2012 Training Sessions

First full training week of the year this year so just to remind you all - this is what it looks like;

Monday;
Club Run (steady today - back to efforts next week) - East Kilbride 6.15pm

Tuesday;
Swim - Hamilton College 5.30pm

Wednesday;
Turbo Session - Calderglen High School 7.00pm

Thursday;
Club Run - East Kilbride 6.15pm

Friday;
Yoga - Shop 6.00pm

Saturday;
Club Bike Ride - Depart Shop 8.30am

Sunday;
Long Run - East Kilbride 9.00am

Holiday Opening Times

Saturday 24th;  9.30 - 1.30
Sunday 25th;  CLOSED
Monday 26th;  CLOSED
Tuesday 27th;  CLOSED
Wednesday 28th;  CLOSED
Thursday 29th;  12.00 - 4.00
Friday 30th;  10.00 - 4.00
Saturday 31st;  9.00 - 2.00
Sunday 1st;  CLOSED
Monday 2nd;  CLOSED
Tuesday 3rd;  CLOSED
Wednesday 4th;  9.30 - 5.30

Christmas Training Sessions

December

Friday 16th
Yoga in the Shop 6.00pm

Saturday 17th
Turbo in the Shop 8.30am (numbers permitting)

Sunday 18th
Fancy Dress Sunday Run - Whitelees Windfarm (Ardochrig Entrance) 9.00am
(Tea/Coffee/Cakes afterwards!!)

Monday 19th
Club Run as usual 6.15pm

Tuesday 20th
Hamilton College Swim as usual 5.30pm

Wednesday 21st
EKRC/ATHelite Turbo Session - Calderwood Community Hall (NOT the School) 7.00pm

Thursday 22nd
Club Run as usual 6.15pm

Monday 26th
No organised run

Thurday 29th
No organised run

January

Monday 2nd
Club Run as usual 6.15pm

Thursday 5th
Club Run as usual 6.15pm

Back to normal from then on.

ATHelite Bikeless Duathlon

Sometimes I never cease to be amazed at how many people turn up to train in ridiculous weather conditions. We seem to get better turn outs to freezing open water swims and running up the wind farm in blizzards than when the weather is nice. This Sunday was no exception as we headed up to the top of the bleak A77 for the ATHelite Club Duathlon. I thought we might get a couple of lunatics showing up but there was an ever growing huddle of people hiding from the wind & rain behind Michaels van. We were concerned about the conditions on the bike leg and worried that someone might get blown into the path of an articulated lorry so Michael bravely decided to go for a test ride. The decision was pretty much made when he exited the cover of the van & couldn't get his bike down on the road to even get on it.

We decided against the bike leg & went for a straight 10k run instead taking in two loops of the hilly 5k run leg. We lost a couple of people at this point at the very thought of a 10k but the rest of us lined up facing the wind & rain for the start of the race run. 2.5k out into the wind with one particularly gruesome climb to sap the legs then 2.5k back over the same climb with a flatter wind assisted run to the start point. And repeat.

Results are below including 5k split time after lap 1. Good to see people generally held their pace for the 2nd lap apart from those who couldn't face a 2nd lap (Nicola)

                 5k           10k
Colin F     18.19      37.18
Michael     20.05      (bailed out after going over on ankle)
Gareth       22.08     44.16
Mark         21.21     42.41
Lorna        24.04     48.34
Nicola       28.40     (bailed out after not going over on ankle)
Don           28.40     54.37
Laura         27.53     54.37
Graeme      23.51     47.52
Derek S     23.51     45.02
Calum        22.27     46.49
Derek B     27.53     54.44
Colin B       25 secs for 150 metres.

Well done everyone for a good run on a tough course in challenging conditions & thanks to Genevieve for standing there freezing in the rain to do the times.
As always the ATHelite mobile Cafe was on hand to defrost & refuel the team with hot coffee, Genevieve's Banana Loaf & Nicola's Empire Biscuits - both of which were scored 9/10 on this occasion.

