EPC athletes at the races

EPC athletes have been racing hard all over New Zealand in the past few weeks and have been proving that they have been getting out and training hard.

Well done to Milan Brodina of Gerldine who competed in the Teva Big Day at the Office. Milan had a good race in tough weather conditions and a strong field to take 12th place. See photo below of Milan out on the mountian run.

Becks Darracott of Dunedin took on the Ashburton ½ Ironman as part of a team in her build up to Challenge Wanaka. Becks rode hard and completed the 90km TT in good time and her team took 6th place.

Hannah Throne managed 5th place in a very tough field in the epic Bannockburn Gut buster MTB race. Hannah is now turning her attention to the South Island Cup race series over January.

Nic McAre of Invercargill showed that her running is progressing well for the Coast to Coast when she put in a good run at the Luxmore Grunt. Nic ran strongly to place 9th Woman and 41st overall out of 150 competitors. Well done Nic.

A big team of EPC athletes took on the Waimak Classic river race in their build up to the Coast to Coast. Charlotte Breeze, Bruce Ranga, Hannah Yeats and Scott Finnie all paddled in the race. Stories of kayak crunching rocks, broken rudder lines and shoulder injuries indicate that it was a tough day on the river. Well done to those who survived.

Rosie Taylor ran well in the brutal 21km Goat mountain run to take 30minutes of last year’s time and take 4th place in the under 23 woman’s section. This race is held in the Tongariro National park and this year had terrible weather conditions.

Well done to all of these athletes.

EPC athletes at Kaitangata MTB race

EPC athletes had a good day out at Kaitangata this weekend in the 45km MTB race

Hannah Thorne battled it out with the best of the woman to take 3rd within 1minute of first place

Pam Thompson had a great ride taking 2nd in the Vet woman's section. Over the past month Pam has demonstrated that she is ready for a good up coming summer season. Nick Taylor finished strong in his first race back after 4 weeks and is eager to get into some more racing this summer.

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Squad paddle
The Exponential Performance Squad kayak sessions will be held on Wednesday as usual. This session will start at 7.30am from the University Rowing club. This week’s session will be focused on technique and endurance development. These sessions are $20 each or sign up for 5 sessions for $80.
Squad run
The Exponential Performance Squad running sessions will return to the normal day and time of Wednesday at 5.30pm.
This week we will how ever be meeting at Tomohawak beach for a sand dune session. This session is ideal for developing your strength endurance while targeting your threshold. These sessions are ideal cross training for those training for cycling so come along and be part of a specifically structured session. Training in a squad environment has been shown to get better results than training alone as you push yourself more than you would by yourself so come work hard and have some fun training with others.
The Cost of these sessions are $15 per session or sign up for 4 sessions for $50.
Coast to Coast Training camp
There are a few spots still available on the C2C training camps. So if you are interested in attending or know of someone who is let me know.
EPC athletes at the races
In challenging windy conditions Nic McAre of Invercargill improved 30min from last year in the Source to Sea 160km cycling race. Well done Nic that is a huge improvement. Chris and Hannah Yeats also had a good day out at the Source 2 Sea cycle race as well in a mixed team. Hannah rode strongly to take 4th overall in her section of the race and Chris came 3rd in his section of the race.
The EPC mountain bike athletes had another good showing at the 45km Kaitangata Black gold MTB race on the weekend. Pam Thompson came 2nd in the Vet woman’s race while Hannah Thorne Finished 3rd place in a tough open woman’s race that saw the top three woman finish with in 1 minute of each other. In his first race in a few months Nick Taylor rode well and finished the race strongly. Well done guys a great day out at the office.
Exponential Performance Coaching tip of the week
Strong windy conditions are perfect for developing strength and mental toughness. Most people see windy days as a good time to stay inside and give training a miss. Do not be one of these people instead see windy days as an opportunity to become stronger for race day.

