GAA Pro Team Trex Cross Tri Wrap

Posted on January 19, 2015 by teamgaec

The weekend saw the launch of the Guy Andrews Adventure Pro Team at the Trex Cross Triathlon Back to Back race on the sunshine coast.

The team was put together to showcase our new Triathlon race suits available for order this month! Guy Andrews Adventure mantra is ‘Playoutside’ and we are focused on designing and delivering quality apparel to help you be comfortable while you pursue your outdoor activities.

The team gave valuable feed back on some minor improvements needed for our production models. We will also have cycling, running and lifestyle gear coming soon!

The weekend was a 500m swim, 14km MTB and 7km Trail run on Saturday afternoon at 330pm and Sunday Morning repeating the course at 830am.

Both days were very hot and humid with the team responding in various ways.

Louise Betts former Pro road cyclist only took up off road Tri this season and came away with wins on both days to add to her 3rd at the National Titles and a pair of 1st places at rounds 1 and 2 of the Trex series.

Jodie Willett a National level Cross Country Mountain biker had her first ever Cross Triathlon experience on the weekend and came away with an amazing 2nd place overall women behind #GAAProTeam mate Louise. Jodie was weaker in the water but dominated her favored leg the Mountain Bike and with a running background came charging through on both days. Look out for these two girls!

Our Male team members fared well also.

Dean Cane at 15 years of age is fast becoming a name to remember with a clean sweep of the Trex short course series against adults last year and recently winning the Queensland schools 3000m track and 2000m steeple chase as well as the open mens B grade XC Mountain bike race at the Adare Wild West series. Dean headed off to WA on Sunday to prepare for the next round of the National Cross Country MTB titles where he will race U17 but before he did that Dean turned up for day one of the Sprint Back to Back a dominated the field!

GA former Australian Surf Ironaman Champion and founder of GAA had a solid weekend feeling a little ordinary on day one he conceded 30 seconds in the 40-44 age and was 4th Age grouper over the line behind Tod Horton in the 35-39 Age group and 7th overall. “I stopped in and had an Ice bath at the NHR Clinics recovery area on both run laps” GA said. “I will have to deal with it tomorrow if I want to win”

Day two saw Guy perking up after Womens winner and team mate Louise said “stop being a pussy Guy!”

It must have worked as GA went on the win the all age group wave and complete the same course as day one some 3 plus minutes faster! claiming the 40-44 age group and fastest overall Age grouper and a yet to be confirmed 4th overall against Elites.

Max Neumann Australian Cross Tri champ had a retirement on day one after suffering all week with illness. Maxy turned up to defend his unbeaten winning streak but was not to be. He will be racing the ITU Road tri event in Tassie then the Trex Oceania Champs late Feb.

The team made good use of the NHR recovery Clinic and Compressport gear. Recovery was key to backing up on day two. Look out for NHR at an event near you.

Elite male winner overall was Brodie Gardner from Nick Moore and George Tamblyn.

Female Elites- Louise Betts, Jodie Willett and Cass Percival

Many thanks to our great sponsors

Australian Cross Tri Results

Posted on December 17, 2014 by teamgaec

Also 2nd overall in ‘Dirt Master’ (Long course Tri + Short Course Tri + 10km Trail Run)

The Off Road Evolution

Posted on October 29, 2014 by teamgaec

My first exposure to Triathlon was like many others, on the road.

1986 in Lake Macquarie NSW as a 16 year old aspiring Surf Ironman I was suffering on what seemed an indeterminable distance at the time that was later to be named the Olympic distance!

From that day forward I considered Triathlon an important part of my Multisport Journey, a journey that would become a career and a career that has become a Lifestyle.

Further cemented by watching Mark Allen and Dave Scott battle it out in Kona on the Wide World Of Sports.

Through out my 13 professional Surf Ironman seasons from 1988/2001 I used cycling as a form of cross training and soon became addicted to the feeling of riding snaking valley roads, cutting through fresh cane fields and sucking lung fulls of crisp morning air on mountain climbs.

Later in my career I realized I could satiate my competitive nature in the off season my racing in the remaining Triathlons late in the summer calendar resulting in a win at the Australian Olympic distance Tri and Duathlon championships for the 25/29 age group in 1999

I retired in 2001 from professional sport as a Surf Ironman and quickly found myself racing in a range of multisport, adventure races and Triathlons.

