Blog Update

Hi all,


I have a few items to update between Spotlight Postings on my blog so I thought I would get some fresh material up on the site.

I am currently doing a little research on my next guest so hopefully I can get my questions out to the next Local Age Grouper soon so that there is not a large gap between interviews. I would still love to have athletes nominated to put up some new faces so don’t be shy and volunteer a deserving friend today! I would also like to post some local, female triathletes as all the articles to date have been on the male side of the fence.

My next update concerns my injury rehab. It seemed to take most of the winter to clear up but I am running and riding pain free these days so it looks like I will not miss any races due to the nerve issue. It is not 100% but very close and the only symptoms I feel are very mild tightness, usually after driving for long periods of time. I would like to thank everyone for their advice on treatments and home remedies. I will say my Physiotherapist did a very good job at addressing several issues in my back and we will continue to work together to keep things in better working order for the future. Also, the Turmeric that Khizer recommended seems to be helping nicely, once you get past the taste. A spoonful in some green tea does the trick for me!

In other news, I excitedly took on the task of helping out the 30 Somethings relay squad for the YMCA 5k run on May 31st. A speedy friend asked me to join his team and I could not pass up the chance to go after a faster 5k than a few weeks ago. It helps that I like the team concept and the funds go to a great cause. Not sure which split I will run but I think going first would be good so you can see where the competition sits. Later in the race, you will start lapping other teams and get confused in the mix.

With this race, and the Mississauga Half Marathon (May 15) on the schedule for sure, Tyler and I have decided to sit out Victoria’s Duathlon as things are pretty busy for races to start the season. I hate to miss this season opener (I have raced it every year that I have been involved in the sport) but my legs will be mush after the Half Marathon the week before. Milton will now be my first Duathlon of the season which works out well on many levels. This event is a lot closer to home and I always have a bunch of family drop by to watch so I don’t want to miss a chance to race in front of them. I sent my Options to Tyler to see what he thought and this is what we have put together...

*Mississauga Half – May 15

*YMCA 5k – May 31
*Milton Du – June 5
*Guelph Lakes Oly Du – June 19
*Peterborough Half Iron Du – July 10
*Cobourg Oly Du – Aug 13
*Ottawa Half Iron Du – Sept 3
*Lakeside Du – Sept 17


Lastly, I have been working on some product reviews with the help of http://www.endlessendurance.com/ so I should have some neat postings up soon. I have been testing some of their new products during recent training sessions and would like to share my opinion on these supplements/nutritional aids. I hope you find them helpful when you look to introduce some new items to your training routine!

Age Grouper Spotlight - Marco Sadeghi

I am happy to share the first nominated entry in the Age Grouper Spotlight series on my blog. A fellow FMCT Falcon, Kane Picken, mentioned this three time Ironman to me a few weeks ago so I followed up and was thrilled this amazing, local athlete was willing to donate some of his time to participate.

Marco Sadeghi is a very dedicated athlete who drives a lot of motivation through the challenges of everyday life. He has battled through adversity and now uses his training and profession as a positive outlet in his new lifestyle. This Toronto based Personal Trainer is currently gearing up for another run at Ironman Lake Placid and is working hard to add another finisher medal to his collection!

10 Questions with Marco Sadeghi

Q1. What made you enter the world of triathlon?

- I was always an active kid growing up. Even when I look back on my early childhood years, I was always passionate about swimming, my bike and running. I always wanted to be the fastest kid on the block and I always admired the guys that were faster than me.

Although, I enjoyed being competitive growing up, I never considered myself an athlete or took part in any sports teams. I did my first 10km running race in 2005 and I loved everything about it. I appreciated the spectators, the inspiration, and the friendly, encouraging atmosphere of the race – that got me hooked! That same summer, I did my first try-a-tri in Grimbsy and it all began there. Even though it was only about a 45min race, I was very proud of myself for taking part in it. I saw a lot of opportunity for improvement and I wanted to train and learn to go longer!

Q2. What aspect of triathlon takes the most of your energy to improve?

- Swimming! Swimming is one of those sports in which the bio mechanics of it doesn’t come naturally to us. I always find that my form and endurance will suffer the most in swimming, if I haven't practiced it for a short period of time, as compared to cycling or running.

