Flatout Buddy !!!

Spinervals Super 6 Day 2

2012-01-04T13:55:00.002-03:30

Day 3 for most, day 2 for me since I was granted an extra rest day by coach Troy after completing the 32 day challenge.

I picked up a cheapie cheapie Heart Rate monitor at Walmart to tide me over until my new one arrives, and discovered why it is cheap. It was consistently off by about 5 to 6 beats which I determined by using the old fashioned watch and pulse method.

Also, my spinerval 3 pack finally arrived. I did 60 minutes of the Spinerval Competition 39, and right there in the front row was the winner of our local race, My friend Michelle Young. I consider her a friend even it is only on facebook, and she hasn't UNfriended me yet. Michelle did this video while preparing for the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, and went on from there to race Arizona, and qualify for KONA.

Tomorrow is threshold day. Can't wait!!!!

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-03T18:52:00.002-03:30

2012 is off to a rousing start. I finished off 2011 with the spinerval 32 day challenge, took a couple of days rest and then onto the Spinerval Super 6.

Boy, I am glad i had a couple of days rest. I felt great today. 1:25 in the saddle (That's excluding the pause au natural) and it flew by. Brisk pace, 95 to 100 RPM for the entire session.

I also need a new heart rate monitor, because my old one died. This is one I am looking at. Any comments?

Swimming Etiquette

2011-11-24T17:28:00.002-03:30

How is it that we can swim a masters workout, with 40 swimmers in 8 lanes, that’s 5 swimmers per lane without any incidents, yet I can hit MUN pool on Saturday afternoon, with only one other person in my lane, and it’s like full contact Karate.

If you are experienced swimmer and know the rules of swimming etiquette, this may be old news for you, but if you are new to lap swimming, or are experienced but were never taught the rules, or never even know there were rules, read on.

Do Pick your lane appropriately.

Do not arbitrarily jump into any lane, or pick the one with the least number. It may be the fast lane which means fast and experienced swimmers. And they will run you over if you get in there way. Furthermore, it’s your fault, not theirs.

Do make sure you are aware the direction of the lane. In general it’s counter clockwise, that’s keeping to the right.

Don’t Assume that counter clockwise is always the case. Some experienced swimmers may reverse the direction so they are swimming with the lane adjacent to them. This is mainly to prevent clashing arms during the freestyle recovery, or during butterfly.

Do make sure other people in your lane are aware you are joining.

Don’t assume that all swimmers will follow the general guideline of swimming counter clockwise. If a person has been swimming in a lane solo, they may be swimming in the middle of the lane, and a that could be a recipe for a nasty mid water collision.

Do talk to the people in your lane to find out who is doing what. There may be also be someone in the lane taking charge and organizing the sets. Go with it.

Don’t assume the lifeguard will enforce the rules. I haven’t seen one do it yet.
Do move over at the end and let a faster swimmer pass. If you get a tap on the foot, that’s the signal to let the trailing swimmer pass you at the wall. Hold up for a split second as they make the turn, then follow them.

Don’t ignore faster swimmers, and hit the wall and pushoff right in front of them.

Do be aware of when another swimmer is about to start a lap. If they are next to the wall, and look ready to go, and are staring at the pace clock, they are waiting for their interval to start.

Don’t jump in front of a swimmer waiting to start on an interval.

The last two really piss me off. I understand if someone is aware of the general rules of the road, but sometimes it’s obvious if someone is doing a workout, and doing intervals on a pace time. Follw these, take heed, and have fun.

Time Crunched Athlete

2011-11-08T11:40:00.001-03:30

So you think you are too busy to workout? Here is a peek at was schedule last Saturday

7:00 Wake up and get breakfast for the family
8:30 To the curling club for Family Curling. (I help Coach)
10:00 Back home, and get snacks for the rugrats
11:00 Drop 6 YO off at the rink for skating
11:45 Drop 10 YO off at dance studio for hip hop.
12:15 Pick up 6 YO at rink and bring home
1:00 Pick up 10 YO at dance studio
1:15 WORKOUT 45 minute swim
2:00 Finish swim workout.
2:15 Lunch at Subway with 10 YO.
3:00 Birthday Party with 6 YO, at another pool. (Because once in the pool wasn’t enough)
5:00 Home from Party, bring mom to friends house.
5:30 Supper.
6:30 Me time. Watch TV and fall asleep by 7:00.

Of course this is not typical, I don’t have birthday parties every Saturday, but everything else is run of the mill. And as you can see, with all the running around, I managed a 45 minute swim workout. It’s not easy, but if you make it a priority, you can get it in.

So don’t whine to me about no time to workout.

I'm back

2011-10-27T18:20:00.002-02:30

It’s been so long since I posted on my blog, I almost feel like I am starting out new. Major work changes as well as the usual family commitments meant blogging took a back seat, but it now looks like things are quieting down, in fact next week, I may have a ton of time on my hands. But more on that later.

Race season was a hit. The St. John’s Triathlon, was a brutally tough race in extremely bad conditions. It was windy, cold and raining, but it netted me a second in my age group, I now need a first to make a set.

The season isn’t over yet for some, as Newfoundland Athletes, Jason Pretty, and Barry Yetman are in Miami preparing for the 70.3. Boy I miss Florida.

And at least one more Newfoundland athlete has a solid shot at joining Otto Ryan in Kona next fall. 2011 St. John’s Triathlon Female overall winner Michelle Young heads to Arizona in a couple of weeks. Michelle is a fierce competitor, and trains with Spinerval coach Troy Jacobson. When I say she has a solid shot at Kona, I am not exaggerating.

Finally, I am off to masters tonight. The last couple of workouts have been interesting to say the least. Last Thursday, it was 1500m for time. Easy on the coach, but tough on me. 27:14 is definitely something to improve on. As well as getting fitter and faster, I need to learn to count.

Hopefully, it will be less than 4 weeks to my next post. See ya on deck.

1500m Freestyle New World Record

2011-09-30T16:09:00.004-02:30

Here is a video of Sun Yang, breaking the World Record in the 1500m Freestyle at the 2011 World Championship.

This one is in slow motion.

You can clearly see how his elbow is high and arm bent at the catch, and he then drives the water past his body with his forearm.

A couple of more things that are incredible about this.

1. At the bell, he was more than 2 seconds off the record. He really poured it on in hte last 50m with his powerful kick.

2. In some of the video, going into his flip turn, you can see him taking extra breaths, that's on every half cycle, or every stroke. Makes you kinda question your masters coach browbeating you about your bilateral breathing.

3. He wins by 10 seconds over his closest competitor, Canada's Ryan Cochrane.

These are such a good videos to watch, and try to visualize as you hit the water at your next masters session, which for me is in 2 days.

A thing of beauty.

Triathlon in Newfoundland and Labrador

2011-09-20T22:00:00.004-02:30

Simon Whitfield winning gold in Sydney. Simon competed in the Corner Brook ITU Race 2003.

Unless you are a triathlete, or are married to one, you probably don't know
much about the TRI scene here in our province.

In fact I bet you didn’t know that the history of Triathlon in
Newfoundland goes back almost 25 years, and that there are now 7 races
Scattered across the province.

And in case you wanted to know, or maybe even wanted to tri one, a list of races are as follows, starting on the west coast and moving east.

1. Stephenville
2. Corner Brook
3. Gander
4. Carbonear
5. Paradise
6. St. John's
7. Torbay

Here is a brief description of these events, in my own words, in order
of their starts.

Paradise Triathlon.
WHERE: Octagon Pond Paradise
WHEN: Usually mid to late June
THE GOOD: Kicks off the busy Newfoundland and Labrador Triathlon Season.
THE BAD: Early season start means a cold swim. The 2011 event was
changed to a duathlon on race morning because of cold water
temperatures.

Stephenville Triathlon.
WHERE: 2011 event started at the Regional Aquatic Centre pool. Hoping
to move to an outdoor venue for 2012
WHEN: Early to mid July. 2011 was the weekend prior Carbonear
THE GOOD: The resurgence of an old event. Once a popular event on
everyones calendar, the race stopped after 2006, but has resurfaced.
THE BAD: Timing. So many events coming up one after the other, may
make it difficult to fit into a busy schedule.

Carbonear Triathlon.
WHERE: Swim and bike starts in Freshwater, The run starts and ends at
the Recreation Centre in Carbonear.
WHEN: Mid July, however organizers in the past have been flexible with
the date so as to not interfere with too many other events. Also,
traditionally the race has been a late morning start allowing athletes
to travel from St. John’s, about an hour and a half away.
THE GOOD: The coastal cycling route through Freshwater is one of the
most scenic bike courses you will find anywhere.
THE BAD: That same scenic cycling route is also on some of the worst
roads you will find in any race that’s not an Xterra.

Corner Brook Triathlon.
WHERE: Glynmill Inn Pond Corner Brook.
WHEN: Late July.
THE GOOD: Tradition and experience. Corner Brook is where it all
started, almost 25 years ago. It’s seen Olympic and Ironman Champions
on its course.
THE BAD: One of the toughest run courses you will ever do.

ST. John’s Triathlon.
WHERE: Rotary Sunshine Park just outside St. John’s
WHEN: Early August, usually the first Sunday following Regatta.
THE GOOD: Short swim, 1000m for the standard distance, 500m for the
sprint. Ideal for new athletes who are not strong swimmers.
THE BAD: The weather. Consistantly inconsistent, especially the wind.
Rarely is there no headwind on the outer ring road.

Gander Triathlon.
WHERE: Cobbs Pond Rotary Park, Gander
WHEN: Mid to late August.
THE GOOD: Flat course.
THE BAD: They always schedule it when I have other plans. I want to do
this race badly next year.

Torbay Tri for Health.
WHERE: Whiteaway’s Pond Torbay
WHEN: End of August, Last race of the year
THE GOOD: Fundraiser. The 2011 event raised $28,810 for Mental Health.
TH BAD: Fundraiser. After Girl Guides/Sparks, Basketball, Curling,
Gymnastics, not to mention School, I really don’t have the motivation
to raise the $100 minimum for the race entry. Hats off to those who
did.

2011 NL Blogger's Choice Awards

2011-09-17T19:09:00.003-02:30

Flatoutbuddy has been nominated for an award. 2011 NL Blogger's Choice Awards. Here’s the skinny.

Newfoundland and Labrador Blogroll is a blog about blogs, focusing on blogs related to my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Blogroll has created 10 categories with threads for each category, and listed 3 nominees per category. Flatoutbuddy hase been selected in the Sport/Recreation category.

I am in tough with 2 other really awesome blogs.

NL Running is a blog that has become the go to resource for everything running related in Newfoundland.

And NL Hockeytalk is a blog about anything hockeyrelated, with a slant towards provincial hockey.

Hockeytalk appears to be the frontrunner, and I have been a little slow off the mark, but I am hoping to hear from my 70 followers, and my 100 or so facebook friends, at least not get skunked.

So please check out the Blogroll, as well as my competition, NL Running, and NL Hockeytalk then vote for whoever you think is the best, which hopefully will be me. To vote, go to the category, and leave a comment telling who you are voting for. You can vote once per day.

Once again here are the links.

Vote for your favorite Sports/Recreational blog, including Flatoutbuddy,Here

Voting for all categories can be found Here

Check out NL Running Here

NL Hockeytalk is Here

And finally, the Blogroll home page is Here

Cheers to the Volunteers

2011-08-08T20:44:00.007-02:30

Been a few days, but I’m back. My A Race is in the books, and I am ecstatic. But I’ll fill everyone in later, this post is a must.

In the 27 year history of the St. John’s Triathlon, yesterday was the worst conditions ever. Rain drizzle and fog, 10 degrees C, and a brutal wind gusting to over 50 clicks at times. That’s what makes this post even more important because this is about the volunteers.

On such a brutal day when even a large number of dedicated athletes decided to stay in their nice warm beds, another army of volunteers showed up and gave their free time so people like me could indulge in their hobby.

Some were friends and family of competitors, some were athletes who decided to skip participating but still gave up their morning, still more had virtually no connection to the sport other than they got a sense of satisfaction from giving their time.

There were kayakers, and life guards, body markers, course marshals, as well as captains of each discipline. There were people giving out water and Gatorade, and the oh so precious medals, and the inglorious job of cleaning up afterwards. Some peoples time started on Wednesday with the Kids of steel.

To each and every individual who came out to help on Sunday. Please accept my heart felt thanks. If I could have, I would have stopped and shook each and everyone’s hand during the race.

Special thanks to coach Paul who once again gave up his race ambitions to take on the role of Race Director, and Michael AJ, who continues to lead the team as head of the race committee, but still always finds time to have a quick chat, despite how busy he is.

Check out my New Blog

2011-07-13T13:59:00.001-02:30

Tour de Blah

I started consistently posting about the Tour de France, and then had a brainstorm, why not create a brand new blog, about just the Tour de France. So I did.

It seemed like such a no brainer. There seemed to be an endless supply of ideas for posts and ideas. Every time I talked to friends, co-workers, and relatives, they would ask me what seemed like simple questions about the tour. 10 years ago, the same questions puzzled me as well.

So my plan is to provide some easy reading answers to common tour questions to make a casual viewer into a full fledged fan.

I wanted to call it Tour de Blog, but that was taken, so instead I called it Tour de Blah.

Please check it out, and don’t be scared to sign on as a follower, and leave comments. Even ask a question.

Once the tour is over, I may continue with sort of a general cycling blog, we’ll have to see.

Tour de France Stage 5

2011-07-07T09:52:00.001-02:30

Question. How can race organizers make a flat sprinter stage exciting?
Answer. Make the riders crash.

Read more about stage 5 on my new blog HERE

Tour de France Stage 4

2011-07-06T08:52:00.002-02:30

That's Cadel Evans just outstretching Alberto at the line for the stage victory.

Another day, another flat stage, teased by the mini Alpe D’Huez, the cat 3 climb ending the stage was too steep for the pure sprinters, and not steep or long enough for the pure climbers.

Want more? Check out my new blog TOUR DE BLAH

Tour de France Stage 3

2011-07-05T07:17:00.001-02:30

Flat and built for speed, with a slight rise over the arch bridge at Sainte Nazerine a mere bump for the climbers in this years tour.

On July 4th, the U.S.A.s Tyler Ferar became the first ever American to win a stage on the American Holiday, and Argyle Power reigned supreme, as big Thor retained the yellow. Also for Canadian fans, Ryder has clawed himself up to 57th, just 1:14 back.

No big changes for the leaders, as the Schleck brothers are still only 4 seconds off the lead, while Alberto, saved some gas for the upcoming Pyranese and still sits at 1:42.

The mountains are coming. Stay tuned.

Tour de France Stage 2 the Team Time Trial

2011-07-04T07:19:00.003-02:30

So Alberto Contador’s reward for being caught on the wrong side of Saturday’s crash with 10k remaining in the opening stage, was first team to start the team time trial. Alberto’s team Saxo mates had to all drop back and try and ride back some time for the defending champ dropping the entire team to last overall.

So come Sunday, Alberto seemed determined to ride himself back into contention, and Saxo appeared to be setting a blistering pace, and stood up against many of the weaker teams, but once the big teams like Robobank and Garmin Cevelo, set out, it became apparent that Saxos time would not stand up. The Garmin team appeared to be handpicked to win this stage in mind, and betterd Saxo by almost 30 seconds.

So not only did Alberto not make up time, he may have blown apart his team in the process, driving team Saxo and dropping 3 teammates in the process as they couldn’t keep up to the blistering speed.

At the end of the day, BIG THOR topped the podium, Alberto dropped an additional 20 seconds on the leader, and Andy Schleck is sitting pretty only 4 seconds away from the yellow.

So what’s up for Monday? A relatively uneventfull stage with 1 category 4 climb at Sainte Nazerine, about a third of the way in, leaving tons of time for the peleton to regroup, and reel in any of the climbers. There are also some sprinter points up for grabs which will also motivate those teams to not let too big a gap develop on the climb, so stay tuned for Redon to Olonne-Sur-Mer.

