MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series

MSC Triathlon Series Newsletter - December 2010

Happy Holidays

It seems incredible to me that nine years have gone by. What started as an idea for a race series with a different and relaxed feeling, has become a race series with a "family" feeling. Over the years I have gotten to know many of our athletes/customers and consider many of you to be friends. Race weekends are something to look forward to because we see so many people enjoying themselves simply because they are fit and active. I must admit there are many times that I look over a transition area and see all of the bikes and think "Wow, look at all of those bikes. Did we turn this dream into a reality?"

There are also many times after a race weekend that I will receive emails from athletes thanking us for changing their lives through Triathlon or Duathlon. My response is always the same. We did not change your life, you did! It is your hard work that gets you to the finish. I will say that it gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction and joy to know that by providing our races we give you a place to test out all of your hard work. That is very rewarding.

I would like to thank everyone who has ever raced with MultiSport Canada and for giving us the enjoyment of seing your happiness while you compete. I hope that you have a wonderful Holiday Season and that the New Year is your happiest ever!

John Salt - Founder and President, MultiSport Canada

The Last One for 2010

Wow! What an incredible season. But where did the time go?

Our season ended in spectacular fashion a few weeks ago in what was our most memorable season ending Awards Day ever. Thanks to Gears, triathlon superstar Simon Whitfield juggled a busy weekend of activities and attended our event just before flying back home to celebrate his wife’s birthday. Simon charmed all in attendance, shared some cool stories – the Yao Ming chugging story comes to mind, answered a ton of questions, and graciously handed out awards and posed for photos. Our award winners were definitely spoiled. Where else will you have an Olympic Gold medalist present you with your award? We always try to improve and give you our best but this may be hard to top. Thanks again to Simon and Kevin Wallace at Gears.

The upcoming holiday season will likely be a challenge to most. Trying to slip in training, limit weight gain along with doing the obligatory family meals, parties, and if you are lucky, going on vacation to someplace warm. This final newsletter of 2010 will try to help you navigate through this time with tips from Richard Pady and the rest of our contributors, provide excellent holiday deals from out sponsors, give you training opportunities for the new year, and tell you a few exciting changes to some of our races.

Enjoy the December Newsletter and thanks for making this the best season ever, more to come in 2011.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy Training

Roger Hospedales
MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series Newsletter Editor & Podcast Producer

As always, feel free to send me any articles at hosspro@hotmail.com.

Series News

Simon Whitfield At The Series Awards

What a great time we had at the 2010 Series Awards and want to thank Gears Bike Shop for arranging to have Simon Whitfield talk. Mike Cheliak took lots of pictures of the Series and Triple Race Challenge winners with Simon. Mike has generously put the high resolution pictures on his website, where you can download them for FREE!!!! Here is Mike's weblink.

Congratulations once again to the 2010 Series Award Winners and the 2010 Triple Race Challenge Winners!

Team Racing Comes To MultiSport Canada

We had a tremendous suggestion from Mark Hummel and we have decided to add a new category and what we expect to be a whole lot of fun. Starting in 2011 we will be offering a Team Triathlon category. This is meant to be an opportunity for athletes to race as a team and claim bragging rights at specific races. It will be an additional award category and will not replace individual awards. In other words you can race as a team with a group of your friends, stand on the podium as a team and still be recognized for age group awards and series points.

Each team will have to have a minimum of 4 participants, with at least one woman. The total team time for each race would be calculated and the fastest wins. We are going to be exploring some other ideas as to maximum team size, women's teams and other possible options.

The Triple Race Challenge Winners

We would like to congratulate all of the winners in the 2010 Triple Race Challenge. It was our way of having some fun and giving athletes a rewarding challenge.

Overall Men and Women

1st Place Male Overall winner of 8 x 10 picture plaque and $1,000 - R.J. Ross
2nd Place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque and $500 - Peter Buehlow
3rd Place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque and $250 - Andrew Imrie
4th Place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque - Chris Pickering
5th place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque - Clint Schiafone

1st Place Female Overall winner of 8 x 10 picture plaque - Brooke Brown
2nd Place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque - Saskia Holditch
3rd Place Male Overall winner of 5 x 7 picture plaque - Janet McCurdy
The rules stated that there needed to be at least 5 men and women competing for the overall award for cash prizes to be awarded. We have contacted each of the winning women and arranged for individual prizing as a recognition of their achievements. All of the overall winners also received a $50 gift certificate from Infinit Nutrition and a pair of Ryders sunglasses of their choice.

