Welcome to the first ITCH of 2010 and, depending on when you start counting, possibly the decade.

Please remember that subscriptions are supposed to have been renewed by the end of January.

When you renew your subscriptions you commit to volunteering for one of our events:

• Culford is currently scheduled for 25th July
• the Junior is currently scheduled for 29th August
• the Duathlon is currently scheduled for 26th September.

I cannot stress enough how important that is that we all turn up and help put on these events or, if you cannot make it yourself, you find a replacement volunteer.  Read this from Culford Race Director Dave Copland:

The Ipswich triathlon club AGM was held at Greshams on Thursday 12th November 2009.

Formal minutes will be available for the 2010 AGM but some points of interest:

• the existing committee members were all re-elected unopposed:
  • Chair - Mary Skelcher
  • Secretary - Simon Palmer
  • Men's captain - Ross Welton
  • Ladies captain - Kate Stannett
  • Treasurer - John Wankowski
  • Junior co-ordinator/development - Isabel Smith
  • Comms - Charlie Stannett
• there was a minor change made to the constitution, to bring the formal constitution in line with current practice regarding the size and shape of the committee.
• the subscriptions for 2010 will remain as now - but members are strongly reminded that the subscription level is based on our being able to put on successful open events, all of which need volunteers.

Suggestions were invited - what would you like changed/more of - which are being discussed by the incoming committee.

Possible change to ITCH format - what's your view?

The current format of ITCH is in part governed by the need to provide a printed newsletter to those members without internet access. With fewer and fewer members in this category - just two at the last count - I am being encouraged to consider a move to a light weight "e-zine" format as used by people like Tri247 and the "Great" organisers. The e-mailed "ITCH" would have less (but hopefully more timely) content, not dissimilar to the occasional e-mails I already send out, but with pointers to longer reads such as race reports on the club website.

If you have any strong views, either way, please e-mail them to me at itch@ipswich-tri.org - and do please let me know if you don't really read ITCH anyway. Many thanks.

Twitter feeds

I have been using Twitter as a way of getting quick updates on to the website.  If you want to see just the club Twitter file (without the scrolling which is used on the website) then follow or visit http://twitter.com/ipswichtri
If you want to see what your Twittering mates are up to, then visit http://twitter.com/ipswichtri/clubmembers where you can read (for example) how Jason's been out crashing his bike on the ice. Loads more fun!

You do NOT have to register with Twitter to read these two feeds. Just go to the address given above as though it were an ordinary webpage. But if you are registered and you want to be added to the "clubmembers" list, please let me know by normal e-mail. I don't always recognise members by their veiled login names.

I have also started a small collection of pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/ipswich-tri but, to be honest, it's easier if people writing race reports etc point to their own flickr or picassa accounts.

The ITCH League 2010

The committee has discussed at some length whether to reinstate the league format as the way of deciding the club championship but the general view seems to be to keep the league as it is now, in parallel with the club championship.

Accordingly, I shall keep the format the same - with the same main rule about wearing club kit - but swap out one or two of the later races. In particular London is proving a bit too vague and time-consuming to process, whereas a number of members have suggested bringing in a sea-based standard distance event such as Clacton.
(Waveney Sprint I - which seems to have been mostly filled by the organising club's own members - is included for 2010 but will probably be dropped for 2011.)

(If you missed the results mailing, you should be able to find the final league table for 2009 at www.ipswich-tri.org/JOIN/itch-league/ITCH-league-2009-results-announced.pdf )

The Club Championship 2010 - Cambridge

As mentioned above, the committee has decided to keep the club championship linked to a single local standard distance event but the committee has also decided to vary the venue our support. The event we have chosen as the decider for our 2010 club championships is the Cambridge Triathlon.

Cambridge Triathlon is scheduled for 15th August 2010 but, as at 30th January, was not yet open. See http://www.cambridgetriathlonclub.com/ for current news and a "hot spot" link to the on-line entry pages.
(Incidentally, entries are open for the Cambridge Duathlon on Sunday 2nd May.)

