Over the weekend of the Sandown Triathlon Show, a number of Viceroys were seen swiiming Endless Pool demos in the Zoggs swim zone- Colette Kitterhing, James Turner , Lisa Yeoman, Carl Fisher, Alexa Docker, Mark Yeoman, Lara Clay, Joel Stainton and Anna Gilmore. 

Although those new to the experience found the swim initially quite nerve wracking (and the water very cold!) all relaxed once they realised that they were getting a great lesson from a top trainer (Rick Kiddle):

‘Great tips, particularly concentrating on my legs. Just looking forward to putting it into practice at the Xcel tomorrow.’ Alexa

‘The endless pool experience was amazing. I was coached on both my kick and stroke and in a short space of time made quite a bit of improvement. I felt like I was moving through the water easier and for less effort.’ Lara

Half an hour with Rick Kiddle in an Endless pool with photographers and an audience … Why not?!!  You are made to feel like a sports star – get lots of free kit AND get free training tips from the master swim coach Rick himself … Just stay on his good side – he has a little device that can make the current brutal if he decides to crank it.’ Anna 

‘I loved the overall experience of swimming in the endless, with no idea of distance you had to focus on technique and having a current gave instant feed back as to the changes in your stroke. I have never had a mirror below me as a swam either, really interesting to actually see how you swim.        

I also had a heart rate monitor on and did the Swimovate challenge which was 6 mins at 6 different levels, increasing in intensity every minute. By the last minute the current was brutal and I was genially swimming as hard as a physically could to keep my position in the pool and even then I could feel myself being pushed back.    

Then on to paddle and finn demos and some technique drills from Rick Kiddle to try to get me to correct some of my bad habits. 

It was a great experience and I loved it. Lets put it this way if I won the lottery one would definitely be on my shopping list. ‘Colette

‘I found the experience to be fantastic.  The coaches deconstructed my stroke then gave me 4 drills to practice.  The endless pool was brilliant and I’d far rather swim in one of them than a 25m or even 50m normal pool.  Fingers crossed the weather is nice in April for an early lake opening !  Thank you to Mark and Viceroys and Zoggs for organising.’ Joel

Check out our facebook page to see lots of photos and videos of the endless pool at the tri show.

‘This is an epic race – a true pre-season sharpener and great to kick start the season.  It also uses the 8 mile Olympic cycling route round Box Hill – the same loop we often use on our Surrey Hills club rides.  It was my second time racing the Spring version (for those with slightly more sanity – there is also an option to do it in November!). 

Simon Tack has unfortunately had a winter plagued by injury – after a meniscus tear in his left knee on the 13^th October at the end of the first week of Base 1, sustained on a relaxing walking holiday, has now been restarting Base 1 in January with a new improved plan from ‘Mark the Merciless’: ‘Three months behind and somewhat tentative about how much my recovered joint can take there is a great deal of training needed to get Ironman ready.’

Ironman ready???

Yes, Simon has Ironman and more booked for this year!  ‘My targets have now been revised to sub 14 (satisfied) for Ironman. Sub 13 hours (very happy) and sub 12 hours (in my dreams).Eton 10k swim – sub 3 hours 45. 70.3 – sub 7 hours.’

Good luck Simon, we look forward to an update.

‘I race in the 3rd CATS which is …. Yeah you guessed right!…. 3rd Category Cyclists (next is 2nd…. 1st then the elites!) you gain your 3rd CAT license by racing 4th and scoring  (when I started racing road bikes after retiring from MX in 2012) 10 points. Points are awarded: 1st = 10 ; 2nd = 9; 3rd = 8; 4th = 7…  Down to 1 point for 10^th, so you get the idea? After my first race I was hooked! With a 9th place finish I was off the mark! A few false starts later I managed to score a further 8 points and another 3rd place a week later! 3rd CATS here I come! 

Last season was totally wrecked with a back operation in February (6 screws and 2 rods in my spine racing Moto-X bikes for 15 years will do that to you!), so this season I have returned back to where it all started, The Hillingdon Winter Champs! After a great winter training indoors and outdoors (With Mr Yeoman and my Specialized Team Mates Luke Wallis and Alex Jones) I was back up to speed! I’ve had a mixed bag of results but now in the second half of the championships I’ve scored a 2nd, 9th and a 4th so I’m “Happy” but that first win is still not there yet!  

