28 October 2008

Nutrition

Many thanks to Annette Nistor who spoke last week about sports nutrition. If you want more information or a personal assessment done then contact her (info in the yellow pages). She can come out to your home and is happy to look at your household eating habits - if you want to make changes, it is a lot easier if the whole house is involved! She is happy to do group sessions as well if there are a few of you who want to work on something together.

Don't forget that the National Heart Foundation has lots of resources you can tap into - email Averil West at AverilW@nhf.org.nz or pop into the office in Collingwood Street.

Correct Support and Bike Expertise

This week's session involves a twenty five minute slot at the Shoe Clinic in Bridge Street where you will learn about correct support for running and walking, and see examples with a treadmill analysis and a twenty five minute slot at BikeHQ in Halifax Street where you will learn how to change a tyre and some basic bike maintenance.

The first session will begin at 6.30pm and finish at 6.55pm allowing you five minutes to change venue before the second session will start at 7pm.

I am allocating you into either the Shoe Clinic first or BikeHQ first so that we get roughly equal numbers at each store.
If you want to come and don't see your name below then please email me so I can assign you accordingly.

If you still want a walk or a run - then some of the Striders will come along at 7pm. Meet them outside Nelson Building Society in Bridge Street (ie if you want to do this then you will miss the second session). Some of you have mentioned that you just want to run or walk tomorrow night - that is fine - join in with the Striders at 7pm.

Shoe Clinic at 6.30pm
Linda Williams, Cathy Barnes, Lisa Ross, Chris King, Trish Kennedy, Fiona Lulham, Alison Warren, Cheryl Bell, Marijke Boers, Bee Williamson, Liz Coulter, Peta-Lee Buckley, Cheryl Wood, Neroli Batstone, Shawna Cook, Sarah Geiger, Mary van Helden Stevens, Bethan Turk, Myra Allen, Wendy Wright, Donna Smithies, Megan Carter, Diane Winter, Anna Bradley, Carolyn Sygrove, Juliette Plank, Niki Davey, Miritza Vining,

BikeHQ at 6.30pm
Nicola Rae, Shirley Sheppard, Sue Stilwell, Robyn Austin, Berni Aquilina, Nadia Clearwater, Jane Nichol, Bernie Whittaker, Theresa Magrane, Kate Harper, Kathryn Laurence, Kristina Cooper, Linda Widdowson, Ali Westerby, Bee Grant, Sandi Bloss, Suzanne Tregear, Lynda Greer, Jo Lavington, Stacey Dodd, Monica Sanderson, Judith Escreet, Nicola Robb, Isobel Sim, Iris Greene, Rosalie Adamson,

24 October 2008

Don't Pick a Shoe, Let a Shoe Pick You!

Hi everyone,
Brett here from Shoe Clinic Nelson. Thursday October 30th I'm hosting an evening in store to educate you on the importance of correct footwear. I'll be aiming to cover the following key areas.
1. What running and walking shoes are made of and the differences between good and poor quality footwear.
2. Basic biomechanics and how your foot type and lower limb alignment helps determine the type of shoe you should be in.
3. The importance of having a shoe fitted to you, not picking a shoe on looks.
4. How we use Footscan and Video Treadmill Analysis to ensure we pick the right shoe for you.

I am aware that not everyone can attend on the 30th but of cousre like some of you already have, you can come into Shoe Clinic anytime to take advantage of our free fitting service. Don't forget to bring in the letter you received in your intro packs to take advantage of the special discount offered to participants in the activator series.
I look forward to meeting many of you on the 3oth.

Fantastic offers

Are your legs a bit sore from last night? Well, help is in hand!! Ali Westerby (one of us) teaches yoga at The Yoga Space in Bridge St and wants to offer us the opportunity to try Yoga. She will give any Active Woman half price classes for a month from their first class at The Yoga Space. They have a beginners course starting on the 4th of November so if you want to find out more information visit www.yoganelson.co.nz or email rodwatson1@gmail.com.
Thanks for this Ali!

