Thursday, September 8, 2016

August Newsletter

Welcome to our new way to share what is going on at GKE and with all our awesome athletes! We are hoping to create a monthly newsletter so if you have any suggestions, content or feedback, please let me know via email

After settling back into life in Boise, Kate and Guy made the trek to California for Ironman Vineman and are now enjoying some much deserved downtime & wineries in the Napa Valley! 

WHO RACED IN JULY


10th:

 Vineman 70.3 - Luke
 NT long course champs - Matt B



GKE @ EVENTS IN AUGUST

7th 
Perth Half Marathon- Courtney, Kate S. & Renee

14th 

Hardwood 50 MTB- Paul

Gold Coast Peaks Challenge - Rae

(235km, 4000m of climbing and a 12hr deadline!)

NT Grand Fondo - Matt


18th-21st
The Redback Mountain Bike Multi Day event
 - Shannon


21st
Ironman Copenhagen - Fabiana & Patrik

WAMC Pancake Run - Mick H.

28th 

Bintan 70.3 - Ann Louise, Claire, Kate B., Peter & Suzie
City to Surf Half Marathon- Buck, Dylan, Kate S., Kay, Leanne & Leigh

City to Surf Marathon- Ale, Janine, Julie & Mick M.
BIKE INTERVALS ARE BACK ON!

In case you missed seeing it on Facebook, Bike intervals have resumed on Thursday mornings.  We leave from Raffles around 5.30am and return around 7am. All GKE athletes welcome!  


Be sure to dress warm (although we will make you sweat) and remember your lights! If the weather is questionable, check the Athlete Facebook page for updates or text Janine on 0412850010. 

We have organised a GKE get together and casual picnic to send our
70.3 World Champ athletes off with a bang and also to celebrate the
races of the peeps tackling the City 2 Surf that morning! It would also be a great opportunity for everyone to meet any new athletes that have joined the team..



SUNDAY 28th AUGUST 2016
3pm-5pm
SYNERGY PARKLAND
KINGS PARK
Park on May Drive near Zamias Cafe and walk towards the playground and look for the Kaye Family or give me a call on 0412850010 if you can't find us!

Please bring a plate to share, and your own chair/blanket and beverages!
We will bring the footy and the cricket set.. 
OUR RESIDENT PHYSIO AND COACH RUTH SHARES SOME TIPS
AND TRICKS FOR GETTING HEALTHY AND STAYING THAT WAY!
ICE vs HEAT

Unsure about whether to apply ice or heat to an injury? This is something I’m often asked in clinic, and the answer isn’t always straightforward! It can depend on the type of injury and the body part affected. Check out this blog post with some simple guidelines.  



Direct your physio questions and queries to Ruth via email or in person at either:
My Physio Perth, 32 Seacrest Dr, Sorrento  (08)9447 6152
or Performance Pilates and Physio, 189 Carr Place, Leederville (08) 9228 2778
As you train harder and push your body physically further, your perception of pain can be the telling factor in your success. 
Kate shared this article which shares some great techniques to use to build your tolerance to pain and how to push beyond those barriers!
GETTING TO KNOW YOU

5 Quick Questions with Holly Vernon

Here’s Holly! She’s been a GKEndurance athlete since 2015. She’s a multiple 70.3 and Red Dog Relay finisher, Mum to three fantastic kids (Josh, Eva and Matthew), and calls Dampier home. This means training through the hottest summers the Pilbara has to offer… even setting the alarm for 3am when necessary! Let's all get to know a little more about Holly...
Do you have any nicknames we don’t know about? 
Don’t really have any nicknames that you don’t know about – I am too well behaved to earn one! hehee


How long have you been involved in Triathlons and how did you first get introduced/involved into Tri’s? I have been involved in triathlons for about 3 years – the first couple of years were just dabbling in teams in 70.3’s and local races, and then my first solo 70.3 was in Busselton 2015.
My husband Paul has got me into triathlon!!! He was racing both 70.3’s and Ironman’s when I was pregnant with our third child in 2012…and I thought….well if I want to lose this baby weight…what better way to do it then try a triathlon in a team! I had always played heaps and heaps of sport throughout my whole life so I thought well why not?