Lanzarote Training Camp - Nicola's Report

La Santa, Lanzarote.

September 2011 

Wasn’t quite sure what I was letting myself in for given my first novice triathlon was only in May this year, but desperate for sun and keen to progress my tri ‘career’ I googled triathlon + training camp… and BLING!, first result La Santa!

The camp was Joe Beers TriSmarter, with Dan Bullock on swim coaching. A week of training pitched at beginner’ish level, with 14-16 hours training, 7-8 hours of talks and an almost sprint triathlon on final day.  Only 13 of us on the camp so plenty of 1 on 1 coaching… although obvious down side of no place to hide despite my best efforts;)

It was a structured programme, with pre-published times, sessions etc every day which worked fantastically well. It was a full on week though, limited time in between sessions to eat and rest, but it kept us all motivated!

Hugely impressed with La Santa on arrival – amazing facility with every possible opportunity to improve your sporting ability no matter your level. Incredibly friendly staff too, easily bribed with biscuits and cake to help you out!

First few days training weren’t too bad, 2, sometimes all 3 disciplines in the day.  It was good to hear some of the theory of running and cycling - everyone who runs and cycles thinks swimming is technically hard, but as a swimmer I find cycling and running hard! 

Then we hit the 80k bike ride – pretty sure we were kept busy up to that point so we didn’t look at the bike route booklet we’d been given to see that the ride was in the “advanced” category and part of the IM route lol.  Longest hardest ride I’d ever done, legs hit the wall with about 15k to go half way up a 6/7k climb.  Muchos thanks to Joe for giving me a 5 sec push when we hit the headwind, a physical and mental support that was desperately required!  After that all sessions seemed a bit harder, legs were more tired for sure.

The almost sprint triathlon came at the time we were at our tiredest but despite given option to relay it,no-one took the offer up! My swim time was good, was pleased with my bike given it was uphill one way and headwind all the way back, same as usual however greatly disappointed with my run! Had tired legs and cramping, but it was still a minute off my last 5k so I must’ve been going faster when I wasn’t walking lol.  Was 2^nd chick out of 7 so can’t complain. 1h13m for 400/15/4.9.

We totally deserved the night out at the end! See lesson learned no. 5 however.

Main lessons learned:

1)     This is a great place and type of holto do on your own – met a great bunch of people and we’re already planning to do a tri together next year. Will defdo another camp in the future.Refer to 2 however…

2)     Take multiple flavours of electrolytes (avoids gagging on millionth gallon of orange on only day 3). See 3…

3)     My nutrition sucks – am running out of fuel quicker than everyone else. If ate proper wouldn’t need to drink as much electrolytes as well! Top of my to do list to sort over the winter.

4)     Coming from a swimming background with swimming build I probably will find it hard to learn to run. Hasn’t lessened my motivation, but has removed some of the frustration I feel with running. Will just keep at it!!

5)     Jagerbombs are not clever. Neither is almost missing your flight due to throwing up in airport toilets. Remind self am athelite now;)

Yet another great tri experience to add to all my ATHelite ones!

Great Cumbria Half Marathon - Race Report

Four us headed down to Carlisle early on Sunday morning to take part in the Great Cumbria Half Marathon; Myself, Phil Marshall, Graham Ramage and Mark Saez.
Despite Grahams insistence on discussing his favourite shampoo all the way down (Tea Tree and mint if you're interested) we arrived unscathed, very early, and to better weather than we had experienced on the drive (which seemed to stop the second we left Scotland). Still a bit wet underfoot but no wind and quite humid.
We got ready slowly and were on the start line with time to spare once we had coaxed Graham though his Portaloo phobia.