My favourite way to train is miles on the bike. It’s a given! Weather it be in the sunshine and hills or the wind and rain and flat! Trainings training! And I love my bike… Second to that is core work, DeadLifts, squats, burpees, Snatch and PowerCleans! All great fun!’ ‘

Good luck with your racing and training Kevin, but seriously, buy some Viceroys kit 😉

Viceroys Treasurer Anna Gilmore’s events for this year are focused towards her big event of the year, which is the Celtman at the end of June.  The Celtman is part of a trio of extreme iron-distance events and it is held in the northern highlands of Scotland.  The Norseman is held in Norway and the Swissman in Switzerland and they all take the same format – i.e. if you can finish it within the day you are doing well – expect it to take nearer 20 hours than the typical 11 for an Ironman.  So it is long-endurance style training that I need to get involved with this year.  

Anna continues: ‘I won’t lie – winter has been tough – with all our “inclement” weather – getting out there has been motivationally difficult and at times, just too dangerous to bother.  I’ve become re-acquainted with the turbo trainer as I wait for the stormy skies to clear.

So far this year, I’ve run in the Knacker Cracker on New Years’ day, which is a fantastic 10k trail race up and around Box Hill.  It was bitterly cold and wet but the hot soup at the end makes it worth hauling yourself out of bed for.  And it serves be right for entering a race on New Year’s day.  I’ll be out doing the Winter Tanners in a week, which is a 20 mile trail “plod” around  Leatherhead/Dorking/Box Hill area and then the final cross-country match is at the beginning of February.  I’ve signed up to several of F3’s events – two of the longer sportives (Big Dipper and Longest Day sportive) and the Windsor river swim.  Other events include the Ballbuster on 1 March and a nice wee trip back to Club La Santa for some warm weather training.

 Ah – warm weather – hurry back to us!  Happy training all and here’s to a great 2014. ‘

Good luck with your extreme training and competing Anna,

As we all know, the winter months can be a tough time to get through until the warmer weather arrives – meaning a brand new season. So to keep you motivated we are asking members to let us know what they’ve been doing during the winter months in an aid to keep you motivated ahead of the forthcoming season. First off is our chairman and coach Mark Yeoman: 

What was your highlight from last season?

Without doubt it was winning the famous Windsor Olympic triathlon. Thought I’d missed my shot back in 2009 when I came 2nd overall. I had a killer swim – setting the fastest swim split of the day and backed it up with a monster bike. Although it was unbelievably humid, a solid run saw me win my dream race and no one will ever take that away. Kept my sponsors happy. 

So what have you been doing this winter?

Well like most, I’ve gone back to basics and looked to build a strong bass ahead of adding speed. I do this by holding a set pace whilst running up hills or sticking to a certain amount of watts on the bike to build that strength. I can be tough at times, so I chase songs on the bike or zone out whilst running. I also looked at areas which need improving and for me this is my running off the bike. So I’m looking to improve my turn over whilst staying within myself. 

What are your plans for the season?
The world champions for the past three years have clashed with going back to school, but this season The Worlds are taking place at the end of August in Canada so I’ve decided to hit the first couple of qualifying races in May to secure a place before racing locally as preparation for The Worlds at the end of season. I’m hoping to be joined by a number of club members to share the experience.  

What’s your favourite training session?

You can’t beat 30x 100m in the pool to really push both mentally and physically. This is my key session throughout the year. I just adjust the goal times according to what time of the year it is. Now is all about consistent pace, come February/March I up the pace and reduce the rest to get race ready.

So, last year we were mildly confused as Simon Tack (dog Simon), Simon Colvan, Simon Pratt (Simon & Suze) all joined Viceroys together and now we have a new Simon – Simon Clark. So how can we distinguish ‘New Simon ‘  (‘Bike Crash Simon’?)from the others?

‘I moved to Walton from Battersea 9 months ago, shortly before running the London Marathon for the third time with the goal of breaking 4 hours.  Unfortunately I got an injury at mile 11, so walked the second half. Needless to say it wasnt the PB l was looking for.  I haven’t really run since, instead concentrating on my cycling which had taken a back seat for a few years.  Living so much closer to the hills I am enjoying how much easier it is to escape the traffic on the bike, although I am not so keen on the 35km it now takes to ride to work.