On the weekend 1/2 August gearsandtears club members & coached athletes were out doing their stuff.

Mark Ashwell a seasoned Ironman competitor chose to spend his weekend doing battle with a Double Ironman in Litchfield. Mark experienced his first ever wet race!?! & it was very very very wet at times. He battled on, suffered my friendly banter for the duration & finished in good style & good form.

'Just' up the road coached athlete Hannah Elliot was enjoying her first Ironman- Ironman UK in Bolton. Hannah had worked exceptionally hard & shown huge determination to get to the start line her efforts were rewarded when she became an 'Ironman' & fulfilled her long term dream. Superb effort. To find out more please read Hannah's race report in the Shaking the Grass Section of our site.

Coached athlete Jez Statham completed his 22nd ironman distance race in Roth on 12/7/09 and in doing so set a new personal best of 11hrs 12mins. Jez has been coached for 21 of his 22 finishes. During this time he has also qualified to race for GB as an age group athlete.

Jez fits his training around long and unpredictable shifts. His continued progress is testament to both his commitment and the flexibility and individuality of the training plans he receives.

Four coached athletes started this years IM France to do battle with the Pyrenean climbs, sun and high temperatures that are a feature of this IM. All four athletes succeeded. No small achievement when you look at the DNF rate for IM France. Well done.

This is the incoherent ramblings of a bungling amateur athlete who was stupid enough to think he could finish an ultra distance cycle race, as his first bike race and do it on a folding bike and who was lucky enough to be part of a team that did so.

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Coached athlete Dominic Irvine finished the Race Across the Alps (www.raceacrossthealps.com) ultra endurance bicycle race this weekend. In doing so he became the 2nd ever Brit to finish the event- no Brit prior to this year had managed this feat. Dom had to contend with some appauling weather, a stomach that decided to reject most of his race nutrition and of course the demands of the race itself. Great show of courage, strength and mental fortitude. Well done.

Coached athlete Paula Robinson placed 4th in her age- group at this years Ironman Lanzarote. A fantastic achievement. Well done.

As you are aware we offer an email based coaching service. The training plans we deliver are individually tailored & are based on years of academic study, coaching courses & practical coaching experience. There are other people & companies offering similar services.

One of these companies recently produced a 'flyer' which detailed how their service would help you swim, bike & run faster. Among the services offered were swim, bike & run analysis, & a 'VO2 metabolic assessment'. They also extolled the virtues of Computrainers SpinScan analysis.

In connection with the above I wondered:

- who is analysing the athletes technique? Have they studied, or at least got a basic understanding of the biomechanics of each discipline?

- what test protocol are they using for their Vo2 metabolic assessment. This is very, very relevant. Before you sign up for any max test ask the tester to detail their test protocol & ask if it follows BASES guidelines. (If they say whose?- then go somewhere else!)

- Do they actually understand how CompuTrainers' SpinScan collects data? If they do can they explain how this will help identify differences in individual leg strength? Are they also aware that research suggests that the most powerful cyclists- the pros- don't pedal in perfect circles? Can they explain this? If not, why not?

If you are considering employing a coach make sure you know what you are getting. If people offer you the world, ask how much of that they can actually give you.

gearsandtears.com currently have a very limited amount of Training Plan slots available. To apply for one of the two available Training Plans please contact Ian on 07899 697 282

Following changes in the way Athletics in the UK is conducted affiliated Clubs, such as gearsandtears have to register each competing member with England Athletics. The registering of members costs £5 per member.This fee being payable by the Club.

Once registered and the appropriate fee paid England Athletics Services produce Competition Licences for registered Club members.

As gearsandtears exists for triathletes, cyclists and runners it is not cost effective or relevant to register all our members as many will not compete in running events, or will be members of other running clubs. Accordingly, if you would like us to register you as a competing athlete with England Athletics please email us and we will submit your details and pay your registration fee (provided your subs are upto date!). Unless we hear from you we will NOT automatically register you.

We will maintain a database of those members who request this registration and confirm annually that such members wish their registration to be renewed.

Infinit Nutrition launched in the UK on 1st June 2007. This company enables you to customise your sports drink. The company is run by Michael Hanreck a very accomplished and experienced endurance athlete. All energy drinks are not created equal, this is your chance to make sure what you drink meets your needs.