EastCoastCycos | Amateur sports team

EastCoastCycos

Phone: +61 416 155 784

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Businesses
• Sport & recreation
• Amateur sports team
• Sports team

25.01.2022 I will no doubt attract some criticism with this statement - 80% of athletes training for an Ironman race are receiving no help in the psychological part of their training plan. The reason for this is the persons coaching them, have no idea of firstly, how important this is, and secondly have no idea of what is required. The race is 70% mental, the real race starts about 20km into the run. Every training session should have a mental component.

25.01.2022 Gilesy speaks the same language- its a hard message to sell when so many are addicted to GPS - strava - power figures etc

24.01.2022 http://www.aptriathlon.com//08/26/dependability-is-a-habit/

24.01.2022 Port Ironman 2019 the autopsy Now the dust has settled, weve had two weeks of sleeping in in the mornings and drinking beer in the evenings, several have made bold plans for the future. Its time to honestly analyse what went right, and what went wrong in the race. Unless the analysis is totally honest, we wont be able to address the weaknesses and your next result will be the same.... If you went into the last week feeling totally fit, and had rehearsed your hydration and feeding plan, but the result was disappointing, we need to look at the execution on the day for the answers. Were your goals strong and clear enough Were you tough enough on yourself when you needed to be Did the conditions get to you Did you manage your thoughts as well as you would have liked Did you use self talk (which you had rehearsed in training) throughout the race How would you rate your concentration skills on a scale of one to ten If you were disappointed, did you find something outside of yourself to blame, or did you take personal responsibility Did you try anything, equipment or nutrition for the first time on race day The answers to these questions can help each one of you to move forward to better results. From now we have to start forming solid goals for our next races. Unless the goals are really well defined, the chance of achieving them are slim. Because if theyre not well defined we cant put in place the right strategies to achieve them.

23.01.2022 Did you know that you can consciously create opportunities for your body to release Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphin, increasing your wellbeing, stab...ilizing mood, improving motivation and increasing connection? See Mental Illness Education ACT's suggestions to increase happiness. #mentalhealth #wellbeing #wellness #covid

23.01.2022 Training for Super Fitness Training is basically stressing the body enough so that when the stressful period is completed and the athlete refuels and rests, the body responds to the stress by rebuilding a little stronger. The stress can be an increase in distance covered which, when recovered from, will improve the athletes endurance, or ability to go further next time. The stress applied to the body may be asking the athlete to go faster than before over a short distance, fo...llowed by a rest/recovery period. This is often called speed work. The best results are made when the increases in intensity are very gradual, allowing the body time to respond each week, rising to a higher level of fitness. Its important to not increase the intensity too quickly and cause damage to the athlete, which is likely to occur if the stress is greater than the athlete can absorb. None of this is new, its how its been done for 100yrs , but even in this age of information overload, a lot ignore these simple rules. An area of fitness often overlooked in this age of the internet, is technique development. Theres not much point in repeating poor technique over and over, stressing the body expecting a positive outcome. So an important part of coaching is making sure that what the athletes are practising is the best possible technique. Practising drills in each sport can be as productive as applying lots of stress but with poor technique. Rehearsing the drills prints in a behaviour pattern which the mind replays on race day when the athlete is under stress and not thinking clearly. Another important factor in fitness development often overlooked by self coached athletes is basic strength and posture. Without specific strength development, holding good posture, especially when very tired is impossible. A complete training program should include strength training of some sort, addressing the need to hold good posture at all stages of the race being trained for. I have recently had an athlete ask me why we were doing a workout of the length on her program when her next race is an Olympic distance race. The workout prescribed was a long run. I had to explain that when Im coaching someone, Im aiming at filling in all the gaps in their fitness, so the end result is a more complete athlete. My goal is the complete athlete. An athlete who has all the weaknesses covered, someone who can sign up for any length race from a sprint up to an Ironman, and be ready to compete after twelve weeks of specific training. So even if the athlete feels as though a session may not be specific to the next B race in their schedule, its part of a bigger plan.

