M2 Athletes at IMUSA
I have enjoyed working with a great group of athletes for this
weekend's Ironman USA in Lake Placid NY.
This group is as diverse in many ways
* geography; spans the country
* professional backgrounds; meterologists, financial planners, high
technology, ski instructor
* sizes; from 6'4" and clydesdale to 5'3" 110 pounds
* athletic background; couch potato, soccer, baseball, xc ski, swim
* race goals; to finish, to improve on previous efforts, to be competitive
in age-group, to win overall
Despite the group's diversity, most everyone from this group has proven
to be very diligent in executing the workouts and providing the feedback
that helps me guide their efforts, the combination of which makes for a
successful athlete/coach relationship.
For those who will be watching the IronmanLive broadcast of the race,
Mary Uhl and Gina Kehr are two outstanding athletes who will no doubt
be battling at the front of the race....very exciting. Both bring
unique talents to the race, yet they both share the ability to run strong
and get stronger as the race gets longer.
Good luck to....
Greg Sullivan Pennsylvania
Walter Bird NY
Gina Kehr Santa Clara, CA
Mary Uhl Santa Fe, NM
Mike Schneider Santa Fe, NM
John Hyland New Jersey
Ryan Simon Minnesota
Jon Bennett Michigan
Carmen Monks Massachusetts
Dave LeRoy San Jose, CA
Sue Foster Maine
Fernando in Michigan, Kehr in Sacramento, Kerrigan in NY
Eric Fernando continues to make waves in the Michigan Grand Prix
Circuit, finishing 2nd overall in races the past two weekends. In
our 3rd year working together, Eric has continued to improve an already
fast bike, routinely turning in the top couple of bike splits. His
running has taken a great leap forward with the loss of a few extra
pounds.
Eric qualified for Kona at Blackwaterand although he is very excited
about his first trip to the Kona coast, current training consists largely
of weekend sprints/olympic, mon-tues active recovery, Wednesday quality
bike/run, strides and neural activation on Thursday/Friday, easy bikes
on Saturday, race Sunday. No training for Hawaii until late August,
beginning of September. We'll let the rest of the world burn themselves
out in July/August.
Gina Kehr won a tune-up Olympic race in the Sacramento area. Gina's
focus is IMUSA on July 27th.
Terry Kerrigan finished 3rd overall in an Olympic distance race in the
NY area. Terry is gunning for IM Canada at the end of August.
South Bay M2 athletes Kyle Welch and Dave LeRoy are heating up the
40-44 age group everywhere they go. June 22 saw Kyle and Dave
slugging it out at the highly competitive San Jose International
Triathlon. 1st and 3rd place in the 40-44 age group, with Kyle taking
the honors this time.
Kyle and Dave do many of their track workouts with Ironman star Gina
Kehr. Dave and Gina are gunning for IMUSA, and Kyle has his eyes
set on Vineman.
The local south bay newspaper, The Sun, wrote a nice article on Kyle's
training/racing efforts while working a high responsiblity job at
IBM.
An exerpt from the article, in Kyle's words:
"The key is hitting quality workouts that require high effort, an
elevated heart rate but take a shorter amount of time.
Welch works with his training coach, Michael McCormack, to have two
to three workouts a week on his bike and two to three running
workouts as well. He usually swims whenever he can fit time into his
busy schedule."
For the whole story, click on
http://www.svcn.com/archives/sunnyvalesun/20030618/sv-sports1.html
Sunnyvale's Welch escapes from Alcatraz
By Eric Fontes
Kyle Welch is not like most IBM engineers. While most of his
co-workers were probably relaxing on Sunday, June 8, Welch was
plunging into the San Francisco Bay's freezing waters to embark upon
one of the world's hardest short triathlon courses.
The 41-year-old Sunnyvale resident placed second out of 133
participants in his age group (40-44) in the Escape from Alcatraz
Triathlon. And though Welch has been competing in triathlons for six
years, the recent 27.5-mile trek proved to be a difficult one.
"Alcatraz was really dicey this year," said Welch. "The swim was not
easy. It was like being in a washing machine."
The 1,223 triathletes were dropped off by two ferries in the San
Francisco Bay to complete a 1.5-mile swim back to the shore. Upon
entering the water, the swimmers were greeted by three to four foot
swells that were white-capping as a result of a strong wind going in
the opposite direction of the ebb tide.
"(The conditions) caused lots of swimmers to get separated from the
packs," said Welch. "I got split up and was swimming alone for 13 to
20 minutes."
Once Welch reached the shore, he hopped on his bike for the 18-mile
stretch traveling over many hills. He suffered a slight setback when
he lost his water bottle when he hit a bump in the road. Finally,
Welch reached the last transition spot and began the eight-mile run
over trails, beaches, stairs and other various terrains.
Welch finished in 2:32:46 as the 21st overall amateur. Then again, as
a nationally-ranked amateur in his age group, he is used to such
results. Welch finished second in his age group in the Uvas South Bay
Triathlon on May 18 and sixth in the Keauhou Kona 1/2 Ironman
Triathlon.
What's more impressive is that Welch does all this while working as a
full-time engineering manager at IBM in Menlo Park.
"It's difficult to do both," said Welch. "The key is hitting quality
workouts that require high effort, an elevated heart rate but take a
shorter amount of time."
Welch works with his training coach, Michael McCormack, to have two
to three workouts a week on his bike and two to three running workouts
as well. He usually swims whenever he can fit time into his busy
schedule.
Welch says it's not uncommon for people to meet a triathlete in the
workplace, but sometimes his athletic efforts catch a co-worker by
surprise.
"You still come across the deer in headlights every once in a while,"
said Welch. "They either look at you in awe or think you're a lunatic."
Welch might have thought the same just eight years ago when he was
working in Japan. At that time, his normal day consisted of working
until 8:30 p.m. before going out with business associates afterwards.
"I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle in Japan," said Welch, "so I
wanted to get back into shape (after moving to the Bay Area)."
Welch's interest in triathlons sparked when he attended an
informational meeting for Team in Training, an organization that
provides personal coaching and training to help participants prepare
for a marathon, century ride, or triathlon. He decided to join Team
in Training, which helps raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society.
After having such a good time participating in his first
triathlon—the 1998 Wildflower 1/2 Ironman Triathlon—Welch decided to
continue training and competing.
Last year, Welch competed in 12 triathlons and was ranked 51st among
all U.S. triathletes. His efforts have earned product sponsorships
from Active.com, Breathe Right, Egg Beaters and RoadID.
Welch hopes to eventually qualify to compete in either the world
championship Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in October or the World
Short Course triathlon in New Zealand in December.
"I'm going to keep doing triathlons as long as I can and as long as
it stays fun," said Welch. "It's a part of my lifestyle."
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