Highlight of your Triathlon adventure so far? The highlight of my triathlon journey so far is that my poor poor coach Ruth has taken a person who has never-ever been a long distance runner and forming me into someone who can last the distance. To see improvement of run times is quite exciting as I consider this to be my absolute weakest leg.



What is the funniest or strangest thing that has happened to you during or before a race? The most strangest and probably luckiest thing that has happened to me in a race was when I was competing in a short distance triathlon here in Dampier through the Nickol Bay Triathlon Club.
I must have had the bike on the wind-trainer beforehand, as I asked my husband to change my back-wheel over for me (as I was still not bike-savvy and didn’t know how to do this).
So unbeknownst to me I went off and did the race and did quite well in it….but through the whole bike leg I was thinking to myself that it felt as though the brake was rubbing on the back tyre….something just didn’t feel right.

I mentioned this to Paul after the race and he went over and looked at the back wheel…and his face turned into a look of horror……he said… “Oh my god….I didn’t put the skewer in the back wheel………your whole wheel could have fallen off when you were riding”……and me being the newborn into the whole biking scene really didn’t think too much of it.
He certainly received a large amount of ribbing from his mates about it……and it’s only now after I know a slight amount about bike setup that I realise the potential of disaster. Especially because Dampier is quite hilly and we are coming down these hills quite fast. Good one my love.



Favourite food when not training? Wow – so many favourite foods to pick from whilst not training…….hmmm….does it have to be food or can it be alcohol? I would much rather a glass of champers than a chocolate! 




We all love to rock our GKE gear so if you have any ideas or suggestions, be sure to email them to Janine.

NEW HATS - $17 each or 2 for $30

After the feedback from the people with "smaller" heads we have gone back to the more narrow trucker hat style of our original black and white design. We have 2 new hat designs now available.

A racy red one that is perfect for your race day as you will be visible from miles away on the run and it won't be as hot as black. Plus a funky new black lightning bolt one that you can sport wherever and whenever you like!


Contact Janine (janine@gkendurance.com) to order one or both!

At the end of June, Lisa Tyack took herself off solo to the USA to visit Kate and Guy and have a crack at Coeur d'Alene 70.3. She had a truly amazing race at CDA, finishing first in her age group (25-29), first female Age Grouper and she set the inaugural course record! 


Lisa is truly humble athlete who I don't think realises just how amazingly talented she really is. Hopefully her success at this race has helped her to dream bigger and believe in herself just that little bit more. We are so proud of you Lisa! You can check out her fabulous race report here

Janine recently did a St Johns refresher first aid course and one of the many great things she got out of it was finding out about the awesome (and free) Emergency + app.

This app will not only dial 000 for you with one button press, but it will also give you your GPS co-ordinates so an ambulance or emergency services can pin point your exact location to come and help you.
This would be something everyone, especially all cyclists, should want and have on their phone.. so if you ever need help you can give your exact location rather than "somewhere on the freeway bike path near the camels". Get it here people!

Claire Davis was visiting the U.S. recently and had me giggling with this Facebook status:

USA lessons: Gym treadmills are set to MILES so when you punch in 4:15 pace it really means 2:30/km.....lucky to walk away with only my knee and my pride scratched!


We all think George might like a visit to Kona this year ;) 

Monday, August 1, 2016

Lisa Tyack smashes Ironman Coeur d'Alene 70.3 2016


 Monday 20th June at 11.55pm I started my journey to the US. My route to Boise was going to be a long one but I was excited to finally see where coaches Kate and Guy spend their time when not in Perth! Perth > Sydney - 8hr stop over, Sydney > LA - 9hr stop over and 40min delay! LA > Salt Lake City – due to the delay I found myself running through the terminal to catch my next flight - SLC > Boise, arriving at 9.10pm on Tuesday. All up, over 33hrs of travel!

After some much needed sleep the next morning saw me unpack and start to ‘settle in’ and more importantly, time to get the body moving again with a swim and ride.
After a short run on Wednesday morning we packed and began the 7hr drive to Coeur d'Alene with a stop in beautiful McCall for a swim in the freezing water! Around 9.15pm we arrived at the Demoes who kindly let us stay with them for the race weekend.

