Hard to complain when we finally receive some warm, summer conditions but when we have not had a chance to train in the heat, you know it will become an issue at some stage in the race. Victoria's Duathlon in Waterloo, Ontario is one of the earlier events in the province so the spring temperatures can range year to year. This concern creates the need to start the race later in the morning than usual (11am) to give those cooler years a chance to warm up. Well on this day, we didn't need the extra time to get up to temperature and we were going to hope our bodies adapted quickly.
After getting registered and chatting with some fellow Falcons, I headed to the car to pull out the new ride. It was so new to me that I had not even had a chance to have it fitted or adjusted. To do a speedy self evaluation of the set up, I jumped on the bike and used the car windows as mirrors. I moved the seat positioning around a touch but was far from dialed in.
Transition set up and warm up went smoothly so I used the last few minutes to wish some others good luck and then went to the line to visualize my race. With a strong 2009 in duathlon, I do have a certain amount of confidence in my athletic abilities but when you toe the starting line with the field that assembled on this day, you cannot help but wonder how you will meet some pre-event goals. There hanging out at the front were some of the bigger local names of triathlon ready to tear up the course. This was going to be a tough day…
Once the horn sounded it was time to remain focused and pick my pace. I settled in behind the main lead group knowing many of them could pull off really quick opening runs. I didn't want to over extend myself and was very comfortable leading the chase.
As we closed on the second km marker, I had a few guys make a move up the left side of me. I didn't panic and stayed with my plan. This paid off as my consistent pace allowed me to pull past those runners near the three kilometre sign as they slowed on the gradual uphill. Even though my legs were feeling super light at this point, I remained content to stay put as I was right around the time I was looking to hit for this leg of the race. After four kilometres of running, I was able to hold that position (12th) into transition with a small six second cushion over several athletes.
I was very smooth through transition and came out organized and ready to put my Argon E114 to its first test. Through the opening stretch of hills I held my ground trying to key on some riders ahead. I ended up pushing past one buy lost that spot to a charging Tyler Lord. He was showing his cycling strength and I was not able to match his talents, as usual. HAHA
As I watched him roll away, I found myself in a line with a couple other fellows. This being the race I was hit with a penalty in last year, I did not want to risk a repeat and carefully kept a safe distance from the athlete ahead. This hurt my momentum, without a doubt, as I had to let up a few times when I slowly closed the gap but knew I would be stuck in the draft with a gradual pass. Didn’t help to learn after the race that he had also been DQ’d very early in the ride for a centre line violation so he probably was not pushing to his limits. I would have lost my mind if I was hit for drafting a DQ’d athlete…
During this chess game, I had one other triathlete sail past me. Mark Linseman has always seemed to be a little ahead of me during Subaru events (he in tri and me in du) in the past. Usually, I am able to stay relatively close but on this day he was crushing the bike. I did not like to let him go but I did not feel the power to chase and this was another minor blow to my race plan as I thought I would be able to respond to these attacks during a thirty km bike portion.
By the turn around, I had found a little space about ten lengths behind Mike Greenberg (a former elite triathlete that now competes in my Age Group) so I just kept him in view as I searched for a boost to match last year’s bike effort. Thankfully, the last five clicks are pretty quick so I added some speed to my average as I happily trailed Mr. Greenberg and a few others that had caught us during a cautious lead in to the dismount line.
Even though I performed another respectable transition and had put myself in good shape in the overall scheme of things, my energy levels were hitting a low point as I entered the final four kilometre run. The heat was really starting to be a factor and I had no room for error if I wanted to reach my time target and placing goals.
As I exited the bike corral, I was sitting in twelfth place but saw several cyclists making their final preparations to jump off their bikes. I knew many of the faces and grew very concerned about my position. Shortly into the run I shuffled past one person into eleventh as we started up the only real hill on the run course about five hundred metres from T2. I assumed this position would be as high as I could go due to the running skills of the people ahead of me. As if that realization wasn't morally draining enough, I quickly lost the spot I had just gained to an unknown competitor and he was not sticking around to chat. I had to kick things into gear.
As I made my way out to the midway turn around, I drew on the group heading home along the final two kilometre stretch. They looked so fresh and effortless in their strides. When I finally had my chance to make the turn, I could see I had a small gap to play with. It was a bit of a relief but I still wanted to finish as quickly as my zapped legs could take me.
For the rest of the run I focused on the back of the runner about three hundred metres ahead of me and tried to hold the gap. I did not have the energy to look back so I used the crowd along the final kilometre to gauge chasing athletes. Thankfully, after they clapped for me there was enough of a pause to take any panic out of the last few minutes of the race.
Approaching the finishing chute, the bumpy grass was just too taxing for much of a final sprint. When the event clock came into sight, I could see I would just barely be under last year’s overall time but I was just happy to show some improvement on this very hot day.
In the end (after you take out the two DQ's), I ended up in tenth spot overall and third in my age group. The two ahead of me in the 35-39 AG have raced as elite triathletes in the past so I will take this result. My two run times were seconds off last year’s postings but many of the top people that did this race in 2009 were slower in 2010. I still would have been a lot happier with some improvement on the final run.
On the bike, I did manage a tiny gain year over year at 38.7 km/h from 38.4 km\h. Not too bad for the second time on this bike and lacking a proper fit.
Another nice surprise was the great transitions. I have yet to practice this element of the race this season but things went well so it is a solid building block to start 2010.
All in all, I have several positives to take away from this race. My confidence in the duathlon is where it should be and something I can draw on as soon as I pull through the water leg in upcoming triathlon experiments.
Lastly, I would like to congratulate all the Falcons (Marko, Shanta and Shayne) and the rest of my racing buddies on their great results. Best of luck in 2010!
May 25, 2010
May 21, 2010
May 24 Long Weekend Update
Just received a call from Via Ciclante (Bike Shop in Streetsville, Ontario) and they will be able to pull a huge favour and put together my Argon E114 before the race on Monday. I finally received the DA crank in the mail Friday morning so this was a very last minute request that a few other shops could not accommodate. I totally understand with this being the busy season for them so I do not hold anything against them what so ever. I will just have to hold Via Ciclante a little closer in a loyalty aspect if they are able to pull this off and I can race Victoria's Du come Monday.
To be honest, I was getting worried that I would not compete. The field is looking very strong so I really want to go and see how things are shaping up. I know there will be a few more elites in the race this year so I cannot compare apples to apples in the positioning but my time and placing among non-elite better be improved over last season. It may be a little unrealistic given the fact I will be entering on a bike I have not even tested but I should not use that excuse. I bought this bike as it is faster so I should be able to use improved cycling skills to muscle it to a very comparable time.
In other news, our Falcons' indoor swim sessions have wrapped for the fall/winter and I am pretty happy with my progress. I am not going to be pushing the pace with the big fish of triathlon but I have improved a great deal and have to thank Coach Hans for all the tips and help (and summer home work!!!) he provided over the course of the program. I will now have to find an open water program to jump in with here and there. The schedules are pretty tough to fit into my weekly allocation of free time so I cannot make a solid commitment. The Kelso Open Water folks have a neat little package going so this may be my best option.
On a running note, I put in a very good three week cycle. I was hitting the track paces and getting in all the compulsory aspects of the training. If I am able to keep the weight down for the next few months, I feel good about hitting my short term running goals and think I can push the pace down even more during the summer, leading to the Timberman 70.3.
Well, that is about it for now. Just crossing my fingers for a completed bike tomorrow at 5pm. I can't wait to see the final product as the frame and parts looked fantastic by themselves.
See you in Waterloo!
To be honest, I was getting worried that I would not compete. The field is looking very strong so I really want to go and see how things are shaping up. I know there will be a few more elites in the race this year so I cannot compare apples to apples in the positioning but my time and placing among non-elite better be improved over last season. It may be a little unrealistic given the fact I will be entering on a bike I have not even tested but I should not use that excuse. I bought this bike as it is faster so I should be able to use improved cycling skills to muscle it to a very comparable time.
In other news, our Falcons' indoor swim sessions have wrapped for the fall/winter and I am pretty happy with my progress. I am not going to be pushing the pace with the big fish of triathlon but I have improved a great deal and have to thank Coach Hans for all the tips and help (and summer home work!!!) he provided over the course of the program. I will now have to find an open water program to jump in with here and there. The schedules are pretty tough to fit into my weekly allocation of free time so I cannot make a solid commitment. The Kelso Open Water folks have a neat little package going so this may be my best option.