Charlie Stannett - itch@ipswich-tri.org

Isabel tells us that she has now added to her coaching qualifications, having completed her Endurance Module and Assessment for Level 2 Athletics. This provides with a wider range of skills when working with our junior members.  (As well as being a level 2 triathlon coach, Isabel is also a level 3 swimming coach and already runs her own specialist swimming sessions in the area.)

Isabel now has two assistants to help her deliver group coaching.  Antony Birt is already well known from helping out at the Saturday morning swimming sessions. More recently, Charlie Stannett has qualified as a Level 1 triathlon coach and is hoping to help deliver sessions for novice age-groupers.

It is worth noting that, under the auspices and insurance of British Triathlon, coaches at Level 1 & Level 2 are fairly restricted in what they can offer and in particular are only licensed to work with small groups of people.

Level 3 coaches are able to offer more intensive one-to-one coaching - usually at a price which reflects the high cost of being trained as a Level 3 coach. Our men's captain Ross Welton has recently started training with a one-to-one coach and has promised to share his thoughts on the experience in a future ITCH.

(See http://britishtriathlon.org/coaching/findacoach.php?category=/coaching/ for a list of licensed Level 3 coaches.)

We are always looking for more coaching assistance. Do YOU have any coaching qualifications?

Isabel an be contacted by e-mail to juniors@ipswich-tri.org

Kate hides behind dark glasses...

Some weeks ago, I was in conversation with a newish club member who was enjoying our Thursday evening sessions at Greshams but was surprised how few fellow ladies there were. It appears that she had felt intimidated at first but soon realised that our chaps are indeed mostly harmless and was welcomed into the fold.

This brings me to wondering if more people are thinking along the same lines.

Unfortunately I can rarely get to Greshams for training myself, but there are other ladies who do go regularly. I knows the lads do bluster a lot (!) but I am assured that nobody is ever left alone.

So can I ask you all a couple of Questions?

• Would you like to train with other members on a Thursday night but are worried you might be left behind?
• Would you be more interested if there were ladies only groups?

Please think about it and let me know if you have any training ideas or problems.

Toodle-pip, Kate

Kate can be contacted by e-mail to kate@ipswich-tri.org

Ok, so this year in my infinite wisdom i decided that it might be ‘fun’ to have a go at Cyclo-cross (CC). Mr Copland kindly sourced me a second hand bike and with that your pretty much ready to race. My idea was to turn up for a few races and just give it a try as something novel to do during the off season, however, it doesn’t really work like that. ..

What i found out rather rapidly is that this is not a sport that lends itself to a sedate Sunday afternoon ride. I kid you not, at my first race i was 500m behind everyone else after the gun fired as i tried to clip into ‘eggbeater’ pedals, the rest off the field moving straight into 100% effort mode. I learnt rather rapidly from that point on that everything in CC is done at 100%. The races last for around 50 minutes and go across various terrain. My first race in Colchester was across a dry open field with a few short sharp ramps to get up, not so bad i thought. The second race at Mistly was a whole different story, incredibly technical, constantly undulating and just bloody hard work. I fell off 6 times much to spectators amusement in the woods, but you soon start to improve your bike handling. I realised that when we ride our road bikes we don’t actually ever steer, we lean. Well in CC if you don’t steer you hit trees!

CC is definitely something different and i would encourage anyone to have a go, as the pain doesn’t last that long! We also have resident expert Dave Copland so advice and guidance and being conned into races is always available! ITC presence has grown this year with myself, Dave, Steve DB, Birty and Brian all featuring this year so you wont be alone. This Sunday sees the Eastern Region Championships at Foxhall so come along and have a laugh!

Kia Kaha

Thetford Forest Duathlon - Ross Welton

I’ll be honest i wasn’t that fussed abut doing this, it didn’t sound that appealing and with torrential rain the night before it was always going to be a little muddy! Having been ill for the week before my plan was to saunter round and try to remember its supposed to be fun.