Swim, Bike, Run and Transition Category Winners

All of the winners of the Swim, Bike and Run categories received the following prizes:
5 x 7 picture plaque
A $50 gift certificate from Infinit
A pair of Ryders eyewear of his choice - over $90 in value
Three (3) sprint races (or equivalent value of longer distance races) for the 2011 MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series - $200 value*
* Transition prize package received one (1) Sprint race or credit towards a longer distance

In addition to the prizes above the individual category winners received the following:

Brooke Brown won:

$100 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
H2O Audio Case and Headphones - $130

Saskia Holditch won:

$100 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
Speedfill Hydration System - $110
Two nights the Marriott Residence Inn in Gravenhurst - $400
$75 gift certificate to the North Restaurant in Gravenhurst

Janet McCurdy won:

$50 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
Underwater MP3 Player - $180

The top male in the Swim was Chris Pickering. Chris' prizes were:

Louis Garneau Superleggera Aero Helmet - $200
Tri Swim Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Lotion and Wash - $25
One night at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto - $250

The top male in the Bike Clint Schiafone. Clint's prizes were:

$30 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
Louis Garneau Tri Lite Bike Shoes - $170
One night at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto - $250

The top male in the Run was David Bedrosian. David's prizes were:

$50 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
Underwater MP3 Player - $180
Two nights the Marriott Residence Inn in Gravenhurst - $400
$75 gift certificate to the North Restaurant in Gravenhurst

The top male in the Transition was John Song. John's prizes were:

$30 Gift Certificate to Du, Tri & Run
Louis Garneau Tri Lite Bike Shoes - $170

If you didn't know about this years Triple Race Challenge you may have missed out on a great opportunity to win some fabulous prizes. Full details on the 2010 Challenge are on the Triple Race Challenge web page. We will be announcing the 2011 Triple Race Challenge in January.

2011 Triple Race Challenge

Yes it will be back next year! The Triple Race Challenge will return in 2011 and will be made up of the Welland Half Iron Distance, the new Bracebridge Olympic and the Wasaga Beach Olympic Distance races.

Look For These Race Changes in 2011 - Your Survey Input Is Appreciated

We have reviewed the post-race survey comments from this past summer. Based on your comments and our thoughts on how to make some of the races more interesting we are making the following changes to races in 2011.

Woodstock

The Woodstock event has moved to the second weekend in June (11^th & 12^th), which is the same weekend as the former Lakeside I race. It is now is the only major event in the province on that weekend so look for an even stronger field in 2011.

We have also decided to change the distances of the Woodstock races to more closely mirror those of the former Lakeside June race. The Sprint Tri will now be a 500m Swim – 20km Bike – 4km Run and the Sprint Du remains unchanged at a 3km Run – 20km Bike – 3km Run.

The Triathlon will be a 750m Swim – 30km Bike – 7.5km Run and the Duathlon will now be a 7.5km Run – 30km Bike and 3.75km Run. We cannot create a course with equal run distances for the Duathlon, so we are basing it on a percentage of the International Distance.

These were very popular distances in June at Lakeside and hope that will be the case at Woodstock.

Binbrook

Give-It-A-Tri - Here is a case of feedback causing change. We have known that some people would prefer the Give-It-A-Tri to be on a separate day so that the participants in that race did not have to deal with traffic leaving the park. Over the past few years the Give-It-A-Tri has grown enough that we can now devote a race day to that event. We have received permission from the Niagara Regional Conservation Authority to now have the Binbrook races over two days. This will allow for more parking and eliminate any issues as it relates to restricted access to the race site. Once the last racer is off the bike each day, the park will be open to normal traffic.

The Give-It-A-Tri will now be on its own day making parking, registration and racing more focused on the GT12.9 racers needs. The distances will remain the same as in past years with only a minor change to the run course. Instead of heading West to complete the “Old Campground Trail”, racers will use the first and last 1.25km of the Triathlon run course and head East towards the Binbrook dam. The Triathlon and Duathlon will be hosted on Saturday June 25^th and the Give-It-A-Tri will take place on Sunday June 26^th, both with an 8:30AM start.

New run for Triathlon and Duathlon - There has always been a mixed reaction in the post-race surveys to the run course and the amount of running that is "cross country". We believe we have the solution. We have increased the distances of the Triathlon to a 750m Swim – 30km Bike – 7.5km and the Duathlon to a 5km Run – 30km Bike – 5km Run. We have done this by taking the majority of the run courses outside of the park onto paved roads East and North of Binbrook Conservation Area. All courses are now out-&-back. We know that returning racers will still see some of the variety of terrain that was the norm for the old course, but now on a course with more pavement and less turns.