Cross Tri events made a bit of an appearance in Australia in the early 2000’s and never really took off. I have often wondered why and made some observations.

In recent years Mountain bike technology has gone ahead so far with bikes being far safer, lighter and affordable.

Local government and community groups and the private sector are spending enormous amounts of Money and time building sustainable, safe and fun trail networks.

The roads are becoming busier and although recent efforts with the ‘meter matters’ campaign roads are becoming better but can still be a scary place at times.

Off road training and Cross Triathlons are fast becoming a popular option amongst cyclist and Triathletes with Cross Triathlons showing a strong resurgence on the Australian Calendar.

The TREX Cross Triathlon series has been running for a number of years in South East Queensland and is at the forefront of Off Road events in Australia now with a Triathlon Australia sanctioned series with six events in Three States offering over $40,000 in prize money to the Pros.

Lifestyle is the key word when you’re considering going Off Road. As impressive as the Pro Purse is these events are about the experience, forget the rush, the quick get away back to facebook and insta. A Trex event is a weekend of experiences from flowing single track, clear water, mountain air, quiet meals with friends and time to just enjoy the essence of Triathlon Freedom, health, mates and good times and some friendly rivalry.

I have found my on road Triathlon ability has improved through off road training as an unexpected bonus. Bike handling skills have improved, hill strength and time trials all going forward partly due to the Cross Training effect and also that I enjoy riding my Giant Anthem so much I’m always on it!

Join the off road evolution.

Guy Andrews

Triathlon Australia Level One Coach

Former 3 time Uncle Tobys Ironman series winner

Cross Triathlon Workshop

Posted on September 4, 2014 by teamgaec

Guy Andrews Adventure

Cross Triathlon Training Workshop

“Knowledge is power and I have experienced that first hand racing along side Australia’s best Multisport Athlete Guy Andrews.

Rediscover yourself and learn from the best! Join Guy Andrews Adventure Cross Triathlon Workshop” Ben Allen Australian Cross Triathlon Champion, 3rd Xterra World Champs 2013

Sunday September 28

9am-1pm

Nerang National Park, Gold Coast – 60min drive from Brisbane CBD

Cost Includes all Instructors and BBQ Lunch

Instructors

Guy Andrews

Tri Development Coach
Qld Age CrossTri Champ 2013
Du and Tri Aust Age Champion
Surf Ironman Champion
Aust AR Champion 2006

Michael Ronning

5x National DH Champion
2nd Qld Enduro series 2014

4hr Workshop Includes;

Mountain Bike Skills
Mountain Bike Gear
Mountain Bike Maintenance
Trail Running Skills
Trail Running Gear
Transitions for CrossTri
Mini Race

$50 per head
Numbers Limited to 20
Booking essential Email guyandrewsadventure@gmail
Bookings close end of business Friday 19^th Sept

Focus

Posted on September 1, 2014 by teamgaec

There are so many events every weekend and year round these days and athletes can suffer a number of problems. Here are a few of my observations in recent years.

1. Never reaching a Peak Performance- With so many events on the calendar it’s too hard to periodize any training to accommodate a best possible performance peak. If you don’t prioritize a race, or at least a series of races – even a sport for some-and build towards that goal result you risk just performing at a sub par level.

A perfect example of this was in my 20’s as a Surf Ironman my one and only goal for the summer season was to win the Uncle Tobys Ironman Series, Seven races from November to February. A series I won 3 times. I started my base training almost right way in February each year with some Cross Training. Cross Training for me was Triathlon. I would do plenty of riding and running and take some time off from the pool and Paddling disciplines of Surf Ski and Board.

This led to me winning the Australian Triathlon and Du Athlon National 25-29 Titles all while building the beginnings of a strong base for summer and the long prep phase from March to November for the surf Ironman series and the full focus on one outcome.

2. Shot Gun-After retiring from Ironman I wanted to do every Adventure race, Triathlon and Mutisport event I could get to! This I call the ‘Shot Gun effect’ spraying your bullets all over the place and never really hitting the target. This can be rewarding and you get a lot of experience and see a lot of stuff in a short period but only the super talented can enjoy continued success with this method. If competing in events with properly trained athletes you would not and could not expect success with this approach.