We were incredibly lucky that the weather during the race was absolutely spot on and the start line looked great with surprisingly large numbers of ITC colours, even me! The first run was set to be around 3.25 miles and the pace from the off was way quicker than i thought it would be. After a couple of miles of run/wade we were going up a bit of a drag and i could see everyone ahead but signs pointing right. I said to the guys around me we should be going right here, but the consensus was that the lead runners had a bike with them! DAMN, be a shepherd not a sheep is what i have learnt here. We ended up doing 4.5miles. I know that doesn’t sound much but this was one of those times when that bit extra hurt! Most people continued to follow and only when we neared transition could we see the very back markers popping out the woods ahead of us! The bike was about 8 miles, 2 laps through the forest on varying terrain and there were definitely points were i would have rather had a mountain bike than a CC if only for the sake of my derrière! Back into transition and out for the final run of a couple of miles. There was one drag of a hill towards the end of the race that i for one found absolutely knackering, I’m sure that extra mile at the start told for most people there! Across the line, covered in mud, trainers ruined and time for a nice cup of soup.

Rusty - 2 December 2009

(I tried filching a pic from BT but none could found.)

I regard these off road duathlons as a bit of fun and a chance to get some hills in the legs. I was running the 10k/18k/5k duathlon, my partner Cheryl was doing the 12k run.

We rocked up at about 8am and despite heavy overnight rain it was dry (ie no rain falling) and surprisingly mild. Brief walk of part of the course showed some steep, juicy hills but not as muddy as I feared. The field was split about 50:50 between the runners and duathletes. There was also a race of about 5 people who were being pulled by dogs. One bloke reckoned his dog was usually good to pull him up about 2 hills before it realised it was doing all the work and then it would back off on the uphill bits.

Runners went at 10:00. Duathletes went off on a different route (for the 10k run – 2 laps) at 10:30 then back to the route the runners used for 3 bike laps, before one final lap of the first route to finish. I racked - free racking – cheered the Cheryl off and then got ready for the 10:30 start.

First run lap I felt a bit sluggish but got going a bit on the second and finished around 44:00. Course was good fun, a few steep little ups and downs and a fun bit with about 10 fallen trees to hurdle/clamber over.

Transition was OK,  - I was quite hot and ignored the gloves and gilet I’d laid out, put a camelback on for fluid (almost impossible to use a bottle on rough ground) then set off. This was only my second MTB ride in about 8 months! Start was reasonable, and I felt good for the first half of the lap, with a few overtakes. 3 of these hills were too steep to ride up so needed a dismount and a push. Then I hit problem #1 – took a slug of drink from the camelback but somehow pulled the end nipple off – leaving basically a hosepipe gushing SIS electrolyte drink over me, my bike etc. Stopped the off valve, replaced the nipple and carried on but almost immediately realised that my handlebars and my hands were slimey with drink. My MTB has rotating collar on the handlebars to change gear and there was no way I could change gear with this lack of grip. So I had to ride stuck in one gear for a few minutes, until a couple of fast descents had dried everything enough to grip again.

The I hit problem #2 – changing my big ring, the chain got jammed between 2 cogs. This took a while to free (a few people whizzed past as I wrestled with the chain), and when I rode again I could not change the big ring anymore – maybe the gear changing for big ring had also got gummed up with dried SIS sports drink. Fortunately I was on the middle ring, so probably a reasonable compromise rather than being on either of the other rings. I was a bit fed up for the rest of that first circuit after these mishaps, but got going again on the second loop and felt pretty quick with a few overtakes on the final loop. Found that a good strong purposeful push of the bike up the walking bits usually gained a place or 2, indeed any hill was a good time for overtaking. My MTB is a 10 years old and lacks niceties like front suspension/disc brakes so the hands were getting battered on fast descents.

Best bit of the bike was a huge, deep puddle. I came up to it riding 3 abreast on first loop, I was on the wide left. We barrelled into the puddle but it got way too deep and thickly muddy for the other two (one almost went over his bars as his front wheel stuck, he just got the bike back down). By sheer luck my line was perfect – not too deep and gritty rather than thick mud at the bottom and I got through.

Finished the bike feeling decent and in good shape – pleased to see Transition less than half full of bikes. You entered transition the other end to where you enter after the run. This blew my radar and I went to where I’d racked without realising ‘back left’ would now be ‘front right’ as everything was reversed. I racked my bike anyway and observed that my kit had gone and was feeling a bit hacked off as I ran out; however passed my kit as I ran out in the opposite corner and then realised what I had done….hmm.mm

I went pretty well on the run, and carved past about 10-12 over the 5k, which I did in 22:30.

