A new theme song for us runners?? Can't really go wrong when Sam Roberts is involved.
I heard this in the car on the way home tonight and it caught me right away.
Do you like?
February 25, 2010
February 19, 2010
I'm Back ... with Team Running Free
Last week I received an email announcing that I had been selected again to participate with Team Running Free. I will be based out of the very handy Milton, Ontario location and look forward to working with Jane and all the other members of our team.
This will be my third year with Running Free. I had some amazing experiences during my first two years in 2007 and 2008 before taking last year off as I did not know which route I would travel and did not feel it was fair to the team to take up a spot.
Thankfully, Jeremy (team manager) found my past work valuable and he and Jane welcomed me back on the team for 2010. When I first started with Team Running Free, it was strictly a one store operation in Markham that sponsored 75 athletes from various sports reflecting the retail build of the store. Now there will be five stores with double the athletes supported through their very unique sponsorship program.
For local, passionate athletes that may not have the marketing pull of most of the pros, this programs allows us to afford many elements of our training (gear, nutrition, shoes, etc) that we usually would break our budgets on. Because of all the training we put in at the pool, the gym or on the roads, we tend to go through these products pretty quickly and it helps to have a great support system such as Team Running Free.
Click below to find out more about the team and our amazing sponsors and product suppliers!
http://www.teamrunningfree.com/
This will be my third year with Running Free. I had some amazing experiences during my first two years in 2007 and 2008 before taking last year off as I did not know which route I would travel and did not feel it was fair to the team to take up a spot.
Thankfully, Jeremy (team manager) found my past work valuable and he and Jane welcomed me back on the team for 2010. When I first started with Team Running Free, it was strictly a one store operation in Markham that sponsored 75 athletes from various sports reflecting the retail build of the store. Now there will be five stores with double the athletes supported through their very unique sponsorship program.
For local, passionate athletes that may not have the marketing pull of most of the pros, this programs allows us to afford many elements of our training (gear, nutrition, shoes, etc) that we usually would break our budgets on. Because of all the training we put in at the pool, the gym or on the roads, we tend to go through these products pretty quickly and it helps to have a great support system such as Team Running Free.
Click below to find out more about the team and our amazing sponsors and product suppliers!
http://www.teamrunningfree.com/
February 18, 2010
Great New Song from Alexisonfire!
I really like Alexisonfire (another great Canadian band) and crank the radio every time they get airplay. Although, I do also own all their cd's so I am not just stuck to their singles. The band is getting a little more main stream with Dallas taking over most vocals but I still like the screaming mix. Not for everyone that is for sure. Just ask my better half. HAHA
The Northern
The Northern
February 17, 2010
Why is Brunt Stealing my Blog?? HAHAHA
A couple days after my blog (one article below this) was posted Mr Brunt wrote a similar message. I guess I am not the only person writing a little on the negative side of the column these days. What he references from media around the globe is not the picture we were hoping to paint.
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=43691.html?cid=rssrsn
BTW - a few more days have passed and the games are not getting any better. The athletes are pouring their hearts out so it must be tough when everything around you is going wrong. I cannot believe how may errors, system glitches, officiating blunders, etc. are coming up at these games. I have never seen so many mistakes in top level, "organized" sport.
Go Canada Go!
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=43691.html?cid=rssrsn
BTW - a few more days have passed and the games are not getting any better. The athletes are pouring their hearts out so it must be tough when everything around you is going wrong. I cannot believe how may errors, system glitches, officiating blunders, etc. are coming up at these games. I have never seen so many mistakes in top level, "organized" sport.
Go Canada Go!
February 14, 2010
The Olympics So Far...Thank goodness there is time to improve!
I am going to be totally open and write exactly what I think so far as I spend my weekend hoping things get better in Vancouver and area. I have been watching a lot of the coverage and the experience viewed from a far has been very poor. I hate to admit this, as I am super patriotic, but sometime we have to be brutally honest. I can't imagine that we have looked very good from the eyes of the rest of the world.
From the very boring opening ceremonies (only reason I kept watching was to see who would light the flame), terrible weather, tragedy on the luge course, broken ice surfacing machines for speed skating, the bad lip synching of the big musical guests at the ceremonies, the mechanical delay in lighting the indoor cauldron, the embarrassing ride of shame to get to the outdoor cauldron on the back of a pick up in the rain (Poor Gretz!), the idiot activists in Vancouver, the 18-0 womens hockey score, it has just been tough to say the games have been going as planned. I am sure there is more but this is just off the top of my head as I take a moment to blog.
Thankfully, our amazing athletes have performed well and keep me going back to watch more. I can only imagine the stress they are under and so far they have been trying their hearts out to perform to their bests. I know there is so much emphasis on medals but when you are putting in your top result against this level of competition, you have to feel they have done all they could to proudly represent themselves, their families and the country!
Let's cross our fingers for some better luck for the Olympics.
