ironguides

Occupation: IT Business Owner
Age: 38
Weekly work hours: 40
Location: Malaysia
Relationship: Single

Weekly training: 15-20

Coach: Vinnie Santana

Recent results

Ezer Ratchaga, based in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, did his first triathlon in October 2009 (Putrajaya 70.2), he bought his first road bike two week before the event and finished the race in 7h42 -- By January 2010 Ezer contacted ironguides and started working with Coach Vinnie Santana. With only a few weeks left to race day, there was not a lot of time left to work on the physical aspect of an Ironman, Vinnie got Ezer on a bike focus plan as he was a decent swimmer (cut off wasn`t an issue) and both coach and athlete opted for a run:walk strategy, so most of the time would be gained on the bike.

Ezer completed the race successfully in 16h06min and is now training hard towards an agressive improvement of going sub 12h at ironman Western Australia, in December 2010 -- Good luck Ezer!

Occupation: Finance/Banking

Age: 36
Weekly work hours:
Location: South Africa
Relationship: 

Weekly training:

Coach: Jono Rumbelow

Recent results:

Bala Half Ironman - 5h17 - First HIM

Training overview:  One day in the middle of the credit crunch I woke up and thought " what am I doing with my life? What have I achieved? And where am I going?" Being only 34 at the time these questions caught me off guard - I was expecting them sometime in middle age - they arrived early!!! My answers were equally surprising, not very positive, and spurred me to change things in my life and set a significant goal to work towards.

My search for a worthy goal led me to a good friend who mentioned this crazy-sounding race she had done called the Norseman Xtreme. It was in Viking country – the land of Fjords, Mountains, Ice, Snow and Midnight Sun. It is an ironman distance triathlon race and "quite tough", involving swimming in a fjord, cycling a very hilly route across a high altitude plateau and finishing with a marathon that climbed from sea level to the summit of a ski resort - 1883m! It sounded like the stuff of legends…. And totally captured my imagination and fed my ambition…

Although reasonably sporty at school I had become lazy and my day-to-day routine was very sedentary, so this challenge would require a total overhaul of my life and lifestyle. I would need to learn everything from scratch – Swimming, Cycling, Running, clothing and equipment choices, race nutrition, diet, the rules, logistics and format of triathlon – I was a total ignoramus. I realised this was going to be a journey of discovery and would transform me totally. I wasn't wrong….

Nearly 2 years later, with the race only week away (7th August) I hardly recognise myself compared to who I was and where I've come from. The learning curve has been steep, complex and extensive across multiple disciplines – and I love it! This journey has taken me through 4 races of increasing endurance, across the UK, to the French Alps for training, it's taxed my bank account and I don't regret a penny spent! The results and experiences are absolutely worth it.

Training with a coach has made a huge difference! Being brand new to the sport a lot of people suggested getting a coach as a way of being guided in the sport and benefiting from a coach's experience. What I appreciate about training with Jono was his practical approach to it, backed up with a wealth of competitive racing and coaching experience. He took time to get to know me and my potential, my lifestyle and priorities and customized the training around 3 things: my strengths/weakness, my lifestyle & available time and finally the race itself.  This left me confident I was in good hands and the improvements in my physique, fitness, energy and strength levels are all a testimony to that. Everyone in the group I train with has commented on how much I've improved or how much weight I've lost or how fast I've become – it's been a huge confidence boost!

Targeted, smart training sessions through Jono have been transformational and changed me from a lounge-lizard to a pretty competitive racing snake! ….or Nordic Invader, as some of the club like to call me ;) The ultimate affirmation of how well things have gone with Jono's training has been the inquiries from my fellow triathletes about his coaching programs, technique and their positive feedback on my progress.

!  For more information about Liam and training via The Method, send an email to ironguides: info@ironguides.ne

Age: 43 
Weekly work hours: 40
Location: San Diego, California
Relationship: Married to Abé and has two daughters

Weekly training: 15-20

Recent results

70.3 IM SA Jan 2010:  6hrs54min (first time at the distance)

Coach: Shem Leong
Weekly training: 15-20

 I started running when I moved to Singapore in 2001. The temperature and humidity made it very hard for me to run long distance more than 45minutes at the beginning. It took some time before I could run 1h-1h30. A year later, I ran my 1st marathon.   I hit the wall at 33kms and I told myself "never again"... Yet I ran 2 more with a PB at 3h44min in HK.

I wouldn't call it a mid-life crisis but after celebrating my 30th birthday, I got the desire to widen my range of activities, challenge myself and venture into unknown territories. Running was getting a bit boring for me. I was looking for the next challenge.   An individual sport was preferred because it was important for me to get the pressure on my shoulders and not hide in a pack of 10-15 other people.
 I decided to start triathlon in May 2009. Like every newbie, to me it was a simple equation: swim + bike + run. My swimming technique was poor and I started from scratch. The lessons I took ended up being very useful to build a base. Cycling is what  I underestimated the most. I quickly realized the difference between casual cycling on Sundays and an individual time trial. But what I really did not expect is the effect of putting the 3 together. That was the unknown territory I started to venture into and liked it from the start. 

After a few months training on my own, I got to know Shem and ironguides. I used his running class as my preparation for a half marathon at the end of 2009.
It was the first time I was doing track workouts and structuring my runs. I was rather skeptical at the beginning but it was part of the overall thrill of trying new experiences. I truly enjoyed the different sessions. Running in various speeds and distances and breaking down long runs into sequences was for me a brand new concept. "The Method" was bringing me a new approach to training and I realized that having a coach was not that bad afterall :-) Shem's understanding of my needs and constraints gave me confidence to engage in a full triathlon program with him. My first IM 70.3 was just 3months away.

The beginning was hard. My dose of daily training after my work took lots of energy from me. I was having regular discussions with Shem to try to ease into this new rhythm. He taught me to be more patient, to listen more to my body and pace myself day after day. Having someone experienced and as passionate as he is about the sport helped me to enjoy it even more than I expected. I believe that the personalized approach provided by Shem made a tremendous difference in my build up to my first big race.  Recovery was built into the programme and all I need is faith that "The Method" will be working for me. I completed my first 70.3 in 5h09 which was better than my initial target. After 1month of easy training, I was hungry for even more training.

I have now finished 3 OD and 2 IM 70.3. Through "The Method", I've improved my swim from 1.5k in 36mins to 1.9k in 35 mins. After the 1st race, it was clear that my cycling had to be improved. More emphasize was put into that area and I improved by 15minutes in the next 70.3. By now I realized the beauty of the big gear sessions in my living room :-)
An important part of my learning curve for this sport is the race de-briefing sessions that I do with my partner (also on ironguides program) and Shem. I had this tendency to avoid paying attention to what was accomplished and not analyzing my mistakes. But sitting down together and talking about our respective races made me realize that small changes could help me improve my performance and satisfaction level by a lot. Nutrition is the discipline that I did not pay enough attention to during my 1st 9months in the sport.
My eyes are now looking at the map of New Zealand, looking for the Lake Taupo. 5th March 2011 will be my first Ironman. Shem is working on my program. I can't wait to start training and compete there. I hope to enjoy the journey.