Last fortnights athlete profile

Bruce Ranga, 45 years old
Bruce was born in Auckland and has lived in Dunedin for 20 odd years now. Bruce is married to Debs and has four kids, Luke, Wade, Bronson and Chelsey who are his number one Support crew & inspiration to get him through when the pain kicks in. Bruce played mainly team sports in the past, rugby League, soccer, basketball, motorbke Enduros.
Following a motor bike crash a few years ago where he damaged his shoulder Bruce decided he wanted to have a go at a real sport, so took up multisport with the Coast to Coast in mind.
“I had never been in a kayak or on a road bike, or run further than 10kms in my life, so I knew expert training & advice was going to be key in helping me reach my goal, that’s where Matty came in."
“I really enjoy training with EPC. I have met some great people & improved my sports performance, bring on the next challenge (the one day Coast to Coast).”
Past results
2009
Mountain 2 Mountain, 3rd vet men’s.
Peak 2 Peak, 4th vet men’s
Lake Hayes triathlon 1st vet men’s
Ghost 2 Ghost, 3rd vet men’s
Waitri, 2nd vet men’s
Coast 2 Coast 2 day individual, 8th vet men’s
2008
Mountain 2 Mountain, 6th men’s
Peak 2 Peak, 4th vet men’s
Bruce is currently training hard for the one day coast 2 coast 2010 and the 3 day Gold rush multisport race in 2010.
With a lot of drive and focus Bruce is continually improving his performance in all of his disciplines and is well on his way to achieving his next goal.

Waimac classic river race

Those athletes using the Waimac classic river race on the 6th of December as a build up for the C2C the entry form + info for this race will be available at the following link as of the 6th November.
http://www.arawacanoeclub.org.nz/

There are no on the day entries so get your entry in early. It is a great race and a good chance to gauge how your training is going.

Why you need a good kayak roll

Check out the video below for a demo of a bomb proof roll

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Squad paddle

The Exponential Performance Squad kayak sessions will be held on Wednesday as usual. This session will start at 7.30am from the University Rowing club. This week’s session will be focused on technique and endurance development.

These sessions are $20 per session or sign up for 5 sessions for $80.

Squad run

The Exponential Performance Squad running sessions will run this Wednesday at 5.30pm. Last weeks session took the form of a casual endurance run on some of the off road trails around Dunedin. This week will be a more structured sessions focusing on developing rock running skills.

This session will start and finish from the Malvern Street entrance of the Woodhugh garden by the bridge over the Lieth. The Cost of these sessions are $15 per session or sign up for 4 sessions for $50.

Coast to Coast Training camp

There are a few spots still available on the 2nd C2C training camp. So if you are interested in attending let me know.

Grade two course

There is one spare spot on a grade two course on the 14th and 15th of November. These grade two courses are held in Wanaka by kayak guru Eric Billoud. The cost of these courses are $342 The course in run over two days with skills and training on the first 1 ½ days then assessment on the final ½ of day two.

Let me know if you are interested or know of someone who is interested in attending

EPC athletes at the races

EPC athletes had a good weekend at the Alpine Energy day night MTB race in Timaru on the weekend. Pam Thompson of Invercargill rode well to take 2nd place in the woman’s 6 hour less than a minute behind first place. Milan Brodina of Geraldine showed that he is in great shape 4 weeks out from his peak race taking 2nd place in the open men’s section of the 12 hour race. Hannah Thorne carried on her race winning way by stamping her dominance on the womans 12 hour field take the win by 4 laps.

Milan training in the St James area over Labour weekend

Nic McAre had a strong race in the Riverton to Zookeepers race on Saturday in Invercargill. Nic handled the tough windy conditions without any major dramas to take out 1st place in the Woman’s field.

A number of the Dunedin based EPC athletes are in the middle of end of year University exams. Best of luck to this guys and girls in their studies and exams over the next few weeks.

Exponential Performance Coaching tip of the week

All training weeks are not created equal and this is for a reason. Many endurance athletes do not balance their training load and recovery effectively and end up training moderately hard all of the time, therefore not making any great gains. LOAD weeks are designed to place your body into a state of physiological overload to stimulate adaptation, while your RECOVERY weeks are designed to allow your body to adapt (become fitter and stronger) to the training. If you train hard on your RECOVERY weeks your body will not be able to adapt and you will never get any better. Train hard on your LOAD weeks and take it easy on your RECOVERY weeks.

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

I hope that every one had a good long weekend





Squad paddle


The Exponential Performance Squad kayak sessions will be held on Wednesday as usual. This session will start at 7.30am from the University Rowing club. This week’s session will be focused on technique and endurance development.