23.01.2022 APs training tip # 7 Endurance is accumulative. Every year we develop a bigger base, dont ever worry too much if you have a month or two forced layoff. Imagine a carpenter building his skills over many years, he adds new skills almost every job he does. In fact as he sorts out problems he unconsciously adds a new skill. He actually loses sight of just how much he knows about the variety of jobs he can do.... If this carpenter give his trade away for a year and becomes a barman, or a waiter, if he goes back to his tools, he may take a day or two to get the feel back. But he still has all those skills he ever had, and he finds the hours are better. Now endurance is much the same, I know athletes who are not game to take a layoff, in case they lose too much. Studies have shown that the muscle conditioning that actually is endurance, disappears very slowly. Much of what is lost in a layoff is psychological, combined with a drop in blood volume which comes back within a couple of weeks moderate training. The biggest mistake athletes make in a comeback is to time everything, and test themselves. Come back gradually and leave your ego out of this, enjoy your layoff, if you take one. Itll refresh you mentally and physically.

21.01.2022 https://www.triathlete.com//characters-of-kona-the-last-fi

20.01.2022 Training tip # 4 Learn to recognise quality training, it can save your race. To train for a race that will take from 9hrs to 15hrs, for most people, fuel efficiency and endurance are the greatest needs. Sure you need good core strength to hold your posture through the run, especially in an Ironman marathon when you start it already nearly worn out. You need good flexibility and as efficient a swim stroke as you can manage to develop, in order to swim the distance and not com...e out of the water exhausted. But you will find that the people who swim good times, swim often. I see triathletes too tired to hold their technique together, as a result while theyre driven to get the meters done, theyre gaining nothing. Sometimes its time to get out after 800-1,000m. With endurance and fuel efficiency as your main requirements, you need to accumulate lots of hours in each sport. Theres no point in dragging your sorry ass through sessions just to build these hours. Theres is no point in practicing poor technique in any of the disciplines. You would be training yourself to trudge through the race, instead of racing it. It doesnt matter what level you are, nine hours or thirteen hours, you can still race the course. The quickest way to cover the distance is with the best technique. Quality training doesnt mean going flat out. It means doing what you do well enough to gain the strength, fitness and/or endurance with the best technique. In a two hour run for instance, if the last half is a survival shuffle, all youre doing is training yourself to do the survival shuffle. On the other hand if the 2hr run is punctuated every 10min with 20 steps of walking, then each start up is focused on starting with good technique and holding it. The run then becomes twelve short pieces of good quality, rather than one hour of good and one hour of crap. There are some days when because of outside stresses in your life, youre just not up to training. Its important to not make this decision while youre still laying in bed. Get up, get ready, even start out, sometimes you come good and have a great day. Sometimes you will gain more by going back to bed, if theres no quality in the workout, theres no point in wearing out lycra or running shoes. See more

20.01.2022 Thankyou to everyone for coming together to help celebrate the launch of George Hulse’s book In Dogs We Trust. If you missed the morning here is a replay.

20.01.2022 This Saturday the 17th August from 7.30 am there will be a club breakfast and book launch for George The Animal Hulses book, In Dogs We Trust. LTCOL George Hulse RAE (Retd), commanded the Army Engineer dog wing in the early 1970s and is the current Vice-President of the Australian Defence Force Trackers and War Dogs Association, Vice-President of the Toowong RSL sub/branch and President of the 1 FD SQN GP Association (Combat Engineers/Tunnel Rats). This book records fir...st-hand accounts of Australian soldiers at war with their war dogs. One of these soldiers is Corporal Mark Donaldson VC. An objective of this book is to generate a fund-raising platform in support of the Australian Defence Force Trackers and War Dogs Association to help them purchase the Canine Service Medal - issued to Australian military and law-enforcement dogs after five years of service to the Nation. Copies of In Dogs We Trust will be available to purchase on the day for $25.00. We look forward to all Cycos both past and present coming to help us honour and support this wonderful cause from a true champion and gentleman, George Hulse.

