MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series

MSC Triathlon Series Newsletter - August 2010

A busy month ahead

By the time the next newsletter comes out, the kids will be back at school, the leaves on the trees will be changing colour, and the 2010 triathlon/duathlon race season will soon be over. Sorry to remind you but it is a reality. Until then though, MultiSport Canada has a race for you to do every weekend in August.

Bracebridge (August 7 & 8), Toronto Island (August 14 - a few spots left & 15 - sold out), Simcoe Shores Relay (August 21 & 22), and Cobourg (August 28 & 29). And don't forget about our last two events in September - Wasaga and Lakeside. Registrations are picking up and the Lakeside GT 12.9 is close to being sold out already. Act now to ensure you get the races you want to close off the 2010 season. Triple Race Challenge hopefuls are reminded to register for Cobourg and Wasaga to make sure that you are still in the running for prizes.

We are excited to announce an exciting trip to the legendary Challenge Roth next year. There are only 20 racing spots available so check out the details and respond with your interest.

Enjoy this edition of the newsletter, we have some important series news, our monthly exclusive book offer, Ask the Coach with Richard Pady by video, Chris Pickering's Report from Lake Placid, articles about improving overall cycling performance, passing drills, swim clinic announcements, and much more. As always, feel free to send me any articles at hosspro@hotmail.com. Make sure to check out MultiSport Canada Radio for course descriptions, athlete profiles, and post-race interviews.

Safe and happy training,

Roger Hospedales
MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series Newsletter Editor & Podcast Producer

Series News

Order Infinit today and save

Train with the exact same beverage that will be available to you at our races. Order your Infinit RUN, RIDE or REPAIR formulas at www.multisportcanadadrink.com today and save money by having it delivered to you on race day! Listen to Infinit's Dacry Haggith on MultiSport Canada Radio as he describes the Ride and Run Formulas and why you should choose Infinit.

Trip to Challenge Roth - July 2011

As mentioned in the introduction, MultiSport Canada and Healthy Results Training are working in conjunction with Challenge Roth to help you take part in a race experience you will never forget.

The legendary Challenge Roth race takes place on Sunday July 10, 2011 and we are excited to be able to offer 20 highly coveted race entries.

Check out this page for full details.

The Triple Race Challenge Continues - You Can Still Enter and Compete For The Prizes

Everyone who raced in the Welland Half Iron Triathlon is eligible for our Triple Race Challenge and the chance to win one of our many prize packs. The results up to the Welland race are now on a special Triple Race Challenge Results Page.

There are quite a few men who are in the running for the various prizes. The Overall Cash Prizes are definitely up for grabs given the spread in times overall. There is currently only one woman officially competing in the Triple Race Challenge, so ladies, we especially encourage you to can get in on the action by registering for the last two races in the Challenge.

Race #2 of the Challenge is the Cobourg Olympic Distance Triathlon on Saturday August 28^th. There are many prize categories from Fastest Cumulative Time to Fastest Cumulative Transition Time, so everyone is still in the running to win something. Then there is the final qualifying race at the Wasaga Beach Olympic Distance Triathlon on Saturday September 11^th, which will likely be sold out.

Make sure to register today for Cobourg and Wasaga Beach to ensure that you are still eligible to win Triple Race Challenge prizes.

MultiSport Canada Supports Youth Development

At the Bala Falls Triathlon, MultiSport Canada awarded the first Junior Triathlon Sport Development Award in memory of Lisa Hamann and the history of the Bala Falls Triathlon.

This $500 award - increased to $1125 this year thanks to generosity of some of the participants and founders of the first Bala Falls race (Tony Chisholm, Ron Hamann, Shaun Chishom, Judy Quillin and Karl Seger) - was bestowed upon Emma Barnes of the Muskoka Aquatic Club.

At the age of 7 (she is 13 now), Emma began her competitive swimming with the Muskoka Aquatic Club, she has developed into a National level, age group swimmer.