On a running note, I put in a very good three week cycle. I was hitting the track paces and getting in all the compulsory aspects of the training. If I am able to keep the weight down for the next few months, I feel good about hitting my short term running goals and think I can push the pace down even more during the summer, leading to the Timberman 70.3.
Well, that is about it for now. Just crossing my fingers for a completed bike tomorrow at 5pm. I can't wait to see the final product as the frame and parts looked fantastic by themselves.
See you in Waterloo!
May 14, 2010
Triathlon Spotlight – Bruce Bird – No Limits
When you look into his racing results, it is hard to imagine that this Toronto, Ontario resident has only been at it since 2007. The success Bruce has achieved in only three years makes you wonder, “Where are all the earlier stats”?
Did they just disappear? Did he race under another name?
No, this rising star of the local triathlon scene is still a relative newbie and is attracting a lot of attention event after event. Making the most of an opportunity to meet this driven Age Grouper at a race in Grimsby, during the 2008 season, I realized just how enthusiastic and motivated he was to better himself as an athlete. From our first conversation, I knew he could match my passion for the sport. That is not easy to do.
Bruce started his multisport career with two duathlons in 2007 before jumping into a full schedule of this sibling sport in 2008. Using his awesome cycling power to move into contention during his early races, he ultimately would drop back from the leaders on the final run as he lacked the experience and confidence to push to the next level. His competitive fire would not allow that for much longer and he quickly found out what it takes to be a winner in just his fifth race on the challenging Muskoka Long Course.
This snowballed into a dominating 2008 on the Subaru Duathlon series where he claimed four victories in seven starts. He carried this roll into the Ontario Championships that year, where he pulled off an incredible second place overall finish sandwiched between two of the elite duathletes in the province (Matthew Pieterson and Kevin Smith). Next, he travelled to Montreal to compete in the Canadian Duathlon Championships in the Age Group category. Again, he rose to the occasion and celebrated a silver place showing in only his rookie season of multisport.
Having conquered the Run-Bike-Run, Bruce decided he wanted to test the waters of triathlon in 2009 and he started his swim training in the fall to prepare for the very big jump to the masses of the local triathlon world. As if that was not enough, he also wanted to prove himself in the cycling community and pushed even harder in that discipline to prepare for a grueling year to come.
His efforts paid off in a big way as he had one of the most successful athletic seasons an Age Grouper could hope for. After some early season issues in the water, he found his comfort zone and posted several top five finishes among the experienced elites of the province. One of those being a victory at the Toronto Island Triathlon as well as a second place showing at the Ontario Triathlon Championships (turned to Du because of wild weather). As his confidence grew throughout the year, he used his lessons learned to produce the top Amateur result at the autumn Muskoka 70.3 event. This was a monster feat alongside some of the top Half-Ironman athletes in the world and secured a spot at the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida.
On the cycling stage in 2009, Bruce squeezed in a handful of events in the M2 category with equal success. He started out with a second place finish at the Good Friday RR followed by a huge victory in Niagara the next month. In the 40k TT in Peterborough (M2), he finished a very respectable second and then raced to another huge win at the Provincial RR Championships (M2) before gearing back up for a busy fall of triathlons.
Add in four duathlons and you can see that Mr. Bird loves to race. In those competitions he captured the overall title at the Ontario Duathlon Championship in Gravenhurst and a solid tenth in his Age Group at the World Duathlon Championships in Concord, North Carolina.
I recently caught up with Bruce to ask if he was interested in answering a few questions and he was more than happy to supply the following...
1. You have only been racing duathlon/triathlon since 2007, what brought you to the sport?
Bruce - First it was challenge from a friend of mine from Delaware (Jay Zorn). Then it was a nagging ankle injury from years of Basketball, I needed to change sports.
2. Being a very accomplished cyclist, what makes you such a threat on the bike?
Bruce - Thank you for the compliment. I feel that I am constantly learning how to be a better cyclist; just yesterday (5/12) I had my A$$ handed to me by three of my Wheels of Bloor team-mates during high speed training at Exhibition place. Last year in a 40km Time Trial in Peterborough, Ryan Roth (one of Canada’s best) was five minutes faster than me; as well as a dozen+ other guys who beat me on that day. I take the losses as lessons and use them to spur me on to more intense and focused training sessions. Genetics definitely comes into play as it does in all sports.
3. Who is the pro triathlete that inspires you the most, why?
Bruce - That’s an easy one for me – Simon Whitfield. I loved watching him throw off his hat and turn on the burners in Beijing. He really inspired me with his amazing effort. I am also incredibly impressed with Craig Alexander and his sub 1:12 half marathon in the Muskoka Half Iron in 2009; how did he do that?
4. Like most Age Groupers, you have a full-time job, family and a busy life away from triathlon. What drives you to improve year after year?
Bruce - A competitive spirit, it may be tied in to a midlife crisis of sorts as I want to get faster but inevitably I will be faced with diminish returns as I age.
5. What is your major focus in 2010?
Bruce – 1. I want to have a great result at the Ontario Provincial TT Championships in the 40+ age group. I would also like to close the gap between myself and the top pro in the event (+5minutes to Ryan Roth in 2009). 2. I would like to do well in the NYC Triathlon. 3. I would like to qualify for Half-Ironman Worlds again and finish in the top 3 in my age category. I am probably fooling myself with this one as the drafting situation may make it impossible for me to exploit my strength in the cycling leg as some of my competitors my draft during the bike and save energy to hammer in the run (a strategy that I refuse to follow). 4. I would also like to get a bit closer to the amazing Len Gushe this year – he destroyed me and the entire field last year and he was 46.
6. What is the one thing most of your triathlon buddies would not expect to find out about Bruce Bird?
Bruce - I went to an arts focused high school that had no organized sports until our class formed a Basketball team in grade 10.
7. What is the one element you really need to work a lot harder on to improve you overall results, why?
Bruce - Swim. Last year was my first year competing in Triathlons and I had little swim exposure and experience. I panicked during swims and ultimately gave up huge chunks of time to my competitors. I would love to minimize my losses in the water this year.
8. Is there a triathlon rule that you would like the governing bodies to consider changing? What bugs you about the current ruling?
Bruce - The enforcement and harshness of the drafting rule at the Half Ironman Worlds in Clearwater can be improved. The pros should be racing draft legal for events like that one – that is what is happening anyways.
9. How hard is it for you to stick to a healthy diet?
Bruce - I am hungry all the time, especially after a swim workout and I eat a lot of food. I set a goal of competing at 185lbs this year down from 195lbs last year. My goal was based on physics; lighter with similar power output = faster. I read in Lance Armstrong’s book ‘It’s not about the bike’ where he spoke about how they would not even consider a rider for his team unless they had made every effort to maximize their power to weight ratio. Twice I got down to 185 and twice I got sick. I realized that given my body type and lifestyle, 190 was a more productive weight than 185 even if it meant that I would not be considered for team Radio Shack.
10. What is your biggest achievement in multisport racing?
Bruce - Hopefully it is yet to come. I was happy with being the top amateur at the Muskoka Half-Ironman last year which is a tribute to the level of competition at the event.
Bonus. What is your ultimate multisport goal?
Bruce - After watching Simon in Beijing I secretly imagined myself competing in London in 2012 at the age of 43. Reality Check: The top guys are able to run a 29 minute 10km which is astounding by itself let alone after a 1.5km swim and 40km bike at insane speeds, and I am a part time athlete over 40. I would like to find balance in my life within and outside of multisport and find a way to be in contention for an age group podium spot at a world championship event.
If you would like to follow Bruce on his journey to the top, please check out his blog below.
http://www.brucebird.blogspot.com/
Did they just disappear? Did he race under another name?
No, this rising star of the local triathlon scene is still a relative newbie and is attracting a lot of attention event after event. Making the most of an opportunity to meet this driven Age Grouper at a race in Grimsby, during the 2008 season, I realized just how enthusiastic and motivated he was to better himself as an athlete. From our first conversation, I knew he could match my passion for the sport. That is not easy to do.
