CANADIAN TRIATHLETE

Bike Boxes for Sale!

2011-12-04T10:38:00.001-08:00

I have two bike boxes for sale. First is brand new (still in box!) Has never even been opened. Thule 699 Round Trip- Hard case, with wheels. Looking to get some of our money back on this as it has not been used. New $500 plus tax at MEC. Need $400 out of it.Crate works- Great box. Has been very good to me. Has 4 trips on it. Still in excellent condition. All parts there. Asking $200.E-mail me for more info or pics of crate works. I'm not opening the Thule until I have a sale. Check out MEC for pics/info on the THULE 699canadiantriathletes@hotmail.com

2011 in review

2011-11-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

I've been real bad at updating this recently. Don't know why. Might have something to do with Ruby running around! She is a blast, but definately makes it harder to keep up on the little things (like maintaing a blog!).

I have also realized that this blog is as much for me as for anyone else. I find myself occasionally looking back at the race reports/pictures and videos. Their is inspiration there for me to keep doing this sport.

That being said, I haven't been completely inactive. Most of the year was focused around Ruby of course, but Ryan and I did a couple of races, and I even managed to get to a couple of my own. An off road triathlon was probably the most interesting of them.

I travelled to Kelowna with Ryan and brought back a national championship to add to his collection.

So here are some pics of the year. No particular order or anything. Just what I can find!
Enjoy!

New Chinese TT bike.

2011-01-18T13:15:00.001-08:00

New "Chinese" TT bike.

2010 Clearwater 70.3

2010-11-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

2010-09-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Clearwater 2009 on NBC. Watch us race!

2010-06-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

This sunday June 11th, at 4:00pm eastern, NBC will broadcast the Clearwater 2009 half IM world champs. This was the race that Ryan Van Praet and myself participated in, and he came 2nd (in his category).

Should be interesting to watch! Set your PVR if you can't be there to watch.

What's going on.

2010-05-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Real bad at updating recently. Just busy, and lazy. Training is going OK. Doing the WIN marathon in Whitby in a few weeks. My body has really decided that it doesn't like running. Lots of niggly pains all the time. Funnily, I am feeling great on the long ones, but not to good on anything less than 10km. Guess I just need to run more!

Ryan and I are going to run the Marathon together. More of a training run for Placid than anything. So that is good. We will hopefully pace ourselves so that we don't do much damage.

Loving the cycling right now. Teaching in Port Perry is fantastic. I am able to ride my bike in 3 days a week (when I am not swimming!:>). Usually do 17km on the way into work, and closer to 30km on the way home. I love being able to commute again. Also, I am teaching strength training in the morning and am able to get some good circuits in which has raised my general fitness alot.

Preparations for the baby are pretty much done. Now it is just a waiting game. Excited to see the little rascal. We have the chariot so that I will be able to train. Kinda looking forward to it. I have set a goal of running the chilly 1/2 in sub 1:40 pushing the kid.

This spring has gone in a flash. Can't believe it is may! It will be July before I know it. Between track meets and outdoor ed trips I will be missing huge amount of time at work, and having the races starting in May will also make it seem impossibly quick. Will have a kid and be doing another Ironman before I know it!

So that is me. I hope to be better at updating, but who knows!

Kestrel in race trim

2010-02-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the Air Foil in Race trim. Minus HydroTail.

Kinda crap Pic from my phone, but still I am happy with how it looks.

Pissed off people.

2010-01-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Made a trip into the big smoke today for a Haiti fundraiser run. Things went great and had a fantastic time with some of my awesome running free peeps, and some of the other runners out for the cause.

After the run (since I came all this way! :>) I figured that I would make a stop at MEC for a bit of perusing. In front of the store (or near the front of the store) there was a (for lack of a better term) hippy. Lecturing on to anyone who would listen about how we are selfish and rich and should share our wealth and success more with the rest of the world. That we don't need all of our possessions and would be happier without.

This got me thinking. I agree with this gentleman that we are a consumeristic society (as I stare at my $4000 bike) and really don't NEED 90% of what we have, however would that really make us happier?

For instance, this young man whom, since he was lecturing me, I assumed didn't own many possessions. He definitely didn't look happy! I am all for activism, but it seems as a majority of the activists are pissed off about something most of the time! Now by my reckoning, this is no way to live. Yes, fight for a cause. But don't let it become all consuming in your life, and don't let it affect how you feel in your own life. Live how you choose to live, and be content with that. Part of what makes this country great is your freedom to do so. If you want to live like a pauper, you are free to do so. If you want to live a luxurious lifestyle your free to do that as well.

I believe it is human nature to want more. This dates back to our ancestors who had little and strove to better their life and the life of their offspring. Now, it has been taken to perverted levels by some in our society, but most just want to live as their neighbours live. I don't think that a rich Canadian, living amongst other rich Canadians is any happier than a lower income Canadians living amongst their peers. Happiness is not related to wealth. It is related to how you view your situation.

If you are happy with who you are and where you are then you will be a happy person. If you continue to strive to reach another level, or bring others down to yours, you will never be happy. If, for whatever reason, you cannot be content with your place in life at any point, then you will never be "happy". You will always be looking for something else to "enrich" your life. This is human nature.

Ok, done ranting. Just look around and take a second to appreciate where you are and what you have. Compared to many in the world we are doing well. Don't piss yourself off for no good reason. Be active, share your views, but don't get frustrated and irate when others don't share your zest for your chosen cause. We all have cause's. Whether it is doing the best for your family, or supporting the poor and homeless in Haiti. Just remember. People are happy everywhere in the world, whether they are rich or not.

Yeah, did a lot of driving with time to think! My 2 cents!

Sable Goggles. The best.

2010-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I don't normally do reviews unless I find a product i really like.

I heard of sable goggles about a year and a half ago. As most of you have probably heard by now the rumblings were good. So I decided to dump the change and get my first really good pair of goggles.

My first pair were the RS101's. When you put them on the first thing that you will notice is that there is absolutely no distortion. They are by far the crispest sighting goggles I have ever tried. Unfortunately my face has always rejected most goggles. These ones fell under that category. I couldn't get them to fit to my face properly.

This brings me to why I REALLY like sable. I got talking to a rep at one of the races and he spent probably 20min. trying to get me fit properly with the existing nose pieces. Still didn't work. However, I was told they were working on making a larger nose piece for people with bridges like mine and he would get it too me. The service has been second to none. He was honestly concerned with getting those goggles to fit my face.

I now have the RS922's as well to train in. They are equally as fantastic when it comes to vision quality. These however fit my face perfectly on the first shot. No fiddling necessary. They are super comfy and don't push too hard on my face as I have found many other goggles do. As well adjusting these is a snap with the new buckle design.

I realize why so many top pro's are in these goggles. They are the best I have seen. After 20+ years of swimming I haven't seen anything comparable. They are worth the extra money. Sighting is a breeze with them.

Oh yeah! The best part. You cannot get them to fog up!! Even if you put your fingers in them (which isn't recomended) You can get the anti fog back with some dish soap. Fantastic!

Running Free "Training for Solidarity" Haiti Fundraiser

2010-01-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

Join me a ton of other GTA folk for a 'training' run in Toronto. There are going to be many run distance options as well as pace bunnies and support.

For more information and to register check out:

www.runningfree.com

Really hope to see you there for this great cause!

Kestrel AIrfoil Sl. My new bike!

2009-12-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

Got some quick kms in on this allready. Really stiff and responsive. Still tweaking the fit a little, but I think it is going too be fast. Definetely a thoroughbred! Fastest I have ever been on.

This is it!

2009-12-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

(Wrote this as a pep up speech for my track and XC runners, think it can apply to triathlon too!)

THIS IS IT.

This is it.

This is THE moment
When you decide who you are.
Who you want to be.

This is it.

All those hours.
Those early mornings.
Those Cold nights

This is it.

You are strong
Your body is ready
Your mind is focused

This is it.

There are no excuses
Only you will know how hard you compete
Only you will care

This is it.

Today you will do your best
Today you will go farther and faster.
Today you will win!

THIS IS IT!

Daroooooool!

2009-12-15T16:02:00.003-08:00

Ryan and I need to race this one day. WOWWWWWWW!

Way to go specialized!

Track Bike project

2009-12-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

So currently in the process of turning an old (2007) QR tequilo frame into a sweet track bike.

Just got the bike back from the paint shop at my old school.

All I need now is a white track wheelset and white or light blue track cranks/chainrings. Then it goes on the wall!

Future Triathlete! :>>

2009-12-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

Already swimming!

Blind Guy Coming Through!

2009-12-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

A year ago, if you told me that I would be captaining a tandem bike in Clearwater with a blind guy on the back I would have laughed. How could one get themselves in such a position? Pretty easily it turns out.

Through a variety of circumstances, and the magic of social networking, I met an interesting guy who was attempting to continue his triathlon career despite being unable to see well enough to get himself around a racecourse safely. After a few general requests for help on his part and, some may say foolish, replies on mine, I was now a guide for a blind guy. (Sorry, I probably should say visually impaired, but someone needs to keep his ego in check.)

Many people know Ryan Van Praet through his tireless efforts to raise funds for the fight on ALS. This is actually how I met him. Only later finding out through an article in Triathlon Canada that he was indeed fighting his own battle against retinitis pigmentosa. Basically this means he has lost most of his peripheral vision, and is slowly losing all of his sight. As he puts it, his retina is turning into Swiss cheese.

Now, I hadn’t met, never mind guided, a visually impaired athlete before. So this was entirely new territory for me. Quite honestly it was a little scary, especially when I started to really think about the logistics of getting the two of us around a course safely. How will we swim together? What are differences in riding a tandem bike? How do we not get in other athletes ways? Needless to say google got quite a workout from me.

As it turns out, it isn’t too hard, just a different mindset.

Our first workout was a 70km bike ride in the Niagara Region. Ryan had just got his custom tandem built and was excited to give it a real workout.

Riding a tandem is all about communication. From start to stop, you must communicate. Now this is tough for someone who has never had to vocalize that he wanted to coast while pedaling before. Years of ingrained habits had to be erased.

The first step is getting rolling. We adopted a straight forward one-two-three-go method. Which seems to work. Since the tandem is so long it wobbles quite a lot at slow speeds. Once you are moving it is rock solid, but the first few strokes can be interesting. Next the captain (person steering) and stoker (person on back) both need to clip in their other foot. So a coast is necessary. Again, it is all about talking to one another. If he needs to take a drink, he needs to tell me. In the longer races we have learned to stand up together to give our butts a break. The tandem is a harsh ride.

So that was my first experience as a guide. Now, smart people would choose a nice small race for their first venture into such unknown territory. As we are both experienced Ironmen, why not do a measly half Ironman!

Peterborough here we come.

At the start line of the Peterborough half Ironman we had never swam together or run together. No big deal!

So how do we get around the swim course as a team? Well, It is with a 4-foot tether.

Ryan rigged up a bungee cord so that it goes around our waists. During the swim we actually slide it down to mid thigh to avoid hitting it during our stroke.

As this was our first race, we placed ourselves conservatively near the middle of the pack so we wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. We were mostly concerned that someone might get caught up in the tether.

What I found during the swim is that I ended up being more of a body guard for Ryan than anything else. I made sure no one got in between us and that Ryan had a clear line around the buoys. If he got off course he would feel the tension on the tether build and correct accordingly. I definitely recommend that if you are guiding a blind athlete, make sure you are a stronger swimmer than them, since you will be using a fair amount more energy keeping them on track and safe. In Clearwater we got our tether caught around an anchor buoy that I couldn’t see (as it was the same size as a head!). I had to stay calm and get untangled and start back up again. It’s these little things that guiding is all about.

Once out of the water things are pretty normal. In T1, it is my responsibility to get myself ready, and to make sure that he has everything he needs within reach. My transition needs to be quick, so that I can help him.

The bike is interesting for us, as this is the one sport that I can actually contribute to our overall speed. Many people make the assumption that the two of us together should go much faster than a single person. This really isn’t the case. Our top speed is most likely a little faster, but because of the clumsiness of maneuvering a tandem in tight situations and turns, our bike split is similar to that of a top AG triathlete.

During the race, communication amongst other athletes is really important as well. In the New York City triathlon this year I went hoarse yelling “On your left” as we had to pass so many people, and it is a lot tougher to slow down or change direction quickly on the tandem. As well on the run I sometimes need to tell people that we are running together so that they can give us enough space to pass.

T2 is similar to T1. Make sure he has all of his gear, change quick and put the tether back on.

Ryan’s vision right now is good enough for him to run on open roads safely. However, if he runs into a shadow the lights go out for him. I need to be really conscious of this especially on tight tree lined courses.

Since his peripheral vision is shot, I need to warn him about roots, bumps, pot holes, dips in the road and most importantly groin highs (objects like posts that are 2-3feet high). The run is were things get a little more interesting. I generally run directly beside him and even though we are tethered we are usually less than arms reach from each other. Hence we have coined another term. To guide a blind athlete you need to endure a lot of “sweaty man (or woman) touching”.

In addition to leading him around the course I also help with his pacing. I give him splits, and help him met out his effort.

One thing that I learned this year as well was that there are many different styles of racing out there. I generally err on the conservative side, building my effort on each leg of a triathlon, whereas Ryan heads out of transition at full speed. We have both had to adapt so as not to affect our overall time. It has truly become a team effort.

Finally, to guide a visually impaired athlete you need to be comfortable being stared at. The amount of attention he receives at these venues is unreal.

At the Clearwater 70.3 championships, not only was he being interviewed for the NBC broadcast, he was also at the pro press conference. Pretty much everyone knew who he was, and what we were doing. Walking through the expo was an experience. People were constantly snapping pics of the bike and of us. Stopping to chat with Ryan and give us their support. It really was an amazing experience.

What a year it has been. Racing in NYC at the Paratriathlon National Champs and at Clearwater 70.3. Most importantly finding a new friendship with Ryan and his wife Mindy who are truly great people. One small facebook post later and I have a whole new, and different, set of experiences than I ever thought possible.

What is really exciting is where it is going. Ryan has signed up for Lake Placid, and is also hoping to go to the ITU Worlds in Budapest with the goal of becoming the fastest visually impaired triathlete in the world. He also has unfinished business in KONA which I am sure he will take care of in the not too distant future.

Never be afraid to try something different. Athletes such as Ryan with Physical Impairments do this everyday. Spending time with someone like him really opens up your eyes as to what is really important. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to be part of his continued journey in this sport, and hopefully will race with him well into the future.

2008 Orbea Ora For Sale!

2009-11-29T05:31:00.000-08:00

Red/White 57cm.
Perfect working order. Ultegra grouppo. Dura Ace bar end shifters. Profile T2 aero base bar. S bend aero bars. Bike has approx. 2000km on it. FSA Sl carbon cranks. Will through in extra set of rings ($80)
Has a few cosmetic chips in the paint from travel to Ironman on the right rear seat stay. Also one chip on top tube. Cosmetc from rubbing quick release. Repaired, but not colour matched well.
Best handling frame out there. Those spanish know how to build a comfortable bike. Same geometry as Crowie's Ordu (world champ!)

Bought for $2600 plus tax last year. Upgrades include:
New beginning of summer columbus aero fork (more aero and lighter $200)
Specialized Tri tip saddle (white). $150
Hydrotail: $50
Sram TT levers: Red. New beginning of summer $80
So over $3000 invested.

with Ksyrium Sl's for $1700.00
e-mail for info or more pics.

Wheelsucking (i'm not bored!)

2009-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Clearwater 70.3 World Champs video

2009-11-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

More Pics from Clearwater

2009-11-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Ryan's Race Report from Clearwater

2009-11-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 70.3 ------- 2ND PLACE FINISH!This past Saturday (Nov.14/2009), myself and my guide and friend Syd Trefiak, ventured down to the sunny south! Clearwater Florida! Our mission? To take on our third and biggest event of the year, the Foster Grant Ironman World Championships 70.3 .Syd and I met up earlier this year when i began my Paratriathlon career. He stepped up to the challenge and decided to help out a perfect stranger continue his athletic career. Going to a World Championship was a reward or good karma for somebody who does something that Syd did, being selfless. We raced a half Ironman earlier in the year, and the Paratriathlon USA championships in July; both great successes and learning curves. We hoped to have our act smoothed out for Florida, and i believe we did-turning in a performance that surpassed my goals.Trying to keep it fairly short, please enjoy the race report. From the eyes of a blind guy.....it will be interesting to get Syd's perspective on the day.Thursday--- We arrived early, after an early wake up call, to a chilly and WINDY Clearwater... It wasn't much different then the weather at home--expect more palm trees. The order of the day was to meet up with Matt Miller (C Different founder) and Aaron Scheideis the CDF posterboy..as this kid has it all---speed, looks, talent, etc. He is one fun guy. We were also off to make sure that "flaming big al" made it safe and sound. This is my tandem, not a long lost uncle!! Big Al made it safe and sound and so we rode it back to the hotel and unpacked. That evening was cruising the expo and then off to the pre-race banquet. The dinner was on the beach, a beautiful setting normally, but this day was freezing and windy; not the most enjoyable of evenings. Off to bed to catch some much needed sleep.Friday(NBC day!)-- This was a LONG day! Syd and i got up fairly early, took Big Al out for a cruise to make sure he was race ready, and he was. Since i was battling the beginnings of a head cold, Syd went off for a short run by himself. My main mission was to not get so sick that i would be unable to race, but man i was worried, as i was feeling cruddy for sure. Once Syd was back from his little warmup, we hopped on Big Al and rode down to the expo to visit with Erik at K Swiss. Erik is one super cool and super nice guy...I chatted with him a bit bout myself and career, and my connection with C Different, and i proceeded to purchase some Canada flag K-0na shoes...these are super sweet lighweight trainers by KSwiss, and let's just say Erik gave me a deal i couldn't refuse. After this we headed into the Hilton as i had an NBC interview scheduled for 11:30am---a quick stop to say hi to Kevin Mackinnon and Greg McFadden, two friends of mine--then it was time for the interview. After about a 30 min chat with the NBC camera crew, Syd and i had some still pics taken, were given the GPS i was to wear on race day, then we were off to the Pro panel press conference. Sitting at a long table with Aaron and about 8 other pro's, was pretty cool, but obviously i was the SLOW guy of the bunch. A quick lunch in the VIP booth and then we were off to the Pro Pre-race meeting. One hour later, that meeting was over and we were free to "enjoy" the rest of the day. This amounted to dropping off our gear bags just as it got dark, heading to the hotel for a 1 hour rest, then dinner, then back for an early bed time. Holy moly, we were all just wiped out...and ready to race...as that'd be the easy part! I am not complaining though, as the C Different, Ryan and Aaron, ALS, and "yes you can" stories all got told and covered very well. Nighty night!Saturday(Race day!)--- Woke up at 4:30am and downed a couple Peanut butter sandwishes, as i forgot my normal BOOST drinks for pre-race... Syd convinced me the PB sandwish was the way to go. I agree it didn't upset the gut, but didn't quite have the oomph i needed. We (Syd, Aaron, Matt and I) drove off to transition and as we entered...immediately 2 cameras swarmed on Syd and I... I guess they saw when we checked in, and now were getting their pre-race coverage. The idea was to "look cool" and not appear nervous:) I really wasn't that nervous to be honest, i was pretty tired and a bit worried that my non-existant headache would come back with a vengance later in the day (thankfully it didn't). Had a bit of a pre-race interiew in the transition area, then we were off to hit the Porta John, then the swim start. The swim was originally supposed to be in the Gulf of Mexico, but due to rough surf and rip current, they switched it into a nearby protected harbour---fine by me, as i wasn't feeling my swim was up to snuff. After standing around for a little bit, it was time to put the wetsuit on, and head to the dock, smile/look focused for a few more cameras, then hop in the water. We got to start at 6:45am in the pro wave (pro women, as the men started a few minutes after us). The sun was just coming up and was promising to be a gorgeious day. BOOM! went the cannon and we were off. My goal was to hang at the back of the pro women pack as long as i could, then just get the swim done. We were doing ok, and somehow i felt myself being pulled backwards. Hmmmm, odd! I guess while looking into the sun, Syd mistook a small bouy for a swim cap and swam to the wrong side, stringing up our tether----oh well, i wouldn't have seen it either!! I actually thought he sangged a person, as the bouy looked like a head!! Syd calmly took his tether off, unwrapped it, put it back on and we were off. We had lost the pack and now were basically alone the rest of the way. We managed to get a bit over half way before them pro men flew by us. I felt cruddy, and very unpowerful, but somehow managed a sub 34 minutes swim, which was actually my goal. Got the wetsuit stripped off, tethered stuck on my feet--slight delay--then we made the run into T1, grabbed gear bags, into tent, threw on shoes and helmet and were off! Onto the 90km bike (after the 1.9km swim), we took it out steady and decided to not kill ourselves and leave a bit for the run. We found ourselves totally alone---pro's in front, age groupers behind, it was very very strange. We saw 5 people the whole race (passed them handily) and never got caught by a single rider. Syd and i both were riding strong, and felt good, despite very very very very sore posteriors and backs.... More kinks definatley need to be worked out in this regard. My goal was to average around 37km/h and we managed to average 40.22km/hr for a 2:16 bike ride...I was pumped for sure! OOOOH DOLPHINS!! was the highlight of the ride (for Syd anyways)..and the NBC cameras coming up to film us was quite awesome too...."look intense syd, look intense!" Into T2, shoes on, and we were off on the 21.1km run!My goal was to run a sub 1:40 half marathon, but considering the way i was feeling the preceeding days, i was just happy to run the whole thing. Syd is good at keeping me steady and avoiding the quick start. We held a strong pace the whole run, only fading a tiny bit about 3/4 of the way through...his knee was hurting, my stomach was hurting, but we managed to keep it quite strong and average a 7.55 min/mile pace (I was aiming for a 7:45/mile pace), so not too bad. Seeing Aaron and Matt 4 times was fun, and we realized we were neither gaining, nor losing time to them. We knew we'd not catch them, so we decided to not blow on the day and kept it steady. Seeing my buddy Debbie Regals out there (fellow Blazeman Warrior) was awesome too. The crowd and athlete support for Syd and I was unreal, i've never had so many people say so many encouraging things, they truly understood our mission. As we appraoched 2 miles to go, i realized we were pretty much on track for a 4:45-4:47 overall finish, which was right on my goal of a 4:45 finish. It was going to be tight, and Syd decided to step it up the last km...it hurt, but we sucked it up and managed to both ROLL across the finish line in 4:43!! A new personal best for me by 25 minutes and we ended up 25 minutes behind Aaron. Great race for me, but would've loved to get closer to Aaron. One day for sure...i just need to work on my swim and a few other things...and perhaps get more agressive on the bike. All and all we had a ton of fun, and Syd and I were VERY pleased with our day. Very satisfying.Final thoughts?-- Coming in with the goals of sub 34 swim (swam 33:xx), a sub 2:20 bike (rode 2:16), a sub 1:40 run (ran 1;43)....got my sub 4:45 finish...i was pleased for sure. I ended up 4 of 7 Paratriathletes overall, and got a 2nd place finish in the Visually Impaired group (yes there were only two of us, but i truly believe my time would have been good enough for 2nd against all the other VI athletes i know, alhough it would've been close). AND i've not taken on Canada's other fast Blind guy, Brian Cowie...We got our story out, we gained people's attention, and respect, we gained potential sponsors and product support and we finsihed 2nd in a World Championship!! You can't end 2009 any better, as when the year began i didn't kow if i'd even get to do one race, let alone 4 (2 big prestigious events). Thanks to Syd, C Different, Aaron, and my wife for all the help and support. This year makes me very eager to plan for the future and the potential to inspire others that they can do anything....just adapt to your situation, and figure out a way to get it done. Oh ya, and thanks to Big Al , my comfy Running Free shorts, CDF shirt, Rudy Project sunglasses and helmet, and New Balance shoes...they got me to the line safe and sound...and i can't WAIT to get out in my new K Swiss shoes, hoping for some new PB's outta those puppies!!!

