Congrats to Ted Read & friends !

Congratulations are in order for some local Barrie Triathletes. First we have Ted Read who finally got to race his Ottawa Ironman. Ted finished with a great time of 13 hrs & 16 mins at the Canadian Iron 226 held in Ottawa. Some may remember a nasty bike spill prior to the event last year kept Ted from competing. Ted congrats!!
Also congrats to Mischelle Stevens 1 hr 55 min, Calvin Chu 1 hr 53 min and Mark Harrison 1 hr 32 min for their great race times at the Guelph Lake II this past weekend. Good job everyone cheers!

www.ironmanmuskoka.com

Hi folks, if you haven't already and you're racing Sep.14th in Huntsville, there is some excellent information on the web site for 70.3 Muskoka, In particular watch the video. The swim exit as my friend Shawn points out is most interesting.

First Half Iron at Bracebridge a Success

I made a casual observation about the current in the Muskoka River. Something like, "look you can actually see the water moving down stream a bit". My pre-race swim was great. I felt good & was aware of the current directly in front of us. Then I heard one of the Race Directors telling another racer that the current was stronger further up and to make sure you conserve energy for the top end. Oh boy, that's all i need. Anyways, live to win. My worst swim ever. I truly enjoyed the day and the race. the bike course was hilly and many found it to be harder than they had expected. I'm hoping the Race Directors leave the race just the way it is as it could become known as one of the hardest Half Ironmans around. Great job everyone!

Our Local Barrie Triathlon

Congratulations to Mark Harrison, Shawn Patton, Brent Boden for an excellent performance at yesterday Barrie Triathlon. Times were very impressive. Mark won overall with a time of 1 hr. doing the 700m swim, 20km bike & 5km run. However more impressive and the boys from the Running Room would agree with me is Shawn Patton's time for the 5km run in under 19 minutes. It must have been that bare-foot training. Shawn, your earned it. Mark that one down.

Ultra Marathon Racing / Jays Peak, Vermont

Toughest Race I have done to date! Tougher than doing a full Ironman. 53 KM or 33 Miles of Man versus Nature! I completed the Jays Peak Ultra Marathon in 7 hours & 36 minutes 89th place, (a very respectable time). This race attracts only the serious runner so you can imagine the strength of the field. The course is a combination of Mountain climbing, forest trails, river running, rock climbing, swamp navigation, culvert cruising, rope zipping, and quad killing descents. 400 Nutbars started the race 200 were pulled off the course because they did not meet the race directors cut off time of 5 hrs at mile 19. The first 10 miles is straight up Jay's Peak the tallest peak (4,000 feet) of the Green Mountains in North Vermont. From there Mud becomes your friend. Somewhere around 45 km mark, my legs did not want to bend. I am a 70.3 Triatlete, but i think i have found a new passion. The "Ultras" as my friends Kevin & Keith refer to them. Asphalt & flats will seem like childs play now. visit the website www.ultimatexc.com

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)