Welland

We are returning to the original “Looped” Bike Course for the ½ Iron Distance event that was planned for 2010. As many of you might have read in our newsletter and on our website, we were forced to alter our Bike Course in mid-June due to the majority of the OPP officers in the area being called away to work at the G20 conference in Toronto. With the reduced number of available officers the only solution was an out and back course.

With things returning to normal in 2011, we are very excited to bring you the course we had intended to use. It will still travel in and out of Welland via Canal Bank Rd, Forks Rd and the Feeder Rd, but it will now turn North at the end of the Feeder Rd and traverse a 45km Loop bringing it just East of Dunnville, down the Northshore Rd through Stromness, across Lakeshore Rd at Lowbanks before heading North to rejoin the Feeder Rd and head back to Welland at 77.5km

This change will mean that for the majority of the course ALL athletes will experience only one-way bike traffic.

Gravenhurst

There is a possible change in Gravenhurst as it relates to the Olympic Distance bike course. Jones Rd. is a road on the course that had degraded over the past two years due to frost heaving. The Town of Gravenhurst had communicated to us that Jones Rd. was scheduled to be resurfaced this past summer. That did not come to pass due to budgetary restrictions and this project may fall victim to the same situation again this summer. We should know the status of the construction within the next 2 months. If there is not budget to fix the road for summer 2011, we will be forced to remove this section from the course. This will result in one of two possibilities. 1) A course that is 34.5km in length or 2) We are looking for an alternate route that will give us a 40km bike until Jones Rd is resurfaced. We will update you in the next month.

We will also be increasing the number of Aid Station for the final 10km of the Olympic Triathlon to six for 2011. This will result in Aid Stations at 1.5km, 3km, 4.5km, 5.5km, 7km and 8.5km.

Bracebridge

It seems that everyone who raced the Bracebridge Half Iron races loved them. Unfortunately after three years the race has not grown and we take that as an indication that our customers are looking for something different. We have therefore decided to change the Half Iron Distance Tri/Du in Bracebridge to an Olympic Triathlon/International Distance Duathlon. This will bring an Olympic Distance race to Central Ontario in August, something that has been lacking for a number of years.

The bike course will use many of the same roads as the Half Iron, but will turn-off of Rd 118 at 17.5km on to Ziska Rd. There will then be a 2.5km out and back section. The turn-around is now on a very quiet road with minimal vehicular traffic.

The run course will use the first/last 5km of the former Half Iron course along Beaumont Drive along the south bank of the Muskoka River. The course is fast and flat once you reach the south side of the river as the only inclines in the course are exiting from and returning to Annie Williams Park.

We know that that those who raced the former Half Iron will miss it, but we encourage you to come-out for an equally enjoyable day and race the Olympic Distance.

The other comment from our athletes was that the wave starts are getting a little crowded. To give you a better and safer race experience all races in Bracebridge will now use a Time-Trial Start format. Racers are marshaled in bib number order (Elites then Youngest to Oldest) and are sent-off on a five-second interval. We have used this format very successfully for the past 9 years on bodies of water that are a bit narrower. Now that the Bracebridge event is growing in popularity, particularly the Sprint Tri, we feel the time is right to move to this format to ensure a stress-free swim for all.

Cobourg

Three years ago we moved the Cobourg race to a date later in August. In all the years preceding the move we never had unsafe wavy water conditions. Two out of the past three years we have had to either shorten or cancel the swim because of very wavy conditions. (Last year we were lucky and everything was perfect) We have completed some research of weather patterns and spoken to local residents and it appears that the best solution to reduce the possibility of wind and waves is to move back to a date earlier in August. We have therefore moved the Cobourg race back to the early part of August with the goal of increasing the likelihood of calm water on race weekend.

We hope to see you back in Cobourg in 2011.

Timing

We are very excited to announce that SportStats is now the Official Timer for MultiSport Canada races. One of the things that we will be doing to increase the accuracy of our results is to list the EXACT distance of each segment of the race in the results for the purposed of calculating splits.

Tri Success by HR

Healthy Results coaches have collaborated with Multisport Canada to create an ultimate 25 week half iron program gearing you up for the Welland half Iron July 3^rd. HR has the inside scoop on every aspect of the race and how to get you in the best possible shape for it.

Joining Tri Success gets you:

Members only access to Tri Success content such as weekly video tips from your coach.

A professionally built 25 week training plan

Coaching feedback & TEAM support to keep you on track

Detailed race day strategy and support

50% discount to www.IndoorRider.com (the perfect accompaniment to the program)

Cost is only $12/week

Start date is January 10^th, 2011.

To register contact info@healthyresults.ca

Join Tri Success today and make Welland Half Iron your best ever performance!