Some pics from Clearwater

2009-11-19T04:41:00.000-08:00

Clearwater 70.3 World Champs Race Report.

2009-11-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

After Muskoka my season was done. I thought. Then I got an e-mail from Ryan saying that he had been offered a spot in Clearwater. Do I want to go? Why the hell not!

I can honestly say that I did not train a ton between Muskoka and Clearwater. The reputation of the 70.3 world champs being a fast/flat course allowed me to take it a little easier. A few long rides, a few long runs. Basically no quality swimming. Still felt OK heading down.

Drove down to Chatham on Wednesday night. Got there hung out with Mindy and Ryan for a bit and hit the sack as we had a real early (2:45) wake up call to head to Detroit airport for our 6:00am flight. Made it.

We landed in Clearwater and caught our shuttle to the Chart House Suites (very geneoursely donated by Matt Miller and the Cdifferent foundation. Huge windows looking out on the harbour, and the record breaking cold weather! Florida is supposed to be warm. Not 59 degrees. We had news that it would warm up for the weekend so we shrugged it off.

Meeting up with Matt and Aaron, we caught a ride down to the expo area. We picked up Ryan's tandem (now named Big Flaming Al, long story. . . ) and registered. This was the first hints of what was too come. Everybody seemed real interested in the tandem, and what we were doing.

Did a trip around the expo. Stopped and talked to the Blais's (of whom Ryan does a lot of fundraising for) and a few other booths. After this (and posing for a number of pics with interested people!) we rode the bike back to the hotel.

That night was the banquet. For the World Champs they situated the whole shindig on the beach. Which normally would have been great, but it was fricking freezing. We shivered through dinner (which IS better in the VIP section!) and listened to the presentation. Of which, Ryan was talked about. This was the first encounter of hanging out with many of the tri elite! Lots of pros everywhere. It was cool!

We then gladly headed home for some sleep.

The next day we took out the bike for an easy spin to make sure all was well then got ready for the press junkit. This was surreal. First stop was the NBC interview where upon entering the hilton we met Kevin Mckinnon who was very nice, and hung out for a bit until we were hearded into the interview area. Also Greg Welch stopped by and said hi too.

Ryan went through the interview like and old pro. He is very well spoken, and I believe presented himself really well. The interview took 15-20min. We were then handed a transponder to mount on Ryan's belt so that they could find us during the race, and film us on the go. It was then directly into the the photographer for some pics. Some of just Ryan, and some of both of us and the bike.

Once that was out of the way we wandered back to the expo (had more picture's taken) and stopped at the K-swiss booth. Ryan talked with the main dude, and might have hooked himself up with a bit of a sponsorship.

From here we rushed over to the pro press conference where Ryan was to be introduced to the press. He sat on a panel with passed champions Terrenzo Bezzone and Joanna Zeiger among others. That was kinda cool to see. We were then sent into the VIP area at the finishing line to have lunch with these guys. Nothing like sharing a sandwhich with giants like Terrenzo, and Matty Reid. It was really kind of surreal to be hanging out with these people in this sort of relaxed setting. They were all really nice, and great to meet.

After that it was time to head home and try and process what happened that day and maybe get some dinner. Matt took all of us to a hotel for dinner of pasta, and garlic (it seemed). Then to bed to try and sleep before we had to wake up and race!

Race Morning.

We got up around 4am. Ate some breakfast and got ready. Caught a ride down to transition with Aaron's manager. This is where it really got surreal. Walking into transition we were greated and identified over the loudspeaker. Immediately Ryan was interviewed by the MC and the camera's were on us. They filmed us for a while when we were getting ready. Things seemed good and we decided to head down to the swim start. The swim had been moved off of the gulf to the inland bays due to the remnants of hurricane IDA. The swell was high, and there was a bit of a rip.

We were scheduled to start in the pro women's wave which went off first. The men went 8min. later. This was also interesting. Hanging on the start line with these guys is interesting. There was a definite buzz among the pro's and an intensity. Terrenzo stopped beside us for a bit and joked around.

The start.

We headed off strong behind the women. We wanted to make sure we stayed out of the way as much as possible. Things were going well for the first 300m. Then all of the sudden out of the pack in front of us came a buoy. It was about the size of a head so i didn't see it coming through the other swimmers infront of us. Before I could do anything Ryan had swam to the opposite side as me and the tether got caught on the buoy. I took a few seconds to try and unhook us, but it was no use so I slipped the tether off and had Ryan pull it through. Then I put the tether back on and we were off to the races. Unfortunately we lost the group we were behind which meant no draft for us. Having feet to follow really helps Ryan swim straighter.

We managed to make it to the home stretch before the male pros came flying by us. Most of them cleared us before we hit the swim exit. We stayed to the right so as not to get in there way. Out of the swim we headed to transition and the volunteers helped us remove our wetsuits. Ryan got a little tangled in the tether so it took a little bit to get going, but not a big deal. I believe our swim split was in the 33min. range.

Got changed, and picked up the bike. Once again the camera's were on us. We got on the bike and started out to the causeway. We were rolling along nicely. There was no one around us. Either direction. It stayed that way most of the bike. The course was flat and fast. Clipping along we passed Aaron and Matt on the out and back section. They were hanging on behind the front pack. It was impressive to see them there. They are rockstars!

On our way back we started to see the AG guys coming. Definetely saw the fabled drafting packs of clearwater. But we won't get into that.

Headed out over one of the causeways was pretty weird. 3 lanes and two wide shoulders all shut down for us. There were no other cyclist's either so we were all alone on this massive highways. It was odd. Funnily I was looking around and on the bay I could see dolphins. I said "hey dolphins!" Ryan replied with "Keep your eyes on the road". I came back with " there are 5 empty lanes here. You could steer the bike and not hit a bloody thing, so relax!" It was fun!

The 20km or so were tough because the bike is extremely tough on the posterior. Not much give in the frame so it is a little harsh of a ride. Feeling good though. We held a real steady pace throughout and set ourselves up for a good run. The bike was a blazing 2:16 split at 40.2 kph.

A relatively quick transition and we were on the run. The crowds were fantastic. Cheering us every step of the way. We must've had our pictures taken a thousand times.

The first loop of the run was uneventful. We had a goal pace and tried to stick to it. Ryan has a tendancy to head out fast, and I tried to hold him back a bit so that we could have a steady run. At the end of the first loop the camera's caught us and followed in front of us for a while. Try and look tough, try and look tough. That was our mantra while on film! Coming into the turn around the announcer was calling us on and the crowds once again went wild. That was just a taste of what was too come.

The course headed out over a causeway, and in through the residential neighbourhoods. It was neat on the first lap when the pro men flew by us. We could see that Raelert had a big lead and was looking strong. It was really cool to watch Matt Reed fly by. He is a beast!

The second lap got tougher. Much of the course was on concrete and that took it's toll on my knees and both of our bodies. We held a steady pace but it was hurting. Ryan had a goal of coming in under 4:45. We weren't sure if we were going to get there or not. We pushed hard at the end at it looked like we would succeed. Coming into the finishing chute was awesome. There were a ton of people there and they were going nuts. It was a wall of sound. They were cheering so loudly for us it gave me goosebumps. Still do thinking about it. What an experience.

Got to the line, and we both did a blazeman role. 4:43. Fast! Ryan came in second which was fantastic.

Camera's were flashing. Bob Blais was there to great us which was nice. Made our way through the throngs and collapsed on the grass for a bit.

That night we went to the awards banquet. This was again held on the beach. Much warmer though. Ryan (and I) were brought on stage for his award. A great end to an awesome experience.

Thanks to Matt Miller and Cdifferent for helping us to get down to the event. Thanks to the WTC for the invitation. Thanks to Ryan for letting me tag along! :>>

I look forward to guiding Ryan again next year. Placid here we come!

Article by Kevin Mckinnon about Ryan Van Praet

2009-11-09T15:52:00.001-08:00

from www.ironman.com

Ironmanlife: Ryan's Back

Kevin Mackinnon previews Ryan Van Praet's race at the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3

Published Friday, November 6, 2009

If you ever needed proof that there is no justice in the world, here's proof. Last year, for the first time in six Ironman races, Ryan Van Praet wasn't able to get to the finish line as he wore race number 179 in Kona. Because people like Ryan Van Praet don't let one day of physical problems get in the way of changing the world, though, the world is right again because Ryan Van Praet is now stronger, faster and even more determined after that experience. He continues to tirelessly raise money for ALS research in Canada, awareness for the Blazeman foundation everywhere and will pass you like you're parked if you slow down for a millisecond at next week's Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3.

Van Praet, like his hero, Jon “Blazeman” Blais, who wore race number 179 when he finished the Ford Ironman World Championship in 2005, is a walking inspiration story. Born with a disease called retinitis pigmentosa, he's going blind. Last year's Kona event was the last he was able to do without a guide. The 29-year-old from Chatham, Ontario has grown up with the knowledge that he would likely lose his sight by the time he reaches his 30s.

This is a guy who grew up exploring the world in a way that most of us never will. His parents, especially his father, Adelard, never hesitated to let him try anything and everything.

“He treated me like any other boy, let me fall, and pick myself up, try things most thought he shouldn't let me try because I could hurt myself, or get embarrassed or embarrass him,” says Van Praet. “He didn't care, he knew that to succeed I needed to grow up to be more determined than any other person I was around ... and I have done that. I get all my strength from what taught me, from how he raised me. He gave me inclusion, he gave me courage, he gave me pride, now it's my turn to try and give back.”

Hold that “give back” thought for a second. Oh, and hold that “more determined than any other person I was around” thought, too.

Around the same time that Jon Blais was given the death-sentence that is an ALS diagnosis, Adelard Van Praet got the same news. That's why, watching the coverage of the Ford Ironman World Championship in 2005 was so poignant for Van Praet. Here was a guy finishing the Ironman with a disease that was going to kill him. If he could do that, then Ryan Van Praet could step up and give something back, too.

Since then he's lost his father to ALS, but he continues to raise thousands of dollars for the ALS research in Canada. He’s completed five Ironmans. He was named the Ford Everyday Hero at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid in 2007. He organizes a huge spin-a-thon to raise money for the Blazeman Foundation every winter.

So what happens when someone like Ryan Van Praet can't get to the finish line of Kona? First he's humbled by his hero.

“After my experience in Kona last year and how it blew me to smithereens in my sixth Ironman (when you think you'd have most things figured out), it gave me the utmost sense of awe at what Jon accomplished while dying in 2005,” Van Praet wrote to me earlier this year.

The humility lasted for, I'm guessing, about a day. Then someone like Ryan Van Praet gets his butt in gear and starts training. And racing. Earlier this year, with his guide Syd Trefiak, he screamed through a hilly 70.3 distance race in 5:11. Then he was the second visually impaired athlete at the prestigious NYC triathlon. He's determined to continue the trend that athletes like Aaron Schiedies and Charlie Plaskon have started: don't feel sorry for these guys when they're out on the course - you better try to stay ahead of them because they're racing you right to the line.

“I hope desperately to get back to Kona to tackle the only race that has beaten me thus far,” Van Praet wrote in an e-mail last month. “As you know, my personality is a bit stubborn and I need to prove to myself that Kona is doable.”

A bit stubborn? Sure, you can try that, Ryan. All I can say is that I'm thrilled to hear that I'll see you next week in Clearwater. I'm looking forward to watching you and Syd fly through that course. I'm also looking forward to seeing you back in Kona some day. I can't see any way that you'll let anything stop that from happening.

Clearwater 70.3

2009-09-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ryan got an invitation to compete in Clearwater this november. So I am tagging along (or I guess technically leading along :P) to help him out. Aaron Schiddes is going to be racing as well (stupid fast blind guy). He is kind of our only real competition. A little out of our league, but something to aim for!

The coolest thing about this is that we are going to be starting out in the pro wave! How cool is that! We will be last, but who cares. We will be hanging out with the best of the best.

So, the training needs to start again, but it is definetely worth it!

Say hi if you see us down there. Blind dude tied to me.

Muskoka 70.3

2009-09-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Winding down the summer with a major race is always fun. Especially an Ironman sanctioned event, because you really feel like you are involved in something big. Especially with big name pros attending. Muskoka 70.3 lived up to this.

I decided to camp on the saturday night as opposed to getting a hotel room. Not only did this save me from having to book months in advance, it also saved me a bunch of cash. $30 for the night. Nice!

Got up there saturday early in the afternoon. Plenty of time to get acclimated and set up. Parked at the airport and rode my bike in. Dropped it in transition and headed in to register. With that out of the way I took a stroll through the expo and headed down to the swim start. A bit of a hike! The swim out is a good jog uphill into transition. Wasn't looking forward to that! The swim looked fun, and I was excited to get in the water on sunday. That is, until I drove the course!

Headed out on the bike course before dinner. What a beauty! Probably the nicest bike courses I have ever ridden. However, it is very very challenging. Would love to ride that course without having to worry about running after!

Then I decided to drive the run. Ugh. Uphill to the turnaround! Now that would be a challenge.

Headed into town for some prerace spaghetti and meatballs, then back to the tent for some sleep.

Up early, at 5:30. Packed up, and headed to timmies for a coffee. Had breakfast and parked at the airport again. Took the shuttle to the site (this worked very well).

Got all set up nice and quickly and just milled around. Watched the pros get set up for a while, and exchanged words of encouragement with a few of them. Time to get the wetsuit on.

Headed down to the start. Feet were a bit sore from the walk down, but was excited to start.

The put us into pens ala a bike race start. We were the 4th off. The pro's were on the home stretch by the time we started. Got a good spot on the front and hammered it when the gun went off. Had a good start to the first buoy and a good draft as well. After the first turn I was in good shape, then I felt my watch come most of the way off. The velcro strap came loose. Had to stop to take it off. Shoved it down the front of my wetsuit. This sucked because I lost the strong group that I was with. Started up after a few secs. Had to readjust the the position of the watch shortly after. Probably lost 20secs to this. Kinda annoying. Managed to catch some more feet, but we hit a bunch of traffic down the back stretch of the swim. It started to get a bit hairy. We were dodging back and forth avoiding the previous wave. They were spread everywhere. Over the last 10min. of the swim I was feeling fantastic. I started to push a bit more and gained a few spots. Pushed hard to get some clear water coming into the swim exit to avoid traffic in the stairs and at the strippers. I was out in just over 30min. Was hoping to go sub 30, but the watch debacle and traffic stopped this.

Got stripped really quickly with some helpful volunteers and started the trudge up to T1. Got a quick transition and headed out on the course. Some vigorous cheering from Canadian pro Tara Norton (headed to Savageman last weekend so wasn't racing here.) which was helpful.

Onto the bike. I had shattered my quads training with the XC team a week previous, and never really let them heal properly so that coupled with a sore butt from driving made me feel a bit nervous about the hilly course to come. Legs weren't feeling great, but I was managing a decent pace none the less. It wasn't until we hit 35 that I started to feel strong. The first leg of the course was mostly uphill until the turn off of the shared road section. The actual scenery was fantastic, along with the roads. Some super curvy stuff. It was a load of fun to hammer through. I made up a fair amount of places by being really aggressive on the turns and hills. It was a lot of fun.

Ended up passing a bunch of people from the previous wave, and didn't lose many spots in my own. I was feeling really good and was moving well, until I hit the turn onto brunel. It was weird, immediately as we hit the head wind there, all of the juice went out of my legs. I knew that I had screwed up my nutrition. Took a gu and ate the rest of a peanut butter sandwhich I had started earlier and backed a little off of the effort. This is a really tough section of the course and I suffered a little. After about 20min. my legs started to feel good again. I upped the pace a bit, but remained conservative. Finished the bike feeling relatively good. That being said, I couldn't imagine running that course at that point! The bike was a little long (94km) so the 2:43 split was good enough for me.

Into T2 with a really fast transition. Got into my distance crushing pace (which is admittedly a bit slower than I hoped to be running). Basically just pick an effort level I know I can maintain over that distance. It was slow, but I didn't want to blow up on the way out. Now, I didn't drive the entire course. Basically up to the turn around and then I went for dinner, so I didn't check out the path on the way back. Not a mistake, but mentally I prepared for it to be similar to the out section in topography. It wasn't!

Felt OK the whole way out. Packing in the GU's on schedule and just ticking off the kms. The hills were tough, but I really just focused on the few meters infront of me, and didn't worry about what was to come. Made it to the turn around without draining the tank. Now I wanted to push a bit on the way down.

Well, there was a lot of down, but the legs started to get heavy around 15km. Just in time to hit the path. Very pretty, but it had a bunch of short punchy hills. Now my legs really didn't have an issue with running easily on flats or downhills, but those short hard efforts really took a toll. I was running out of steam quickly. It was also very hard to judge where you were, and how much longer you needed to be on this path. Mentally, I was in a rough spot.

Eventually that section ended, and I was on the the relief of the open road. I was also very sure of what the roads were like on the way in. So I knew what to expect. Not easy, some big hills, but I knew about them so they didn't seem too bad. Cruised the last few km relatively well and circled around transition to the finish line. Came across at 5:02 which was close to my goal finish time. Kinda weird since I haven't finished over 5hrs in a while. The 1:44 run split was definetly slow, but I can't imagine going any faster.

I love the race and the venue. Everything was organized and ran very well. The challenge of the course was awesome. Huntsville is beautiful. Thanks to all of the supportive locals and awesome volunteers.

So now, it is a few weeks off, then starting to prep for Clearwater (not alone, but with Ryan) Should be fun!