These sessions are $20 per session or sign up for 5 sessions for $80.





Squad run


The Exponential Performance Squad running sessions are starting this Wednesday at 5.30pm. These sessions are focused on developing off road running skills and fitness while introducing you to different off road training grounds around Dunedin.


The first session will be held from the Woodhugh Malvern Street entrance and will consist of a 1 hour run working on rock hopping skills.


The Cost of these sessions are $15 per session or sign up for 4 sessions for $50.





Coast to Coast Training camp


There has been a lot of interest in this training camp. So much so that it is booked out and there is now a waiting list. With this in mind EPC will be running a 2nd camp on the 16th and 17th to manage with the demand. Those who have registered their interest in the initial camp will be contacted this week regarding paying their registration fee to secure their place on the camp.


Those who have not expressed their interest in attending the camp yet but want to attend then let me know as soon as possible as places are limited and there is a strict limit on numbers due to safety.





Grade two course


There is one spare spot on a grade two course on the 14th and 15th of November. These grade two courses are held in Wanaka by kayak guru Eric Billoud. The cost of these courses are $342. The course in run over twos days with skills and training on the first 1 ½ days then assessment on the final ½ of day two. Let me know if you are interested or know of someone who is interested in attending





EPC athletes at the races


Congratulation to Bruce Ranga who raced in the Pilots Beach to Vauxhall 20km kayak race last weekend. It is clear to see that Bruce’s hard work in the boat is paying off with coming second.

Bruce putting down the power in his new Evolution Omega

Good luck to Chris Yeats of Hokitika who takes on the 5 passes cycling tour this coming weekend. I will be a big three days on the bike covering 600km, I hope the weather is good.

Also good luck to Milan Brodina of Methvan, Pam Thompson of Invercargill and Hannah Thorne of Dunedin who take on the Timaru 6 and 12hour mountain bike race as solo competitors this coming weekend, I look forward to catching up with you guys up in Timaru sometime over the 12 hours.

A number of the Dunedin based EPC athletes are in the middle of end of year University exams. Best of luck to these guys and girls in their studies and exams over the next few weeks.



Exponential Performance Coaching tip of the week

In order to gain the maximum benefits of your hard training sessions, make sure you have a meal containing carbohydrates and protein within 30 minutes of finishing training. The mix of protein and carbohydrates is critical to stimulate maximal up take by the muscles. Good examples are things such as tuna on rice or pasta, chicken or ham bread rolls, breakfast cereal and milk,, poached eggs on toast or specially formulated recovery shakes.



Happy training

Matty

Last weeks athlete profile

Hannah Thorne, 32 years old

Hannah is currently based in Dunedin, working as a doctor specialising in Pathology.She is originally from Shropshire in the UK where she spent most of her spare time horse-riding whilst growing up.

Hannah had a bit of a late introduction to multisport, cycling and racing in general. She first picked up mountain biking when she moved to Rotorua from the UK in 2003, loved it and ended up competing in some local Rotorua races.

For a challenge, some friends and her entered the 2005 2 day individual Coast to Coast, so she taught herself to kayak and road bike. Hannah ended up in the top 10 women and after that became a bit hooked on racing!

Since injuring her knee in 2005 her focushas been more on cycling. What kind of cycling? well anythings with two wheels will do; road, cyclocross, cross country MTB, downhill MTB.... you name it and Hannah probably rides it fast.

'Since moving to Dunedin at the start of 2007 and training with Matty, I have been able to achieve results in multisport and cycling that I am very proud of. My favourite pastime though is still riding singletrack and doing jumps on my mountain bike :)'

'The best thing I have found with EPC is the training programmes are designed to fit around other commitments like work. The training sessions focus on making the most of the time available to me. This usually means lots of intervals that are hard but they really work. I've also enjoyed the social aspect of the group training sessions and have met lots of really nice, like-minded people.'