Sponsor Deals for MSC Racers

25% Discount from Timex

Timex has extended this special offer to all MultiSport Canada customers.

33% off from Mike Cheliak

Another Great Season of Racing is in the past but the memories are still online. From now until December 31^st, 2010, you can take advantage of and fantastic 33% off ANY purchase of ANY product from www.mysportsshooter.com. Just find your photos in the Event Listing area and use the coupon at checkout. The total doesn’t apply to shipping or final taxes but covers everything else.

COUPON CODE: HOHOHO

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Mike Cheliak and the My Sports Shooter Crew

FREE Download Pictures from the Awards Day

Go to this link, view the pictures you want and follow the instructions to immediately download the pictures you want for free. Thanks to Mike Cheliak for doing this for us.

Win a QR Bike Frame fron Infinit Nutrition

Register by December 22^nd for your chance to win a Quintana Roo Bike frame! The frame will be awarded on January 1, 2011. Click on this link to register. Good Luck!

Stock Up On Infinit Before Christmas

The Perfect Last-Minute Triathlete Stocking Stuffer:
$9.99 6-Pack of Infinit RUN, RIDE, and REPAIR with FREE Shipping
* Offer ends 12/24/2010 at Midnight. Discount Code (BKE8893) applied during checkout prior to payment. Order your Infinit Stocking Stuffer here.

Human Kinetics Holiday Special

Sign up for HK newsletters for great deals and info on new releases! HumanKinetics.com/newsletters

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.

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

Richard Pady's 5 Training Tips for the month of December

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

Training Articles

The Importance of a Good Bike Fit

FIT First… The importance of knowing your triathlon bike fit coordinates before you buy your next bike.

The off-season is a great time to work on technique, build a stronger core and develop your base. It is also a great time to evaluate your position on the bike to help contribute to better performance on and off. A proper position on the bike can not only improve bike splits but your run times off the bike.

The three most important factors in a triathlon bike fit are: comfort, power and aerodynamics. This can mean very different positions depending on your body geometry, flexibility, and conditioning. The goal of a good bike fit is to preserve all three factors without compromising one for the sake of another.

Here is something to try tonight before bed, do a plank on the floor in a square position (90 degrees) on your elbows. Now move back so that the square position is open to about 120 – 130 degrees. Notice what your core starts to do… work really hard! This is a great example of the kind of energy that can be wasted or lost during the bike if you are in a bad position. You want to rest your upper body on your skeletal in the aero pads and not feel stretched out.

There are many methods and theories out there for bike fitting and we (MultiSport Zone) happen to use the FIST method developed by Dan Empfield (http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/index.html). Dan is a pioneer in the world of triathlon having started Quintana Roo bikes, where he developed one of the first triathlon bikes. He was also instrumental in developing the triathlon wetsuit that we know today. Dan has created a method for bike fitting that has both well-defined metrics along with feedback from the rider during the fit process. This feedback is necessary during portions of the fit where the position is discretionary based on the rider’s flexibility, conditioning, muscle composition and experience in the triathlon position. As an example, the drop defined as the distance down from top of saddle to aero pad is very much based on rider input. This is to ensure comfort and power are considered and not compromised by a lower position simply for aerodynamics.

MultiSport Zone uses the Exit Cycle fit bike (http://www.exit-cycling.com/fit_bike.html) as our tool which has the ability to be adjusted on the fly while the rider is in position. It is also hooked up to a CompuTrainer so that power output (watts) can be measured during the fit. As the rider moves through different iterations of the bike fit we can see the effect by their power output first hand.

If I have peaked your interest look for our bike fit seminar in January 2011 in the Kitchener/Waterloo area. Date and location will be announced on our Facebook page in the next few weeks and seating will be limited. We will have our Exit Cycle and FIST method on display, with a live bike fit, and lots of Q & A during the session. One lucky participant will win a free bike fit back at our shop in London, ON.

If you would like to get more information on this session or book a bike fit please contact Darryl or Jeff @ MultiSport Zone 519-685-6600. Or visit our site @ www.multisport-zone.com.

Darryl Bondy, FIST Certified, OAT Trained Community Coach

Bonking

In my books, the word bonk is not a bad word.

I believe a good bonk is a productive way to remind you and your body of some crucial aspects of doing what we do: finding limits, and pushing them back. It has both physical and psychological benefits that I have listed and explained below.

First, though, the term bonk should be defined so we all have the same understanding of what it is.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a

condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity.