New York City US paratriathlon Championships

2009-07-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I found myself wetsuited up sitting on a pontoon strapped to Ryan, getting ready to jump into the Hudson River. I can honestly say I never thought I would swim in the Hudson. It is a combination of murky and a little salty. Cleaner than I was expecting.

Now the major benefit of swimming in the hudson is that there is a lot of current.

The few days before the start were hectic. We drove down on friday and got in late after sitting in traffic trying to get on the island. We were tired and the nerves were a little frayed from the New York traffic.

Saturday was registration day. We sat through the PC briefing and went and got our kits. We were staying at the official hotel which was probably 4km from transition. This was a bit tough as we had a long tandem bike. We were not confident enough to ride in NYC traffic so we had to walk down to transition. Because of the location of the transition zone noone was allowed to stop their cars and drop off their stuff. A large hastle for us. As a result this took us the majority of the day. We got back in time for dinner and took a bus tour in the evening.

Sunday morning was early. Transition closed at 5:45 when the pro's started. We managed to get there with just enough time to finish setting up. We were racked next to Aaron Scheidies. The world's fastest paratriathlete. He has a similar visual condition to Ryan so they are natural competitors. He is a super cool kid. I suggest googleing him to see what he is about.

There was over a 1500m walk to the swim start. The para triathletes were situated in the pro tent which is cool. Just simplifies things.

We got the call to head to the pontoon. We ended up sitting there for a while as they were leaving a gap before the second group of racers went.

We were given a 30sec warning and were told to jump in and grap a rope. The current was super strong. The gun sounded and we were off. We knew that we would be amongst the faster swimmers in this wave so we pushed from the start. The swim is a straight shot downstream so sighting is a none issue. We were alone pretty much the whole time. Out of the water in around 17:00. That demonstrates the powerr of the current.

The bike starts out with a short downhill serction with two sharp rights followed by a steep hill up to the expressway. This was super technical for a tandem but we managed it well. We were now free to fly. I haf decided that I was going to bury myself on the bike as I knew that is where I could help the most. We caught up to the wave infront of us pretty much right away. We were flyinh by these slower cyclists. It was quite busy out there. It was a neat bike course as the closed the expressway on the west coast for us to race on. It was a hilly course, but fast. I was hoarse by the end from constantly yelling "on your left".

Into T2 I was a little torched from the effort. We changed quickly and climbed the hill out of the transition area. Ryan was pushing hard at this point. It took my body a while to come around. I actually felt pretty crappy for the whole run. It took a lot more effort this time to stay on Ryans shoulder.

The run through Central Park was cool(actually very very humid) this played havoc with my digestion. We continued to pass a ton of people. Only one person caught us from the wave that started after us. Ryan was flying, and I was surviving. I was going to bury myself before I slowed him down. We got to the finshing chute (which was crowded) and crossed the line in 2:18,second in his category. We acheived all of his goals so this was a very successful outing.

It was a fun race to do, but I won't do it again. Logostically it is too hard.

I would like to thanks Ryan and Mindy for giving me the opportunity to race in NYC with Ryan. It is a really neat experience, and I look forward to what the future holds!

Ryan's Peterborough Report (from swimbikerunryan.blogspot.com)

2009-07-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Mission Accomplished--"Hey isn't that cheating?"

"Hey, isn't that cheating?"

"No fair..."

"Oh man, 4 legs, you guys look great.."

"Hey, that's drafting..."

All of the above were utterances during my first paratriathlon last Sunday in Peterborough. ALL were said in joking fashion and great supportive manner, by fellow athletes. All were said on the bike as we rolled, seemingly "cheatinginly easy" past them up and down the steep rollers of the Peterborough 1/2 Ironman. A 2 km swim, followed by a 85 km bike ride (which is supposed to be 90), followed by a hilly 21.1km half marathon run. This was my 5th half Ironman of my career, my third time back to Peterborough, but my first paratriathlon--a new beginning.

Today i want to give you a brief (hopefully) recap of the days events; last week i gave you a taste of what the mood surrounding the event was like. The fact that i was a beginner, for the second time... As mentioned this was my third time back to this race, but standing race morning on the shore with 500 other athletes, tethered to my guide Syd...this felt much different. All pre-race buildup and preparation was much the same as any other race i've done, but as i said, standing tethered with our 4 foot bungee cord between us--Syd and I were embarking on something very new to both of us. Syd standing 2 inches taller then me, is a imposing figure, and made me feel that he gave the air of "stay out of our way" to the rest of the gang. This was comforting, heading into the water which was the most stressful for me. Swimming is not usually stressful, i love the beat and bang and push and shove of an open water swim; but not this day when i was very worried that i would snag somebody in our line, injure, drown or in a mild case just REALLY tick them off. Therefore the 2km swim i must admit was the most stressful swim i have ever done in my entire life, far trumping any Ironman mass start with 4 times as many people. My stress and fears were unfounded though, as we never snagged a single person, Syd was a perfect body guard as he is an amazing swimmer, and we managed out effort in a slow and uncomfortable 38:45. Uncomfortable because i can swim a good bit faster, and Syd must've been taking a nap, as this was far below his pace...but safety was the key.

Through transition and onto the bike---we had ridden the previous week together, and i trusted Syd had a handle literally and figuratively on the bike situation, so i was relieved and comforted to get out in my element (the bike) even if it was on the back of our Griffen tandem rocket!
Rolling smoothly and to much crowd support, out of T1, dressed in our matching Rudy Project helmets and matching TEAM RUNNING FREE uniforms (an awesome running store in the GTA that become my newest sponsor, and has been sponsoring Syd and his wife for a while).. Syd and i settled into a easy pace. Our goal was to take it slow until halfway then drop the hammer. We kept a methodical pace until the halfway point, passing everyone in sight (see above for comments recieved along the way). To my surprise the support was amazing, and truth be told i did feel guilty passing people with such ease, as this would not happen quite so smoothly if i were riding on my own. However, we rolled past a couple hundred people and made our way to the pointy end of the field. By half way, we were both feeling ok, but our "undersides" and my lower back, were both feeling the harshness that is a tandem bike ride. You feel ever bump, and every vibration--and we are riding probably the nicest tandem bike ever made! On that way back, we found ourselves quite alone...the leaders were ahead, but most others were behind, and we just rolled along, more in silence due to our upped effort. We were both relieved to get off the bike at the end, giving our bodies a break from the slightly uncomfortable ride. 2:29:00 later, with an average of 34 km/h, we arrived to a fairly empty T2.

Not having been totally trained for this event, and suffering a bit of an injury, my goal was to run as much of the half marathon as possible, and just see how it went. I really didn't have any specific time goals for the whole day, so it was just a matter of plugging away. During the first very shady section, Syd ran in front of me (where the pictures were taken), and i followed along like a good little puppy dog:) When out onto the open road, we ran side by side, Syd pointing out any road flaws, pylons, etc. This will take some more practice, but really all went well. I am pleased to say i managed to run the entire 21km (only impressive due to the fact the hills were killing me)...it is so hard running hills when you don't run them around here. We pushed harder the last 4-6 km, i was suffering, and Syd was cruising. He lives and trains on those hills, so this was simple for him. Pushing really hard the last 2km, we turned into the park, Syd and i grabbed hands, turned the final corner to the finish where Syd raised our hands in victory, saw the clock read 5:11:xx (which was my second fastest half Ironman ever), i dropped, rolled for ALS....and that was that.

Even thought the bike course was short, it was still a fast enough race for me..i was very pleased with the effort and very thankful to Syd for his help. This guy lives and breathes triathlon (even more then I), and his presence and help that day really helped me out. Our next adventure is in two weeks in New York City, with an Olympic distance triathlin which happens to be the USA National Paraytriathlon Championships. This will give me a good idea of where i stand in terms of others in my category (as I was the only visually impaired athlete in Peterborough). I am looking forward to the new experience and the new tandem career. It isn't the same as going alone, but it is still suprisingly, familiarly, satisfying.
A huge congratulations to local fellow C-K athletes Jason Ramboer who absolutely hammered his first half Ironman in a 4:41 time, Brennan his brother in the half Duathlon, Helen Robertson of Chatham in a very respectable time, and Helen's daughter Helinka who also had a solid day.

So off to training i go, getting ready for the fast and furious NYC triathlon! Thanks to Running Free for the great gear, Rudy Project, Syd, my wife, Smith's Cycle, and everyone who's help got me to the starting line of my new career. And thanks CKDP for letting me tell my story, my hope for Sunday was to turn some heads, and get some people thinking.....No matter what your abilities, set that goal, and go for it, and NEVER underestimate somebody based on their age, sex, religion, disability or athletic ability; for as soon as you do this, is the time they will leave you in a cloud of dust.

Peterborough 1/2 as a guide.

2009-07-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

I participated in the peterborough 1/2 IM this year as a guide for Ryan Van Praet a PC (physically challenged - blind) athlete from Chattam.

This was an exciting opportunity for me. I have done many things in this sport of triathlon and nothing quite like this. It was a true team effort.

Ryan has competed in triathlon for many years and has raced at all distance including a couple attempts at IM. This was his first race as a PC athlete. His vision has gotten to a point where he can't race by himself.

We had practiced on the tandem a few times, but we had yet to swim or run together.

The morning of peterborough we got set up in transition. The OAT and subaru guys were excellent at helping us get set up in transition. They had to make a whole new category for him to race in.

The swim was going to be interesting as we were tethered together and it was a mass start. We took a concervative line and waited for the majority of the field to go. I think this was a bit of a mistake as we then had to pass a ton of slow swimmers. This was difficult. The swimmers in the middle/back of the pack have trouble swimming straight. So I ended up acting as a bodyguard for most of the swim. We probably took a few extra minutes because of this. It ended up ok though. It was an interesting practice. I think in NYC we will be more aggressive.

We got out of the water and took our wetsuits off. The run to transition is a little long so it was tough navigating our way there. An easy transition and we were off on the bike. Having a relatively slow swim, but both of us being good cyclists meant that we were moving quite a lot faster than the rest of the riders around us. We were flying. The tandem is an interesting experience. You really need to learn how to communicate well. I needed to vocalize everything, from bumps in the road, to turns, to when either of us wanted to coast.

Things were feeling good on the tough bike course. We were getting lots of interesting comments and stares as we flew by many cyclists.

The biggest problem with the tandem is that it is a rough ride. Your butt gets really sore. We ended up coasting a lot on hills on the way back to try and relieve some pressure on our rears.

We finished up the bike a lot closer to the front of the pack than we started. We had passed atleast a hundred athletes.

T2 was a bit faster. We headed out on the run. It heads through the park and soccer fields. This was a challenging section for Ryan as he can't see anything in low light. I really had to let him know about every dip on the course. Once we were onto the roads it was easier. They are smoother and we were able to pick up the pace. This was a challenging course for Ryan as he is from the flattest part of this province. Peterborough is a hilly course on the bike and run. I live in this terrain so it is second nature to me. He did really well considering this.

We managed to pick a solid pace and hold it. Ryan told me not to tell him splits or where we were on the run course. This was fun, because I knew that we were way in front of our goal of going 5:30. He didn't. He thought we were on pace for the goal. I said nothing until we hit the finishing straight when I told him the time. Ryan did a roll accross the finish line in honour of his father who passed from ALS and in support of the Blazeman foundation which he is very active with.

We finished in 5:11. This was a great time for us and way infront of our goal. We were very conservative early on so this is a great confidence builder going into the PC champs in NYC.

I had a blast, and am really looking forward to racing in New York and next year possibly at the Ironman distance.

24 er 12 hrs of summer solstice

2009-06-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

This was to be my first attempt (and most likely last) at competing in a solo 24 hr mtb race. Training had been going ok, and I knew that if I paced myself properly I would have a good race. I wasn't expecting any fast performance, but I just wanted to ride the majority of the time.

The forecast had been looking bleak over the previous weeks, and raceday didn't disappoint! We started during a light drissle. A huge pack of over a 1000 riders started off. I positioned myself middle back to allow myself an easy start. It was a slow first lap as the packs thinned out. By the second half we were able to ride without any back-ups. The rain was stopping at this point and the trails were in decent condition.

The second lap was awesome. I was feeling fantastic just cruising around trying to be as smooth as possible. I was working on getting the best lines down as I knew that would help me in the late hours of the race. The conditions were mucky and by the end of the second lap my brake pads were toast. They weren't new. I made a quick stop and changed them out.

The third lap was a different story. The first 2.5km of trails had been chewed to pieces by all the riders. It was virtually impossible to ride that section. The mud was clay and stuck to your bike, eventually keeping your wheels from turning and adding 30pds! However, the 2nd half of the course was in good shape. I took a break for food after this long lap.

The fourth lap was much better. The trail was drying up and by the end I was able to get in a rythym again. The laps had been really slow and dusk was a couple of hrs off so I decided to stop and put on my lights. Good move. Over the last few km of the 4th lap, the rain started again slowly. By the time I got back on my bike it was pouring. This destroyed all of the improvements and took the good parts and turned them bad.

The RD's had taken the first part of the course out because it was unridable. I thought this would solve the problems. Nope! I ended up walking 90% of the 5th lap. Stopping every fee hundred meters to remove pds of mud. It was insane!!! I have never ridden/hiked in anything like it before. The 13km lap took me over 2hrs! I should've been able to ride it in 40min!

At the end of that lap it was nearing 10pm. I decided that I was going to wait a bit to let things dry out again before I went back out, and I had worn through another set of brake pads. I went down to the sporting life booth, and they were sold out of pads. They were waiting on a shippment from their store. I decided to grab some warm food from the chalet. As I was sitting there eating with some friends word came in that they were cancelling the race at midnight. I then debated heading out for another lap, but common sense prevailed. Stories of horrid laps were comming in left, righ, and center. The memory of my last lap was still fresh as well.

So that was that. I went to sleep! It was an interesting experience. I am humming and hawing on whether I want to give it another shot. We'll see. Props to the Chico guys for trying hard to keep the race going, and for having the guts to shut it down when they realized how much damage we were doing to the trails. Great organization, bad weather.

Milton Sprint 2009

2009-06-01T09:22:00.001-07:00

FAST!!

All the bike training definetely paid in Milton. I had no real idea of were I stood compared to the rest of my AG, but I knew that I was pretty fit. Been doing a lot of cycling in prep. for the 24hrs solo mtb race I am doing in june, so the bike legs are on right now.

It was COLD in the morning. Spent most of the time in transition wondering why I was going to be jumping in the water when it was 8 degrees out. Not so concerned about the actual water temps, more with the fact that I would have to ride in the cold air wet after. Not too mention the 30kph headwind we would face on the way out!

Got in the water and it was actually ok. Warmer than the air. Did a good warm-up and settled in for my second wave start. There are a few awesome swimmers in my AG(ex nat. team swimmers) so I don't try to hold on to them anymore, but I found a good groove early and held it. In the past I pushed super hard on the swim here and suffered on the run because of it. Because there weren't any swimmers directly in front of me, I eased off a bit more. A little slower, but felt great coming out of the water and at the beginning of the bike. I was able to put the power down from the word go! I didn't just feel good, I felt great!

Now, about half an hour into my drive in the morning I remembered that I didn't swap out my 21 cassette on the disc before the race. This is normally all I need for most races, but there is a little hill in Milton that requires something a little easier. So, I knew the hill would be tough, but I figured I could gut it out.

I was realing in the other people from my wave, and the first wave pretty quickly. Got to the hill, and obviously was pushing a much higher gear than everyone else. I blew by 10 people climbing. By the last steep pitch at the top, I was out of the saddle and grinding to get up over the last few meters, but I did it. Thanks to all of the MTB training, my recovery from these sorts of efforts is pretty good right now. I settled back in and pushed. I was making good time everywhere. Passed everyone who was infront of me out of the water before the decent back down the hill, and managed too gap the second guy in my AG (first place went in the elite wave) by 30 seconds or so. I think he pushed hard to try and stay with my which might have burnt him out a bit.

I managed to hit 83.6kph coming down the hill which is a new record for me! It was a little sketchy, but not too bad.

Came into T2 feeling pretty good about the ride, but a little wary of how the run was going to go, as I haven't been running much to heal my achilles which I strained in a 5km race a month ago.

Out of T2 there is a really steep punchy series of hills. Tough to get a rythym going. I was feeling a little off, and my feet were numb. I kept waiting for someone to catch me, but noone did. By the time we got off of the trails and onto the road I was starting to feel better. The out road section was really windy. I could see the next placed guy about 1min. back so I knew I had to keep pushing. By the time we hit the forest section my legs were truly under me again. I was feeling great. I started to push the pace to see if I could open a gap. It is hard to tell where anyone is in the forest so I just assumed they were gaining on me. Coming out of the forest and onto the road I still didn't know where anyone was. Before we headed back into the last section of trails I noticed a pair behind me about 400m back that were gaining. I thought they were the two others in my AG. So I started to get scared that they might get me. I pushed a little harder.

Coming out of the trail into the parking lot I noticed that one of the runners was really gaining on me, and had the same suit on as the guy I was worried about. It was on. I started to push really hard into the line. Crossed the line about 100m infront of HER! It wasn't him. Turns out I had put a fair amount of time into him on the run. It was the second overall female from the first wave who was gaining. So, I buried myself for nothing, other than to not be passed by a girl!

Didn't know exactly where I stood at this point, but knew I was top 3. Turns out Matt Reid was in the first wave, and blew me out of the water by 6min. Damn he is fast.

Second is good, especially to him. More over, I am very pleased how I felt in the race. Normally I want to vommit during sprints, I just felt strong today.

Now some more cycling then 24hrs of MTB'ing, then peterborough 1/2 the next weekend! Should be interesting!

Legacy 5km

2009-04-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us decided to drop in on this race to see if we could win the team title. Since RF is a big sponsor and helps put on the race, it only seemed fitting.

I jumped in on a whim. Haven't done a 5km race in . .. . well, I don't remember how long, so I thought it would be fun. It was! Despite the rain.

Met up with the RF guys and we pumped ourselves up for a good performance.

Lined up at the front, and awaited the gun. No gun, just a count down and miss timed horn from a fire truck! Oh well.

Headed off fast, got to 1km about 30sec before I wanted too. Seems to be the habit of late.

Managed to hold a relatively steady pace for the rest of the race despite the body wholey rejecting the effort from about 3km on.

Ran with or just behind two team mates for the majority of the race. I think we finished 4,5,6,10, 21 overall, which solidly put us in the lead in the team race. I somehow managed to win my AG, which was enitrely unexpected, and to run an 18:20. So quite happy with that.

It was a fun race. The timing was a little screwed up, and we haven't got out awards yet, but it was fun!

Around The Bay 2009

2009-03-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

There is not enough swimming and biking in this road racing game for me.

So, I somewhat randomly picked 2:15 as a good goal for myself. I figured I could come close to that. It wasn't until near the start that I was told that I would get a shiny silver metal if I did it under 2:15. I like silver.

Training up to the race was somewhat sporadic. Got some good long runs in, but nothing at any sort of hard pace. Felt ok coming into the race though.

We caught a ride with the 'running maniacs' from bomanville on their bus which was awesome. They had arranged that we could get our race packages the morning of as a group. That was fantastic. They were a fun bunch to hang out with on the ride down. Got to Copps and checked out the finish line. I did the relay here a few years ago, and ran the finishing leg. I really think it is one of the neatest finishing lines I have ever crossed.

The Start. So, I turned on my GPS and waited for it to aquire a signal. It was taking a while. I didn't realize until the start that it had completely frozen. It wouldn't even let me turn it off and restart.

So as the gun sounded and I tried to start my stopwatch, it wouldn't go. I was running on instinct alone. (apprently my instinct sucks)I got into a comfortable stride which I was hoping was near the 4:30 pace I wanted to start at. As I came accross the 10km mat I was almost 2min. ahead of that. Oops.

Over the next few km my quads started to tighten up due to the cold. Nothing serious at the time, but I knew that I would be hurting by the end. I had caught up with Jon very early on. I knew what his goal was and had thought that I should hang out with him. For some reason I decided to pass him and keep up with my pace. In hindsight I should've stuck with him. My normal conservative start went out the window.

I tried to ease off a bit, but with no reference I was a little in the dark. I asked a few people around me what the splits were at a few points, but it was kind of hard to really get much from that.

Around 16km, my quads really started to hurt. It wasn't affecting my pace or stride too much at that point, but at only the half way point I was hurting too much to be good.

Through 20km I was still ahead of the pace I was hoping for, but at this point, I thought that the buffer was going to be important if I still wanted to get sub 2:15.The rollers came as a bit of relief. I am really good at running down hill, and can usually recover pretty well. So I held my pace comfortably throughout. Even the big hills didn't really bother me.

