tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604501635829212842024-02-19T08:38:02.513-05:00Alex VanderLindenAlex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-11673277914289586012015-12-17T18:41:00.000-05:002015-12-28T20:39:46.605-05:00Winter training: an insight<div class="MsoNormal">
Having now put in a solid three weeks of training, I figured
it’s a good time to provide an update and insight into what the first part of
my off-season training cycle looks like. Hopefully you can take some of these
insights and apply these to your own training over the winter months.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Total Volume<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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With no races in the near future, volume has slowly begun to
creep up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last three weeks I put in
18:30 hours, 19:15 hours, and 20:45 hours, and this week, I’m on tap to log just
over 22 hours. There were a couple of missed workouts here and there due to
unforeseen conflicts, but for the most part I’ve been putting in some
consistent work. I’ve said it numerous times but it bears repeating: to see
improvement you don’t need to do anything crazy, you just need to put in the
work day-in and day-out. Repeat, rest and reap the rewards. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Run</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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My running is building slowly but I’m remaining on the
cautious side of the line for now. No need to tear my legs to shreds – yet!
With a lingering quad injury from the fall, I don’t want to aggravate things by
pounding too much pavement. Running is a high-impact sport and it can lead to
injuries if you jump in too deep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So my volume has been slowly increasing from just over two
hours in the whole week to just over 4 hours for this week. With running I’ve found
that I’m less likely to pick up an injury when I spread weekly volume over four
or five days, as opposed to cramming the volume into a couple of longer runs. So,
as an example, my ‘long run’ this winter season started at about an hour and
has increased slowly to about 75 minutes. Slow steps. Big picture. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Intensity on the run has also been slowly increasing each
week. The first week I started with 10x30 seconds, then moved to 10x45 seconds,
then to 10x60 seconds. I’m running these, roughly, at a 5K to 10K pace. As
things progress I’ll start to add more intervals and longer intervals at race
specific intensities to make sure the body is ready to go for 21.1K.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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For me the run is the discipline that my coach Rich and I are
least worried about. Through a few years of experimenting, we know that I can
get into good running shape pretty quickly on the back of a few weeks of hard
running. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So the main focus during winter is to keep the feel for
faster running (with some short intervals) and then get the volume in to allow
me to race the 21.1K at the required high intensity. Expect to see me at a
couple of 5K races throughout the winter and spring and I may even jump into an
early half-marathon since I’ve never run a stand-alone half marathon. That
could be an interesting race.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTVfvAOKcWwpb5O6pvfW9PBmzwgrr2vTBmpEybkHOjcx4T4AHecQvgK3O5oReyJnHUc5NfknWarijMfHTEEm-vQ9pcUCiEIFP0Z0DRUoEbHTNT0QOf1r7vtxKUwgD_jUCHidfVmu3qIL7/s1600/IMG_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTVfvAOKcWwpb5O6pvfW9PBmzwgrr2vTBmpEybkHOjcx4T4AHecQvgK3O5oReyJnHUc5NfknWarijMfHTEEm-vQ9pcUCiEIFP0Z0DRUoEbHTNT0QOf1r7vtxKUwgD_jUCHidfVmu3qIL7/s320/IMG_0044.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some post run strides while the ground is still dry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Swim<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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This fall, I’ve been blessed to swim with the University of Waterloo
Warriors swim team. I’m able to get in the pool with the Warriors four days a
week for about two hours a session. I did a similar program at Western in
London, swimming with their swim team. I really benefit from being in the water
with other swimmers training at a high level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We tackle some drills – mainly during warm-ups or recoveries – but the
big focus is on quality swimming. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you want to improve your swim this winter try to commit
to four days in the pool per week. You don’t need to do two hours per session,
but the simple act of getting into the water will help with your feel of the
water. Trust me – do this and you will see improvements. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Having a coach on deck making stroke adjustments as you swim
will also increase your rate of improvement. If you’re just getting in the
water and doing 60 minutes of drills each session, you’ll get better at doing
drills, but this won’t necessarily translate to faster swimming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Bike</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The bike is the big focus for me over the winter. I know I
need to make more gains on the bike in order to ride with the lead pack. At