Etymology, usage, and synonyms

The term "bonk" for cycling fatigue is presumably derived from the original meaning "to hit",

and dates back at least half a century. A recent DVD issued by the British Transport Films

Collection contains several old films, one of which entitled "Cyclists Special", a colour film

produced in 1955, tells the story of a party of cyclists touring the English countryside. At one

point they stop for refreshments and the film's commentator states that if they didn't rest and eat they would get "the bonk".[1]

The term can be used both as a noun ("hitting the bonk") and a verb ("to bonk halfway through the race"). The condition is also known to long-distance (marathon) runners, who usually refer to it as "hitting the wall". The British may refer to it as "hunger knock," while "hunger bonk" was used by South African cyclists in the 1960s.

Mechanisms

Athletes engaged in exercise over a long period of time produce energy via two mechanisms, both facilitated by oxygen:

via fat metabolism and

via breakdown of glycogen into glucose, followed by glycolysis.

How much energy comes from either source depends on the intensity of the exercise. During intense exercise that approaches one's VO2 max, most of the energy comes from glycogen. The average human body stores enough glycogen to generate 1500 to 2000 kcal of energy. Intense cycling or running can easily consume 600-800 or more kcal per hour. Unless glycogen stores are replenished during exercise, glycogen stores will be depleted after 2 hours of continuous cycling or 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) of running.

Effects

Such fatigue can become seriously debilitating; in cycling, exhaustion can reach the point where the cyclist is unable to stand without the support provided by the bicycle. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycemia, such as dizziness and even hallucinations. This dangerous condition will not be relieved by brief periods of rest.

Avoidance

There are several approaches to prevent glycogen depletion:

1. Carbohydrate loading is used to ensure that the initial glycogen levels are maximized,

thus prolonging the exercise. This technique amounts to increasing complex carbohydrate

intake during the last few days before the event.

2. Consuming food or drinks containing carbohydrates during the exercise. This is an

absolute must for very long distances; it is estimated that Tour de France competitors

receive up to 50% of their daily caloric intake from on-the-bike supplements.

3. Lowering the intensity of the exercise to the so-called 'fat loss' level (heart rate of 130

bpm for a 30-year-old athlete) will lower both the energy requirements per unit of distance and the fraction of the energy that comes from glycogen.

Bonk training

"Bonk training" is an exercise program designed for weight loss. It suggests the following strategy on an empty stomach the first thing in the morning, when glycogen store levels are low: consume coffee or caffeine equivalent to 2 or 3 cups of coffee, run or cycle at a casual pace (60% of max heart rate) for 20-90 minutes, have a normal breakfast right after exercising. Proponents claim this will force the body to "bonk" shortly into the exercise, and subsequently burn more fat to generate the energy. It is not clear how medically sound this idea is; exerting too much energy and "bonking hard," or experiencing severe hypoglycemia, can be dangerous.[2]

It should be noted that bonking is not cramping up, dehydrating, or simply getting tired. Cramping does not mean you have used up all the glycogen stores—it means you are low on electrolytes, minerals and possibly fluid, Getting tired is normal if you go too hard for too long (either all at once or broken up within your outing).

Bonking is way beyond just being tired and needing to stop for a minute. Refueling during training after a bonk does not always work, but it may work well enough to get you home.

Okay, so with that understanding, some of the benefits that can be derived from a bonk are:

1. You found your limit. If you were not at the end of your session, you learned to deal with it and to continue.

2. Hopefully, you learned you need to do a better job of fueling.

3. Your muscles were completely depleted of glycogen, and just like in strength training when you exhaust muscles with weights or repetitions then give them enough rest, they will rebuild themselves to be stronger and more resilient, depleted muscles will store more glycogen and dose it out more efficiently.

4. You will know that being so depleted is not the end of the world. It is not a wonderful experience, but knowing you will survive may allow you to push harder in a race. Then again, it may incent you to pace yourself better and finish stronger.

5. Bonking should not occur until you have burned through 1500-2000 calories. If you do indeed bonk before this point, it would indicate you were depleted before you even started and need to top up your glycogen stores more fully in the days and nights before, and morning of, the next time.

6. Bonking badly can be a very humbling experience: it shows you your limits and reminds you that you are human and vulnerable to a bad day. It is not something to be embarrassed about, or to apologize for. It happens to everyone, eventually. Laugh it off and do a better job next time.

In the old days of marathon training, the general process two weeks out from the big day was to deplete the muscles completely by running until the runner bonked. For the next 5-7 days, athletes would eat very few carbohydrates, basically starving the muscles. In the last week, they would eat carbs almost exclusively and the previously starved muscles would do like a squirrel in the fall and fill itself up to the point where it was overflowing with stored fuel, just in time for race day.

