Weight

Did you ever notice Triathletes volunteer way too much about their own weight ? Well, it's true. Second observation, after the complimentary "Happy Holidays" from a Triathlete, they will immediately thrust upon you how much weight they have gained? Oh, it's true. Some will even tell you the incremental weight by a certain date, followed bythe daily average gained per diem. Oh, it's true. Triathletes are obsessed with their own weight. Ever listen to two Triathletes talk about how much weight they put on over the Holidays ? The only thing worse is three Triathletes talking about their fat absorption. Have you ever heard from a Triathlete, who counters back they lost weight during the holidays with an enormous grin on their skinny faces ? This is usually follwed by another Triathlete ricchoting back, "why? were you sick?"
If you're ever at a Holiday party and you did to fill a vacuum of about 35 minutes, find a Triathlete and ask him about his weight.

Energy Armor ; part 2 "scam i'll be damned".

I have had my EA bracelet now for just over a week. I can honestly say, i haven't slept any better, my flexibility has improved but I must credit yoga for that, and as far as optimizing my strength, well drinking a Red Bull might do that as well. As most of us know, the mind is a beautiful and powerful thing. Through suggested thought, we at times can believe in ourselves and allow ourselves to perform at above average levels. The evidence is growing weaker. If scientific research honestly proved "volcanic ash" placed in a bracelet offset positive ions that we receive from electronic equipment, don't you think the founders would sell it for much more than $ 25 ?
Nevertheless, there are celebraties who support the claim. I've been told John Daley the Golfer, David Girrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Shaq support the EA bracelet. Doing a quick google, Shaq is the only one I could find with actual testimonial. You will also discover on You Tube that there are tricks in the demonstrations, that permit the customer to believe that it is the bracelet enhancing our abilities. This might make a great episode for Mythbusters. Happy Holidays.

Energy Armor ; gaining an upper hand ?

A week ago i was Clark Kent, the Energy Armor Distributor for Canada, hollered, "Clark, step into this phone booth and put this rubber band around your wrist". Within seconds I was pumping out 160 one handed push ups like a Houston oil rig. Bloody fantastic!
Alright then, I slight exagertion. Tell us what is this EA bracelet and what does it do?
The Energy Armor bracelet is to balance the positive ions that our bodies receive on a daily basis from cell phones, computers, tv, fridge magents, and christmas cake. The volcanic ash contained with the bracelet carries negative ions that infact nullify or neutralize the positive ions.
Thus as the theory goes allows us to focus, balance, flexibility and bring to the forefront our optimum strength. It does not pretend tog ive you more strength than you previously had but allows you to operate at 99.9 %. The demonstrations by the Energy Armor are to say the least "Kreskin" like. You will walk away repeating to yourself "OMG-what the fudge!"
I will report back tomorrow on more EA bracelets. signing off. Off to Work.

Hardwood Hills XCountry

I'm hooked. H & I went to Hardwood Hills for a little cardio & fun. We decided to start with the Classic skiing. For ~ $ 40 each this gave us our rentals (Salomon), trail pass, and lesson. Jurgen was our Instructor and did an amazing job. I must thank H for talking me into the lesson because there is so much more to Xcountry than meets the eye. The cut channels for one, i had no idea that there is a machine that makes these grooves. I just figured it was from repetition. On another note, to watch the under 12's (of age) doing skate and speeding by us was astonishing. The cardio was top notch and I will definitely be back. To all the staff at Hardwood Hills, Jurgen, Jacob, and Jack Saskville thank you.

Hamilton Marathon 2010

No excuses. Not only did i not hit my target of a sub 3, i also finished with a slower time than 2009 and 2008. I keep telling myself, it's just a road race and i'm truly doing this for fun. I suppose the most frustrating realization are the different aspects I took to run the Hamilton race. To my friend Brendan Kavanaugh who finished 3 hrs 1 min and 30 secs, i feel his pain too, but i'm so very proud and happy for him. My nemesis is coming off the Red Hill Valley Express way. The quads and hamstrings were on fire and tight. They weren't suppose to be? From there reflecting back, I allowed my mind to win over my stride. So what now. We do it again. More longer runs in training and definitely focus on kilometers 30 thru to 42. In the meantime, i'm going to pull out some colouring books and doing some colouring outside the lines.