Bruce started his multisport career with two duathlons in 2007 before jumping into a full schedule of this sibling sport in 2008. Using his awesome cycling power to move into contention during his early races, he ultimately would drop back from the leaders on the final run as he lacked the experience and confidence to push to the next level. His competitive fire would not allow that for much longer and he quickly found out what it takes to be a winner in just his fifth race on the challenging Muskoka Long Course.
This snowballed into a dominating 2008 on the Subaru Duathlon series where he claimed four victories in seven starts. He carried this roll into the Ontario Championships that year, where he pulled off an incredible second place overall finish sandwiched between two of the elite duathletes in the province (Matthew Pieterson and Kevin Smith). Next, he travelled to Montreal to compete in the Canadian Duathlon Championships in the Age Group category. Again, he rose to the occasion and celebrated a silver place showing in only his rookie season of multisport.
Having conquered the Run-Bike-Run, Bruce decided he wanted to test the waters of triathlon in 2009 and he started his swim training in the fall to prepare for the very big jump to the masses of the local triathlon world. As if that was not enough, he also wanted to prove himself in the cycling community and pushed even harder in that discipline to prepare for a grueling year to come.
His efforts paid off in a big way as he had one of the most successful athletic seasons an Age Grouper could hope for. After some early season issues in the water, he found his comfort zone and posted several top five finishes among the experienced elites of the province. One of those being a victory at the Toronto Island Triathlon as well as a second place showing at the Ontario Triathlon Championships (turned to Du because of wild weather). As his confidence grew throughout the year, he used his lessons learned to produce the top Amateur result at the autumn Muskoka 70.3 event. This was a monster feat alongside some of the top Half-Ironman athletes in the world and secured a spot at the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida.
On the cycling stage in 2009, Bruce squeezed in a handful of events in the M2 category with equal success. He started out with a second place finish at the Good Friday RR followed by a huge victory in Niagara the next month. In the 40k TT in Peterborough (M2), he finished a very respectable second and then raced to another huge win at the Provincial RR Championships (M2) before gearing back up for a busy fall of triathlons.
Add in four duathlons and you can see that Mr. Bird loves to race. In those competitions he captured the overall title at the Ontario Duathlon Championship in Gravenhurst and a solid tenth in his Age Group at the World Duathlon Championships in Concord, North Carolina.
I recently caught up with Bruce to ask if he was interested in answering a few questions and he was more than happy to supply the following...
1. You have only been racing duathlon/triathlon since 2007, what brought you to the sport?
Bruce - First it was challenge from a friend of mine from Delaware (Jay Zorn). Then it was a nagging ankle injury from years of Basketball, I needed to change sports.
2. Being a very accomplished cyclist, what makes you such a threat on the bike?
Bruce - Thank you for the compliment. I feel that I am constantly learning how to be a better cyclist; just yesterday (5/12) I had my A$$ handed to me by three of my Wheels of Bloor team-mates during high speed training at Exhibition place. Last year in a 40km Time Trial in Peterborough, Ryan Roth (one of Canada’s best) was five minutes faster than me; as well as a dozen+ other guys who beat me on that day. I take the losses as lessons and use them to spur me on to more intense and focused training sessions. Genetics definitely comes into play as it does in all sports.
3. Who is the pro triathlete that inspires you the most, why?
Bruce - That’s an easy one for me – Simon Whitfield. I loved watching him throw off his hat and turn on the burners in Beijing. He really inspired me with his amazing effort. I am also incredibly impressed with Craig Alexander and his sub 1:12 half marathon in the Muskoka Half Iron in 2009; how did he do that?
4. Like most Age Groupers, you have a full-time job, family and a busy life away from triathlon. What drives you to improve year after year?
Bruce - A competitive spirit, it may be tied in to a midlife crisis of sorts as I want to get faster but inevitably I will be faced with diminish returns as I age.
5. What is your major focus in 2010?
Bruce – 1. I want to have a great result at the Ontario Provincial TT Championships in the 40+ age group. I would also like to close the gap between myself and the top pro in the event (+5minutes to Ryan Roth in 2009). 2. I would like to do well in the NYC Triathlon. 3. I would like to qualify for Half-Ironman Worlds again and finish in the top 3 in my age category. I am probably fooling myself with this one as the drafting situation may make it impossible for me to exploit my strength in the cycling leg as some of my competitors my draft during the bike and save energy to hammer in the run (a strategy that I refuse to follow). 4. I would also like to get a bit closer to the amazing Len Gushe this year – he destroyed me and the entire field last year and he was 46.
6. What is the one thing most of your triathlon buddies would not expect to find out about Bruce Bird?
Bruce - I went to an arts focused high school that had no organized sports until our class formed a Basketball team in grade 10.
7. What is the one element you really need to work a lot harder on to improve you overall results, why?
Bruce - Swim. Last year was my first year competing in Triathlons and I had little swim exposure and experience. I panicked during swims and ultimately gave up huge chunks of time to my competitors. I would love to minimize my losses in the water this year.
8. Is there a triathlon rule that you would like the governing bodies to consider changing? What bugs you about the current ruling?
Bruce - The enforcement and harshness of the drafting rule at the Half Ironman Worlds in Clearwater can be improved. The pros should be racing draft legal for events like that one – that is what is happening anyways.
9. How hard is it for you to stick to a healthy diet?
Bruce - I am hungry all the time, especially after a swim workout and I eat a lot of food. I set a goal of competing at 185lbs this year down from 195lbs last year. My goal was based on physics; lighter with similar power output = faster. I read in Lance Armstrong’s book ‘It’s not about the bike’ where he spoke about how they would not even consider a rider for his team unless they had made every effort to maximize their power to weight ratio. Twice I got down to 185 and twice I got sick. I realized that given my body type and lifestyle, 190 was a more productive weight than 185 even if it meant that I would not be considered for team Radio Shack.
10. What is your biggest achievement in multisport racing?
Bruce - Hopefully it is yet to come. I was happy with being the top amateur at the Muskoka Half-Ironman last year which is a tribute to the level of competition at the event.
Bonus. What is your ultimate multisport goal?
Bruce - After watching Simon in Beijing I secretly imagined myself competing in London in 2012 at the age of 43. Reality Check: The top guys are able to run a 29 minute 10km which is astounding by itself let alone after a 1.5km swim and 40km bike at insane speeds, and I am a part time athlete over 40. I would like to find balance in my life within and outside of multisport and find a way to be in contention for an age group podium spot at a world championship event.
If you would like to follow Bruce on his journey to the top, please check out his blog below.
http://www.brucebird.blogspot.com/
May 13, 2010
Victoria's Duathlon - 2010 Race Preview
So the count down is on and I am just a touch over a week away from the first race of the Subaru season. To say I am cool and relaxed about this year would be a big lie. I am coming off a strong 2009, for my standards, and have been working hard this off-season to improve on my previous results.
I have added the swim to the mix so I will be tackling a totally different group of opponents. Fields of athletes 4 and 5 times deeper than the duathlons of the past. The triathlons in this area are some of the best local events in the world and the top competitors are fast and amazing to race against. Looking at all the factors, 2010 is going to be tough but the challenge is what drives me.
Thankfully, the first race is only a duathlon (the waters around here are still very frigid) but the season opener attracts a very respectable group of triathletes and duathletes looking to knock the rust off the winter legs. Last year, I had a better than expected result finishing in 17th spot (the stats say 18 but one athlete was DQ'd and still remains on the results page in the top ten), even with a 2:00 minute drafting penalty. My goal was to improve year over year and hit top 25 so this position, and the times that got me there, were a welcoming kick off to 2009.
The times I hit in the three phases of the race are lofty standards to aim for this year. The first run and bike times will be very hard to match (especially if the weather is not as perfect as last year). I hope I can shave a little time off those two but I would be happy to match them and then make the major improvement on the final 4k run. Transition times were also very solid in 2009 so I will shoot to be as smooth again this time through.
2009 - 17th place (of 417) - 4k (13:59) / 30k (46:54) / 4k (15:22) = 1:19:17 (2:00 pen included)
2008 - 40th place (of 512) - 4k (14:37) / 25k (43:10) / 4k (16:32) = 1:16:08 (super windy day)
2007 - 71st place (of 487) - 4k (14:57) / 25k (43:54) / 4k (15:31) = 1:16:36 (3rd duathlon ever)
On May 24th, I hope to settle in with the chasers on the first run and then get rolling on the bike right off the hop. Last year, I was a little tired starting on the bike but caught my grove shortly after receiving my drafting penalty when the anger boiled through the blood.