Emma recently finished in the top-5 at the Junior Provincial Championships in multiple races and this season, broke 3 Muskoka Aquatic Club records within her age group, and is currently ranked in the top-10 in Canada for the 200m freestyle within her age group.

Emma also takes part in track and field, cross-country running and canoeing. The award will be used to help offset Emma's training expenses. Congratulations Emma and the Muskoka Aquatic Club! We wish you all the best in your future athletic endeavors.

MultiSport Canada Running Series

Join Us On the Island!

The sights, sounds and tastes of the tropics are one month away and we hope your training is going well for the Island Girl Toronto 10K. If you know of someone who is not yet registered please remind them of the fee increase. The registration fee increases after August 11th to $55. As well, the cut-off for personalized bibs is Sunday, August 8th.

Be sure to share the Island Girl Series with a friend....perhaps someone new to the sport who would be interested in the Island Girl 5K on September 11th. Lace Up Your Sandals and register today!

Simcoe Shores

Less than three weeks to go before the greatest relay race comes to Ontario!! On August 21st approx 50 teams are set to compete in the Simcoe Shores Relay. The Simcoe Shores is a 240km running team relay that starts in Barrie through the best central Ontario has to offer: Orillia, Midland, Wasaga Beach and Collingwood.

Registered teams include some of the top endurance runners in the country looking for some international-level competition. As well, there are several recreational teams that just want to test themselves in this challenging yet fun course.

The original ultra-distance running relay in Ontario was the Shore to Shore Relay (located on the coast of Lake Erie), produced by MultiSport Canada in 2007 and 2008 attracting almost 100 teams. The event was an instant hit with many teams claiming ‘it was the race of a lifetime’. The switch to central Ontario can only make it better!

There are only a couple of spaces left, but there is still time to register! Visit Simcoe Shores 2010.

2010 Volunteer Information

Events like ours cannot happen without volunteer support and we are already looking for volunteers to help at our 2010 events. Why volunteer? It is fun, you can give back to the sport and your fellow competitiors, and we offer some other great incentives. We offer: donations to support community groups or sports teams that volunteer at our events, High School (and Grade 8 Grads) can earn volunteer hours toward their required 40 hrs, FREE racing for young (high school and university) athletes in exchange for volunteering, entry discounts to racers who help recruit volunteers. Helping us recruit volunteers in your local community does not preclude you racing at your local triathlon. If you think you could recruit 8 - 10+ volunteers for your local triathlon, or would like to volunteer, drop us an email at volunteers@multisportcanada.com and let us know.

Exclusive Offers to MSC Racers

Book of the Month - Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance

Learn the Advantages of Nutrient Timing

By Heidi Skolnik and Andrea Chernus

What Are the Benefits of Nutrient Timing?

There are several benefits of nutrient timing. These involve maximizing your body’s response to exercise and use of nutrients. The Nutrient Timing Principles (NTP) help you do the following:

- Optimize fuel use so that you remain energized throughout your training.
- Ensure that you repair and strengthen your muscles to the best of your genetic potential.
- Ingest sufficient nutrients to keep you healthy and able to fight off infection, limiting the suppression of the immune system often experienced with intense training.
- Recover from your training so that you are ready for your next practice, event, or training session with well-fueled muscles.

Energy

When sports nutritionists talk about energy, we are referring to the potential energy food contains. Calories are potential energy to be used by muscles, tissues, and organs to fuel the task at hand. Much of the food we eat is not burned immediately for energy the minute it’s consumed. Rather, our bodies digest, absorb, and prepare it so that it can give us the kind of energy we need, when we need it. We transform this potential energy differently for different tasks. How we convert potential energy into usable energy is based on what needs to get done and how well prepared our bodies are; how we fuel endurance work is different from how we fuel a short, intense run. It is helpful to understand that you must get the food off your plate and into the right places in your body at the right time.

