Tim Don And Lucy Charles Rock Ironman
If you've been following the triathlon news the last couple of weeks you'll be aware of two great race performances - a fantastic first Ironman win by newly turned pro Lucy Charles and an absolutely incredible official Ironman world record time by Tim Don.
Both Tim and Lucy feature their swimming exclusively in the Swim Smooth Guru - if you're a subscriber, find out why they're so fast and efficient here and here (hint, they're both out-and-out "Swingers" which means they swim with lots of rhythm and tempo)!
We've devoted the blog this week to their performances - if you have an Ironman coming up yourself this summer here's a little inspiration for you!
Ladies first:
Lucy Charles: A First Pro Ironman Win
If you've been following the Swim Smooth blog for a while, you'll know that we first introduced Lucy to you back in July last year. A former elite open water swimmer, Lucy decimated the women's field at the Ironman World Championships in 2015. Racing as an age grouper, she set the fastest women's swim split - 2 minutes 44 seconds faster than Pro Jodie Swallow!
Find Lucy on twitter and on her website.
Of course having a great triathlon swim leg is to be expected from a former elite swimmer, but could Lucy adapt to triathlon and become a great cyclist and runner too? Well the weekend before last we got the answer at the famously tough course at Ironman Lanzarote. Taking down a strong women's field, Lucy led out the women's swim by over 5 minutes before breaking the bike course record - in the process extending her lead to over 19 minutes. A solid 3:18 marathon capped off a fantastic maiden Pro Ironman win:
Lucy in recent races and training:
We asked Lucy about her race:
Everyone at Swim Smooth is willing you to a fantastic remainder of 2017 Lucy!
If you would like to discover what makes Lucy such a phenomenal swimmer, watch our full stroke analysis in the Guru here (subscription required):
Tim Don: A New Official Ironman World Record
Last Sunday the irrepressible Tim Don set a new official Ironman event record of 7:40:23 at Ironman Brazil, comprising a rapid 3.8km swim split of 44:16, a scorching 180km bike in 4:06:56 and to wrap up with a full marathon in 02:44:46!
Find Tim on his website, twitter and instagram here.
We'd like to pass on our personal congratulations to Tim - he's a friend of Swim Smooth and a former training partner of our Head Coach Paul Newsome, way back in the late 1990s. Tim's a fantastic guy and a super-tough athlete who thoroughly deserves this new record:
To get an insight into Tim's abilities as an athlete, here's a couple of videos not to miss. Firstly, Tim's post race interview discussing his phenomenal performance:
And secondly an outtake from our 3 Day Coach Education Course in 2013, when Tim kindly popped in to show us his stroke and give age group triathlete Tarek Mouganie the swim experience of a lifetime by letting him draft him in the pool:
And of course, if you want to learn from Tim's swimming to make improvements to your own, check out our exclusive Guru stroke analysis here (subscription required):
Swim Smooth!
Both Tim and Lucy feature their swimming exclusively in the Swim Smooth Guru - if you're a subscriber, find out why they're so fast and efficient here and here (hint, they're both out-and-out "Swingers" which means they swim with lots of rhythm and tempo)!
We've devoted the blog this week to their performances - if you have an Ironman coming up yourself this summer here's a little inspiration for you!
Ladies first:
Lucy Charles: A First Pro Ironman Win
If you've been following the Swim Smooth blog for a while, you'll know that we first introduced Lucy to you back in July last year. A former elite open water swimmer, Lucy decimated the women's field at the Ironman World Championships in 2015. Racing as an age grouper, she set the fastest women's swim split - 2 minutes 44 seconds faster than Pro Jodie Swallow!
Find Lucy on twitter and on her website.
Of course having a great triathlon swim leg is to be expected from a former elite swimmer, but could Lucy adapt to triathlon and become a great cyclist and runner too? Well the weekend before last we got the answer at the famously tough course at Ironman Lanzarote. Taking down a strong women's field, Lucy led out the women's swim by over 5 minutes before breaking the bike course record - in the process extending her lead to over 19 minutes. A solid 3:18 marathon capped off a fantastic maiden Pro Ironman win:
Lucy in recent races and training:
We asked Lucy about her race:
Having flown straight out to Lanzarote following my win at Challenge Lisbon, I knew I was on good form but I certainly could not have predicted Saturday's result.
I took the swim steadier than normal, this was my first full Ironman for a year and I didn't want to go crazy. I found myself in the lead pack of men and was able to just sit in and cruise along. I exited the swim in 47:06 feeling fresh for the bike, which is always nice after 3.8km in open water!
I have really been working hard on my biking over the winter but to break the Ironman Lanzarote bike course record was totally unexpected.
The 2017 season could not have started any better for me, with a string of great results. I have a busy race schedule this year so I really hope i can keep this good form going.
After the win at Ironman Lanzarote I am now on a mission to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona. My fiancé Reece has already qualified as an amateur after his stunning performance at Ironman Lanzarote. Fingers crossed we can both be on that start line together.
I couldn't be more over the moon with my result at Ironman Lanzarote. After a string of setbacks and injuries in 2016 I feel like 2017 is set to be my year!
I took the swim steadier than normal, this was my first full Ironman for a year and I didn't want to go crazy. I found myself in the lead pack of men and was able to just sit in and cruise along. I exited the swim in 47:06 feeling fresh for the bike, which is always nice after 3.8km in open water!
I have really been working hard on my biking over the winter but to break the Ironman Lanzarote bike course record was totally unexpected.
The 2017 season could not have started any better for me, with a string of great results. I have a busy race schedule this year so I really hope i can keep this good form going.
After the win at Ironman Lanzarote I am now on a mission to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona. My fiancé Reece has already qualified as an amateur after his stunning performance at Ironman Lanzarote. Fingers crossed we can both be on that start line together.
I couldn't be more over the moon with my result at Ironman Lanzarote. After a string of setbacks and injuries in 2016 I feel like 2017 is set to be my year!
Everyone at Swim Smooth is willing you to a fantastic remainder of 2017 Lucy!
If you would like to discover what makes Lucy such a phenomenal swimmer, watch our full stroke analysis in the Guru here (subscription required):
Tim Don: A New Official Ironman World Record
Last Sunday the irrepressible Tim Don set a new official Ironman event record of 7:40:23 at Ironman Brazil, comprising a rapid 3.8km swim split of 44:16, a scorching 180km bike in 4:06:56 and to wrap up with a full marathon in 02:44:46!
Find Tim on his website, twitter and instagram here.
We'd like to pass on our personal congratulations to Tim - he's a friend of Swim Smooth and a former training partner of our Head Coach Paul Newsome, way back in the late 1990s. Tim's a fantastic guy and a super-tough athlete who thoroughly deserves this new record:
 |
| Tim (left), Paul and Swim Smooth's Adam Young (right) showing strong mutual respect in Boulder in 2013 |
To get an insight into Tim's abilities as an athlete, here's a couple of videos not to miss. Firstly, Tim's post race interview discussing his phenomenal performance:
And secondly an outtake from our 3 Day Coach Education Course in 2013, when Tim kindly popped in to show us his stroke and give age group triathlete Tarek Mouganie the swim experience of a lifetime by letting him draft him in the pool:
And of course, if you want to learn from Tim's swimming to make improvements to your own, check out our exclusive Guru stroke analysis here (subscription required):
Swim Smooth!
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