And the defending champ has some work to do.

Tour de France Stage 1

2011-07-03T07:42:00.003-02:30

Well, did anyone predict that finish? So here I sit, and my prediction number 1 now has a solid chance of becoming reality. In an opening day filled with spills and crashes, the most significant occurred with about 10k left in the stage, splitting the peleton, just as the sprint teams were ramping it up to position their riders for a crack at Green Jersey Points.

At the end of the day, Alberto was way down in the general classification, 1 minute and 20 seconds back, while his chief challengerAndy Shleck was only 6 seconds back.

Now all of a sudden, the stage 2 Team Time trial goes from being an opportunity to separate the pack, to an absolute must make up time for the Contadore crew. At the very least, they must not lose time on the challengers.

Stage 2 will be very exciting. Can’t wait.

Tour de France Predictions

2011-07-01T09:36:00.002-02:30

It’s a huge weekend across the globe. Canada Day today, July 4th Monday, Women’s World Cup in Germany, and Tour de France starting on Saturday.

Here are some of my predictions for 2011.

1. Alberto will not win this years tour. He’s now the guy with the target on his back, and personnaly, I don’t think he has the Posse to protect him through the entire 21 days.
2. Andy Shleck will stand on the top step of the podium in Paris.
3. 5 years from now, the final standings will be completely different than the end of June.
4. The number of people in the United States interested in the tour will drop by 50 percent with Lance retired.
5. The number of people who will not tune in to this years tour because they are sick of all the talk about doping will increase by 90 percent.

Well, I’m not a TDF expert like Phil Paul and Bob, but I am a fan, I’ll be watching come tomorrow, and my final prediction is that I will be better than 500 on my previous 5 predictions.

Finally, go Ryder. Make us proud on Canada Day/Weekend.

Paradise TriXXXX Duathlon

2011-06-27T09:53:00.001-02:30

Alas, the afore mentioned update, but first a quiz. What is 10 degrees Celsius?
Answer, In the United States, its 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It will cause Hypothermia to set in and cause unconsciousness in 30 to 60 minutes. It is cold enough to cancel the swim portion of the 2011 Paradise Tri

So that turned the 2011 event from a triathlon to a duathlon. I was torn, because I hate duathlons. I’d much refer the swim. It’s the least weak of my 3 sports. But the prospect of swimming in water causing numbing extremities, and searing pain in my ears was not worth it, so the announcement was somewhat of welcome relief.

Until early in the first 5k lap, when my left calf proceeded to tighten up to the point that I could barely hobble back to transition. I decided to give the bike a go, and see if it would loosen up, but the foggy drizzly cold conditions meant that the further I rode, and the colder my feet got, the stiffer my calf became.

So after the first of 2 laps of the bike course, I decided to finish the ride, then pull out. After 10 years of racing, triathlons, running races, and cycling time trials, I would get my first DNF.

The upside, I am feeling ok today, and may not miss any training other than my regular recovery period. The downside, it’s my first ever DNF.

Anyone interested can check out the results here.

Crappy St. John's Weather!

2011-06-24T19:09:00.003-02:30

Not to continue complaining about the crappy weather, but here are some stats, just to prove that I am not just a whiner.

Coldest average June since 1982

For 13 of 24 days this month in St. John's, High's in the SINGLE digit

22 of 24 days we have had Rain.

Today is the 21st day in a row that Fog has been reported for at least 1 hr at the St. John's airport.

So what are we going to do about it? Pop some vitamin D, and have a triathlon.

That’s right. The Paradise Tri is Sunday. If the water temp doesn’t hop a couple of degrees, it’ll be a du, so come on sun. I’d rather swim in freezing water than run bike run again.

Stay tuned for the update!

Triathlon Training Olympic Distance Rev 2

2011-06-22T20:28:00.000-02:30

So someone does read my blog. Someone named anonymous left some very good advice in a comment on my previous Triathlon Training Olympic Distance
post. Basically I have too many hard days back to back which I abruptly found out my first week. That’s where the flexibility comes in. So I switched things up a little, and I have a little better week planned out.

Saturday: Brick (Long ride and long run, moderate intensity)
Sunday: Long Ride and Swim.
Monday: am swim pm optional ez run
Tuesday; Brick Half and Half
Wednesday: am swim pm Bike (Hills or intervals)
Thursday; Long Run
Friday: REST

I want to try to get in 4 run sessions, but I also know my body responds well to recovery, so I am leaving Monday open to do a swim and easy run, or maybe even blow off both and take a full rest day based on how I feel and where I am in my training schedule. Also, some changes in our work and school schedules has given me some flexibility with my morning sessions, and I can now get to an early morning swim.

So once again, any and all comments welcome.

Blog of the Week!

2011-06-21T22:28:00.001-02:30

It’s not quite like winning the Stanley cup, but it’s still pretty good.

Let me set it up. I am at work, and my wife calls and says congratulations on being chosen Blog of the week, which is weird because she never reads my blog, and I have been pretty delinquent with my posting the last couple of weeks.

So I check it out, and sure enough. Newfoundland Blog Roll has chosen me. NL Blogroll is a blog about blogs, dedicated to bloggers in my home province of Newfoundland. If you want to find a blog related to something concerning Newfoundland and Labrador, you’ll find it here.
In blogroll’s own words”

“I figured with summer approaching (though you couldn't tell by the bad weather) it was a good idea to select a recreational related site to feature this week, and this blog from Jim out of St. John's fits the bill perfectly. Jim's space is all about 'Balancing Life”
So how’s that for a shout out!

Big thanks to the blogroll for choosing me, and thanks to my cuz for scoping it out, then posting on facebook.

Triathlon Training Olympic Distance

2011-06-02T12:05:00.006-02:30

I approach my training a little differently from most triathletes. I don’t use a calendar, or spreadsheet, to painstakingly plan out, each and every training session over the season. In my past experience, that’s a waste of time anyway because with our unpredictable weather, and my family schedule, I often have to be flexible with my training.

According to my Google Analytics, I certainly caught the attention of a few with yesterdays post, although only one brave soul left a comment.

Since I have everyone’s attention, I decided to post my summer training plan, in preparation for my August 07 St. John’s Tri.

What I do is identify goals, or objectives, and then plan a standardized week that meets the objectives, but allows flexibility if I plan to do a B or C event or race.

My objectives are
1. 4 Bike sessions
2. 4 run sessions
3. 3 swim sessions
4. At least 2 to 3 sessions that are multi discipline sessions
5. Mid week quality session done as a brick. The run is at tempo pace, for time
6. Long brick on Saturday
7. Long ride on Sunday.
8. My A-Race is August 07

So to meet these objectives, my week looks something like this:

Saturday: Brick (Long ride and long run, moderate intensity)
Sunday: Long Ride and Swim.
Monday: Run (Hills or intervals)
Tuesday; am Bike (Hills or intervals) can be done on the trainer: pm swim
Wednesday: Brick Half and Half
Thursday; am Run (Recovery) pm Swim
Friday: REST

For Sunday’s sessions, up until the end of masters season, (End of May) the swim was done separate, and completed in the evening. Once water temps allow, it will be multi discipline session with a swim followed by a long ride.

Feel free to comment or ask questions. If you comment but don’t see a response from me, please send an email at flatoutjim@gmail.com

Check out this Eye Candy!

2011-06-01T12:18:00.003-02:30

Smooth and firm with nice curves in all the right places.

Of course I mean the one on 2 wheels, not the one on 2 legs you bunch of pervs. I came across this pic at PEZ, and I was so inspired by the photography, that I just had to do a google search and check into Stradalli Cycle.

And that is the genius of advertisers, and that’s why they get the big bucks.

Nice bikes, and I am sure if I had one it would make me WAYYYY faster. Check out Stradalli and check out PEZ.

I wonder what kind of cleats she has on her pedals?

Triathlon Newbies. The Importance of Bricks

2011-05-24T12:24:00.001-02:30

My weekend sessions included sessions in multiple sports including a 2 hour brick session on Saturday.

What are bricks, and how important are they? These are frequent questions from new triathletes. Again, I am not a professional coach, but this is my take on brick sessions.

A brick workout is a multi sport workout. I have heard swim bike sessions sometimes referred to as bricks, but the most common use of the term is to refer to a bike session immediately followed by a run.

So how important are they? The simple answer is more than you think. And the more competitive an athlete you are, the more important.

For what I refer to as a social triathlete, whose main goal is to train, maintain some fitness and simply finish the local race, bricks may be less important, and may only come near the end of a session as the goal race gets near.

However, for the competitive athlete, chasing a PR, looking for a podium spot, or qualifying for the world championship, they are essential. For my training, I try to include 2 bricks, and one swim bike session per week.

Bricks are important to get the legs used to the sesnsation of running as soon as you get off the bike. That sesnsation of heavy legs as you get off the bike and start into the run is referred to as lead legs. The more bricks an athlete does, the better the legs will perform in the run off the bike. Even the social athlete will reap benefits of brick training sessions as the run will be a more enjoyable experience.

You can find out more about my favourite brick workout, here .

Got my Mojo Back, Yeah Baby Yeah!

2011-05-19T12:40:00.002-02:30

Well, it’s over a week since my return from the sunshine state, and I have to say, the vacation came none too soon. It was so good to wake up in the morning, head to the pool before breakfast, and not check the weather channel to decide what to wear. The choice was always simple. Red shorts with black trim, or black shorts with red trim.

But the biggest bonus for the trip was that the blast of vitamin D combined with the numerous sightings of runners, and cyclist wearing summer running and cycling gear; and a trip to Dave’s, got my MOJO back. As soon as I returned, and recovered from the return trip from hell, I immediately started my preparations for the upcoming Paradise Triathlon.

That race has gone from a planned A-Category race, to a 2.5 to 3 hour training session with an entry fee. I even contemplated dropping back to the sprint distance, but given the low number of longer events in my neck of the woods, as well as the fact that this will be the inaugural event at this distance, I think I’ll stick with it.

Also good to know that despite my absence as of late, I still seem to have a steady stream of followers, dropping by, and checking in. Thanks to everyone.

Still Here!

2011-04-13T13:43:00.002-02:30

Just to let everyone know. I haven't retired, and I am not sick. Just real busy with work, wife, and the kids, as well as ramping up the training for my season opening Paradise Triathlon. I have committed to the olympic distance which will be quite interesting. The weather in June in Newfoundland is unpredictable at the best of times, and Octagon pond is especially cold.

So stay tuned, more news shortly.

Avoid Swimming Shoulder Injury

2011-03-23T12:18:00.015-02:30

I've been absent from bloggie world as of late, and struggling with training as I nurse a sore shoulder. It's ok now, but for a while, I was pretty nervous. then I discovered a timely article by Swim Smooth. on how to overcome a swimming shoulder injury. With their permission, I have posted it here on flatoutjim.

So to avoid going through what I went through, please read

"How To Overcome And Avoid Swimming Shoulder Injury" A Swim Coaching Article By Swim Swim Smooth.

Shoulder injury is extremely common in swimming, in fact so common amongst elite swimmers that it used to be considered a fact of swimming life, just something you have to live with.

Fortunately these days we understand that shoulder pain and injury is caused by poor swimming technique and that by correcting your technique we can quickly reduce symptoms and go on to cure the condition. If you suffer from any discomfort in your shoulders during or after swimming then you need to make some changes to your stroke.

The four leading causes of shoulder injury in freestyle are:

- A thumb first hand entry

- An S-shaped pull

- Pulling deep with a straight arm

- Crossing the centre line of the body (a 'crossover')

When we're working with swimmers with shoulder injury, nine times out of ten removing these stroke flaws is enough to cure the injury. Let's look at each flaw in turn and why it causes injury:

Thumb First Hand Entry

Together with an S-Shaped pull, a thumb-first entry into the water with the palm turned outwards used to be widely taught as good swimming technique. The problem with this technique is that it internally rotates the shoulder and causes impingement:

This impingement, repeated thousands of times in training is the leader cause of shoulder injury. If you use a thumb first entry and also have a crossover (see below) then you'll be very lucky to escape shoulder injury.

Instead of entering thumb first, it is good technique to enter with a horizontal hand, fingertips first:

Elite swimmers have been taught this since the 1990s and it has the advantage of setting you up for more propulsive catch and pull phases of the stroke:

The S Shape Pull

Pulling through with an S shape was taught in the 1970s in combination with a thumb first entry. This involved pulling out wide, then in and then out wide again by the hip:

The idea was that an S shape created a longer pull-pathway and therefore more propulsion. However, this has since been scientifically disproved and we now know that a near straight pull pathway gives the best and most efficient propulsion.

The problem with the S-Pull shape is that it involves internally rotating your shoulder to push outwards and this outwards force at full arm extension severely loads the shoulder. If you modify your stroke to pull straight backwards the load on the shoulder is much lower. Visualising a straight pull will result in a very slight curve to your pull pathway as your body rotates but the point here is that it's not something you're actively trying to do.

Pulling Through With A Straight Arm

If you are not entering thumb first and are definitely not pulling with an S shape then consider the depth of your pull, many swimmers try and pull deep with a straight arm under the body:

Whenever you swim with a straight arm it involves pressing down on the water at the front of the stroke during the catch phase – biomechanically it's impossible not to this. Pressing down on the water like this is bad technique all by itself but it also takes a lot of force to do so. Water is very heavy and by pressing down you are changing its direction requiring a high force which applies a large load to the shoulders.

By changing to a bent elbow catching technique we start to press the water back behind us which requires much less force as we are simply helping the water on its way:

Find out more about developing a good catch technique here

Stroke Crossover

There are two classic ways to crossover the centre line within the freestyle stroke. The first is in front of the head, this might happen on every stroke, just one side or on breathing strokes only:

The second way is later during the pull phase of the stroke where the hand crosses the centre line under the body:

Both of these actions are bad for your shoulders because they pinch the joint internally and they involve a long reaching arm action which requires a lot of force. By removing crossover from your stroke you will dramatically reduce the load on the shoulder.

Conclusion

In the vast majority of cases shoulder injury is cause by poor stroke technique. Even if you are only experiencing a small niggle or dull ache in your shoulder it is well worth addressing your stroke technique now before you develop chronic symptoms. To reach your potential in swimming, as in any other sport, you need to train consistently and injury free. As we get older we become more susceptible to injury and modifying our stroke technique becomes harder – there's no time like the present to fix that shoulder niggle!

About Swim Smooth

Swim Smooth is a swimming coaching company famed for its straightforward approach to improving your swimming. On our website you'll find a wealth of easy to read articles to improve your swimming. We offer swimming DVDs, swimming training plans and training tools to improve your stroke technique. Also don't miss our amazing animated swimmer "Mr Smooth" showing you an ideal freestyle stroke in action:

Rumble Strips. Sure they Work, Nudge Nudge Wink Wink Say No More

2011-03-08T11:01:00.003-03:30

So really, how effective are rumble strips at preventing car crashes? Rumble strips are those milled grooves on the shoulders of major highways. Look closely at the picture above, the strips are just to the left of the white line marking the shoulder.

As a vehicle drifts off the lane and crosses over the white line onto the paved shoulder, the rumbling noise made by the vehicle’s tires hitting these depressions in the asphalt are supposed to snap the driver back to alertness and avoid a catastrophic encounter with an immovable object like a guardrail.

Government departments responsible for highways like them because they are cheap and easy to install. They allow officials to boast about their proactive approach to driver safety.

Cyclists hate them as they cut into the usable portion of the shoulder, and in some cases force cyclists out into the road with traffic. They also seem to be popping up everywhere, including roads used as popular cycling routes.

Clearly, rumble strips don’t always live up to the hype. I received these pics as a humorous email. I have no idea where it is or what the details are, but hopefully the driver and passengers were not seriously hurt.

Anyone else have any good rumble strip stories or photos?

Hydration for Triathletes

2011-03-03T09:40:00.007-03:30

Still a common question. Race Hydration. How much should I drink while racing and training?