Past results:

2009

1st open woman Whaka 100km MTB, Rotorua

1st open woman Mountain 2 Mountain

1st women's team Peak to Peak

1st solo woman Naseby 12hr MTB

1st masters woman South Island XC Cup

2008

2nd open woman Bannockburn Gutbuster MTB

1st open woman (2nd woman overall) K2 road race, Coromandel

3rd open woman Whaka 100km MTB, Rotorua

2nd open woman Mountain 2 Mountain

1st women's team Peak to Peak

3rd individual woman Goldrush

2nd individual woman Rail Trail Duathlon

2nd open woman Otago Peninsula Challenge MTB

Future plans:To focus more on cycling (particularly mountain biking) and to race elite women cross country MTB in the summer. I may also try some singlespeed and 24 hour MTB racing to keep things interesting!

Hannah would like to say a big thanks to her sponsor R&R Sport

New Trek TT bike

For all you bike tech lovers out there you will love the look of the new prototype Trek TT bike. The brake pads intergated into the fork is amizing.

Check it out below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73zKmPg2_0w

Old School Multisport

Below are the links to the youtube videos of the Alpine Ironman. This event is often said to be the worlds first multisport race. Designed by Robin Judkins the same guy who now designed the Coast to Coast.
These videos are a great watch and give an idea of where multisport has come from.
Back in these days there were no grade two certificates (the only qualification you needed was a bushy beard or moustache) and men were real men (none of this shaving your legs stuff).

See if you can spot Steve Gurney in his early days of racing (hes wearing back and white tights).
Also Geoff Hunt the director of the Peak to Peak (he is one of the first off the skis).

Good inspiration to get those kayak skills up to a good level.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DkyKBYFUXE
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQEHgXxKA50&feature=related
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XYj96OQH98&feature=related
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FtoD4SBR1Q&feature=related
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSORFC731fQ&feature=related

Enjoy
Matty

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Squad paddle

The Exponential Performance Squad kayak session will be held on Wednesday as usual starting at 7.30am. Meet down at the Otago university rowing club and be prepared to start paddling at 7.30am. This weeks session will be focusing on technique and strength endurance development.

Squad run

The Exponential Performance Squad running session will begin again in 2 weeks. Running sessions will focus on specific Coast to Coast run training and will introduce you to specific off road running areas around Dunedin.

EPC athletes at the races

Congratulation to Hannah Thorne who won the open woman's race at the Whaka 100km MTB race in Rotorua this weekend. This race consisted of 100km of single track around Rotorua and came only 3 weeks after her win at the M2M multisport race. Well done Hannah. Check out Hannahs profile at the EPC blog http://exponentialperformance.blogspot.com/

Congratulation to Chris Yeats who despite throwing up several time through out the race came 3rd veteran male in the rail trail bike race. This races covers the full length on the Central Otago rail trail in one big hit. Good luck to Chris this weekend as he takes on the challenging Wild Coaster road race from Greymouth to Westport.

Coast to Coast training camp dates

Preliminary dates for the training camp have been set as the 8-9-10th of January 2010. Check out the EPC blog page for specific details of the training camp. Numbers are limited so register early.

Exponential Performance Coaching training tip of the week

This piece of advice comes from the nasty weather that has just hit Dunedin over the weekend. If the weather is bad outside and you have a specific session set, don't put in off because of the weather. Put on a thermal and jacket and get out the door. Its never as bad as you thought it was going to be once you get out into it. Even if it is to nasty to complete your full session or you have to change it up a bit get out there and spent time in the bad conditions.

Training in rough, windy and wet conditions will make you a lot stronger and confident come race day.

Well done to those who got out on Sunday in the wind and snow you will have one up on those who decided to say inside. Rumor has it there were a few EPC athletes sighted out on the harbor doing their paddle training yesterday, now that's gotta be good for ya.

Happy training.

Matty

Coast to Coast Training Camp Info

Training camp aims
1) Specific C2C terrain training
2) Specific back to back brick sessions
3) Course familiarisation
4) Gain knowledge from others
5) Enjoyment

Dates: This training camp will be held on the 8-9-10th January 2010

Cost: the cost of this training camp is $300. If team athletes want to partake in individual training sessions on the different days such as only do the paddle on Sunday the cost of this is $150.

Numbers: This training camp is limited to 7 athletes. This will be handled on a first in first served basis and athletes already signed up as EPC athletes will be given a place over non-EPC athletes. However non-EPC athletes are more than welcome to attend the camp. A $75 (25% of camp cost) none refundable fee is require within a week of registering to secure a spot on the camp.