On the final run, I should be aiming for sub 15 minutes if the conditions are decent. I ran really well last year only losing one spot (to speedy Taylor Reid) but I know my running has improved since last May so I should expect more out of this leg of the race.
As you can see, I hope to make a jump up the results page this year. Tough to tell who may show up for the race so it is hard to call an actual place I am targeting but I would love to be top ten. The real goal is based on time and the battle with myself year over year. I am going to be gunning for sub 1:16:00 (last year was 1:17:17 before the penalty) which should be close to the top ten if the weather and course are apples to apples. As you can see they lengthened the bike portion last year from 25k to 30k so the course is not always exactly the same.
Wish me luck!
Larry
I have added the swim to the mix so I will be tackling a totally different group of opponents. Fields of athletes 4 and 5 times deeper than the duathlons of the past. The triathlons in this area are some of the best local events in the world and the top competitors are fast and amazing to race against. Looking at all the factors, 2010 is going to be tough but the challenge is what drives me.
Thankfully, the first race is only a duathlon (the waters around here are still very frigid) but the season opener attracts a very respectable group of triathletes and duathletes looking to knock the rust off the winter legs. Last year, I had a better than expected result finishing in 17th spot (the stats say 18 but one athlete was DQ'd and still remains on the results page in the top ten), even with a 2:00 minute drafting penalty. My goal was to improve year over year and hit top 25 so this position, and the times that got me there, were a welcoming kick off to 2009.
The times I hit in the three phases of the race are lofty standards to aim for this year. The first run and bike times will be very hard to match (especially if the weather is not as perfect as last year). I hope I can shave a little time off those two but I would be happy to match them and then make the major improvement on the final 4k run. Transition times were also very solid in 2009 so I will shoot to be as smooth again this time through.
2009 - 17th place (of 417) - 4k (13:59) / 30k (46:54) / 4k (15:22) = 1:19:17 (2:00 pen included)
2008 - 40th place (of 512) - 4k (14:37) / 25k (43:10) / 4k (16:32) = 1:16:08 (super windy day)
2007 - 71st place (of 487) - 4k (14:57) / 25k (43:54) / 4k (15:31) = 1:16:36 (3rd duathlon ever)
On May 24th, I hope to settle in with the chasers on the first run and then get rolling on the bike right off the hop. Last year, I was a little tired starting on the bike but caught my grove shortly after receiving my drafting penalty when the anger boiled through the blood.
On the final run, I should be aiming for sub 15 minutes if the conditions are decent. I ran really well last year only losing one spot (to speedy Taylor Reid) but I know my running has improved since last May so I should expect more out of this leg of the race.
As you can see, I hope to make a jump up the results page this year. Tough to tell who may show up for the race so it is hard to call an actual place I am targeting but I would love to be top ten. The real goal is based on time and the battle with myself year over year. I am going to be gunning for sub 1:16:00 (last year was 1:17:17 before the penalty) which should be close to the top ten if the weather and course are apples to apples. As you can see they lengthened the bike portion last year from 25k to 30k so the course is not always exactly the same.
Wish me luck!
Larry
May 8, 2010
The weather outside is weather...
Well, it is ugly out there today so I was lucky to have my favourite ("not so much") track workout scheduled. 6 x 2k intervals is a toughie for me so I was not to sad to take it into the treadmill where I made the machine push me through this run workout. Thank goodness I have a few weeks before the next 6x2k workout as it is a killer.
For the bike, I will end up on the trainer in the garage tonight for a pretty smooth spin. I did want to try a ride outside on Sunday but it looks to be a chilly day in the works. We will see what the afternoon brings.
As for the new Argon E114, I have been pretty lucky to find some decent used Dura-Ace parts to add to the already amazing kit I have purchased. I also found a saddle today on sale at a local bike shop so I have kept things within the budget. Only thing left is a rear bake brake so hopefully everything makes it here in plenty of time to assemble the week before Victoria's. I think "Last Minute" is my middle name so I am not too concerned, yet!
Happy Mothers Day to all the mom, including my grandma, Mom and wife.
Have a great day!
Larry
For the bike, I will end up on the trainer in the garage tonight for a pretty smooth spin. I did want to try a ride outside on Sunday but it looks to be a chilly day in the works. We will see what the afternoon brings.
As for the new Argon E114, I have been pretty lucky to find some decent used Dura-Ace parts to add to the already amazing kit I have purchased. I also found a saddle today on sale at a local bike shop so I have kept things within the budget. Only thing left is a rear bake brake so hopefully everything makes it here in plenty of time to assemble the week before Victoria's. I think "Last Minute" is my middle name so I am not too concerned, yet!
Happy Mothers Day to all the mom, including my grandma, Mom and wife.
Have a great day!
Larry
May 2, 2010
April 30, 2010
April 26, 2010
Run4Hope 5k - Race Report
With the Run4Hope races being held by our triathlon club, Fletcher’s Meadows Cross Trainers, I made myself available before the race to do some set up work. This meant for an early morning start to the day but I was more than happy to assist as I was not able to attend in 2009 due to a work related trip. This year, my trip would start a day after the race so I made sure to be prepared in the days leading up to the event so that I could do as much as possible to help out.
When I arrived at Brampton’s Professor’s Lake Recreation Centre, I was a little early and was able to get a quick tour of the finishing area for the 5k from another club member, Richard Westwood, who was serving as the race director this year. When we wrapped up our walk around the little loop in the wooded area, the others were starting to file in so we quickly got to work on our tasks.
This race is a very important part of the Falcons’ community involvement so it was imperative that we had the race site as organized and user friendly as possible for the participants. This was the first year, in the six year history of the event, that it would be held at this location so we all wanted to make sure all the bases were covered. The turnout of club members, family and friends was amazing and it did not take very long to create the race course and staging areas that the organizing committee had envisioned through the many meetings leading up to this day.
As things appeared to be finalized with the set up, I was able to get my race kit and start my warm up with plenty of time to relax and get mentally ready to tackle my 5k distance. This is not a long distance but when you have an ambitious goal in mind, you have to visualize the game plan before trying to execute on the course.
I slowly jogged the back end of the course where more attention would be required as there’s a smaller loop added to the 3.3k asphalt path that circles the lake. I wanted to make sure I had all the little twists figured out because going through these areas blind can lead to confusion during a race. I have encountered this in the past and using your experiences is a major advantage when it comes to racing.
Being comfortable with the course, I made my way to the starting area and continued my warm up as the others found their spots on the starting grid for the mass start of 5k, 10k runners and 5k walkers that would make up the field. I knew a few of the guys from the sign up lists so I knew I would have some rabbits to chase out on the course. One of them was participating in the 10k and I wasn’t sure how he was going to attack the first loop of his distance so I wanted to make sure not to get caught up in his race.
As we all waited on the line, I talked to one of the young speedsters in the 5k. He told me that his goal was 16:40, much quicker than I would be attempting on this day but it was a good thing to know. I could tell by this gifted athlete’s warm up that he was more experienced than his peers so I wanted to make sure I kept him in sight to help me hit my goal of a sub-18 minute run. Many high school aged runners are very quick but they often lack the pacing and distance control so it is usually not wise to gauge a race based on their starts.
After the usual pre-race announcements and directions, we were set off on our little journey around Professor’s Lake starting with a few quick twists through the centre’s parking lot. The starting line was very crowded with many excited racers so I jumped out of the gate very quickly to find open room. I led through much of the first 200 metres before I dropped into a more manageable tempo and allowed four others to take the lead as we hit the asphalt trail. Among that group was the eventual 10k winner setting a blazing pace that I judged as a touch quick for me to follow. I was pretty sure the others that went by would not be able to hold their current rate of speed and assumed I would eventually move past them if I held a smooth tempo.
We rounded the lake in a counter clockwise fashion, hitting the first km marker along the way in 3:20. This was right on target and I was feeling very strong and confident in holding that speed for much longer than in the past. Usually, I get out of the blocks around this split time only to feel exhausted and watch the seconds tick away split after split. Hopefully, that would not be the case on this day.