22 October 2008

Mountainbike Training Sessions

Hello, I am Britta.
Everyone who did the Mountainbike sessions has seen me there. I was really fascinated, how encouraged and motivated you were and how big the progress was in such a short amount of time. I would like to give everyone who is interested in it the chance to get more into mountainbiking.
Just a few things about me. I have a master degree in Sport Science and had my own personal coaching buiseness back in germany, focusing on biking, running and swimming. Because i do competitive triathlon, road cycling and mountain biking myself, I enjoy it a lot to motivate people to push their boundaries a bit further than what they could achieve on their own. Its great to see happy,satisfied faces afterwards :)
I offer a weekly mountainbike session, including technique skills, trail experience to help you gain more confidence on the bike and of course have a lot of fun! I also offer training programs as well, for all the riders who would like to do an event, like the Maungatapu Murderer Trail.
An idea would be mondays from 6-7.30pm, changes are possible. We could start at the middle of november. I offer 1.beginners sessions and 2.for more confident riders, who would like to get to know more great trails around Nelson.
A weekly price would be $10, incl. a training session and a training program.
Please don't hesitate to send me an email, if you are interested or have any more questions. Or call me: 027-2224863 or 035446781
I am excited to hear from you.

MTB 5km Blast, Sunday October 26th

Here's the tester for all the Activator MTB Ladies this weekend (Sunday 26th) A fun, social and informal MTB event up at the Codgers Trails in Brook St.
We'll have a course mapped out on the lower level recreational trails that is just over 2km long. Start and finish area will be the Andrews Farm paddock just behind the Waimarama Community Gardens.
Start time will be 10am, and simply turn up on the morning from 9am on to register. We'll run a gold coin entry donation for this fun event, which will be put back into trail maintenance on the area you will be riding. Bring your kids along as well for some fun if you like, as they are welcome to ride a couple of laps as well.
You'll have a choice of riding one lap or two, and there will also be an optional 800m section of flowing single track if you feel up to it.
Here's the description of the course:
From the Andrews Farm paddock, along the river trail towards town down to Brook St; along the Brook St footpath then turn right onto Codgers; then up Codgers to the six way intersection. Here's where the optional 800m single track kicks in - if you take this option you'll turn hard right onto that section of single track, across the creek and back into the start/finish paddock. If you don't take that option you'll ride down the gravel road from the six way intersection, and turn right onto the benched trail (just by the gate and fence) and follow that track back down to the start/finish paddock.
Hope to see you all there!
Any questions, feel free to call Chris on 021 2301920.

20 October 2008

Venue for this Thursday

This week kicks off our series of professional talks and the running and walking program in the lead up to the Mahana Half Marathon or 10km. We will start the sessions with a talk from consultant dietician Annette Nistor. This will begin at 6.30pm and will be held at the Nelson Baptist Church in Bridge Street - opposite the Courthouse. Thank you to Ian and the Baptist Church community for letting us use their space.

Well done to all of you who challenged yourself to try mountainbiking - I hope you enjoyed the sessions. Britta is looking at taking some extra sessions for those of you keen to continue - she will put something up on the blog soon.

We will cover bike maintanence and how to change a tyre at next week's session - it will be a rota between BikeHQ in Halifax Street and Shoe Clinic in Bridge St (correct support and treadmill analysis). If you have any questions about your bike in the interim then pop in and see Carl, Jarron and the team at BikeHQ - they are more than willing to help.

16 October 2008

Can we ride in the rain?

Absolutely. The more mud the better! And we're not made of sugar so we shouldn't dissolve! Just make sure you wear a rain coat and warm clothing (we could always find an extra hill to ride up to keep you warm).
See you tonight!

13 October 2008

Mountainbiking - our final session

This Thursday evening is our final mountainbiking session before the 5km blast event on Sunday the 26th of October. Chris Mildon will give you more details about this event soon.