Jon came flying by at some point in here looking super strong. He had paced himself well. I tried to pick it up to go with him, but it didn't happen.

Around 24km I really was starting to hurt. It was a big mental game from that point on. Cresting the last hill, I was hoping to be able to turn it up a notch on the way back home. It didn't happen. It was more survival. I couldn't lengthen my stride out at all as my quads were on fire. I uped my cadence as much as I could, but I was getting passed a lot!I was just hoping not to see the bunny catch up to me.

If I had had a watch, I would've realized I had enough time but I didn't.At pretty much exactly 1km to go a small group caught me. My heart sunk as I saw rabbit ears. At that point I committed to absolutely burying myself to beat him in. I was this close to that shiny silver medal that I wasn't going to let it slip away. I just pushed with all I had. It was probably the hardest 1km I have done in my life. I put some distance on him and held it. Turns out that he was about 30sec. ahead of 2:15 on the gun. So I had a little leeway.

2:14:29 on the gun and a shiny silver medal. I was toast. After the race my knee locked up as a result of my muscles being so tight in my quads. I ripped the hell out of them in the cold. I am still gimping around today.

So there you have it. It was my first Around the Bay, and the longest running race I have done (outside of Ironman). I honestly am in more pain than after Ironman. If I had paced better I would probably not have hurt myself so bad. I'm not sure if a funcitoning watch would've helped.

I am happy with the time, just not how I got there. Good mental exercise though. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger right?

Allright, I am going to gimp off to the gym now, and do some stretching and light upper body work. I probably won't be able to run for a few more days yet.

It is now biking season. No more long runs for a while!

S

In the Gym

2009-03-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

So I have been hitting the gym regularly lately. The benefits of teaching a fitness for life class. I get to workout out with the kids, actually am encouraged to.

So I have structured myself a little triathlon weights program. I have done this in the past, but my laziness and dislike of most gyms has resulted in me not going very often. Since I have to be there now, I might as well workout!

So, What am I doing there?

Monday's: Upper Body

Chin-ups (3 sets of 15) this is fantastic for swimming.

Tri-ceps (free weights)

Abs (decline bench with 20pds 35 reps)

Pull downs (machine)

tricep (machine)

Abs on pilates ball

Push Ups (leaving the ground at the top of push)

Back raises w. 20pd. weight

Seated rows (machine)

Chin ups until failure

Tuesday: Lower Body

Squats

Calf Raises

Leaps over bench

Abs (decline bench)

Leg Press (machine)

Calf press (machine)

4 squares (leaping on toes folling 4 tiles on the floor, this hurts!)

On bike, 6 reps of tension at max that I can turn over for 30 right pedal strokes.

Wednesday: Brick

On spinner

HIT session 10 times max effort for 30sec on 2:30 rest

20 min. run off bike at high tempo building to sprint.

Thursday: Mix of stuff

Chin-ups until failure

Abs Decline bench

Run 20min 5 hard efforts

Squash until tired.

This has been fun. Since I am getting paid to be there!

My general fitness has increased substantially. It will be interesting to see if this transfers to triathlon. I can already feel some improvement in my swimming. I can pull a lot stronger.

That being said, I am exhausted a lot of the time. Trying to maintain my normal training and doing this as well is tough. The body is getting used to it, but it is taking some time.

Next week will be an off week from this training because we will be in FLA. I will be training super hard, but only on normal tri related stuff. Lots of biking running swimming.

Port Perry Multisport Club

2009-01-04T04:51:00.000-08:00

We are starting up a Multisport Club in Port Perry, Ontario. We currently have 3 NCCP certified coaches who will be leading training sessions for the group this year.

We will be starting to join members hopefully early in the new year.

I will post the membership fee when we determine one.Included in the fee will be:

-one on one coaching from NCCP certified coaches.

-a PPM multisport tech shirt

-your OAT membership for the year.

-access to a one day training camp in port in the summer.

-TT sessions once a week.

-One coached swim session at Uxpool per week (pool fee not included)

-One coached run and bike session per week.

-A year end celebration!

-Ability to participate in the 2009 club championships

-Access to coaches through the different web interfaces.

Facebook, www.canadiantriathletes.com forum, http://www.portperrymultisport.blogspot.com/

If you have and Q's you can e-mail me (Syd) at canadiantriathletes@hotmail.com

Train hard!

Ironman SlideShow

2008-12-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ironman Florida 2008

2008-12-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

This year was an experiment (somewhat forced) in what I can versus need to do to perform well. Life got in the way of what I wanted to do training wise, and what I could do. Heading down to Florida I was anything but confident in what the result would be. Granted I had a great race at peterborough half earlier this year, but I wasn’t feeling confident that I could meet or beat last years time.

That being said, I did make sure I got all of my ‘key’ workouts in this year. So could I do better on less hours? How would the fact that I was already at a higher fitness level affect things.

Got down to PCB on Tuesday. Took the day to get settled. Went for a quick 30min run to shake off the travel. Settled into my parents condo, and had the first of many amazing meals that my mom cooked up. It cannot be over stressed how amazing this is to have such healthy and perfect food during race week.

Wednesday. Slept in a bit. Went and picked up my race wheels (http://www.racedaywheels.com/) and registered. Got all of this done early. Went back to the condo and put the Zipp’s on the bike. The orbea looks unbelievable with a disk on the back. Awesome! That is truly inspiring. Took it out for a test, and felt great. I swear those wheels add 3kph.

After the bike I gathered up my wetsuit and headed out to the gatorade swim course with my wife. We bobbed around in the ocean for a bit before calling it a day. (Managed to make it out to the 3rd buoy which is ,by far, the farthest she has been out in the ocean.) I think I will be able to talk Jenn into this Ironman thing someday!;> Headed home to another awesome meal and sleep.

Woke up on thrusday and headed out to the swim early. Met up with Alex. Swam with Alex and Brandon until about the 2nd buoy where they made their way back. I wanted to swim the full course so I kept going. I allways do this once as more of a way to ease the mind. I love ocean swimming, but it takes a bit to ease the little naysaying voices in the head. Had a great swim and was stoked to get too race day.

Headed out with Alex later to ride the run course since he had yet to see it. After we went out for a short run ’strutting’, as Alex put it, by running by the expo and all of the crazy IM people. The atmosphere at any of these events is second to none. I recomend it to everybody!

Thursday night was the athlete banquet/ meeting. I didn’t show up until later (skipped the crappy pasta) and just went the the athletes meeting. Really not much different from last year. Be safe, don’t draft and have fun etc . . .

Friday was a true rest day. Fiddled with the bike getting it ready and just ate. I love eating!
Dropped the bike and gear in transition and went for a walk on the beach to calm the nerves. Not nearly as bad as 2007. Felt pretty good about things actually.

4am on Saturday morning. Woke up to eat as much as I could shove in my face. I think I got to my 1000 calorie goal. Couple of cups of coffee to get things going. Headed out at around 5am to get sorted in transition. Pumped the tires, dropped the special needs, left my nutrition and then waited. It was probably only around 10 degrees in the morning so a bit chilly.

6:30. Got my westuit on and headed into the water. Short warm up and back out to watch the pro’s go.

7:00am. No nerves. Positioned myself right on the front. Same as last year. Gun went, and we sprinted for the first buoy. I was able to ease off a bit earlier than last year as I found some open space. The biggest benefit I find with getting off the front early is that you are swimming with good swimmers who can go in a straight line. Very little banging around. I stayed about 10m off of the main line until the first turn just to avoid any crazyness. Went a little wide around both buoys and took the inside line back. It was pretty easy sighting this year. There was a bit of a cross current coming in but not too bad. First lap was in 26 min. Super fast!

Once we got back in the water we had to wade pretty far as there was a substantial sand bar.
It took a while to get my HR down after the wading. The second loop was pretty easy (I don’t remember much!) I was out of the water in around 56min. A little slower than last year, but I think that is mostly to do with the sand bar.

Out of the water and to the strippers!! The first of many unbelievable volunteers whipped my suit off and I was on my way. I handed my suit to Jenn and was off to T1.

I got my bag really quickly and headed into the tent. I sat down and had a volunteer helping me. I threw my compression socks on (get them, they are unbelievable. If you want more on them just ask me, I will probably do a gear review soon!) and the volunteer actually put my shoes on for me while I put my arm warmers on!!! I was out of the tent fast and was handed my bike. I managed to take almost 2min. off of my T1 time last year. I looked at my watch as I hit the mat. 1hr right on. Great stuff!!

The bike.Last year I really eased into the bike for the first 30km. I was trying to get my HR down. This year I wasn’t racing with my HR monitor and was going by feel. I took it fairly easy for the first 10km and then started pushing. We had a pretty steady head wind from 10 -40km. I was still able to stay above 30kph the whole time. I pushed pretty hard in this section because there was a pack forming and I didn’t want to get caught up in it, and didn’t want to end up pulling them along.

Made the turn at Ebro and things got easier. I was riding mostly with a pair of Beligium twins (who eventually won my AG with 3hr marathons!!!) and we were around eachother for most of the bike. At about 70km I looked back and saw a big pack riding behind us. I eased off and let them pass. At this point I talked breifly to one of the Belguim dudes and we decided that we would try and get away from the pack after the special needs station at 80km. At about 75km I passed the whole pack and lead by about 200m into special needs. I didn’t get my bag and made the turn onto 231. There was a good tail wind and I was able to stay around 48kph (on flat ground) for most of this section. The twins caught me around the turn off of 231. We rode together(legally) for most of the rest of the bike. At the turn around we saw that we had put around 2km on the pack who were riding two abreast!! I hope they got some penatlies!

The rest of the bike was steady pacing. I was feeling pretty good, but honestly was concerned that I had pushed too hard. I thought I was going to go sub 5 on the bike! (only missed it by 22secs!) I knew I was faster than last year for sure. The last 10km were into a head/cross wind. I took it real easy for the last 5km and eased into T2 feeling a little torched but alright.

T2. Another super transition, and another super volunteer! Quick stop at the porta potty and I was off.

The run.The first few steps were tenative, but ok! I quickly got up to my distance crunching pace (the one I feel like I can keep forever). The first 10.5km went fast. Lots of people on course and lots of great volunteers at all of the aid stations. I hit the turnaround in just under 50min (too fast!) and hoped that wasn’t a mistake.

Finished off the first loop in around 1:43. At this point I knew I had over 2hrs to finish sub 10! I knew if I was smart I should be able to do it. After the turn around I started to feel like absolute crap. Popped another Gu and thought that maybe I had used up all I had. I forced myself to keep running and kept telling myself that it would turn around. It did. The Gu kicked in (along with a banana and some coke) and I started to feel good again(relatively:> )

About 2km before the turnaround I felt my inner thigh starting to cramp again like last year. This had forced me to walk quite a bit. This year I was going to be pro-active. I decided I would start walking the aid stations until it got better to prevent it from cramping. This really seemed to work well. It would start tightening up until around each aid station. I kept this up for about 6km. At this point the adrenaline started to kick in as I knew that I was going to be under 10. I kicked it up a notch. I wanted to leave it all out there this year to see what I could do. The cramp left me alone and I was able to run pretty quickly for the last 4km. Coming into the shute I noticed that I was at 149:00

I wanted to keep it under 9:50 ( an 4 is better than a 5!) So I sprinted it in. 9:49:XX!!!!!! I was unbelievably stoked at this point. I didn’t think I had this time in me today. It was awesome. So rewarding and satisfying.

Met Jenn and my parents at the line! It was great!.
Got my medal/hat/shirt and went off for some Pizza. I was torched! Really had nothing left. I was starving and thirsty. The greasy Pizza was perfect!
So it was an unbelievable day for me. Honestly, this hurt more than last year. I pushed a lot harder.

It is going to be a few years before I do and IM again. I just can’t dedicate the time at this point to training (if you are going to do it, do it right!!).Thanks to everybody for their words of encouragment and support. It means the world to me.
Keep the rubber side down!

Where I am at.

2008-10-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Well, for the few of you that pass by here I guess I have been neglecting this.

Things are good. One week out from IMFLA, I feel a little underprepared this year. Training has been ok, but not nearly where I was hoping to be at. The inspiration to train hard has just not been there.

I have revised my goals for this year. I would be very happy with a repeat of last year. Realistically I think 10:30 is more reasonable, but we will see. I think the running is a little stronger, but I just haven't done the bike miles that I did last year. I was usually only getting in my long ride and maybe a short one during the week. Just no time.

This is why I know for sure I am not signing up for IMFLA.

Jenn and I are thinking of doing the trans rockies MTB race next. I also hope to do my first marathon and some enduro mtb races. If things are going well at the end of the summer I will think about doing the Canadian, but on a much more relaxed training schedule.

I will definetely still do a bunch of early season tri's. Milton, Peterborough, Muskoka Long are all in for sure.

So that is me for now. Just sent the bike and gear off with my parents as they drive down. Jenn and I fly out on Tues. 28th.

Got another decent bib number this year #380. I've been told that it is very lucky in China? So I will take that.

I will update when I get back.

Cheers

Orbea Ora (my new bike!!!)

2008-08-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Her she finally is. Awesome. 2 rides on her, and one 160km. The full carbon really takes the bite out of the rough roads. Definitely notice the lack of fatigue after the long ride.

Orillia and Coburg Race Reports (shoulda got some pics!)

2008-08-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

Well, since both of these races had similar outcomes.

We will start with Orillia.

I threw this into the schedule late. I was always pretty sure I was going to do it, but I didn't want to commit to early.

Showed up early and set up. I was looking forward to seeing where my race fitness was as I have been training pretty well lately. Unfortunately, all Ironman specific.

I bought some new goggles at the expo before the race and made the mistake of deciding to try them in the race. This was the first mental no no.(never do anything new at a race!) Then I waited too long to start putting my wetsuit on. For some reason I really struggled with this. Got it on with only a few minutes to spare to warm up. Needless to say I wasn't in a good mental spot at the gun.

Started the swim ok. I was out infront of my wave. Then I got clipped a little by someones hand and it shifted my goggles. With my old goggles I would have fixed it quick and they would have stayed. For some reason I could not do this with the new ones. So from then on I was having to stop every 50m or so to let water out of my right lens. I
got good at this, and was able to do it without wasting too much time.

The bike. . .
Well, as many of you know I am still waiting for my new bike to come in, and as a result I was left riding my cheap road bike. Don't get me wrong, I love it and it serves a purpose, but isn't meant to be raced on.

I started the bike in great shape. I was passing tons of people and felt really strong. I was having a great time despite the lower quality equipment. I had set the bike up with some older aerobars, and got my aero position dialed in realatively close my normal one. So I was feeling comfortable.

With about 8km to got there is a long climb. Heading into the climb I shifted out of my big ring. The chain fell off (which isn't a big deal) and I quickly (while still moving) put it back on the small ring. What happened next was a little unexpected. As I took my first pedal stroke after putting the chain back on I heard a big crunch. I looked down to see my deraileur hanging off the back of my bike. It had snapped. Cheap plastic Campy!

Well, at that moment I knew my bike ride was over. I started walking up the hill wondering when the sag wagon would be by. The OAT official asked if I was allright (along with probably 300 athletes! I love triathletes!) and said it would be closer to an hour before the sag wagon got to me. Well, those who know me know I have zero attention span. So it became my challenge to myself to get back to transition before the sag wagon. Luckily the rest of the course had more down than up. So I took off my shoes and started jogging with my bike back to transition. Jog/Coast. Eventually I made it back. Learning a few interesting lessons along the way.

1. It doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would running in bare feet.
2. Paint lines on the road are nice and smooth.
3. Those long rubber patches they fill cracks in the road with are great to run on!

So got back, and headed out on the run feeling pretty good about myself. I have never DNF'ed, and it wouldn't start today.

The benefit of starting the run so far back in the pack is that I am a lot faster runner than everyone around me. I headed out at a strong pace and was just blowing by everyone. This makes you feel good. I estimate I passed 60 plus people in the 7.5km.

Finished in a really slow time, but it was no longer a race to me, but more of a challenge to see if I could do it.

On to Coburg. I really didn't want to do this one, but a friend of ours was doing his first tri-a-tri (who I was coaching) so I was going down anyways.

Coburg is a great venue, and the low key nature of the HSBC races is a nice change.

Ran into Tara Norton before the start whom I was surprised to see at a short sprint. She wasn't racing, just there to do some physio at the finish line. Had a short chat with her and off to get ready.

I had lent my "trusty" (see above) road bike to my friend to race on. I was then going to switch off the flat pedals he had put on and use this bike to do the sprint (as my new bike is still not here!!! :< ) I got my bike and put my pedals on, but the left seemed to not go in fully. (Turns out that he had tried to put the right pedal in the left crank and stripped it.) However, it seemed to be in ok so I didn't worry too much about it.

The swim. Forgot my goggles. Borrowed someones that didn't fit properly. Ended up swimming the entire swim with no goggles. It was also really choppy out there so sighting was not so great. I was 5th or 6th overall out of the water (which was an 800m swim) in a really slow time for me.

Onto the bike I knew pretty much immediately that something was not right. My left pedal had a little bit of a wobble too it. I was praying that nothing would happen in the short 20km ride. Well, the wobble got worse, and I was nursing it through the course. After the turnaround there is a hill, and about half way up it the pedal came completely off the crank. It had stripped entirely the crank.

So I am left on the side of the road again!!!

I walked up the rest of that hill and started to pedal using just my right leg. (Thank god for all of those one-leg isolation drills I do over the winter!)

I was surprised at how quickly I could still ride. I got passed a lot, but my average speed over the bike was still near 28kmph. Not fast, but not bad!

That being said, my right leg was exhausted by the time I got into T2. Unfortunately there is no way to run only using my fresh left leg!

Toughed out the run in a decent, but well below my goal, time. The crazy thing about this is that I still managed a 3rd in my AG. In the Subaru series I would have been 20th!

So that is my story.

The new bike will be in this week. (so I am told) and it can't come soon enough!

For Sale QR Tequilo 57cm

2008-07-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

Selling my beloved QR tequilo. Very Fast TT/triathlon bike. Great condition. This bike has been professionally maintained.

Dura Ace/Ultegra/FSA. Alex 320 wheelset (upgrade from stock)

There is a small area on the top tube where the paint was rubbed off during transport.

This bike will fit someone 6' to 6'4.

Asking $1500 bo. ($2800 new) (Make me an offer!)

Mentoring (coaching) an athlete

2008-07-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've coached high school track and x-country for many years now, but only in the last year or two have I spent any real time coaching/mentoring adults. It is really a far different experience.

With kids, they are allways being taught, and expect to be taught in certain ways. They are also used to progressing with everything they do. So, while rewarding on some levels, they don't necessarily recognize the effect your role as a coach has played.

Recently one of my adult athletes has been experiencing some real success. I think I am more stoked about it than him! He is really appreciative of my assistance, but I am more awed by the effort that he is willing and able to put into reaching his goals.

I find many adults feel that at a certain point they have reached their physical peak, and it is all down hill from there. I know from personal experience that this is definetely not true. The cool thing as a coach is to be able to show these people that they are able to be fitter and faster than they ever where before at any age.

In triathlon and running this is a very prevalent revelation. Many people take to these sports later in life, and experience these changes. We hear so many stories on all of the forums and blogs of later life fitness and success in endurance racing.

There is the obvious maturity required to race multi-sport, and the help of the larger income! But it is neat to see all of these people going against what many parts of society lead us to believe is the inevitable decline into old age.

As far as I am concerned, we should all fight this! With everything we've got. My biggest hero's are those 70 and 80 year olds running marathons and finishing Ironman races. They show us that this is definetely possible.

So what I guess I am getting at here, is that it is never to late to try something new, and as representatives of this sport, I think it would be a neat goal to try and get one person involved in fitness. It is as simple as helping them set a goal and helping them achieve it. It is a rewarding and addicting experience for the coach and the athlete.

So give it a shot. Mentor someone and find out what the rewards can be!

Peterborough 1/2 IM

2008-07-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, I don't know where that race came from, but I am not complaining. Training has evened out a bit lately, but I was not expecting to improve on last year when I was training hard.

The day started out OK. Got to the site in plenty of time and chatted with some friends.

The swim start. Seeded myself with the top guys, (where I should be swimming) but did not have a great swim. My warm-up was a bit rushed, and I wasn't feeling ready to race when the gun went.

Started off OK, but was feeling a bit lethargic. After about 300m I got hit on the side of the head which loosened my goggles and allowed them to fill up with water. I had to stop to fix them. This allowed the group I was swimming with to put a gap on me. I tried to make this up, but was unable to. Coming back to the beach we were swimming into the sun which made sighting tough. At the turn bouy I turned too much and got myself offline and didn't realize it (because the glare of the sun wasn't letting me see the buoys) until I was probably 30m too far to the left. I then tried to correct this and somehow ended up too far to the right! Not a good first lap.