Just after the first “k” sign, the young fellow I had spoke to before the race made his move up beside me and slowly began to pull away with a very smooth, efficient stride. With his calm and calculated start, I could tell he had enough running experience to hold this form and finish the race within his goal time so it was a matter of me keeping close. I jumped in behind as we slowly picked off the few runners starting to fade from their overeager beginnings.
We wound through the paths and roads (that were very well controlled and safe, thanks guys and gals!) making up the first three kilometres of the race. The leader’s gap was increasing but I did not feel that I was slowing much so I kept my focus and got ready to make the turn off into the short forest path leading out to North Park Road. I used all the awesome encouragement from the other Falcons along the course to keep motivated and pushed past the four km sign well ahead of my target. There were now only a few tight, quick turns through the walkways in the connecting neighbourhood to negotiate before rejoining the other racers, heading for home.
At this point, I was running alone in second and was very close to the finish area. I had enough in the tank to turn things up a notch and swiftly navigated through the gravel path in the forested area before hitting the parking lot, bursting into a final sprint for the line. I could not make out the “seconds” number counting up on the display clock but could see a seventeen in the minute column. I did not want to let off the gas as I appeared to have my goal in reach. After I crossed the line our race MC, Rob McCue, announced my time at 17:20 (along with a few other nice comments, Thanks Rob!). It was forty-five seconds quicker than my previous best at this distance and I was thrilled with my effort.
After taking five months off from racing, and missing Around the Bay, I was really itching to race and this was the first real opportunity to fit into my schedule. I was confident that my training had improved my running since last year but, when you are often running on tired legs during workouts, it is tough to know exactly what to expect on fresh legs.
Hopefully, this is a sign of many great things to come this season as I continue my preparations for the upcoming summer triathlons and my goal race at Timberman 70.3.
I would like to applaud the Falcons’ race committee for organizing a top notch event. You folks did a great job bringing the race to a new location and we able to continue the strong, growing tradition that is the Run4Hope. Congrats!
Also, the volunteers and Professor’s Lake staff did an amazing job all day and deserve a big round of applause for helping make this event a huge success. A running friend of mine, Sheldon Gragg (“Doonst” of runningmania.com fame) was very kind to set aside some of his Sunday morning and assist the cause so I would like thank him as well!
Great work folks!
When I arrived at Brampton’s Professor’s Lake Recreation Centre, I was a little early and was able to get a quick tour of the finishing area for the 5k from another club member, Richard Westwood, who was serving as the race director this year. When we wrapped up our walk around the little loop in the wooded area, the others were starting to file in so we quickly got to work on our tasks.
This race is a very important part of the Falcons’ community involvement so it was imperative that we had the race site as organized and user friendly as possible for the participants. This was the first year, in the six year history of the event, that it would be held at this location so we all wanted to make sure all the bases were covered. The turnout of club members, family and friends was amazing and it did not take very long to create the race course and staging areas that the organizing committee had envisioned through the many meetings leading up to this day.
As things appeared to be finalized with the set up, I was able to get my race kit and start my warm up with plenty of time to relax and get mentally ready to tackle my 5k distance. This is not a long distance but when you have an ambitious goal in mind, you have to visualize the game plan before trying to execute on the course.
I slowly jogged the back end of the course where more attention would be required as there’s a smaller loop added to the 3.3k asphalt path that circles the lake. I wanted to make sure I had all the little twists figured out because going through these areas blind can lead to confusion during a race. I have encountered this in the past and using your experiences is a major advantage when it comes to racing.
Being comfortable with the course, I made my way to the starting area and continued my warm up as the others found their spots on the starting grid for the mass start of 5k, 10k runners and 5k walkers that would make up the field. I knew a few of the guys from the sign up lists so I knew I would have some rabbits to chase out on the course. One of them was participating in the 10k and I wasn’t sure how he was going to attack the first loop of his distance so I wanted to make sure not to get caught up in his race.
As we all waited on the line, I talked to one of the young speedsters in the 5k. He told me that his goal was 16:40, much quicker than I would be attempting on this day but it was a good thing to know. I could tell by this gifted athlete’s warm up that he was more experienced than his peers so I wanted to make sure I kept him in sight to help me hit my goal of a sub-18 minute run. Many high school aged runners are very quick but they often lack the pacing and distance control so it is usually not wise to gauge a race based on their starts.
After the usual pre-race announcements and directions, we were set off on our little journey around Professor’s Lake starting with a few quick twists through the centre’s parking lot. The starting line was very crowded with many excited racers so I jumped out of the gate very quickly to find open room. I led through much of the first 200 metres before I dropped into a more manageable tempo and allowed four others to take the lead as we hit the asphalt trail. Among that group was the eventual 10k winner setting a blazing pace that I judged as a touch quick for me to follow. I was pretty sure the others that went by would not be able to hold their current rate of speed and assumed I would eventually move past them if I held a smooth tempo.
We rounded the lake in a counter clockwise fashion, hitting the first km marker along the way in 3:20. This was right on target and I was feeling very strong and confident in holding that speed for much longer than in the past. Usually, I get out of the blocks around this split time only to feel exhausted and watch the seconds tick away split after split. Hopefully, that would not be the case on this day.
Just after the first “k” sign, the young fellow I had spoke to before the race made his move up beside me and slowly began to pull away with a very smooth, efficient stride. With his calm and calculated start, I could tell he had enough running experience to hold this form and finish the race within his goal time so it was a matter of me keeping close. I jumped in behind as we slowly picked off the few runners starting to fade from their overeager beginnings.
We wound through the paths and roads (that were very well controlled and safe, thanks guys and gals!) making up the first three kilometres of the race. The leader’s gap was increasing but I did not feel that I was slowing much so I kept my focus and got ready to make the turn off into the short forest path leading out to North Park Road. I used all the awesome encouragement from the other Falcons along the course to keep motivated and pushed past the four km sign well ahead of my target. There were now only a few tight, quick turns through the walkways in the connecting neighbourhood to negotiate before rejoining the other racers, heading for home.
At this point, I was running alone in second and was very close to the finish area. I had enough in the tank to turn things up a notch and swiftly navigated through the gravel path in the forested area before hitting the parking lot, bursting into a final sprint for the line. I could not make out the “seconds” number counting up on the display clock but could see a seventeen in the minute column. I did not want to let off the gas as I appeared to have my goal in reach. After I crossed the line our race MC, Rob McCue, announced my time at 17:20 (along with a few other nice comments, Thanks Rob!). It was forty-five seconds quicker than my previous best at this distance and I was thrilled with my effort.
After taking five months off from racing, and missing Around the Bay, I was really itching to race and this was the first real opportunity to fit into my schedule. I was confident that my training had improved my running since last year but, when you are often running on tired legs during workouts, it is tough to know exactly what to expect on fresh legs.
Hopefully, this is a sign of many great things to come this season as I continue my preparations for the upcoming summer triathlons and my goal race at Timberman 70.3.
I would like to applaud the Falcons’ race committee for organizing a top notch event. You folks did a great job bringing the race to a new location and we able to continue the strong, growing tradition that is the Run4Hope. Congrats!
Also, the volunteers and Professor’s Lake staff did an amazing job all day and deserve a big round of applause for helping make this event a huge success. A running friend of mine, Sheldon Gragg (“Doonst” of runningmania.com fame) was very kind to set aside some of his Sunday morning and assist the cause so I would like thank him as well!
Great work folks!
April 19, 2010
5 Months feels too long...
It has been 5 full months since my last event (Egg Nog Jog 10.8k) so I am itching to get back into the game. I have been training quite a bit and am happy with many aspects of my overall fitness so it should be interesting to see how I do.
This weekend, my triathlon club (FMCT) will be hosting the Run4Hope races at Professors Lake in Brampton, Ontario. There will be 5k and 10k distances to pick from and I think I will start off at the 5k level for 2010. Given that Victoria's Duathlon in May will be a shorter, sprint style race, I want to let the legs go and see if I can break that darn 18 minute barrier. I only ran one 5k race last season and it was the X-Country event in Guelph last fall so the course was not too speedy and the other times I have run the distance lately have been in duathlons, so I don't count them (distances are not always true, effort is not maximum due to other stages of the event, etc.)
