Full Speed Ahead

This is a busy time for me--every hour of every day is full speed ahead--I have A LOT on my plate these days and I am enjoying every minute of the organized chaos. I am home from a great week in Florida. It is nice to come home to wonderful weather. It was nice to get some sun--I no longer look like Casper the friendly ghost--mission accomplished. It was a great feeling to once again ride outdoors. The new Cannondale SystemSix Steed is very fast and responsive. It is the best road bike that I have every ridden. Now only if I can get my hands on their new time trial bike :-)

The week of training in Florida was all nice and ez Z1/Z2 effort:

Swim=5500m (3 short open water swims and 1 short pool swim at the NTC).

Allow me to digress: This week of ez swimming was a big contrast from the previous big week of swimming which culminated with a 5000m practice of suffering that included 3600m of quality, including a 17:37 'tempo' 1500m followed by 5x300m on 4:00 holding sub 3:30's. If you can recall the previous post where I mentioned that we have implemented a challenge theme in swim prac. Well I thought the challenge was to swim a solid 1500m time for practice at the end of a week of training (Saturday's are our day off so fatigue is usually pretty high come Friday). But CoachCT was sneaky and set a goal for us to swim 5x300 at under our 1500 pace. (I thought we would be warming down after the 1500m tempo). It was no easy task and I realized after the first 100m of the first 300m that I had no arms (I never have any legs when swimming) and would have to dig deep. HTFU James! I did, and made the challenge. Chocolate earned :-)

Bike=320k (5 rides mostly all ez with a few k of pace--over the rolling terrain of Clermont). I rode with my GPS and mapped out some excellent routes for next year's LPC Triathlon Camp.

Run= 68k (5 runs including 1 run over the beautiful 10mile Orange Grove Loop (my favourite run loop on Earth) and a couple golf course runs around the beautiful Orange Lake Country Club Resort.

I had the chance to train with several friends and LPC athletes. The camaraderie was excellent and everyone was in high spirits all week long.

I also used the week to firm up a hundred details regarding next year's LPC camp. The camp will likely take place March 15-22 of 2009. More about this in another post and stay tuned for some pics.

In others news--the racing season is underway and so is the nicer weather. LPC athletes performed very well at the Around the Bay 30k Run and the Running Factory 10mile and 5k Runs. John, Dawn, Lisa, Jim, Rob, Kathy, Ralph, and Jane, all ran very well. Champions.

Despite a hard week of base training, LPC's Keith Henry took part in the Clermont Triathlon at the end of the camp. This was going to be Keith's first ever Olympic Distance Triathlon. His first triathlon was the super-sprint at the 2006 Loaring Triathlon. In the last year, Keith has been able progressively build up his swim mileage from 700m to consistently swimming 2500m+ 3 times per week. Much of this mileage has been working on his technique and performing video analysis. It has been just awesome to observe how much his swim stroke (and times) have improved over the past year. Keith had his best ever swim and bike performance in this race. Champion.

Rob 'Base' Tranter took 4th in the 800m at the US Master Track and Field Indoor Champs. The Tranterminator has a bit of speed in him! Champion.

And in late breaking news--my soon to be bro-in-law has once again made history. David 'Pre' Sharratt has just been awarded Male Athlete of the Year at Conestoga College. Dave won the OCAA Provincial Cross Country Champs back in November. That is an incredible accomplishment for a tri-geek and has only be done once before (by a Mr. Simon Whitfield). Dave's Gold Medal marked the first time that Conestoga College won an OCAA championship in any sport (male and female). Champion.
As for myself and others--this is a time for training consistently well, and we are all enjoying the process to properly prep for the upcoming races. Over the next 2 month's, LPC athletes will assemble at the Boston Marathon, Flying Pigs Marathon, Mississauga Marathon, St Croix 70.3 Triathlon, and the ITU World Triathlon Championships, and several other local and regional events. We are all Champions :-)

Too Much Chocolate And Not Enough Sun

Above is footage of a skinny bearded scrub who has bad fashion sense and needs to get some sunshine. Coach CT often takes video of us while swimming at the PTC. My swimming has been feeling pretty good and I swam a 23:32 for 2000m 'hard tempo' in practice a few days after this video was taken. Maybe I would be faster if I shaved and wore a Speedo LZR swimsuit?

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's PTC swim practice. Coach CT came down to 'the lab' (my basement where the indoor riding and geeking on the CompuTrainer Lab takes place) to look at my positioning on my new road bike and old time trial bike. We made some big changes to the time trial bike and some tweaks to the new road bike. I tried to pawn off some of the giant chocolate egg, but Coach CT surprisingly refused to eat some despite loving dark choco. Bre dislikes dark choco as well, so I am still sitting on the largest chocolate egg in the history of this world (see below post). Who wants chocolate? Please take it from me.