Friday bought cooler temperatures in CDA, with rain all day, some hail and temps around 16degress! Where was the summer weather I had come to the US for?! After waiting to see if the rain would pass (which it didn’t) I registered around 3.00pm before heading back home to have dinner.
Saturday had some cloudy skies but most importantly it was dry. A morning ride over the first section of the bike course and brief run enabled me to get the sessions done early and then check my bike into transition, followed by one last dip in the cool water. It was now time to head back and pack ready for tomorrow and try to relax.

RACE DAY
With two alarms set, one for 4.00am and the other 4.15am I was already well awake before hearing them. I got up, dressed and quite nervously ate my breakfast. I felt the nerves for this race 4 days out. I had put in some good, solid and committed training so was nervous to see what I could do!
Transition was packed and very tight! I did not realise how big this event was with 3500 odd individual athletes registering and teams on top of this. I was quietly pumped. Being half way across the world I felt at ease with no extra pressure or expectation of extra eyes watching me through out the day.



Once exiting transition Guy made sure my wet suit was on snug and I was ready to go. Kate and Guy walked me to the start and it was ‘good luck, go get them’ and off I went. Knowing it was important to get into the water and warm up I did this as quickly as I could. It was my first rolling start and I was looking forward to it. I calmly made by way down the athlete line and then off I went, running into the beautiful clear water. It was a very easy course to sight. Simple - follow the buoys out on your left, make a left turn into the sun which did make sighting a little difficult for a few 100 meters, then take a left again and back into shore. Exit the water and run into T1. 
 SWIM . 29.47

I had a fairly quick transition. In and out as quick as I could and off onto that stunning bike course. The first section had a few twists and turns through town before out onto the open road, which also featured the first couple of climbs for the day. Once crossing the bridge and heading away from town I felt like the ride course was really starting and starting with a bang! A steady climb that yes, tickled but it was awesome. It was a beautiful day and by now the sun was well and truly out and I was having a blast. I enjoyed the climbs and for someone who is always a little sceptical descending, a little reassuring talk to myself and I found myself enjoying these too. At 65km I was feeling great. I had taken in my nutrition exactly when I needed to, hydrated well and felt awesome. My body and mind was totally with me today and I felt as long as I kept positive my legs would do what they needed to. The decent back into town saw the km's on my Garmin quickly grow from 70-85km and continuous chasing between myself and 2 other female athletes encouraged me to ride strong, knowing there was going to be a race on my hands. I came into T2 side by side with another female in my age but I dismounted quickly and powered through the long run into T2.
 BIKE. 2.43.05

Running through transition I looked around and the lack of bikes already racked gave me some real confidence. I put my shoes and race belt on and grabbed my hat full of gels and my watch and ran out of there.

The run was just as enjoyable as the bike. So many passionate and encouraging spectators cheering you on, it felt like a home race. During the first 5km I felt good. The run was not a flat course and I was feeling the pinch during the small, sharp inclines but it was a good hurt, as I still felt strong. 

Out onto the second lap I had spotted Kate and Guy. At the far turn I had 5km, 5km to bring it home! I could feel the blister growing on my foot. I started to feel tired but positive encouragement from Kate and Guy pushed me further and I kept running. I groaned and sighed and at this point I had my pain face on. In the last 3km’s I was bringing the hurt and for the first time I could feel someone over taking me. I now know that person was professional female Erin Crum and as she passed me she was giving me so much encouragement and support. "Lets go", "Come on girl, you've got this", "Any thing is possible". I was a little surprised by all this support and tried to latch on but only lasted a short stint before falling off the pace slightly. I kept looking at my watch. 2km, 1.9km, 1.8km, then I saw 1.4km. I visualised by run route at home, which at the last turn is 1.4km to the front door. Pushing trough the pain by now any incline felt like a massive, sharp climb. They were no longer tickling, they HURT! 

Finally, I spotted the final sign 'FINISH LINE' and 500m to go. Over the road and one final left turn down Sherman. It was packed! There were so many people who had lined the streets and the Americans were so passionate cheering so loudly. There were only a few athletes at the finish chute so I really got to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy myself. 
As I came down the chute they announced ‘Lisa Tyack, 1st 25-29 female and 1st female AG across the line’. 