Onto the second lap, the group ahead of me had about 30secs on me and I knew I couldn't catch them, and there was noone else near me. It was a long lonely second lap, but I sighted a bit better.

Out of the water in a little over 30 min. and into transition in just over 31min. About a minute slower than last year. I wasn't terribly happy with this since it was more just stupid mistakes than anything.

T1 - I took my time to put socks on here. A little slow with the wetsuit removal, but hey, it is a long race what is a few seconds!

Onto the bike. I was feeling OK, and eased into the bike. I was really careful to let my body settle in before I started pushing. Due to the lack of really long rides lately, I was weary of pushing to hard to early. After about 10km I started to feel good, and at about 25km I put the hammer down. I felt awesome throughout the entire bike. I was blowing by people on all of the hills and I didn't even feel like I was struggling! It was probably one of the best rides I have put in ever.

Off the bike in 2:28 (36.3 kmph) Very stoked with this.

T2 was uneventful.

Headed out onto the run. It loops around the soccer fields, and I really dislike this section. It is uneven, and really tough because it taxes all of your stabilizer muscles. I don't run on trails, so I am not used to this. That being said, I was still feeling really good. I had to hold myself back a fair bit at first because the body wanted to really go.

I was aiming for a 1:40 1/2marathon and I was holding this pace very well. It wasn't until the last 4km when I dropped off. Entering back into the park the body really decided it was about ready to finish. I really mentally had to battle to not really drop my pace to much here. I managed to do allright, but missed the 1:40 by a couple of minutes. Not suprised after the effort I put out on the bike, but all in all really pleased with the run.

Finish 4:45:15. Over 3 min. faster than last year on less training. I was not expecting this at all. I am pumped!!!

I now have a significant time off from racing. I don't race again until Steelhead at the beginning of August. This is a good thing. I am looking forward to relaxing and training well.

It is now the time of the year when I get to put in the big miles, and I am looking forward to this.

Wheels for sale.

2008-06-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have three wheels for sale.

All are tubular and have newish rubber on them.

$250 unbranded American Classic Front. 40mm full carbon light and fast. Maybe has 400km on it. Continental podium tubular. used 3 times.

$150 Mavic Cosmic Carbon Rear. Very solid wheel 40mm carbon fering. Great shape recently trued. New conti podium tubular, used 3 times. Approx 3000km on it. Still great shape. Decals removed.

$100 Specialized/HED trispoke rear. Damaged, so I can't promise a whole lot. The breaking surface was damaged on a pothole before I got this. It has been repaired but is nowhere near perfect. The wheel is still very fast and true. Breaking is affected, but not to badly. I have raced this wheel a few times with no problems at all. New Tufo tubular on it which has never been ridden. Great second wheel if you don't want to risk your $2000 wheelset.

All wheels DON'T include skewers or cassettes.

I'm selling because I am going to be upgrading later this year.

contact me at

canadiantriathletes@hotmail.com

Muskoka Race Report

2008-06-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Muskoka is such a fun event. It has the atmosphere of a smaller race, but there are a ton of people there. Most of the best make it out for this one.

I wasn't expecting much out of this race as those of your who read this blog will probably realize. Training has been extremely sparse. I didn't taper at all and still did my long run/ride during the week so the legs were a bit tired.

Got to the venue nice and early this time, and had pick of the racks and parking which is allways nice. One neat thing was that there were less pro's this year, and as a result they moved one of our racks right next to theirs. Definetely cool to be suiting up next to these guys. It gives you a chance to chat with them, and more importantly check out their rides.

The race.

Swam down to the swim start which is so much nicer than walking. The pro's headed off and we watched the women fly by before we left. Got into a nice little pack off the gun, but lost them before the first buoy. I'm not sure if it was me or them, but I thought I had a good line to the buoy so I am thinking that they weren't sighting to well. It was hard into the sun.

Cruised the swim nicely. As usual with the longer swims I find a good rythym and can hold it well for the whole swim.

Out of the water I was feeling ok. From looking at the times of the pro's and myself, I think that the swim was about 100m long. Everybodies times seem a bit inflated.

T1 was relatively smooth.

The bike was the biggest x factor for me. I have been riding very little lately. Muskoka is a very tough and hilly course so I thought I would ease through it. I did ease through it, but the hills still smoked my legs pretty good. I had some GI issues about half way through the bike as well and my nutrition kept repeating itself on me. I had a very slow bike split. About 6 or 7 min. slower than last year.

T2. I knew I was going to be in trouble coming into transition. Had a slow transition removing a stone from my shoe. The first few steps were tough, and my abs were cramping really badly. I knew though, as a mature athlete :>, that if I just eased into it my running would come around. From experience it allways does.

Unfortunately today it took 8km to finally start feeling good. I got passed a lot in the first 7km, but I was determined not to walk. By the turn around the gut was starting to feel ok, and the legs were back on board, so I slowly ramped up the pace. I wanted to try and finish strong anyways.

I estimate that I was able to start running 4:20min. km's by the end, and I was feeling really good. To bad the race wasn't another 5km long I could have made up some time.

So that is the race. I know what I need to do to get back on the wagon. Bike, bike bike!!!

How to make life stressful 101.

2008-06-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well. I think I am getting to be a pro at this. Not that I am overly stressed, but I definitely am making things harder than it could be.

So what do you do during the busiest month of the year to make it more difficult? The most stressful things you can think of!! Buying and selling a house! That's right! During exams/race season/ end of school year/ busy time at work for Jenn we go and buy a house. Of course buying the house is the easy part. Selling and packing our existing house is the hard part. Granted, most of it is now past us, but there are many niggly little things that go a long with it that take up a lot of time, and energy. I am more fatigued now than I was after Ironman, and I am not training that much at all!

So the closing is on the 26th of June for both houses. Jenn leaves for Newfoundland on the 22nd for 2 weeks. Yup, she won't be here for the move. That means that I will need to be power of attorney for her to sign the papers. This also means that I am going to have one less set of hands during the move. (This is part of the stress ) Thankfully, my wonderful parents will be there to help out. This day also happens to be the second last day of school, and our commencement. Which means that I will need to run to school for the ceremony during the move. Wow. I am getting an ulcer just thinking about it.

In the end I think this will work out fine, but June will be a blur that I don't remember. July and August will be full of doing all of those new house things that you are want to do. Painting/sanding/staining/tiling plus some minor carpentry. Luckily, I will still be able to get some quality training in during that time. Right now, I am lucky to hit 10 hrs a week. I am only managing onto the bike once or twice. Still, I should be in OK shape for Ironman. I am really lucky that I am doing florida and not Placid or Canada, because I would not be ready, or a total stresspot. It is also much easier the second time around. Unfortunately most of my season goals are being left out. No going pro next year, that is for sure.

So that is where things are at. It looks like I won't be able to make WIBA since it is the day after the move, but Peterborough and Steelhead still look like they will make the cut. After steelhead I may not race anymore until IMFLA. We'll see.

Milton Sprint Triathlon

2008-06-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Headed out into the day today wondering what the weather would hold for the first official triathlon of the season. It couldn’t come soon enough for me. Very anxious to see where the legs were at.
Recent life situations have made training difficult this year, so I was interested to see what would happen. It was a tough field with many athletes peaking for worlds next weekend. I knew this would be the case so expectations weren’t to high.
The race started with a splash into the frigid waters. I chose to start in my AG wave today as opposed to bumping myself to the elite wave. The confidence wasn’t flying to high today. I think this was a good choice overall, despite being held up a bit in the swim. Finished the swim in a respectable 11:10. I was hoping for a sub 11min. swim and would have probably done it in the elite wave. I didn’t really have anyone to draft off of in my wave, and the lappers quickly got in the way of that.
Into T1. I made sure to have sandals at the swim exit, as the parking lot at Milton is awful. Good choice. My transition was really slow. Had a bit of trouble getting out of my wetsuit. I need to practice this more. Normally I can get out in less than 1min, but I took 1:17 today. With the tight field this cost me a position in my AG and a few overall as well.
Onto the bike. I struggled on the bike at Victoria’s Du. I was going to make sure today that I eased into the ride, especially with “the hill” to contend with. Spun up the hill nicely, and passed a bunch of people who were really struggling. This was a moral boost for sure. Made sure to keep my cadence high and avoid mashing. This was my downfall in Kitchener. Managed to do this well while reaping the benefits of a second wave start. I mentally get a big boost from passing lots of people. So starting in the second wave allows me to do this. I only got passed once on the bike which is unusual. 51:03 for the bike, averaged 35.3.
I had a healthy gap over any riders coming into T2, and I knew that I was in contention. Another less than stellar transition had me onto the run course.
The run starts with a series of short punchy hills. These hurt while you are trying to get your legs under you. I made sure to give my legs some time to flush out today before I tried to start pushing. This was another mistake I made at Victoria’s. Milton is a tough run course. It is uphill almost the entire way to the turn around. My legs came under me around 2km, and I started picking off people. By the turnaround I was feeling very good and was holding a respectable pace. I started to cramp with about 2km to go, but I wasn’t going to let it slow me down at that point. I managed a little sprint into the line to finish in 1:35.55. A little slower than last year, but OK. Our AG was extremely competitive with only a little over a minute between first and fourth.
Overall I felt great about today, and I definetely have more confidence going into Muskoka in a few weeks. Should be fun!

Interview with Tara Norton

2008-05-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

CT: While most of us have been hunkering down for the winter it sounds like you have been putting in a hard off season! What have you been up to over the last few months?

TN: I have definitely started off my season earlier this year than ever before. I know that this is true as I did 4 5hr+ indoor Computrainer rides! In February I traveled to New Zealand and did Epic Camp (www.epiccamp.com). After the camp, I traveled to Melbourne, Australia and raced at the Geelong 70.3 one week later! And I have just returned from competing at my first Ironman of the season in Tempe, Arizona. I placed 6th overall and qualified for Kona in a very competitive women’s field.

CT: You were down in New Zealand for Epic Camp. What was that experience like?

TN: Epic Camp is a camp run by my coach, Scott Molina, as well as Gordo Byrn and John Newsom and my 8 days there consisted of 1100km of hard cycling, 125km of running and 42km of swimming (totalling 62hrs of training). It was the experience of a lifetime! I pushed to limits I didn’t know were possible and this new knowledge (along with the physical strength I gained) will help me in my future Ironman races. There were 21 campers including the coaches, and I ended up placing 4th overall in the points system. I was the only woman there and had to show the boys that a girl could play the game too! The people at the camp were great and the scenery in New Zealand was spectacular.

CT: So, what are your plans for 2008? Any major goals that you would like to achieve?

TN: My plans for 2008 are to do four ironman races: Ironman Arizona, Ironman Lanzarote, Ironman Switzerland and the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. Obviously I would like to improve on my 12th place finish in Hawaii, but I would also like to add “Ironman Champion” to my resume!! I am continuing to work to improve my run leg of the Ironman. I would like to run a 3:15-3:20 marathon in one of my Ironman races. Finally I am coaching some athletes through www.absoluteendurance.com and I want to be the best coach I can be and get them all to their start lines healthy and happy!

CT: We are heading into summer, what does a typical week look like for you once the snow has left the ground?

TN: A typical week would include:
Monday: 3-4K swim, 1 hr weights. Tuesday: 90min run (tempo or short run reps), up to 3 hr ride, 90 min strength and stretch class. Wednesday: 4K swim with lots of IM, 3-4 hr ride, 45min run. Thursday: 90 min run, 1 hr weights, 5K swim. Friday: 3-4K swim, 1 hr weights, 1 hr run. Saturday: Long 5-6 hr bike/30-60 min run brick workout. Sunday: 5-6K swim, up to 3 hr run. And in there I coach, see massage clients and get all my own appointments in!

CT: Obviously you are a very talented and driven triathlete, what first brought you into the sport?

TN: A friend of mine started the Triathlon Club at Trent University where I was doing my undergraduate degree. He suggested that I try doing a triathlon race. I started with the relay (I did the swim) and then I progressed in the sport as most people do: I did a sprint, then an Olympic triathlon, then a Half Ironman and finally a full Ironman. It’s funny because when I first started triathlon I thought that Ironman was crazy and that I would never do one! Fourteen Ironman races later…there is no stopping me!

CT: You have been a major proponent of visualization. What first got you interested in this subject, and how has it affected your racing?

TN: I have always known that Ironman is 1/3 mental (and 1/3 physical and 1/3 nutrition) and as I progressed in the sport, wanted to train mentally as well as physically. Just as I was starting to inquire about mental training options, I was contacted by Etienne Couture (www.mentalcoach.ca) and that was the start of my mental coaching. I signed up immediately! This work has been incredible and has been extremely instrumental in my improvement. I continue to do weekly sessions and continue to learn how to use my mental strength to achieve my best in the sport. Through my mental training, I now have better awareness which helps in all aspects of my life. I have learned mental techniques to help me in my races and in training (both mentally and physically) and I am steadily improving my results.

CT: What is your sponsorship situation looking like this year?

TN: I have the most amazing sponsors including Shimano, Zoot, Endurosport, GU, Rudy Project, The Toronto Athletic Club (Dr. Lawrence Micheli), and Toronto Circus School. My success wouldn’t be possible without all this support, for which I am extremely grateful. My Shimano gear and Zoot apparel and Cervelo P3C from Endurosport make me fast AND make me look good!! I just rode my PRO disc wheel in Arizona and it was SWEEET! I love the new Zoot racing flats as they fit like slippers and my Zenith wetsuit makes me look like a superhero!  GU and ART by Lawrence Micheli keep me well fuelled and keep my body healthy.

CT: Do you have a race that sticks out as your favourite? Why?

TN: Ironman Lanzarote is definitely my favourite race. The island is magical and deemed the toughest Ironman in the world with the heat, wind and almost 9,000 feet of climbing on the bike, it plays to my strengths. I love climbing on the bike, so this is a great course for me.

CT: Has your family always been supportive of your triathlon pursuits?

TN: I have 100% support from my family and as a result I feel very lucky. I know this is not the case for everyone so I am extremely appreciative and don’t take it for granted. I have had the support from my husband, Bruce, and the rest of my family from the time I started to contemplate turning pro. My family also travels to almost all of my races and this is very special to me

CT: What is your favourite food?

TN: Oatmeal with fresh fruit and nuts. Post race would have to be ice cream!

CT: If you had one piece of advice to offer an aspiring pro or age grouper what would it be?

TN: Follow your passion – if you do what you love to do, you will do it well and be happy. More specific advice for Ironman would be to ensure that you get in good nutrition (that you have practiced beforehand) during the race in order to fuel your body. Most people do all the hard training in order to get ready for Ironman but it would be a shame to then not have the proper fuel to execute that great race and put all that hard training to work on race day!

CT: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us! Best of luck this year and hopefully we will see you on top of the podium!

TN: Thanks! I hope so too

Stressssss and Triathlon.

2008-05-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wake up and think that you have too much going on in your life and would love to escape for a while? The last couple of weeks have been feeling like that. Looking for a house, getting our house ready to sell, taking on new challenges at work, coaching the track team and trying to train. Guess what hasn't been making the cut lately.

I haven't been on my bike in a week and a half (excluding Victoria's Du) and previous to that only a few times since the snow left. Cycling has taken the biggest hit becuase of the time required. I think I have screwed up my thinking on the matter. If I don't have time for 90km, I just don't go. Still in the Ironman mode I guess.

It probably isn't the worst thing to take time away from training, unfortunately it is something I want to do, and I feel better having done it. So not training is adding stress. Also stressful are the races I want to do well at early in the season. Muskoka long course is starting to loom large.

I keep saying, next week I will get my long ride in, and then something gets in the way. Running and swimming are doing OK because I can easily fit them into my mornings, or after work.

It is looking as though I won't be able to get any consistent bike training in until the end of June. That is OK for IMFLA, but not for the other races I want to do well at.

I guess it is just a matter of changing my goals. '

Besides time, I am finding myself constantly tired. Not from training, but more just mentally exhausted. The body feels like crap for not doing anything, but the brain is so tired you can't motivate yourself to go.

Hopefully once track is done, I can get back on Track :>

We'll see!

Victoria's Du

2008-05-20T10:23:00.001-07:00

Did I mention I hate duathlons?

My opinion of them hasn't changed after yesterday.

It was a cold, windy, rainy day. Really didn't feel like racing. The body was fatigued from the start due to all of the work we have been putting in at the house this weekend. Also, hadn't been training as much as I like.

I believe that I have changed my body into a long course fitness. This short stuff hurts!!!!

Started the run off feeling ok. was shoulder to shoulder with Larry Bradley (an athlete I mentor) and Pat Bielgalski a guy I have been racing with a fair amount over the years. Dropped a few meters back of them by the end of the run.

I didn't have gloves so my fingers were pretty numb in T1. I couldn't get my helmet done up. Lost a few secs there.

The bike was tough. The wind was fierce. The entire way out we had either a head wind or a vicious cross wind. Once again I was neck and neck with Larry throughout the bike. By the turnaround I was pretty spent and started having some GI issues. I am not used to pushing this hard. I let Larry go while I tried to recover. Was feeling OK coming into T2.

The second run was tough. The legs came around after about 500m and I got into a rythym. I tried to push the pace to catch Larry, but at the turnaround I hit the wall. Too much time spent at too high of a heart rate.

I got passed a lot from then on in. Cramped up pretty bad which means my hydration and electrolytes were off coming into the race. Finished a full 8 minutes slower than last year!

Oh well, this was just for fun right?

I know I need to get on the bike a lot more. My swimming is doing really well right now, and I need to switch to a bike focus to try and get it together for Muskoka.

We'll see!

Cycling

2008-05-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think I could ever be a pro cyclist. The long long hours required to be at the top would kill me. Don't get me wrong, I put in a lot of hours, but I don't think I could spend that much time on the bike without going loopy (and sterile!). I love long rides once a week, but to do 20-30 hours on a bike a week is insane!

First Meet!

2008-05-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

Our team had the first meet of the season. The kids did really well. A bunch of PB's, no hardware, but everybody had a good time. This was really the biggest goal of this meet. We are headed off to Dwyer tomorrow to better our times. Looking good for LOSSA this year.

As Requested, more Tat pics

2008-05-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is the initial sketch that I made of the tattoo and the final design is pretty much the same (obviously minus the red). The theory was to include the MDOT in some sort of pose, but not in a cheesy way. I am a big fan of tribal stuff (and want some) so I kind of took some design elements from that. So it is the MDOT crossing a finish line with his arms up. I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Something a little different from anything else I have seen.

Redeemed!

2008-04-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hah! Took the track boys down!!! He He! Guess that is what happens when I design a workout more suited to me. 10X400m decending starting at 2:05 With the last one all out. I set the pace for each 400m. I managed a 1:11 for my last 400 and beat out the fastest comer by about 1sec. Close, but I was in front!! Managed to push them pretty hard. I sense some school records this year with this group. Good stuff!

Humbled.

2008-04-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Just got humbled by one of my track kids. Up until last night I was able to take him in the 400m. He stuck it too me good! We did repeats and he beat me on every one! Normally I can tire them out and easily beat them by the 4th or 5th repeat. Not so anymore. Wondering if I am getting slower, or he is getting faster! I hope it is the later.

Also, I am now sore from that workout. I haven't run that fast in a long time. I can run forever, but not fast apparently.

Oh well, maybe in a few weeks I can regain some of my speed. It would be great to get a bit faster for the sprint tri's in June and Victoria's du in May.

Getting into the swing of things!!

2008-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here! Can't wait to take the bike off of the trainer.

Training is going OK, not quite where I want to be, but close and that is OK this time of year. Track has started so the kids will be keeping me honest and forcing me to do a bit of speed work, which I desperately need. I can run forever right now, just not that fast!!!

I will probably be heading to the Uxbridge 1/2 Marry looking to demolish the 4 year old 1:34 PB. Shouldn't be a problem. Would love to see a low1:20. It will be a game day decision on how hard I push. If I am feeling rested and strong I will give'er, but if I am a bit sluggish I will hold a steady tempo. Don't want to push the body too hard this early in the year.

Did a 19.5km run the other day in 1:34 which is pretty good. I might have pushed a bit hard, as the quads were complaining a bit the next day, but it felt good. Also did a 10km hard tempo down the path to the lake, and pulled that off in 42min.

The big question is the bike. I will need to put some hard miles in if I want to do well in Muskoka. Can't wait to race!!

It looks like I might do Victoria's duathlon. Every year I say I won't (cause du's hurt!!!) and every year at this time I am itching to race and do it anyways!!

Starting to build up the mileage in the pool Every session is over 3000 now, and I will be doing long sessions of 4-5km.