The race starts under the gates of the Castle in the city centre, heading out through the pedestrianised high street then leaving the city after about 3 miles and into the countryside.  Some very nice villages en route and all with great local support. The course is not flat with more rolling hills than anything too sharp which is perfect for me. The course heads back into the city for the final 3 miles meandering round on a bit of dirt track, taking in a bit of the Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile route before joining the riverside path and down onto the running track for a stadium finish.

I have not run a Half Marathon for 3 or 4 years with my PB being 1 hr 22. As the race day approached my target time changed from a PB around 1 hr 21 down to 1 hr 25 down to being happy with a sub 1 hr 30. It was the finale to the 28 day run programme for me so I had run almost every day for a month. This did mean though that, apart from the TTC training camp, I hadn't run necessarily that fast or for more than 8 miles since Ironman in July. I had tried to run at race pace in the week but struggled to get near it but the minute the race started I instantly felt comfortable and strong. Amazing how so many people go off too hard and I spent the race picking these people off and pleasingly didn't get overtaken once in the whole race. I was surpised that I managed to hold my target pace of between 6.30 - 6.45 minute miles and finished strong in 1 hr 25. This is perfect proof to me that the 28 run programme works - if done sensibly and you listen to your body then you can build your strength & mileage without inducing the fatigue from longer runs.

This was Mark Saez's first half marathon but he and Graham both run with Calderglen Harriers so are well used to the high mileage. Mark fancied around 1 hr 31 and was not far off with a 1 hr 33 finish. An excellent result for his first time.
Graham ran this race last year and also ran the Glasgow Half last month but his 1 hr 34 today was a PB and a 4 minute improvement on last year.

Phil only started running with us in March and with a bit of consistency and some sensible training he has built his mileage up in no time at all. Phil had prepped well for this race and knew the course, the mile markers and his target pace to give him sub 2 hours. Whilst you never how it feels at the end of a half marathon till you've done one Phil hung in there and finished in a pace perfect 1.58.

We were lucky with the weather until the minute Phil finished & the rain started to hammer down as we headed the half mile back to the car. We quickly stripped off our soaking wet clothes in the middle of the car park only to put on clothes that became instantly soaking wet from the rain. We soon warmed up though with a coffee & cake stop on the way home.

I would highly recommend this event - really slickly organised, a great course and very easy to get to.

ATHelite Christmas Party

The ATHelite Christmas Party is now booked on Saturday 3rd December at Toni Macaroni's in Calderwood Square in East Kilbride.

Table is booked for 8.00pm & the evening consists of a 3 course meal (£22.95) plus a DJ later & Robbie Williams!?!?

We need a £10.00 deposit from everyone ASAP as we need to pay this in 6 days time.

Please see the Facebook Page or contact us for more details.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182438341834201

ATHelite Opening Hours

Please note a couple of amendments to our Opening Hours which are now as follows;

Monday 9.30 - 5.30
Tuesday 9.30 - 5.00
Wednesday 9.30 - 5.30
Thursday 9.30 - 8.00
Friday 9.30 - 5.30
Saturday 9.00 - 5.00
Sunday CLOSED

Trossachs Training Camp- Weekend Report

Ten ATHeliteers linked up with Calderglen Harriers for our annual Trossachs Run Training Camp held up in Callandar last weekend. This was Dereks first attendance at the camp & he has kindly scribed us a short report of his experience............

It was with some trepidation that I put my name down for this weekend as I’d never been on an organised run training event before – in fact I’d never run 3 days in a row before!  As for staying in a hostel, well that was also going to be a new experience but Lanza earlier in the year had prepared me for the farting and the snoring.

My first surprise was the hostel.  This wasn’t what I was expecting, well kitted out and not 20 to a room.  I shared with 3 guys and we all got on well and coped with the relatively confined space.  Only on the last night did one have to be woken from his snore fest and reminded we weren’t as deaf or as obliging as his wife was.