This camp will be based from Klondyke Corner just out of Arthurs Pass. This training camp will differ slightly to that of the Peak 2 Peak and Mountain 2 Mountain in that we will be camping at a DOC camp site with tents and meals being the responsibility of the individual.
The training camp will be held over 2 ½ days. See camp outline below.

Coast to Coast training camp 2009

Friday
- Arrive at Klondyke corner at 3pm
- Evening rock running session approx 1hour
- Dinner
- Mt run briefing and gear prep discussion
- Coast to Coast nutrition planning

Saturday

• Early start – drive to Kumara beach

Run 3km --> 55km road bike

• This section will be completed in 2hours30min


• Focus of this session is on developing bunch riding skills
  

33km Mt run

• This section will be run at a pace that takes 5hours30min to complete
  
• Focus of this session is on course familiarisation and rock running skills
  - Evening will be spent chilling out a relaxing
  - River briefing and gear preparation discussion
  - Coast to Coast transition planning

Sunday
- Early start
- 15km cycle to start of kayak section
- 67km Grade two kayak down the Waimac river

• This section will be completed in 5hours30min –depending on river follows
• Focus is on developing river skills, course fimiliarisation and race tactics

Athlete’s responsibilities for training camp
- This is NOT a guided trip it is a training camp.

• All athletes are to have the following level of competency for the safety of themselves and the other on the camp


• Be able to confidently ride in a bunch at 30km+ speeds
  
• Be comfortable running over rough terrain for prolonged periods of time
  
• Have a Grade 2 certificate and confidently paddle grade 2 water in their race boat

- Athletes need to bring all required safety gear as outlined in the Coast to Coast rules for each stage of the race.

• If athletes are lacking specific safety gear they may not be allowed to complete the training session.

Out on the river in the 2009 training camp

- Between every two athletes one driver will be required to transport cars, kayaks and bikes to different parts of the course. This is vital for the smooth running of the camp.

Exponential Performance Coaching reserves the right to cancel activities on the training camp, postpone or cancel the training camp if there is a safety issue such as adverse weather conditions, high river follows or athlete inexperience.

If you have any questions let me know
Matty Graham
exponential.performance@gmail.com

Last weeks athlete profile

Mathew Snowden, 21 years old

Mat Spent 3 years in Auckland when he was young but was pretty much born and bred in Taranaki.

He attended NPBHS where he competed in various codes of sport -Soccer, Volleyball, Adventure Racing, Athletics and Cross Country. He gained Tiger Jackets (colours) in all of those areas and made the honors board in Athletics and Volleyball.

The love of the outdoors got him in to endurance racing with the coast to coast the initial attraction.Mat has the Lake to lighthouse, Coast to Coast two day and Goldrush lined up this season and is looking in good shape to place well in these events.

Matt flying through the C2C mt run, 2009

Results thus far
2005
- NPBHS 1st in Arrow 6 Hour Adventure Race Auckland
- NPBHS, NPGHS Winners of the Sir Edmond Hillary ChallengeFive Day Event
- NPBHS, NPGHS 26th in the ARC 12 Hour

2009
- 4th in the Lactic turkey off road half marathon, Auckland
- 2nd in Team Round the Mountain Cycle Challenge
- 7th Rangatiki River Race
- 11th Two Day Individual Coast to Coast
- 7th Mountain to Mountain

'I enjoy EPC because Matty is very knowledgeable about multisport and what is involved to do well. Also the people I have met thus far as made it an enjoyable experience.'

Matt climbing up Snowpark road at the EPC M2M training camp 2009

Springs Challenge

Below are some photos of Hannah Yeats, Charlotte Breeze and their team mate Emma competing at the Springs Challenge last weekend.

Technical bike skill inspiration

Check out the video at the following link for some inspiration to work on your technical biking skills. Its about 5minutes long and is well worth the watch. This guy takes bike control to a whole new level.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=21337502001

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

20 weeks until Coast 2 Coast 2010

Today marks 20 weeks until the 2010 C2C. 20 weeks is a good amount of time to start focusing your training in specifically on the C2C. A large number of EPC athletes will be rolling out of bed this morning and getting into there 1st specific C2C training session. Just remember the race is still a while away so do not get to carried away with your training. The important training time comes in December and January. Good luck to all of those starting specific C2C training today.