Looking forward to warmer weather!!! Spring spring spring!!!

Thanks Again!!

2008-03-29T15:11:00.001-07:00

Despite hundreds of votes for me (which for each I am eternally gratefull!!!) I was outdone by some great triathletes. Thank you for all of your support through this. It has been great hearing from everyone, and I look forward seeing everyone soon.

Making the Team, 2008 ( EVO TRI)

2008-03-02T05:24:00.000-08:00

There are four things that are important in my life. My wife, my dogs, my students and triathlon.

I take great pride in all of these. Each for their own reasons.

My wife is the source of my strength. Through her spirit, beauty and personality, I get a lot of what makes life worth living.

My dogs are nuts!! But I still love them!

My students make everyday an adventure. Their open eyed approach to life and innocence make me realize why I do what I do.

Lastly, endurance sport has been part of my life for years, and my identity as a person is closely related to being an athlete. Triathlon represents what many people are missing in their lives. Balance, drive, ambition and camaraderie.

Completing my first Ironman last year was a monumental experience. I remember running the last few km and reflecting why this moment was so important to me. Was it crossing the finish line? Was it the pride that I saw from my parents and friends? I realized that it was these things and more. I think the biggest thing was the journey. Never before in my life had I committed so fully to something. Something that at some point I thought was impossible. Completing Ironman meant that nothing was impossible.

If I put my mind to it, I could achieve anything. I have noticed myself applying this to my life more frequently. Many things that I might have otherwise not even attempted, I am trying. Like team EVOTRI. In the past I would have quit once my video was voted off (Hell, I would never have made the video in the first place!).

I want to share what I have learned with other people and, more importantly, with kids. I see the potential kids have to do great things. All they need is someone to believe in them and give them some structure and direction.

I started a triathlon forum last year (www.canadiantriathletes.com) as a way to connect with other athletes in Canada. Initially it was more of a hobby, but that has led me into other areas. From this I started a triathlon team. The team is a way for me to share all of the knowledge I have gained training and perfect my coaching abilities.

However, I think that my skills are probably best applied with kids. I love working with them and the impact that I can have on them.

I have also recently organized spinathon for ALS (BLAZEMAN foundation) in Toronto. www.spinforals.com.

If I am selected for Team EvoTri, I have a few ideas of what I can do for the team. (I am saving these for the interview if I get selected). I want to be part of the team really badly, and I know that I have a ton to offer if given the chance!

Thanks for reading. Here is a video I put together after doing IM FLA last year. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri, please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!

Thanks!!!

2008-02-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all those that voted for me for Team EvoTri. Unfortunately I guess I wasn't what they were looking for (or others had more friends!!!). I appreciate all the support! You guys Rock!

HELP!!! Vote for me!!!!

2008-02-18T13:38:00.001-08:00

HELP!!!
I am in the final 10 for a spot on Team EvoTri. They have opened it up to voting for the final 7 until Wednesday. So the public will choose who goes on!

We had to submit videos as to why we should be on the team. (mines a bit silly, so watch it!)

If you could go to www.evotri.com and check out the videos that would be cool, otherwise you can just shoot off an e-mail with my name in the subject line (they won't open most e-mails)

So send an e-mail to vote@evotri.com with the words "Vote for Syd Trefiak "in the subject line

If you have multiple e-mails you or people that would help me by voting please forward this to them!!

Thanks a lot guys.
If I make it to the next round I will let you know!!!!

Syd

Spin for ALS (Blazeman foundation) in Toronto

2008-02-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
I am currently organizing a spin for ALS and the Jon Blais (Blazeman) foundation. It will be held March 1st, in Toronto at FITS training center. www.fitstoronto.com We will be spinning for approx. 16.5 hrs. (the amount of time that Jon was on course in Kona for). You don't need to spin the whole amount, just come out and join us! A min. $25 donation to the fight against ALS would be appreciated.

You can check out a bit more of what this is all about at
www.spinforals.com or the www.waronals.com

We will have some spin bikes available on a first come first serve basis. If you want to bring your bike and trainer that would work too!

If you want more info or a pledge sheet, just e-mail me at canadiantriathletes@hotmail.com

Also, if anyone would like to donate water/gatorade/food/prizes to the spin, that would be greatly appreciated.

Team EVO TRI application video

2008-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

This was fun!!

Update

2008-02-02T04:40:00.000-08:00

Everything is going well. Training is starting to come around, feeling strong again. I will start going long more in February. I am up to 11/12 hrs a week at the moment. Trying for 14 for Feb. Getting close to having all of the parts to build up Jenn's bike. A few more shiny pieces for my own. Picked up a Carbon Aero QR seatpost for the Tequilo, and am in the market for some Carbon bars as well. I love Carbon!

I might be running an ALS spinathon for the Blazeman foundation. The timeline is a bit tight, but if I can find a venue I might give it a go. 16.5 hrs on the bike! If anyone has a venue (gym) ideally with some extra spin bike let me know!! Looking for March 1st (I know, not much time!)

Had our V02 max/ LT testing done at the Cleveland Clinic in TO last weekend. Very cool experience. Paul and the gang were very nice to us! It is allways great to have someone check out these things for you. Turns out my training zone were off a bit. Nice to know!

Other than that, just keeping, keeping on. Jenn is going to be heading to OZ for work for a few weeks in Feb, so I will be left with the dogs. Should have the devil spawn, I mean, Kaya, a little more settled by then. She is actually getting much better. I just don't like waking up at 5am if I really don't have too!

January is going Swimmingly!

2008-01-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it is January. So far things are going alright. I am really trying to focus on putting some good solid miles in the pool in the next month and a half. Felt awesome today doing a 3500m swim in around 50min. Sweet. Can definitely feel the strength work helping out in my pull. I am thinking I might be able to get a lot closer to a 50min swim in FLA this year!

Dog is being crazy. Good thing she is cute!

Other than that, just trying to get back into a schedule with the training. Might take a few weeks to get back to the 14hrs that I want right now, but no rush.

Definitely not doing worlds this year as Muskoka has spots for Lake Placid next year and I want one!

My new running buddy!

2007-12-31T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well she is here. Kaya has been with us for a few weeks now. An adorable little ball of fur and energy. Still probably almost 8 or 9 mths before I can run with her, but I think she will be great at it.

Her name is Kaya, which means stay, and don't go back in Inuit. Which we think is appropriate since she is a rescue. She is about 13 weeks. Alaskan Malamute which means she will probably get to around 80-100pds. Big Dog!

The off season (hah, I said that with at striaght face!)

2007-12-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

It seems as though there really is no off season. There is a lesser season, but not off.

Things are going well though. I am doing a running challenge. 100 runs in 100 days. I will be doing December straight with no rest days. I can double up some days and apply that to the 100 total. It should be interesting. Feeling really strong running right now, so it is definitely a good thing. Running is my weakest event so I really want to boost it up a lot.

Have also been plotting for next year. This is my schedule as of now.

Milton Sprint
Vancouver Worlds OLY(not sure about this one, cost will be an issue)
Muskoka long course
Guelph OLY (if I don't do worlds)
Peterborough 1/2 IM
Steelhead 70.3
Timberman 70.3 (maybe)
Orillia Sprint
The Canadian Irondistance Race
IM FLA.

A pretty ambitious season. Not so many short races this year. I will be focusing on the longer distances as I enjoy those a lot more!
I would love to qualify for 70.3 worlds, and if the stars align maybe even KONA.

The body is recouping well from IMFLA. Trying to keep the hours around 10 for the next few weeks. Will start bumping them up to 12 or 13 in January. That is it for now.

Awaiting the arrival of our new puppy. An Alaskan Malamute. She will make for a good running and XC partner.

Blue Competition T16

2007-11-23T18:28:00.001-08:00

This is what Team Canadian Triathletes is going to be busting up the competition on this year!

My Tattoo!

2007-11-18T05:32:00.001-08:00

My IM tattoo sketch

2007-11-16T17:18:00.001-08:00

This it, a little cleaned up, and minus the red on the Mdot

More IMFLA pics

2007-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Ironman Florida Race Report

2007-11-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

So this is going to be a long one. I figure it deserves it since it is an Ironman.

Wow. What an experience. This is unlike anything I have ever done in my life. People whine about the cost of the entry fee, but NA sports put on an event worth every penny.

The volunteers were epic! So supportive, and at every turn on the course! I really appreciate the effort they put in to make this race so easy for us athletes.

As for my race week.

I was staying with my parents that winter in PCB so it was all spoiling for me! My mom asked for the menu that I wanted to eat that week and all the food magically appeared! I love my mom.

Jenn (my wife) was awesome as well taking pictures of everything for me, and just generally putting up with a stressed out athlete.

Landed on Tuesday, had a relaxing evening with the family.

Wednesday morning I woke up and headed out to the swim course. There were no bouys set up yet so I just swam what I thought might be the distance of the loop. I love swimming in the ocean in a wetsuit. You feel like Ian Thorpe!

After the swim I headed in to get registered and pick up my race wheels that I rented through http://www.racedaywheels.com/. The Zipps where fantastic, and it really sucked giving them back at the end! Better than dumping $3000 on them though!

Went home, and headed out for a short bike to work out the kinks in the bike and me. A little run revealed what felt like a tear in my calf muscle. This was concerning me a bit so I headed to the massage dudes. Lee (head massage dude) worked on it for 20min. and told me to come back the next day.

Thursday. Another swim and bike/run. Massage. Also had the banquet that night. Kinda fun.

Friday. The last massage before the race followed by a bike/run and the calf felt OK. My mom cooked up a big bowl of pasta in the morning that I snacked on all day. I think this really helped on raceday. Set up the bike in transition along with transition bags.

Saturday Morning (Race Day!) Woke up at 4:00am and ate around 800calories. Full!!!

Headed out to transition around 4:45, pumped up the tires put a few more things into my transition bag, and went to wait!

Got to the start line around 6:30. Took a little dip in the ocean before the pros headed off to get away from the nervousness of the pack.

Swimming is my best event, and I really wanted to get out in front to avoid all of the craziness behind so I seeded myself right at the front. This was a good move for me.

The gun went off it was a mad dash for about the first 300m. We were pulling pretty hard until the second bouy, and then the pace seemed to let off a little. Caught a few small drafts on the first loop, but it seemed easier to swim in open water for the most part.
First loop 26min.

The second loop was real easy. I was able to find my rythym right away, and just cruise the second 1900m. I was out of the water in 55min. A really good swim for me. A couple of minutes quicker than I thought I would go. We managed to pass a number of the pro pack as well which was kinda neat.

T1. Found a stripper right away, and then handed my suit to my wife who was near the swim exit.

Changed quick and onto the bike.

This is what I was most nervous about. I was worried about the risk of a mechanical or that I would go out to fast.

Started out and my heart rate was really high. I tried to drop it down but it felt like I was not working at all. So I figured that the excitment and coffee I had was jumping it up. I was feeling fantastic so I added 10 beats per minute to my goal HR and kept going. The bad thing about being a good swimmer is that you get passed a lot on the bike! This happened alot!

The entire bike was a blast. I felt like I was flying. Besides continually getting passed by huge packs of drafters the bike was awesome. I was averaging around 36kph the whole ride. I blew my goal of a 5:30 bike out of the water doing it in 5:09. At no point did I even feel that I was remotely pushing my limits. I think the faster riders got off the course before the winds really picked up because we didn't really see them much.

Onto the run. Felt so good off of the bike that I was a little worried about going out too fast on the run, so I really tried to limit my pace to around 5:30/min. Until I settled in. I really felt awesome for the first loop. No troubles at all. The support on course was great, and it is a really neat run through the neighbourhoods and park. My first loop was 1:45.

As soon as I headed out on the second loop my groin on the left side started to cramp. It would really cramp after about 2min. of straight running. So I was left to do a run/walk for the second loop. The cardio was excellent so I wasn't really that tired at all, but the muscle wasn't going to let me run straight. Eventually I got so that I only had to walk about 10m every time, and then I could run again. I really didn't care, because at this point I new I was going to finish, and I was pretty sure I was going to beat my goal of 10:30. So I was just enjoying the race.

Second lap was 2:15. Right on the top end of my 4:00 marathon goal.

Finish 10:13. The last 2km were like a dream. I couldn't believe that I was going to be an Ironman. Coming into the finish line with my parents cheering like mad and looking very proud allways makes a guy feel good!

Crossed the line with my hands in the air, and heard those words I had been dreaming about for a year. Syd Trefiak you are an Ironman! Then my wife and family were there. Probably one of the best moments in my life!

Did a little stumble accros the finish line because the one volunteer didn't let go of the finishing tape. There was a catcher there immediately to help me through. I really didn't need one, but they weren't going to be told no so I just went with it. Got my hat/shirt and medal!

At this moment it felt like the weight of the earth had been lifted off of my shoulders. No more worrying about whether I could do it. I had done it and I did it well!

Thanks to all of you that supported me! I have never felt so much love from the people around me. I think this is what made the whole thing mean as much as it did. Your all great, and I couldn't have done it without you!

From the Port Perry Star.

2007-11-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Will the hard work pay off

PORT PERRY -- After nearly two years of training, Syd Trefiak hopes all his hard work will pay off in about 10 hours tomorrow.

That's when the 30-year-old Port Perry resident will embark on his first ever Ironman experience at the Ford Ironman Triathlon in Florida alongside some 2,000 other multi-sport athletes.

"This is something I am really excited for," he said prior to departing for the sunshine state. "It's been about a year-and-a-half, almost two years of focused training to get ready for this race."

The event, according to Trefiak, consists of 3.8 kilometre swim, followed by a 180km bike race and is capped off by a 42km run.

After four years of competing on various triathlon circuits, Trefiak feels he is ready for this next challenge, and even had a time in mind that would be an acceptable finish.

"This is a big jinx, but ten and a half hours I would be happy with," he says with a chuckle.

After years of mountain biking and being involved in other sports, Trefiak ran his first triathlon about four years ago at the urging of his wife, Jenn.

"I've been in endurance sports like mountain biking for years and my wife was working for a small paper in Niagara Falls and told me there was one going on, a triathlon going on, and said 'why don't you go do it' So I did it and I won and I've been addicted ever since," he recalls.

And the winning has certainly followed Trefiak around as evidenced by his first place showing at the World Championship Triathlon qualifier earlier this year in Guelph.

"It was an Olympic Distance race, which is a 1.5 kilometre swim, a 40 kilometre bike and a 10 kilometre run in Guelph," he explains. "It was actually a World Championship qualifying event for the World Championships in Vancouver next year and that's the next major thing after getting this Ironman done."

In preparation for the Ironman, Trefiak, a teacher at Oshawa Central Collegiate, has been training anywhere from 15 to 23 hours a week, on top of his regular work hours. Though it's probably been a bit much at times, he understands that to be successful at such a high level within the sport, a certain level of dedication is necessary.

"It requires a certain amount of focus and you have to know a lot about what you are doing because you can really hurt yourself if you don't do it properly," he says. "You can probably do one by training 10-15 hours a week, but I guess it depends on how well you want to do in it."

During his training regimen, Trefiak estimates his longest bike ride at over seven hours and 200-plus kilometres and his longest swim at "four or five thousand meters."

To say he is aptly prepared for tomorrow's challenge might be a slight understatement.

Spare time isn't exactly something Trefiak has found much of over the last while, but he still manages to run a website dedicated to triathletes (www.canadiantriathletes.com) and in the near future harbours hopes of getting into the coaching field.

"I want to give people who are interested in the sport, the opportunity to pursue it to the best of their abilities," he said of his reason for wanting to coach

Quick Race Report

2007-11-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Well, got 'er done. It was an unbelievable day. Awesome conditions. We were very lucky.

I had a great race, and came well within my goal time. or 10:30.

Finished in 10:13

Not exactly how I thought I would get to that time, but I got there anyways. Found out it is true what they say. The race starts on the run. The swim and bike are just to get you tired out for the run.

A little sore today. Couldn't sleep too much, so we got up for a greasy breakfast. Going to spend most of the day eating, I think. Good stuff.

I will write a full race report when I get back.

Once again, thanks for all of the support, and I will see everyone in a few days!

Day before IMFLA

2007-11-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dropped off the bike, and gear bags. Took a quick look at the swim transition. REady too go!

Still have 18 or 19 hours to wait though! It is weird to think that this time tomorrow I should be getting ready to finish the bike section of an Ironman! So long in coming, but it is finally here.

Just can't wait to get started. Too much thinking, and not enough doing. I'm sure there will be times tomorrow when I won't want to be doing!

Things are good. The calf is getting sorted out thanks to the help of some awesome message people down here. Should be ok race day. Other than that, just carbo loading and relaxing.

Will update on Sunday!

Day 2 at IM FLA!

2007-10-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Got in last night at around 5. Beutiful weather down here. A bit of a wind, but that is all.

Got my first swim on the course in, and the conditions are spectaular. Swimming in salt water is so much easier than fresh water. Extra bouancy.

Body is feeling good except for a strain in my calf. I'm having the message dudes down here look at it. I think the treatment is more painful than the injury! Just want to be in tip top shape for sat.

It is a ZOO! Very fit people everywhere trying not to look nervous.

Well. That is it for now. Thanks everyone for the support. You are all awesome!

Syd

How would this look for a Canadian Triathletes bike!

2007-10-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

build your own bike at
http://www.bikeforest.com/CAD/bikeCAD.html

Status Report

2007-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the taper has started. Not saying that I am not appreciating the extra time on my hands, but those doubts creep in when you are not planning your weekly long ride and run!!

Feeling really good though. Did 4000m in the pool in 1:02 today so that is a nice pace.

Still can't wait to get to the start line!

Ironman VIsualization Activity :>

2007-10-11T15:30:00.001-07:00

202km

2007-10-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well, despite the cold, and a belly full of thanksgiving goodies I was able to get out for my overdistance ride on Monday! I've felt better, but I was able to get through it realitvely well. I eased back on the pace a bit due to the heat and another crazy wind.

Managed to finish in 7hrs. (6:42 on the bike) averaging 30kph. Feels good to be able to cover a distance as daunting as this. Also feels good that I don't have to do it again!

One more long day next weekend and we are into taper time! Looking forward to having a bit more time on my hands.

The cold really knocked the swimming back a bit. I'm trying to gain back the feeling and fitness I seem to have lost. I will come back quick, I'm just getting sick of the early mornings in the pool.

Almost There!

Blown week 4 weeks out!

2007-10-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, managed to catch a cold this week. Blew all of the training planned for this week out of the water. It hit me Sunday after my long brick on Saturday. I had a great 182km bike followed by a very strong run.

5:41 for the bike 1:39 for the run. Avg of just under 32kph and held my 5min. IM pace in the run. So I was very stoked about it. Woke up Sunday feeling like crap.

I kinda knew that I would be getting sick as a lot of the kids at school are sick so. . . .

Well, it really laid me out. I didn't do any training until Wednesday when I had a short run. I swam and had a practice with the XC kids on Friday. I was supposed to be riding long today (saturday) but the forcast was for rain. I am going to try and run long, but I still feel kinda crappy. I hope I can get the 200km ride in on Monday.

I am taking wednesday off because we are having the furnace cleaned so I need to be here. That will give me the rest of the day to go long.

Next weekend I will be doing 160km hard followed by 16km at IM pace. Then down to 100km hard and 16km at IM pace the next weekend.

It kinda sucks with the cold as I was really getting into some good form. Right now I am in damage control mode. I don't think I will be able to extend my fitness too much more before IM, but hopefully I can maintain where I am at.

The cold is a pain, because your not really recovering properly as your body is fighting the bloody illness.

I guess I am just lucky that it happened now, and not just before Ironman!

Better go take some more Vit. C!

One Hundred and Eighty!

2007-09-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

So for the first time ever I have managed to ride 180km! It was a pretty miserable day. Rain, 3o+kph winds, cold. However I still felt pretty good and was able to pull it off strong.

Ended up doing 183km in 6hrs. 180 in 5:56.00. Which is awesome for a training ride. Averaged a little over 30kph. Considering the wind this is a great pace for me.

All in all this ride was a major deposit in the confidence bank. It means that I should be able to do a 5:30ish ride in IM which would be very good time for me.

Unfortunately the wind and cold took it out of me so I decided not to do my run after. I think this was a good idea as I was getting cold and I don't want to risk getting sick at this point.

Very happy, Very tired!

Now I get to nap and pick Jenn up at the airport at 11pm? (there is an 11pm now?) Wow I'm getting old!

Done Racing 'till Ironman

2007-09-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

So I have cut the regular season a little short. I think Orillia will be the last race for me. I passed on Guelph to do a long brick. (and honestly I couldn't face the long drive)

With school starting it will be next to impossible to do the training I want and race. It is actually a bit of relief. I think I am pretty secure in my second place in the subaru series so I shouldn't need the points.