Check out the web site for details...
http://run4hope.com/
Also, I will be out in Vancouver next week for work. I will have a few mornings to run in Stanley Park so if anyone else is up at around 6am (west time) let me know and we can hit the park for a few km's. Email me if you are interested at larrybradleytoronto@yahoo.ca. I think I will be able to run Tues, Wed and Thurs (depending on time of flight). If anyone has an extra bike, maybe we could get a ride in instead...
This weekend, my triathlon club (FMCT) will be hosting the Run4Hope races at Professors Lake in Brampton, Ontario. There will be 5k and 10k distances to pick from and I think I will start off at the 5k level for 2010. Given that Victoria's Duathlon in May will be a shorter, sprint style race, I want to let the legs go and see if I can break that darn 18 minute barrier. I only ran one 5k race last season and it was the X-Country event in Guelph last fall so the course was not too speedy and the other times I have run the distance lately have been in duathlons, so I don't count them (distances are not always true, effort is not maximum due to other stages of the event, etc.)
Check out the web site for details...
http://run4hope.com/
Also, I will be out in Vancouver next week for work. I will have a few mornings to run in Stanley Park so if anyone else is up at around 6am (west time) let me know and we can hit the park for a few km's. Email me if you are interested at larrybradleytoronto@yahoo.ca. I think I will be able to run Tues, Wed and Thurs (depending on time of flight). If anyone has an extra bike, maybe we could get a ride in instead...
April 16, 2010
3 down, thousands to go...
This week, I finally took myself to task and pulled my lazy butt out of bed to start this morning workout routine I have been talking about for the longest time. The first morning (Tuesday) was a tempo ride so I was a little worried that I would not have the usual energy to push my limits. After a small warm up I actually got up to speed and had a very decent effort.
Unfortunately, I missed my planned lunch time workout due to work meetings so I had to move my schedule around and ended up getting in a run that night. I made sure to go for the run earlier than my old ways but it still seemed to affect the next morning as I squashed the idea of an early morning minutes before the alarm was to go off and enjoyed some more zzz's. I eventually put in a solid, lunch time swim but could not muster up anything that evening after the rest of the family turned in for the night.
Missing a second workout motivated me the next morning (Thursday) and I decided to fit in my track session at this point. A few km warm up to the track and then 10x400m was completed followed by a cool down back home, the long way. To be honest, the track workout did not go so bad. I am not sure that I want to do many speed workouts as my early workout but at least I am feeling better about the option. Only thing that really threw me off on this workout was the damn Garmin 405! So annoying when it gets wet. Add in a nice, controlled lunch time bike ride and then our club swim just after supper and I was looking for bed much earlier than usual which worked well for the next day.
I was amazed to wake up 15 minutes before the alarm and I was feeling ready to roll. I geared up and headed out to the great spring morning. It is the first time this year (that I have noticed) that it has been warm and fresh right away. The last few weeks have started out chilly (on my very short ride/commute to work), eventually getting warm by lunch time. This was a pleasant surprise as I was having issues locating my tech hoodie for under my helmet and did not want to waste time or wake anyone looking for the darn thing.
After yesterday's workouts, I knew I was in for a slower ride but I still wanted to put in some solid pushed along the way. Standing still, the wind seemed non-existent but it really seemed to be against me for the first portion of the tour. I kept rolling along into wind hoping I would benefit on the way home. Thankfully, it did and I was able to fly across the last few roads leading back to our house pushing up the overall average. I actually did not expect to hit that this morning so I was happy about the effort, without over doing it.
Now, I just have to keep things in order (no late night runs/rides this weekend!) and stay in the routine I seem to be settling into.
Just before I sign off, Best of luck to all those in Boston next week! Have a great race and enjoy the experience.
Larry
Unfortunately, I missed my planned lunch time workout due to work meetings so I had to move my schedule around and ended up getting in a run that night. I made sure to go for the run earlier than my old ways but it still seemed to affect the next morning as I squashed the idea of an early morning minutes before the alarm was to go off and enjoyed some more zzz's. I eventually put in a solid, lunch time swim but could not muster up anything that evening after the rest of the family turned in for the night.
Missing a second workout motivated me the next morning (Thursday) and I decided to fit in my track session at this point. A few km warm up to the track and then 10x400m was completed followed by a cool down back home, the long way. To be honest, the track workout did not go so bad. I am not sure that I want to do many speed workouts as my early workout but at least I am feeling better about the option. Only thing that really threw me off on this workout was the damn Garmin 405! So annoying when it gets wet. Add in a nice, controlled lunch time bike ride and then our club swim just after supper and I was looking for bed much earlier than usual which worked well for the next day.
I was amazed to wake up 15 minutes before the alarm and I was feeling ready to roll. I geared up and headed out to the great spring morning. It is the first time this year (that I have noticed) that it has been warm and fresh right away. The last few weeks have started out chilly (on my very short ride/commute to work), eventually getting warm by lunch time. This was a pleasant surprise as I was having issues locating my tech hoodie for under my helmet and did not want to waste time or wake anyone looking for the darn thing.
After yesterday's workouts, I knew I was in for a slower ride but I still wanted to put in some solid pushed along the way. Standing still, the wind seemed non-existent but it really seemed to be against me for the first portion of the tour. I kept rolling along into wind hoping I would benefit on the way home. Thankfully, it did and I was able to fly across the last few roads leading back to our house pushing up the overall average. I actually did not expect to hit that this morning so I was happy about the effort, without over doing it.
Now, I just have to keep things in order (no late night runs/rides this weekend!) and stay in the routine I seem to be settling into.
Just before I sign off, Best of luck to all those in Boston next week! Have a great race and enjoy the experience.
Larry
April 13, 2010
Plugging along...
Last time I mentioned that I was just getting in a bunch of workouts but not really sticking to a plan. It is a week later, and the work load from my daytime job is pretty high these days so I have not found time to sit down and design my plan of attack. Although, I kind of like being flexible, I also feel that I may be falling behind others who may be going through their proper periodizations and weekly routines. Sometimes my head just spins trying to think what is best for my goals this season.
Only thing I really know these days is that I want to get faster. Much, much faster! I am not sure what fuels it and I am not sure if it is always the best way to look at the sport but that is my current mental make up. I would love to just train for fun and race for fun but it is not how it plays out. I do not look at the people that can just enjoy it as a fun time any differently. I totally respect their direction and believe each person has their own agenda but something deep inside my head (if I had a brain I would have used that in place of head...) tells me to go fast, try as hard as possible, push. I guess that is why I have seen decent improvements in the short time spent in the sport (but may sit a little too close to the edge of the dreaded burn out)...
Sometimes, when I do get the opportunity to train with the group, or other friends, I feel I am trying too hard and hope they don't think I am showing off. It is just the way I ride, run, swim. There is always going to be an effort but I am still having fun so I hope nobody takes it the wrong way.
Love to hear anyone else's thoughts or suggestions for my game plan?
Take care,
LB
Only thing I really know these days is that I want to get faster. Much, much faster! I am not sure what fuels it and I am not sure if it is always the best way to look at the sport but that is my current mental make up. I would love to just train for fun and race for fun but it is not how it plays out. I do not look at the people that can just enjoy it as a fun time any differently. I totally respect their direction and believe each person has their own agenda but something deep inside my head (if I had a brain I would have used that in place of head...) tells me to go fast, try as hard as possible, push. I guess that is why I have seen decent improvements in the short time spent in the sport (but may sit a little too close to the edge of the dreaded burn out)...
Sometimes, when I do get the opportunity to train with the group, or other friends, I feel I am trying too hard and hope they don't think I am showing off. It is just the way I ride, run, swim. There is always going to be an effort but I am still having fun so I hope nobody takes it the wrong way.
Love to hear anyone else's thoughts or suggestions for my game plan?
Take care,
LB
April 7, 2010
Post Easter Update
Well, it has been a few weeks between blog updates. Mainly because I really have not had a heck of a lot of interesting news. I have been working a lot, hanging out with family and keeping up my training during the opportunities that pop up.
To start, I missed the Around the Bay 30k road race. When a race forces me to sign up extra early, I often forget the dates so many weeks ago, when my wife mentioned that she had a work related getaway, the weekend she stated didn't seem too important. The week before the race we discussed our upcoming plans and realized we had a conflict. I am not too SMRT.