19.01.2022 Training tip # 6 If at first you dont succeed try doing what your coach told you. I have seen so many athletes, second guessing their program. Not necessarily my program, just athletes who have selected a coach but then modify the program to suit the latest thing they have read on an internet forum. The guys are worst at this. Then theres the athletes who are constantly researching for some new way of going faster by doing less work. A good friend of mine coaches elite swi...mmers, hes an ex Olympian himself. He was saying that some of his guys often come to him with something theyve heard of, plyometrics, yoga, special weight training programs, and lots of other good ideas. His standard answer is Everybody he ever new who did well at swimming, swam a lot. Now thats what were going to do, if theres any time left after that we might look into some of these alternate ideas. He also keeps a large whiteboard chart with all his swimmers names on it, beside their name is the number of weeks they have put in without missing a session. Oddly the swimmers who are advancing are the ones with the greatest number of weeks without having missed a session. The ones who have not seen any PBs for a long while have the smallest number against their name. Whether you choose a coach, or write a plan for yourself based on accumulated knowledge and experience, stick to it through your preparation to give it a fair go. Anyone who changes tack, half way through a preparation lacks confidence in his plan. If you go into a major endurance event not confident in the preparation youve followed, pack something warm in your run special needs bag. See more

18.01.2022 A typical Saturday morning Cyco Ab workout before a 3.5k swim session.

18.01.2022 APs training tip # 7 Ironman Australia Port Macquarie is one week away. Ive watched hundreds of athletes get to this stage each year and so often undo the confidence building we have done over the past couple of months, by focusing on the wrong things.... We all want things to fall into place in the best possible way on race day, but too many of us rehearse the worst possible scenario events in our mind. The worst possible scenario rarely ever happens. If something does go wrong, handle it then. The best approach is to pause for 10-20sec, asses the situation, then deal with it. Theres nothing to be gained by going over these possibilities this week, because history shows us that theyre most likely not going to arise anyway. A common fear is getting a flat tyre in the race. In thirty three years of racing triathlons, I have had three flat tyres in races. If any of us look back over our past six months training and count how many flat tyres weve had, or mechanical breakdowns weve had, its pretty unlikely that something like this is going to happen in one day in May. My simple suggestion is focus on what can go right, not on what can go wrong. When youre about to do something you love, you go into it excited and looking for a great experience, youre focused on "whats going to go right". Weve taken all the right steps in preparation to make this a great day, smile and let it be a great day.

17.01.2022 Club Breakfast Saturday 29th September straight after swim training to farewell our Kona bound qualifiers, George Hulse, Jon Howse and Allan Pitman. To assist with catering let me know who is in.

17.01.2022 Many of dont realise that we set ourselves up for a great day or a disappointing day before we step up to the start line. If we go into a race hoping for a good result we leave ourselves wide open for a good chance of things not going right. Where if we go into the race expecting a good performance, expecting to be the best version of ourselves, no matter what comes up, we will have a good day. This skill of setting up a strong, resilient mindset, can be learned. Its basic...ally shaping your future with optimism, rather than shaping it with fear. Hoping is fear disguised. Expecting is optimism in its best form. To build the skill of setting ourselves up for success, we have to work on it every day. If we pick every workout as an opportunity to practice our optimistic mindset, it becomes a habit. All of us wake up sometimes feeling like the night was too short. Very often we have a few aches and pains, nothing serious, just a bit of leftover, or accumulated fatigue. We can let those aches and pains undermine our expectations, or we can use our experience of, once the workout has started we warm up and feel OK. No matter how you feel when you get out of bed, expect to come good. Even in a case where youre seriously tired from previous workouts, the focus can turn to a technique session, where you still stand to gain something. Expect to gain from every workout, become good at identifying what you actually gained from that session. If you record what you gained, no matter how small it seems, it prints in a win into your subconscious mind. So over the next few weeks, look forward to being the best version of yourself in each workout. Go into the session to win.