Barrie TC 2011

The next two weeks is the time for me to hand over the reigns to the new 2011 Executive for the Barrie Triathlon Club. It has been an extraordinary year. To all of you that were part of the amazing ride, I truly thank you. Our growth was simply remarkable. The Barrie TC is in the heart of Triathlon country in Ontario and we have proved our popularity by listening to our membership and doing our best to provide services where we can even though we are just a non-profit organization.
I'm proud and excited to see the individuals who are coming in to pursue the 2011 year. As Tom Wolfe would say, "they have the right stuff".

trikinggator on Twitter

The young lad passing behind me is say, "what the fudge?"
Heather taking the photo is confused. Regardless I thought it was funny. It made me laugh. Perhaps Lloyd will laugh too.

3 Wks til Hamilton

Speed Work last night til after dark. Geez Kev? Tonight Yoga with the Mrs. ; Tomorrow Toronto for the Company.
Must say i'm liking the looks of the new Trek Speed Concept 9.9 as well as the Scott Plasma 3. Very sharp looking bikes.

21.1 K Base Borden

The inaugural Operation Hero put on by Base Borden was successful event. What most of us thought was going to be a flat road race really was more of a cross country race. I didn't know there were any hills on the grounds of Borden. I finished with a strong 1 hour 30 minutes and 10 seconds. Hoping this is exactly what type of tune up I needed for Hamilton three weeks away.

42K in Hamilton

Knocked off 89Km from last sunday and feeling good. Final goal for 2010, run a sub 3 in Hamilton. Looking forward to my tune up half marathon run at Base Borden on October 16th. The Road to Hope is growing in size and popularity. November 7th is d-day.

Aquila

Aquila Cronos Pro (2008) size=52 for sale. Asking $ 1990. or Best Offer. for more information write ijamie63@rogers.com

70.3 Syracuse PB 5hrs 14 mins 52 secs.

A 5.5 hr drive from Barrie and worth doing. Here's the skinny. Swim and beach area (plus transition area) huge in size. Jamieson Lake clean, safe, but run from water to T1 is a long one. [note for family and spectators, this race thought about them. One of the better IM for comfort, food, fruit, & morning coffee.] Make sure to get to the race site about 30 minutes before you think you need to, as traffic is a single lane, into Park, gets congested quickly. Imagine Milton X multiplier of a 100. Swim is a single loop of 1.2 m. There were 20 waves which i was Wave 20. Exactly 1 hour wait after the male pros took off. Bike course is a joy. First 20km, you're climbing, not like IMUtah but you're climbing. The next 60km moderately flat. Last 10km descending and its fun. Great opportunity to let gravity do it's thing and rest the legs before running. The 13.1 mi run course is perfect. I was aiming to do a 1 hr 30 min run, and it is quite achievable. Our day was wet, foggy with some slight rain. At top altitude on the bike, fog was so thick, visibility was about 100 meters. Im my age category M45-49 i finished 28th out of 214. Not to bad. 367th overall out of 2098 participants. Final time Swim 1 hr 40 mins, Bike 2 hrs 46 mins and run 1 hr 41 mins. This race will be grow quickly in popularity. Interestingly enough, not as many Canadians there as i would have thought possibly do to 70.3 Muskoka was a week earlier.

just one more ...thang

some of the boys and moi, are heading south to Syracuse, NY. why? to show some good ole canadian hospitality.
looks like a fun course. either Nathan or K-White or perhaps the old guy will bring home a podium spot. to our american friends, if you see us wearing our barrie tc racing jerseys, make sure to say stop & say hi.

Bike position

On my Tri bike i recently raised my seat 2 cm and dropped my aerobars by 1cm. Instantly i felt better and believed i had more power being transferred to the bike where it counts. However, after a week or so i have started to have muscle tightness in my upper back, shoulders and forearms. Cause and effect, quite likely? Yes.

