New Uniforms & Training Gear

Due to popular demand I am excited to announce new uniforms and training gear for Midwest Triathlon Coaching athletes. I have been working the past few months with talented artist and good friend Arch Fuston to put together a great design. Through Arch's work at active.com he has been introduced to a custom cycling clothing company from San Diego called BLP that is developing a new line of high quality cycling and triathlon clothing called ZOCA. MTC will be one of the first groups in the US to be wearing these items.
In addition to cycling and tri jerseys pictured above we will have cycling and tri shorts, and tech tee's available. The best part of this whole package is the gear is being provided to MTC athletes at below cost due to the support of three MTC athletes that agreed to be jersey sponsors:

1. Davis Ketchmark & McCreight
2. Sullivan, Bautista, Morgan, Allen & Chronic, and
3. ACT Dental Practice Coaching

Deadline for the gear order was January 31st but thanks to some flexiblity on the part of the manufacturer the new top secret, extra special double extended deadline is now Thursday, Feb 11th. So to place your order click here.

If you have any questions about the gear please contact me at kwelsh1@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing lots of MTC athletes sporting the new gear in 2010!

New Year's Day Resolution Run

Please join us for the New Year's Day Resolution Run.

Which IM to do?

Few weeks ago I added to a discussion on the KC Multisport site regarding which Ironman to do. Have heard some feedback about it so thought it would be worth posting up here too.

Let me add to the debate as someone who has done 8 IMs and coached another 20+ people to successful finishes as well.

For a KC based athlete I would NOT recommend IM AZ or Cozumel. Too late in the year to peak, days are short, weather is cool/cold then you suddenly have to deal with hot or humid conditions. You are setting yourself up for potential failure. Even trying to peak for KONA in October has been tough for me. Florida would be a similar situation though it usually isn't as hot.We train in the heat and the hills of Kansas, so for your IM, especially if it is your first IM, do a race that will provide you terrain and conditions you are accustomed to and where you can drive instead of dealing with the hassles of flying - IM Louisville or IM Wisconsin.

If you can't get in this year then wait and sign up next year. If you have to do it this year (not sure why?) but the regular spots are sold out then donate the extra money and get a Community Fund slot. Doing that is still cheaper and will make for a much better experience than trying to do an Ironman in Mexico. If you want to drink margaritas then take a trip after your IM.

If you are an experienced Ironman athlete who is interested in collecting T shirts from all the races then go do Arizona or Mexico, they are fine events. But if you are a "virgin" or are wanting to really do well then there are better choices.

Article in KC Business Magazine

Very honored to be featured in the September issue of KC Business magazine. It is a wonderful article about how I started Midwest Triathlon Coaching and some "business" lessons I have learned along the way. Bit intimidating to be on the cover of a magazine that features stories about top CEO's and others who are running huge companies. Thank you the staff and my friends at Anthem Media for all their support in the past and now. To read the full article click here.

70.3 World Championships & Jackson County

I am proud to announce that a third MTC athlete has qualified for the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. Maggie B earned her spot at the Timberman 70.3 over the weekend. She joins Kelly D & Aimee W (all ladies, wonder if that is a coincidence?) who have also qualified.

Some serious PR's this past weekend at the Jackson County Triathlon, wonder if the cooler weather had anything to do with it? Jason F finished 3rd overall and Jason T won the Clydesdale division of the short course while Todd D & John O set PR's and Susan O finished second in her AG on the long course.

Few short days and we'll be off to watch the KC crew at Ironman Canada including Ellie's "Uncle Glen". Please join me in wishing Rob S the best of luck at his first Ironman in Penticton. Also this weekend Emily K will be sporting a new "zebra-striped" outfit while doing her first Ironman in Louisville.

Nutritional Information Video

An athlete sent this YouTube clip through to me. It has some interesting nutitional information that I thought would be worth posting here. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0yoz4jAhrQ

The Fall Performance Program & Some Updates

With the days getting shorter and the neighborhood kids going back to school this week a lot of us are thinking about plans for the Fall. So I am happy to announce a new group strength & run technique training series we are calling "The Performance Program." For this series I am partnering with good friend Sheryl Hammontree who runs the Fit Pit.

"The Program" will start Sept 22nd and run 10 Tuesday nights - 6:30 to 8:30p. I am really excited about the plan Sheryl and I have put together with a balance of education & training in the areas of nutrition (that's all Sheryl), running technique, strength and flexbility. More info and registration is now available on the Camps/Clinics page.