Clients consistently ask us, “What can I eat to give me energy?” For you, “energy” may have different meanings, depending on what you’re referring to and how you’re feeling. If you’re talking about vitality, liveliness, get-up-and-go, then a number of things effect this: amount of sleep, hydration, medical conditions, medications, attitude, type of foods eaten, conditioning and appropriate rest days, and timing of meals and snacks. Food will help a lack of energy only if the problem is food related. You may think that’s obvious, but it’s not to some. If you’re tired because you haven’t slept enough, for instance, eating isn’t going to give you energy. However, if your lack of energy is because you’ve eaten too little, your foods don’t have “staying power,” you go for too long without eating, or you don’t time your meals and snacks ideally around practice or conditioning, then being strategic with food intake can help you feel more energetic. What, how much, and when you eat will affect your energy.

Nutrient timing combined with appropriate training maximizes the availability of the energy source you need to get the job done, helps ensure that you have fuel ready and available when you need it, and improves your energy-burning systems. You may believe that just eating when you are hungry is enough, and in some cases this may be true. But, many times, demands on time interfere with fueling or refueling, and it takes conscious thought and action to make it happen. Additionally, appetites are thrown off by training, so you may not be hungry right after practice, but by not eating, you are starving while sitting at your desk in class or at work. Many athletes just don’t know when and what to eat to optimize their energy stores.

By creating and following your own Nutrition Blueprint and incorporating the NTP, your energy and hunger will be more manageable and consistent, whether you are training several times a week, daily, participating in two-a-days, or are in the midst of the competitive season.

Recovery

During the minutes and hours after exercise, your muscles are recovering from the work you just performed. The energy used and damage that occurred during exercise needs to be restored and repaired so that you are able to function at a high level at your next workout. Some of this damage is actually necessary to signal repair and growth, and it is this repair and growth that results in gained strength. However, some of the damage is purely negative and needs to be minimized or it will eventually impair health and performance. Providing the right nutrients, in the right amounts, at the right time can minimize this damage and restore energy in time for the next training session or competition.

The enzymes and hormones that help move nutrients into your muscles are most active right after exercise. Providing the appropriate nutrients at this crucial time helps to start the repair process. However, this is only one of the crucial times to help repair. Because of limitations in digestion, some nutrients, such as protein, need to be taken over time rather than only right after training, so ingesting protein throughout the day at regular intervals is a much better strategy for the body than ingesting a lot at one meal. Additionally, stored carbohydrate energy (glycogen and glucose) and lost fluids may take time to replace.

By replacing fuel that was burned and providing nutrients to muscle tissue, you can ensure that your body will repair muscle fibers and restore your energy reserves. If you train hard on a daily basis or train more than once a day, good recovery nutrition is absolutely vital so that your muscles are well stocked with energy. Most people think of recovery as the time right after exercise, which is partially correct, but how much you take in at subsequent intervals over 24 hours will ultimately determine your body’s readiness to train or compete again.

Muscle Breakdown and Muscle Building

Nutrient timing capitalizes on minimizing muscle tissue breakdown that occurs during and after training and maximizing the muscle repair and building process that occurs afterwards. Carbohydrate stored in muscles fuels weight training and protects against excessive tissue breakdown and soreness. Following training, during recovery, carbohydrate helps initiate hormonal changes that assist muscle building. Consuming protein and carbohydrate after training has been shown to help hypertrophy (adding size to your muscle). The proper amount and mix of nutrients taken at specific times enables your body to utilize them most efficiently—that’s one of the Nutrient Timing Principles.

Immunity

Nutrient timing can have a significant impact on immunity for athletes. Strenuous bouts of prolonged exercise have been shown to decrease immune function in athletes. Furthermore, it has been shown that exercising when muscles are depleted or low in carbohydrate stores (glycogen) diminishes the blood levels of many immune cells, allowing for invasion of viruses. In addition, exercising in a carbohydrate-depleted state causes a rise in stress hormones and other inflammatory molecules. The muscles, in need of fuel, also may compete with the immune system for amino acids. When carbohydrate is taken, particularly during longer-duration endurance training (two to three hours), the drop in immune cells is lessened, and the stress hormone and inflammatory markers are suppressed. Carbohydrate intake frees amino acids, allowing their use by the immune system. Carbohydrate intake during endurance training helps preserve immune function and prevent inflammation.