Q3. What would be the first triathlon item you would rush out to buy if you won the lottery?

- Specialized Shiv TT bike! Although, I’m still working on building the engine. It would be embarrassing to get dropped on such a bike. Therefore, riding my 2007 Specialized Transition with carbon forks, seat post and aero bars doesn’t make me feel so bad when I get dropped.

Q4. Which race, anywhere in the world, would you love to compete in?

- Kona, Hawaii – Ironman World Championships. I hear their finisher t-shirt is the best one out there! I love the Ironman distance and I’ve had the opportunity to compete in three of them. Kona is known to be the Mecca of Ironman races. It offers the most challenging racing conditions and the most scenic course for 140.6 miles. I’ve heard great stories about the race from my training mentors over the years. To qualify alone would be such a great accomplishment. Also, it would be a great opportunity to race with the best in the sport.

Q5. When thinking about your triathlon training/racing, to date, what are you most proud of?

- I’m most proud of the lifestyle change training brought into my life. I’ve seen my character develop over the years as training became a habit. I learned the meaning of dedication, perseverance and passion through another channel of energy that was greater than myself and that kept me in the game.

Q6. What is your favourite workout?

- My favourite workout has to be the bike, long run combo! I love brick workouts and running is my strength. When I’m building mileage up for an Ironman, I would do my long ride on the Saturday and go out on the Sunday with an easy ride followed by a long run. The real treat is to finish the weekend with a big run off the bike. This type of training has helped my Ironman marathon greatly over the years.

Q7. Who is your biggest influence in triathlon?

- My biggest influences in triathlon comes from all the coaches and Ironman finishers that I admired since day one of training with the Mississauga Triathlon Club. But to choose one person specifically, it would have to be John Boffin. John is a 6x IM finisher and had competed in Kona twice. I admired him greatly for his accomplishments in the sport and in life. He was a positive influence in my life and always encouraged me. I remember getting killed at my first 2hr spin class with him and I asked him how I did – ‘You are a natural, and I hope to see you next week’ he said. He was a great training partner, coach and friend. He taught me everything I needed to know about racing an Ironman and he always made the time to be there for me.

Q8. How do you set up your training schedule?

- I gather information from all different types of sources. From coaches, articles, studies, and other athletes. Of course, we are all unique and we have to find a training program that works best for us. I always make changes to my training and nutrition to be a better athlete, to train smarter and to continue to incorporate the sport in a balanced way into my life.

Q9. Do you listen to music during training? If yes, what are the top three songs that pump you up for a workout?

- I only listen to music when I’m training in my basement on the trainer. Other than that, I never listen to music when I train outdoors. I enjoy being focused and in the zone either listening to the voice in my head, my bike, nature, or just being alert of the dangers of the riding on the road. However, my top three pump up songs would have to be...

1. Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade
2. Rage Against the Machine – People of the Sun
3. Rage Against the Machine – Revolver

Q10. What would you like to share about yourself to help the readers learn a little more about you?

- I have seen my character develop over the years as I have grown with the sport of triathlon. My values, priorities and outlook on life have changed considerably. Life, much like training is an endless journey. As I push my limits and seek the person I want to become, I continue to discover more about the person that I am.

I have made my share of mistakes with respect to training that caused a negative impact on my life. These mistakes were all in attempt to becoming a better athlete, but unfortunately put my health at risk. I had to learn fast and adjust to get back on the right path to success. One of my Ironman mentors, that I still look up to, once told me ‘sometimes we have to crawl in the valley before we climb the peak’.

We have to take time to learn while we are in the valley. It can be a dark, lonely place at times and the hardest part, much like an Ironman marathon, is to keep taking that step forward. Through perseverance and faith – Anything is Possible!

Thank you Marco! It has been a pleasure getting to know you. Best of luck in 2011!

 

Please visit http://www.alohafit.wordpress.com/ to support this local Triathlete.

Spring into Motion 5k - Race Report

I had this date marked on my calendar a long time ago to get my season started. The Spring into Motion 5k was a perfect race to get my 2011 events rolling as it was super close (to home) and held on a quick, relatively flat course. I wanted to check my speed and overall run progress before hitting the Mississauga Half Marathon in May and thought this would be a perfect chance to do so.