Now twelve years on I have to pick my fights in order to be competitive against the younger athletes and after doing just about every race on the Mutisport Calendar at least once or in some cases 10 times! I am going back to basics and building that base and making some race sacrifices.

3. Overtraining- It’s just too easy to over train when you race so much and even if you do rest a lot you then erode that aerobic foundation that you may never have really built properly in the first place. It’s a ‘catch 22′ these days as you may have quite a lot of success in some seemingly big events and then one day in a world class field in some unassuming race you realize you are way off the pace. This is when the questions pop into the head and excuses out the other end. It’s usually the same answer when it all settles down. Do the hard yards. Focus, get guidance, choose a course and stick to it.

This season I have had to make a few choices between Obstacle Course races, Road and Cross Triathlon, Mountain Biking, Ocean Paddling, Multisport Races, Adventure races Long and Short, Orienteering, Rogaining, Ultra Running and lets not event get into Motorsport!

You can see how difficult it can be to navigate a path to a definitive goal with so many options.

My race choices for the next season or more could be catergorized like this:

Priority

Cross Triathlon -TREX National series http://www.tre-x.com.au/index.php
Multisport races-http://adventurethon.com.au/cms25/
Adventure Races
MTB races
OCR

During Base phase

MTB races, Obstacle races, paddle races
Long Adventure/multisport races but no more than 24-30hrs to avoid lengthy recovery periods-no 700km expeditions

In season race priority

Cross Triathlon
Mutisport
AR

The TreX Cross Triathlon series is really going national this year with races in Qld, Victoria, NSW including the Oceania Championships with 40K in Prize Money for the Pros we will see super home grown talent like Benny Allen and Courtney Atkinson racing these events

I am keen to get a few titles under my belt in the 40-44 Category including having a crack at a world title soon.

In summery- don’t spread yourself too thin. Hit a few events or a series and do it well and enjoy the outcome.

Join my training group and prepare properly. details http://guyandrewsadventure.com/off-road-tri-squad/

Summer is coming

Posted on August 6, 2014 by teamgaec

It’s not far away! The days are getting longer and the weather warmer. The Triathlon and Multisport season is upon us!

My focus this season will be to race as well as possible in the TREX Cross Triathlon series kicking off on Sept 6th with a Du-Athlon. Not to my liking as I’m a swimmer at heart. The series has its first Swim/MTB/trail run race on Oct 26th in Qld before heading to Victoria for the National Cross Tri champs in Bendigo. More races come in the new year again in Qld on Jan 18, The Oceania Champs in Crackenback, NSW Feb 28 and the Qld champs to finish of the season on May 2 Check out http://www.tre-x.com.au/event-dates.php

I am programming sessions toward these events for my squad see time table here

Also in the next few months we will see a number of exciting Mutisport races going off.

This weekend 10th August will be the remake of the famous ‘Anaconda race’ now known as the Gold Coast Adventure race. The event offers 2 and 4 person relay formats and solo.

Legs are 1500m swim, 14km paddle, 12.5km trail run, 20km MTB and 2km run

Top teams will take around 4hs more at http://ridgelineadventures.com.au/

October 11 we will diverge on Coffs Harbor NSW for the second running of the Adventurthon Coffs event. Joel Savage the race Promoter and director does an amazing job with is Wife and a very small crew to put these awesome events on around the country and I would love to see them grow.

The Coffs race course is slightly modified for 2014 with the same sweet 16km ocean paddle, a new 11km run, 35km MTB and 6km run. This event also offers a shorter course and a non paddling course. More https://adventurethon.com.au/cms25/

Adventure Fest Nov 3rd will be the Tri Nations Trophy adventure race in WA a race I have done and won in the past but not in this format. 12km Trail run, 2km swim, 14km Paddle 20km MTB, 2km run. I am keen to race with my weakest leg first and strong legs through the middle of the course. The prize money has been bumped up and the WA athletes come out in their droves to make it the largest Adventure event in the World!

The 2nd Adventure Fest race will host the Australasian Multisport Champs at the Lorne event in Victoria. In it’s Tenth year it’s a must do for me.

http://www.rapidascent.com.au/main/newevents.aspx

Get the skills and fitness for all of these events and more by either joining my training group on the GC, contacting me for a personal program Text GA 0427907023 or following my Facebook page fb/guyandrewsadventure for tips and the latest.