Certain vitamins and minerals also play a role in immunity: iron, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, B6, and B12. However, excess intake of iron, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E can have the opposite effect and in some cases impair the body’s adaptation to training. An eating plan incorporating all of these nutrients in reasonable quantities, such as amounts found in food, can help athletes maintain immunity. The quality of the foods selected is very important and needs to be just as much of a priority as the focus on carbohydrate or protein, for example. For instance, eating a bagel for the carbohydrate but also including an orange for the vitamin C is important; drinking a protein shake can be helpful at the right time, but including some lean steak or shellfish for the iron and zinc is also essential.

Injury Prevention

Did you know that dehydration and low blood sugar can actually increase your risk of injury? Avoiding injury due to poor nutrition is absolutely within your control. Inadequate hydration results in fatigue and lack of concentration. Low blood sugar results in inadequate fueling to the brain and central nervous system. This leads to poor reaction time and slowness. Poor coordination as a result can lead to missteps, inattention, and injury.

Additionally, chronic energy drain (taking in fewer calories and nutrients than needed) will increase your risk of overuse injuries over time. Stress fractures are one example; poor tissue integrity can happen when athletes think solely about calories taken in but not the quality of the calories consumed. This is what is behind the phrase “overfed but undernourished.” Eating lots of nutrient-poor foods will not provide your body with the building blocks for healthy tissues and overall repair. Inadequate protein will also hinder the rebuilding of damaged muscles during training. If muscles are not completely repaired, they will not be as strong as they could be and will not function optimally. The damaged muscle fibers can lead to soft-tissue injuries. Both protein and carbohydrate along with certain nutrients are needed to help with this repair. For instance, gummy bears may provide carbohydrate, but they don’t contain any vitamin E, which is helpful in repairing soft-tissue damage that occurs daily during training. Therefore, the goal is both an appropriate quantity and an appropriate quality in food selection.

This is an excerpt from Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance.

Regular Price Book: $19.95 (Canadian dollars)

Special Multisport price = $14.96

Regular Price ebook: $17.95 (Canadian dollars)

Special Multisport price = $13.46

Order online today and save 25%! Use Promo Code X793 when ordering.

(offer valid until Sept 1, 2010 on Canadian orders only; not combinable with any other offers)

Discount Club at Gears

Take advantage of the special prices available to MultiSport Canada customers. It is easy to get your discount. When you go to the store ask for Kevin Wallace or Ira Kargel and they will make sure you get the discount applicable with the product you are buying. Every Wednesday is The Gears/MSC discount day with 10% off most items in the store. Download the Discount Card or call the store (905-271-2400) and ask for Ira or Kevin for details. Discount Club details.

Accommodation Partners

We have been able to arrange for special room rates at more of our races. Please contact our Accommodation partners and ask for the MultiSport Canada special room rates at our races. More information is on the individual event pages. Click on the logos below to get more details about the individual hotels.

Special room rate of $139 for MSC athletes.

Normal rate of over $200 per night.

Gravenhurst (Sold Out), Bracebridge and Bala Falls

Rate varies by weekend

Best Western Cobourg

MultiSport Canada rates starting at $119.00

Woodstock and Lakeside

The Quality Hotel and Suites

Special rate of $103.99 per night

If you would like to submit content to the newsletter, please send items to hosspro@hotmail.com

Ask the Coach

Our coaching panel of Nigel Gray, Chris Pickering and Richard Pady will eagerly answer your questions each month, please keep sending your questions to hosspro@hotmail.com.

How to find the flow? - with Richard Pady of Healthy Results Training

Coach Pickering takes you on a journey to Ironman Lake Placid for its 12th year. His report includes reflections on personal experiences and tips and tricks to help you on your next big race.

