Hi Sugar Challengers, below are some recipes we have been using during the challenge. I hope these help, please email me any good recipes you have found and we'll try them and add to the list!
Sugar Challenge Update
Well so far so good! The first weekend without sugar was definitely the hardest, but I survived and I'm sticking to the challenge. So far I've lost 1.3kg and I've not been exercising much or doing anthing else. My diet has stayed the same albiet without sugar or products containing more than 4g sugar per 100g/mls. I've also lost 1cm off my waistline. I'm finding now that I don't crave sugar nor do I look for sweets in the pantry (which we have - tempting me!) like I use to. It will be interesting in December when I try a sugary product to see what happens, you have to admit sugar is pretty addictive!
The Sugar Challenge
After watching Nigel Latta:Is Sugar the new Fat?, my wife and I decided to set ourselves a Sugar Challenge for October. We both want to improve our health and sugar awareness, so we put the below challenge together (not sure how I will cope without Cake!). I intend to get a health check before and after to measure any changes, we would love for you to join us and the rest of the team doing the challenge.
Change New Years Resolutions to Goals
Happy New Year everyone. Now that the festive season is behind us and the reality of being back at work has hit home, we tend to reflect on the last year or look towards the new year.
A lot of people have made New Years Resolutions but how many of us actually follow through with them?? We make that first initial step to say “I want to change or dosomething” and sometimes thats are far as we get. Most people tend to look towards improving their health and why wouldn’t you it's the most important one but the least important on your list of priorities! How often do you say to yourself, I should check to see what I’m eating and make sure I’m getting enough fluids. I bet you never say i should book myself in for a full medical and make sure my health is in order!
Winter Training Tips
Winter is without a doubt the most difficult time of year to train. Not only do you have limited hours of light and sometimes freezing cold weather but motivation is also hard to maintain! It’s easy to say “It’s raining I’m not training”, or “It’s too cold”.
#1 Motivation
Why not start here! For everyone it’s different, but I find goal setting the easiest way to maintain motivation, races certainly help with this. If there are no races then plan your training with a few swim, bike or run time-trials each month.
Triathlon Festival Pegasus Bay
The triathlon festival held out at Pegasus Bay on 19th December was a fantastic day. With around 400 competitors and a range of races that catered for all levels including children, beginner, intermediate and elite triathletes this certainly was one event I couldn't miss out on...
Only recently returned from 2 weeks in Denmark at temperatures well below 0 degrees I had 4 days to acclimatise and also recover from jet lag. I did manage to get a few swim sessions and running sessions done while away but my fitness levels were not great. Still this would be my first race in New Zealand and not far from my home town, so I couldn't say no. The day before the race temperatures soared to the mid 30s and I had visions of the Barcelona Half Challenge where we had high temperatures and I got heat stroke (managed to finish that race though). Luckily on the day the temperature was cool and perfect for racing.
I cycled out to the race and set up in transition, talking to some of my fellow competitors. Everyone seemed to be donning their wetsuits even though the water was warm enough to swim without one. So it looked like I was going to have to wait a while longer to do my first non-wetsuit triathlon. Having entered in the Pegasus Classic I was in the first wave so we were the first event of the day. Beach start and a short run into the water and then the chaos of an open water swim began. Settling into a good rhythm I managed to get a draft off a few people but my swimming was sluggish and well below my best. Still I was racing and loving it. Out of the water and a short run to the transition area. This is where the fun began; I didn’t quite get my foot out of my wetsuit and did a sort of wetsuit dance nearly tripping over myself as I tried to kick my foot out again. At least I didn’t hit my head on the bar holding my bike up like I did in the Dublin City Triathlon one year! Helmet on, out of transition and then there is the jump on the bike and then fumbling my feet into the bike shoes as I cycle away. The bike course was a fast 3 laps and was very enjoyable, a good surface and some great marshalling keep it safe on the unclosed roads. Keeping my cadence up and my legs pumping I flew around the course. Some of the other races had started so there were a few people starting on their first lap as I was about to finish my last. So it was feet out of the shoes and then off the bike, and into transition. No drama this time so a quick transition and out on to the run course. Unfortunately I had strained my hamstring training in Denmark so I knew my run was going to be slow (well that’s my excuse anyway!). I focused on keeping a good tempo and maintained that throughout the two laps around the lake. Felt good but knew I couldn't push myself like I normally would, it was very difficult to resist chasing anyone that passed me. Finished the race (without a sprint finish) and was happy with my overall performance.
A job well done by the race organisers, they really put on a great event. There were plenty of supporters and sponsors there selling products and you could even buy a fresh coffee! Congratulations to all the athletes that finished the Try a Triathlon race for beginners, perhaps I can tempt you to join our boot camp and learn some valuable techniques and build your fitness?? Anyone that braved the rain and waited for the Elite race was in for a treat as Tony Dodds and Andrea Hewitt showed everyone how to race. A definite race for next season’s calendar.
Beginner Triathletes
Starting out in any multi-sport event is definitely a challenge and can be quite daunting. I remember my first triathlon in Clontarf, Dublin. Believe it or not I was wearing speedos and a t-shirt in the race! I had no idea what to wear and what to do, but I loved it and was instantly hooked.
My transitions must have been the slowest in the world, it was a pool swim and trying to put on a t-shirt after the swim was an absolute nightmare. It fell like someone was holding onto my shirt and rolling it up! I was so excited about doing the race but had no idea about training. I was cycling to work . running and swimming so progression to a triathlon didn't seem that unrealistic. I had an old 10 speed road bike with a steel frame and the gear change levers were on the frame of the bike! Still I guess we all started somewhere.
That's where Tri-Planet evolved from, Richard Cattle and I came up with the concept, as we realised there was very limited support for beginner athletes. So we put together some beginner Boot camps to cater for triathlon, duathlon and multi-sport.
And its been so rewarding seeing people achieve their goals or complete something they never believed could be possible. The best part is that we are there with the athletes on the day of the race to not only help them to prepare for the race but to also be their number 1 supporter. Its so amazing seeing people from all walks of life finishing a triathlon, and then there is the post race party which is always great fun and a chance to swap some race stories.
Being able to train, advise and support the athletes as well as share knowledge that has been gained over a number of years of training and racing in triathlon, is an important part of coaching. We also provide some weekly coached Tri-Planet club training sessions, due to the demand of our Bootcampers who wanted to continue training and take their racing further. It really is a great community of fun, dedicated people who give up a lot of time to take part in one of the most rewarding sports you can do.
So don't be afraid to take that step and do something that your friends might tell you is crazy, its very achievable doing the 'swimming, running thing', and it really gets you fit and improves your general well being. I've always been involved in multiple sports at one time like swimming, cricket, basketball, mountain biking so triathlon has really helped me to focus on one sport (but still train for multiple disciplines!), plus I can race at my level and just compete against myself if I want!
Craig Moore
Tri-Planet Coach