Challenge Knoxville I rode with the lead pack on the bike for about 10K before
my chain fell off. And at the time I was averaging about 230 watts (as a
comparison, at Muskoka and Welland last year I averaged 220 watts). While I was
with that lead pack in Knoxville, all I cared about was staying there, holding
on, and gaining some experience. So I’ve made it a goal for this winter to hold
about 235 to 240 watts next season. I’m confident that this should allow me to
ride comfortably in the lead group and still run well off the bike. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s the plan. The execution means I’m riding about ten
hours each week, mainly on the trainer. I’ve managed to do some of my easier
rides outside on the mountain bike or cross bike, but all of my intensity has been
on the trainer. Plug in the numbers, watch the screen and go to work. <o:p></o:p></div>
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During a typical week, I’ll hit most zones and I’ll work on
all aspects of cycling. I’m not just focused on quickly increasing my Vo2 max
or threshold power – I want to see slow, sustainable increases right across the
board in terms of cycling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The typical time-crunched athlete who doesn’t have time to
do those longer 3x20 minute intervals on the trainer will often benefit more in
the winter from doing short, high-intensity intervals. You can save the longer
‘sweet spot’ intervals for the summer when you can ride longer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To give you an insight into my approach, I’ve gone back over
my training program from last week. I logged a two-hour easy to moderate effort
on Monday, a ‘micro-burst’ workout on Wednesday (this was 22X15 seconds at max
effort), a two hour ride with 4x10 minutes at 230 watts on Thursday followed by
two hours of really easy spinning on Saturday, right after my long run. I
finished the week on Sunday with a hard 90 minute spin class that I instruct in
Waterloo Region, which included some zone four intervals. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Strength<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’ve also included two days of strength training as I am
probably the weakest person on the planet! I sometimes joke that my girlfriend,
Ang, has bigger biceps than me! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My strength routine centres on 15 exercises. I’ll do 12 reps
of each and then repeat it three times. Strength training is great if you have
the time to commit, but if strength training is taking away from your time swimming,
cycling, and running, then ease off the strength stuff. Focus on the three
sports because after all, we compete in swim, bike, run events and not strength
events. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you’re caught for time and still want to include some
strength stuff, try doing some sport specific resistance training such as
swimming with a parachute, band, or towel; cycling with a low cadence; and
trail running on a loop with lots of ups, downs, and twists to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Overall, no matter what you’re trying to improve
during the winter season, it’s best to focus on one or two goals. It’s very
difficult to see large jumps in all disciplines at the same time. So find your focus. Stick to it. Do it well.
And then, consistently maintain the other aspects of your training. Come race season 2016, you’ll be stronger and
faster than race season 2015.</span><!--EndFragment-->
Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-11520113590767221032015-12-08T08:04:00.004-05:002015-12-08T08:33:10.817-05:00Consistently InconsistentIt has now been a bit over 2 months since the last race of the season, and it seems like full on training has snuck up on me rather quickly. I have always said the best way to improve is to consistently hit workouts day in and day out. This will get you probably 80% of the way and the last 20% comes from doing the "right workouts at the right time." I must admit that since my crash I have been anything but consistent.<br />
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In the month after Barrelman I had one focus, getting my left leg back to being 100%. The week after the crash I was having some trouble standing for long periods of time and noticed a large lump on my quad. I decided I should head over to Dr. Lee, the sports med doctor at Waterloo Sports Medicine, because they never really did check my limbs at the hospital, they were more concerned about my head and internal organs. Dr. Lee said I probably tore a small part of the quad and that is what was causing the lump, essentially the lump was some of the muscle fibres that balled up when they tore. He recommended physio, massage, and that I could get back riding and swimming if they weren't causing any pain and then ease into running in a few weeks.<br />
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The bike seemed to come back the quickest, and I will admit I probably came back to quick. The two weeks back I put in 17 and 16.5 hours with about 12-14 hours of those being on the bike. Swimming was ok, but having limited range of motion in my leg made flip turns really difficult. Running took the longest to come back from and after some help from @physiodave (Dave Galloway) I was back running at about week 4. Everything sounds good and consistent right?<br />