OMG?! What?! But as soon as I crossed the line I forgot about that and I was bent over, with hands on my knees to hold myself up! I was toasted. I stumbled through to Kate and Guy at the other end and was exhausted but excited! In my true style I even shed a little tear of joy!
RUN. 1.33.27
FINISH TIME: 4.51.16

If my 3.30am phone call to Andy back home didn’t wake him up I’m pretty sure he could hear my excited and loud voice from America! I was just so happy and still in shock. This result far exceeded any expectations I was a result I never thought I would achieve. It’s been a dream to win an AG title and I was very excited this might now have become a reality. As I mentioned I felt ready to race. I was excited to see what I could do, but that result, I still can’t believe it! Being a rolling start it was now a nervous wait. Had I actually finished first 25-29 and first female Age Grouper?

After walking to the nearest shop for some choc milk, pringles and a twix ice cream it was back to the finish line to cheer on fellow GKE athletes Katey and Geoff and soak up a little more of that finish line atmosphere. Once they had finished it was time to head back for a shower and have a brief sit down before heading back to presentations. By this time majority of athletes had finished and I checked the results again. 
1st female 25-29.
Female AG champion. 
And I set the inaugural course record! 
Still pinching myself!

Stress and pressure seem to get the better of me in races but for me this race was perfect. We all try to achieve perfection, knowing there is no such thing. We all chase bigger and better, want to be fitter and faster. Set new goals and chase PB’s. This race was a spare of the moment decision. It surfaced as an idea but I never really acknowledged it as a reality until it was finally booked. Andy had booked me a ticket to the US and registered me for IMCDA 70.3 the day before my birthday, leaving me with a 5-week training block. I was committed to my program and trained hard. Most importantly, during this process I trusted the process. There were run sessions in particular where I wished I was recovering better and that my legs would feel 100%. A little self-doubt crept in, but you still need to trust the process. I told myself - I’ve done his before, I know what I’m in for. I have a coach because I am not a coach. Trust! I felt in good shape, both strong and fit. I was quietly confident. Most importantly I had self-belief and great support. 

For me I can reflect and know I pulled together a great race across all aspects and I think a big part of that was no pressure – I had so much fun out there and enjoyed myself. I was focused but also took time to enjoy the journey. I think this all contributed to executing for me, the ‘perfect race’. Not just my preparation, mental state, nutrition plan, swim, bike and run but most of all enjoyment was there too!

My secret – nutella banana for your race breakfast. Breakfast of champions! 

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Leanne Kelly takes on the FIJI Long Course Triathlon

I write this race report with my Coach Janine Kaye's latest write-up in the back of my mind (the one about how we diminish our accomplishments by saying 'just a sprint, just a small field, Im just slow' etc...if you havent read it yet, I encourage everyone who has any self-doubt or undervalues their accomplishments to read it)!

So Fiji, .. this was my 40th birthday present to myself. My very first long course triathlon and a holiday wrapped up into one. I've trained hard and I've trained smart, and thanks to my coach, I made it to the start line feeling fresh, fit and uninjured! I think thats more than half the battle of a long course, so success already!!

Strangely enough this was the very first Tri I faced without any nerves whatsoever. Im not sure why, perhaps I was totally relaxed being on holidays, perhaps the small number of competitors, the friendly relaxed atmosphere or perhaps the really hot weather made me not worry about expectations. Not sure but I was very 'easy going' about this tri.

7am and race start, 35 competitors in the long course (including teams), we all started together, you can imagine how nice it was not to have the typical 'smashfest' at the start of the swim!! I took the swim very easy as I knew a I had a long day ahead and being my first Long Course - I wasnt sure how hard I could push without burning myself out too early. So I just decided to enjoy the swim and take it easy. Turns out I do swim slower without a wetsuit....but with water temp at just over 26 degrees - wetsuits was a definitely no-no!
Came out of the swim feeling really good, the water was kind without too much chop. I hear my name called over the microphone and yes I had the dreaded mud beard!! hahaha not a good look!!! Turns out the swim was long at 2.3km and a the 300mtr run to transition, I complete this leg in under 50mins, not my quickest but Im happy taking it easy.