For me, it was my third Ironman and a great opportunity to test how far I have come as an athlete. Lake Placid is known to attract some of the stiffest competition that the world of triathlon has to offer. Having previously participated in Ironman Brazil in 2008, and Triathlon Korea Jeju, formerly Ironman Korea, in 2009, I was very confident as an athlete coming into this race. I went to train with my coach Richard Pady, of Healthy Results Training, up in the Hockley Valley area which offers some of the most scenic, hilly, and challenging roads in Ontario. I put in several long rides which summed up to over 6,000 ft of climbing to ensure that the 4,500 ft of climbing in Placid would not destroy my legs too early. I was also able to get in some training rides with Tara Norton, Sean Bechtel, David Sharratt, and Richard Pady, as well as participate in the Hockley Valley training camp in June hosted by Rich. I was ready for a big day in Placid.

Continue reading this excellent report here.

Richard Pady is the Head Coach of Healthy Results Training, the creator of Indoorrider.com, and the Founder of Race 4 Kids. rpady@healthyresults.ca

Chris Pickering is a Certified Healthy Results Training Coach, and a partner in Indoorrider.com. chris@healthyresults.ca

Training Articles

Running With Infinit

By Darcy Haggith – President Infinit Nutrition Canada

I felt compelled to prepare a piece on fueling for long training runs after a couple recent experiences:

1. Call last week from Kelly-how should I mix my INFINIT for a long run, I have a fuel belt with 4-8 oz bottles and I am running 20 miles.

2. My long point-to-point 18 mile run-from work to Amherstburg with no INFINIT.

3. Roy's long Sunday group runs.

There is no magic in nutrition and hydration, unless you consider knowledge to be magic. I prefer "knowledge is power". We as athletes spend thousands of dollars on clothing, equipment, books, sometimes coaching, getting to and competing in races. Yet we pay little attention to the fuel or how we will fuel to get through our journey. Think of the big Formula 1 Racing Teams-they spend millions on their programs to reach the podium. The fuel that is critical in them actually realizing their potential is a mere fraction of the total costs of their machine, without enough of the right fuel their millions are worthless. The same is true for fueling for endurance-you will never reach your true potential unless you have it.

1. Back to Kelly. The day before a 20-mile training run-Kelly asks: how do I mix my INFINIT for my long run tomorrow? I ask a few questions before we get started, what is your pace, what was your most recent long run... I am planning on running 9.5 - 10 minute/mile (3 to 3:20 for the training run in the dead heat). Last long run was 18 miles-the last 4 miles were awful-I had to sit in a fountain, I was dizzy and nauseous near the end. These are obvious signs of dehydration or depleted electrolyte levels. So back to the 4-8 oz Fuel Belt bottles-we could definitely concentrate the INFINIT blend to ensure the salt and calorie levels are correct, but we would most certainly not have enough water to get her through the 3+ hr run. What seemed obvious was not to Kelly-you need at least a full bottle per hour (600 ml or 20 oz), some take in more. I take a serving and a half or 900 ml in each hour, this works for me with my sweat rate and ability to absorb. Most will say that they cannot drink this much, this is just because they don't know if they can. Best to push the boundaries of how much you can take in as you will never keep up to calories lost and it is really difficult to maintain ideal hydration levels for long endurance events.

The simple answer put the fuel belt on the shelf for your super long runs and drop bottles. If you do an out and back and place 3 to 5 bottles out there you will have more than enough nutrition. If you run two out and back loops you need to drive 4 miles out and evenly drop your bottles, this will get you through a 20 miler. By dropping bottles you will not be conserving by any means you will drink freely and consume the 1 to 1.5 servings per hour you need. Remember you are looking to accomplish 3 things with your nutrition: hydrate, replenish calories and maintain adequate electrolyte levels. No product you put in 4 - 8 oz Fuel Belt will do all 3 over a long run. Once you get in a race scenario that is when the Fuel Belt is valuable, superconcentrated INFINIT added to water on the course will keep you going for the whole marathon.