Orillia Sprint Aug 23 2010

Crappy weather made it difficult to set a PB. Played it safe on the bike consequently adding time from last years split. The good news is i finished with all my limbs in tack and no nasty scrapes. Run went well, holding a 4:05 pace for 7 km , not to shabby. Next year we will turn this into a 3:55 pace. Happy with transition times. My age category section in transition was completely packed so i racked up with the 60 plus guys. I wasted too much time before the race & didn't leave proper time for a good pre-swim race. Water was choppy and my head was into the race that day. Still finished well 12/76 in my age category but my potential is 6/76. Two minutes slower than last year.

Bracebridge Half Iron

Surprised myself. Not only did i meet my personal goal for this race ; i set a PB for a half iron distance triathlon. Considering this is Muskoka country and thus hills and rough roads are a factor, I was is disbelief when i turned the corner to see the finish clock read 5 hrs 16 minutes. My previous best was at Benton Harbor, Mi. in 2007.
bracebridge is a great challenging course with a small field. The swim is in the river which allows you to swim both with and against the current. The bike course has a bit of everything is the best way to describe. The run is challenging with a few key steep hills. On this particular day it rain hard. coming into T2, I knew my gear would be absolutely drenched from the open skies.
I finished 4/16 in my age category.

Lap 2 during TT Aug 4th on my Basso Road bike

Bala Tri 2010

39th overall. 7 out of 42 in my age category. Most likely my best overall race this season. I put in my best swim, bike and run. T2 needs some modifying, but overall great race, great event and a must do for any triathlete. Bala is a tough little course. The run specifically is all hills from rolling to some short steep pitches. Although my bike & run were a tad slower than last year, I honestly felt faster. Extremely please with my swim, technique, pull, siting finally came together. Personally, I know i'm still very much capable of swimming a 1:55 pace. Patience is a virtue.

Gravenhurst ; Egads!

No use in crying over spilt milk. I'm truly happy for my fellow Baydogs who all had great races. Me? I was 14 minutes slower than last year. My goal was 2 hrs 23 minutes which I believe to be aggressive but achievable. I finished with 2 hrs 44 minutes.
I'm still scratching my head wondering how I sited the wrong rooftop or why I assumed i was going straight following a group of 20 or so swimmers. As we rounded the bend and were heading to the shoreline, I was siting frequently to maintain a nice tight line. At one point one of the volunteers in a kayak shouted at me," you off course, get back with the group". I looked up and saw to my immediate left a group swimming maybe 20 meters away. I thanked him for letting me know. Not a huge deal, I'll just adjust and get back on the direct line. Then, after what seem like about 4 to 5 minutes and still siting the rooftop and quite apparent a group of swimmers directly in front of me, an aluminum boat with outboard motor came up to our right and began shouting at the top of his lungs, "GUYS! you are way off course". He is frantically waving his arms motioning us to get back in the right friggin lake. Looking back it's kind of funny. How it happened still is a mystery. I look up and quickly can see the island is at the 11 o'clock position when the island should be more like at the 2 o'clock position from my vantage point in the water. There was a group of us essentially about to go down the wrong side of the island. Right away, I knew my day was over and kiss good bye my goal time as i was easily 250 meters off course and probably more. When you're not exactly the strongest swimmer to begin with these mistakes can destroy you. Frustrated, mad, upset with myself, i took an extra minute at T1. The first 5km of the bike was a sunday drive. My mind was still locked in "man, did you mess up or what mode". Then at 6km, on the bike, i spoke to myself, told myself to suck it up, 'push on ; finish strong". suddenly I got my legs going and was turning out 38kph. I'm sure on the first out & back, John Dow and Kevin White and the rest of the Baydogs saw me so far behind were wondering WTF [what the fudge]?? End result from that point on I had a descent race. Thanks to Marcus on the run, as we ran together for the majority of the race pushing one another.

PB last nite @ TT

following a PW a week ago i was able to redeem myself with a 32.46 min 19.5km TT. the old guy still has it.

Guelph Olympic this weekend

Gearing up for the Olympic distance Tri this coming Sunday. See you in Guelph .