Happy racing

Fixed Training Schedule and Special Event Training

Posted on June 13, 2014 by teamgaec

New Training schedule Including special training events.

Weekly Fixed sessions

5pm Tuesdays -“Tuesday Night Lights” Run Forest Trails in Nerang National Park for an hour.

5pm Thursdays Trail Track- Intervals on trails. Nerang National Park

6am Wednesdays – MTB Intervals, Nerang National Park

6am Fridays- MTB Nerang National Park

3pm Sunday – Mountain Bike skills Training, Nerang National Park

Special Event Training (check in weekly here)

Sunday 15 June Gold Coast Challenge Bike course 90km 6am Meet Salk oval Currumbin

Weekly all Fixed sessions $40 in advance.

Session by session $15 per

Special event pricing will vary per event starting at $20

Personalized Program

Get your own detailed day to day program with personalized Heart rate guide and pre testing for $60 per week Including all fixed weekly sessions (does not include special event sessions)

Triathlon Training

Posted on May 5, 2014 by teamgaec

It’s been a tough few weeks getting my Triathlon squad off the ground. It was never going to be easy with a lot of people already doing their own types of training in various groups and communities but I also had to work around a badly broken right Radius and Ulna with Tendon and Cartilage damage.

Just another challenge that can be overcome, just like all athletes that know how to achieve would appreciate.

In April my GAA Off Road Tri Squad saw the implementation of up to 12 sessions a week, we raced at the Tre-X off road Tri Qld Champs with three podiums from three starters and saw our first batch of Team GAA Squad Tee Shirts come hot off the press!

In May we will slightly adjust the time of sessions and the emphasis on training will be on further developing skills and building base over winter for a big hit up next summer and beyond.

You can turn up to any or all sessions check out the schedule and fees on this LINK

We are always an off road group firstly but on road Triathlons are also our passion and we will be racing at many on road events including Gold Coast Challenge and the Qld Gatorade series and more.

Cheers and Happy training

Guy

MTB Tips

Posted on February 19, 2014 by teamgaec

Wednesday- MTB Skills with GAA Off Road Tri Squad

Good morning getting down to basics of MTB

1. Correct use of front brake

2. body position

3. Eye line

I will cover these topics in more detail at a later date with some video footage but for now a recap of today.

Brake-A lot of riders rely heavily on the rear brake maybe because you feel less likely to fly over the bars or perhaps when you see Down Hill riders slashing big rear wheel slides of berms it would have you believe every corner is 100% rear brake. Not True.

The biggest improvement in my MTB riding in recent years has been correct use of Front Brake. If I put a number on it perhaps 70/30 Front to Rear on average of course there is a slight shift here or there.

Today we worked on rolling down hill and stopping as fast as possible on both Rear only then front only then 70/30

This then led us to the 2nd point ‘Body Position’ moving around your bike is essential and takes a steady build up of confidence. In this braking drill down hill your body weight needs to be low and back, heels driving down towards the ground, arms extending forward on the bars against the gravitational forces which in turn will transfer weight onto your front wheel without having your center of Mass (body) over the front of the bike.

The last point today is eye line- We always preach ‘keep your eyes up’ and as your confidence grows so will your speed and so should your eye line.

Eye line while cornering is always an interesting challenge because you need to scan around the corner for line and terrain. Terrain could be up, down, wet, dusty, off camber etc etc. This helps you choose a speed, gear, body position.

The challenge is to scan a corner on approach while still monitoring the corner you’re in, as well as make any adjustments on your exit strategy, that should have been made on the approach scan.

Easy! See you next session.

Sessions times here http://guyandrewsadventure.com/off-road-tri-squad/

Off Road Tri Squad

Posted on February 18, 2014 by teamgaec

The Guy Andrews Adventure Off Road Tri Squad is underway! If you’re interested in Mountain Bike based events from Cross Tri to Adventure racing as well just MTB then come along to our coaching sessions.

Monday- 5pm Lake Hugh Muntz-swim/run

Wednesday- 6am Nerang (hope st, velodrome) MTB skills

Friday- 5pm Lake Hugh Muntz-swim/run

Sunday- Nerang Velodrome MTB-2pm Beginners, 3pm- Intermediate, 4pm Advanced

More information here http://guyandrewsadventure.com/off-road-tri-squad/