Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Onwards to 2009

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The battle continues.  Lots of sparring will take place in 2009.  Just ask Tom Omstead--the warrior atop the steed and behind the mask.  Onwards and upwards to 2009 we go...

Monday, December 29, 2008

Training Day at Loaring Physio

The first Training Day of the winter was held yesterday at Loaring Physio.  A solid group of 30 biked for 90', ran outside in crazy wind for 20' to 45', and performed 'prehab' and core exercises for 30'.  We all worked up an appetite and were rewarded with a wonderful feast from Koolini Restaurant that arrived just as we were finishing up the exercises.  It was a wonderful morning of positive energy and social camaraderie.  Everyone left with a smile, inspiration, and a full belly.

There will be two Training Days in January: Sunday January 11th and 25th.  There is no charge to participate in these Training Days and athletes of all ages and ability are welcome.  It will be a pot-luck theme where everyone brings a healthy appetizer.  It is the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning: 3h of inspiration and educational group exercise, followed by replenishing with a dozen healthy appetizers :-)

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Annika's First Christmas

Annika had a wonderful Christmas and was spoiled by Santa.  After two full days of entertainment at the Sharratt's, Annika is now cozy at 'the cottage'.
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At the Sharratt's just before a BIG Feast.
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Santa gave this to Bre.  A wonderful assortment of captured moments.  It will look nice in our living room.
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Annika with Grandpa Sharratt.  Grandpa & Grandma Sharratt were amazing and treated Annika to a truly special Christmas.
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Annika being held by Martha Stewart.
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Grandpa Loaring with Martha and daddy.
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

LPC Captured Moments 2008

This slide show features a few captured moments of Loaring Personal Coaching (LPC) athletes, coaches, and support crew from 2008. Cheers to the many great moments in 2008, and to many more great moments in 2009 and beyond...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Annika Meets Santa


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Loaring Physio December e-News

Click the image below to view the Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre December e-Newsletter.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Onwards and Upwards from Down Under and Beyond

The final triathlon for Team LPC takes place this weekend on the other side of the world in Perth, Australia. Pat Hayes will end the 2008 triathlon racing season for LPC when he participates in Ironman Western Australia on Sunday. Pictured below is a very white Pat shortly after arriving Down Under. We can all count on two things:
1. Pat will not be as white when he returns home.
2. We are all jealous that he is where he is.

In the background of the pic (taken from Manly Beach) is the skyline of Sydney, host city of the 2000 Olympic Games, where another very white Canadian put triathlon on the global map.

While we are trying to stay warm in our homes, sipping away on our Tim Hortons coffee mug, Pat will be playing in the Aussie heat, and finish what has been a very successful year for LPC athletes.

While the triathlon season is about to come to end for a couple of months, there are still several swimming and running events on the near horizon. I suppose there really is no off-season. While many of us are taking some well deserved time off, or ez active recovery unstructured training, others are in a "base/strength/skill development" phase, while others are prepping for upcoming races.

What am I doing? Well I am a busy bee these days and loving every minute of my sleep deprived state. Sleep has been sacrificed to long hours in front of the computer, and long hours 'playing' with my precious Annika. Training is going well at the PTC, nothing crazy, just rolling along like we should be in the month of December. I have not been able to make all of the sessions, but I have been plugging away with just over 10h training per week the past month, and keeping as consistent as possible. While that is by no means a grueling training load, given the time of the year, and my current priorities of being a daddy and coach, I am pleased with the fact that my fitness is ok and I have not become a 300 pound Beast like some had predicated. Stay tuned for an LPC season wrap-up and 2008 slide show of LPC athletes in action and at ease.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Loaring Physio Open House

Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre is nicely settled into its brand new, beautiful facility, in Tecumseh, Ontario. The Open House was this past Thursday and many popped in to have a look around, meet the staff, and enjoy a wonderful spread of food.



Busy charting.

A wonderful spread of food.

Massage anyone?

Olympic memorabilia.

Paniche wins the scruff award.

Me with big sis. I am proud of Char!

The Loaring Physio Team

Friday, November 21, 2008

Power Nap

It was a fantastic couple of days in Windsor. The Loaring Physio Open House was wonderful. I was going to post pics but I am simply too exhausted. The pic below was taken today. Maverick missed me just as much as Annika, and always has to bud in. Stay tuned for pics of the Open House...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Ironman 70.3 Muskoka Videos

I briefly posted about the 2008 Ironman 70.3 Muskoka triathlon a couple months ago here. These two videos help capture the magic of why we participate in this wonderful sport.

LPC's Margaret Wojtowicz received some nice coverage beginning at 1:12 of this inspirational highlight video (put together by the organizers of 2008 Ironman 70.3 Muskoka).