It seems the waters are murky regarding racing, and training hydration, and protocols for what and how much to drink. I have read several articles recently advocating hydrating by drinking when thirsty.

One such recent article in Bicycle magazine listed Six fitness rules that you didn't know you could flout--until now
and included the following:

THE TRUTH Drink before you're thirsty.
THE WHOLE TRUTH Drink up, but don't drown yourself.
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH A little dehydration doesn't hurt performance or put you at risk for heat stress. In a study from the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, researchers found that runners who drank according to thirst performed just as well as those who drank moderate or high amounts, and they didn't have any higher heat stress or core body temperature.

If there are legitimate studies to support the “Drink when thirsty protocol” I can’t dispute it. However, I do feel that a large majority of athletes will not read the warning signs of de - hydration and thirst, and will miss the window of opportunity, and just simply not hydrate until it’s too late.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment when you are racing, or concentrating on an intense workout. And I know for a fact that it happens to a lot of people. I have the pictures from Clearwater to prove it.

I posted about hydration before, and explained how I felt my attention to detail in hydration and fueling was one of the biggest factors in my securing a slot in Cleawater in 2008. If you want to read how I did it, CLICK HERE.

And if you are interested in a little more background on hydration, check out these articles.

POINT:
A Trifuel article from April 2010 talking about the importance of hydration.
Hydration: Water is Essential to Good Health & Performance

COUNTERPOINT:
An Active.com article from 2009 hilighting the new rules for hydration.
The New Rules of Hydration.

The rolling buffet table. I believe in being prepared, but this is extreme.

How Much do I Hate Kick Sets?

2011-02-25T14:04:00.002-03:30

I just got back from a lunch time swim that featured about 800m of all kicking. I don’t like kicking, in fact I hate it. So why did I subject myself to this torture? Please read on.

After a super hectic week at work, and an equally hectic week pulling family duty, as well as two massive dumpings of snow, I finally forced myself back on track yesterday, signed up for the first race of the year, then headed off to masters practice.

After a set of 4 x 200m warm-up, I pulled myself up onto the pool deck to sit on the edge while awaiting instructions from our coach, and that’s when I felt my right delt, and arm go numb.

My shoulder was a little sore to start from the previous weeks snow shoveling. That coupled with a week lay-off, and then an overzealous start to my Thursday session was too much for my 44 year old shoulder to handle.

So for the time being, I will be working on other non-shoulder activities, trying to get in the pool for a couple of kick sets, and some core work. Hoping to be back in action for my March 06 swim meet.

And to anyone returning after a lay-off, take it easy. Go back slow, and ease into it.

. June 26 is the third running of the Paradise Triathlon. I can’t believe, I am now committed to another spring of building milage and speed on the wheels, sneakers, and in the water.

Exercisingbikes.org.uk

2011-02-18T09:08:00.000-03:30

Has anyone else ever heard of this site?

I received an email from a lady named Sheila from Exercising Bikes claiming my blog has been featured on their web site.

I am trying to find out who the heck they are, but the site is very confusing and hard to figure out just what they are into.

The site is a .uk URL, but the English in the email, and on the site is very suspect.

The latest email from them stated:

“we are operate largest types of site now we have more tht 32,000. blogs. and we have featured your blog for only your blog popularity ..
after 1 month you can see your site traffic will be gone so high.
it's my promiss.”

Does anyone know anything about this crowd?

Going For It

2011-02-09T19:12:00.001-03:30

Until Sunday, I felt that our Stroke Count workout was one of, if not the toughest session of the year. Then came Sunday.

The majority of the workout was a big warm-up leading up to our finale. A challenge set where we were instructed to complete a set of 10 x 100, on a challenging pace time that we could just make, and hold for the entire 10.

Usually, coach gives us our pace times, but this was different. Our lane had to agree on a time that we could all hold for the set. That was the rub. It was up to us.

We debated 1:55 vs 1:50. I can consistently swim 100m 1:45 and do it in a set where I get some decent rest in between. But I had major doubts about holding it for 10, with only 5 seconds. I expected that by the seventh, I would be touching the wall and going again. But if you don’t try it, you never know, so someone in the lane, (not me) said lets give 1:50 a try, and we all readily agreed.

And boy was I glad we did. I managed slightly better than 1:45 for all 10. In fact, I was consistently 1:43 to 1:45. It was tough. And true to coach’s words, the first 3 were ok, the second 3 were hard, and by the final 4, I was thinking, “I really need to dig down to finish this.”

But when it was over, everyone in the lane were on cloud 9.

So sometimes, you have to go for it. Challenge youself, and see if you can reach a goal that may be out of reach. It’ll do wonders for your mind.

Stroke Count

2011-02-04T11:31:00.000-03:30

Sometimes less is more. Case in point, our masters session last night. The workout featured a pre set of 6 x 100, and then a main set of 24 x 50. But despite the short intervals, most of which were done at a moderate pace, it was one of the toughest sessions of the year.

The main reason was that the focus of the 50m pieces was to count and maintain stroke count. The set was broken into 10, then 8, then 6. The focus on set 1 was simply to count strokes and establish a consistent baseline. Set 2 was meant to start thinking about a consistent time. Finally set 3 we were to descend by 1 second per 50, for a total of 6 seconds while maintaining a consistent stroke count.

The ultimate goal was to finish the last 50 with the same count as the first while at the same time knocking off 6 seconds. This is not to be confused with swimming golf where stroke count increases as time decreases with the goal of keeping the total consistent.

Concentrating on a long efficient stroke, a good reach, bent arm catch, and a consistent glide off the wall is as mentally tough as it is physically tough. But I am happy to report that my stroke count of 41 per 50m lap was consistent throughout, and my regular time of 50 seconds got down to just under 45 on the very last descending set. Mission Accomplished.

Other comments about last nights session:
1. Despite hours of shoveling yesterday morning, and a very stiff upper back and shoulders, I felt fluid and flexible, especially during dolphin kicks off the wall.
2. The catches felt great. It was one of those times when you could feel the water pressing against your entire forearm and palm.
3. Nearly everyone in our lane was within a few strokes of each other, and all within a second or two. This makes for a great workout when the entire lane is in sync.
4. One of the girls in the fast lane, a former varsity swimmer was as low as 14 strokes for 25m, and it didn’t look like a pause drill. It was smooth as silk. We have some talented swimmers in our club, and it’s a pleasure to watch them.

Two-fer Sunday

2011-01-26T10:19:00.000-03:30

It’s a little early in the season to be hitting 2 workouts per day, but that’s how my schedule has worked out.

This past Sunday morning was a Spin or Turbo session with Ben, the Bike Doc. Yes the same Bike Doc that did my bike fit. The session was 90 minutes on my road bike and trainer. Ben’s class is different from other health club spin classes. He concentrates ore on cadence and speed, and you can certainly see his method from the way he structures his session.

Last Sunday was supposedly EASY, although I certainly didn’t feel like I worked out easy, especially during the last 15 minutes where I really started to fade.

Then in the evening, the Sunday Masters Swim. Thankfully, this workout featured a lot of instruction and drills for Fly. I say thankfully because although they were difficult, it was hardly a Tough workout.

If this Sunday is a HARD spin workout, and a HARD masters workout, I am in trouble.

Turning Around a Crappy Workout Session

2011-01-21T09:42:00.001-03:30

An intense work schedule and a tight project deadline this week resulted in a drastic drop off in my activity level. This made for a tough masters workout last night.

I didn’t feel terrible. I was rested, and energetic, and ready to go, but in the water, I felt out of place. The water felt light, and I had a hard time grabbing it on the catch.

The positive, was that my flip turns felt awesome, and I was determined to slug my way through it. I just kept hammering away at my laps, and tried to concentrate on body position, catch, and turns.

The main set was 6 x 200m descending. When I do a set like this, I try to start with a slow relaxed pace. Then I try to work on improving just one thing on each upcoming 200 like a quick turn, or a hard push off the wall, until I reach normal pace about half way through the set. Then on the last couple I try to gut it out and swim hard, and descend my times with pure effort.

As I eased into last nights set, I started to feel better and better. I was speeding up in relation to the others in my lane until on the last two, I was feeling good and swimming fast, and doing my flip turns.

At the end of the session I had comments from one of my lane mates as well as the coach on how good my turns looked. And that made it all worth it.

So the takeaway message is when you find you are not having a great workout, find something to focus on and battle through. In the end you will feel great for not quitting.

Bike Fit

2011-01-18T12:40:00.000-03:30

It’s hard to imagine that after almost 10 years in the sport of triathlon, I have never had a proper bike fit.

Sure, when I bought both my road and tri bikes, the guys at the shop set me up on a trainer, and made some adjustments to the seat and handlebars.

From there, I read article after article on fit, and I tweaked my set-up countless number of times trying to find the sweetspot between aerodynamic position, and comfort. But I have never had an experienced professional, measure me up, then change my bike setup to match.

So middle of last week, I made an appointment with Ben, the Bike Doc. On Friday, I stopped by his house where he measured me up from stem to stern. Then yesterday, it was GO-TIME.

The fit was done on my tri bike, since Tri’s and Time Trials are where my interest lie. The first change was to lower the seat, and move it back. Then the aerobars were raised, which you would think would cause less of an aero position. But then came the biggest surprise. We switched stems with my road bike, and extended the reach by almost an inch, then moved the bar extensions forward even more.

The result was a more forward position that seemed to feel more comfortable, with less strain on the neck to see the road ahead. I can’t wait to try it out on the road.

So why now? Why get a fit in January and not May just before the snow and salt disappear, and the road bikes hit the road? The advice from the bike doc is to get your fit in the winter, then use it on the trainer so when you hit the road, your body is accustom to the new position. And I guess the doc knows a thing or two as he was once ranked as one of the top time trialists in the UK.

So from here I need to match my trainer bike position to my tri bike, and start spinning. OH THE JOY!

Masters Workout, Broken Breast

2011-01-17T12:50:00.000-03:30

I knew that would get your attention. This is just a little example of what I don’t look like.

So much to write about, and no time to write it.

We jumped into the new masters season with abandon last night. When coach gave us the pre workout speech, and the warm-up, she started with “Tonight we are going to mix it up a little.”

Now my feelings on “Mixing it up a little” are mixed. And whereas, I am not very good at any of the strokes besides free, it certainly takes away the boredom, and I actually look forward to some new workouts for other strokes.

Last night we concentrated on breast stroke, and as it turns out, this would be my second best stroke. Please take the term best with a grain of salt.

So our opening set consisted of 3 sets of 4 x 50, drill swim, all breast stroke. Then an easy 300 free, then another 4 x 50 STROKE (Your choice of any stroke excluding free, and dogpaddle) then 300 easy free, then a broken 200 at race pace.

A broken distance inserts a known rest interval, then at the end you subtract your rest time from your total swimm time to get your equivalent race time.

So I did 4 x 50 Breast, with 10 seconds rest. My total time for the set was 4:42, so my equivalent race time would be 4:12.

I don’t think I’ll need to make reservations for 2012 London at this point.

And today, my shoulders are burning. Think it’s a good choice to take a rest day.

Another Giveaway

2011-01-10T12:31:00.002-03:30

This time it’s not me. This one is by KC at 140.6 Mile Journey.

Click HERE to go to her giveaway post.

Up for grabs is a pair of Trinity Multi Sport Tri Shorts, pictured above, one women’s, and one men’s pair.

4 entries per person, One each as follows:

1. Follow KC
2. Post the giveaway to your own blog
3. Sign up for the Trinity Newsletter
4. Become a fan of Trinity on Facebook

Again, further details on how to do each one can be found HERE. Good luck.

Christmas Solo Swim Session

2011-01-06T17:22:00.000-03:30

We had a pretty kick-ass masters session last night. Thank goodness I managed to swim regularly over the holidays including 2 coached sessions and another 3 hard workouts that I did on my own.

It was tough to focus on doing a hard swim by myself. I definitely perform better in a group. There’s just something about trying to catch someone, or knowing someone is on your butt trying to catch you. But sometimes, a hard solo session is the only thing available.

This set was done after a 700 yard warm up which included lots of drills and kick sets. You all know how much I love kick sets. Here was my first solo session.

Warm Up
200 smooth and easy
5 x 50 drill swim
5 x 50 kick/choice

Pre Set
4 x 250 as 200 free 50 kick

Main Set
4 sets of 3 x 200 as:
1 x 200 Easy, almost a pause drill
1 x 200 Normal
1 x 200 Fast

200 Smooth Cooldown

The interval for the 200’s were done on my best 200 time + 30 seconds for the first, the 5 seconds less for the second, and 5 more seconds less on the third.

It was a challenge, but I found the 200’s the perfect balance of speed and endurance, and I have come to find out that I am more of a distance swimmer than a sprinter.

Michael Phelps No Limits Book Review

2011-01-05T10:33:00.002-03:30

Before you read this, please keep in mind that it is a review of the book. This is not a criticism of Michael Phelps himself.

The book originally consisted of eight chapters, one for each medal in Beijing. A ninth was added after the 2009 World Championship in Rome.

Each chapter describes its respective race, as well as the lead-up including competitors and teammates as well as all the behind the scenes stuff you didn’t see on NBC.

But each chapter also includes a long setup including stories about his training for other events, his competition, his relationship with Bob Bowman, his coach, as well as his relationship with his family. It’s good to get a glimpse into his life and his training, but it’s sometimes very hard to make the connection between the story, and the particular race the chapter is centred around.

He also throws a lot of names at you. When he is describing teammates in the relay races, as well as competitors, and other training partners who influenced him, it’s very easy to get lost. I found myself constantly backtracking to try and keep the names straight. Same goes for times. There are goal times, split times, personal best times, world record times, preliminary race times, and again it’s easy to get lost.

And then there’s the grammar. Throughout the book, there are glaring examples of bad grammar such as “Some of this is because I started swimming at 7 and had, by the time Bob arrived at NBAC, put in 4 years in the pool.”

None of this, especially the grammar is Michael Phelps’s fault. He is a swimmer, not an author or an editor, and I get the impression that the book was rushed through without a lot of proof reading or editing because the publishers knew it would be a hit.

Despite these criticisms, there are parts of the book worth the read

After winning the 400m medley relay, and his eighth medal, Phelps describes the post race celebrations, and the whirlwind of press conferences, and interviews. I found it very interesting to get a glimpse of how everyone wants a piece of you.

Is this an excellent story? Obviously yes.
Is it an excellent book? Not quite.
Should you read it? Definitely.

Michael Phelps accomplished something thought impossible. Reading the depiction in Michael Phelps’s own words is a must for all swimming, sports, or human interest fans.

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T09:14:00.002-03:30

Here it is, that time of the year again. I must confess this year, I fared way better than other holiday seasons. I still indulged, as in other years, but this year was a little different. This year I focused on some real quality workouts, and limited my indulgences to only the evenings. No sugar or wine or beer before 4:00pm.

My plan going into the holidays was to come out fitter than I went in. Even with crappy weather, I managed one short ride on my mountain bike, and one 5k race on New years Eve.

But there were a couple of pools open in my area, and I swam, swam a lot. Almost everyday, including 4 key workouts of over an hour and a half, and a total of at least 3000 yards.

So the damage this morning was a few pounds over my pre Christmas weight, but nothing to panic about. As for being fitter, the jury is still out, but my splits in the pool were respectable, so I’ll keep it at, I didn’t get as unfit as other years.

Now it’s time to start thinking about the 2011 season. I have some goals in mind, but nothing on paper as of yet. And I am still on the fence about if I’ll share. I may keep them private a-la Michael Phelps. In any event, Happy New Year, and Stay tuned.

Fourty Four for Fourty Four

2010-12-23T10:21:00.000-03:30

To help break out of my rut, I dragged my ass out of bed at 5:30am, had a very light snack and a coffee, watched a little tube, then off to the pool for my first morning workout in weeks.

Off to MUN pool, a 25 yard 4 lane pool on MUN Campus. My original plan, weeks ago was to attempt a very lofty goal of 4400 yards for 44 years on December 23rd. After the events of the last couple of weeks, I cut that goal by half, and managed to complete 44 laps for 2200 yards. Still a pretty solid morning session.