T1 and there are still bikes in transition, yay I'm not last out of the water. Here I decided to really take my time and do what I needed to. I knew from the previous day when I competed in a 2.5km run it was going to be unbearably hot & humid ( I swear that was the hardest run Ive ever done and did leave me wondering how on earth I was going to complete 20kms) . Firstly I grabbed my wet-wipes and cleaned my face...SO MUCH MUD!!! Yes I was asked if I would be applying lipstick also, I told them its all about the finishers photo, I didnt want a mud faced smile!!! :=) I decided to cover-up on the ride. I took the time to put on a cycling jersey, arm sun-protection sleeves and my gloves, I wanted as little sun beating down on me as possible.

The ride was the hightlight!!! 3 laps equalling 80kms and I experienced it all!! First lap and im sure I spent more time saying BULA BULA to every Fijian I pass, they are soooo friendly, then I see a table was being set up on the side of the road selling fish, just laid out in the glaring sun.....about 3kms to complete my first lap and out of nowhere barking, really loud barking, DOG!!! OMG TEETH!!!!! Stray dog chase me, teeth baring, angry and loud!!! OMG i was so scared!!! I had to unclip and kick out at it to scare it away, I always wondered why my coach had one-leg spin efforts in my training sessions....now I know why, its ridiciously hard to pedal with one leg, kick out the other at an angry mongrel dog, thank god I can one-legged cycle quickly!! I swear it was the size of a great dane!! Heart rate is peaking!!!! I warn a few cyclists coming the other way of the great danger, they look at me and say nothing, I secretly hope they encounter the dog and havent had a thoughtful coach teach them how to cycle with one leg!!

Second lap and more fish stalls, its like the whole town are out shopping for fish..I've found if I stick an electrolye tablet in my mouth just before approaching the fish, the fizz and gas from the electrolyte makes it hard for me to breath as its fizzing up my nose...brilliant, this blocks the fishy smell!!! Definately not an enjoyable way to injest electrolyes!! I see a dead cat, hangon I think its sleeping, it doesnt look injured so maybe its soaking up the sun, the side of a highway isnt the best place to catch a few zzz's, maybe it really is dead.

Third lap, the humidity is starting to rise, its getting hot and now it starts to gets hairy, the traffic has really picked up and I get stuck in a traffic jam. I dont know what to do, Ive still got 20kms to go and Im waiting in a jam barely doing 8km/hr...Im too scared to undertake as there is hardly any room and overtaking is surely certain death....I decide to wait in line with the traffic its always quicker to T2 when you dont have to go via a hospital.....a cyclist behind me catches up and gets the attention of the police escort to come over and escort me through the traffic...yay!!! Im on the move again heading to T2. I see an ambulance fly by, I have a bad feeling, then tell myself to stop being silly, there is probably a local who is sick from eating the fish that sits out in the sun. No sign of the mongrel dog again so its smooth sailing!! I complete my ride in under 3hrs which considering all my counters, I'm really quite happy with.

I make it to T2 (this is a separate transition area to where T1 is), I rack my bike, have a chat to my family who are waiting, put on my sneakers, put my gels in my pockets and a tube of suncream. Off I go for the run, Im feeling surprisingly good. I ate my way around my first two laps of the bike, Im full of infinite, vegimite sandwich, winners bar, gels and litres of water.

The 20km run is around the golf course, it consists of foothpath, road and a lot of spongy grass and tree roots....and those stupid steep little hills that golf courses have! I set off and run pass the club house where all the family & friends have taken up residence to cheer me when I pass. My legs feel great, no jelly legs happening, its hot, its humid, I hear the commentator say its reached 38degrees with 90% humidity, great, this is when I decide to make a run plan, run in the sun and walk in the shade...thankfully there is a bit of shade and I use one of these shady walk breaks to slather on the suncream on my shoulders/face, first lap and it wasnt too bad!!

Onto the second lap and my contact lense folds up and moves to the corner of my eye, Im debating whether to throw it away and run with only one seeing eye, but I quickly dismiss this because of the amount of tree roots and mud to navigate. I decide to stop under a shady tree, wash my hands under my water bottle, take out the contact, give it a rinse and try and get it back in my eye (not easy without a mirror) , job done and I head off again! I realise that the aid station have zip-lock bags of ice....Yay!!! A big block goes straight down the sports bra and the bag of ice gets tucked into the back of my tri suit!!! Brrrrrrr!!!