On the Friday we went out in packs with a leader dictating the pace and ran almost 6 miles with most of it off road.  The scenery would have been nice but through the rain we couldn’t see too much, although this was a great warm up.  Off to the pub for a small refreshment, some good food and plenty of time to meet new friends as I didn’t know the Calderglen Harriers crowd.

In the morning we went off in our pack for a 9.5 mile cross country run with some testing hills and more rain.  Back for a lecture from Physio David Nugent which was all about injury prevention and after lunch we had the second half from him including the physical analysis of our pack leader Eddie.  Turns out that to preserve the long-term future of runners they should swim and cycle – wait a minute - that means they should become triathletes!  I knew we had it right.

Then off for 6.5 miles, in the rain, which included an efforts session in the middle.  It was as tough as you wanted to make it and I paced myself as I wanted to avoid injury and also save myself for the 16 mile run the following day.  My legs were protesting a bit in the pub later (this is where we had dinner) but I made sure I was stretching and drinking plenty of water.

I was dreading the 16 miler on Sunday as I hadn’t been doing much running before this weekend.  However the pack went off at a sensible pack and took breaks for drinks and gels while admiring the scenery which was stunning.  Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and the run was extended to 18 miles!  Funnily enough the last mile was my quickest all weekend.

This concentrated effort has brought my running on and mentally I was able to tough it out and get through the pain barrier.  A great crowd of all running abilities made the weekend fun and a big thanks to everyone who arranged the event which I will definitely be going back to next year.  I also intend spending a fair amount of time during the winter running on those forest tracks – miles better than on the road.  Great kick start to my training for the South Side 6 in October.

Junior Clothing Clearance Sale now on

Loads of bargains now available online in our Junior Nike & Ronhill Clothing Sale.

Nike Junior Clothing

Ronhill Junior Clothing

Bealach Mor - Race Report

The Bealach Mor – 3rd September 2011

I entered this event because of its reputation of having tough hill climbs – this is part of my preparation for Lanzarote Ironman in May next year. Well it didn’t disappoint.

I travelled up the day before as it’s 1.5 hours north west of Inverness. Over dinner my pals regaled stories of accidents on the Bealach including the poor guy who ended up in a wheel chair 4 years ago. It’s fair to say by the morning I was dreading it and the rain didn’t look like it was going off but they reassured me this was good conditions for the Bealach as there was no wind and one of them had been blown off the top on his bike the day before – very reassuring.

The start is unusual in that you can leave when you want after 9am. The key is that the road to the Bealach Mor isn’t closed to cars till 11am and you won’t get access before then. Believe me that single track road wouldn’t be possible if there were cars on it. Also you need to avoid a train at an unmanned crossing at 10.30! So the start is a 3.5 mile climb rising 700 ft which gets the heart rate going but isn’t too bad. Then it’s a fast ride to the bottom of the Bealach with the exception of one wee tester of a hill just to remind you where you are.

I was looking forward to the views on the Bealach Mor but as cloud base was around your ankles with the constant rain which made it very difficult to judge how far you had to go. It starts with a gentle slope then the gradient starts to get much harder. I had been warned about the 4 hairpin bends at the top and how steep they were so before I got there I was getting really worried as I was starting to really struggle. For the first time ever in my short cycling career I had to step off the bike on the hill or else I would have fallen off. I was dizzy so took 2 minutes to get my breath back. I tried to get started but the gradient was too steep so I had to walk 100 yards before I could get back on – very disappointed with that. Almost immediately I came across the 4 hairpin bends and they were fine. The real challenge had been the steep section before them. Perhaps if I could have seen ahead I may have stayed on the bike but I really felt like I was going to collapse. In total the climb took me 51 minutes and 42 seconds.

I put on a wind cheater at the top as I was told by the bottom I’d be frozen – they were right. The scariest descent of my life with the wet, steep single track road with tight hairpin bends. It wasn’t long before the accidents started to appear and the odd ambulance. Twice the same cyclist in front of me went side-ways at a corner and on the second occasion managed to knock someone over. Getting down in one piece was all that mattered and I’m glad I had put on fresh brake blocks. When you reach the bottom you are only half way and the second half is a lot harder than the first due to the constant hills and the distance.