And I did the entire workout with all flip turns. Having the lane to myself for half the session was really great.

The plan from here is to keep up the momentum, and hit the pool again tomorrow morning for an early Christmas Eve workout, then back after boxing Day.

Christmas Blues I Need Motivation

2010-12-22T07:40:00.000-03:30

I need motivation. Stories or sayings. I have a bad case of Christmas Blues. Please help me get my head in a good place.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. It’s my favorite time of year. All that merriment and good cheer. Wine and good food. And no work.

But this year, despite all my good intentions and early plans, my training has suffered immensely the last three weeks.

Given my truck crash, my unexpected trip home, and a major emergency here at work, workouts have taken a back seat, and now that most of the local pools are shut for Christmas maintenance, I have been high and dry since last Tuesday.

As well, we are now getting hammered with another major storm, the second in two weeks. Winds are high reaching up to 100k gusting to 150, and rain is expected to top 80mm total in 3 days. That is not ideal mountain bike weather.

So my plan is to hit the pool on Boxing day morning, and start in on a week long session of long morning workouts at our university pool, and start out the New Year in better shape than I finished 2010. But I need help.

So send me your motivational sayings, or point me to motivational stories. First off the mark is Barbie who just signed up for her second 70.3 even before she completed her first.

Books and Stuff

2010-12-21T07:36:00.000-03:30

Thanks again to all the wellwishers. Nan was a card. She would have loved to have you all over to her little house, cook supper for you, then make your ears bleed while she talked about everyone in the town, and made sure you knew their business, weather you wanted to or not.

I was disappointed to not receive my latest book, Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers Now 8 days late, the vendor simply replied with a ”Sorry, must be lost, we’ll give you a refund” which makes me wonder if they ever had the book at all. For whatever reason, this title is very expensive. New editions are well over 100 CAD, and used are almost 20 CAD. They were offering it used at a very good price, so I am a little upset because I didn’t want the refund, I wanted the book.

In the mean time, while travelling, I decided to pick up a copy of No Limits: The Will to Succeed The Michael Phelps story. This one is not as enticing as the Dara Torres book Not a knock against Michael Phelps, but the content, and the writing style are making it a lot more difficult to get through. As soon as I am done, I’ll be posting a review. Stay tuned.

Back in Action

2010-12-20T07:41:00.000-03:30

I want to give a huge Thank You to all who left comments. They were greatly appreciated.

My hiatus came to an end Friday night as I touched down at St. john’s International Airport at about 8:00pm.

It was a very good trip. Nan would have been proud. More of a celebration of her life than mourning her passing. I got to see many relatives I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

I managed one swim last Tuesday at the pool where I first learned to float and tread water. Now that I am back and settled in, I need to figure out a new holiday routine, which won’t be easy as the pools where I normally swim are shut for maintenance over Christmas. This will take some clever planning, and discipline.

So bring it on Santa. Just 3 sleeps till I hit my next age group.

An Unscheduled Hiatus

2010-12-13T07:30:00.001-03:30

Grandmother was a funny lady. She knew the business of everyone in the community, and had no trouble sharing their stories, weather you wanted to listen or not. She often mixed up the names and details from one story to another, so most of the people remained somewhat anonymous.

There was one time she kept referring to a pair of elderly bachelors in the community as the two old rams. That made my wife and I look at each other with a puzzled look on our faces. Having no idea what the answer would be, we asked “Why do you call them the two old rams?” She answered “Because they drives around all day in a Dodge Ram Truck”

As I make my way home for a few days to pay respects, and see family I haven’t seen in years, I am looking forward to sharing and hearing more stories. For the next week, I’ll be out of commission. But it’s only temporary. See soon.

I'm Training for an Ironman, Friday Funny

2010-12-10T07:33:00.005-03:30

I received This Funny Video from my good friend Smitty. This is hilarious. And dead on the money.

Word of warning, a few STRONG sentance enhancers here, but still funny.

Swim Workouts for Christmas

2010-12-09T07:42:00.001-03:30

Christmas is getting closer, and during the holidays, our masters group takes a little holiday as well. So I am starting to look for some good workouts that I can do over the holidays to keep me honest.

While researching yesterdays post, I came upon the Masters USA site, and they have an online magazine with a web workout feature. It looks like an excellent resource for workouts, and the one posted in the latest edition looks like a very interesting one.

The main set is 2400m done as 100’s broken into 8 sets of 3 x 100. Each set is done on a constant interval, but the progression is structured like a descending stepped castle. (Mouthful I know, we used castles during my rowing days)

Here is how you set the intervals. You use your 100m split from your best recent long distance swim. Your starting interval is + 25 to 30 seconds. Then each set of 3 descends by 10 seconds, then ascends by 5. Descends by 10, ascends by 5. By the 8th set, you should be at your best pace time, and should be barely able to make it.

For me, I used my 100m split in the 400, from our recent time trial. My time in the 400 was 6:45 which works out to 1:41 for 100m. So my set would look like this. (My intervals are in brackets)

1. 100m split + 2:05 to 2:10 (2:05)
2. -10 (1:55)
3. +5 (2:00)
4. -10 (1:50)
5. +5 (1:55)
6. -10 (1:45)
7. +5 (1:50)
8. -10 (1:40)

The workout is meant to be a challenge set, and the intervals should be tough enough that the first time you try it, you should fail on the last set.

I plan to do it early during my Christmas break, and see if I can actually improve during the holidays instead of slowing down.

If I can improve, I may just give myself an extra little Christmas treat.

Masters Swim Canada Million Metre Challenge

2010-12-08T07:56:00.002-03:30

The Million Metre Challenge is a personal challenge that is part of the Masters Swim Canada Organization. The challenge is simple. Swim, log your workouts, and when you hit One Million, you get a certificate, badge, and a swim cap.

Along the way, there prizes for intermediate goals, such as 100,000, 250,000 etc. And on November 18th, at our Thursday Masters Session, I hit 100,000. A week later, my purple cap arrived in the mail.

The truth is that the numbers sound big, but the real challenge is not swimming a lot, but faithfully tracking your workouts. I had started three separate times, and then got slack logging my sessions, then fell off the boat altogether.

But this fall, with about 15,000m already in the bank from my previous years, I started logging, and before I knew it, I was closing in on 100,000. as of this morning, I am at 122,435m.

If you think about it, at 4 workouts per week, and 2000m per session in a year you would easily hit well over 400,000 (416,000 to be exact.) I swim 4 times at a minimum, and my workouts are usually between 2000m, and 3500m so my goal for the end of this year is to hit 500,000.

Masters Swim Canada uses the data to build a database of training information on masters swimmers.

If you live in Canada, and are a regular swimmer, I encourage you to sign up for the challenge. If you live in the USA, I encourage you to check out Masters USA. I don’t know if there is a similar program, but it wouldn’t be difficult to start. And if not, we could start our own.

So start logging those metres.

The Older Athlete

2010-12-07T07:40:00.002-03:30

I recently came across this. Sent by Chris Carmichael from Carmichael Training Systems. I am a subscriber, and the majority of correspondence from CTS are notices of upcoming camps, or specials on memberships. But every so often, I receive something interesting.

This one is right up my ally as it deals with performance and the aging athlete, and at 43, going on 44, I am an aging athlete, still squeezing improved performance out of my aging body.

The CTS article references a New York Times article about Olga Kotelko, a 91 year old track and field athlete, still competing in masters competitions. Turns out that one of the keys to success is a trem we keep hearing more and more about. HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training)

We keep hearing more and more about the benefits of doing higher intensity training, even for endurance events, and even for very long endurance events such as Ironman.

I encourage anyone at any age to give the CTS and the New York Times Articles a read for inspiration, and information. And please don’t let the number of candles on your cake be your crutch.

Here are a couple of more of my posts on Interval Training and Tabata.

Book Giveaway, And The Winner Is…

2010-12-02T07:50:00.003-03:30

I swear this was totally legit. Here is how I chose the giveaway recipient.

I used the random number generator at Random.org as you can see in the screenshot below, the number chosen was 31.

That turned out to be Mel at Tall Mom On The Run

Mel is a runner with a blog that is pretty awesome. She has a load of followers, 750 at last count, and growing by the day. Her posts seem to consistently net 20 to 30 comments, so it’s a pretty active site.

Mel actually has 2 active blogs. The second one is called Tall Mom on the Run Giveaways and lists contests and winners. Everyone should totally go over and check out her blogs, and sign on as followers.

Enjoy the book Mel, and if there’s anyone who would still like to snag a copy, you get one for under 20 Loonies new, or used for under 3 loonies at Amazon

Thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway. It was a blast. I’ll definitely do another one, but I am thinking about changing it up a little. Stay tuned for more, and keep coming back to Flatout Buddy.

The Review, Dara Torres Age is Just a Number

2010-12-01T07:42:00.002-03:30

Ok Peeps, one more sleep. The big book giveaway. is tomorrow, and thanks to Tall Mama, I have had a huge influx of entries. I may just make 50 yet.

In the mean time, I promised a review, so here it is.

Picking this book was easy. I have been a fan of Dara ever since I first heard her name at trials for the 2008 Olympics. That meet was special because Michael Phelps was preparing for a run at 8 gold medals in Beijing, but before he could race in the Olympics, he had to qualify. But it was the 40 year old mother of 1 who peaked my interest. How could anyone not be sucked into a story like that.

After reading the book, I now felt guilty because like so many other people, I immediately drew inspiration from her. I kind of poached her personal accomplishments to inspire me to reach my own goals, but she carried those hopes and dreams squarely on her shoulders, and it almost broke her.

The book is structured differently than other biographies. It’s not so much chronological, but by event, or topic. For example, Chapter 1 is entitled “On Diving Back.” The final chapter is titled “On Not Giving Up.”

My absolute favorite chapter is “On Being an Older Athlete.” I can relate, and she describes the challenges of being a mature athlete preparing for a big even like the Olympics in just enough detail that a 40 year old weekend warrior like me can totally understand.

My favorite story is of the 50m semi final in Beijing when Sweden’s Therese Alshammarone, one of Dara’s main competitors in the 50, came up to her just before race, with a look of fear on her face, and a huge rip in her Speedo LZR race suit. Dara tried to help with the suit, and then on the pool deck, convinced the race officials to delay the start while Therese changed into another suit. I’d like to think that is what I’d do.

Some other thoughts, Dara’s father passed away not long before the Beijing games. In addition, her coach was diagnosed with a life threatening blood disorder, and couldn’t make it to Beijing. Talk about adversity.

What I liked? Pretty much everything. I couldn’t put it down.

What I didn’t like? Not enough pictures. (Get you mind out of the gutter) I am talking about candid’s from the Olympics. It would have been cool to have visuals behind the stories about the warm up pool, and ready room etc.

So whoever wins the giveaway will have a good read on their hands. Whoever doesn’t win, can still pick up a copy here.

New for under 20 CAD, used for under 3 CAD. Good luck and enjoy.

Masters Mini Meet

2010-11-30T09:13:00.000-03:30

Thursday Past was our intra club mini meet. I was stoked for a good showing, eager to show off my newly developed flip turns skill, and to set some times. Unfortunately, Things don’t always go as planned.

We did 3 events. I chose the 100m and 400m free, everyone did the 200m free. This was the first event, mainly because Coach Paul wanted a good fresh 200m time as a standard.

I started off way too hard, and by 100m, my arms were almost seazed. By the end, I was shaking. I have no idea what my time was, but I am sure it was brutal.

my luck in the draw meant I had a decent rest until the 100 free, because I was in the final heat, but it also meant back to back with the 400m. Again, I went out way too hard. I tried to do flip turns, and they were awful. I barely broke 1:30 which was my original goal, so I should have been happy, but given I did a 1:32 on Tuesday in long descending set, I really thought that with a diving start, and good turns I could have been way faster.

Then without much of a cooldown, it was out of the water and back on the blocks for the 400m. That one really hurt. After just completing a 100m sprint, I was really struggling. I decided to stick with open turns and try and relax, but part way through, I started to feel like puking, so I had to take it down another notch. After 350, the girl in the lane next stopped, and I did too thinking I had miscounted. Turns out she miscounted and I quickly pushed off and finished my lat lap to make 400.

The Bad: I felt brutal on the short stuff. I am definitely not a short stuff kind of guy.

The Good: Even with the lap confusion in the 400, as well as the back to back, my 400 time was 2 seconds better than last February, so I know that I have a way better swim in me.

From here: Practice more turns. Get em down pat.

REMEMBER

2 sleeps to my giveaway. Don’t forget the bonus.

Ironman Cozumel

2010-11-29T08:09:00.003-03:30

This weekend was Ironman Cozumel, and one of my favorite bloggers, Semi Pro triathlete, Charisa, completed the race. I believe she finished with a 27th overall, and 7th in her division.

I use the term semi pro to describe someone like Charisa, who is good enough to compete with the very best, but has decided to train and race while still holding down a full time job. That takes a lot of guts knowing that you are taking your weekend warrior schedule, and putting it up against professionals who’s full time job is to Train, Eat, Sleep, recover, Repeat.

I am sure the Cozumel race was very challenging, especially on the swim. I have visited Coz, on a diving trip. When you dive the reefs there, you just float near the sea bottom and let the currents carry you along as you check out the marine life.

This makes for awesome diving, but I am sure those same currents makes for brutal Ironman swims.

Congratulations to Charisa, and I am looking forward to an awesome race report.

Just 3 sleeps to my giveaway.

And still bonus entries up for grabs here.

Welcome to Black Friday, Thanksgiving Humour

2010-11-26T07:51:00.006-03:30

Hands up anyone who ate too much turkey yesterday?

Hands up anyone who got up at 4:00am to line up outside a Best Buy to buy something you don’t need for 20% off?

Hands up anyone who slept in with a Tryptophan, Carbernet hang over?

And finally, don’t forget the giveaway.

Don’t forget the bonus entries here to find out how.

Now some lighthearted humour!

Champions, My Next Book

2010-11-25T08:08:00.005-03:30

I have finished reading my giveaway book, and my plan is to post a review next week. I really enjoyed the glimpse into the life of an Olympic champion. In fact so much that I have ordered a second book, referenced by Dara called Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers

I know I said my next book would be Brian Boyles Iron Heart but Champions looks like a very interesting read.

In it, the author, Daniel Chambliss, writes about coach coach Mark Schubert, and his swimmers at the swimming facility at Mission Viejo California, as they prepare for the 1984 olympics.

The book was pricey, almost 120 CAD for a new one, probably due to the fact it’s a pretty old publication (1988). But I managed to score a used copy for under 5, which ended up around 10 with shipping. I am looking forward to this read.

OTHER BUSINESS

Many thanks to Missy, who guest posted yesterday. If enough people bug her, she may come out of the shadows, and start writing again. I sure do miss her clever posts, and Wednesday Funnies.

And finally, don’t forget the giveaway. The draw is in a week. Remember, there are bonus entries up for grabs. Go here to find out how.

Iron Missy, The Return

2010-11-24T07:35:00.004-03:30

As promised, you loved her blog, and missed her when she left. So without further adieu, here she is, all the way from her kitchen, Iron Missy!!!!! (And congrats to Big Daddy for the bonus entry in my giveaway) And now (In the voice of Ed McMahon)Heeeeeres MISSY!

What’s up bitches!??! Bet you thought you had heard the last of me, yeah, yeah, you were hoping, I know the truth. The truth is…well, it’s been a life things kind of year for me. I will spare you the boring the details (truly, it has been fairly dull) and try to get to the goods.