Squad paddle

Meet down at the Otago university rowing club and be prepared to start paddling at 7.30am. Over the next 4 weeks the focus will be on technique and base endurance development. Cost of these session's is $20 or sign up for 5 weeks for $80.

Squad run

The Exponential Performance Squad running session will not be held for the next month. Following this it will recommence with a focus on Coast to Coast specific running development. Watch this space.

Exponential Performance Coaching Blog

Check out the profile of young up and coming athlete Mat Snowdon and keep up to date with whats going on at EPC. http://exponentialperformance.blogspot.com/

Exponential Performance Coaching athletes at the races

Congratulation to Hannah Yeats and Charlotte Breeze who's team placed 15th (out of 87 teams) in the Springs Challenge open section. Rachel Kings team also had a good race in the Vets section finishing 41st team. Well done to all of you, I look forward to hearing about the adventure.

Good luck to Hannah Thorne who is competing in the Whaka 100 mountain bike race in Rotorua this weekend. This race involves 100km of mountain biking through single track in the amazing surroundings of Rotorua. Good luck Hannah give it heaps.

Exponential Performance Coaching training tip of the week

A strong skill and technique base are the under the under lying foundations of a peak performance. If you do not have the right skills or correct technique to optimally translate your hard earn fitness into speed then you will never reach your full potential. Use your early season base training to focus on developing your skills and technique so you have a strong foundation to launch your future training off.

Happy training

Matty

Last weeks athlete profile

Hannah Yeats

Hannah is a first year film and media student from Hokitika on the West Coast now studying in Dunedin. She comes from a back ground in road cycling and mountain biking where she has racked up some impressive results.

In her short time in the multisport game she has had some top results as well.After winning the school girls 2 day team’s event at the Coast to Coast 2009 and coming a massive 9th out of all the female teams in the race, Hannah has stepped up the challenge of the individual race.Over this year Hannah has been working hard in conjunction with Exponential Performance Coaching to improve her over all multisport game with particular emphasis on her running and has stepped up to an advanced kayak for the increased speed advantage.

Going into her specific summer training for the Coast to Coast she is looking strong and in a good position for a good race come February.

Hannah riding hard out on the road

Hannah’s results


2009
1st Coast to Coast School Girls team
3rd Open Woman Ghost to Ghost Triathlon


2008
3rd Under 19 girl Motatapu MTB race
2nd Open Women Lake Hayes Triathlon
3rd Open Women Brass Monkey Triathlon
Canterbury Track Cycling team at nationals
1st mixed team Teva Big Day at the Office Race

2007
1st Under 16 female South Island time trial
3rd Under 18 female Le Race1st Under 18 female Around Brunner race
1st Under 18 female Motatapu MTB race

Hannah’s Sponsors
R & R Sport
Em's Power Cookies
Thule

Hannah on the Waimac in the 2009 C2C

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Squad paddle

The Exponential Performance Squad kayak sessions will recommence Wednesday 23rd September at 7.30am. Meet down at the Otago university rowing club and be prepared to start paddling at 7.30am. Over the next 4 weeks the focus will be on technique and base endurance development in preperation for the Coast to Coast. Cost of these sessons is $20 or sign up for 5 weeks for $80.

Squad run

The Exponential Performance Squad running sessions will not be held for the next month. Following this it will recommence with a focus on Coast to Coast specific running development. Watch this space.

EPC squad runs will focus on Coast to Coast specific training when they start again in approx 1 month

Coast to Coast Training information

For those athletes training for the Coast to Coast this week, marks 21 weeks until the race. This week you should focus on again resting and recovering from your winter training phase. Over this week complete the following sessions in order to maintain your winter fitness but at the same time re-charge your batteries. 1x45min à Zone 2, off road run; 1 x45-60minà Zone 2 flat easy rides in an easy gear and 1-3 kayak sessions with a focus on technique and stability. Also this is the prefect time to take care of any niggling injuries or muscle imbalances.