Due to this chocolate surplus issue, Wise Grasshopper Coach CT implemented a 'challenge' theme at swim prac this morning. He set a swim challenge for each of us, and if we were successful, a coveted piece of chocolate from the giant egg would be presented at the end of practice. My 'challenge' was to hold a sub-17 front crawl stroke for the entire practice. I failed miserably--no chocolate for me. Actually, nobody got any chocolate--not because they failed like me--but because I forgot to bring the chocolate to swimming! That won't happen tomorrow. And tomorrow I shall not fail. Bring the next challenge Coach CT--I am going to 'go to town' and 'Champ It' :-)

In other news, I leave Sunday for the warmth and sunshine of Clermont, Florida. As you can see from the above video, I am in dire need of some sun. The hideous beard is now gone, I just returned from the hair salon, and I even have a new drag suit. It must be spring. The racing season must be on the horizon. The cobwebs need to be shaken off...and there are a lot of them--I am far from race worthy fitness...

I will finally get a chance to ride outside on the new steed. The last time I road outside (other than a couple of MTB treks, was at the San Francisco Triathlon in mid-November. It has been a long winter and I am itching to have an enjoyable week of base training in more ideal temperatures.

I will be staying at the luxurious Orange Lake Resort. This will be the home of an annual LPC Triathlon Camp beginning March of 2009. I will be firming up the details for next year's camp and also mapping out all of the routes. I already know the area well--as Clermont has been my base training camp for the past five years.

I will be accompanied by my pop, and LPC athlete's Dennis Masse, Keith Henry, and Shelley McKee. Good friends Bill Davies and Doug Crowe will also be in town for a big week of training in paradise. I will be joining in on some of the sessions of an excellent triathlon camp put on by London's Coach Sheri Fraser.

Dinner Is Served

Bre received a phone call from our local bakery that we had one a prize. To our delight--we discovered that we had won the largest chocolate egg in the history of this world. We had secured our Easter dinner and I am not going to sleep for a month--the entire egg is 70% dark chocolate and contains 400 million calories and I will be bouncing off of walls like a Tazmanian Devil (which will help burn off all the calories).

We actually did have a wonderful well-balanced meal before we brought out the chainsaw on the mother of all eggs. A big thanks to Brian and Janet for once again putting together a fantastic Easter dinner.

47.50

New Machines

Thanks ABIKES for your incredible support! The weather continues to be terrible so I have yet to hit the hills. I can't wait--bring on Rattlesnake...

I also received this new fully loaded notebook from Dell (please don't ask me how much $$$ I spent on this lovely machine). I have way too many applications that require lots of juice (no, I do not play video games)--and I am on the computer more than I sleep--so it was time for a big upgrade.

Cycling Awareness Test

"I Run For Life"

The next running of the Loaring Triathlon will take place on Saturday, July 19th, 2008

Online Registration opens March 19th, 2008

The 8th edition of the Loaring Triathlon will once again be held at our gorgeous cottage-like setting along Lake Erie in Essex County, just 40 minutes ouside of the Windsor/Detroit area. All proceeds will be given to the Elena Loaring Memorial Fund for Breast Cancer Research through the University of Windsor. All monies received will be doubled by the Provincial Government!

Full info at: http://www.loaring.com/

Click the video and sing along with Melissa. Let's continue to run and tri and fight for a cure!

A big thanks to Rhonda Bonneau for putting together this wonderful slideshow.

Melissa Etheridge I Run For Life Lyrics

It's been years since they told her about it
The darkness her body possessed
And the scars are still there in the mirror
Everyday that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast
If you ask her why she is still running
She'll tell you it makes her complete

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life

It's a blur since they told me about it
How the darkness had taken its toll
And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body
But they will never get a piece of my soul
And now I'm still learning the lesson
To waken when I hear the call
And if you ask me why I am still running
I'll tell you I run for us all

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more

Windsor Spinathon

Infinit Nutrition

Endurance sport is just as much a game of nutrition as it is a game of mental and physical will.

How can the coaching staff of such a high profile multi-million dollar professional sports team, believe that merely consuming bananas, is the sercet to preventing cramps and optimizing game day nutrition? The Giants still won--but it wasn't because of their 'clever' nutrition strategy. Watching the Super Bowl allowed me to reminisce of the early childhood soccer days, when we all eat oranges during half-time. The coaches back then believed it worked and we as kids loved them. But in this day and age of professionalism--surely the coaches of a Super Bowl Team that analyzes every minute detail--implements a proper nutrition strategy that allows a 300 pound linebacker to perform to the best of his ability in the grueling heat and humidity? I eat bananas before races. Surely they can be a good race day food. But what else was consumed? Am I missing something?