Larry
From the very boring opening ceremonies (only reason I kept watching was to see who would light the flame), terrible weather, tragedy on the luge course, broken ice surfacing machines for speed skating, the bad lip synching of the big musical guests at the ceremonies, the mechanical delay in lighting the indoor cauldron, the embarrassing ride of shame to get to the outdoor cauldron on the back of a pick up in the rain (Poor Gretz!), the idiot activists in Vancouver, the 18-0 womens hockey score, it has just been tough to say the games have been going as planned. I am sure there is more but this is just off the top of my head as I take a moment to blog.
Thankfully, our amazing athletes have performed well and keep me going back to watch more. I can only imagine the stress they are under and so far they have been trying their hearts out to perform to their bests. I know there is so much emphasis on medals but when you are putting in your top result against this level of competition, you have to feel they have done all they could to proudly represent themselves, their families and the country!
Let's cross our fingers for some better luck for the Olympics.
Larry
February 11, 2010
Gear Review - Sable WaterOptics 101MT
As a rookie swimmer, it is very important for me to have accessories that work properly so that I don’t have to worry about anything other than learning my stroke. When I first started my swimming journey in August 2009, I picked up a cheap pair of goggles from a big box retailer due to the convenience of its location. I knew I needed to start in the pool (I had just signed up for a triathlon that was less than a month away) as soon as possible to adjust from my duathlon ways and prepare for a 650m swim.
With the lower end eye wear, I struggled to find a rhythm in the pool as I was always stopping to adjust, tighten or dump water. I would fog up often and felt as though I was swimming blind through the tight lanes during busy lunch time length swims. I actually ran into two people during this period of darkness while trying to pass slower swimmers. Not cool!
When it came time to race, I actually became so frustrated with my goggles that I pulled them down around my neck and swam without anything over my eyes for 400 metres of the swim leg. I had a horrible time sighting in the small lake and was all over the course. I could not see the people in front of me and was very worried about being hit the entire time I was in the water. Thankfully, those days are over!
Knowing that I had ventured into the water, Syd Trefiak (my triathlon guru), offered up a pair of his Sable WaterOptics 101MT for my use. When I received the package in the mail, I immediately opened the protective carrying case and tried them on just to see what all the buzz was about. At first, the lenses were a little too close together but that was a quick fix thanks to all the adjustable nose pieces that Sable offers with this model. I quickly selected the one that fit best on my face and was amazed by the clarity of the vision. Next step, get them in the water…
That afternoon, I took my new goggles over to the pool to break them in. Right away I could see why so many top athletes are using these goggles. I could see everything in the water so much clearly and with a much larger peripheral scan than before. I started to take my first laps with my new gear and my confidence in the water grew exponentially in seconds. I could see all my fellow swimmers and now had the security in the water as I was no longer afraid that I was going to run into something or someone. After a few laps of my warm up, I noticed the other great thing, no fogging up on the lenses. Usually, when I stopped in the past, I would have to lift my eye wear to get rid of the painful pulling around my eyes and to wash them out to remove the condensation - but not on this day. I left my eye gear on while grabbing a quick break before getting back to business.
The comfort, clarity and confidence these goggles provide has definitely enhanced my swim training experience. It is one less thing I worry about when I visit the water and now all I focus on is my form and the targets ahead of me in the pool. I am extremely thankful that these Sable WaterOptics were recommended to me!
LARRY BRADLEY
With the lower end eye wear, I struggled to find a rhythm in the pool as I was always stopping to adjust, tighten or dump water. I would fog up often and felt as though I was swimming blind through the tight lanes during busy lunch time length swims. I actually ran into two people during this period of darkness while trying to pass slower swimmers. Not cool!
When it came time to race, I actually became so frustrated with my goggles that I pulled them down around my neck and swam without anything over my eyes for 400 metres of the swim leg. I had a horrible time sighting in the small lake and was all over the course. I could not see the people in front of me and was very worried about being hit the entire time I was in the water. Thankfully, those days are over!
Knowing that I had ventured into the water, Syd Trefiak (my triathlon guru), offered up a pair of his Sable WaterOptics 101MT for my use. When I received the package in the mail, I immediately opened the protective carrying case and tried them on just to see what all the buzz was about. At first, the lenses were a little too close together but that was a quick fix thanks to all the adjustable nose pieces that Sable offers with this model. I quickly selected the one that fit best on my face and was amazed by the clarity of the vision. Next step, get them in the water…
That afternoon, I took my new goggles over to the pool to break them in. Right away I could see why so many top athletes are using these goggles. I could see everything in the water so much clearly and with a much larger peripheral scan than before. I started to take my first laps with my new gear and my confidence in the water grew exponentially in seconds. I could see all my fellow swimmers and now had the security in the water as I was no longer afraid that I was going to run into something or someone. After a few laps of my warm up, I noticed the other great thing, no fogging up on the lenses. Usually, when I stopped in the past, I would have to lift my eye wear to get rid of the painful pulling around my eyes and to wash them out to remove the condensation - but not on this day. I left my eye gear on while grabbing a quick break before getting back to business.