This week we will again start from Branford Park at 6.30pm, however, we will venture further afield so if you are running late head towards the Brook Valley on your bike as we plan to use the trails there to learn the skill of downhill mountainbiking. We will also cover some of the course for the 5km blast.

We had planned to spend time learning how to change a tube (for those dreaded punctures), but will see how the evening progresses, as if it is anything like the previous couple of weeks it might be a bit too cold. Carl has suggested holding a further evening instore at BikeHQ for those that want to learn and we might have to take him up on his offer ..... so watch this space.

Pics from the most recent mountain bike session

Everyone looks like they are working very hard, congrats to you all, you look amazing!

Thanks each week go to Sandy Vincent from Tineli, Britta Martin, Brenda Clapp, Jane Rose, Dave from Biking Nelson and Carl and Andy from BikeHQ.

Participants are working towards a 5km Blast event up the Brook Valley (Old Codgers Trail) on the 26th of November organised by the Nelson Mountainbike Club.


To the left you see everyone lined up to do the 'slow race' where the idea is to learn how to balance on a bike and go as slowly as possible. Everyone gets on their pedals and stands and races along very slowly!

The river crossing is another great challenge, kudos to each team and participant for make it through this lesson.

05 October 2008

Swimming Training Programs

Chris Vincent from Tasman Gold Masters Swimming has kindly written up four swim programs that you can follow when you head to the pool. If you would like a copy of these then please leave your name in the comment section below and I will email them to you. Thanks for these Chris! Don't forget if you want some company - then head out to their swim session on a Sunday morning (and from December you can join in with their Thursday night session, since we start back on Tuesday evenings in January).

03 October 2008

Upcycle!

Another NCC and TDC initiative, Upcycle! takes cycling 2 the next level.
They meet for weekly social rides in the Nelson and Richmond area, with all rides led and facilitated by experienced cyclists. If you are interested in joining in or finding out more information phone Anne on (03) 5390527 or text 021 112 3890 or email bnbnelson@gmail.com

02 October 2008

Mountainbiking Queens!

Well done on getting on the bike again! I hope it was a gentle introduction back on the bike and you're not too sore! Next week I will ask you to put yourself into groups based on your confidence levels, and we will take to the trails to learn the technique of trail riding - ie. what parts of the track to ride on, what to avoid ...... Now that you have the correct set up sorted out, we will be able to do more riding, (and keep warm) but still remember to keep the layers on as it does get cold up the valley quickly.

If you are a bit sore between the legs you may want to consider purchasing a pair of proper bike shorts that have chamois - these give a little bit more support for those sensitive areas! Remember though, that if you do wear these shorts you don't wear knickers underneath - as this gives more areas to chafe. Consider as well a more comfy bike seat - one that is wider at the back and has a bit more cushioning - you can also get seats that have holes in the middle to reduce pressure. Pop in and see Carl and the team at Bike HQ - they are more than happy to answer any questions you have, and if you mention you're doing the series they'll probably give you a discount :) Or give Sandy a call about their fabulous ladies range at Tineli (03) 548 37 59

If you didn't come this week because you don't have a bike, then remember BikeHQ bring along a few of their rental bikes (all very snazzy) and Diane and Tamsin have a spare bike they are willing to lend to anyone who wants to borrow them. (Thanks)!

So get out on those trails and I look forward to seeing you all again next week.

Session 5: Mountainbiking

What a gorgeous evening for our first session of mountainbiking. I look forward to seeing you all at Branford Park tonight at 6.30pm. Sandy will introduce the sport to you by going through the general features of a mountainbike, how to correctly set up your bike (ie seat height, handlebar height ...), what clothing is best to wear for maximum comfort and what the gears are for and when to use them. We will then do some 'bike drills' before having the opportunity to tackle one of the base trails around the Maitai Valley.
See you there!