I decided to be a cheerleader instead of warrior this past Sunday at the Guelph Tri. I recovered terribly from a set of 400m repeats a couple days prior and the poor hamstrings were very sore. They have recovered 100% and it has been a couple good days of training this week. I felt guilty not racing since it was a local race that I was looking forward to participating in, but I had a lot of fun being out there on the sidelines. I know I made the right decision and there are many races still to come.
My little bro "Pre" was in a different time zone at the Guelph Olympic Triathlon. He absolutely smashed the bike course (it was 43k). The Guelph Mercury wrote a very nice story about his success. Read the front page story here. Also a big congrats to Brian for having a fantastic race and completing his first Oly Triathlon. Brian will be participating in his first 70.3 in September--so this was an important stepping stone. It was so much fun to cheer both of them on.
LPC's Helen Robertson also completed her first Oly Distance Tri as well. Helen will be competing in the Ironman Steelhead 70.3 on August 2nd. The Guelph Oly was therefore an important progression for Helen. She had a great race and will be ready to tackle her first half in 6 weeks time.
Margaret Wojtowicz also went quite well. Margaret raced 'fresh' from 11,000km of driving with her husband to and from the ITU World Tri Champs in Vancouver.
Margaret's son Rob had a smashing ride. On a road bike with no aerobars and riding in the hood postion the entire way, Rob's average wattage = 317. Due to the rolling course, his normalized power was 337 watts. Those are BIG numbers! His peak CP60 = 326 with a NP = 341.
Excitement is brewing for the upcoming July 19th Loaring Triathlon. If you live in Essex County, turn the radio on and tune into AM800 at 4:45pm, Tuesday, June 24th, to hear Charlotte get interviewed about the event.
As seen in the Windsor Star on June 17th and June 18th:
TRIATHLON The eighth Loaring triathlon takes place July 19 in Essex. Beginner and double triathlon events will be followed by an awards ceremony, and post-race party with live music and refreshments. All proceeds will go to the Elena Loaring memorial fund for breast cancer research, which provides annual scholarships for University of Windsor graduate students conducting breast cancer related research. Visit loaring.com to access pledge and registrations forms, and other information. To volunteer, contact Charlotte Loaring at 519-257-3762 or e-mail charlotte@loaringphysio.com.
What is High Performance?
By Wayne Goldsmith
One of the most commonly asked questions in this business is, “What Exactly is High Performance?”
People talk about, write about, think about sports science, sports medicine, exercise physiology, talent identification, performance psychology, biomechanics, skill acquisition, elite coach development, recovery, sports physiotherapy, sports massage, performance analysis and all the elements and components of high performance sport, but what is it? What is this thing called High Performance?
I can summarise it all in one word………Change.
People make High Performance seem a lot more complex, tricky and mysterious than it really needs to be. Sure there is some really cool technology and terminology involved - as there is in all industries - but the essence of High Performance is Change - or rather, accelerating the rate of it.
Full article HERE
The Muskoka Long Course Chase Triathlon is in the books, and in less than 48 hours, there is another toe of the start line. 'The Chase' is a 2k swim, 55k bike, 15k run over a scenic and challenging course, in beautiful Huntsville. It is called 'The Chase' because the elite women depart several minutes ahead of the elite men, with a differential largely determined by the previous year’s spread and the strength of field. This year's differential was determined to be 18minutes--so the elite women were sent 18 minutes before we could begin the chase after them. It makes for an exciting race, a race within a race, where the ultimate goal is to be the first person across the finish line.
The gun finally went off and immediately it was a very fast opening pace that reminded me of an ITU race (thanks to Buddy Green who is a sub-16 minute 1500m swimmer). 4 of us immediately gaped the field but I was having trouble staying on after 1k. I felt a little bit flat and I managed to hang on for the first 1400m. I excited the water in 4th 45 seconds behind. I must have really lost focus to lose that much time in only 600m! I was 1:15 ahead of eventual winner Kyle Guembel and my bro Dave 'Pre' Sharratt. I started the bike feeling good, but then after about 10k I knew I just didn't have the fitness in me to sustain my wattage output for the entire 55k. Kyle and Dave caught me just as I was catching third place, which was just before the half way point of the bike. It appeared as it was now developing into a great race--as we were all putting massive time into the talented ladies. I started to lose a bit of contact and fell off the fast pace being set by Kyle. I settled into my own rhythm and tried not to fall apart on the tough hills on the course. I still have to bring the fitness up!
Misfortune hit at 45k into the bike. My rear tubular flatted! I tried to ride on it for a few hundred meters but the course is so hilly that there was no chance of finishing the bike on the flat. I had no spare. I stood on the side of the road thinking my day was over and wondering how long it might take before a car came by to scoop me up. Fortunately, Karsten Madsen (who was out on a training ride and also serving as a drafting official) road by. What a classy guy he was in immediately offering me his rear wheel! I will admit that thoughts raced through my mind in passing up his offer, as I was discouraged that time had been lost and that I was now out of contention. But those thoughts were immediately replaced with positive vibes and I took his wheel and tempoed the rest of the course. I was happy to be out on the run course instead of feeling sorry for myself if I had dnf'd. I would have liked to have been trying to slug it out for a top-5 finish, but you can't control the uncontrollable. But I did control whether or not I would finish or not! I actually felt quite good on the run and pleased with the entire Muskoka experience. I look forward to doing this race next year, and hopefully the stars will align.