Catch up – Since the American Triple T Ohio at the end of May, my long runs are five miles, my swims are zero metards and cycling max’s out at 20 miles a week these days. I HAVE been learning to swing a kettlebell (shhhh, I love it, I suck at it but I’ve never had such a power packed, short workout help so much), training and taking care of dogs, the elderly and the young and taking a little R&R time for me and the fam. For those of you that don’t know me and my blogoflife, it’s still alive right here

My life is still a Seinfeld episode, one after the other, crazy shit, random shit day after day. Just last nite, I was busy minding my own business (sleeping) when one, poo footed, invalid dog (Gunnar) decided to jump on my bed. Yes, you heard me, the little shit stepped in crap and decided to share at midnight…after I had been sleeping for three hours already. NICEEEE. So disgusting, trying to sanitize my sheets right now. I might just throw them away. Here is a lovely picture of Gunnar with his too cool for school shades on. He DOES think he is ‘all that.’

Other thoughts and TOTAL randomness. In no particular order…

I had to go to Bed Bath and Beyond for my super special coffee filter. Butttt, when did that place get so full of trash? I mean, a pad of fake grass so your dog can pee in doors called the Potty Mat or some crap. If you want a pet to pee inside your house, get a cat.

When you go out to lunch with a bunch of guys from work, do not randomly pull out anything that might resemble a roll of mints…you may just be offering a tampon. Ask me how I know? I’m so lucky that these guys like me.

When you tell people that you’ve done ironman (or insert other ridiculous endurance race here), people think you’re a bad ass. UNTIL they see you try to do a circuit/kettlebell workout and you’re shaking because you can’t hold up your own weight. Thankfully, I’m not a pussy and can just push through it, but still, it’s embarrassing.

Oh, if you’re ever looking to HATE triathlon, try the American Triple T Ohio, you may never do another tri again. Caveat – it was THEE BEST, most FUN and HARDEST race I have ever done, hands down (plus we rocked out). At the same time, I don’t feel like I missed out by not doing a late season race OR working out through the blistering heat of the summer.

Watching your manly husband prance around a show ring with a dog will put you in stitches. I don’t think I got us any extra points by pointing and laughing at him but the little pup still got his title so someone did something right.

I thought I would miss swimming. I’ve been in a pool 3x since the end of May, yeah, I don’t miss the wet hair on a cold day and the dry skin…but I DO miss the people.

I have been totally self absorbed and have not been keeping up in blogland so please forgive me. I may come back some day and shock all of you.

Hope you are well…Missy

Special Announcements, Giveaway Bonus Entries

2010-11-23T09:08:00.000-03:30

First of all, my giveaway seems to be stalled at the halfway mark, so rather than prolong the agony I am going to set Thursday of next week as the draw date. But as an incentive to bump up my total number of comments, here is what I am going to do. If you refer someone to my post, and they leave a comment, you get an extra entry. In fact one for every referral.

Here’s how it’ll work. You refer someone, send an email to flatoutjim@gmail.com, with the subject “giveaway referral” and let me know their name and blog if they have one. As soon as I see the comment on my First of all, my giveaway post, You get an extra entry. No cheating. You can’t email me saying you referred Barbie, and get an extra entry. It has to be a new comment.

Second, stay tuned tomorrow for a guest post from a former very popular blogger who retired from bloggy world. She has agreed to give us an update on what she’s up to, in her own unique style. AND if you can guess who it is before I post tomorrow, I’ll give you a bonus entry. Again send an email to flatoutjim@gmail.com, with the subject giveaway referral.

Third and finally, for your reading, enjoyment here is an article on the U.S. Masters web site about shoulder stretches for swimmers.

Flip Turns and Singles Swimming

2010-11-22T07:31:00.004-03:30

Notice the tight tuck, excellent position, and competition suit, this is not me!

Oh the joy of having a lane all to yourself. This a rarity during lunch hour swims at Mount Pearl Pool. There are usually a few regulars in the “FAST LANE”, who do actually swim, but it’s pretty disorganized. Then there’s at least one old guy, who insists on flailing up and down the “FAST LANE” (it’s all about perspective)and nobody is breaking his rhythm.

But Friday, there must have been a bingo on somewhere, because instead of the usual 50 or so seniors, (sixty five and older,) there was 15, if that many, and my lane, the “FAST LANE” was empty. (Of course this may be normal for Friday.)

I soon got over my guilt and took advantage of the situation. I was planning to try and practice some flip turns, depending on how busy the pool was. But with the lane all to myself I flipped in with both barrels.

I figured 1000m of freestyle with flipturns would be a good way to get comfortable. I would either learn to do a turn, or drown trying. I decided on 20 x 50m with a turn on a very conservative 1:15 interval. That was on top of a warmup of 200m with flips at the deepend, and a finishing set of 100 with a flip at both ends. (The shallow end is pretty shallow, and there’s not much room for error on the push off)

The result? Of the 20 turns, I would rate 16 as decent turns. 4 of them were actually really good, for me. 4 were pretty bad, in fact on 2 of them I missed the wall altogether. But that’s ok, you gotta take the good with the bad.

By the end of the practice, I felt really good about them. So now it’s all about more Practice Practice Practice. I may even start inserting them into my workouts. I now feel like a REAL swimmer.

Giveaway

Don’t forget my giveaway. Just to remind everyone, the target is 50 comments. I am now at 23, almost half way, but the momentum is slowing down, so I may throw in a little added incentive. Stay tuned.

Brian Boyle Iron heart

2010-11-19T08:07:00.004-03:30

You gotta check out this blog. As reported by Tri Juice, Brian Boyle just completed Ironman Florida, in a time of 10:14:20.

Brian is becoming one of those synonymous names in the Ironman world, like Rick and Dick, Sister Madonna, or The Blazeman.

Brian’s story is that he was nearly killed in a car crash in 2004. It was devastating accident, and every time I read about the injuries he sustained, I am still dumbfounded.

But not only did he recover, but he defied his doctors who predicted he would never walk again, and has now completed 3 Ironman races including the big one in Kona. He has raced at Ironman Newfoundland, and Clearwater.

Clearwater is where I met him, two years ago. There was a local connection as his grandfather was born in Newfoundland, and he still has ties here. Soft spoken and very approachable were my impressions of Brian.

In addition to all that, as well as TV appearances on Ellen, and The Today Show, Brian is now a published Author. His book Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back from the Dead

This just may be my next read after I finish Dara Torres: Age Is Just a Number

Giveaway

Don’t forget. my giveaway currently now at 22 comments. My target is still 50, so send all your friends.

Ironman Arizona

2010-11-18T11:15:00.001-03:30

Ironman Arizona goes on Sunday. And once again I have 2 friends down there right now getting ready to hit the water and pavement.

Maureen and Janine. Both are experienced triathletes, and have been in the sport about as long as me. This is Maurine’s first crack at the long race. As for Janine, I think it’s her first as well, but I am not 100% sure.

I will be tracking them both on Sunday, as well as anyone else that are regulars to Flatoutbuddy. So if anyone reading this is racing Sunday leave me a comment so I can track you as well.

My Book Arrived

That’s right, In the mail yesterday. The same one as my giveaway, so if you want the book, and haven’t signed up yet, leave a comment in my post. I am already a third of the way through, and so far it’s a very interesting read. Some very interesting insights into the world of competitive swimming, and what Dara went through in each of her comebacks.

So if you want the book, and haven’t signed up yet, leave a comment in my post HERE.

Nothing to do with Triathlons

2010-11-17T11:14:00.002-03:30

It’s my blog, and I can do whatever I want. This post has nothing to do with triathlon. This one is for the hockey nuts out there.

I had a chance to watch some Olympic caliber hockey this past weekend as the 4 Nations Cup took place in St. John’s.

This is an invitational tournament featuring the 4 top international Girls hockey teams. Yes that’s right I said Girls. And for old school fans who think girls hockey is boring, well just stay home and watch the leafs and Sens YAWNNN!

The gold medal game was between Archrivals, Team Canada, and Team U.S.A. (The rest of the world really has to catch up)

It was one of the best hockey games I have ever seen. Canada rebounded from their round robin shootout loss on Wednesday to win the final 3 to 2 in overtime. It was fast and fierce, and although the game is officially “NO CONTACT” when players were fighting for a 50/50 puck in the corner, there were no holds barred.

Best player on the ice for the U.S. was 5’0” 130 lb Erika Lawler. She was a firecracker, all over the ice, in the face of Canada’s best players every shift. Best player for Canada, hands down Rebecca Johnston, who not only scored the winning goal, but drove the net and drew the penalty that gave Canada the Powerplay.

On that same play came a scary incident, when U.S. player Kacey Bellamy crashed into the boards after tripping Johnston. She injured herself, and was taken off on a stretcher. I can’t find much in the way of status reports on her, but hopefully she is not badly hurt, and can return to the ice soon.

So if anyone ever has a chance to watch hockey of this caliber, do yourselves a favour, and go. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Giveaway

Don’t forget two giveaways. Barbie from Trying a Tri, and mine currently stuck at 16 comments. My target is 50, so send all your friends.

More Giveaways

2010-11-16T11:00:00.002-03:30

Don’t you love free stuff?

First of all, Barbi from Trying a Tri has her own giveaway. A packet of cool Aussy theme products and nicknacks. It looks pretty awesome. Go to her blog to check out the rules.

Second, I am up to 15 comments, that’s almost one third of the way to my target. Remember, spread the word. Details are HERE

Third, my blog had a visit from a retired blogger who was very popular before she decided to pack it in. If you are wondering who, check out the comments on my contest post. I am trying to entice her to make a guest appearance, and she just might be falling for it. Stay Tuned.

Fourth and Finally, Thank goodness I am back on track. Tuesday morning masters was awesome again. A few more drill and kick sets this go round, so my distance was just under 3000. But it felt good to feel good, if you know what I mean.

That’s all, Check out the giveaways.

Week in Review. And it Ain’t Pretty

2010-11-15T08:01:00.000-03:30

First of all, Don’t forget my giveaway. I am looking for 50 comments, as of this morning, I have 12. Contest Details are HERE, spread the word. The free book is below.

It was a brutal week for training. I know it’s transition period, and it shouldn’t really matter, but swimming has been going good this fall, and I have been pretty faithful, until last week.

You know how you are when you kind of feel sick, but not seriously sick. Just enough to make you feel like you don’t want to do anything. That was me yesterday.

It really started Wednesday. I didn’t make my Wednesday swim which isn’t a big deal because it is usually only drills, and slow swimming. Still, I hate missing them, but something came up, so I didn’t make it.

Then on Thursday, with the Remembrance holiday, the family wanted to go out for supper, and since I love to eat as much as I do train and race I wasn’t about to deny the family my company. So I blew off masters for some quality time.

I did manage an easy 45 minute, 1500m morning dip on Friday, but it felt horrible. It felt like catching air, not water. I was all over the place, but knowing I could swim Saturday and Sunday, I didn’t let it bother me.

But Saturday, my errands ran longer than usual, so I missed a chance to swim that day.

Finally on Sunday, I just felt really crappy. So I blew off my second masters workout, and went to bed early. Hopefully my body responds, and I can break the cycle today.

I have my TYR swim bag packed, and am ready to hit the pool at lunch, then Tuesday masters tomorrow morning. By this evening, I hope to be either back on track, or sick enough to stay home and get over it.

Once again, here is the book for the giveaway, Details are HERE. Best of luck.

Free Giveaway

2010-11-12T08:22:00.002-03:30

Don’t forget to check out my Free Giveaway.

Click HERE, Read the Rules, leave a comment, Wait for the draw.

So far I am only up to 3 comments. The quicker I get to 50, the quicker someone wins the prize.

Good Luck.

Free Book Giveaway. Age is Just a Number by Dara Torres

2010-11-11T08:43:00.000-03:30

I have been thinking about doing a giveaway, for a while, but just never committed. Since we are closing in on Christmas I think the time is right to dive in. If this goes well, I may do another one or two.

The Rules

1. Leave a comment on this post. Include your email address if you are not a regular blogger with contact information in your profile.

2. Only one entry per person. Leave as many comments as you want, but it only gets you one ticket.

3. Winner will be determined by a random draw. Their name announced on my blog, and also sent an email.

4. The name will be chosen once I reach 50 unique comments on this post.

That means your chances are 1 in 50. It also means I need some help hitting 50 comments. Yes this is really a shameful way to drive traffic my way, and entice fellow bloggers to send referrals to my site. So get your bloggie friends or your real time friends (if you have any) to surf over, check out my blog, and leave a comment.

The prize will be shipped from Amazon.ca. I’ll pay for shipping, but if you live outside Canada, you will be responsible for duty charges. SORRY! Nothing I can do about that.

Why Now?

Barbie over at Trying a Tri is thinking about doing a giveaway, so I thought if I did one, she might do it as well.

Why This Book?

I already have it on order, and I have already read the prologue on the Amazon site. I have been a fan of Dara ever since I watched the USA Olympic Trials before Beijing. I think it will be an awesome read, and I plan to post a review once I am done.

This is my first time, so be gentle. Good luck, and if there are any questions, contact me.

2010 Season Review

2010-11-10T07:25:00.001-03:30

My bike is safely stored away, my newtons, are tucked cozy in their closet. The season is now officially over for me, so it’s as good a time as any to go back and review my summer of swimming riding and running.

It was a bumpy ride, and started off pretty crappy. But as I closed in on my A race, things started to look up, and I finished with a bang.

My long term plan was to focus on Personal Best times in a 5k, and 10k road race, as well as in a 20k ITT. But the big prize for me was a PR at the St. John’s Triathlon. If I raced well, maybe even an agegroup podium finish.

My 47:14 at the Harbour Front 10k was within the conservative target I had set for myself, but it wasn’t great. The 39:05 at My first 20k ITT was also within my goal of breaking 40 early in the season, but was over 3 minutes off my PB of 35:47 and I knew I would have a lot of work to do over the summer.

The lowest point of the season was the Paradise Triathlon. It was brutal. My swim was slower than expected, my bike was even worse. The only bright spot was a decent run, but overall I was disappointed. I was way behind peers who I usually stay close to, and occasionally pass.

But part of the process is taking efforts like that, learning from them, and using the experience to get stronger, and faster. With a little hard work, and some smart training, I started to see some improvement on the bike. Leading into the Carbonear Triathlon, I was feeling good, and had an awesome event.

That set me up for the race I was focusing on. The St. John’s triathlon. On race morning, I was feeling good, focused, and I had no nerves. My effort on the bike was solid, and I managed to hold off several surging agegroup peers on the run. I was rewarded with a personal best in less than ideal conditions, and a third place podium finish in my agegroup.

After a few days of recovery, I eased back onto the bike, and 9 days after my PB at the St. John’s Tri, I shattered my PB in a 20k ITT.

In retrospect, to come back so hard so soon after a tough race was probably a mistake as I paid for it with a very sore lower back that percisted, and kept me off the bike and out of my newtons, for almost 6 weeks.

Instead I focused on swimming, and the open water swim series where my best time was 22:24.

I finished the season with the Turkey Tea 10k. Still hopeful for a Personal Best of around 44 minutes, I ran it hard, and re-agrivated my injury. But since I was done with riding and running for the season, and since I was confident it would heal, I didn’t sweat it. By now our masters swim season was in full force, and I had a renewed vigour for focusing on my swimming.

So there it is. Next season will be tough to top, and I have been notorious for following up an excellent season with a crappy one, so next year my focus will be to break that trend, and have an even better year.

Here’s to 2011.

Another 3000m Before Breakfast

2010-11-09T08:52:00.001-03:30

First off, I neglected to mention Robert, the One Hour Ironman, who also completed Florida this weekend. Robert has a very cool web site, and has published a book about training for an Ironman on 1 hour a day. What does 1 hour a day get you? Under 13 hours. There must be more to the story, so I guess I have to check out the book. Congratulations to Robert. Next up is Texas.

Now for this morning. Off to the Mount Pearl Marlins, Masters workout. This morning the feature was a 800m timed set. But before that was a slow steady build to get everyone ready. The last set before the 800 was 4 x 100 descending, and then 400 smooth. And I smoked the 100’s, probably too fast, finishing with a 1:36.

Then the 800. My target was under 15, and my time ended up 14:20, so pleased I am, and all before 8:00am. I lost count, but my lane mate passed me twice. (She is really fast) so when she stopped, I knew I had an extra 2 laps to go.

