Tri4Japan, the registered charity established by Mike and Rieko Trees to help the people of Kamaishi, will launch a major Charity auction on eBay starting from 19:00 BST on Sunday 31 July. Here Mike and Rieko tell us about some of the items.

Items have been donated by many leading triathlon brands, World Champions, Olympic Champions and elite athletes. Some items in the auction include:

• Three collections of Olympic memorabilia from Speedo including a swimskin signed by 2008 Olympic Athletes including Michael Phelps, (eight times Gold Olympic Medallist Beijing) Rebecca Adlington, (Double Olympic Gold medallist, Beijing) Steph Rice, (three times Gold medallist, Beijing) Bronte Barratt (Olympic Gold medallist) and Liam Tancock (double commonwealth Games gold medallist.)
• pair of Adidas Supernova Sequence shoes signed by Alistair Brownlee
• A pair of Brooks T7 race shoes signed by Chrissie Wellington as well as Chrissie’s own TYR tankini signed by Chrissie
• Signed wetsuit used by actor Robson Green in his Wild Swimming Adventure ITV series
• Two pairs of Newton Running shoes & a visor signed by Zola Pieterse (née Zola Budd)
• Two entries to Ironman Wales in September
• Two Ceepo high modulus carbon bike frames
• A year’s supply of GU Energy Gels (365 mixed flavour gels)
• Over 20 new triathlon wetsuits from leading brands including 2XU, Orca, blueseventy and Zone Three
• Two-time Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander special edition replica race kits

Please have a look at the auction items at: www.tri4japan.com/auction/ and bid on Sunday for some great items.

As the existing official supplier of Compression to Triathlon Australia, Triathlon New Zealand, international triathlon powerhouse teamTBB, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team and the Official Compression Partner of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) amongst many others, formal alliance with the acclaimed IRONMAN® brand marks a logical next step for 2XU.

“We are excited to partner with 2XU, a leader in the industry,” said Mike Pine, Chief Sales Officer, WTC.

“The quality and technology of the 2XU product will support our participants in their pursuit of peak performance.”

Following extensive testing by independent sports institutes, 2XU Compression has been found to provide an array of physiological benefits to the wearer including improved circulation and heightened agility through to reduced muscle fatigue and damage.

“2XU has invested significant resources toward developing and leading the global understanding of high performance compression products,” said 2XU Director of Sales and Marketing, Aidan Clarke.

“In understanding the undeniable and proven gains for endurance athletes, it’s only logical for us to unite with the IRONMAN® brand that is so synonymous with incredible feats of human endurance.”

With a relentless commitment to engineering world-class garments from fabrics delivering tangible benefits to the wearer, 2XU sets the benchmark in high performance compression.  Ongoing testing, research and consultation with professional sporting bodies of such caliber as the WTC are integral to the brand’s winning formula.
About 2XU

2XU (“Two Times You”) was launched in January 2005, and is driven by a relentless company mission to advance human performance through the development of world-leading athletic garments.  In its first year, 2XU graced the skin of multiple World Champion athletes and has since formed powerful alliances and key partnerships with World Champions across the globe in numerous sports including Triathlon, Cycling, Swimming, Netball, AFL, Soccer, NRL, NFL and Running.  2XU is also the exclusive Official Compression Supplier to the Australian Institute of Sport.

Founded and based in Melbourne, Australia; 2XU is fast becoming the most technical sports brand in the world.  Designed and tested in consultation with industry experts, all garments employ intelligent physiological design, cutting edge performance fabrics and construction.  The premium Australian brand is now stocked in multiple countries around the world.

About WTC
World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a Tampa-based company recognized for athletic excellence, distinguished events and quality products. WTC’s growing portfolio includes the Ironman, Ironman 70.3, 5150 Triathlon Series, Iron Girl and IronKids, which have a combined total of more than 180 events worldwide each year. Supported by partners including Ford, Timex, Foster Grant and PowerBar, Ironman is the No.1 user-based sports brand in the world and has been a respected name in triathlon since its inception in 1978.

There will be a maximum of 12 people per course.

Dates
1. Sat 23/ Sun 24 July
2. Sat 20/ Sun 21 Aug

Accommodation – can be booked upon request.

The courses costs £350 (each participants will receive a pair of Newton Running shoes.)
Lunch and refreshments will be provided each day.

For more information or to sign up, contact the Drummond clinic during office hours on 01628 639532 or email alex@drummondclinic.co.uk.

Over the past 18-months I’ve used my blog to discuss triathlon and running with information on training and racing and I hope you’ve benefitted from the articles on my website. Today I want to use it to tell you about what has been the focus of my attention over the past two weeks.