What heat??!!! Im definitely much cooler but now my Hoka's have turned into swimming pools, I stop under a shady tree and wring out my soaking wet sock, its full of water and giving me a blister.
Toilet, need to go!!! I suppose the positive of this is that I am really well hydrated. Hmmm wonder if I could just stop behind a tree on the golf course? Too many people playing, better not, I decide that with the blister on my foot, I will stop when I complete my second lap and run into the club house toilet, my mum is cheering me on just before the lap finish so I yell out to her to grab the bandaids I left in transition and meet me in the ladies, she does, I pat dry my feet, stick on bandaides, go to the toilet and then head off again for the last 2 laps, 10kms to go!!!

First 2.5km of the third lap is all good, then I do it a bit tough on the second half of this lap, there is a long stretch out the back side of the golf course that is on bitumen and no shade and it bugs me a bit...but another aid station and a bag of ice and Im back in my happy place!

I pass the club house for my last lap and my sister joins me for a few hundred metres, she tells me the lady that beat me in the 2.5km run is only 200mtrs ahead and to 'go get her and lap her'...she beat me in the run by 20secs by cutting the course short...twice - we dont like cheaters. Turns out my sister lied!!! The lady was a good 500mtrs ahead of me, I wanted the pleasure of lapping her but knew if I pushed hard I'd probably blow right up and finish in a bad way, so I kept to my race plan. Last aid station stop, decided I didnt need another bag of ice, just a cup of coke and off I went, I rounded the bend, I had about 500mtrs down the road and I could see Mum in the distance, she was at the corner where I turned into the golf course where the finishers chute was waiting, I strengthened my posture, picked up my speed just a little and reached Mum, I can hear the Commentator on the microphone 'And our lead female is not far away now, she's approaching the finishers chute, here she comes, she's doing this for her 40th birthday)'!! I lapped 'the cheater' just before I turned down the finishers chute and slowed down my pace, I was determined to take the time to enjoy my achievement. I didnt think it was possible to get goosebumps in such hot/humid weather but I did.

I was the first female to cross the finish line. I may never hear those words again and normally I would say 'its only because there were only a couple of girls' but not now. Regardless of race numbers, I trained hard, it was my first long course, the conditions were tough and out of 35 long course participants - 7 didnt finish, one was hit by a car (my gut feeling about the ambulance turned out right, thankfully he was ok) and 6 didnt finish as the heat was too much for them. I finished in just under 7hrs!! Thats a long time to be out in that heat!!

I felt great, actually probably a little too great as I was told I wasnt red faced or looking hot and bothered. Im sure spending 8yrs working (and running) in the Pilbara really helped me physically and mentally deal with the heat. I realised I could have pushed harder but being my first Long Course I just wasnt sure what pace I could sustain especially in the heat. For me, it didnt matter about the time, I finished and I had the BEST TIME EVER!!! I downed an ice cold Fiji Gold and danced up a storm at the hotel bar until well after mid-night, yes people where suprised that I could dance let alone walk ok after such a big day. I think my Coach gave me longer training sessions to ensure I had enough fitness to see me through the after-party!!

I honestly started out on the path towards achieving this goal secretly believing that I wasnt capable of doing a long course or a half Ironman distance triathlon. I always felt like it was for the fit/dedicated/committed people and that I was a bit of a phoney but what can I say, consistant training and a great coach (who listens and mentors and mostly believes) made me realise that anyone can be part of that special group. Even me!! I cant thank her enough!!! Janine Kaye you truly have got me doing things I thought were just far-fetched, over exaggerated unrealistic dreams. Love that they are now my reality!!

I cant thoroughly recommend the Fiji International Long course Triathlon enough. What an amazing experience and a great course. If you want a no pressure, pure enjoyment triathlon experience then you couldnt beat this!!! Love Love Love!!

P.S - A fellow Triathlete saw the cat and then said on his last lap it was gone, so seems it was sleeping!!