The below video showcases Brian Sharratt successfully completing his first half-ironman.



The 2009 edition is already penciled in for several LPC athletes. After watching from the sidelines this year, I think I will join the party and play in the hills.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Open House

Open House - Thursday, November 20, 6:00 - 9:00pm

We invite you to to tour the new 5400 sq ft facility, including items from one of the world's largest collections of Olympic Memorabilia. All staff will be on-hand to answer questions and give demonstrations. Food and refreshments will be provided.
Directions to the new Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre can be found here.


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Whodunnit?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Florida Triathlon Training Camp

EDIT: Full details on the March 15th to 21st, 2009 Florida Triathlon Training Camp is located here.

LPC will host its first triathlon training camp, March 15-21, 2009. The camp will take place in beautiful Clermont, Florida. It almost snowed in Guelph today, which caused me to reminisce of the great times I have had training in Clermont over the past 5 years. Bre, Annika, and I, are considering spending the entire month of March in Clermont. It will be wonderful to swim at the NTC, bike at Lake Louisa State Park and up Sugarloaf, and run over the Orange Trails.

The video below shows this wonderful terrain, which is a mecca for triathletes. The footage was taken by during a 2005 training camp with the Canadian Cross Training Club.

Video production by Dave and Megan Derry of the The Wentworth Whitehouse Group. Re-editing by LPC.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

OCAA Cross Country Champs

Props to Dave Sharratt for winning the 2008 OCAA Cross Country Champs. Annika went on her first half-day road trip and enjoyed watching her Uncle David win provincials two years in a row.



Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Death of Periodization?

Good article. The bottom line: plan with a blunt pencil that is equipped with an eraser and extra lead. And the writing never stops...

Bye Bye Bompa, Bompa Bye Bye….the death of periodisation.
By Wayne Goldsmith In Coaching Tips

First let me say I have total, 100% complete admiration and respect for Bompa himself - a true pioneer of the sports coaching and the sports performance industry. This article is in no way a criticism of him personally but rather a proclamation that PERIODISATION as a concept is now officially dead and buried.

Periodization - that is, the traditional sports training planning model involving long blocks (cycles or phases) of training which emphasise specific aspects of training is 20 years past the use by date and it’s time we all moved on to something more relevant and more effective for the training and preparation of athletes in this century.

The popular version of periodisation was developed in the Eastern block, 40 years ago, for senior athletes: another time, another system, another world - and totally inappropriate for today’s athletes.

Today’s athletes - the Generation Y athletes - demand programs which are:

  • Unique - not contrived - not a “one size fits all” solution to performance
  • Specific - to them as individuals
  • Responsive - to change and to their day to day (and even session to session) needs
  • Individualised - to match each athlete’s unique recovery abilities
  • Integrated - to take into consideration the overall mental, emotional, cultural and even spiritual needs of the athlete as a unique individual.

So what’s the alternative to periodisation?

Full article here

Friday, October 17, 2008

Worst Best Man Ever

Lake Erie was the backdrop of our wedding ceremony. Fortunately, my Numero Uno, Miro Tot, is not clumsy. Fortunately, Miro, was in fact, a very good Best Man. The Best Man in this video might not get the same praise. Very unfortunate. But very funny!







Fortunately, I did not trip!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Introducing Annika Loaring

Annika Elizabeth Elena Loaring entered this wonderful world at 9:55am, Tuesday, October 7th. Breanne and Annika are both in perfect health. What a magical 48 hours it has been. Breannika were blessed with a quick and smooth delivery. We left the hospital and arrived home sweet home as a family 24 hours after Annika's first gasp of Earth's air.





Monday, October 6, 2008

Run for the Cure

The CIBC Run for the Cure is a magical event. The Windsor Star captured Rob Tranter during yesterday's Run for the Cure 5k in Windsor.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Loaring Triathlon Article in Body Magazine

As everyone knows, October is breast cancer awareness month. Click on the image below to read an article about the Loaring Triathlon, in this month's Breast Cancer Issue of Body Magazine

By Lauren O'Neil, Windsor Body Magazine, October 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Haka

Can the Haka be inspiration for a similar pre-race LPC cheer :-)
Forget about maintaining composure and conserving energy before the gun goes off. Perhaps we should adorn war paint on exposed skin that is not covered by spandex. A dozen spandex clad tri-geeks are surely more intimidating than the legendary All Blacks? Thoughts and ideas for a pre-race cheer are welcome :-)


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Simon is coming to the PTC

Below is cut and pasted from the PTC blog. Click here for more info.

