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Hotsheet
April 29, 2009
by Tim Sheeper
In this edition:

Wildflower

-We have 35 athletes competing in the 3 races this Wildflower weekend.  18 in the long course, 12 in the Olympic and 5 in the mountain bike.

-Mike Osmond and Cindy Welton have already secured our camping spots at Wildflower by setting up more than 20 tents giving us "squatters rights" to some flat ground.

-All meals will be on your own this year.

-We will have a team get together/activity on Friday and Saturday night.  This activity is guaranteed to improve your race and your confidence for Saturday and Sunday.   The activity will happen at 6:00pm on Friday and Saturday night at our main campground.  The more people we have there the better the activity.  We will start on time, and plan for an hour, bring a chair and a warm jacket.

-A way to improve your time without increasing your heart rate.just wear a team jersey during the race.  If you wear a team jersey you automatically have an identity and strangers will notice and cheer for you, as will your team mates.  If you wear a regular jersey you blend into the masses.  Team mates even overlook your presence. 

-Opening race of the year for most of us, so set your expectations to a point where the "race" is actually a test to determine where your current fitness is and what you will do with that information after the event.

-This is a great opportunity for all of us, so treat it as such.


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Wildflower Results

An absolutely amazing array of outstanding results.  At Wildflower like at every other race:

1.  Always give it your best
2.  Learn something about the sport and yourself
3.  Store away a positive memory that can be recalled often
4.  Be satisfied with what you have accomplished
5.  Look forward


Olympic
http://www.teamsheeper.com/events/event.php?event=8813
 
Long Course
http://www.teamsheeper.com/events/event.php?event=8812
 
Special Ops
http://www.teamsheeper.com/events/event.php?event=8855


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Mendocino Wrap Up

Successful.  We all achieved the camp objectives. 
1.  Stack together three days of multi sport training with little to no distractions from the real world. 
2.  Recover from the weekend and become stronger because of it. 
3. Have an enjoyable time.

I would like to thank all athletes and support staff for the wonderful weekend of training.  The personality of the group was overwhelmingly positive which led to an atmosphere of a motivating calm.  The 15+ hours of training in 3 days just flew by without drama or distraction.   Every athlete had a goal and a plan and executed well against both.

A positive aspect of the camp was that there were a number of athletes returning from last years camp who were commenting on how much easier the camp was this year as compared to last year, even though the structure of the 3 days was virtually identical.  Only an improved athlete talks like this.  This is a testament to the countless hours of preparation and training that has been logged over the 52 weeks since the first camp.

Plans for out 2010 Spring Camp are already underway and Mendocino is again a site under consideration.


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Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon (formerly known as Uvas)

Two weeks after Wildflower and two weeks before Hawaii we will put some finishing touches on our fitness by going short and fast at the local sprint race.  Space is still available at this race and we will be setting up our "team lounge" at the race finish. The team lounge is a place for everyone to gather and "talk story" about either their fantastic day or their challenging mishaps and blunders.  The race takes anywhere from an 1.5 hours to 2.25 to complete, about as long as some of our Sunday run workouts. 

This gives us a little change of pace


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Hawaii

The following is our 2009 Hawaii traveling team:
1. Sarah Charlesworth
2. Kathleen Carroll
3. Tina Lount-Pretre
4. Dave Mandelkern
5. Amy McGaughey
6. Mark O'Sullivan
7. Mike Osmond
8. Caslav Pavlovic
9. Stephanie Rowen
10. Altay Sendil
11. Tim Sheeper
12. Mimi Winsberg
13. Phillipe Marco
14. Lindi Marco
15. Keith Terada
16. Kevin Burns
17. Michael Leon
18. Ian Hersey
19. Mary Anne Kurucz
20. Anne Heike
21. Natalie Schaefer

And what a fine team it is. 

We are in our 11th of 15 weeks of preparation for the Season One finale.  Athletic improvement has been rampant and the weekend combos have been well attended and well fought training battles that will pay dividends on the lava fields of Kona.

Hawaii details:
1. We are getting a discounts with Tri Bike Transport, $295, which is a $32 savings off of the regular price.  Bikes will be dropped off at Front of the Pack the week of the race.  Bikes can then be picked up an dropped off in transition area on race weekend.  Makes life simple.

2. We will be having a pre race dinner at our condo complex in Waikoloa Village the night before the race.  We will be having a post race team brunch the day after the event at the same place.

3. We will be meeting on the beach for a team swim the day before the event to go over swim course and race logistics

4.  Details will be offered as we approach the race date.


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Combo #4 Last Saturday

I would just like to mention a concept about our training program that has always been an underlying theme of our team, but may not always be understood by all.

We train hard.  The level of training is set at a very high standard. 

A professional triathlete could prepare for top level events using our training program and our methods with only a few alterations.

When one of our training sessions or a training programs is completed, it means our athletes are prepared to the fullest and have not left any component out of their training.  This also means that there are certain times when we ALL have to decrease intensity, or duration to make it through a given workout.  There is never any shame in taking care of oneself by altering one of these components with the end goal in mind.

Last Saturdays hard 3+ hour bike ride followed by a 90 minute near race pace run can only be accomplished by people who have been progressively increasing time and intensity.  So congratulations to all you either completed some or all of the day.  "Stepping up to the plate takes guts."