Overall time was 2:13:24, 36th of 146 finishers and 6th in age group. Pretty pleased with that. Cheryl was even more made up though – 2nd in age group and happily waving a cheque for £40, £40 vouchers for Merrell shoes and free race entry for one of the other races in the series. And a nice coffee for me.

All in all great fun and a good hard race. I’ll probably be doing one more of the series, probably the Tuffman on 6 Feb. About an hour after the finish it began raining and hammered down for the rest of the day…..I don’t think it’s stopped since...

Chris Tye - 30 November 2009

I got talked into the Hellrunner a couple of months ago by my training partner Tomas (the Tominator) - not sure how, given the name, but it seemed like a good idea at the time and I needed something to keep the training motivation going as winter starts to become a reality.  It's advertised as 'between 10 and 12 miles of offroad running', with some obstacles, one of which was called the Bog of Doom.  The days leading up to it had seen the south of England lashed with rain, so I was expecting a muddy experience, but race day dawned sunny and clear as I made my way to Longmoor camp in Hampshire.

Due to event's popularity, the Southern edition of the Hellrunner has a morning and afternoon race, and I was in the latter.  This gave me the chance to park up and wander along to see how the early competitors were getting on with the "Bog of Doom".  This turned out to be 50 yards or so of steep-banked river, about 6 feet wide, and chest (or waist if you're Tom)-deep high water/slurry.  I got a great view of the runners leaping in (a surprising amount of which were in facy dress), egged on by baying spectators.  Suitably trepidated, I went off to the start of my race.

The organisation has a pleasantly amateurish air about it, which is unfair as it was very efficient; the atmosphere just feels like you're taking part in a small-town cross country.  There was a real blitz spirit on the start line, as we cheered home the last of the early race and exchanged "what the hell are we doing here" type comments.  The slightly bizarre start marshall (guy dressed as the devil on stilts) got us going to the strains of 'Highway to Hell'.

The route kicks off with a fast fire-road for a mile or so, which gives the faster guys a chance to spread out, before diving into the proper offroad stuff - lots of short sharp hills and deep puddles.  I had meant to take it easy and have a training run, but with the sun coming through the trees and AC/DC still ringing in my ears, I gave it beans and enjoyed it.  It was hard to pace without having seen the route, so it was a case of take whatever you find - turn a corner and there's another big hill.....and going down it is when you realise that spikes would have been a good idea....

I had quite a gap ahead of me when I reached the bog of doom, and the crowd were yelling at me to jump in - I gave them a bit more entertainment by falling on my arse 3 feet from the edge, so I had to perform a 'spirited' entry by way of recompense.  I tried swimming it, but my legs threatened to cramp up when I did (I guess they're not used to doing it that way round), so I waddled to the end and laboured my way out of the mud.  After that, it was a session of more steep hills, and 2 more wading sessions, one of which had a decidedly rank whiff about it....

The last few miles were a glorious twisty part through some trees in the sun, followed by some sandy tank trails that were a trial for the calves after so many hills.  The finish was a nice gentle downhill, allowing a bit of a sprint.  The finish chute was impeccably organised, the goody bags (my basic indicator of a good race...) were excellent, and the t-shirts a bit ugly!  I even saw Gordon Ramsay, who also ran and when spattered with mud looks even more orange. Total distance (off the GPS) was 9.42 miles.
 
In all, a great little race, and highly recommended.  It's an ideal time of year for giving the training a bit of impetus, and it's an excellent hill session for us flat-earthers. Tips if you do it next year (I will) - take several bottles of water for washing yourself down in the car park, don't wear your best white gear, and don't try swimming in the water, or you may end up with the same stomach complaint I had.  It made the drive home take a bit longer and lent a whole new meaning to the 'bog of doom'.

Dave Kay - 20 November 2009

Please contact Charlie or Isabel if you are interested in a short programme of skills & drills coaching specifically scheduled to help you with Culford.

Or far?

Time is as before (9am - 10am) and we might need to cancel the odd date if it clashes with a race. Also, if you know of a life guard who could be called upon as necessary, could you let Greg know.

Please note that on some occasions we will be reserving one lane for use in coaching juniors.

