of the State of Ga. was Judas Priest, aka Judith Garrard, who took on West Point Lake Olympic Triathlon in her quest to race and finish Ironman Raleigh 70.3 and Ironman Maryland in 2015, and Tom H., TomTom for #TeamHargrove kids, who did the sprint. Judas Priest and TomTom thrilled us all with sparkling results! Even further South in St. Augustine, Ingo, dropped a 5th in Division at St. Anthony’s triathlon!

We can’t leave out Speedy Gonzalez’ son J, who rocked his first 5k in Virginia too! We also had Big Ben, aka Richard Nasser, back out on the race course this weekend! Less than one week off Boston marathon, he paced his friend to a solid race at the Evans Ga 13.1.

The final racer for the team this weekend was Gruesome, aka Dr. Lisa Harrington, who took on the Oklahoma City 13.1 half marathon. She is trusting the process and rebuilding her run to top notch levels and had a day to remember!

All told, another brilliant weekend for the team that everybody wants to join. The kids race again this weekend and Watch for the ongoing growth of the team and our positive outcomes!