2. My long run with no INFINIT. Two Fridays ago I prepared for my Long Run after work by measuring out the INFINIT that I would carry as a super concentrate in my Fuel Belt. I knew that Jeff, Les and I were running 18 miles and we running from Windsor to Amherstburg-no real opportunity to drop bottles, so I was going to add water purchased along the way to my INFINIT. I forgot my to pack my INFINIT when I left for work. So I guess I was going to be buying my nutrition on the way, each stop I found myself reading the labels-keying in on the calorie level and the sodium levels. No product I could find had the balance right for me, so luckily I was able to augment with salt tabs that Les had. So with 6 stops, many colours and salt tabs I got through my long run on a very hot day-was pleased with the performance. Today we are doing eighteen I will be dropping bottles for Les and I, we will be running two 9 mile loops.

3. Roy and I run mornings Monday, Wednesday and Friday-he does his long runs with a group he has been running with for a while. They did a 21 km run last Sunday. Again I am amazed at how hard people make running long on themselves. None of the 6 other runners drank more then 32 oz of nutrition or fluids for a slow long run in 2 hrs. Some took in water only, one only took one bottle of water and a few took nutrition in the 4 - 8 oz bottles. Yes I want you to use INFINIT. Even if you are not, take in enough water and nutrition, this stuff is so much easier when you are properly nourished. Salt tabs and Gatorade got me comfortably through 18 miles in the heat, but it would have been easier with my regular Infinit formulation.

If you are cramping, dizzy, nauseous, overly fatigued at the end of a long run-you are either not well nourished or not properly hydrated.

Take the time to get your nutrition figured out, this shouldn't be an afterthought. Racing at your true potential is reliant on proper nutrition.

Darcy Haggith - INFINIT Nutrition Canada

Order your official race course recovery formulas at multisportcanadadrink.com today and we will deliver it to you on race day! Simply pick up your order at the Infinit Nutrition booth and save on shipping. Check out The Infinit Loop for the latest videos and information pieces.

Improving cycling performance

By Alan Chud - Multisport Coach at Absolute Endurance

Have you ever wondered about what parts of “your game” are strong and what parts need work? We know that each and every athlete has strengths and weaknesses and furthermore thinks about them regularly! (Usually the weaknesses). Rather than put the analysis of these characteristics in the closet, I believe that in order to improve, it’s important to analyze them…with one caveat. DO IT OBJECTIVELY! Truth results from honest and objective assessment of strengths and weaknesses. It’s extremely easy to work on strengths and it can be very tedious to work on weaknesses or limiters. It takes a consistent and disciplined approach and that’s not always easy.

Lets reference the earlier point about being objective before we start looking at some specific weaknesses or limiters and how to improve them. As a coaches and someone who works with many athletes who wish to improve, one of the most common faults we see is folks who compare themselves to someone outside of their own peer group! For example if we are working with a 45 year old male who rides 3 times per week, and does 2 races per season, it would be counter productive to compare him (or more importantly for him to compare himself) with males who compete regularly and ride twice that amount. Gauge your weakness with objectivity.

To get the best benefit from the identification of limiters it’s important to have some benchmarks. For cycling these could be. 1) Identification of lactate threshold. 2) Determine weather or not you have prepared proper tactical plans for your races. 3) Identify goals which are clear and realistic. 4) Have a full functional assessment from a chiropractor with cycling experience or a strength and conditioning specialist with pertinent experience, or a certified qualified cycling or endurance coach. Learning and understanding the benchmarks in all these areas will help you improve!

Let’s identify some specific limiters for cyclist which you may have encountered.

Specific Limiters for cyclists:

1) Can’t stay steady on long sustained climbs. You find yourself just hanging on until the climb is over.

Required Improvement: General fitness; strength; and improved technique.