I hate morning workouts, so I am sure that if it were a sensible time of day, I could be even faster.

The next timed challenge will be our 15 minute timed swim in about 2 weeks. So wish me luck.

Busy Weekend

2010-11-08T07:52:00.002-03:30

We were struck with an uncharacteristically warm November weekend with sunshine and temperatures in the mid teens. It was a prime opportunity to do some last minute outdoor work around the house, put a huge dent into my “Gutting out the Basement Project” and check out some sporting events.

I opted to not ride or run, but instead dismantle the kid’s, wife’s, and my bikes and store them in the loft of the shed for the winter. The method to my madness is to build a cool workout area in the basement where the junk used to be.

Throughout the day I was online checking the results of Ironman Florida 2011. I had six athletes I was tracking. five local athletes, all of whom were there not just to finish but to do serious damage. Best of the bunch was Otto Ryan who cracked 10 hours with a solid effort and an awesome run.

Also completing the race was Chloe who also had an awesome time of 12:56:18, just cracked the 13 hour mark.

Then there was a local swim meet put off by our local swim team, The St. John’s Legends. Kids from all across the province were en mass at the Aquarena for the event, and what a sight to see hundreds of kids of all ages lined up on the pool deck warming up and waiting for their events. I managed to watch the boys 1500m (1550m for the winner Gavin Dyke). It was awesome and inspiring to watch these teenagers bang out lap after lap, and keep their stroke doing it.

Then topping it off was our Sunday night masters featuring 2 sets of 700m.

And that was the weekend. Thank goodness I am back at work and can relax.

More Ironman Florida Stuff

2010-11-04T08:09:00.002-02:30

That's Chloe who is racing this weekend. Wish her luck, and check out her blog.

Here are a couple of more things about Ironman Florida this weekend.

First off, as pointed out on my last post, the race is Saturday, not Sunday.

Second, please join me in wishing luck to Chloe from Running With A Bottle of Wine. Chloe lives in Panama City Beach, and is racing on Saturday, so she gets to sleep in her own bed, cook in her own kitchen, and doesn’t have to drag bike parts half way across the continent, and re-assemble it in a squatty hotel room. How cool is that. Her blog is well done and worth checking out. I am trying to convince her to write about the race from a local point of view, and give a little local advice on where to go and what to do when in PCB.

Third, according to my Google Analytics account, I am getting lots of hits on my Ironman Florida 2010 Dos and Don’ts post from 2010. It seems there are lots of people looking for any little piece of information that might give them an advantage, or at least put their mind at ease. The post can be found here.

Fourth and finally, check the day for the athlete’s pre-race banquet. It is most likely TONIGHT, Thursday, but confirm it on the schedule in the athletes guide. Every race I had competed in up to Ironman Florida had the pre race meal the day before the race. So me thinking it was going to be on Friday, missed it. Don’t make the same rookie mistake.

Once again good luck to all competitors. It’s going to be a great weekend.

Ironman Florida 2011

2010-11-03T08:02:00.003-02:30

Ironman Florida 2011 goes this SATURDAY (not Sunday.) I have buddies travelling there today, and I am so jealous. The forecast for Sunday is sunny and 69 degrees, with light winds. A far cry from 2006 where the temp at the start of the race was 32 degrees and the wind was howling.

Some new from Florida, as far as I can tell, NO OIL! It’s been out of the news recently, so here’s hoping no news is good news.

Also, the race has a modified bike course. The new route changes the course from a loop to an out and back by eliminating the section on County 388 between State 79 and State 77. Unless you have done the race before, it will likely mean nothing, but from what I can remember, racers will see less country homes, and more pine trees. You can find out a little more about the new route at TriJuice.

Personally, I like out and back courses. You get to see more athletes, maybe even a glimpse of the frontrunners, including the pros. And if you are in the hunt for an age group podium finish, or a qualifying slot, you get to size up the competition. That’s providing of course you know who they are, but if you are that good, you should find out who they are as part of your race prep. I wouldn’t have to worry about it.

For anyone heading to Panama City Beach, and you are like me, and the grease at the Wafflehouse is just a little too much, so there is an IHOP just over the bridge in Panama City. To get there; take Route 30, to 98, then onto 75. IHOP is just a couple of clicks up the road on the left. (Google Directions Here). If you need a good caffeine fix, it looks like there are a couple of Starbucks in PCB, so you won’t have to cross the bridge into Panama City. And if you are like me, and the grease at the Wafflehouse is just a little too much, so there is also an IHOP there as well.

And one last hint, get to Walmart early in the week, or all the Gatorade will be gone. No kidding. Just bare shelves. And good luck to everyone.

Back on Track

2010-11-01T07:53:00.001-02:30

A busy work week, and a slack work-out week along with a dose of the cold made for a less than inspired blogger last week. So I have committed to pull up my compression socks, and do some solid workouts, and some solid posts this week.

After missing pool sessions Tuesday and Thursday, (My first missed workouts of the year) I headed out Friday evening for a brief “Get the feel for the water session” again. Unfortunately, a packed program with swim lessons, and diving team practice meant pool width lanes. That’s 18m across the pool. I was not impressed.

So Saturday, I planned a moderate but focused workout until I walked onto the deck of the pool. The 25 yard MUN pool, was jam packed. There are only 5 lanes, and they all had no less than 5 to 7 people swimming, with not a clue as to lane etiquette. So it turned into a “Go when you can session”

But after yesterdays masters fix, I am back to feeling good again.

So this week, more kick practice, more flipturn practice, and lots of helping my kids devour Halloween treats.

Another Weekend, Another 2500m.

2010-10-25T08:06:00.001-02:30

I can’t get my head around how good my swimming has been going. I don’t want to sound boastful, but lately, whenever we are setting up the intervals in our lane, I always underestimate my ability.

Last night was no exception. The main set, focused on drill/swims and 100’s broken down like this.

200 Drill/Swim (Shark Fin)
6 x 100

200 Drill/Swim (3 stroke, 8 kick)
5 x 100

200 Drill/Swim (Fist)
4 x 100

The key was to pick an interval for the first set of 100’s that would give you 10 to 15 seconds rest on a moderate pace. And that’s where I have trouble believing in my ability.

We set out on 2:00 for the first set, but despite my effort to swim excrutiatingly slow, I was still 1:39, 1:42, and 1:41 on the first 3. so I dropped back to 1:55, and still had no problem making it with 10 seconds rest.

The water felt great. I was feeling loose and relaxed, and again had no issue making the 1:50. When we started the 1:45, I was still able to make it. Just barely; stop, look at the pace clock, then go; but I made it.

I finished with a short cooldown, then home for supper, and log another 2500m. And that was my Sunday night.

So I guess the moral of the story is, trust your abilities.

Double Down. How Bad Is It

2010-10-22T07:10:00.005-02:30

You know it’s a slow news day when the talk of the town is the introduction of a new chicken sandwich. This week in Canada marked the introduction of the KFC double down.

For those who don’t know, it’s a bacon and cheese sandwich featuring a delectable but controversial twist. The bun is replaced by a pair of chicken breasts, deep fried in the colonel’s secret recipe of 11 different herbs and spices.

Once announced, TV and radio became a sounding board for cardiologists, and nutritionists preaching about the evils of the new concoction. But really folks, how bad is it? Well for kicks and giggles I did a little google research, and did some comparisons, and this is what I found.

The KFC Double Down breaks down as, 540 cal, 30g of fat, 1740mg sodium

In comparison, McDonalds Big Mac, 540 cal, 29g fat, 1020mg sodium

If you pick up a Pizza hut 12” meat lovers, 1 slice will net you 300 cal, 14g fat, 660mg sodium, but when is the last time you ate 1 slice of pizza. Most girls I know can kill 3 slices without blinking. Now you are talking 900 cal, 42g of fat, and 1980mg of sodium.

Sodium seems to be the major concern with take out food. A large number of products are creeping up on 50% to well over 100% of the daily recommended amount, which from Health Canada is 1500mg

Even that Tim Horton’s Raisin Bran Muffin you had with coffee this morning, had a whopping 790mg of sodium along with its 360 cal, and 10g fat.

And a half cup serving of Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup has a whopping 890mg of sodium.

As for the Double Down, I had one Wednesday. My frugal wife used freshly delivered coupons to buy 2, with the intent of stripping the chicken off, adding them to buns, and making meals for 4. Luckily for me, our 5 year old opted for the soup instead, complete with the 890mg of sodium. That meant I got to sample the full monty.

I am happy to report, I didn’t die, or throw up. My impression was indifferent. I wasn’t repulsed, but I wouldn’t line up for another one.

Bottom line is that the Double Down is not the cause of epidemic obesity and Heart Disease in North America. But if your normal daily menu looks like my blog comparison with a muffin for breakfast, double down for lunch, and a pizza for supper, pay up your life insurance. You’re kids will love you.

Moderation is the key. A little indulgence now and then didn’t kill anyone, so save it for an occasion, and savour it. Maybe after another killer pool session.

Sunday Evening Swim Test

2010-10-20T07:55:00.000-02:30

Since the end of the tri season, I have been unbelievably focused on swimming. Last year I made huge gains on two wheels with an aggressive indoor training program, but found motivation to get to the pool seriously lacking.

This year, I have no trouble dragging my ass out of bed to get to the pool for my 6:30am masters workout; or my twice a week regular masters workouts; and the benefits seem to be paying off.

This Sunday was or initial test set. We do this a couple of times a year, and I knew it was coming up soon. So when coach instructed us to choose a partner in our lane, I knew what was coming.

This years test protocol changed from 10 to 15 minutes for maximum number of lengths (Not laps). I won’t give out my result, but I will say I was pretty pleased.

Now, the challenge from coach is to come up with a plan to improve the score for the next test in 6 weeks. The results of the test will not be announced, but the improvements will be.

So for 6 weeks, I need to squeeze out a couple of more laps out of 15 minutes. My plan is to improve my efficiency, and focus on reducing my stroke count; improve my kick; and start doing flip turns. The second 2 will be the toughest.

I can easily work on those items during my weekly lunchtime swims, and in 6 weeks, we’ll see if my plan is worth it.

By the way, any free advice on kick, or turns would be appreciated.

Turkey Tea 10k

2010-10-13T07:33:00.002-02:30

Not a pretty picture, but sometimes running is an ugly sport.

The morning was sunny and cool, the course was and flat and fast, the start was brisk and quick, and with the sound of the gun my last race of the season was underway.

This one was on my radar for a while. My original season plan included this race along with a hard block of specific training after the St. John’s Triathlon, and a goal of setting a PR which would have been a low 44 minute race.

As it turned out, my previously mentioned injury hampered my training, as did hurricane Igor, so when thanksgiving week rolled around, I flip flopped back and forth from running or not a half dozen times.

In the end, I decided to go ahead. Leave aspirations of 44 minutes behind, and consider it a good morning workout race before I munched out on turkey dinner at my nephews later that day.

A very well run event with one exception. The markers were all over the place. The 1k was short by about 50m, and my 4 minute split had me panicking that I went out too fast. Then at the 9k mark, I was at 40 minutes, and thinking that 40 was still within reach. But it was a cruel hoax as this marker was a couple hundred metres short.

I finally crossed the line in 45:43. Check out the results here. A solid mid pack finish, and a decent effort given my fall training, or lack there of. I was ok with it, knowing that with some good quality intervals and speed work, my goal was certainly within reach.

So now, the newtons, are put up for the winter, and it’s time to focus on getting fast in the pool. More on that later.

Canadian Intercollegiate Sports (CIS) Dual Meet

2010-10-12T13:36:00.001-02:30

If you ever find yourself lacking motivation in the pool, and if you have the opportunity, go watch a swim meet.

This weekend I went to the Memorial Seahawks vs Waterloo Warriors dual meet. Two teams, facing off, head to head, racing for points. The main reason I went was to cheer on our masters coach, Dana. Once there, I got wrapped up in the excitement.

There were only a couple of dozen spectators, mostly friends and family of the swim team members. But boy did they make a lot of noise.

The highlight for me was Event 2, the men’s 200m Medley Relay. In the final leg, lanes 4 and 5 were neck and neck going into the turn, but when they flipped, and broke the surface, our guy was about 10 inches ahead, and he held on for the win.

The men’s points race was very close with the Warriors edging out the Seahawks 53 to 51. The girls weren’t so lucky as the warriors bettered the Seahawks 63 to 41. They’ll get a chance to even it up Halloween weekend.

This was the first time I watched a meet, and I was excited and so motivated to hit the pool Sunday evening. The strokes were super smooth, and the turns crisp. Getting there early enough to watch the warm up was a bonus. Observing drills the way they are supposed to be done, was an education to say the least.

I can only imagine what it is like to watch an event like the world championships, or the Olympics.

So if you live near a University, check out the varsity schedules, and go down and take in a meet.

Mount Pearl Marlins Masters Swim Club

2010-10-07T07:24:00.003-02:30

That's more gear than I used when I played hockey, and I am sure coach Duffy uses every piece

3500m before 8:00am is a rarity for me. I don’t do early morning workouts well. I am definitely not a roll out of bed, into the pool kind of person. I’ve learned enough about my body to know that to get benefit from a training session, I need to wake up at least an hour before, eat a little, sip some coffee, make sure all bodily functions are in order, then make my way to the session.

So when I was asked if I’d be interested in swimming 6:30am masters at Mount Pearl pool, I brushed it off at first, but after thinking about it, I determined the Tuesday session would work well. I could get up at 5:30am my regular time, skip my shower, have a light breakfast, drink some coffee, then be at the pool by 6:25 and on deck by 6:30.

The Mount Pearl club is small but growing, and very well coached. The Tuesday group small, only a half dozen swimmers in 2 lanes as the local swim team took up the rest, but it was a kick ass workout, and I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day.

The main set was coach John's Y= workout. 4 sets done as:

Y fast, 25 smooth
Y fast, 50 smooth
Y fast, 75 smooth
Y fast, 100 smooth

Where Y=25 for the first, 50 for the second, 75 for the third, and 100 for time on the last. I was very surprised to make 1:37, 1:39, 1:39 and 1:36 for the 100’s.

So I am already looking forward to next Tuesday. I am committed to making this part of my weekly routine.

And for anyone trying to make gains in the pool, you gotta check out a masters program.

MUN Run 5k Race

2010-10-06T07:28:00.002-02:30

The start of the MUN Run. That's me on the right, in the back with the wine colour singlet.

What’s the single most important factor in excellence in sports? Is it training? Mental Toughness? Dealing with Pressure? Is it ensuring you do adequate speed work or hills? Is it endurance?

ANSWER: NONE OF THE ABOVE !!

The single most important factor is showing up. Even the great Michael Phelps wouldn’t have won his pocketful of medals in 2008 if he missed the plane to Beijing, or slept in the morning of the first heat.

So showing up as a 43 year old at the MUN run 5k race around Memorial University Campus was a shoe in to get one of them shiny medals.

This was a race not on the local calendar. It was a combination training run for the MUN Varsity cross country team (That’s them all in red in the picture above) and a fun raiser for the varsity scholarship fund. The email notice only came out the Week of, and I never registered until the night before. Race morning was warm and humid, just the way I like it. Only drawback was the wind.

The first lap of the 2 loop course was fast. In fact at the 2k mark, I was on pace to break 21 minutes, but then “The Arse Fell Out Of Her” When I made the final turn onto Elizabeth Ave, into the wind, I knew 21 was a dream, and I was just struggling to hold pace.

Then with about 500m left, another “old guy” caught me. We ran side by side for a couple hundred metres, but then he pulled away, I couldn’t keep up with him, and I crossed the finish line alone. The other guy ended up in first in our AG, and I took the silver. And the fact that there was only 4 of us in our 40’s makes no difference to me.

So for the year, I now have a silver and bronze. I need to win my age group on Sunday to make a set. Chances of that? We’ll see.

