Ironteam & Volunteers -

From all the coaches: Woo Hoo! Congratulations on a hugely successful Halfway-to-Iron weekend at Lake San Antonio!

First, we have a lot of “thanks” to give to:

• All our amazing volunteers who made this weekend possible!
• The LLS staff for their help and support in transition, as well as the tents, pasta dinner, goodie bags for our volunteers, supplies at waterstops, and cool LLS TNT practice weekend visors!
• Our wonderful captains and mentors for their support all over the course (special thanx to Cilla for collecting and helping to organize our volunteers) and putting on a great Sunday morning breakfast (special thanx to Christina for bringing all the yummy food)!
• All you participants for putting yourself out there and overcoming any fears or pre-conceived limits you may have had pre-start!

This weekend was a great success for each of you in conquering a long, tough course and building your confidence. For many of you this was your longest distance or your first Half Ironman, and you did it on one of the toughest courses around and in the hottest conditions so far this season. As you look back at this weekend, celebrate your wins (whether it was a good swim, strong bike, or just finishing a tough run), congratulate yourself, and file away the successful memories to draw on later in the season and on your final race day. For things that may not have gone as you hoped, remember workouts like this are important learning experiences - Try to figure out what happened (anxiety in the swim, nutrition/fluid/butt-butter issues on the bike, sore feet on the run) so you can improve things later in the season and on your final race day. The best way to learn from this experience is to write down what you did and how your body reacted. Attached is a questionnaire to help. Please take some time to answer the questions and return it to the coaches.

As coaches, we’re very proud to see how far you’ve come, as individuals and as a team. We witnessed so much heart and teamwork from each and every one of you this weekend. As we said Saturday night, you kept your spirits up, smiles on, and helped each other make it through a long day. You should be so proud and never under estimate the power you have if you just believe in yourself and each other. We do! We’ve said it before, it’s the team bonding that’s your advantage during the season and on your final race day - And boy did you bond and represent both on and off the course this weekend - The Tri team will never challenge us again :)

From Coach Chris: “It was clear to me through the demeanor of the team late in the day that their fitness and nutrition are at the very least on the right track.  With the heat and hills I expected more folks getting sun burnt and cramping and I really only heard of a couple cases of each.  I saw lots of examples of people taking steps to deal with the heat and terrain and the result was that we finished 30 minutes earlier than last year.  As I mentioned in de-briefing with the team, their attitude was outstanding.  On their first half Iron distance and their first day of hot weather they kept a positive attitude and a unwavering determination.  Mental strength is the one aspect of training that we can’t really teach, yet it’s as important as the fitness aspect on race day.  When all you have left is your mind telling you to keep moving forward, that’s what makes you an Ironman and this team has it.  I am really happy and proud of how the team did on their latest “test” so to speak.”

From Coach Steve: “… the team did a great job. Perhaps better than any team I have seen in terms of feeling confident that they will be able to complete their event. There were no lone individuals who were significantly out of the pack. This event is a half iron distance but it places them significantly further than half way to completing an entire Ironman. The team has done a great job working consistently to this point. No one should feel like they can’t make it if they just keep up the effort they have put out now. The workouts are going to get longer from here out and we will get to see more of our lovely state on long bike rides and runs. People should be proud of everything they have accomplished and keep building on it.”

This week is a Recovery Week (monitor your physical and mental recovery). Be sure to rest any injuries, catch up on laundry and household chores, and get ready for our next build pyramid.

Please refer to this week’s Captain Message for workout details for this week.

On behalf of your coaches, LLS, and all our Honorees, thank you for your dedication and hard work so far this season. It’s impressive to see your progress and all that you’re doing for the cause - Words can’t express - You’re all amazing!

Finally, a congrats to Coach Dan who represented at the Lavaman Triathlon and finished strong:

730 Dan Russell 190 M5054 32:13 3:34 1:16:08 1:03 54:03 2:47:01

Thanks for a very fun, laugh-filled, shot-filled weekend!

Dan, Steve, Chris, and Ann