If I went to Guelph I may have been able to clinch the overall, but I think my priorities lie more with Ironman. I know that I was the best overall triathlete in my AG and would have won if I had done all of the races. So that is a little consolation atleast!

I think this will be the last year doing that many races. Next year I will focus on having a good showing at worlds. I would love to go sub 2:10 in Vancouver.

I will do a few races at the beginning of our season here. Milton, Guelph, Muskoka, Peterborough (if they don't clash with worlds.) Once we hit NZ I will reassess based on their season. I will definetely do either IMNZ or Challenge Queenstown. Probably IM to try and get a spot in Hawaii.

So for the rest of the time coming up I will be going long. I did a 160km bike 13km run on the weekend. I will be building up over the next month to 180km and 21km. Next weekend is hopefully the first 180km bike. I am not to concerned about that as I am feeling really good at the 160km distance. It will be a great mental boost to get to the distance. That is the most intimidateing number in IM. Just because you are on the bike for sooooo long. I have currently been able to average around 30kph so that is good. That means that a 5:30 bike in IM is not unrealistic.

I am a little concerned about my rear race wheel. It is a little sketchy and I don't know if I trust it over those distances. I think I might try and find one similar to my front or maybe a Renn disc. We will see if finances allow this. Other than that everything is great.

I will be into running free to get some new shoes and bike shorts as with the distance mine are getting worn out! New gear is fun!

Orillia Race Report

2007-08-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

I love this race. Allways have done well here.

It is a Sprint Distance race and allways atracts a large crowd. There were some excellent racers there trying to get a spot at the worlds. Since I already had mine, no stress.

They wouldn't let anyone bump up to the elite wave so I was resigned to the second wave. This is allways a bit stressfull because I know that I will be passing a ton of people.

Got there a little later than I hoped. We had to pack for a week of camping, so little things took longer. Got there with enough time to get a little warm-up in.

The swim here is great because the water is so clear. There is lots of interesting stuff on the bottom to keep me interested.

Swim: I was second out of the water in my wave (the first place guy drafted off of me the whole time, and passed me crossing the mat!) I didn't have to much trouble passing the lapers, but I think they did cost me 15 or 20 seconds. I had noone to draft off of either so that cost me a bit of time as well.

10:52

T1: No drama (thats for you ART!)

Bike: I was quickly on and passed the other guy in my AG. I pushed pretty hard on the bike until the last 7 or km then I took it a bit easier. I should have probably kept the gas on, but I don't think it would have made a big difference in the end. It just made the run a bit more interesting. The bike course in Orillia is fun and fast. Great rolling hills. I thought I would be faster than I was on the bike but that is OK.

Bike: 57:??

T2: First off of the bike in my AG. Nice to have the family there chearing you on, however it is stressful to see other people coming in just as you are leaving.

Run: I knew I had chasers close to me. So I pushed right out of the transition. Not too hard, but enough to hopefully hold the position. I was feeling great. One guy blew by me just before the turnaround. Another superfast runner. So I was in second and cruising a bit. After the turnaround I noticed a couple of guys in my AG about 500m behind me and looking strong. That woke me up. I started to push determined not to lose second. I was able to hold the distance between these guys for the rest of the race. I finished very strong and that was good for the confidence.

Run: 27:00. One more second and I would have had a 26:00 7km!

Great race. Gained some more points back in the overall. This still might be an option for me afterall.

Post Post RAce Report:

Well, this is a live and learn experience. AFter the race we were staying at the inlaws. I was feeling great. not tired at all. My wife said she was going to go for a run and I said I would join her. We had a nice easy 8km. No big deal.

On Monday, I decided to do my long run before we went camping. Turns out this was the straw. I had a good run and did 21km. Felt good.

Next day I noticed some swelling in my knees. Went for a short bike. The swelling got worse. So I decided to take it easy while camping. Only some small hikes.

Well I went to the Clinic today, and now I have to take 4 days off and these anti-inflamatories.

These old knees can't take that sort of abuse apparently. I guess my run will remain my weakest event this year. I hope to be back up and training by Thursday.

So that is that. A bit more than a race report, but oh well.

Cobourg Olympic Distance Triathlon

2007-08-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Completed the Olympic distance race on Saturday. This was a 2008 World AG championship qualifier. Great venue (minus the lack of parking, and my parking ticket!). Beautiful little park on the nice sandy beach. Downtown Cobourg is kinda interesting. I have never been there before.

So this was the first HSBC race that I have ever done. Initial impressions were OK. There is a little lack of refinement in the organization compared to the slick subaru team, but there was a really friendly atmosphere.

Got there real early because I was hearing very different guesses as to how long it would take to drive. Racked close to the bike out/in and got set up.

Swim: 1500m

This was a neat experience. I am usually near the front of the swim, but looking up approaching the last bouy and only seeing 3 sets of arms infront of me was neat. We opened a huge gap on a lot of the field which I was not expecting. Swam a solid 23:30 out of the water 24:00 into transition. Nothing spectacular but nice and solid. Felt great. The stroke was ticking over nicely. I love longer swims. You can find a nice groove, and make some good time gains.

T1: no drama.

Bike: 40km

This course was promoted as being really hilly. It lived up to its billing, but not as bad as I thought. Only a couple of steep hills, the rest were fairly gradual. It was mostly up on the way out and down on the way back which was nice. Resulted in slow bike splits though. My cassette somehow worked loose a little which made some noise, but didn't really seem to affect performance. I felt pretty good on the bike. It seemed really short as the shortest rides I am doing now are 54km. So it is a quick distance. BIke split 1:11:00, I'm not sure on the average. Probably around 34 something. Felt real strong coming into T2

T2: where is my hat? Apparently in my transition bag. Oh well. Ran without it. Pretty quick transition

Run: The more I do it, the more I realize that I am not the biggest fan of running. I don't think I am made for it. That being said I had an average day out there. It was a flat two loop course. I came off of the bike with a small group. There was only one person near us, the rest were out of site. The eventual winner was in my AG. I was out of T2 before him. He ran a 32 minute 10 km!!!!! Holy Crap! Apparently he can go sub 30 easily just out for a run. I can't compete with that.

My run was much more slow. After watching him pass me at that speed I realized I wouldn't see him again. I focused on holding second. After the first turn around just after 2km I had a 3:30 gap back to the 3rd place person in my AG. At the 5km turn around it was almost 4min. I turned off the jets at that point. I wasn't feeling great. I could have gutted out a bit more, but there was no gains to it. The closest competitor to me was 3min. behind. Got into a nice tempo, and held it to the end. It was getting hot, and I was glad I didn't have to push too hard at this point. Run was 41:30? Not bad, not good. I will be consistently going under 40min. next year if it kills me!

Total was 2:18 OK time. More importantly I got a spot for the 2008 worlds in Vancouver which was my entire goal for this race. Very happy. Now I don't have to drive all of the way to Owen Sound.

Next week is Orillia. No expectations there. Just a fun race with some familiy coming out to watch. Then vacation.

Iron Elvis (My 30th B-day)

2007-08-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I turned 30. This event was not so much of a spectal as the surprise party(and day of) that my wife threw the day after my B-day. Being oblivious to the world around me, I apparently had no clue as to this happening. There were many blatant clues that I seemed to have passed over. Oh well, I guess that is what makes it a suprise party.

I was not going to make pulling this party off that easy on my wife though. Her plan, as it happens, was to play up on my Ironman asperations, as well as the fact that we were visiting a friend in Collingwood during the Elvis Festival (for those that have never been, I tell you it is an experience!)

We wanted to go Mountain Biking while we were there. So we had scheduled a noon ride. She, for some reason was adamant about the timing? Apparently, she had planned to have our friends meet us in the parking lot at 3 stage and suprise me as we finished our ride. She was going to deck me out in all of this parafanalia (see pics below) and have me do a mini triathlon. Ride back to our friends house (with a large and noisy convoy) Jump in the pool and do laps, and then run around the block to the finish line ( all dressed up).

Well, I quickly threw a wrench (or handlebar) into those plans. Not 5 min. into the ride I stalled on a hill, unable to clip out, fell on some rocks. Now this is not an entirely uncommon occurence. However, I somehow managed to hit my inner thigh with my bar-end with considerable force. Lets just say there was a real loud profanity! Now I thought it was just a good charley horse and would be able to continue to ride. That is until I pulled up my bike shorts to find a looney sized hole in my thigh. I could see muscle and fat. Not good.

So our plans altered at that point. I figured a trip to the hospital was a good choice. So we got there relatively quickly, and it wasn't too long before I was in a room getting seen. Apparently staples are the best option for this type of wound, so now I have 5 of them in my thigh. What was funny was that I could see a security camera from the hospital entrance and Jenn was making a bunch of calls on my cell. I figured at the time that it was just talking to people about my injury. Turns out she was frantically trying to change plans.

The doctor was an MTB'er as well. We were comparing scars. I won!

So I was limping out of the hospital, and we were driving home, and I saw my parents pulling out of a Dairy Queen. I was like, "what the hell are they doing here" I still didn't figure out that there was a surprise party happening. So we got back to our friends place. My parents said that they decided to come up to the Elivis festival on a whim. Duh!

I was sitting in the living room dulling the pain :> and all of a sudden all of these people wandered in. The little light bulb went on! Dim, but it was on.

So they proceeded to get me dressed up. See pictures (pay special attention to the pink thong and sidburns). Then did a very miny (and pathetic) version of the triathlon, since I was moving rather slowly and could barely dip my feet into the pool.

I think I won the triathlon anyways. There was noone else running!

We later headed down to the Elvis festival. She had set up some silly tasks for me to perform, that is wear I met an Elivis. Good times.

So that was my 30th. I have a good scar to prove it too! Atleast the sideburns washed off.

Shift Your Way To A Bike Split PR

2007-07-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

I read about and see so many people focusing on expensive gimmicks and training plans all aimed at making you faster. This is all fine and good and there is a place for this. However, many people are missing out on lots of free speed, especially on the bike.

The easiest and quickest way to get some of this free speed is too learn how to shift your bike properly. I hear you all saying now, I know how to shift. You pull up on the shifter for easier gears, and push down when I want a harder gear. Simple, Right? Not necessarily.

If you watch top riders they will do a lot of passing approaching hills, and going over the top of hills. This is because of how and when they are shifting.

Approaching a hill.

A lot of people panic when approaching a hill. They shift into the gear they believe they need to be climbing in way too early. To get free speed when going up the hill the best way to shift is to focus on maintaining a constant high cadence and effort as long as possible.

How you shift can assist you in this. When approaching the hill try and maintain your momentum as long as possible. Shift down one gear at a time and hold each gear until your cadence is starting to fall. Then shift to the next gear. By doing this you will maximize the momentum gained on the approach. This is a very effective technique when riding rolling hills. Often you can avoid getting into your granny gear at all. Not only will this save you speed, it also saves a lot of effort. The less time you spend grunting in your granny gear the better.

If you learn this skill rolling hills can actually be faster than a completely flat race course.

The disclaimer with this one is that you need to have full confidence in your bikes ability to shift smoothly when climbing. Skipping a gear doing this could result in the loss of a lot of momentum.

At the top.

For all of us after grunting up a hill the instinct is to ease off once we are at the top to get a bit of a breather. However, you give up a lot of speed when a few more pedal strokes can net you up to 5 seconds time bonus! Multiply that by the number of hills you will do in any given race and viola! Free time!

When you reach the top of a hill resist the urge to rest right away. Keep pedalling strongly over the top of the apex of the hill. This should include shifting through a few gears as well. Give a couple of real strong pedal strokes once you start heading down the other side of the hill before taking a rest. Once again, it is all about momentum. If you can give the bike a bit of a boost before heading down the hill the momentum gained at the top will result in greater gains further down!

Ideally you should keep pedaling down the hill as long as possible. A little input at this stage from you can increase your speed by 5 -8 km per hour. Where else during a race can a little pedaling have such an effect?

Other things you can do!

PSI. No that is not the newest crime drama out there. Pounds Per Square Inch. This is the pressure that is in your tires! Properly inflated tires are an easy source of free speed.

Most clincher tires can hold around 120 PSI in pressure comfortably. Some people flirt with more. The higher the pressure in your tire the harder it becomes to make the tire bend or flex. It can also narrow the footprint of the tire. The less material touching the road the faster you will go. This is part of the reason the skinny tires on road bikes are faster than mountain bikes. Making sure your tires are properly inflated is a vital pre race routine.

When entering transition you always see people inflating their tires. They do this at the race for a couple of reasons.

High pressure in tires can be a little volatile. Especially when you are taking the bike in and out of a car that may or may not have a large temperature difference from the outside air temperature. Hotter outside = Air pressure to expand, and possible rupture the tire. Colder outside = loss of air pressure do to contraction. Always remember to let out a little air pressure when packing your bike inside a car.

In the morning temperatures are cold. If you inflate your tires too early you could loss up to 5-8 PSI in air pressure. Do it as close to race time as possible.

Properly inflated tires also reduce the risk of a puncture. The smaller footprint also makes it harder to hit things. The higher pressure also doesn’t allow the tire to flex. This is when a lot of punctures happen.

Inflate your tires before every ride!

Clean your bike. A clean bike is a happy bike, and a happy bike goes fast.

Especially your chain. Not only does this reduce friction, it also lengthens the lifespan of many parts on your bike.

Hope these tips help gain some free speed for some of you!

Safe riding!

NIagara Sprint Triathlon

2007-07-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Heave Ho!!!

I’ll explain later.

Real short race. Seemed especially short since the last three races I have done have been a 1/2 IM. Long Course, and an OLy.

I had a long week of training prior to this race to try and consolidate the fitness gains I had made during and after peterborough. Left me a bit sluggish. I was not in a real racey mood.

That is until the gun went off. I pushed hard in the swim. It burnt pretty bad until about half way, and I really found a groove. I was motoring, and not using too much energy. Out of the water I was in the top 10 overall.

Swim: 11:09

On to the bike, facing the beast of the east. It is a tough climb, but after watching the tour, it is nothing! PAced it well up the climb. I need to focus on remaining seated even on the steep bits. I really am way more efficient that way. I did this on the last pitch of the climb and felt great. Lost a few spots, but managed to gain most of them back.

I pushed hard on the bike. Harder than I have pushed all year. It felt great. I knew that if I pushed until we got to the downhill back down the escartment and freewheeled it back I should be able to recover well. Everytime I looked down I was doing over 42kmph. A little suprised at the average of 34.8, but I guess that is a result of the hill.

Bike: 40?

Blew in and out of t2 in 0:35 seconds. Which was a goal for this race. I wanted to cut a bit of time there. Turns out that this was important!

Onto the run. I thought I was in first place so I was booking it. I pushed hard right out of the gate and it hurt. The body was not responding well. I think I should have taken a gel on the bike.

Anyways, Managed to keep the legs turning over OK, but it was a big struggle. By the last couple of KM I was really spent, but I didn’t want to get passed so I just kept pushing.

Run 27:30

Just as I crossed the line all of a sudden my stomach decided to void itself of what little was in there. I went right to the garbage pail at the end of the shoot and let ‘er rip. THis is the first time this has ever happened to me!

Felt great afterwards. I’m not sure quite why this happend, but it did.

My favourite line was “Excuse me, you need to take of your chip, oops, when your ready!”

he he.

The weird thing is that this little girl stood a couple of feet away watching me hurl. It was weird.

I came second in my AG and 14th overall. My best overall showing to date. More importantly I finished 5 seconds in front of the person I am racing for the overall in my AG so I extended my lead by a little.

Peterborough 1/2 Ironman

2007-07-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

This was one of two A races for the season for me. Because of this I did a full taper. I hate tapering. You feel like a sloppy bag of poo not being able to train much.

Luckily I had some nice new (too me) race wheels to stare at! : > Nothing like new gear to keep you interested. The bike looks badass! all black carbon wheels, black frame.

Woke up 5am and met my ride to peterborough. This is the closest race to my house only a 40 min. drive.

We got there nice and early so there was no concerns with washrooms, racking etc... Got the bike and gear racked up and warmed up nicely.

The swim.

Peterborough is a very weedy swim. I don't particularly mind this as I swim in a weedy lake at home so I think this is a bit of an advantage for me.

2000m swim? More like 2100 +. I hauled ass and did a 29:55. I should have been mid 28:00 for the effort I put out. Still relative to the field I was very happy. 14th out of the water and 13th onto the bike.
Had a good draft most of the way.

T1. Nice and smooth. Decided to put on socks for this one.

90km bike. As I now see myself as a mature triathlete:> I planned on pacing myself well. My goal was to average around 35-36kmph. A heavy head wind on the way back eliminated this. I still managed 34.8, but not the pace i was hoping for.

However, the pacing of my effort was good and I was feeling pretty strong near the end of the 90km. There was a guy who drafted off of me for a while, and then jumped to the wheel of another athlete who passed us. He got a penalty, and that made me happy!

I was planning on drinking 6 bottles of water/gatorade on the bike due to the weather forcast. I ended up only drinking 5 as the temps didn't reach the highs we were expecting. Took 4 Gu's on the bike (I love Gu!) and everything was peachy keen!
Bike 2:35

T2. Very fast sub one minute.

Legs felt pretty good right out of transition. Turn over was high. I didn't like the grassy section they made us run through. It was really tough after the first loop when your legs are tired. I did not check out the run course beforehand, since it was new, that might have been a good idea.

There were a number of really steep punchy hills starting around 3km. I like the idea of the loop as it allows you to set much shorter goals. Just keep this pace to the turn around. . .etc... It was a challenging course and I think I liked the old one better.

The first loop was OK. I held a steady pace, and the body was coping. Started to feel a little rough after the first loop so I took a GU.

After about 3km into the second loop the legs really started to come around. Just like in Muskoka. It seems that I don't start running really strong until after 13km. Not a bad thing. I held back a bit until getting over the top of the last hill. I still had a ton left and really pushed hard for the last 4km.

This emptied the tank. I was really spent crossing the finish line, however I felt great about how I raced.

My initial goal was a 1:35 run. Hoping for 4:30ish kms.

Ended up Finishing in 1:40:00. I really don't think I had much more in me than that. Still very happy. Last year I ran a 1:55. so big improvements here.

Finished 4:48.33 Which is great. My goal was around 2:50.00 so definetely beat that. Right were I want to be in prep for IM this year. Beat last year by 23min. Big time PB.

This is great becuase it confirms the time goals I have for IM. Now I've got around 4 months to train for it.

In reality I am just glad to have this one out of the way. It has been a bit of a burden, and now I am free to focus strictly on training for IM. (maybe a bit of focus on qualifying for worlds next year.)

Guelph Lake 1 Oly

2007-06-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Right! Here we go.
A nice partially cloudy day in guelph. This is a venue that I have had strong races at in the past so I think it must suit me well.

I wasn't too confident going into the race. I had taken a tumble on the mountain bike on saturday and landed on a root brusing my hip. It was a little sore and I didn't know how it would respond to the running.

I had set relatively lofty time goals for the day. I wanted to run a sub 40min. 10km, and average 37kmph on the bike.

They had adjusted the swim from a straight 1500m to two 750 loops. This suits me fine as the little run on the beach allows the arms to recover and freshen up for the second loop.

The start was a mass start. I had seeded myself in the sub 23min. group. Apparently those farther back had a rough go of it. For us the start wasn't too bad.

Caught a decent draft for the first few hundred meters but lost the feet of the guy at the turning buoy. He went wider than me and I ended up passing him. I then found myself all alone (which wasn't the plan) There was a small group maybe 10m in front of me. I tried to bridge to them a couple of times but found that the effort wasn't worth it.

We exited the water for the second loop and I tried to bridge then. I was able to get onto the feet of that small group and caught a sweet draft for the entire second loop. We were out of the water in 22:00. I had the 13th best swim time. I was happy with that. It is a long uphil run to the transition. I had a good smooth transition.

Onto the bike.

I've been learning to pace myself early on the bike. So many people race off hard, and then blow up on the run. I find if I take a few km to allow the body to adjust I then am able to push the bike, and not be burnt out for the run. I was passed by a number of people initially, but I think I got almost all of them back by the end.

Averaged 36.9 km on the bike. Right on my goal pace.
Bike: 1:11.?

I ended up passing a guy right before transition. It turns out that was for the lead! I never knew that until I read the results! I thought through the entire run that I was in second or third.

The run is a lot hillier than I remember. Started of at a good pace. The legs were getting pretty heavy by the turn around, but I knew it was mostly downhill until the last couple of kms. Started running with a guy who was from the 40-45? age group. Both of us were pushing pretty good and we ended up pacing each other for the rest of the race. I got a lot of comments that we looked relaxed and chating away. Trust me. We were chatting, but pushing hard.