Masters Swim Season Is Here

2010-10-01T08:51:00.002-02:30

That's Coach Paul on the left in the blue and yellow shirt, watching over our 2008 RIMS Fall Mini Meet.

Our masters indoor season started last night. Not so much with a bang, but more a moderate breeze.

Our first session was a bit of a meet and greet, the coaches set out the direction for the year, talked a little about goals, and then into the pool for a 45 minute session. Nothing intense, just some drill sessions, and a moderate set of 100’s.

I am happy to say that with the late season open water series, and some focused workouts the last week or so, I felt really good in the pool.

Our club is mix of triathletes, and formeerr competitive swimmers, and it was quite obvious who spent the summer doing open water swims, and training for mid to late season triathlons, and who concentrated on other things.

The best news is our coaching staff. I will miss coach Aerial, but I was thrilled that head coach Paul is returning. We are very lucky to have a coach with his experience. He has a way of teaching that seems to strike the right chord. Joining the coaches crew is Christianne who runs Splash n Dash Triathlon Training Triathlon Training and was the organizer of the open water swim series. Embarrasingly, I cant remember the name of our third coach, only that she is a MUN varsity swimmer, a coach with the St. John’s legendsand that I am sure I will get to know her very well over the course of the season.

I am looking forward to a great year, and I am sure lots of blog fodder.

Elation and Disappointment

2010-09-30T07:53:00.002-02:30

Imagine the elation to shatter that race goal, only to then experience disappointment over just missing your dream, or stretch goal.

That must be how my friend Heather feels after running our local Provincial Marathon last weekend. Hoping to break the 4 hour mark, she shattered it by about 8 and a half minutes, only to realize that she missed Boston by less than 1 and a half minutes.

What really makes this is cool story is that
1. She also topped the podium in her AG, after never even so much as winning a ribbon at sports day in school.
2. The course is not an ideal qualifying course. There is a long hilly out and back stretch that zaps the bounce right out of your legs.
3. Conditions were less than idea. It was cool and wet, and there was a bit of a breeze blowing. A good portion of the course is open.
4. The race was held less than a week after IGOR blew into town. Everyone’s schedules were disrupted, and running a marathon was not number one on most peoples minds.
5. She work in the media industry meaning that her taper week was spent working extra hours at the news desk covering the hurricane.

So Congratulations to Heather, and readers beware, in your next race, you just might exceed or even blow away your expectations.

That's an Open Water Swim. Diana Nyad

2010-09-29T07:35:00.004-02:30

If you are training for an upcoming Ironman or half Ironman race, and whining about all the 2000, 3000, or 4000, metre swims you are doing in training, think about this lady.

She’s Diana Nyad, record holding distance swimmer, including the record for around Manhattan Island, in less than 8 hours. Now at the age of 61, she is preparing to swim from Florida to Cuba, a distance of 160km. That’s about 41 Ironman swims, non stop. Check out her site here.

That’s an incredible feat, she predicts that it will take about two and a half days, in good conditions, but as we all know, this is hurricane season, and there is greater than a decent chance that the gulf will be alive with storm generated swells, and currents.

So If I had the opportunity to ask her, I’d like to know.
1. Why this time of year? Its hurricane season and we are up to Nicole.
2. Why Florida to Cuba? You do realize that most people will be swimming in the other direction?
3. What will you eat? I am sure that 2 or 3 days of power gels and Gatorade will be enough to make you want to quit.
4. What’s your time for 100m? Just wondering.
5. What will you eat once you reach shore on the other side? Notice, I am already assuming she will make it.

That's Diana's swimsuit, specially designed to prevent chafing on the long open water swim. She certainly don't look 61 to me.

I can’t find exactly when she is planning to start, but I did read that she is waiting for the weather to clear and is hoping for a couple of day window sometime before the end of October.

Best of luck to Di. Send Pictures from Havana!

Meat(less) Balls

2010-09-28T07:28:00.002-02:30

You have to check out Enlightened Cooking by Camilla. She doesn’t post often, but when she does, it’s woth a look.

Her latest creation is Meatless Meatballs. Homemade, from Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP). Perfect for vegetarians, and Camilla has a version using “Flax Eggs” which means they can be used in a full Vegan Diet. I haven’t tried these yet, but I have used TVP in other recipes, and they can fool even the heartiest of carnivors.

Camilla’s recipe makes 3 dozen meatballs. I left her a comment yesterday asking for the nutritional breakdown, and today she added it. Per meatball: 30 calories, 3.3 g protein, .28 g fat

Last thing is rather than copy her recoipe and post it here, you should check out her blog for yourself. Once again the link is here

AND Enjoy.

Frozen Waffles

2010-09-27T07:26:00.003-02:30

They don’t sound very appetizing, but they can be a life saver in a pinch. If you are short on time, but big on not skipping breakfast, you can pop a couple in your lunch bag, and once at work, into a toaster, and viola.

But if you look at the ingredient list, and get the BeJeebus scared out of you, here’s an alternative.

During Saturday morning pancake day, make a little extra batter, then break out the waffle iron. You can come up with your own recipe, and add fruit if you want. Once made and cooled, you can put a couple in a baggie, and freeze them.

I have a couple of recipes. One is for multi grain, and you can find the recipe here. I also make a gluten free, higher protein version with egg whites (Approx 1/2 cup), and almond flour, soy flour, and protein powder (About 1/4 cup each)

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, these aren’t IHOP. They are a little grainy, but if it suits your nutrition plan, you can live with it. I also use sugar free syrop.

Give it a try, and enjoy.

Swim Goodies for the Long Cold Winter

2010-09-24T07:41:00.000-02:30

Our first masters swim was scheduled for last night, but the pool was still closed after Tuesdays storm, so instead of going for a swim, I did a short run, and then spent the evening thinking about what goodies I might need for the upcoming season.

We have a good shop near where I live, but they are pretty small, and don’t always carry everything I need. So I buy a lot of my stuff from Swim2000. They have an awesome selection and decent prices.

Here are some goodies I just ordered for the winter.

TYR Drag Shorts. I plan to use this year to introduce some resistance and help build up some strength. Hopefully they will make me faster.

Tyr Poly Mesh Trainer

Jammers. Gotta have a good pair of jammers. These are polyester. Not as stretchy, but they hold up better to indoor pools.

Tyr Solid Polyester Jammer Male

Swedish Goggles. Been my favourites for years.

Original Swedish Goggles

This is our team bag from TYR. Plenty of big with huge mesh pockets for the wet stuff.

Tyr Alliance Team Backpack II

This one is for the kids for lessons and fun swims. It’s plenty big, and since it’s mesh, it doesn’t matter as much if they forget to take the wet stuff out.

Tyr Big Mesh Mummy Bag

If you are adventurous, you can order up a grab bag. Grab bags are like swim suit loot bags. You do have some options like type and brand name, but you don’t really know what print you are going to get. I saw some pretty funky trunks at our masters swims a couple of years ago. HOWEVER, with a 6 pack jammer grab bag, you can get a $44.00 pair of trunks for just under $25.00.

1 Line Sports ITRI Sweatshirt

If you are interested in checking out a grab bag. Check it out here.

And I always check out Clearance Corner

IGOR the Aftermath

2010-09-22T13:18:00.004-02:30

I'd be willing to bet the guy who built that shed thought it was in a nice safe dry place.

At the risk of sounding like a whiner to the hearty sods of the southern US and gulf regions of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Carolina, etc. who are routinely pummeled by tropical weather systems, we got absolutely hammered by Igor.

But the worst thing about sitting through a storm like this is not the high winds and possibility of a tree landing on your car or house, or heavy rain and the possibility of severe flooding. No it’s listening to the kids complain about how bored they are not being able to watch TV or use the computer because of the power outage.

Igor rolled across the south eastern coast as a Cat 1, but intercepted an already intense low pressure system resulting in extreme conditions and more rain than most people can ever remember.

One of the 4 washed out bridges that resulted in a large portion of the island being cut off.

Even as it transitioned from a Hurricane to a post tropical storm, it actually intensified, instead of dying out.

Rainfall was reported as high as 239mm (almost 9.5 inches) and peak wind gusts were recorded at 172 km/f (107 mph)

That's not a bike rack on the roof of the hyundai.

Power outages were reported across the region, and as of noon today, it still wasn’t restored, and schools remained closed for the day.

Thankfully for me, we had no major damage, so as of this morning it was back to work, and life as usual.

You can check out a summary on the blog of one of our local weather personalities here.

And you can check out more pictures here.

First Storm Day 2010 - 2011

2010-09-21T10:49:00.006-02:30

This has to be a record. School opened last Wednesday, and today, Tuesday, less than a week later, the schools are closed. However, since the post secondary schools are still open, my wife had to work, so I pulled daddy duty.

This time, not for a blizzard, or snow storm, but for IGOR the hurricane. Actually Igor is now a tropical storm, but the forcast is for 100 to 150 mm of rain (about 4 to 6 inches) and winds up to 100km/h, (just under 65 mph).

Satelite Image of IGOR. Just skirting the edge of the Avalon Peninsula.

I am going out on a limb, but my gut tells me that the short track mountain bike race for this evening will be cancelled. It's also highly unlikely that I will get out for my run this evening.

Damn you IGOR.

So what do you do during a tropical storm? Make chocolate chip cookies.

Weekend Workouts

2010-09-20T05:55:00.007-02:30

Just a sample of our new short track. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

I am sitting here just a little sore today after the first double workout weekend in about 4 weeks.

It’s probably nothing for normal people to write home about, but for me it was so good to get back out on the trails and on the bike.

Saturday was a 30 minute run, broken into 3 x 5 min running, then 5 min running.

Then Sunday, I left my house to check out our new short track mountain bike course.

The trails are still pretty grassy. We need some rain and a couple of more events to get it in good mountain bike race shape.

The course is only about a 10minute ride from my house. It’s part of a new cross country ski trail cut last winter. It’s still pretty grassy, and will take a couple of events to break through to the dirt, but it should be a blast.

We have an event planned for tomorrow, but given that IGOR is bearing down on us, I’d predict it will be cancelled.

On the way home, I passed the Confederation Building, our equivalent to the state capitol. That’s just 6 minutes from my house.

The Confederation Building. I cut across the back car park to get to our trail. Somewhere up there is the Premiers Office.

This is what the view is probably like from The Premiers Office, looking out over the city, and through the narrows.

Giovanni Caboto also known as John Cabot. He sailed here in 1497, and claimed the territory for England. That was just 5 years after Columbus.

Once I got home, I realized that I had a battle scar. No idea how I got it. But don't worry, it really isn't as gory as it looks!

Two great days, and hopefully more to come.

Open Water Swim Series, Last Stand

2010-09-17T08:05:00.001-02:30

Well, the evening was sunny but somewhat cool, and the winds were whipping up to 30 Km/h with gusts of 50 to 60. There were even whitecaps, as there are a lot of times on Octagon Pond. On top of that, the safety kayakers had a very tough time setting out the buoys, and would have had a very tough time assisting anyone needing help. So based on that, the decision was made to cancel.

Also, since the evenings are shortening, and the temps are dropping, the option of postponing was dismissed, and the series standings and awards were given out based on the standings as of last week.

Wednesday night would have been awesome. Warm and with no wind, but the forecasted thunder and lightning made the decision to postpone to Thursday, easy for organizers.

My thoughts are pretty mixed. There were a lot of no shows, including some of the higher ranked swimmers, so there was a good chance for me to leapfrog over them, and finish the series with a higher placing. But at the same time, I have swum in conditions like that before in Carbonear in 2002, and in Ironman Florida in 2006, and it ain’t fun. The waves toss you and wash over you so you swallow gallons of water; you can’t see the markers; sometimes you even get a little seasick.

So I told everyone how pissed off I was for not being able to swim, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to go out. Actually, that’s not true. There was a group that went out anyway, and invited me to join, but I was adamant that there was no way I was pulling on my wetsuit, and venturing into a 15 degree washing machine unless there were awards on the line.

So our open water series is over leaving a handful of running road races, and our fall short track mountain bike race series, to keep me motivated. Stay tuned.

Check out the final results here.

First Run in Weeks

2010-09-16T07:44:00.001-02:30

Yesterday evening presented an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. After 5 weeks of zero miles of running, yesterday I finally laced up the newtons, and headed out on the road. Actually, the trail.

First of all, my lower back and upper glute is finally feeling comfortable. Not 100% but to the point I am able to move better than 4 weeks ago.

Then I lucked into an opportunistic evening schedule leaving me about 1 hour between dropping off and picking up my 9 year old at a birthday party.

But most of all was the weather. After the dismal conditions yesterday morning, and the pessimistic forecast for the remainder of the day, the sky’s miraculously cleared after lunch, the wind died down to nothing, and the temp climbed to almost 20 degrees. It was just too good a night not to take advantage of.

So I headed off to Kenny’s pond trail, about 800m around, and made of packed dirt. more forgiving than pavement, but solid enough not to risk turning an ankle. I got there right at dusk when a layer of fog hovered over the pond and the grassy field next to it. It was almost mystical.

My plan was to walk run, try out the legs and back, and see if I was at a point to start back into something regular. And I am happy to report that it felt pretty ok. Again not 100%, but good enough to try again in a couple of days.

I did it more like a fartlek run, than something structured. I ran when I felt good, and kept the run portions to no more than 1 or 2 minutes. What I found was that when I ran sloppy, my back hurt, but when I focused on good form, engaged my core, stood straight up, and lifted by foot off the ground rather than pushing off with my toe, the tension in my back immediately went away.

So with the last open water race tonight, I’ll try another run Friday, and if all feels good, a real run Sunday morning.

Autumn is Here

2010-09-15T07:26:00.005-02:30

Wouldn't it be nice if this is what autumn really looked like?

The weather has really taken a turn for the worst. I am sitting here staring out my office window, looking at dark sky and pouring rain, and that seems to be the trend for the coming week or so.

This is more what our autumn looks like.

Thankfully, the season is winding down. With the exception of our last open water race, (which has already been pushed to tomorrow), the final ITT and Pizza Party, on Saturday, (Which I will likely miss because I haven’t been on a bike in 4 weeks)and the upcoming Turkey Tee Thanksgiving Day 10k, which I am still keen to do, there are very few events left.

I do have several friends still training for late season Ironman races in Florida and Arizona, and a good friend would certainly volunteer services as a training partner, keeping company on those final few long rides and runs, but thankfully, I conveniently have this injury that is preventing me from doing that. (Actually, I am feeling really good and might be back to running this weekend, but don’t tell my friends)

So it’s time to start thinking about trainer sessions, masters swimming, and yoga, as well as turkey and Halloween treats.

For anyone training for upcoming Ironman races, best of luck. You’re almost there.

Swim Workout Swim Tip

2010-09-14T08:02:00.003-02:30

The swim start from this years Ironman Wisconsin. This picture is from Charisa Wernicks Ironman Wisconsin Race Report. Charisa swam a 1:03:50 swim split on her way to a female 5th place finish.

If I had a dollar every time I heard “I’d love to do a triathlon, but I’m worried about the swim. I can run and bike, and I can swim a little, but I just don’t know if I can swim long enough to do a triathlon.”

From here on in is my opinion, but it’s based on experience. I was that guy just 10 years ago.

Provided you know how to swim, if you can bike 20k and run 5k, you are certainly fit enough to swim 750m. So it’s all perception, and mental barriers. Here’s a little trick I still use today.

Incorporate the distance of your goal race into your workouts. For a pure beginner just starting a sprint program, that might mean just doing 750m total for a workout. For a more experienced athlete, it will mean main sets consisting of the goal distance. The key is to drill it into your melon that the goal race distance is within your capability.

So for example, if you are a pure beginner, your workout may look something like this.

Warm Up (250m)
100m Easy swim
6 x 25m done as 25 swim then 25 drill

Pre Set (150m)
6 x 25 Counting Strokes, keep stroke count same

Main Set (250m)
5 x 50m moderate pace with 15 sec rest

Cool Down (100 easy)
100m easy, long and smooth

And there you go. You just did a 750m workout. The same distance as your goal sprint triathlon. If you are on a 16 week program swimming 3 times a week, you go the start line of the tri knowing that you have done this distance at least 48 times.