As I was no longer going to run that race, I decided it was time to get serious about the bike. Since I was running so much during training (in order to break 2 hours at ATB), I was afraid I was going to be very far behind last year in terms of bike fitness. Thankfully, the speed is still there but I really have to work on maintaining the effort on the medium (40k to 60k) distances. Thanks to the great weather we have had in the Mississauga area, I have been able to abandon the trainer and experience the preferred resistance of the roads.
This is key for me as I never quite trust the resistance settings on the trainer or life cycles at the gym. Until you add the wind and hills, it just seems to be too much of a guessing game. In the past week the wind has really picked up and added some extra leg zapping gusts. In previous years, I would have been upset, thinking the wind was ruining my ride. Now, I have learned to use this element to push hard and battle to add even more blocks to my bike fitness.
Yesterday, for example, I wanted to gets some hill work in on the bike but only had a small window of time to ride. As the wind was blowing up a storm from the west, I decided to grind it out with a massive effort towards Milton. This 20k stretch is very flat but with the force of the wind I could use this road close to my home to work on some tough resistance training. I knew the ride back would be a piece of cake so I put in a very big push for the entire first half and my legs were cooking by the time I reached the halfway mark.
I then took a quick water break and then turned around with the aid of the wind. I did not totally relax. I am always trying to see just how fast the wind can take me so I hamered a solid ride home as well. Too add some extra miles, I zoomed around the Erin Mills portion of town and ended up with a nice 50k tester before heading home for supper.
With the triathlon season less than two month away, I really need to sit down and hammer out a strong plan as I have been free training on top of my run program I was working on. I know the basics of the plan but I need to get organized and stick to it, although, the flexible approach right now is not too bad as there have been gains and I am not lacking the effort in my sessions. The biggest component would be to add some more rest, if anything.
In an attempt to become more of a morning person...
If anyone is interested in an early Monday morning (say 6:00am) track session or short ride, please let me know. I need the motivation of another person to make sure I get out of bed. Right now, Monday (up until race season) is my best day as I do not have to get the kids ready for day care. If it is another day of the week, I would have to make sure to be home by 7:00am (sorry for the boring details).
Talk soon,
Larry
To start, I missed the Around the Bay 30k road race. When a race forces me to sign up extra early, I often forget the dates so many weeks ago, when my wife mentioned that she had a work related getaway, the weekend she stated didn't seem too important. The week before the race we discussed our upcoming plans and realized we had a conflict. I am not too SMRT.
As I was no longer going to run that race, I decided it was time to get serious about the bike. Since I was running so much during training (in order to break 2 hours at ATB), I was afraid I was going to be very far behind last year in terms of bike fitness. Thankfully, the speed is still there but I really have to work on maintaining the effort on the medium (40k to 60k) distances. Thanks to the great weather we have had in the Mississauga area, I have been able to abandon the trainer and experience the preferred resistance of the roads.
This is key for me as I never quite trust the resistance settings on the trainer or life cycles at the gym. Until you add the wind and hills, it just seems to be too much of a guessing game. In the past week the wind has really picked up and added some extra leg zapping gusts. In previous years, I would have been upset, thinking the wind was ruining my ride. Now, I have learned to use this element to push hard and battle to add even more blocks to my bike fitness.
Yesterday, for example, I wanted to gets some hill work in on the bike but only had a small window of time to ride. As the wind was blowing up a storm from the west, I decided to grind it out with a massive effort towards Milton. This 20k stretch is very flat but with the force of the wind I could use this road close to my home to work on some tough resistance training. I knew the ride back would be a piece of cake so I put in a very big push for the entire first half and my legs were cooking by the time I reached the halfway mark.
I then took a quick water break and then turned around with the aid of the wind. I did not totally relax. I am always trying to see just how fast the wind can take me so I hamered a solid ride home as well. Too add some extra miles, I zoomed around the Erin Mills portion of town and ended up with a nice 50k tester before heading home for supper.
With the triathlon season less than two month away, I really need to sit down and hammer out a strong plan as I have been free training on top of my run program I was working on. I know the basics of the plan but I need to get organized and stick to it, although, the flexible approach right now is not too bad as there have been gains and I am not lacking the effort in my sessions. The biggest component would be to add some more rest, if anything.
In an attempt to become more of a morning person...
If anyone is interested in an early Monday morning (say 6:00am) track session or short ride, please let me know. I need the motivation of another person to make sure I get out of bed. Right now, Monday (up until race season) is my best day as I do not have to get the kids ready for day care. If it is another day of the week, I would have to make sure to be home by 7:00am (sorry for the boring details).
Talk soon,
Larry
March 21, 2010
Buying Expensive Gear to Save Race Weight?
I have been reading a lot about new gadgets and gear lately. It is the Spring thing to do with all the 2010 Gear Issues out on news stands.
What has really hit me of late is the cost of these new pieces of equipment, usually re-designed to cut weight.
Here is my quick take…before you go out and spend an extra $300 to $700 to replace your stock brakes (just one example) to save 200 grams, consider what you are carrying in the first place.
Do you carry too much water or gatorade on your bike? Chances are you have filled up a few bottles (to the rim) for a sprint triathlon or duathlon. Remember that 1 litre of water is roughly 1000 grams of weight added to your ride ( http://health.howstuffworks.com/question227.htm ).
Since most races have water stations out on the run portion, you really should not need that much liquid on the bike, unless it is a super hot day.
What else do you have on your race kit that you really do not need that would save you weight before spending a small fortune?
What has really hit me of late is the cost of these new pieces of equipment, usually re-designed to cut weight.
Here is my quick take…before you go out and spend an extra $300 to $700 to replace your stock brakes (just one example) to save 200 grams, consider what you are carrying in the first place.
Do you carry too much water or gatorade on your bike? Chances are you have filled up a few bottles (to the rim) for a sprint triathlon or duathlon. Remember that 1 litre of water is roughly 1000 grams of weight added to your ride ( http://health.howstuffworks.com/question227.htm ).
Since most races have water stations out on the run portion, you really should not need that much liquid on the bike, unless it is a super hot day.
What else do you have on your race kit that you really do not need that would save you weight before spending a small fortune?
March 12, 2010
Friday Update
It's the weekend and, although they are calling for rain, the mild temperatures make it worth looking forward to. I also have the weekend away from hockey as the boys are on the road. This means lots of quality family time but also a few more hours to squeeze in some extra training. Hopefully, the roads will be in decent enough shape that I can pump out a nice, outdoor ride on Saturday. I really need to get the riding hours up soon and this may be the perfect time to start.
I took advantage of the great spring conditions all this week at lunch and my hour long rides are feeling strong so it is a matter of putting in some longer efforts, slowly leading into the larger distance races of mid to late summer. Looking at the competitors in the triathlon, I am going to need to build on last years bike times. This may be tough as I was up with the top age groupers last year, with the elites a few km/h ahead of us.
Since my swimming is bound to be slower than my rivals, it is very important to get faster on the bike and run even faster than last year. Thankfully, I ended up cycling and running beside many of these guys as I raced the duathlon. After the first leg of the du we all became mixed in with the triathlon event so I know what they have to offer. Unfortunately, for me, they are fast on the bike and on the run. If I want to stay competitve in the sport this year, I will have to really buckle down and train as hard as I am capable.
So now that I am finished my self motivational talk, I can get to the update...
At our weekly club swim last night, I was very happy with my training during our interval work. I picked a workout in the middle of the speed chart and was actually touching the wall early enough to enjoy longer breaks between intervals than expected. During this portion of the training we did 3 x 100m on 2:00, 100m easy, 4 x 50 on 1:00, 50m easy, 3 x 100m on 2:15, 100 easy, 4 x 50m on 0:55, 50 easy. I know this is slow to most but my splits were much quicker than I have been doing so, if this is a faster trend in my progress, I will be able to jump up a level and shorten the breaks.
Not bad for a guy that hit the water for the very first time in August. At least that is what I think. HAHA
Running has been very productive for quite a few weeks now and I am sticking with my plan for the 30k Around the Bay race a few weeks away. I believe I am where I need to be so it will be a matter of executing the game plan come March 28th. I know a couple of the guys in the club will be running quickly so we may all be sitting together in a group so I hope we can work as a team and push ourselves to the line in our goal time under 2 hours.