We don’t do that anymore because it is very risky and dangerous. It is risky because as much as it can help, it can also backfire, leaving the athlete with a tremendously bloated feeling and no energy at all. It is risky from a health standpoint because the body needs carbohydrates to function properly. Runners who did this were generally non-functional for the last 10 days leading to their marathon.

Now, we know that simply backing off in training and eating well will do the same thing with much less risk of a backfire, and with very little chance of health risks.

Hope this helps.

Rick Hellard

Rick@zone3sports.com

Off Season Woes

Off season comes very quick for most of us and many athletes, including myself don't know how to deal with the lack of training. What do we do now? Can I still eat as much as I did before? Am I loosing fitness? Below is a list of ideas for the off season, to keep your power, shape and mental fitness up over the off season.

1) SLEEP - Probably the most important part of training. When you are asleep it allows your body to take in the fitness you gained, recharge/repair muscles, and regain mental focus. Many athletes increase their sleep an extra hour or take a nap to catch up from those early swim practices in season.

2) STRENGTH TRAINING - Through the season many athletes wear themselves down, get injuries and create atrophy. Off season is a great time to regain muscle (single body part movements), which will increase your oxygen consumption and increase power!! How many of you want to get faster on the bike, this is how you do it!

3) TAKE UP ANOTHER SPORT (CROSS TRAINING) - To decrease the burn out effect do something out of the norm. Rock Climbing, Ice Skating or Yoga. This will fire different muscles and give you strength in certain areas you don't use in season. Decreasing injury will create longevity in your triathlon career.

4) SPEND TIME WITH THE FAMILY - For most of us we have a significant other that deals with us waking up early, screwing up every weekend, and constantly worrying about our food intake and how we look. Speaking from experience, take the time to do an activity or just talk with your family so when next season hits they are as recharged as you!

5) DON'T S WEAT THE SMALL STUFF - Yes, you will gain wait, yes you will loose some fitness but mentally your body needs the break so enjoy the holidays, enjoy the time off and thing about next seasons goals!! Next season comes quick!!!

Tyler Lord - Hiperformance Personal Training Studios Inc.
Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Professional Triathlete/Coach
(ISSA), (ADV-CPT), (SCS), (CPR/AED)
(905)- 580-9641 www.tylerlord.com, www.tylerlord.blogspot.com

Check Your Breath!

One thing that gets overlooked on the bike is breathing: how you breathe is crucial to ensuring efficiency on the bike.

When you are swimming, it is very easy to regulate your breathing: you are forced to. Whether you breathe on one side or bilaterally, your stroke regulates your breathing for you.

When running, many people regulate their breathing to their running pace and cadence. I know I take a breath in for every two strides, and out for two strides. It’s a nice way to relax and take the proper amount of breath required.

The bike is a different story. Not only is there no natural rhythm to base your breathing on, but the bike position sometimes makes it difficult to breathe deeply. You can’t rely on your cadence, as it is just too fast to try and coordinate your breath rate to. Additionally, the cadence can change quite often depending on the topology of the course.

We all know that proper breathing skills can greatly improve the efficiency of exertion and exercise. Breathing deeper and longer improves the amount of oxygen to the heart, and expels CO2 more efficiently. Many times I have seen athletes and particularly cyclists breathe rapidly, almost to the point of hyperventilation. I fall prey to this, especially when I am racing. When I come out of the water, and sprint to T1, I find my heart rate close to max, and breathing hard and fast. This continues until I get onto the bike, and I have to consciously think about relaxing my breath, and taking deeper breaths to bring my heart rate down to a more normal “race rate”. This relaxes my body, gets me comfortable on the bike and allows me to drive forward faster, as my breathing and heart rate become more regulated.

To breathe properly, you need to relax and open up your diaphragm to allow your lungs to fill to capacity. Many people don’t realize this, and breathe improperly. Most people think that they need to fill up their chest, and suck in their guts to “breathe deeply.” This is the complete opposite of what must be done to take a deep breath. You want to relax your stomach and abdomen, and allow your diaphragm to fill up. This causes your stomach to extend during a deep breath. Your chest shouldn’t look like it is inflating at all.

All too often, I have been in a cycling or spin class, and I have heard the instructor yell. “TIGHTEN UP YOUR CORE!!! TIGHT STOMACHS!!!!” This is the exact opposite of what you want to do, especially in the aero position. While it is important to have a strong core, tightening your stomach on the bike does not strengthen your core. On the bike, and in the aero position, you engage most of your back core muscles, but your abs can be relaxed to allow for deeper breathing. This is why when you watch the pro cyclists race, especially during hard climbs, their tummy looks extended. It’s not because they are bloated; they are relaxing their stomachs and opening up their diaphragms to allow for deep breathing.