On 11th March an 8.9-magnitude tremor struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo followed by a tsunami that rolled across the Pacific at 800km/h (500mph). Rieko and I sat and watched the awful images of Kamaishi Port and City being destroyed in front of our eyes. Because of our connection to the city through triathlon, we instantly new had to do something. We started telling the world about this city, and soon the Japanese triathlon community heard of our activities as did triathletes all over the world.

We started the charity Tri4Japan just over 2-weeks ago and since then I’ve hardly slept, but single handedly kept Starbucks in profit! We want to help people who lost their loved ones, we want to help the survivors and we want to give them hope and joy and reasons to live!

We’ve had a huge response to our initial request for support including many of triathlon’s leading figures including Chrissie Wellington, Dr Sarah Springman OBE, Javier Gomez, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Craig Alexander, Jason Metters, Cameron Brown, Tim Don, Helen Jenkins, Richard Stannard, Matty Reed to name just a few.

We’ve started a website www.tri4japan.com that explains more about the charity, how we are raising money and where that money will go to help those affected by this disaster. Please visit the site and also follow our progress through updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TriforJapan. Please ‘like’ our Facebook page and encourage your friends to ‘like’ it too as we need as many people as possible to learn about this awful disaster and help us do something about it.

If you’re able to make a donation, please visit our donate page where you can donate online. We’re giving a free Tri4Japan t-shirt with every £10 donation made. Beginning on 1st August we’re launching a massive auction on Ebay with items donated by the leading athletes and brands in triathlon, keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates on the lots. Join Rieko and me doing what we can to help those affected by this terrible disaster.

Thank you,

Mike Trees.

As the existing supplier of uniforms and apparel to the likes of Triathlon Australia, Triathlon New Zealand, Rowing Australia, Rowing New Zealand and the Official Compression Partner of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Swimming Australia and many others across the globe, alliance with teamTBB marks a logical next step for 2XU. 

teamTBB Manager Alex Bok is delighted with the new alliance.  “We’ve watched 2XU dominate the triathlon circuit for some time now and have been itching to get our athletes into the brand’s highly revered performance apparel.”

“The true beauty of this new partnership, however, is that we’ve now secured a sponsor who can not only supply us with exemplary triathlon gear for training and racing, but outstanding Cycle, Run and Compression apparel too,” said Bok.  

“As the Official Compression Partner of the AIS, 2XU’s world-leading Compression collection was of particular interest to us.  In 2011 we have 20 superstars to take care of across three geographical teams; teamTBB USA, teamTBB Germany and teamTBB AustraliaAsia.  Recovery is a critical component of our training formula, and we’ll be getting all teamTBB athletes in 2XU’s winning Compression garments as soon as possible.”

Under the comprehensive agreement, 2XU will supply its own Compression garments to all team members and engineer an extensive teamTBB custom collection including triathlon apparel for racing alongside run and cycle garments for training.  

“Working with the world’s finest athletes and sporting institutes is integral to 2XU’s high performance formula,” said 2XU Director of Sales and Marketing, Aidan Clarke. 

“We’re delighted to add teamTBB to our enviable list of respected sporting partners.

With 20 Pro athletes across three teams including the currently number 1 ranked athletes James Cunnama and Caroline Steffen and another four of the top 10 currently ranked female pro athletes worldwide, we can see an exciting year in store for teamTBB.  We look forward to being part of it.” 

About 2XU

2XU (“Two Times You”) was launched in January 2005, and is driven by a relentless company mission to advance human performance through the development of world-leading athletic garments.  In its first year, 2XU graced the skin of multiple World Champion athletes and has since formed powerful alliances and key partnerships with World Champions across the globe in numerous sports including Triathlon, Cycling, Swimming, Soccer, Cricket, Netball, Rugby, AFL and more.  2XU is also a proud Official Compression Supplier to the Australian Institute of Sport. 

Founded and based in Melbourne, Australia; 2XU is fast becoming the most technical sports brand in the world.  Designed and tested in consultation with industry experts, all garments employ intelligent physiological design, cutting edge performance fabrics and construction.  The premium Australian brand is now stocked in multiple countries around the world.   

About teamTBB

The TBB team is a development squad that provides hope and opportunity to many young athletes and pro’s that would have had no opportunity or pathway to being able to become an earning professional athlete. teamTBB provides physical, psychological and mechanical information and support to all of its athletes. More importantly, its current leading athletes are the role models to the rookie and development athletes. Its program has been enormously successful and has earned podium spots at the majority of races they enter. These athletes are leading by example.

In addition to its professional and amateur athlete programs, teamTBB also works to ensure that youth around the globe can participate in multi-sport events through its social development projects and its franchise, The Bike Boutique. The Bike Boutique provides unique lifestyle services through its bike lifestyle stores, Ironman events in Asia Pacific and encourages cycling as a means of transportation supported by its bike lodging services. http://www.teamTBB.com

Mike Trees had been planning to race for his chosen Charity ( Emily Ash Trust), but reality has now hit him.