16.01.2022 The tribe We are lucky to have a special group of people who have been attracted together in this club. Ive heard outsiders call it a cult. Its really more of a tribe than a cult. Last Friday night two of our club members got married, at least two thirds of the guests were Cycos members. There was so much love and affection felt by everyone there for the bride and groom, it really felt like a big family.... Theres something about the discipline needed for this sport, that weeds out the pretenders. The regular club members have earned their stripes, through the really hot days, the cold, dark mornings and the windy days when they would rather be somewhere else. Ive found that enduring tough times together bonds the group. You get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each other, you learn who you can depend on. We all have different strengths and talents, we should all look around and appreciate being a member of this tribe.

15.01.2022 Training tip # 5 Race day feeding, trust your intuition. In half Ironman and full Ironman races, a huge percentage of disappointments can be avoided. How often do we talk to people whos training suggested they were set for a great race, then on race day they had gut issues, or simply run out of legs in the run. We all know that training consistently to a gradually increasing plan, in each of the three sports will set us up for a good race. The people who swim well, swim of...Continue reading

15.01.2022 Thankyou to everyone for coming together to help celebrate the launch of George Hulses book In Dogs We Trust. If you missed the morning here is a replay.

14.01.2022 "Becoming a winner" Minnie A lot of our current squad members know Minnie as a cheeky/funny girl who loves her training and always has a joke to share. Most dont know Minnies story....Continue reading

14.01.2022 A great Sunday Ride and Run Session.

13.01.2022 New record to chase

11.01.2022 http://www.aptriathlon.com/2019/03/29/be-an-original/

10.01.2022 This shit is not training- however dreamed up that crap has lost his way

10.01.2022 Its disappointing for the organisers of Hell of the West that the Tweed Enduro race has been scheduled so close (only one week later on 16-2-19) For around twenty seven years the Goondiwindi Triathlon Club have put on one of the best races in Australia in the first weekend in February. I have personally raced it twenty five years in a row. I look forward to it being my first race of the New Year. Interestingly when I look back over past race results, the years when I have ha...d an exceptional race in HOTW, I have gone on to have great races in both the Australian Ironman and the Hawaii Ironman. I dont know whether its the confidence gained by racing HOTW, that has lifted my game throughout the year, or whether the years that I went to Goondiwindi well prepared, set the base high for the rest of the season. The fact that Tweed Enduro is positioned only one week after HOTW means that a lot of athletes who would normally have travelled to Goondiwindi, will now opt for an easier trip to the Tweed race. Both races offer a great experience, its a shame that they clash on the calendar. There is room for both. One possible opportunity is for one of these races to be held in early December, apart from the West Australian Ironman, theres not a lot happening at that time of year for the long course athlete. I personally will be going to Goondiwindi for the twenty sixth year to do what I feel is the best race on the calendar. Hope to see you there.

08.01.2022 MEMBERSHIP FEES All members. With the race season fast approaching and training in full tilt it is important to ensure you are a registered member of Triathlon Australia, Triathlon Qld and the East Coast Cycos. I urge you all to check and make sure you are 2018-2019 season members. Membership can be done online through the Triathlon QLD website.