The comfort, clarity and confidence these goggles provide has definitely enhanced my swim training experience. It is one less thing I worry about when I visit the water and now all I focus on is my form and the targets ahead of me in the pool. I am extremely thankful that these Sable WaterOptics were recommended to me!
LARRY BRADLEY
February 4, 2010
An Early February Update
Well, nothing too exciting happening in the cool, winter months this off-season around Mississauga. Work has been much busier of late so I have dedicated much more effort there. Also, my better half has been swamped with her job so I have tried to give her more time to concentrate on her work. Add hockey duties to the weekends and some longer training usually saved for Saturdays and Sundays has suffered but that is the balance act required when you are doing triathlon for the love of sport.
To keep things positive, since most aspects of my life are in that state these days, I thought I would quickly post a little list of my recent happenings...
- finally had a nice enough day to take my daughter skating (not too cold but cool enough to have ice outside).
- I have finally cut my diet cola intake in half. I used to drink the stuff exclusively. Added water and some tea (no additives) to the mix.
- I had some nice feedback from my swim coach last week. It is slowly coming but makes a lot more sense these days. I know what I want to do in the pool so it is just a matter of getting the body to do it.
- Syd Trefiak hooked me up with a great pair of Sable goggles which has improved my experiences at the pool. Thanks Syd!
- I have officially hit another level in my running. I looked at my training stats from last year at this time and I am consistently running the same effort around 30 to 40 seconds/km quicker in training. I am confident that I can go faster!
- We are only 52 days (or so) away from the Around the Bay 30k road race. Time to switch over from base training and start to get a little more specific for this distance if I want to go under 2 hours. Was 2:05 last year but a touch heavier and was concentrating on my marathon class.
- I will move into the second season of the 35 to 39 Age Group this week. Still in the lower half of this AG. HAHA
- With the help of my friends and teammates (FMCT), I am starting to enjoy the sport more for the social aspects and not just the competition. I will still try to do my best in each race (you still need to try in the event when you pay as much as we do to race) but missing a training element, or day, is not the end of the world.
- I have read some really good blogs of late so thank you to the others writing great pieces for me to read.
- I have had some amazing chats with some of the guys in the hockey industry about cycling. They even brought me back a wicked tee shirt from Lance's bike shop while they were between games in Texas.
- Using the weights in a smarter fashion this year and not putting on too much extra weight that I carried last spring into the season. I may have been a lot stronger (able to lift and push more pounds) but I was too bulky and heavy. Last year was my first time in the gym to train for multisports and I was watching the other guys and trying to do more than them.
-Just trying to improve one day at a time...I still have 40 more years of this sport to perfect it.
Keep in touch!
Larry
To keep things positive, since most aspects of my life are in that state these days, I thought I would quickly post a little list of my recent happenings...
- finally had a nice enough day to take my daughter skating (not too cold but cool enough to have ice outside).
- I have finally cut my diet cola intake in half. I used to drink the stuff exclusively. Added water and some tea (no additives) to the mix.
- I had some nice feedback from my swim coach last week. It is slowly coming but makes a lot more sense these days. I know what I want to do in the pool so it is just a matter of getting the body to do it.
- Syd Trefiak hooked me up with a great pair of Sable goggles which has improved my experiences at the pool. Thanks Syd!
- I have officially hit another level in my running. I looked at my training stats from last year at this time and I am consistently running the same effort around 30 to 40 seconds/km quicker in training. I am confident that I can go faster!
- We are only 52 days (or so) away from the Around the Bay 30k road race. Time to switch over from base training and start to get a little more specific for this distance if I want to go under 2 hours. Was 2:05 last year but a touch heavier and was concentrating on my marathon class.
- I will move into the second season of the 35 to 39 Age Group this week. Still in the lower half of this AG. HAHA
- With the help of my friends and teammates (FMCT), I am starting to enjoy the sport more for the social aspects and not just the competition. I will still try to do my best in each race (you still need to try in the event when you pay as much as we do to race) but missing a training element, or day, is not the end of the world.
- I have read some really good blogs of late so thank you to the others writing great pieces for me to read.
- I have had some amazing chats with some of the guys in the hockey industry about cycling. They even brought me back a wicked tee shirt from Lance's bike shop while they were between games in Texas.
- Using the weights in a smarter fashion this year and not putting on too much extra weight that I carried last spring into the season. I may have been a lot stronger (able to lift and push more pounds) but I was too bulky and heavy. Last year was my first time in the gym to train for multisports and I was watching the other guys and trying to do more than them.
-Just trying to improve one day at a time...I still have 40 more years of this sport to perfect it.
Keep in touch!
Larry
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