If you do work a touch below your threshold for a majority of the training and do some smaller durations just above your threshold this will help your climbing fitness. Work in the gym with a trainer who has experience developing the specific muscles which are recruited while climbing. Also, while it is true that you develop more power while standing, did you know that you utilize over 10% more energy while standing on the pedals while your pelvis isn’t connected with the seat. During this technique you put more stress on your back and core muscles and increased tension on your neck and shoulders. The net result of standing is that you utilize more energy, or you are less efficient. We suggest staying in the saddle on longer climbs and spinning at 80-85 rpm if you can. Staying in the saddle helps you use bigger muscles, (gluteus and hip) to help. Also, typically your heart rate is 10% less than when you are standing so you are burning less energy. One drill that we like for long hill training is to power up a short hill while seated while keeping the rpm at 90! Try to do this in a larger gear than you would normally and use the hill on a regular basis. After doing the hill a few times try to do the same drill in a higher gear! Also start with as little as 2 reps and increase the reps to 6 or 7 after you get more comfortable. It’s ok to recover prior to the drill each time. Recovery is a part of fitness we find athletes take for granted. So take a good rest at the bottom and do the drill at 100% effort.

2) You fade during the latter part of a long ride;

Required Improvement: the best athletes are the most consistent! Assuming you have the nutrition correct we need to ensure that during a long ride you are not dipping into the anaerobic zone. Chances are that you could improve your aerobic capacity. To accurately determine this, a lactate or vo2 test on the bike is required. Volume at lower intensities (lower than usually thought) is a prime ingredient for a proper endurance base. This teaches your body to access energy in a slow efficient manner! What typically exacerbates this problem amongst athletes we see is that they only have a finite time to ride. Subsequently they “feel” they need to push hard to get a workout in. Problem is they are training the wrong system and thereby not helping build that aforementioned base.

These are just a couple of limiters and their respective suggested actions for correction. For a complete assessment try a certified cycling or endurance coach and have some testing done! It’s a great way to start the process. And remember, look at yourself objectively and have some fun in the process.

Happy riding.

Alan Chud is the general manager and a Multisport Coach at Absolute Endurance Training and Therapy. Alan works with triathletes and cyclists to help them improve their performance on the bike as well as the swim and run. He works with athletes both online and one on one. Contact him at alan@absoluteendurance.com

The Leap Frog Game

By Mark Hummel of Wolf Den Radical Cycling

One of the most exciting things to do on race day is to pass someone. One of the most frustrating things is when the person that you just passed passes you shortly after. You then pass the person again, and the leap frog game begins.

The leap frog game can sometimes be beneficial and other times detrimental. It can be motivating, as you push yourself a little harder to constantly pass the person, and may result in a faster bike split. However, it can cause you to use additional energy on the bike, and burn out your legs for the run.

The dangerous part about the leap frog game is that if you are not careful, you can get caught drafting as you stay close to the other racer, and receive a penalty.

What we need to focus on is the ability to pass, stay in front, and stay faster than them.

The following drill works on your ability to surge ahead and then stay ahead. The goal is to be able to go faster then your race pace, hold that surge for a longer period of time, and then come back down BUT NOT LOWER than your race pace. The result is that when you pass another racer, you put some distance between them and you, making it even more difficult for them to pass you.

Here is the drill:

Find a long straight road, preferably a fairly flat road. (Or you can put your bike on a trainer.) Get up to your race pace, and hold it a for a few minutes. (The assumption is that you have sufficiently warmed up.) This drill is done in one minute increments.

For the first minute, surge ahead for 5 seconds, about 2-3 KM faster than your race pace, and then come back down to your race pace for 55 seconds. For the next minute, surge for 10 seconds, and then race pace for 50 seconds. Continue as follows (surge time/race pace time):

15/45, 20/40, 25/35, 30/30, 35/25, 40/20, 45/15, 50/10, 55/5, 60

This is a total of 12 minutes.

I like to do this drill for a total of 3 times, with about a 2 min active recovery between each 12 minute set.

Over time, this drill will increase your speed and endurance, and most importantly keep the competition in your rear view mirror!

Race strong and smart, and hope to see you all at Bracebridge!

Wolf Den Radical Cycling

mark@wolfonetwo.com

647-476-3499

Athlete Profiles and Stories

Carrie Grinter's Ride for Cancer Research

Fellow racer, Carrie Grinter, witnessed her best friend's father, Gerald Thompson, pass away on February 5, 2010. He struggled shortly from a cancer known as peripheral sheath nerve sarcoma that originates in the body's soft tissue. Feeling helpless, she wanted to support her friend in a meaningful way.