EPC athletes at the races

Good luck to Hannah Yeats, Charlotte Breeze and Rachel King who are competing in the 12hour Springs Challenge adventure race this weekend in Lake Rotoiti, up in Nelson Lakes National Park.

Exponential Performance Coaching training tip of the week

Training partners can be very useful to help you maintain motivation, keep you company and for safety. However do not let your training partner take the benefits away for YOUR training session. You have an aim for your session and this is important for your performance development. Make sure you communicate with your training partner and let them know that you are going to be doing YOUR training. If they want to join you then that's fine but never sacrifice your training for them. Try and find a training partner or similar ability to you, with similar goals and who understands that you have specific training to do and its not just a gossip or easy session.

Exponential Performance Coaching Athletes in Action at the M2M

Below are some photos of Nic McAre and Pam Thompson in the 2009 M2M

Off the skis and on to the MTBs for the fast down hill from TC

Nic working hard out on the river

Pam coming in off the run


Nic on the final slog to the top of Snow Park

Nic and Pam at the finish line.

1st and 2nd vet females.

Not a bad day at the office

Well done.

Exponential Performance Coaching weekly update

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Exponential Performance Athletes at the races

Well done to all of those who competed in the Mountain 2 Mountain mulitpsport race in Wanaka this weekend.

Here are some of the preliminary results from EPC athletes.

Big ups to Emmah Ussher who completed the M2M which was her first ever multisport race in a strong effort and to Ingrid Vollweiler who stepped up at the last moment and took on the individual race instead of the team event.

Great performances where had by Hannah Thorne who won the Open woman section and Nic McAre and Pam Thompson who took 1st and 2nd in the individual Vet womans race respectively.

Bruce Ranga showed that he has been putting in the hard yards this winter by taking 20+minutes off his 2008 time to take 3rd in the individual vet mens section after a storming final mountain bike while Blake Luff kayaked as part of a team which won their section.

Mat Snowdon put in a solid effort and over came crippling cramps to finish his first crack at the M2M. While Charlotte Breeze gave her absolute all with a gusty effort that she rates HARDER than the Coast to Coast.

Finally Phil Te Tana Sladed some demons after putting himself out of the Peak 2 Peak race in a crash on the 2nd stage a month and a half earlier. Unable to ski, downhill MTB or run Phil entered the M2M as a team doing the stages that he could. A great effort on the river, road and up hill ride saw Phil finish strongly, next year he will crack it all.

In the Dunedin half marathon Bruce Ranga, Mat Snowdon and Blake Luff fronted following a big day at the office in Wanaka the day before to run them selves into the ground. They all ran every well and all went away from the race with the reassurance that the 2nd day of the Coast to Coast 2010 will be easier for them for there massive effort.

Unfortunately Rosie Taylor was forced out of the ½ marathon after a strong start due to a knee injury.

Squad sessions

There will be NO squad running or kayaking sessions this week.

Exponential Performance Coaching Blog page

See the latest updates at the new Exponential Performance Coaching blog page. There is a new EPC athlete profile section that will display a different EPC athletes profile each week. This week see the profile of young multisporter Hannah Yeats at http://exponentialperformance.blogspot.com/.

Coast to Coast training

Next week, details will be released on upcoming Coast to Coast squad training sessions and training camps that will be held over the summer. These will be aimed at providing specific coast to coast training and advice specifically in kayaking and mountain running to get you ready for February. Numbers are limited all of these sessions and camps so watch this space.......

EPC Coast 2 Coast mountain running clinic 2008

Upcoming races

Those who are keen to give adventure racing ago then these would be a good way to start. Check out the following link to find more info on the NEW P6 race at Naseby in October. www.lacticturkey.co.nz/P6Otago.htm

Exponential Performance Coaching Tip of the week

Following a big race, make sure you take some time out and rest up. Give yourself at least a week of NO training and then from here return to training as you feel up to it/ when your coach advises you for optimal benefits. For those that are about to enter their 20 week specific C2C training period it is important that over these next two weeks you rest up both physically and mentally so you go into this next training phase 100% ready to train.