Guelph finishes with a run past the finsih line, and then they shoot you up this punchy little hill and back to the finish. Probably one of the most painful finished of any race I have done.

I made it up the last hill, and the legs recovered on the way down. I managed to break from the small pack I was running with and beat them too the line.

Run: 40:45 (not the sub 40 I wanted) but a good solid run.

I ended up winning my AG. First time for that! I've been eyeing up those race winners hats for a while!

This race was a world champs qualifier, so I was offered a spot. I declined do to it not being in the budget, but that made someone else happy!

So guelph was good! Looking forward to p-borough though.

Muskoka Long Course Race Report

2007-06-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect day in Muskoka for a race. Warm and overcast to start. The temps never became an issue at all during the day which is in stark contrast to last year!

The best part of Muskoka is that you get to race against some of the best triathletes in the world. It makes for a really exciting atmosphere. Everything is kinda electric.

Right from the start I had scheduled Muskoka as a B race. In reality it was more of a b-. I wanted to get some points, and have a strong race in prep for peterborough. I didn’t want to get into a position where I was expecting a great result and came up against the competition who where peaking here trying to get a spot at an IM.

My goal was to have a good strong race with a focus on running well.

I don’t think I have ever been so relaxed at a race! It was great. No butterflies/nothing. I racked up, and did a quick warm-up run. I didn’t take the bike off the rack in fear of losing my spot! Put on the new Aquaman westuit (carefully!) and headed down to the swim exit. I took a nice leasurely swim down the channel to the swim start. I recomend this to anyone doing the race next year as it is a great way to get away from the crowds, and not have to walk the distance to the start.

I started in the second wave after the elite men. Immediately I caught a draft off of one of the front guys in my group. I held him until the back stretch of the swim when we started passing the first wave. I then managed to position myself behind a (big)guy from my wave who was finding a good route through the lapers. Had the goggles knocked off once, but not too bad.

Once we hit the channel it opened up. The white caps seemed to all stay left with the purple going right. I had a strong draft the whole way up river (which is very important). I never felt like I was working hard on the swim. It was a very cruisy one for me. I knew I was pacing OK, but it wasn’t requiring that much effort. Maybe the new suit ?

Out of the water in 29:53. Good time. I think I can easily go sub 29 at peterborough.

Good transition. Nice and smooth. Once again the wetsuit came off like a breeze!

Onto the bike. The MO for the bike was a nice conservative effort. I was well aware of the amount of hills on the course this year, and I didn’t want to overdo it. I rode well within myself which was a great feeling because I was still moving. I really focused on my shifting and maximizing momentum. Got to the aid station feeling great. Chuged the rest of the gatorade and water and reloaded. Only to lose the gatorade they gave me within a km. I was slightly concerned, but know that I normally ride this distance with only three bottles so I should be fine. Ended up not being an issue. GLad it wasn’t too hot though.

The hills were pretty bad on the back section of the bike. Some of the new slurry sections were very sketchy because you couldn’t see the bumps. Nice that they put the effort in though for this race. Very interesting ride. Thought it was challenging but fun.

Off the bike in 133: AVG. 35.6kmph

I was aiming36 so that was ok.

Another good transition.

Started the run feeling pretty good. I wanted to focus on setting a good comfortable pace until the heart rate came down, and then start pushing a bit. My side started cramping a bit after about 3km. However, whenever I let my mind wander from the pain, it went away. No big deal. It kept coming back a bit throughout the run.

I was running well, and the body started to really feel good about the 8 or 9km mark. I started to push a bit harder. There was a guy behind my from my AG that I passed earlier coming up on me, and I set the goal of keeping him at bay. He ended up passing me at the 12 km mark. I knew he was working harder than I was so I just stayed right behind him. When we hit the 13km mark I was feeling really good even on the hills. So I decided to see what I had left and really kicked. I put almost 500m between myself and that guy in the final 2km. I was flying! I couldn’t believe how well I was running at the end. I guess this is the first race that is approaching the distance that I am training for. So that is a great boost of confidence for me.

Run : 1:03 4:13?

Overall 3:07. About 40 min. faster than last year!

I ended up 7th in my AG. Which was Ok. More importantly I have really boosted my comfidence for Peterborough. I now have a prooven strategy for the distance, and we will se what I can do! Really stoked to go long.

My place in the race.

2007-06-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the season has been interesting for me. After a hard winter of training I've been able to see the results of my training. I've already met some of my goals for the year, and had some good results in the races.

So why am I not satisfied with this? I guess it is that inner athlete that wants to be the best, but I really am getting frustrated with his constant nagging!

Other than that, I'm pretty happy! I get my new wetsuit soon. Good to get rid of the old one that doesn't fit anymore. Probably cost me some time at Milton.

The school year is almost over which will free up my time for the big IM training miles. I'm really looking forward to that.

I think that this time of year is the most frustrating. I want to train more, the body wants to train more, but the schedule keeps getting in the way. Work tires you out, so the evening sessions aren't as good as they could be.

I have met a bunch of new people this year. It is great going to the triathlons and knowing a bunch of people. I am starting to feel as though I belong to this community and am not just an outsider looking in. It is neat to hear my name a lot as I pass people coming the other way on the run or bike.

The website is excellent also. Talking to people who are not as fast as me, helps me put things into perspective. They see my speed and think I am super fast, and I see the leaders speed, and compare myself to them. I think I should spend more time looking at last years results and seeing the huge difference.

I saw a bike picture of me from Milton when I was in my tuck. I didn't realize how aggressive I am positioned on the bike. It is awesome! My back is completely flat. I think I can widen my aero bars a bit which might open up my chest a little more and that could ease my breathing. Not that that is a problem right now, but I don't need to have them as close as they are. I don't think I can get much more aero than I am now! (MAybe a nice aero wheelset, but that is about it!;>) This may also help with my digestion.

So I guess everything is going real well. It will be interesting to see how the body reacts to the longer races. I'm looking forward to keeping a slightly slower pace.

Muskoka will be fun. I'm really relaxed about it because I'm not expecting to get many points due to the competitive nature of the race and field. I am more focused on guelph. So it will be a good experience and I get to do the longer distance which is more fun!

This will be a good gauge for peterborough. I'm really going to focus on nutrition. Especially downing plenty of GU on the bike. I think I will try one every 35 min or so. See how that leaves me on the run.

There is an awesome swim at Muskoka. A water start, and lots of room to spread out. I need to focus on getting a good draft in this one. I lost the toes of the lead pack at Milton, and was unable to catch them. Unfortunately, the Pro's will be going off in a seperate wave, so hopefully there will be a few fast swimmers in mine that I can get behind. It will be nice to find a groove. The long straight stretches will allow the breathing to settle down. I was breathing every 2 strokes for most of Milton which isn't good. I was putting out too hard of an effort, and should've eased off until I could breathe every 3. This doesn't cost me any speed. I just need the HR down.

The bike is hilly, which suits me fine. I think I might put the 13-25 back on the bike so as to have the smaller gear on the steep hills. I will put it back on for guelph and peterborough. I want to keep the HR down as much as possible. I need to have a strong run at Muskoka for the confidence. Even if this means losing a position or two. If I can average around 35 or 36 I will be happy.

The run starts hilly, and then flattens out. It isn't hard, but last year I blew up and that hurt my confidence going into peterborough. So I think it is a good idea to ensure a strong run. I know the bike is strong, but the run could use a little work.

My training on the run has been going real well. I've put in some great tempo runs. These are quickly becoming my favourite workout. Still trying to up the speed workout reps, but I keep doing them on hot days. I think they are helping though. Even when I am struggling on the run I am keeping a decent pace. I can cruise doing 4:10 kms so that is promising for peterborough.

I am planning a long weekend this week so I will be able to test out the legs again. I actually miss the long workouts when I have races. They are really relaxing. It will be nice when school is out, and I can get these in during the week so when I do race on sat or sun it won't eliminate a long workout. I really need to focus on keeping the body healthy and not burnt out, and I think that these long easy workouts are the key to this. Especially on the bike. It's funny. The 180km ride is much more daunting to me than the 42km run. I guess it is just the amount of time it takes to complete.

Well, that is it for now.

Milton Sprint Triathlon

2007-06-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

So it was a muggy and hot day in Milton. I was sweating before the race even started!

Milton has a great challenging course. The hill on the bike is a challenge, and the run also features a number of hills.

My day started out allright. A bit of nerves, but otherwise O.K. I wasn’t too sure of myself as I was having a bit of a Blah week. I was ready to chalk this one up as a learning experience!

However, once I got there, and met up with everyone, I quickly caught the fever.

The swim is a nice loop in a small lake at the kelso conservation area. The water was warm (atleast 70) and was a pleasure to dip into to get out of the heat.

I bumped myself up to the elite wave to avoid the slower swimminers I would have to pass.

I started right beside Carlos Robles fellow running free athlete, and the Guembels. The MO for the day was to see where the swim was at compared to the rest of the field.

I started strong and was able to stay clear of any craziness. I tried to keep the leaders within site. For the most part I managed this. I think I was 7th or 8th out of the water. I wasn’t particularily pleased with my breathing on the swim, and next time I need to focus on getting a better rythm. It is hard to on these short swims.

SwimL 10:34

I had a bit of trouble in T1 with my suit catching on my watch and timing chip. A little slow. Next time I am going to try and keep the watch under the sleeve, same goes for the timing chip.

The gravel in T1 was harsh. I ended up wusing out and left some sandals at the swim exit. I think that was a good move.

Onto the bike. The body handled the transition OK. Which is good since this is the first such transition it has made this year.

Hit the hill, and was wishing for my other cassette. From last year I knew that a lot of people attacked the hill and burnt out after it. I decided to pace myself up it (regardless of who was passing) and push once we topped out. This worked pretty well. I managed to catch all 4 riders who passed me on the hill including kyle vanbuerden. The rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. I ended up riding near two of the top women. They were pushing each other hard, and I got caught up in it. Went a bit harder than I would have planned but OK.

I did have someone from my old AG draft off of me after I blew by him. I didn’t notice him for a while. I wasn’t happy. He shall remain nameless.

BIke: 47:00 37.5 avg

T2 was uneventful. SHould have taken a Gu on the bike, but the tummy wasn’t dealing with the heat that well. I knew that the run was going to be painfull.

The run starts with a punchy little climb immediately out of transition. It hurts. It then winds its way out of Kelso onto the road where you proceed to run up hill until you turn around in a small park. Benefit is, it is almost all downhill on the way home!

I pretty much blew up on the run. The GI track was rebelling. I was really just in damage control mode then. I took it slow for the first couple of km. I notched it up a bit after I started getting the old HR under control.

Overall not a great run.

32:23

Total 1:32:?

I managed 2nd in my AG, and 25th overall. I know that I probably could have taken a couple of minutes off of the run, but for a C race this was a good result. Just racking up the points for an overall AG win.

Victoria's Du

2007-05-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Beautiful day in Waterloo for a race! Once again a very well put on race at a new venue. I liked the trails at laurel park before, but the transition venue was good. Needed some extra porta poties though.

Huge compliment of Team Running Free members. Good to meet all of you guys.

DU's are painful. A real fast pace was set off. I started in the second wave for the first time. New AG and all. It was neat passing all of the first wave people. Kinda inspiring.

I started off at the front of my wave. Probably a bit too quick. 3:20 for the first 1km. Settled in for a 14:30 4km. Good time. What I was aiming for.

Tough transition. Had to try 4 times to get the helmet buckled. Don't know why. Then at the mounting line I got on my bike and pedaled once to break the elastics, and then a guy stopped dead infront of me. I had to get off the bike. Now my shoes were hanging, and it was a bit difficult to get my feet ontop of them again. Got it figured out though. I won't have this problem starting in the fast wave in the future. Everyone knows what they are doing.

They bike was hilly and fast! Felt real strong and put a bunch of time on the leaders. I had the 10th fastest bike split. 39:00 averaging 37.80km per hour.

good transition.

Felt pretty tired on the run, but it is only 4km so I gutted it out to a 15:15. Got passed by two people in my AG. Third to fifth position's were seperated by less than a minute. Tough!!! 57 people in my AG.

Finished 5th AG, and 17th overall. My highest ever placing. Good gauge of the fitness gains I have made over the winter. Time 1:10:15.

Can't wait to sink my teeth into a tri though.

2 weeks till Milton!
He He

It begins!!!

2007-05-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend is the first race of the season for me. It is a sprint duathlon, a much shorter distance than I have been training for.

It is a C race and I am training right through it, so why am I so bloody nervous about it?

I think it might have something to do with my goals, and how much I have been training. It is the first real test of my fitness for the season. Have all these hours added up to a real difference in my performance from last year? I don't know yet, I will find out monday!

I know I am faster, but will I be at the front of my AG where I want to be? Is this a realistic goal for a race like this? How will moving up an AG affect my results? Should I start in the second wave with my AG or ask to be moved up to the elite wave?

Too many bloody questions! I hate this time of year for this very reason. It is exciting and nerve racking. Especially this year with all the time and money invested in my training and gear I'm expecting to see results.

I know I shouldn't put too much stock in what happens this weekend because it is not my sort of race( too short, no swim) but I know I will. AGHHHH!

I just want to get it over with, and then I can focus more on having a solid tri season, with a strong result or two under my belt. Get the ol' confidence back.

So I guess I just wait and see, but it is definetely causing more stress that is necessary.

Here we go!

I can see it in my head . . . .

2007-03-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

I used to be one of those people who didn't get the idea of an elite athlete spending so much time and money on the idea of visualization.

I've read the magazines, training books and web sites, but it all seemed a little to new agey touchy feely for me.

Picture your goal, imagine yourself achieving this goal blah blah blah. . . why don't we light some incense while we are at it!

Now that I think of it, I guess to some extent, I've always done this sort of visualization automatically. I've just never quite realized what I was doing.

So yesterday, fresh off of skimming a section on visualization in one of Joe Friels books, I was about 1/2 way through the 12km run of by 4hr brick. The body was hurting a bit, and I had obviously misjudged my nutrution a little as well. Not dying, just not having too much fun.

I decided to give the visualization thing a go. I started to think about what my ideal outcome of one of the races I am going to compete in this year would be. I mentally started on the swim start, and carried through to the run. I ended up finding myself racing a fellow competitor for an AG victory, and winning.

Now, I often daydream while running but this was a deliberate mental activity on my part. By the time I reached the end of my mental race, I started to realize what was happening in my body.

All the concerns that were building in my head were gone. The legs were feeling great, the tummy was a non issue. I felt awesome. Not too mention that I had just completed two sub 4 minute kms as well. I was able to maintain that momentum for the rest of the run.

The weirdest thing was that I actually found myself acting like I was racing. The adrenaline was up, and the thrill was there as well. Not just out for another long training session.

Now, I don't know how often this sort of thing will work for me, but I now realize what sort of benefit it can have.

You still won't find me in any YOGA class anytime soon, or humming some sort of mantra, but I do have a bit more respect for what the brain can do!

By Syd Trefiak

The March BLAH's!!!!

2007-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is probably my least favourite time of the year. Yeah, it is nice that spring is coming and the snow is melting, but I always seem to get the blahs.

It is still too cold to go outside in shorts and a T , which means an extensive amount of time is required just to get prepared for any run or ride. How many layers do I need out there. Is it too cold to bike? Can I get away with just a hat or do I need the beeny as well. Will a bike ride today require hours of cleaning afterwards? exetera. . .

I also get a little tired of just training. The motivation takes a bit of a hit. It is still two months until the first du and almost 3 until the first tri. Add that to putting a lot of work in over the winter to keep yourself motivated and your tank starts running on empty. I could do the comentary for the Spinerval videos with the sound of, and I've caught up on all the movies from the video store that I have been wanting to see.

Sure I know the nice weather is probably only a month or less away, but it still sucks. I think my vitamin D must be lacking or something. Not enough sunlight.

Oh well, maybe in a few weeks things will warm up some more. Once April hits it will only be a month until the first race and I can start using the 'pit of doubt' to fuel me at that point.

It just always seems that March sucks the most!!

Syd

The Importance of the Taper

2007-03-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

The taper is probably one of the most important, and often overlooked, parts of any training program. However, a well put together and effective taper can make a huge difference on race day.

The taper is the period of reduced training volume before a major race. This period allows the body to fully recover (without losing fitness), so that maximum performance can be achieved during an important race. One of the biggest mistakes triathletes make when tapering is to continue doing long/slow distance work while removing all moderate to high intensity workouts. What should happen is that over a 2 to 3 week period your volume should be reduced and intensity workouts should be maintained. Due to large reduction in volume during this period, higher intensity efforts will be short in length, and performed less often.
The part of the taper that I find most frustrating is the sluggish/lethargic feeling you can get during this period. Mentally your body is telling you that you are loosing fitness. In reality this is your body adjusting to the changes you are making in your training. Often athletes are tempted to �test themselves� and end up pushing harder and longer than their plan indicates. This is where the mental discipline comes in. You need to constantly confirm for yourself that this is what needs to happen for a peak performance during the race. There is a large amount of research on the subject proving the benefits.
Depending on the importance of a race, and phase of your training program etc., a taper will usually last for between 4 days and 4 weeks. A taper of 3 to 4 weeks is normal for an Iron distance event. A good rule of thumb with an Ironman taper is to reduce the volume of your Ironman schedule by 20% each week, starting 4 weeks out from the race. This will mean that in the week before the race, you are only performing 20% of your biggest volume week. Resist the temptation to do more, and don�t fill up the extra time with other physical activity.

The theory behind the taper is that it takes your body at least 2 weeks to gain the full benefit from any training you have done. So by the last two weeks before the race, your major focus should be to allow the body to fully recover and build up energy stores for you�re A race. The training you do during your taper to keep your fast twitch muscles (which get recruited nearing the end of an Ironman when your slow twitch fibres fatigue).

Another mistake that is quite common is that an athlete will take a rest day the day before the race. Take your rest day 2-3 days before that race (possibly on a travel day for an Ironman). On the day before the Ironman complete short/easy workouts in all 3 disciplines with some short sprints to keep those fast twitch muscles firing.

In shorter distance races(sprint/Olympic) athletes sometimes respond better to a more abrupt taper (60-90% in the last week). It is important at these distances to test out your taper at a minor race prior to you�re a race. Each athlete will respond differently.
If possible always test out any changes to your strategy (taper, nutrition) prior to implementing it at an A race. For Ironman distance competitors it may be feasible to test a shorter taper at a 70.3 (1/2 IM) event earlier in the season.

Best of luck training!
Syd

References
Mujika, Padilla, Pyne and Busso. Physiological changes associated with the pre-event taper in athletes. Sports Med. 34(13):901-927, 2004.
Mujika and Padilla. Scientific bases for pre-competition tapering strategies. Med. Sci. Sports Exercise 35(7):1182-1187, 2003.

Team Running Free

2007-02-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo!!!!
Just found out that I have been accepted to Team Running Free!

I'm so stoked! I'm really looking forward to racing in the team swag and getting involved with all the cool stuff they do!

I am so excited about being part of a team. It will be neat hanging out with all of my teammates at the races and other events. I love this sport, and now I have even more people to share it with!

Awesome!

Syd

160km on the trainer.

2007-02-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

.
Well, for Xmas I got the Spinervals Hardcore 100. (I asked for it) Been slowly building up to the full 51/2 hrs it takes to finish it. Wholeheartedly ignoring "Coach Troy's" threat of letting the air out of my tires if I didn't do the full time.

The idea of spending 51/2 hrs on the trainer was daunting in itself. I know physically that I'm capable of it, but mentally that is a lot of time and energy spent on going nowhere in particular.

Now I am fully aware of the benefits of spending lots of time on the trainer in the winter, and have done so in the past, but I don't think I have gotten over 3 hrs. So it was with a bit of hesitation that I put that first DVD in this morning. Today, I was going to do the whole thing.

Anyone who has done a Spinervals DVD will know that they are an excellent training tool. The workouts are well designed and well delivered by "Coach Troy". This one is no exception.

I found that it was probably the easiest 51/2 hrs I have ever spent on a bike. Granted, I have only done a few rides as long or longer ever, but this didn't seem as much of slog as I thought it would be. I definitely feel like I have done something today. The sets are interesting enough that you don't get too bored but not so tough as to hurt you too badly (until the very end anyways).

I would recommend it as a good base building tool. He spends a lot of time focusing on cadence. You do this DVD a couple of times, and you will have little problems maintaining a 90plus cadence over the century distance. I will probably also be throwing this in a couple of times right before Ironman Florida, once the temps up here drop in October. It will be good since Florida is so flat!

Give this one a try sometime. I think you will be surprised.

Syd