Eventually as you build stamina and confidence in the water, you can start to increase the sets and total distances. Last week, in preparation for my 1500m open water challenge,
one of my workouts looked like this.

Warm up (500m)
200 free
200 drill with fins
100 easy with a build

Main set (1500m)
6 x 250 at race pace, for time on 30 sec rest

Drill Set (300m)
6 x 50 as swimming golf pyramid (See Below)

Cool Down (200m)
200 easy long smooth strokes.

When I showed up at pond side, I knew I had just completed my open water distance already in the pool at race pace.

Of course there are limitations. You’d be hard pressed to do a 4000m main set with a warm up and cool down in the pool during a normal lane swim period, but Ironman prep is different beast anyway.

So start thinking about this strategy when you are planning your workouts, and get it in your head that you can do the distance.

SWIMMING GOLF

This is a drill I learned from the total immersion program. For a 50m lap, you count your strokes, and add the total to your time. The result is your golf score.

For example, for 50m, my stroke count might be 36; my time might be 42 seconds for a score of 78. I’d love to have a golf score like that.

6 x 50 as a pyramid means you decrease you time for each set, the increase for the remaining 2, while keeping your score the same. So if you do the second 50 in 40 seconds and your stroke count is 38, that are still 78, and that’s good.

Charisa takes 5th at Wisconsin

2010-09-13T08:20:00.003-02:30

Every once in a while you have a race where everything comes together, you hit or exceed all your targets, and cross the finish line and blow away your expectations.

That was likely the case for Charisa Wernick Sunday in Wisconsin. I’d hate to think that she had the phenomenal result that she did, but had a crappy effort.

Because she is probably still asleep, or too tired and sore to type, here are the details. 5th female pro, in a time of 10:07:19, just 3 minutes out of 4th, missing the bottom step of the podium by just over 15, and just under 34 minutes from the overall female title.

When I started my blog, Charisa was one of the first people to start commenting, and she still drops by from time to time, despite the huge demands of her training. She earned her pro card in KONA last year, (2009) but still hold down a full time job outside the sport. From time to time, I’ll comment on one of her posts, and she will email me back with a response.

I can’t wait to read her Wisconsin report, I am heading over there right now. BTW, that infectious smile on her face is a common trait in all her pictures. If you haven’t checked out her blog yet, go do it now.

Congratulations Charisa. Well done.

Changing Things Up

2010-09-10T08:46:00.003-02:30

I just read an interesting article on Active.com about staying motivated during those long boring training sessions during preparations for a long distance event like a marathon.

Have you ever done a new workout, ran a new route, or incorporated some new training protocol or strategy that felt really great. You probably swore that you would do that exact same workout next weekend, but when you did, it just didn’t seem the same.

According to Active.com, change is the key, and they give some alternatives to keep things fresh.

The Ladder (Long Run Alternative)
This one is simple. Instead of your typical long run at a moderate pace, shorten it up, and incorporate some intensity by running equal segments of race pace, and then recovery pace.

The Social Butterfly (Tempo Run Alternative)
I don’t quite get this one, but it sounds like you run with a group at an easy pace, and when you get the urge, you run to the front of the pack at 10k pace. Next time you run to the next runner at 5k pace.

The Explorer (Fun Run)
This is kind of like a scavenger hunt during a run. You pick a chain business like Starbucks, and see how many you can run past during the run.

Of course the variations on these are endless, the key is to be creative, and use your imagination to change things up.

Open Water Swim Series Week 3

2010-09-09T08:11:00.000-02:30

Yesterday was far from an ideal day. Overcast and 13 degrees C, and a little windy, about 20 kmh with the occasional strong gust. However, the water temp was still 17.5, and the cool air and wind wasn’t enough to keep away the 1500m leaders who I was chasing, so I would have to swim my way up the standings.

My start was great. I lined up between the faster and fastest swimmers, and once we got going I kept up with the local swim team for about 3 to 4 minutes. In fact, as we closed in on the first buoy, I could still see the lead pack, only about a hundred metres in front of me. But then the arse dropped out of her, and I would pay for my fast start on the second lap.

Rounding all the buoys on the first lap, I was wide. Every couple of strokes when I sighted, I was pointed outside, and the buoy never seemed to get any closer.

Finally I finished the last leg of the first lap, and started out again. I could see another swimmer about 100m ahead of me. I decided to focus on catching him or her. My arms were like lead, but I decided to take long hard strokes, focus on the finish, and stay streamlined. By the second buoy, I caught them when they stopped to sight the third buoy, and I put on a hard spurt to pull away in case they decided to hang on and draft off me.

The second last leg was now going great. My line was good, I was making a bee line for the buoy, and every time I sighted, it was getting bigger. I could see another swimmer ahead. Catching them was going to be tough, but I felt like I was making ground.

At the last buoy, with about 250m left to go, I went for broke. Hard as I could, with a full kick, I was making up water, but also running out of room. By the finish, I had closed to within 5 seconds, but that was all could muster.

Once on the beach, I fell on my knees and breathed deep as the urge to barf started to go away. Once I could stand up again, I quickly changed into some clothes so I didn’t freeze in the 13.5 degree wind.

So today’s results, 22:49, 9th in the 1500, and now 8th overall with 119 points. So if everyone from number 1 to 7 gets the flu next week, I have a shot.

Check out the full results here.

Labour Day

2010-09-07T08:12:00.012-02:30

It was a beautiful weekend, perfect for a full slate of workouts, if you are not resting an injury that is.

So for the injured athlete, limited from riding and running, what are you to do? Take the kids on 2 full days of excursions in an attempt to keep them busy from driving us insane, while at the same time give my wife some much needed peace and quiet, and build up some SAU’s for me for next season.

So Sunday, day 1, was at Salmonier Nature Park. Monday was the archeological dig at the Colony of Avalon.

Salmomier is a wildlife reserve about an hours drive from St. John’s. It features a nature hike through the forest where there are a couple of dozen wild animals kept in natural settings on display for the public. Some of the animals were injured in the wild and are under rehabilitation, others are kept for a period of time to study before they are released back into the wild. It’s the closest thing we have to a zoo.

It was interesting that several of the more shy animals, namely the lynx and the minks were out in full display. I have visited the park several times, and this was the first that I had seen either.

After the hike, it was off the picnic area for food. Funny how food keeps kids and animals quiet.

On Monday, the last day of summer vacation, we visited the Colony of Avalon, also about an hours drive from St. John’s.

This is a full archeological dig. Our 9 old has been telling us ever since he watched his first Indiana Jones movie, that he wants to be an archeologist. There was nobody digging the day we visited. I guess archeologists take holidays too, but the sights were in full view with buckets and sifters.

Cobblestone Roadways made from Beach Rocks

The Colony was first visited and later settled by Sir George Calvert, the Lord of Baltimore. The same Lord who later settled in Merryland, near what is now the city of Baltimore. The city was actually named after Georges son Celcius, the second Lord of Baltimore. All very cool stuff for the wanna be archeologist.

Lord Baltimore's Mansion. It looks pretty modest, but it's the largest dwelling excavated so far.

If you ever have the chance to visit, it’s a must see.

Open Water Swim Series Week 2

2010-09-02T07:51:00.004-02:30

Sunny, 19 degrees C, and no wind. It was an awesome night for an open water swim. Everyone’s times improved, including mine. By over a minute.

I was hoping the nice evening would entice some of my competitors to skip this evening and have a BBQ or go on the beer, but nut much such luck.

So at 6:00pm, into Octagon pond we all waded to wait for the start. The organizers were trying to seed the start, fastest, fast, and slow. I don’t consider myself “FAST” but that’s right where I went, and a good choice.

Unlike my disorganized mess from last week, I managed to swim a clean straight course, and pick up a draft for nearly the entire first loop. It was tough rounding the first buoy because the sun was directly in our eyes, but I managed to sight the pack of leaders, and then picked a distinctive square rooftop on a house on the horizon right above the second buoy, and made a beeline for that.

The second loop went even better. I put on a little spurt, at the beginning, and again at each buoy, just to make up ground er water on anyone making a bad turn, as well as dropping anyone lurking in my wake.

On the final leg I swam as hard as I could, and caught one last swimmer before the exit, then scurried up over the rocks (My feet still hurt) and across the finish line.

Final damage, 22:24 for 1500m, 1:08 faster than last week, 11th place in the 1500, good for 39 more points, and tied for 10th in the standings with 77.

Daddy, I want chocolate milk! No sweetie, that's only for adults who swim 1500m!

Plan for next week, faster still, get in the pool a couple of more times for some GOOD hard workouts, and convince the organizers to move the start time to 9:00pm so the swim team highschool kids can’t come out because it’s a school night.

Check out the full results here.

Sinking Legs

2010-08-31T07:40:00.007-02:30

Not a great pic, but notice how the body is flat, and the legs are not sinking.

I just recently read this article on the Swim Smooth website, entitled “Why Might Your Legs Be Sinking.” check out the site here to get their explanations, but in a nutshell, they give 5 reasons why your legs might be sinking as you swim.

1) Holding onto your breath underwater.
2) Kicking from the knee and inflexible ankles.
3) Flexing through the core.
4) Pushing down at the front of the stroke.
5) A high head position.

You can read their explanation of each on the site, but here’s my take on each.

1) Holding onto your breath underwater. This is probably a natural reaction for all new swimmers. Breathing rhythm is so important in swim technique. If you old your breath, your lungs act as big balloons, and raise your upper body out of the water. Get the rhythm.

2) Kicking from the knee and inflexible ankles. My kick is very poor. I just never developed it. But when I do kick, I really try to generate from the hips, not the knee. It may not look right, but I do try to feel it from the hips.

3) Flexing through the core. How many times have I seen this. Flat back, but legs pointed down. Core seems to be the buzz word in every single sport going these days, and for good reason. Keep that torso flat as a plank.

4) Pushing down at the front of the stroke. The proper bent arm catch is one of the toughest things to learn, and teach. But it’s simple physics. If you push your paddle (Forearm) down at the beginning of the stroke, you will push your upper body out of the water. Reach over the barrel, pull straight back, and finish the stroke.

5) A high head position. IMHO the biggest culprit, and the least understood. It’s all about buoyancy and Archimedes Principle. If you lift your head, you lose buoyancy, and the legs have to sink to compensate. Just watch people at a lane swim, trying to do laps with their heads out of the water. They look like bad water polo players. Or look at the old ladies who swim for an hour but don’t get their hair wet. PLUS There are still coaches out there teaching OLD SCHOOL. If your coach tells you “Look slightly forward, and keep the waterline just above your goggles, find a new coach.

So if you are a leg sinker, get flat, and get fast. OH and if you are a guy still wearing Baggie Surfer Shorts in the Pool, ditch them for some speedos.

Diagnosis Back Injury

2010-08-30T08:25:00.003-02:30

The results of my Friday visit to the doctor are in, and always there’s good and bad news. First off, my normal black belted family physician was away, but her replacement experienced, patient, and explained everything very well, and put me at ease.

The short physical exam consisted of my lying on the gernie, and her moving my right and left legs in various positions. We nailed the pain down to one movement, raising my right leg straight up, or while standing, bending forward to touch my toes.

First The Bad

From the exam she determined the injury was in my lower back. Anytime I hear back and injury it makes me nervous. But the actual location of the injury was not my hip, as I had thought but where the tendons from my legs attach to my pelvic bone. Recovery could be up to another 2 or 3 weeks.

Now The good

It’s not bursitis as I thought, but definitely not a tear. She was very clear on that point. I showed no symptoms of a torn muscle, or connective tissue. The most likely cause of the pain was inflammation of the muscle and tendon from over exertion. The price you pay for a Personal Best and Third Place in your Age Group.

There was no need for further diagnostic imaging, which is fancy doctor talk for “You don’t need to wait for 6 months to get in for an X-Ray, or MRI.” Which was definite good news.

Her advice (Which I really liked) was to remain active and take some over the counter pain relief (Like Tylenol). The worst thing I could do was to become sedentary, as it would cause my back muscles to weaken, and possible start to spasm. In fact her exact words were to continue with any activity I was already doing, unless I felt discomfort or pain. I could run or jog, but if it hurt, I should stop.

So since running does cause some minor pain right now, I will be off for a few more days or weeks. I may try riding my mountain bike in hopes that the upright position will be less painful, but I’ll wait a few more days for that one. Really good news, I can still swim.

So my season is not over yet. I am Hopeful I can be on the mend, and back to training in time for the upcoming Turkey Tea 10k on Thanksgiving Day, October 10.

Open Water Swim Series

2010-08-27T08:37:00.003-02:30

This event was organized by a couple of our organizers and coaches, and it’s turned out to be a hit. I would encourage any masters or TRI clubs out there to organize a similar series of events after regular TRI season finishes to help keep athletes motivated and sharp heading into the winter pool swimming season.

The format was simple. 2 categories, 750m and 1500m. Finishers are awarded points based on placing starting with 50 points for first in each category, so first gets 50, second 49, third 48 etc. Highest point totals after 4 events wins that category and gets a trophy.

The beauty of that format is that everyone is in the running. Even if you finish back of the pack, if you show up to all 4 events, and the fastest swimmer in your club makes it to only 2, you have a chance to beat him (Or Her.) The other good thing is that points are based on placing, and not time, so it doesn’t matter that first place was 5 minutes faster than you, if you finished 2nd, you only lose 1 point to him (Or Her.) With me so far?

So last evening was fantastic for such an event. 22 degrees C and fairly light winds. The only drawback was the bright evening sun shining directly in our eyes on leg 2 which is what I blame my brutal course navigation on.

We had 36 swimmers, split evenly with 18 in each category. I signed up for the 1500m along with all the “GUNG HO” swimmers, including our perennial tri champion, a former Olympian, and a bunch of kids from one of the local swim clubs, all way faster than me.

So my final result? For 1500m, 23:32, not to shabby for almost 3 weeks off from anything “HARD” I am sure if I swam a straight course, I could have been under 23. Unfortunately it only netted me 38 points for a 13th out of 18 swimmers, so I need to hope that 1 thru 14 are busy next Wednesday.

Check out the full results here.

Injuries are a Pain in the Butt

2010-08-25T07:52:00.003-02:30

If you search my archive, you will find very few posts on injuries. Smart training and plenty of rest and recovery has pretty much kept me away from the doc’s office.

But I now have this nagging ache on my right side, in my buttock, below the SI joint, and it just doesn’t want to go away.

Now I know what you are thinking, and yes I played 27 holes of golf on Friday and Saturday after not swinging a club in more than a year. But the truth is that I started to feel this pain about 2 weeks ago, and Sunday, the day after my golf outing is when it felt the best it felt in a week or more. That makes me think part of the issue is sitting in a chair or desk at work for 8 to 10 hours a day. I think yesterday was the worst I felt in 2 weeks.

I am off to my family physician on Friday, and hopeful she will confirm that it is minor issue, probably an inflamed bursa,
and requires some rest and anti inflammatory. She is a black belt in Tai Kwando, and seems to understand my concern when I am out of commission for a period of time.

What really grinds my gears is that I had some late season goals that included continuing on the bike, and completing some more 20K ITT’s, (Setting a PB which I already done)
and complete a couple of upcoming 5k and 10k runs. These events keep me moving and motivated until the holiday season kicks in, and with Thanksgiving and Halloween in October, then Christmas preparations and parties all of November and December, I need something to keep me off the couch and away from the buffet table.

Swim start at Octogon Pond. This is the the site for the upcoming Open Water Swim Series.

But for now I’ll be doing a lot of swimming. Speaking of which, we do have a series of open water swim competitions starting tonight. The series runs for 4 weeks, and participants have a choice of either the 750m or the 1500m, and collect points based on placings for each event. Final awards are based on accumulated points so you don’t have to win each one, just be consistent during the series. I am planning to do the 1500m series, and hope to place well. I’ll keep the blogosphere updated.