I may not have reached my goal time--but I still fought hard and got to the finish.
Here I am sporting the new LPC threads. I think I need to customize an LPC time trial helmet as mine looks a little like something Ronald McDonald would wear.
Yup, confirmation that I am going to design a new LPC time trial helmet. I want to look sexier than Dave "Pre' Sharratt.
Ladies and gents, David 'Pre' Sharratt. I am shown talking like a monkey in the background to OAT Executive Director Linda Kirk. I think I was trying to get Dave disqualified for his choice of attire.
This Sunday brings anther race and anther battle to be fought. The Subaru Guelph Olympic Tri is on and it should be a solid field toeing the line. It will be nice being able to roll out of my own bed and drive 10mins to compete in one of Canada's largest and most popular races.
It has been a good week of training with the PTC. We have put in the bank a few solid open water swims. I have not touched my road bike in three weeks. Instead, the time has been spent atop the saddle of the time trial steed. I will admit that I have not spent nearly enough time, but hey, I did just get married! I have struggled a bit with fast running legs, but today is a rest day and tomorrow is race prep. Sunday will be a tough race on an awesomely hard course. There is a battle to be fought this Sunday at the Muskoka Chase Long Course Triathlon.
Team LPC will be well represented in Muskoka, and will also be making appearances at the Leamington Triathlon Weekend, the Running Factory Moon in June 10k Run and 5k Run/Walk, and the HSBC Binbrook Sprint Triathlon. A big weekend indeed!
Bre and I are excited to look at the professional wedding pics next week. The photographer just sent a couple pics to wet our appetite:
Below is the beautiful sight.
The First Dance.
Yesterday I was smacked in the face with my first hard day of training since the wedding and honeymoon. After almost a complete week off of training (except for one ez 3k swim and one relay race were I swam/dolphined/ran for 6minutes and change), I am back swinging with the PTC.
Temperatures soared to 42 degrees on the humidex. Coach CT once again showed no mercy and we had a solid open water swim a guelph lake, a tough interval bike, and 400m repeats during a sweltering run. Coach CT pulled the plug on me halfway through the run session because it was very evident that my head was about to pop off. But I was too stubborn to let ADM suffer alone--and after being given the thumbs up from coach, I slugged it out to finish the set--and am still alive and kicking and typing this post 15 hours later.
The temps here in Ontario and other parts of North American are in stark contrast to where the eyes of the triathlon world are focused this weekend. Current air temps and water temps of 11 degrees and 12.5 degrees respectively, greet the competitors on the start line of the ITU World Triathlon Champs in Vancouver.
Check here for the complete schedule and start times--and to launch the live coverage feed. Barrie Shepley went straight from my wedding, to Vancouver--and will be the voice of the World Champs these next few days. Let's see if he has the stamina to make the call for what will be a very exciting men's and women's elite race on Sunday.
Make sure to cheer on LPC's Dennis Masse and Margaret Wojtowicz!
Also on tap this weekend is Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Ralph Iannitelli and Shelley McKee will be blazing on this pancake course and will have endure record high temps.
The HSBC Triathlon Series kicks off this weekend with the Lakeside Tri / Du
Congrats to all who participated in the Belle River Tri / Du this past Saturday. Results can be found at www.chiptimeresults.com
What an incredible week! This past Saturday was the best day of my life. It started in the morning with the Belle River Triathlon. My groomsmen and I formed two relay teams (Spartans versus Trojans). While most groomsmen decide to play golf on the morning of the Big Day, we decided to support this excellent event, where the proceeds went to a great cause. I captained the Spartans and we prevailed and defeated the mighty Trojans. Some thought I was nuts for doing a tri on the day of my wedding. But I just did the swim (which took an entire 6mins20secs), and it was just what I needed to settle the nerves of sheer excitement for the upcoming wedding ceremony.
Team Spartans
Swim = James "CJ" Loaring = The Groom
Bike = Miro "Slavs" Tot = Best Man
Run = Rob "Base" Tranter = Groomsman
Team Trojans
Swim = Anthony "Paniche" Paniccia = Groomsman
Bike = Scotty "The Man" Schelter = Groomsman
Run = David "Pre" Sharratt = Groomsman/Brother-In-Law
It was a great morning and I am lucky to have such an awesome 'Band of Brothers' on my side. I am glad I participated in this event as I would have gone crazy just sitting around doing nothing (except bite my finger nails) until the ceremony began at 3pm.
Perfect weather greeted the ceremony. I was pretty emotional and everything went very well. Bre almost knocked me out with her stunning beauty. The Spartans had one in the morning and I had just married someone even more beautiful than the Helen of Troy. I am a lucky guy.
Some priceless pics were taken and then we were off to the reception. I had an absolute blast--as did many--and the food, dancing, and ouzo, were all exceptional.
I am very fortunate to have married the world's greatest sweetheart. I am fortunate to have so many truly great friends and family in my life. It was the greatest day of my life--a day that was shared by my closest family and friends. On this great day, I not only gained a beautiful wife, but I also gained a beautiful family. Brian, Janet, David, and the entire Sharratt family are truly wonderful. My groomsman are the best friends I could ever ask for. My pop and big sis Char are truly the greatest. My mom was there in spirit. The night before, as I was trying to sleep without success--I could hear her tears of joy coming from above. On the morning of, she brought the sunshine out and her spirit was felt throughout the day. I look forward to an exciting future with my beautiful wife, my beautiful Bre.