Here is a quick test and suggestion on correcting your breathing:

1. First, determine whether you are a chest breather or a belly breather. Lie down and place one hand on your abdomen and the other hand on your chest. Inhale and watch to see whether the hand on your chest rises first or the hand on your abdomen.

2 . Next, focus on your breathing. Listen carefully to your body. Are you among the majority of people who breathe too fast? If you chest breathe during exercise, you probably tend to tire more quickly than individuals who breathe deeply from the belly.

3. Concentrate on breathing deeply when you inhale, relaxing your belly so that it can move outward, expanding like a balloon. At the same time, your diaphragm should be expanding, as the air moves from your belly up into the chest. Remember, oxygen-rich blood will give you more energy.

4. When you exhale, breathe out slowly allowing your belly to pull in toward the spine. This helps the diaphragm to move upward as air empties from the lungs.

5. Continue to breathe deeply in a steady rhythm, matching your movements with your breathing.

Here is a good exercise to try during the winter. This will help improve your breathing rate, and help you breathe deeper.

Just after your warm up on a stationary bike, do a few higher cadence drills. If your cadence is around 90, then increase it to 95. During this higher cadence, breathe only through your nose, both in and out. Do this for a minute, then bring your cadence down to your normal (ie 90), for another minute. Then increase again to 95, and breathe through your nose. Try this for 5 repeats, for a total of 10 minutes. All the while, concentrate on opening up the diaphragm, watching your stomach extend with every breath in.

The Wolf Den Radical Cycling wishes all of you a Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Mark Hummel - Cycling Coach

Wolf Den Radical Cycling

mark@wolfonetwo.com

647-476-3499

Athlete Profiles and Stories

Who's going to Challenge Roth?

A lot of athletes because the 10th edition of th race on Sunday July 10th is completely sold out. MultiSport Canada and Healthy Results Training offered the opportunity to take part in this popular event and the following athletes will be making the trip: Gord Avann, Peter Buehlow, Alan Chud, Roger Hospedales, Bill Kemp, Shannon Kemp, Murray Legge, Cindy Lewis, Dwayne McKinley, Anne Nicolussi, Paul Nielsen, Erin Porter, Deborah Powell, and John Salt.

Undoubtedly, a few of these speedy athletes will vie for the podium, but the underlying and unspoken friendly competition within the group will be to stay out of the Lanterne Rouge position.

Look out for athlete profiles and other details about Challenge Roth in future issues of the newsletter as the athletes build up and prepare for the upcoming race.

Racing Couple Register at Gears

Getting married? How about skipping the typical bridal gift registry thing (dinnerware, appliances and the like) and ask your guests to hook you up with what really matters - triathlon gear. This is what a few racers in our series did.

Talia Klein and Sean Leighton decided to go the non-traditional route and approached Ira of Gears to establish a wedding gift registry (a first at Gears, although they’ve done other types of gift registries) for their guests and in fact it is their only gift registry which should help them get a lot of cool gear they are looking for.

“I can't remember whose idea it was, but the enthusiasm was definitely mutual. Since Sean and I have lived on our own for some time, we already have 2 of everything, so we definitely knew that we could not go the traditional route of registering at a household and appliance store,” said Talia. “And the one thing we both wanted were more bikes. At least a road bike for Sean and either a tri bike to replace my road bike and/or a mountain bike for me.”

Talia completed her first triathlon with MultiSport Canada at Gravenhurst this past summer and due to Gears’ relationship with the series, that led to them selecting Gears as their shop of choice.

“We chose Gears for several reasons, chief among which was the fact that they were sponsors of MultiSport Canada and that kind of good corporate citizenship is very important to Sean and I, not just the discount we receive as MSC participants,” said Talia. “ Also, Gears carries and provides an expertise on 2 extremely good brands, namely Specialized and Giant and Gears has also received very good reviews from consumers online.”

There are no items on the registry, their guests contribute money to the registry/triathlon equipment fund, and the newly married couple will use what’s there to get whatever they can.

Talia and Sean get married on January 2, 2011 and we wish them all the best in their marriage and in acquiring all the shiny new equipment. We look forward to seeing pictures of them with their new rigs and digs in a future issue of the MSC Newsletter.

Camps, Clinics & Other Events

Thinking Of Visiting Gravenhurst?

North Restaurant was one of the contributing sponsors for the 201 Triple Race Challenge. If you are going to be visiting Gravenhurst for their many winter events or when you race with us this summer please check out North Restaurant and let them know you are a MultiSport Canada customer. Here is a short message from North.

