Being Mother Duck....

Ever since I became (an official) coach with Tri Alliance since February 2012, the sessions I coached were set by the feedback I gave back to Sarah and Ollie:
- Try-the-Tri group
- Windtrainer
- (Shadowing) swim sessions

Not being a real great/fast runner and confident enough on the bike (amongst traffic), I hinted that these sessions would not be my preference but I am willing to take beginners out there and teach them the basics if needed.

On Thursday of last week (10th May), one of the coaches was not available for the run sessions which meant that I took the beginners run session for the first time. The group had 5 girls and we did a 2km warm up run + drills, 3 x (500m T3, 500m T2) with 30s rest in between as the main set and then a cool down jog up Anderson St. I taught them about technique and everything I had learnt as part of Tony Benson's program. This included a comfortable upper body, holding core, the way your feet landed, looking above the horizon, smiling, elbows bent < 90 degrees and thumbs over tits. As it was a cosy group of ladies with similar athletic and fitness capabilities, we were able to stay as a group as much as possible and gave each other encouragement and feedback throughout the whole session.

The second coaching session was on Saturday when Des (another assistant coach) and I took the lower intermediate group out on Beach Rd for our Long Rides. It is hard to ride as a group due to the traffic lights, varied levels of bike skill(s) and confidence in riding in the group. As we had some beginners in our group (who would have benefitted more in Group 4 who rode laps around Albert Park lake) - I stayed back to guide them through and made sure they rode from point A to B safely.

I tried as much as I could to ride at the back of the group, ensuring that all of my riders were visible and that they were doing the right thing. I rode on the right side (to protect them) as we were passed by groups of aggressive cyclists. As I held my line, the other cyclists were forced to ride around me as to not edge themselves around my group who were not the most confident. Looking back 2-3 years ago when I first started to ride amongst traffic, it was the pelatons that scared me more than cars. Some cyclist are not aware of themselves and passed other groups really close, close enough to scare them.

I was very protective about my group, I reminded the other cyclists out there to be mindful when passing and made sure that everyone was ok by riding up and down beside them. I also taught a few of the beginners on how to use their gears as one of the girls had never been on her large chain ring before and had never adjusted her left shifters. I taught her about riding in the large chain ring (whilst not being on the hardest gear at the back), changing to the small on when going up hills (only when required) and changing between the gears at the back depending on the terrain and when we are nearing a set of lights. I will give further feedback to Sarah & Ollie regarding bike handling skills as it is fundamental for these beginners to have them before they take the bikes out on the road. When we finally rode back to Elwood, I was so proud of my group as they had accomplished something which they didn't think they could do (for some, it was their furthest ride - 56km) and all this within 2.5 hours. I felt like Mother Duck - keeping her ducklings close and ensuring that they are safe and learnt a thing or two about the sport.