Lesson # 36 Milton Tri (Swim)

Should you pretend that you are Michael Phelps? Should you ever treat the swim portion like it's a 25 m dash ? For the first 75 m I looked dam impressive. I must say. Record swim time coming up for Mr. N. It was from the 76th meter point to the finish where my right engine went. Ok, lesson learned. Swim within yourself. Treat the swim like a warm up.
Milton was a great race after all the rain it actually stopped and other than a little cool and dampness it was tolerable. Still having issues with my bike saddle moving during the race. I thought i had this fixed. Obviously I did not. Run was good. I think i scared the crap out of the others by yelling and chanting up the first major hill. God I love this sport.
fyi ~ the guy in the yellow swim cap is me, leading my age group..........for about 25 m.

Cycling in Quebec

350 km of pure exhilarating cycling in three and half days from the base of the gorgeous town of St. Agathe (pronounced St. A-gat-a). Heaven for the cyclist training and wishing to build power. Lakes and hills. Thanks to my good friends Jean, Philippe, Frank and Greg for a wonderful time.

IM Utah

What do you get when you combined 58 degree water, a mountain climb bike stage followed by 4.5 hours of hill repeats, along with elevations ranging from 2800 to 4500 feet above sea level? Answer Ironman St. George, Utah. It's pretty much been confirmed IMSG is the toughest IM on continental North America. We were ready for a tough day and we got it. On top of everything else add in the gusts of winds. One chap broke his clavicle bone on a down hill when a spectator got up from her lawn chair, wind sent it flying into the cyclists. By the way, this same guy walked the run course with his arm in a sling. True Grit. The water was so cold that many could not function in the change tents. Shivering and frozen limbs, many athletes had to have IM support to unzip wetsuits and assists with socks, jerseys etc. Many had to be physically assisted out of the water as they could not get blood circulation going. I'm thanking my good friend Mark Herbst for loaning me his neoprene swim cap. As i sat down in a folding chair, on either side of me the two guys were using the hot packs to warm their frozen hands. By the way the people and volunteers of St. George are truly amazing. Friendly, friendly and ever so kind. Our friends Mark & Nat had their breakfast bought for them the following morning by an elderly couple who had learned Mark had completed the Ironman. The event was extremely well organized.
The mountain climbs up to Veyo were punishing especially the second time around when we had a head wind. At the top in Veyo round two, the temperatures dipped and i was getting cold in my tri tank top. Only on the descent back into the City of St. George did the warmth of the sun begin to take the chill off my body. Strangely enough both Mark & I were having trouble with our bike saddles. I in fact stopped four times to adjust the positioning, whereby Mark's problems were a little more serious. The cross winds on the descent were at times beyond frightening. My top speed on the descent was recorded at 74.6 kmp. Considering 2 nature calls, 4 stops for Bike saddle adjustments, the climbing, my time of 6:44 for 180 km i was certainly ok with.
The run is my strength and this was a grueling 42 km. Imagine running up the escarpment in Hamilton. Honestly there were no flat portions on the run course. I completed the run portion in 4 hrs 17 minutes which surprised the hell out of me, because believe me i walked the vicious hills. My final time for IMSG was 12:42. Overall i was in top 26% in my age category and in the top 17% overall. Am i pleased. You're dam right i am.
On the drive back to the airport a discussion took place whether the extreme difficulty of IMSG would discourage or enhance future ironmen from signing up. Personally, i think it will attract more just due to it's immense challenge.

Nerves

I spoke to a Marathoners Group last Wednesday for the Running Room. Afterwards there was a Q & A and I was asked by a lady doing her first marathon if it was normal to be nervous already for a race that wasn't happening until June 19th. Absolutely it's normal. I'm doing IMUtah this Saturday, the nerves started about last Saturday. Sports is such a mental game. We really need to remind ourselves over & over, that it's ok, you're ready, have fun, relax and everything is going to be okay. If we let doubt win, it can be one major adversary. One of the most difficult aspect of sports competition is mental preparation. Believe me i'm 47 and i'm still learning how to cope with this crucial element. To all the Marathoners who are reading this, focus on relaxing and enjoying the experience and the physical component will take care of itself.

101 Km yesterday, last major ride before IMSG

My taper continues. Rode 88 km and ran 13 km yesterday. It was windy. Ironman St. George, Utah, is less than eleven days away.

Masters Swim

great swim this morning 3300 m in about 1.5 hrs. i'll take that. tough drills today.