A lot of great performances have been taking place over the last few weeks so I wanted to send out a huge congratulations to a few athletes that are breaking new ground:

1. Jim D (of MTC's NYC Chapter) set a HUGE PR at IM Lake Placid taking 90 minutes off his time. Jim worked very hard and the results speak from themselves.
2. Aimee W set her 70.3 PR at Steelhead and earned a trip to the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater in November. Two World Championships in two years, not too shabby.
3. Jason F is also off to a World Championships, but in his case it is as a representative of the USA at the Short Course World's in Brisbane, Australia on September 13th. Jason went up against the very best short course athletes in the country at the Pacific Coast Tri in southern California to earn his spot. I told Jason about the hidden clause in his Athlete Agreement that reads "any athlete qualifying for a World Championships on their first attempt must take their Coach along for the trip." He's not buying it...
4. Finally a collective pat on the back to the athletes that suffered alongside their coach at the UltraMax 50. Tim O & Mike M both won the "Beat the Coach" competition while others battled it out on a long hot day. Special recognition goes to Alan W as this is his first year competing in triathlons and UltraMax 50 was by far the longest race he has ever done.

It has been a great season so far with lots of racing still to do - Timberman 70.3 & Jackson County Tri this weekend, IMC next weekend (I am excited to be going up to cheer), IM Wisconsin, Redman etc.

Summer Update

How is it that so many weeks can pass by before I have a moment to update here? Feel like I need a "web updater" who can keep my all my "networks" up to date - this blog, Facebook, Athlinks, Linked In (don't even think about Twitter or any of the others - too much!)

In any case plenty has been going on and some great things to come. Athletes doing a lot of great stuff, here are some highlights of what has happened since June 4th -

• 22 0f 22 MTC athletes racing at the Kansas 70.3 set PR's! I am sure the ideal weather had something to do with it but as the coach I am happy to take some credit as well. Of all the "rookies" I didn't see anyone cross the finish line that wasn't thrilled with their results. Special congratulations to Kelly D who was one of only three local athletes to pick up a slot at the World Championships in Clearwater after winning her Age Group.


• On the same day Jim D also set a huge PR at Eagleman 70.3.


• Tim O crushed his Ironman PR by over an hour and Mackenzie M successfully completed her first 140.6 at IM CDA. Congratulations to both.


• Maggie B set her Half PR @ the Rhode Island 70.3 and became the second MTC athlete to miss a Clearwater spot by 2 minutes (Sandy C had the same bad luck at KS).


• Susan O rocked on a very hot day at the most competitive Half in the world - Vineman 70.3.

As for me, I had the pleasure of spending 5 days in Boulder with Gordo Byrn and the athletes & coaches of Endurance Corner. The camp was a learning experience (allowed me to pick up a bunch of the CEUs that I am required to earn in order to keep my USAT certification) AND I was able to do some really cool training. Training highlight was a 28 mile climb to the top of Mt. Evans - the highest paved road in the USA at over 14,100 feet. Learning highlights were time spent with running coach and sports psychlogist Bobbie McGee and the chances to talk with Gordo about the "business". Very worthwhile experience and one I hope to repeat next year.

Next up - This weekend will be very busy with athletes competing from coast to coast - Jim D at IM LP, Sandy & Norbert are doing the NYC Olympic and Jason F is racing Short Course Nationals in SoCal. There is also a group training run scheduled from Leawood Park on Sunday for those of us in town and available - all are welcome. I am trying to keep up the training to avoid being embarrassed at UltraMax 50 on August 9th. I have put out a challenge to all MTC athletes to come "beat the coach"; the staff of Elite Cycling have even offered a gift certifcate to any athlete that can do it! Should be fun...

Local Sprint/Olympic Distance Races

Had an athlete recently ask me about the options for local events. Thought it was a good question and worth posting the reply here as well -

The "local" races are -
Topeka Tinman - mid June (used to be my favorite local event but in the past years it hasn't been run as well as it once was)
Shawnee Mission Tri - early July (biggest local event, pretty well run, challenging looped bike course, always lots of fun)
Midwest Mayhem - mid July (KLM has their challenges with running quality events but some people really like it, challenging course that I like)
OctoMax (part of UltraMax 50) - 500 yard swim – 18 mile bike – 3 mile run August 9th out at Hillsdale Lake near Paola, KS (this is a new event run as a partnership between Sherpa Sports - the RD of Kansas 70.3 and UltraMax Events - who do the TriZou Tri and other quality events for years. I know both those guys and am 100% confident that it will be a great event) I am planning on doing the longer UltraMax 50 on the same day.
Jackson County Tri - late August - same swim beach and transition area as the KC Triathlon - different bike course that some people do not like. Well attended, long running event.
Redman Tri - Oklahoma City, mid Sept. A bunch of options are available here - Full Iron Distance, Half Iron Distance and an Olympic distance event. Well run, athlete-oriented. My understanding is quite a group from KC is going to be going down there. Could be a great finish to your season.
US Open Tri - Dallas, mid October. If you really want to cap off the season with a "bang" this would be another great option. Very high quality event!