You always had to concentrate to make sure in the wet conditions you didn’t run out of road on a tight corner. I kept my max speed down to 35 mph not willing to chance anything faster although the opportunity was there is you were daft enough. At 68.8 miles (yes that’s how hard I felt it) there was a climb that my legs really didn’t want to know about as they screamed stop and walk but once was more than enough for that nonsense – rule 5 I kept repeating to myself, MTFU.

The last 3 miles are downhill and very welcome. I arrived back completely (5hrs 58 mins) soaked through and once again needed help off my bike as the legs were protesting. The locals put on a great spread but coffee and cake was sufficient for me as I had to cycle another mile to get the car – by then I was a shivering wreck with the cold. A shower followed by a hot tub, beer, wine, whiskey, fantastic food and excellent company and all the pain vanished.

I had managed the steepest climb I’d ever attempted, the hardest course I’ve ever taken on and exceeded my average speed target (I had set 14 mph but managed 15 mph). Cycling isn’t my strongest discipline but I’ve come away feeling my training is paying off and I’ll be ready for Lanzarote next year.

Strathclyde Standard Triathlon Race Report

Mark Russell had to pull out of Aberfeldy Half Ironman recently with a burst tyre but he has got straight back in the saddle and had a strong performance at the Strathclyde Standard Tri last weekend. Here is his race report.....

Strathclyde Standard

Meeting Jack 10 minutes before the swim to find out that he wouldn't swim in
that water if I paid him was funny if a little worrying, but I had raced in
the park twice before so how bad could the water be?

It's pretty bad. So, I thought if i started nearer the front I would be out
quicker. Hmmm. Big mistake, I ended up in the heat of the nonsense, swimming
over and being swam over.  I reached the first buoy reasonably intact and
had 7 to go.  It was pretty much like it always is in open water swims.
After 5 minutes or so it thins out and you try to get into your stroke.
Surely those early Tollcross mornings would be worth it.  They seemed to
be, I exited the water 3 minutes faster then I had in 2009, with a time of
26:39.

I haven't really raced this season, so felt pretty dizzy in t1. It was arse
to the ground to get the wetsuit off and bike shoes on, so was out on the
course in just over 2 minutes. They changed the route of the course this
year. It used to be 6 laps of the loch with long straights after the
roundabout.  This year it was 7 loops of the hills out to the roundabout,
turn there and the same hills back to the water centre. It was pretty
difficult to get into a steady pace as the course never really settled but I
entered t2 after 1:13:30, about 10 minutes off 2 years ago when I was a baby
to this triathlon lark.

I guess the run is always where I feel strongest. Just. The run was two
4.25k loops along the side of the loch with a little nasty hilly part on the
far shore. I set out at a reasonable pace, trying to keep it steady. I took
my gel towards the end of the first lap and it seemed to go well for the
first 3/4 of the run.  I started to feel really strong on the final quarter
and began to pass a few of the other guys.  When we hit those hills a couple
of them got pretty religious. 'Oh, Jesus' was all I could hear as I came
over the top of them.  It was a strong run home, focusing on my breath and
form, which I think I've learned from yoga. I hit the finish line in an
overall time of 2:27:46. 5 minutes off the run last time and 18 minutes off
overall.  To be honest, it just felt good to cross the finish line.  I had a
DNF at Aberfeldy but some good advice from Colin and Gen and other Athelite
friends helped me get back on track.

My favourite thing from the race though was meeting Jane Askey who came and
sat on the wall beside me and a friend after her race.  She's an older lady
of the vintage variety who was hoping for 3:45 and completed it in 3:41.  I
do triathlons for a lot of reasons, but meeting inspiring people like Jane
Askey is one of the main ones.