Training Tip 36 from Shawn P

Tim Hatch & I had the pristine pleasure of training with Shawn P yesterday. When by pure accident Shawn let one of his most highly classified training tips slip. This exercise is great for building mighty calf muscles just like Shawn's. Here it is. First go to Orr Lake. Second, bring a pair of flip flops. Three walk around the bottom of Orr Lake. Make sure each foot step is solid so you can sink as deep as possible into the soft muddy bottom. Here's the important part, make sure you feel the sunction effect of the flip flop as you lift the foot from the surface. You should feel the tightness in the calf. For the beginner a few minutes is plent. Shawn we discovered will walk for hours in Orr Lake. Thanks Shawn for letting it slip. You're a good man.

Time Trial in St. John's

Imagine climbing for 3km up a grade similar to Scenic Caves Rd. in collingwood? That's what cycling is like in St. John's NFLD. I had the pleasure of meeting the Gang from Canary Cycle and Team Instramar while i was in St. John's last week. After getting to know one another & they understanding my purpose of climbing / training i was invited to come out to one of Team Instramar's Time Trials. a full blizt time trial of just 3km. Not too bad eh? Except it is up hill all the way. Think Dundonald St. in Barrie. About that steepness but for 3km. It was certainly steeper than Mapleton. After logging about 120 km from my day long ride i met with Team Instramar at 6pm at the bottom of the hill. I asked to be placed with the slower riders. So from slowest to fastest i was the 4th of 15 riders. we would leave at 30 second intervals. as i waited my turn the first rider female about 18 took off. Holy shit i thought to myself, she's the slowest??? Finally it was my turn, i just didn't want to embarass myself. I took off at a steady pace as i knew i was going to need a lot of energy for the latter part of the climb. Most of the Team Instramar riders were younger than me. Obviously being brought up in St. John's by default you become amazingly good at climbing hills. The young lad that left 30 seconds behind me pass me at the 1.5 km point. My ego took a hit. However, i did gain ground back later on.
I finished with a time of 12 minutes & 44 seconds. Not too bad i thought. Until i started scrutnizing the other times. On second thought,..i'll just keep a low profile.
The Coach of Team Instramar told me the record for this TT is 8 minutes & 30 secs. One of their strongest cyclists having an off night completed the climb that night in 9 minutes & 40 seconds. (more to come)