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This is where I think I maybe jumped back into cycling to much. After just a handful of weeks of consistent training I managed to catch the cold that was going around. Ang got it early in the week and I tried doing everything to avoid it but sure enough by the end of the week I was done for. Just as I was starting to find my stroke in the pool and stride running I was out again for about 4 days.<br />
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Starting up training for the 2nd time was nearly as painful as after the crash. I always find swimming to be the most difficult to restart in. The stroke feels awful and my arms just spin in circles with no forward improvement. This is why I think it is important for all triathletes to try and get in the pool 3-4 times a week to keep a "feel" for the water so those first 10 minutes you can get straight to work instead of trying to find your feel. I'm sure jumping straight in with the UWaterloo varsity team in the middle of their first block of hard training didn't help, but I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to swim with them. Last year I really struggled to maintain a high level of swimming on my own, but doing 2 hour workouts 4 times a week with them is awesome.<br />
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I thought round 2 was going to be the final start up, and I could start getting in the miles to hopefully kick off the season at Panama 70.3 in January. However, my mtbing skills had another plan. About 3k from my house I have this awesome trail system called the Hydrocut, it is about 25k of trails with features that I would rank as beginner up to high intermediate type riders. I had been looking at this one feature all summer wanting to try it, but knowing the risk reward during the season was to high. The feature is a boulder that is to high for me too bunny hop onto but low enough that you can pop your front wheel up then throw your body forward to get the back up. I drummed up the courage and went for it. I got on top but had no momentum and nose dived off the side of the rock. Throwing me over the bars and landing on my back. Knock on wood, I think I have bones made of metal because once again luckily nothing was broken, but my ribs were bruised. The impact of running and the stretching and flipping of swimming was a no go. Another week off!<br />
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I am now on round three of starting up my training for the off season. So far things have been going well. I've now put in 2 weeks at about 20 hours of training, and I only see things going up from here. Since this post is getting a bit lengthy I'll save some of the nitty gritty training details for next week.<br />
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While training has been ramping up so has my coaching with Healthy Results. At the start of November I started doing a Sunday morning brick at <a href="http://www.comealivefitness.com/">Come Alive Fitness</a>. We have had consistent numbers that I only expect to grow in the new year. Ang and I helped out in Brantford with their tri group at the Gretzky Centre by doing some stroke corrections and video of the swimmers. My personal coaching has also grown, but you haven't missed out yet I still have a few spots for the 2016 season. If you are interested in getting some help planning your season contact me asap. <a href="http://healthyresults.ca/news-and-events/2016-winter-defrost">The Healthy Results winter defrost camps in Vegas</a> are also filling up fast so if you or a friend are interested contact myself or Rich.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObA_60tqCcbI2aodTCXnri6CQZiig6ZEwo5vst82YO6Sli7e2tTAyHW2Gz5hlgigQlIawJd72XQyfYtPs7al5Mx8Yem2Lt1-S2ag67iPDvpbItlslWyHl8MGQHlUq3AzefrYcyVVGC5i6/s1600/swim+video+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObA_60tqCcbI2aodTCXnri6CQZiig6ZEwo5vst82YO6Sli7e2tTAyHW2Gz5hlgigQlIawJd72XQyfYtPs7al5Mx8Yem2Lt1-S2ag67iPDvpbItlslWyHl8MGQHlUq3AzefrYcyVVGC5i6/s320/swim+video+pic.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Over the Christmas Holidays I hope to get my new website launched. It is 99% of the way there just putting some finishing touches on things so keep your eyes open for that. I also started a Facebook page dedicated to my triathlon adventures. I'm going to try and regularly post updates as well as some of the better and more interesting things I come across. So if you haven't checked that out yet check it out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alexvanderlindentriathlon/?ref=hl">Here</a>.<br />
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I hope everyones off-season is going a bit better than mine.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-5744660461517717442015-10-05T18:36:00.000-04:002015-10-05T18:36:12.583-04:00Part 2 - Some Options For Better Ways To Define Pros<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
In continuation to Part 1 where I identified some problems in defining what a professional triathlete is I offer 3 options that would help better define professional triathletes, and could be used as a starting point to rebrand and grow professional triathlon.</div>
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<b class="">Option 1 – Open Racing<o:p class=""></o:p></b></div>