08.01.2022 Arm wrestling - By Allan Pitman This hot summer morning our Brisbane based group were scheduled to do a 100km time trial. When other groups do a 100km time trial its 100km, ours is 107km. Thats one of the differences. We have a reputation which has been built over around 25yrs, for doing extra. When you turn up to a race in your Cycos kit, many dont realise how others see you. The image outsiders have of us has been built over 25yrs, you dont have to say anything, or act ...in any special way to attract this image. The fact that this squad has produced 76 Hawaii qualifiers adds to this image. Many of us waste the psychological advantage we have over some of our competitors. You dont have to strut or be loud, just be confident, it shows. Every training session has a psychological element, its an opportunity to finish the workout liking the person you were today. If you manage to talk yourself up, when that little voice is talking you down, you win the mental arm wrestle. I started today with tired legs, a tired body, my time trial was a mental arm wrestle all the way. I pulled out every mental trick I know to keep on. I traded places several times with one of the other guys. As he went past, I had the option of going through my catalogue of excuses, and watch him ride away. It was so tempting. Rather than just lying down and copping a kicking, I turned on my terminator mindset, I picked up the pace and went around him. Later he came back strong and went around me again, this time I pulled out my Rocky Balboa character and went to the lead again. This is when I get up one more time than I get knocked down. I put more of my mental game into action today than I would ever normally do in training. I have a cast of Hollywood characters who I choose to be like. My workout is a success if I walk away liking the person I was today, the time is irrelevant, I won the arm wrestle with myself. Some of us use, What would George do? This always gets a positive result. See more

07.01.2022 Two sides to each coin How easy is it when someone askes you how youre going, to tell them about your problems. Do you really think they want to hear that? They are most likely going to be nice and make some sort of attempt to sympathise with you, but seriously they are wanting to say, Is there anything right in your life? We get too used to talking about our problems, or worries, that it can become a habit. But thats all it is, a habit. A habit of focusing on whats wron...g in your life rather than being grateful for the great things in your life. Life can be a whole lot better, race results can be so much better, if we get into the habit of focusing on whats going well, instead of problems. Problems dont get solved by sharing them with everyone you meet, that just causes you to live through the issue for longer. It also changes the way your face looks to the world. If every morning when you woke up, you tossed a coin, heads you focus on whats right, tails you focus on your problems. Would you consciously choose to focus on your problems. Every problem eventually is solved in some way, time heals most things. Theres no point in living the problem over and over, then having to deal with it. Life is too short to spend all your waking hours obsessed with negatives and fears. A simple way to trigger a switch to focusing on whats right, is to treat each doorway we walk through as a window into the future. As you go through a doorway, instantly look for something good. A few years ago, I worked with a depressed young guy, coaching him. His homework was, every day he needed to do three things. He had to send me an email by 10am, on it he had to list something he saw that was beautiful. The second thing was, he had to do something nice for someone else, anything, letting someone go in front of him, buying a coffee for a friend, talking to an old person who looked lonely. The third assignment was to take a photo of someone, or something that was inspirational, well done or cute. After just two weeks of this, he had changed his whole outlook. And thats what it was, it was an outlook, instead of focusing on his own problems, he started to look outside of himself. Theres a beautiful world out there that can be blocked out, by focusing on the wrong things. See more

07.01.2022 Words of wisdom

07.01.2022 https://www.news.com.au///c8a2b3dfa7b97450a598133d71488d1c

07.01.2022 HOTW 2019 - Highlights

05.01.2022 Training tip # 3 Dont be afraid to take a day off when you need one. Following my previous post on discipline, many would think discipline means training must come first. Everyone I am training has one full rest day each week, usually Monday. This is not only physically beneficial, its psychologically beneficial because its a break, it prevents staleness, boredom. Not many employers will work their employees seven days a week, if they did, theyd risk burning them out. So... often when I start a new athlete when I look through their recent training history, I see that they have had a minor illness, a cold or sore throat every 4-6 weeks. They just get going, put in a couple of good weeks training, then theyre sick again, losing a few days. I look at the number of weekly hours they average over a 2-3 month period. It may only be 8-9hrs a week, I ignore the 16-18hr weeks they put in before they got sick, because these are most likely the problem. You cant just come into this sport, start training for an Ironman and start averaging 16-20hrs a week training, especially if youre no longer in your twenties. Youll gain more in a year averaging a consistent 10-12hrs a week than a stop / start program where you do two big weeks and get crook for the next two weeks. To race well good health has to be our greatest goal, you cant get an unhealthy body fit. Good health is not just the absence of illness, Im talking sparkling good health. A look that radiates good health. Anyone who has met Dave Scott, hes the best example of radiant good health youll find in this sport. The formula I have worked out that suits everyone from beginners to experienced pros is Get your diet sorted have protein at every meal increase your vegetable intake (50-60%) Make good health your number one priority (not training hours) Take supplements were asking our bodies for unnatural amounts of work and repair they need super nutrition Have one full day off each week youll stay in the sport longer and you get faster Make each fourth week real easy focus on technique rather than volume See more