Mike’s wife, Rieko gave birth to their baby daughter “Amy” on 30th March, and the lack of sleep since, combined with running a  distribution company, and a coaching business, has taken its toll on training. In fact, in Mike’s words it has “knocked it for Six !…..I have not swam or biked since little Amy was born…….I have managed to sneak in an odd run a couple of times a week to keep my sanity, but that’s about it. In the big scheme of things,  Rieko and Amy are more important to me than racing right now, but I will get back into it just as soon as I get my regular sleep back and can find the time to get back on the bike”.

Rieko is also desperate to get back to triathlon training, and so Mike has enlisted the help of specialists to  get her the information needed.  For anyone  who is thinking about starting a family, is pregnant, or just had a baby,  Angela Lockwood, an expert in pre and post natal physical training (http://www.physically-fit.co.uk/)   will be writing some valuable tips on how to come back safely after giving birth.  Rather than keep this secret we are  planning to publish it  on Tri247 and on Miketrees.com shortly, as we think it could be a very popular subject.

Having  trained for nearly 40 years,  since I was 9 year of age, and coached for over 25 years, I know what I should be doing.

However, where  as I used to motivate that lucky group of full time athletes to train, I now understand what the rest of the world age group triathletes are going through. I don’t have all day to train anymore. I don’t have access to the best medical facilities any more, and I don’t get given my gear for free any more. However I love this sport and still want to maximise my fitness and enjoyment.

But through this blog I will  offer some of the library of knowledge and experience that I have picked up over the years.

This  website will develop over the weeks, with training articles being added, coaching and rehabilitation and fitness testing also being offered.

My aim is to help motive and educate athletes to train more efficiently and more effectively, to learn from my mistakes and from my findings and my years of research and coaching.

My blog will document my training and any tips I may be able to pass on along the way. Other pages of this site will offer coaching, sports testing and even injury rehabilitation.

Hopefully over time this site  will grow into a good little reference website, you can  turn for motivation and guidance with your swim bike and run training.

On top of the usual demands of being a taxi service to the kids, and regular demands of work. I had to help prepare for and be at The Triathlon Cycle and Run Show at Sandown Park. On Saturday and Sunday 7th and 8th Feb. From a business point of view the show was a huge success. Our Newton Running Trainers were possibly the biggest success story of the event, selling more than any other brand. The 2XU compression was flying off the shelves on all booths as were the Ceepo bikes which are now the official bike of Ironman.

At the 220 Triathlon awards The Newton Running shoes picked up the “Most Innovative product of the Year” But all this hard work and success comes at a price…no time to train. I missed Friday’s run due to setting up the stands for the expo. On Saturday, I was on my feet selling all day, however I managed to get a stake in the ground and sneaked in 30min run on Sunday morning. For anyone that doesn’t know, and is stressed out over not having time to train…a 30min run 3 times a week has been proven to maintain fitness for weeks. With this confidence I know that I can run hard for a few weeks and raise my level of fitness. I can also be confident knowing that so long as I keep slotting in a 30 min run when extremely busy, I will not lose fitness in my preparation for the London Marathon.

On Monday and Tuesday I was too busy to train again. I had to get out on Wednesday to keep my fitness. I managed one hour of hill reps at threshold to stop muscle wastage. I needed a longer tougher run on Wednesday, because I would be flying to Japan Thursday and Friday.

If you have a busy life, plan everything. I work out as far in advance as possible when I will be busy and when I will have a little more free time and build up my training plan around this for the London Marathon. You will need to be flexible and adjust your plans as needed, but this is much better than making it up on an ad hock basis.

I am now in Japan after a two day journey. After a long flight it is important not to train on the day you arrive as you are jet lagged, the muscles dehydrated and fatigued from the flight. I am used to these long flights and upon arrival move straight onto to new time zone, drink lots of water, stretch and sleep to recover.

Tomorrow, is Valentine’s Day and I will get up and do a long slow run. For the record I will only have run 16 miles in a 7 day period but I am confident that I have not lost fitness. Conversely, forcing myself to run when over worked and stressed, would only have made me ill. Like all runners I learnt this lesson the hard way.

Next week is my first big test of the year. I plan to run over 100 miles in my week in Japan and top it off with the Okinawa marathon. This will be the last big mileage week in my build up to the London marathon. My plan is to run the Okinawa marathon a little slower than race pace, but to get used to my Newton Distance S race shoes and my carbo gels and the nutrition I am planning for London. To me it is imperative that you practice with and use everything before race day. Doing a marathon as training is very unconventional, and as an athlete you have to be disciplined so as not to run too fast, but for me it is the best way to see how my stamina is over the full 26.1 miles.

After the Okinawa marathon I will get a lot of feedback and have a better understanding of whether or not my target time of Sub 2hrs 30min is still a realistic goal for The London Marathon.