KC Triathlon and other stuff

Wow what a time the last week has been! Finally getting an opportunity to sit down and update recent developments in the world of Midwest Triathlon Coaching. Being on the race committee for the KC Tri was a great experience that I was happy to be part of while at the same time happy to be finished with.

Putting on a race is a HECK of a lot of work!!!!

We had a solid group of knowledgeable, committed and hard working people all contributing to the success of this event by doing a lot of what they did best - Sheryl designed, Sandy sold, Mark organized, Ben and Joel worked tirelessly etc etc etc. I had the opportunity to design and then take care of the bike and run courses and I was very happy with the way they turned out. Highlights included scrapping road kill into the ditch in the poring rain at 4:30a and "stealing" my wife's car from the VIP parking lot to race water coolers up to the run aid stations as they were about to run out of water... I have always thought I appreciated the effort Race Directors put into hosting good events but in case I was forgetting, this experience has reminded me how much work goes into putting on a quality event.

As proud as I am of the event we put on I am even more proud of the results of all 25 MTC athletes that participated! From Kelly D who was the overall winner of the Women's Olympic event to Alan W who won an AG award at his first ever triathlon, seven MTC athletes were up on the stage picking up plaques - very impressive performances all around. I was busy taking down the bike racks when the awards were being handed out but I had to keep stopping and rushing over to the stage every time I heard another name being called - felt like a proud father watching his kids succeed.

I was also happy to see so many athletes wearing the new MTC visors and shirts. I love "stuff we all get" (SWAG) so I like giving it out and seeing people using it. (For my part my wife has told me I'm not to wear more than one thing with an MTC logo on it at a time, something about looking like a dork?) Did get a nice compliment from a friend about how much the business has grown - its cool to see the progress / impact my little company is having.

This week is a lighter schedule then next weekend will be another big event in the local triathlon scene - the Kansas 70.3. 22 MTC athletes will be toeing the line and although I won't be racing I will probably be more excited and nervous about watching them than if I was.

New Postcard

New postcards just arrived. Think they look great and appreciate Arch's help with the design and slogan. Will be stuffing them into the bags for the KC Triathlon.

Maggie Wins!

Congratulations to Philadelphia based MTC athlete Maggie B for her recent victory at the Upper Main Line YMCA Triathlon.

Maggie nearly didn't enter this event because she "isn't a sprint distance athlete" but decided to do so on a whim. Maggie's abilities as a great runner have never been in question but at this event she was not only the fastest woman (by a huge margin) but she also posted the 4th fastest bike split of all racers - male & female! Impressive.

Way to go Maggie, keep up the great work.

Group Ride

All MTC athletes & guests are invited to join the group ride leaving from Leawood Park at noon on Sunday, May 3rd. The ride is for all levels of cyclists. The route will be a simple out and back so distances will vary from 30 to 60 miles. Click here to see the map. If you have any questions please let me know.

Kansas 70.3 Training Event

Rode the new Kansas 70.3 route this weekend as part of the training event put on by Ryan Robinson, the RD. It was my first time over the new course and I liked it. Believe it is quite a bit faster than last year's course and should lend itself to some good times. As I was riding with a client and on my 16 year old Trek (with downtube shifters) I wasn't exactly tearing up the course but it was still nice to get out for a 5o+ mile ride. Also great to see so many friends, clients and associates out there as well.
Funny thing about a training event like this -

"Why do people want to train with their race wheels and aero helmets?"

The purpose of race wheels and aero helmets is to be faster on race day than you are while training. If you are constantly riding on race wheels you don't get the added boost from putting them on for the race. I am in the process of getting a new bike and I told Jeff at Elite Cycling I wanted the heaviest, most durable wheels he could give me for training. The heavier and less aero the better. My progress is judged by how I do on race day not at a training event. I tease athletes I coach about training with race wheels but the point is a serious one, the harder you train the easier you race.

2009 Season Under Way

The 2009 Triathlon season official got under way this past weekend with five MTC athletes competing in events that stretched from one (southern) coast to the other.
Pictured above are John O. (l) & Jason (r) (along with some guy in the middle named Dave who had never heard of their coach...) who, along with Mike K. raced the Nautica South Beach Triathlon in Miami, FL. John did really well at his first "big time" race while Jason finished second in his Age Group, missing the win by only a few seconds. Mike K also did great, completing his first triathlon in many years.



Bianca & Rob S. were way over on the other coast in Oceanside, CA. The water was colder but the day was beautiful for their first ever "Half" at California 70.3. They both dealt with numerous challenges but put in great first time efforts.


Finally, Sandy C. (pictured in the MTC shirt with some training buddies) also raced this weekend at the New Orleans 70.3. Putting in a great swim and his strongest bike performance in years, Sandy is pleased with his progress so far and is fired up for his "A" race - Kansas 70.3 on June 14th.