Listening to the weather reports leading up to race day, I could tell we may be in for some trouble and they were not lying! I woke up early and looked out the window to see snow and hail flying across my window. I took a step outside the door and the cold and gusting wind did not impress me at all. At this point, I actually talked myself out of racing and went back to bed.

Thirty minutes later, my daughter came into the room and woke us up. Now it was sunny out so I went back downstairs to check the temperature and the air was much warmer. With a hour to spare until race time, I quickly got geared up and jumped into the car to make my way up to the event site.

Unfortunately, the nice weather was short lived. When I hopped out of the car it was snowing and windy once again but it was too late to turn back now.

After trying to warm up in the elements, I hit the start line and got ready to give it my best. As they sent us off, I settled in behind Tim Shannon (a local speedster who has won this race the past few years) and hoped to escape some of the wind. Being a little larger than Tim, this did not protect me as much as I planned. After a little more than a kilometre we were running slightly uphill and getting hammered by the wind. We hit the first km marker in 3:23 and I was praying that this early effort into the wind would not hurt too much further down the road.

During the next kilometre, there was a tailwind, going downhill so I was sticking very close to the pace I needed for my goal but Tim was starting to pull away from me. I was running alone by the time we started to hit the twisting stretch in the South Georgetown subdivisions.

As my watched beeped to warn me about pace, I could not find the 3km marker (it had been downed by the wind) so I was running a little blind but was pretty sure I was starting to feel the effects of too much effort at the start of the race.

Coming out of a crescent street, my watch alerted me about the 4th goal split. I looked up ahead and found the 4k sign so, at this point, I knew I was not hitting my targets. With a good gap ahead and behind me I could have just eased in to the finish but I knew I needed a solid, full race effort out of this race to judge my current fitness so I kept the pedal down.

The final portion of the course took me across an icy wooden bridge back to the community centre park. In the park there was an asphalt path for the final 500m or so but most of the last sprint would be into the wind.

Just as I was ready to make my final turn, I could hear the cheers for Mr. Shannon as he wrapped up his race in 16:35. I knew I could not get there in less than 25 seconds (to hit my goal), especially, into this silly wind but I gave it every last drop of energy to finish strong.

Final time ended up being 17:24 for 2nd overall. This is 6 seconds slower than my PB from last year but I know the weather added many seconds to this result and really messed with the game plan Tyler and I discussed.

I have to thank Brad and his Feet in Motion crew for putting on another great event in trying conditions. Brad knows how to keep the athletes happy and his prizes are second to nobody!

Check out the video below to see how windy the start was!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_AMMBMP1LU

OAT Bike Insurance Programme - New for 2011

Copied from the OAT Website

The Ontario Association of Triathletes is pleased to introduce OAT's Bike Insurance Programme, the newest benefit for OAT members.

The cost of the equipment necessary to compete in triathlon is high. This is particularly true for bicycles. Unfortunately not all of OAT's members have taken steps to insure their bikes for loss or theft. In OAT's continued effort to provide value, this special programme has been developed for OAT members.

Not only will your bike be covered for loss or theft but OAT has gone one step further and provided the opportunity to insure your bike for damage arising from accidents at OAT sanctioned races. Coverage will be extended to National Junior Series and Championship races held in Canada and sanctioned by Triathlon Canada.

Cost for this coverage is determined by the value of the bicycle - $61.50 for up to $5,000 of coverage and $93.90 for up to $10,000 of coverage.

The period of coverage is tied to the membership year - from April 1, 2011 to March31, 2012.

This low cost OAT Bike Insurance programme was specially designed for OAT members and will be available to full members only. You must be a member BEFORE you apply. The programme will be administered through the OAT office.

Please visit their site for more info and the Application Forms...
http://www.triathlonontario.com/hm/inside.php?id=942

For Sale - Easton Aero Bars

Posting for a Friend.

Easton Aero Bars for Sale $300. Like New

Please contact johnthebikenut at hotmail.com if you have any questions!

Thank you,
Larry