We're kicking off the 2008-2009 Season in style, with a visit from two-time Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield. Simon will be visiting the PTC on Sunday October 19th, for our Training Day. The registration limit for the training day is 40 athletes, but Simon will be doing a Q&A session for the athletes, which we can open up to a larger group. Stay tuned for registration details for the Q&A for those who aren't registering for the training day. To register your athlete (age 10-20) for the Training Day, visit this link.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Launch of the New Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre

This past weekend was very busy with much on the 'to do' list. But the most important item on this list to put a check by, was to help big sis relocate Loaring Physio into a brand new 5400 square foot property in Tecumseh, Ontario. 30 friends helped out for a portion of the weekend. I can't believe how much we accomplished in 48 hours. The new facility is amazing, and so are all of our friends!
The large open concept workout area will be able to accommodate mega training days over the winter. The right side of the room (not visible in pic) is where the physio beds are located.

Testing out the equipment in full stride.

One of two massage therapy rooms. The facility also has 5 offices, one large conference room and kitchen, 4 storage rooms, two reception offices, a waiting room, and bathrooms and showers. It is a health centre that Essex County has never seen before. And it is equipped with a Team of 15 multidisciplinary experts.
Part of the moving crew.
Jane dancing with Mr. Bones (who is sporting the New LPC aero helmet and new Team Issue Jacket).
After a busy day, we celebrated my dad's 63rd birthday. Happy Birthday Pops!


The new Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre is open for business today. And a new chapter begins. Onwards and upwards we go.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In the Home Stretch

Bre's due date is Oct 21st, so if we hit it bang on, that means yesterday marked t-minus 4 weeks. It is anybodies guess as to when Baby Loaring will decide to come into this world. Bre and I can hardly wait. This is an extremely exciting time for us.

Pregnancy has been treating Bre very well. She has been an inspiration. She has also been a machine in prepping the nursery for our little one. We have been acquiring lots of goodies, including an HD camcorder that I just ordered to capture many priceless moments.

The guest bedroom has been converted to our baby room. Now our guests have to sleep in the basement. Sorry.

Breannika chilling on the couch after a full day in the office. Maverick is on the other couch reading "I'm Pregnant: A week-by-week guide". He can't wait to protect his little sis.

Uncle David testing out the stroller, to the delight of Maverick and Max.
Our backyard overlooks beautiful Preservation Forest--a place where I proposed, and a place where Bre and I (and Maverick) play with friendly deer. We look forward to nice walks and sunsets in PF for years to come...as a happy family.

Monday, September 15, 2008

LPC at Muskoka 70.3

Bre and I drove up to Muskoka last weekend to watch the Muskoka HIM. At the beginning of this year, I tickled with the idea of jumping into this event, but CoachCT and I decided before Kelowna, that Guelph Lake II on Aug 30th, would be my final tri of the season. But there was no way that the coach in me was going to miss cheering on Team LPC. It was a fun weekend of learning, cheering, and observing. Major congrats to the athletes who battled on the awesomely hard course.

Brian and Keith seconds after Brian completed his first HIM.

Dennis Masse looking strong and relaxed 3k into the half-marathon.

Keith happy to be finishing the challenging 94k bike in the rain.
Keith out of the 2k swim in 37'. When Keith joined LPC 15 months ago, he was just learning how to swim and swam 500 meters in 20'. In 15 months of consistent hard/smart work, he can now swim 4 times that distance in less than double the time.

Brian running up to T1.

The calm before the storm. Dennis and Keith ready for battle.

Bre and Maverick being professional cheerleaders in the rain.
Beautiful Bre is 8 months pregnant and was a machine cheering on Brian and the rest of the crew. I think she covered a half-marathon of power walking to the various vantage points.

Maverick was the perfect example of the kind of mind-set that you wanted to be in prior to, and during this race. He had a blast being outside all day long playing in the rain.
Part of my purpose for being at Muskoka 70.3, was that I wanted to observe the emotions of all of the participants over the course of the weekend. I can usually put an athlete into two broad categories. Those that let the uncontrollable negatively affect their performance. And those that brush off external factors such as rain as part of the game. I noticed some athletes 'throwing in the towel' because their A-race of the year brought tough challenging conditions. "Why does it have to rain today!" Those that did well had a positive attitude and embraced the event for what it was, and dealt with harsh elements the best they could, in a positive manner.

We can learn a lot from a puppy and young child. They are always happy to be playing out in the rain. Why should that be any different for an adult 'playing' in a triathlon. Control the controllable and choose to deal with the uncontrollable in a positive way.

Keith, Doug, and Dennis. Mission accomplished.
Margaret with a big birthday smile as she makes the trek up to T1. Margaret completed her first HIM, which served as her 60th birthday celebration. What an inspiring accomplishment and incredible year for the Wojtowicz family.