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Fearsome Tri Results

What a great and wild day.  Biking, Running, Biking, Swimming.  Our annual Fearsome Tri was attended/completed/raced by 40 athletes.  Either a mountain bike or a road bike was used to get over to Burleigh Park in Half Moon Bay where Greg Gaffney (our wonderful person) was waiting in the first transition.  Using a mountain bike proved to be a much quicker and easier way to the coast (hint for next time) compared to the road bike course.

The run to the ocean was enjoyable but that was all too short-lived as the climb back over the mountain sapped whatever energy any of us had left. 

We all limped into Burgess for some messy swimming mixed in with some crisp military style push-ups.  On average 5.5 hours from start to finish. 

The athletes who completed and are looking forward to next years event are:
1. Keith Terada
2. Dario Benavides
3. Kelly Couch
4. John Vrionis
5. Don Faul
6. Ian Hersey
7. Jeff Solomon
8. Pierre Pujol
9. Derrick Hansen
10. Mike Osmond
11. Mark O'Sullivan
12. Tina Lount Pretre
13. Sue Hinrichs
14. Brad Hinrichs
15. Tanja Sattler
16. Tim Kuenster
17. Lorraine Sneed
18. Martin Michael
19. Dave Mandelkern
20. Katie Hotchkiss
21. Sarah Charlesworth
22. Lindi Marco
23. Andrew Tempkin
24. Altay Sendil
25. Bob Carlin
26. Joel Phillips
27. Sally Phillips
28. Cindy Welton
29. Michele Santilhano
30. Mary Posey
31. Cara Barr
32. Amy McGaughey
33. Edie Heideman
34. David Greenwood
35. Chas Pavlovic
36. Kirsten Kempe
37. Stephanie Rowen
38. Lennard Hachmann
39. Kim Freitas
40. Tim Sheeper


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Fearsome Foursome 2009

These athletes are the cream of the crop.  Or, they just had nothing conflicting with the four special team events that comprise the Fearsome Foursome.  Use whatever definition that makes you feel better.

The FF is basically just a few days during our base training phase of the season. 

The ultimate run is a beautiful Sunday morning run in January. 

February is just bits of swimming day in and day out, the way it SHOULD be done, but definitely not as exciting as cycling our running, so a big chore for a triathlete. 

The Epic Ride is just a looped course to the south of us, where some substantial mountains tend to loom. 

The Fearsome Tri is just some nonsense to fill a Saturday training session.

The above is a simplification of what we did and a way to downplay with feats of the athletes who endured the challenges and kept themselves healthy, strong and motivated through the tough training of the first quarter of the year.

Congratulations Fearsome Foursome Athletes:
1. Keith Terada
2. Mike Osmond
3. Mark O'Sullivan
4. Tina Lount-Pretre
5. Tanja Sattler
6. Martin Michael
7. Dave Mandlekern
8. Lindi Marco
9. Altay Sendil
10. Joel Phillips
11. Sally Phillips
12. Cindy Welton
13. Michele Santilhano
14. Mary Posey
15. David Greenwood
16. Kirsten Kempe
17. Cara Barr
18. Chas Pavlovic
19. Susan Hinrichs
20. Brad Hinrichs


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United States Masters Swimming National Championships - Clovis

The USMS Short Course Nats will be held May 7-10 in Clovis California.  This is the biggest and fastest meet all year for the Masters.  This is the equivalent of Ironman Hawaii for a masters swimmer.  Many swimmers have been competing in local and regional meets leading up to Nationals which requires time standards for entry.

I will be in Clovis for most of the days coaching our team of 24 masters swimmers, so I will have other coaches assuming my regular coaching duties on those four days.

Wish your swim-mates luck and I am certain they thank you for your support and drive in the swim workouts.


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30/30 Team Run Challenge

30 minutes of running, 30 days in a row beginning in the month of June and ending in the month of July. 

This is designed to be our way of improving our run performance through the manipulation of frequency as opposed to duration or intensity. 

Any type of running, anywhere and you make the grade.  There will be a second level goal of 24 runs in 30 days.  The concept is similar to that of February Can Do Challenge, but with running instead of swimming.

This is a just a "teaser" to the challenge, the exact start date along with guidelines and goals will be revealed in next month's Hotsheet. 


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Level One Triathlon Team

The new Level One Tri program started on April 22, with a handful of beginner athletes taking direction and guidance from our very capable coach Ken Wilner (2:49 Boston 2009). 

The Level One athletes will meet twice a week on Tuesday (new night) and Saturday morning for focused coaching from Ken.  The Level One athletes also have the option of joining in on other workouts such as Monday Night Spin or Thursday Pilates so keep your eyes open for new athletes and welcome them into the fold when you get the chance.

If you would like more information speak to Ken or I or check the new pages on our website.
http://www.teamsheeper.com/training/level1.php


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Thursday Night Training Sessions

Thursday night training sessions for 2009 are meant to be body maintenance time.  Stretching, strengthening, aligning and overall becoming more aware of your physical being.  They are not meant to be "knock-down-drag-em-out" tough workouts.

Owen and Ken are two very highly trained and educated professionals offering service on alternating weeks.  Please carve some time in your schedule to optimize your fitness and keep your body healthy and operating well. 

Your presence at these sessions is requested by both Ken and Owen.


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