Opened in July of 2007, North Restaurant, Lounge and Catering has found its place in Muskoka. With a loyal and ever growing client base, we are thrilled to be located in Gravenhurst and to have been voted Muskoka’s Best Fine Dining establishment by the readers of The Gravenhurst Banner and The Bracebridge Examiner.

At North our focus isn't just on food and wine, but on making your meal an enjoyable experience in every way. Our dining room has been designed to give our customers an 'urban-Muskoka' feel and our servers are ready to meet your every need.

Since opening North has won the prestigious Where Magazine Award for One of Canada's Top Ten Restaurants for 2008, and is very proud of its growing catering business and our Catering Partnerships.

We look forward to welcoming you in to North!

Balance in the Water

With the holidays upon us, it wont be long before the new year is here and goals for the upcoming season need to be put into place.

One aspect of training which is very important is balance. I am referring to balance in the water. Having worked with thousands of triathletes and swimmers from the beginner level to world record holder level, I have found that balance is the hidden secret to success in swimming. Recently I had a competitive swimmer tell me that his high school coach wanted him to look directly forward when swimming front crawl, as this would force his legs up and make him kick. This is the furthest thing from the truth. If you want to achieve a more relaxed stroke with greater efficiency, you should practice looking down at the bottom of the pool. Your nose should point directly down and your water level should be at the back of the head. Once you learn to achieve this, you are on your way to balance in the water.

Purchasing a snorkel will help you develop and imprint balance on your body. By wearing a snorkel for parts of your workout, you can focus on the low head position. If you are like a lot of swimmers, you will find that your head sinks gradually the further you swim. One way to test this and see if this is you, is to wear the snorkel. If you take in water, you need to look down but not put pressure on your head. With practice you will find that you can achieve an ideal head position. From here, you are now ready to learn the other aspects of proper balance.

At Swim Faster Now, we do a series of progression drills that deal with proper balance, leading to improved stroke efficiency. Our swimmers see improvements in stroke efficiency of up to 50% in as little as one session. Now is the time of year to address your balance and see the great results that await you!!

One of our top triathletes, Andrew Bysice, who came 3rd at the World Sprint Triathlon Championships in Budapest this past summer in his age group, has been working on our system for the past two months and recently was quoted as saying that his swim stroke has drastically changed and he now feels more relaxed, smoother and faster in the water and is very excited for the upcoming season with his new swim stroke.

Whether you are brand new to the sport or a seasoned triathlete, we can help you make the changes to your stroke that will give you the edge that you have been looking for. Our next clinic is Sunday January 23 from 9am to 12pm. Our clinics are small and are limited to a maximum of 8-10 participants. We also teach private one on one sessions in the water (book early as there is high demand for them). We are located in Oakville, just west of Toronto.

For more information, please call 1-888-380-7946 or visit our website at www.swimfasternow.com.

If you have a question about your swimming, send me an email thru our website at www.swimfasternow.com

March 2011 Training Camp from MultiSport Zone

If you were looking for something to do during March break 2011 we have a perfect idea, a cycling camp in South Carolina. The exact dates are March 12 - March 20, 2011.

For further information please contact Chris Helwig @ http://www.coachchris.ca/contact.html

Here's a bit about Coach Chris....

Chris Helwig brings with him 18 years of racing experience and 14 years of coaching experience. Chris has raced extensively on the road, and raced as a Senior 1 for three years. Following are Chris' qualifications, racing experience and coaching experience.

Coaching Qualifications:

• Honors Bachelor of Physical and Health Education
• Bachelor of Education
• Level 3 NCCP Coach (National Coaching Certification Program)
• Certified Personal Trainer

Racing Experience:

• 18 years racing experience
• 3 years as a senior 1
• Silver Medalist Ontario Track Provincials
• Mountain Bike Racing
• Victories in all Road Categories (Senior 4, Senior 3, Senior
1/2, Masters A)

Attention London and Area Athletes...

MultiSport Zone is offering the following winter specials in store:

- All in stock 2009/2010 bikes from Argon 18, Cervelo, Kuota, Felt and Scott at 20% - 25% off.
- All in stock running and bike shoes at 25% off from Shimano, Pearl Izumi, K-Swiss and Ecco (Biom). Includes custom fit!
- 25% off FIST Certified bike fit using our Exit Cycle System and Retul video capture!
- Look for our article in this months newsletter on Bike Fitting and our January seminar in Kitchener/Waterloo. You have a chance to win a free bike fit!

Train in the zone... from www.MultiSport-zone.com

Sell Your Gear at Velocity

Need to sell your old bike and make room for the new hot-rod? Need to make some room in the garage?

Let Velocity Cycle and Ski help with our new consignment service!

Check out the details here.

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.