If you want to be on a ring round list for notification of changes at short notice then let Greg Allen have your number. Greg is on 07501 464143 or e-mail greg.jamie@talktalk.net

For further information about swimming arrangements, contact Greg Allen on 07501 464143 or e-mail greg.jamie@talktalk.net

Just a couple of people have expressed interest in this but we've decided that if a few more people also express interest, we'll see if we can arrange something. If you're (still) interested, please e-mail charlie@ipswich-tri.org so we can take a firm view.

My garage was broken into, under the full glare of security lights, in the early hours of the morning.  My TT and mountain bikes were taken, as was my friend's 2007 Felt 75 TT bike  which was in my garage as he was using my turbo trainer while I was away.  My bikes were found dumped in bushes about half a mile away by a member of the public, who notified the police straight away.  They recovered them to the police station where a cyclist PCSO recognised their value and tracked me down via Elmys, who had serviced the bike.  The thieves obviously intended to recover the bikes themselves later, and even had the gall to ask the guy who had found them where 'their' bikes had gone!!  The Felt has yet to be found.  It would appear that a lot of bikes are being stolen by a particular known group in the Woodbridge/Kesgrave area, from sheds or garages.  I was very lucky to get my bikes back, and now have taken steps to stop it happening again.  I hadn't noted down serial numbers and the bikes weren't chained up in the garage - I've now spent a wad down at B & Q on various locks and chains to protect my pride and joy.

If anyone sees the Felt (60cm frame, black, 105 chainset, ultegra rear mech) or hears of it being sold, please call Tomas on 07725444290

This elicited a couple of replies.

Michael Carpenter suggested "my method is to use a standard mortice lock (which you can get for under a tenner) and fits into the lip at the bottom of the garage door and latches into a hole drilled in the concrete.
The benefit of this (over and above the price) is that it's easy to fit (see Michael's diagram by clicking on the margin thumbnail).  Also, it doesn't advertise the fact that you have bolstered the security of your garage (which would in my opinion, make any thief more likely to conclude that 'there must be something worth nicking in there') because the only evidence of any improvements is a small hole for the key to fit in.

Graham White suggested: "locking your pride and joy away in a bedroom  is best."

To order kit - for delivery on club nights - contact John Wankowski on club nights or by e-mailing him at kit@ipswich-tri.org

You are reminded that club kit vouchers distributed during 2009 are valid until the end of 2010.

Charity 5 Mile Sudbury Fun Run on Good Friday 2nd April 2010.
More details can be located at www.sudburyfunrun.co.uk

Profile Design CGT bars - carbon clip-on shorty aerobars "ITU approved for Olympic distance triathlons which require draft-legal Aerobars" (see http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/aerobars/carbon-aerobars/cgt.html for picture & spec). Hardly ever used (it's a long story). Current price new seems to be around $120 (eBay) - $240 (Amazon.com) from USA (Wiggle sell the metal ones in the UK for £98) so offers invited around £70. Sound reasonable? Contact Charlie Stannett charlie@stannett.com or 01206-298888.

Older ads - I will start to remove these unless advertisers let me know they're still needed.

Triathlon 220 magazines -  from 2004 to Jan 2008. Too good to throw away and in good condition. Ring Chris Slemmings on 01394 285441

Planet X Stealth carbon aero bars, they are in great condition with spacers and bolts £140. Full spec can be obtained at www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk - pics also via email or call Rob Peevor 07717844087

Swim-coaching - Matt Claydon at Framlingham College/Framlingham College Swimming Club runs adult and child swimming coaching at Framlingham College Pool.
For more details you can call Matt Claydon on 01728 727223 or 07824 385991, or e-mail mclaydon@framcollege.co.uk

Massage - Jackie Chubb has a regular room at Rede near Bury St Edmunds, available any time.
Open to members & non-members but booking is essential on 01284-789576 or 07985-496918.

Wanted

Sponsors - please sponsor Charlie Stannett, who is using his club place in the Virgin London Marathon to raise money for the RNID - see http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CharlieStannett (or, if you want to use PayPal, see www.justgiving.com/charlie-and-ronel )

Race reports - thanks to everybody who has written items. Please continue to send them in, to itch@ipswich-tri.org - thanks.