Below is what one wants to avoid. Few athletic endurance videos are more dramatic than this one:



Sian and Wendy should have been hydrating with a product such as Infinit Nutrition--and they should have been timing the consumption of this product better. Of course--it certainly is easy for me to say this while I am typing on the couch at room temperature. But I have also been out their and seen the 'Pearly Gates' because of a poor nutrition strategy. In their defense--this excellent product was yet to be developed.

The bottom line:
Take the time to dial down your nutrition strategy while training and racing. Never be depleted going into a workout. The timing of nutrition is just as important as the nutrition itself.

LPC Coaching Philosophy

I have been inspired by numerous 'giants' from the course of history; to dig deep within my bone marrow, and attempt to articulate my coaching philosophy. Below is cut and pasted from my LPC website...

My core coaching philosophy is driven by the following values, ethics, and beliefs:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." - Pierre de Coubertin
Find true understanding in what the Olympic Creed means, and then incorporate this understanding with relentless passion throughout all facets of life.

"Citius, Altius, Fortius" - the Olympic Motto
Coach James will guide you along a wonderful journey, with the goal of becoming a 'faster', 'greater', and 'stronger' person.

The Olympic Creed and the Olympic Motto are meant to inspire athletes to embrace the Olympic spirit and to perform to the best of their abilities. Before joining Team LPC, you must first give me your oath that you will abide by these principles. Then we shall build on them together.

"Achieve New Balance" - advertising slogan used by New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
Successful living relies on achieving a healthy balance in life. It's important to train smart and implement a program that optimally reflects your busy lifestyle.

"Physical training is catabolic. You don't get stronger from merely training hard. You get stronger from training smart. Harvest your potential through the systematic process of training and recovering with purpose." - James Loaring
Learn from your previous mistakes. Minimize future mistakes. Eliminate the "no pain, no gain" mentality from your psyche. You can be smarter than that. You can be better than that.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein
Don't be insane. Train with purpose. Train smart.

"Coaching will always be more of an art than a science, but all coaching should be based on scientific principles." - Dr. Andrew Coggan
I have immersed myself in endurance sport for a long time, and have learned from many of the giants. When coaching, I strive to stand on the shoulders of the giants before me, and look further. I embrace emerging scientific principles, while still building and reflecting upon the great minds, and the wealth of experience, that have occurred throughout the evolution of sport. Am I 'new school' or 'old school'? I am both. And ‘School’ is the most important word in this question.

“The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do… They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.” - E. M. Gray
Never just go through the motions:
"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." - Vince Lombardi
"Become a master at processing information" - James Loaring
Never stop learning. Be a student of the sport. Accelerate through the massive learning curve of endurance sport. Pick everyone’s brain and retain the overwhelming information like a sponge. If you pay for my coaching, milk it for all it is worth by tapping into the knowledge and experiences that I have gained over time.

"Champions are everywhere, you just have to train them properly" - Arthur Lydiard
The vast majority of people never come remotely close to achieving their potential. Champions are people who have come infinitely close to harvesting their potential. Champions are individuals who fulfill their long-term goal(s). Look in the mirror and first ask yourself if you have champion blood within you. If yes, then ask yourself how you are going to get there. I can help.

"Endurance sport is just as much a game of nutrition as it is a game of mental and physical will" - James Loaring
Take the time to dial down your nutrition strategy while training and racing. Never be depleted going into a workout. Always refuel after training within the 'recovery window'. The timing of nutrition is just as important as the nutrition itself.

"Refuse to drink from the cup of mediocrity" - James Loaring
The glass is never half empty. Never breathe in negativity from others, unless it's constructive in nature. Otherwise it's a disease. Immerse yourself in a positive environment and always be positive yourself. Hydrate from the cup of excellence while carrying out your journey toward achieving excellence.

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude." - Colin Powell
The little things are important. They do make a difference. Training well is only one part of the equation. Attitude is everything. Drink from the cup of excellence.

Welcome to our giant game on planet Earth - '...a big place... with so many challenging and exciting possibilities. The overall objective is to maximize the good, and minimize the bad.' May the Force be with you!" - G. R. John Loaring
Join Team LPC and begin to embark on the path toward excellence.

"Belief Makes the Extraordinary Ordinary" - Richard Quick
Believe in belief, and spread this belief like a bush fire onto others. But first allow it to spread like a ‘healthy’ virus within you. Have belief in yourself and in your coach. As a coach, I will put my heart and soul into helping you achieve your goals. But you must believe in me, and yourself, in order for us to grow together.

"There is no such thing as can't” – Jan Ashford and Elena Loaring
Broaden your horizon and strive to achieve what you thought was once unachievable.

"Onwards and upwards we GO" - James Loaring
What are you waiting for? Let's apply the Olympic Creed and set out on your very own personal Olympic-size journey....Now!