This week at Exponential Performance Coaching

Squad paddle
- This week the squad paddle will start at 7.30am and will take the form of a priming session to keep your body primed for the upcoming M2M race this weekend. Cost $20

Squad run
- This will be held from Bathgate Park in South Dunedin and will take the form of a priming session for this weekend’s M2M and half marathon. This is a great session so if you haven’t made it out to one yet, make sure you get out there at 5.30pm Wednesday evening. Cost $10.

EPC athletes out training in the hills during a group training session earlier this year.

Exponential Performance Athletes at the races
This weekend is a busy weekend for the EPC athletes. For many this is the end of their winter base training which will accumulated in the Mountain 2 Mountain multisport race in Wanaka and for some the half marathon back in Dunedin the next day.


Good luck to Hannah Thorne, Bruce Ranga, Nic McAra, Pam Thompson, Ingrid Vollweiler, Phil Te Tana, Emmah Ussher, Mat Snowdon, Charlotte Breeze and Blake luff who are tackling the M2M this weekend.


Good luck to Paddy Allen, Mat Snowdon, Bruce Ranga, Rosie Taylor, Emmah Ussher and Blake Luff who are taking on the Dunedin 1/2 marathon this weekend

Also good luck to Hannah Yeats who is competing in the Able Tasman Coastal Classic off road running event this weekend as well.

Up coming races
For those looking at the Coast to Coast and the Goldrush multisport races these entries are now open so get in and enter if you want to make sure you don’t miss out.

Exponential Performance Coaching Tip of the week
In the final week leading into a big event you need to take it easy. You have done all the hard training and now you need to let your body recover 100% so that come race day you are fresher than you have ever been. Try and get some extra sleep, eat well and just rest up.





Happy Training.


Matty

More photos from M2M training camp

A few more pics from the M2M training camp in Wanaka

Action out on the river

Striding it out during a kayak -> run->road bike ->MTB brick session

Working hard on the road

Its hard work but the views are pretty good.

Exponential performance Coaching Weekly Update

This week at Exponential performance Coaching

Squad paddle and Squad run were cancelled this week as I have been laying low with the flu after the training camp hence the late update as well. Both of these squad sessions will run as usual next week and will take the form of priming sessions targeted at keeping your energy systems primed during the taper period, so you go into the weekend races firing on all cylinders.

M2M Wanaka training camp
Over the weekend 8 keen Exponential Performance Coaching athletes undertook a training camp based in Wanaka (see attached photo). The aim of the training camp was to develop specific M2M race/course knowledge and get the training benefits through the training camp effect.
By day the athletes ran, road biked, MTB, skied and kayaked and at night presentations/ question and answer sessions were under taken so athletes could develop a better understanding of the M2M race, and some applied sport science topics which hopefully opened a few peoples eyes.
It was a big weekend and everyone pushed themselves which was great to see. Now all that is left to do is head into the race feeling confident that you know exactly what you are in for.

Exponential Performance Coaching Blog page
The new Exponential Performance Coaching Blog page has just been developed. The idea is to use this page to post up dates on the goings on of Exponential Performance Athletes and up coming training sessions etc. So go and check it out and sign up as a follower at http://exponentialperformance.blogspot.com/ There is already an update of the M2M training camp and there will be more photos and info posted as we go.

Up coming races
Just remember that M2M early bird entry's close 6th of September and there are not going to be entry's taken after the 10th. So make sure you get in quick. All the info you need is at the following web page http://www.m2mwanaka.com/index.html
The Dunedin 1/2 and full marathon can still be entered up until the 10th of September so if you are planing on doing this get your entry in soon.

Exponential Performance Coaching Training Tip of the week
In the final few weeks before an event, practice running through your race plan while you are training. Work through what you are going to be doing on race day and practice different aspects of this so that come race day everything should be automatic.

Happy training
Matty

Wanaka Training Camp

Over the weekend 8 keen athletes attended the Exponential Performance Coaching training camp held in Wanaka in preparation for the Mountain 2 Mountain winter multisport race.

The camp consisted of 2 1/2 days of training and learning in the beautiful surroundings of Wanaka. By day the athletes kayaked, ran, road biked, mountain biked and skied, while in the evenings presentations were held to help them prepare for the up coming race in the areas of nutrition, transitions, formulating a race plan and recovery.