05.01.2022 We have quite a few people racing Noosa tri on November 4th - Same day Jen is racing Murray Man in SA - two weeks later we have a large group racing the Hervey Bay 100 on November 18th - all of us are affected by pre-race nerves a little differently. That feeling we have on race morning and how we handle it can make our experience enjoyable, or harrowing. Fears / nerves on race day Just about everyone from the first timers right through to the professionals feel some nerve...s on the morning of an important race. Whether we like it or not, its an important part of being ready to perform. Even though we really know that its very unlikely that any sort of physical harm can happen to us during the race, its still brings a combination of fear, anxiety or excitement. What you feel often depends on your experience level, and personality type. When we feel that anxious, pre race nerves feeling, become aware of our breathing. Often when we feel a little anxious we tend to breathe shallow, changing this breathing pattern can change the way we feel. As simple as that. Another strategy which I have found to work for a large number of athletes is to simplify the task. All youre expected to do is swim out and around the buoys, come back, find your bike, put your helmet on and ride to the turn around and back. Then getting off the bike, know where youre going, get your running shoes on and do what you do in training. At no time have I mentioned a time or beating anyone else. Leave outcomes out of your mind, just get the process right. The more you focus on beating someone else, or spend any of your attention on timing yourself, the more muscular tension youll have and the more likely you are to have digestive issues caused by anxiety. A relaxed stomach handles food and fuel much better than a stressed stomach. A lot of athletes agonise over all the things that could go wrong during the race, when many of these things have never happened in the previous three months. Another fact, the worst possible scenario rarely ever happens, so why rehearse it in your mind in the days before the race. We sometimes have to remind ourselves, we do this for fun. A lot of nerves/ fear comes from a fear of being judged. Its good to have race goals, its very satisfying to walk away from a race with a PB. Regardless of what time you do, or what position you finish in. The people who love you, will still love you, and you know what? They wont even care about your time, in fact apart from yourself, no-one will probably ever look up your time. Choose the company of positive, relaxed people in the day or two before the race. Calmness is contagious, so is anxiety. Dont do things too much different on race morning to what you do any other day of the year before a workout. You know this works, stick with it. See more

04.01.2022 Attention to detail Getting all the little things right will send you into your next race with more confidence than many of your competitors. Races are won or lost on confidence. If youre the athlete who lets himself down nutritionally here and there, if you skip a session now and then, if you cut a workout short occasionally. Youre going to be walking up to the start line in your next race with your excuses ready to go. Every shortcut you take will erode your confidence. E...very detail you consciously get right, will add to your confidence. How often have we heard, missing one session wont make any difference. One thing for sure, you wont gain anything from a missed session. Chances are, the athlete who beats you, refused that night out on the booze. Chances are he conscientiously refueled after big training sessions, he most likely took his supplements religiously. See more

03.01.2022 "A group of ordinary people achieving extraordinary goals" East Coast Cycos is Queenslands oldest triathlon club dedicated to training and competing in Half Ironman and Ironman events.

03.01.2022 Hell of the West

02.01.2022 Congratulation to Al, George and Jon - 2018 Kona World Championship

01.01.2022 This was the Cycos squad who raced HOTW Goondiwindi a few years ago- a few faces there looking a bit younger than they do today- a lot of them still in the game- it is a sport of longevity