Cycling, as mentioned above, has not received the focus that I would like but I believe there is time. I have a great program I may use starting around 8 to 9 weeks out from Victoria's Duathlon. Very intense cycling on fewer days which may suit the extra time needed to swim. I have it on pretty good authority that this program can be manipulated into the triathlon plan but is only good for a few cycles (11 weeks per cycle) per year.
Well, that's it in a nut shell. Hope I see some of you out enjoying the mild weather this weekend!
I took advantage of the great spring conditions all this week at lunch and my hour long rides are feeling strong so it is a matter of putting in some longer efforts, slowly leading into the larger distance races of mid to late summer. Looking at the competitors in the triathlon, I am going to need to build on last years bike times. This may be tough as I was up with the top age groupers last year, with the elites a few km/h ahead of us.
Since my swimming is bound to be slower than my rivals, it is very important to get faster on the bike and run even faster than last year. Thankfully, I ended up cycling and running beside many of these guys as I raced the duathlon. After the first leg of the du we all became mixed in with the triathlon event so I know what they have to offer. Unfortunately, for me, they are fast on the bike and on the run. If I want to stay competitve in the sport this year, I will have to really buckle down and train as hard as I am capable.
So now that I am finished my self motivational talk, I can get to the update...
At our weekly club swim last night, I was very happy with my training during our interval work. I picked a workout in the middle of the speed chart and was actually touching the wall early enough to enjoy longer breaks between intervals than expected. During this portion of the training we did 3 x 100m on 2:00, 100m easy, 4 x 50 on 1:00, 50m easy, 3 x 100m on 2:15, 100 easy, 4 x 50m on 0:55, 50 easy. I know this is slow to most but my splits were much quicker than I have been doing so, if this is a faster trend in my progress, I will be able to jump up a level and shorten the breaks.
Not bad for a guy that hit the water for the very first time in August. At least that is what I think. HAHA
Running has been very productive for quite a few weeks now and I am sticking with my plan for the 30k Around the Bay race a few weeks away. I believe I am where I need to be so it will be a matter of executing the game plan come March 28th. I know a couple of the guys in the club will be running quickly so we may all be sitting together in a group so I hope we can work as a team and push ourselves to the line in our goal time under 2 hours.
Cycling, as mentioned above, has not received the focus that I would like but I believe there is time. I have a great program I may use starting around 8 to 9 weeks out from Victoria's Duathlon. Very intense cycling on fewer days which may suit the extra time needed to swim. I have it on pretty good authority that this program can be manipulated into the triathlon plan but is only good for a few cycles (11 weeks per cycle) per year.
Well, that's it in a nut shell. Hope I see some of you out enjoying the mild weather this weekend!
March 7, 2010
Chilly Half Marathon LeaderBoard
Wow, what a results board for todays Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington! Just looking at the first few pages, I can see so many great times by people I know, train with or have chatted with at some race over the past few months.
Seeing all the impressive times by the likes of Greg McNabb, Adrian Lawson, Tyler Lord, Marko Durbic, Mike Bosch, Brian Hastings, Jowenne Hererra, Richard Westwood, Bill Vieira, Jim Dalzell and Tommy Ferris has me wondering where i would have landed at this point in time. Great running everyone!
When I first looked at the results I was a little bumbed out that I could not run today, due to work. Also, I had been to the bike show earlier in the day and walked away from an amazing deal on a carbon frame for a road bike that would have stretched the budget these days and would not have been a smart spend at this time. House work (garage door) is priority right now and I really had to remind myself that the dog house is very cold at this time of the year.
There were so many other great deals to be had, even mid-way through Sunday. Even the Dura-Ace components in some of the booths were going for 75% off. So what if they are a year or two behind in the model number, to save that amount on quality parts to put on the bike you train with is quite a deal. As you can imagine, the "what ifs" of the day had me a little down at night.
Thankfully, I pulled myself off the couch and suited up for a solid, long run with hills. I ended up doing 22 km and even held the pace as my final 12km were into the wind and mainly uphill. The wind was pretty chilly at this point of the night so I am now just trying to warm up and relax enough to hit the hay.
Anyway, just wanted to say Congrats to all the solid runs put in today by those I know! Can't wait to read all the reports.
Keep up the great work!
Larry
Seeing all the impressive times by the likes of Greg McNabb, Adrian Lawson, Tyler Lord, Marko Durbic, Mike Bosch, Brian Hastings, Jowenne Hererra, Richard Westwood, Bill Vieira, Jim Dalzell and Tommy Ferris has me wondering where i would have landed at this point in time. Great running everyone!
When I first looked at the results I was a little bumbed out that I could not run today, due to work. Also, I had been to the bike show earlier in the day and walked away from an amazing deal on a carbon frame for a road bike that would have stretched the budget these days and would not have been a smart spend at this time. House work (garage door) is priority right now and I really had to remind myself that the dog house is very cold at this time of the year.
There were so many other great deals to be had, even mid-way through Sunday. Even the Dura-Ace components in some of the booths were going for 75% off. So what if they are a year or two behind in the model number, to save that amount on quality parts to put on the bike you train with is quite a deal. As you can imagine, the "what ifs" of the day had me a little down at night.
Thankfully, I pulled myself off the couch and suited up for a solid, long run with hills. I ended up doing 22 km and even held the pace as my final 12km were into the wind and mainly uphill. The wind was pretty chilly at this point of the night so I am now just trying to warm up and relax enough to hit the hay.
Anyway, just wanted to say Congrats to all the solid runs put in today by those I know! Can't wait to read all the reports.
Keep up the great work!
Larry
March 2, 2010
Is spring coming?
Well, we have had a little bit of every thing weather wise of late. Some snow, some sun, some mild temps and some cool temps. It was only 8 days ago that I saw so many riders out enjoying clear roads and plus 6 degree temps in our area. I had so many things on the go that week that I needed to focus on family so I passed on a long ride with the guys. Hoping last weekend would turn out similar, I was disappointed when all the snow came down leading into the weekend and spoiling the clean roads and ruining my riding plans. Oh well, it looks like we are in for some spring like weather here shortly.
Putting in all the training and seeing the run results (on the web) coming along has me itching to race. I am signed up for the Around the Bay road race at the end of the month but I would really love to get in a 5k run to see where I sit these days. I feel ahead of last yeat right now on my run and even on my bike, which is very nice considering I am also making time to swim. This is dipping into my time allotment and something I did not have to schedule in the past but I am really starting to enjoy the learning process involved.
I have talked about my running and swimming in the past few weeks but I am just starting to see some cycling comparisons. It may not be on the actual roads but between the trainer and the life cycle, it is looking like my sprint distance conditioning is a little further along at this point of the off-season. I am pushing more power on the life cycle (still have not built a budget for a power metre on my real wheels) in very comparable test year over year so it is now time to start building the length of the rides with sustained power. With a nice base in place, I am starting to get confident that my triathlon cycling speed will increase this season.
Well, time to get out and run. Sorry nothing too exciting to write about but just wanted to put a little pen to paper this week.
PS - I will miss Poni's class! He may have not been the greatest Leaf but nice guys like number 23 made work so much easier back in the day. Good luck Poni!
Putting in all the training and seeing the run results (on the web) coming along has me itching to race. I am signed up for the Around the Bay road race at the end of the month but I would really love to get in a 5k run to see where I sit these days. I feel ahead of last yeat right now on my run and even on my bike, which is very nice considering I am also making time to swim. This is dipping into my time allotment and something I did not have to schedule in the past but I am really starting to enjoy the learning process involved.
I have talked about my running and swimming in the past few weeks but I am just starting to see some cycling comparisons. It may not be on the actual roads but between the trainer and the life cycle, it is looking like my sprint distance conditioning is a little further along at this point of the off-season. I am pushing more power on the life cycle (still have not built a budget for a power metre on my real wheels) in very comparable test year over year so it is now time to start building the length of the rides with sustained power. With a nice base in place, I am starting to get confident that my triathlon cycling speed will increase this season.
Well, time to get out and run. Sorry nothing too exciting to write about but just wanted to put a little pen to paper this week.
PS - I will miss Poni's class! He may have not been the greatest Leaf but nice guys like number 23 made work so much easier back in the day. Good luck Poni!
February 25, 2010
I'm Running - Misstress Barbara w/ Sam Roberts
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?
I heard this in the car on the way home tonight and it caught me right away.
Do you like?
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
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