She decided to support cancer research and ride 130 km in honor of Gerald Thompson. On August 28, 2010 she will be cycling with 49 other cyclists. And if she raises the minimum $20 000, one of those other cyclists will be Lance Armstrong!

To read more about Carrie's story or to make a donation visit here.

Camps, Clinics & Other Events

Swim Faster Now

Now that we are well into the triathlon season, you have had time to evaluate your performance, especially your swim. Most people that I have been talking to and working with, all wish that they could swim faster and not be so tired after the completion of the swim component. Some of these people are accomplished triathletes and swimmers. One thing we have learned over the years is that when you are younger, you can swim fast based upon your age and ability to train hard and recover quick.

As we age, this is no longer the case. We often look at our performance and accept that we will get slower as we age. Based strictly on training hard, this is true. Based on technique, this isn’t the case. A lot of athletes who are performing well in to their 40', 50’s and older, have the same common approach. Simply put, they become masters of technique.

A number of years ago while attending a USA Masters Nationals Championships, I noticed that the top swimmers in their 60's and 70's still had nice technique. With proper technique, you can really minimize resistance, which allows you to swim much faster. I recently worked with one gentleman in his 40's, whose freestyle, I gave a complete overhaul. Recently he emailed me and was excited that his last race netted him a medal podium performance and was the faster he had been in over 16 years!!

These types of improvements can happen for anyone once you learn our 6 step system to faster frontcrawl. Once you complete our system, you will shave significant time off of your next swim. You will feel relaxed, swim faster and do it with much less energy, allowing you to cycle and run faster.

To set up private one on one sessions with one of our expert staff, please give us a call at 1-888-380SWIM(7946), or check us out at www.swimfasternow.com.

Remember...."Smart people make time to learn new skills that will help them to improve"

Coach Craig

Cape Croker Open Water Swim Camp

A Total Immersion Open Water Swim Camp will take place at Cape Croker Park (owned and operated by the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation) from Friday evening on August 27 through the afternoon on Sunday August 29, 2010.

Total Immersion (www.totalimmersion.net.) is a new approach to swimming founded by expert swim coach Terry Laughlin that helps people learn to swim more efficiently, faster and with less effort. As Terry says, you’ll learn how to swim “like a fish”!

Our swim camp will feature Total Immersion certified instructor Eric Quane and assistant instructor Karin Hornblower, as well as open water swimming specialist Kelvin Landolt (Head Coach of Toronto’s Downtown Swim Club, and the 2010 Zoot 4KM Fastest Male swimmer).

If you want to improve your open water swimming for triathlons, distance swims, or just for fun, this camp will be a great way to do so while keeping it safe and enjoyable! Visit http://www.capecrokerpark.com/events.php for more details.

Please Support our Sponsors

We extend our thanks to each and every sponsor. Race entry fees never cover the complete cost of a particular race or series of races and without the sponsors there is no race or race series that would survive without their support. We hope that you all take a moment to check out our Series Sponsors below or visit the sponsors page and see what they do and look at the products they sell. Please thank them for supporting the sports of Triathlon and Duathlon by trying and using their products. If you do visit them please take a moment to thank them for supporting Triathlon, Duathlon and Kids races in Ontario.

Thanks To All Of Our Sponsors

We extend our thanks to each and every sponsor and the local bike, running and triathlon shops in the communities where you race. Race entry fees never cover the complete cost of a particular race or series of races and without the sponsors there is no race or race series that would survive without their support. We hope that you all take a moment to check out our Series Sponsors below or visit the sponsors page and see what they do and look at the products they sell. Please thank them for supporting the sports of Triathlon and Duathlon by trying and using their products. If you do visit them please take a moment to thank them for supporting Triathlon, Duathlon and Kids races in Ontario.

MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series

We are extremely grateful to have the support of our sponsors. Please support all of our sponsors. You can visit their website by clicking on their logo.