Jamaica

An hour east of Montego Bay about 4 km west of Lucea (pronounced Lucy) is where the Grand Palladium resort resides. Add this to your "bucket list". I get it now why Canadians have fallen in love with Jamaica. Beautiful people, beautiful country and amazing Blue Mountain coffee. In my opinion & without question the best coffee in the world. For one week my wife & i relax in the hot baking sun. One morning I decided to go for a light jog about 10:30am the sun was rising. For a light jog and running a total of 50 minutes I have never perspired so much in my life. I'm sure the local Jamaicans on the side of the road were looking at me like I'd had escaped from the funny farm. No problem mon.

Half M. Peterborough Feb. 28th 2010 review

Weather conditions were ideal. In fact some runners over-heated. One participant actually ran half the race without a shirt. My longest run up to the race had been 18km, not the greatest, but i believe the hill work and strength training along with the cardio from the pool assisted well. Although i was trying again for a PB, i fell short by a couple of minutes finishing 1 hr 34 min 30 sec. 14 out of 47 in my age category. I truly enjoy Peterborough for a number of reasons, mainly to see my daughter who attends Trent U. but also because it is an excellent barometer to access your current spring training. In years past and true for a huge running population it is the pre-race for Around the Bay. The YMCA facilites in Peterborough are simply perfect. To the RD, volunteers and the YMCA in Peterborough, thank you again for putting on a fun day. To Ian Toms at the first water station, what was that on your head?

Ironman Utah 11 weeks away

As far as winters go in Barrie, On. it hasn't been too bad. Last Saturday we got the mountain bikes out & rode the bare asphalt streets. My Tri friends and i were thinking spring might just come early, then it snowed last night. Might even have to use the snow blower. My training partner has been wonderful. We have remained committed to our strength training & core ripping.
This Sunday Shawn Patton & I venture to Peterborough to run the annual half marathon race. I running it for the long sleeve t-shirt. So how do i get ready for Utah. How do you simulate Utah? I refuse to run on flat ground. Hill repeats and hilly routes. Even that won't truly prepare me for Utah.

Both Sides Up

My wife & I have been faithfully working out since the new year and have invested in some key workout equipment. Saturday, we purchased a BOSU ball (sometimes referred to as a half moon ball). It is absolutely amazing how many hundreds of different exercises you can do with this piece of apparatus. The core is the chore. More later. Jamie. The dog is asking for her morning walk.

Time out from Training

Bright sunny day during Winterfest February 7th

Tuesday Night Winter 8 km Run

The Barrie TC meets every Tuesday night at Centennial Beach at 6:10pm. Come out and join us. Cheers.

-27

After 3 wks, I feel like i'm beginning to shake this cold. Brutal is putting it mildly. Yesterday here in Barrie, On., the mercury hit -27 C. Yours truly went out & did a 11 km run. Not sure it was the brightest thing. an incredible 5.38 km pace average. Zing!

Chris Carmichael's Cook Book

The Mrs. made an unbelievable dinner for me the other night right from Chris Carmichael's Cook Book. Tuna Steaks with Quinoa. Absolutely delicious! Total of 560 calories.

Carlton University Olympic Size pool

I never have had the pleasure of swimming in a 50 m pool. Tomorrow, that will change.

43 min Indoor Cycling on Trainer Drill

I did this one last night & lost a quart of sweat. 3 minutes light cycling easy gear warm up. 30 seconds right leg only, 30 seconds both legs, 30 seconds left leg, 30 seconds both legs. Repeat this 5 times for a total of 10 minutes.
Next segment.
1 minute easy gear.
1 minute increase gear by one.
2 minutes increase gear by another one.
1 minute increase gear by one.
1 minute increase gear by one more, this should be a tough burning sensation. You have just done 6 minutes.
Now go back to the easy gear & quickly take a drink of your favourite sports drink mine is Cytomax. and repeat five (5) more times.
Cool down with 2 minutes of easy cycling.
total time = 43 minutes.

HNY

another january. it really is a beautiful month. this might just be one of my most favourite times of the year ; early morning on january 1st. no ones is around. there has been a tremendous resurgence in the Barrie Triathlon Club. Membership is growing beyond our wildest expectations. It's great to see. Visit us at www.barrietriathlonclub.com
may your 2010 goals be realized.