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In this scenario I would say there are similarities to running. Everyone lines up and starts at the same time or corrals based on projected finishing time and the first one across the line wins the prize. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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The cream rises to the top. No one really called a pro because a professional category doesn’t exist. How do I see this working at a world championship like Kona? They already award points to the pros at their races. If they extended these points to say the top 200 overall at a race then the top 100 throughout the year get to race in the prestigious first wave at the championship and everyone else can race in age group waves the way it currently is.<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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<b class="">Option 2 – Category System<o:p class=""></o:p></b></div>
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The second option to defining professionals is a category system similar to what you see in cycling. When you first enter the sport you race in the open category and you get to start in the last wave. If you come into the sport through being a top level swimmer, cyclist, or runner you can petition your national federation to allow you to enter the next category race. After placing near the front of your category in a few races you get bumped up to the next division, and similarly if you perform poorly you get downgraded at the end of the season. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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In this format once again there would be a points system that awards points based on finishing position in your category and the top people in their category qualify for world championships. Race directors would no longer have to give out awards to every age group so they could give out smaller participation awards to everyone, and the ultra competitive among us will rally to move up categories. At the smaller local races you would have waves with combined categories.<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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<b class="">Option 3 – The Team<o:p class=""></o:p></b></div>
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The third option I propose, and my personal favorite, is the team system. This system would be similar to most of the North American sports where people are part of a team. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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The team would pay each athlete a base salary, and then bonuses and prize money would be for the individual or a percentage goes back to the team. Therefore each athlete is making money and meets the dictionary definition of professional.<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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Then to race in the pro wave of a race you must be a registered member of a professional team. With the team system there would be different levels of teams similar to other sports where they have either feeder teams and major team (similar to the minor leagues and major leagues of most team sports) or you have regional, continental, and world teams like in cycling. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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The framework for the team model is in place with a few teams such as Bahrain 13 and the Uplace-BMC team, but more large-scale sponsors would need to be brought into the sport to support this model. In short course racing there are a few teams that race in the French GP Series and I think a Belgian series as well, but it was difficult to find much information on how these teams and leagues function. There are many small training squads in triathlon currently, but I don’t know of very many of them that market themselves as a package to sponsors. It seems like it is still on the individual athletes to find their own sponsors. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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The framework is there for the racing as well ITU has three different levels of racing and WTC has races designated as P-500 up to P-8000. This could easily be changed so only World Cup teams (could be a mixture of ITU and long course athletes) are only allowed to race in the higher ranked races and the continental and regional teams get to race in the lower ranked races and the top tier races in their area (similar to the Giro allowing continental Italian teams or the Tour allowing more French teams in).</div>
Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-20189787844828072352015-10-04T11:26:00.000-04:002015-10-04T11:26:15.198-04:00Do Pros Matter?<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Do Pro Triathletes Really Matter? (Part 1)</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">With many races cutting their prize purses, of late, and others becoming ‘age-group only’, the debate around ‘Do pros really matter?’ has blossomed. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">It’s a valid conversation, for sure, and an important one, but before the true value of a professional triathlete can be measured, the term itself ‘professional triathlete’, must first be defined. Currently there is no true definition of what a pro is as each national federation has their own standards for obtaining a pro license.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">On Friday morning, </span><a href="http://trsracing.com/" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">trsracing.com</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> published an engaging piece by Kelly O’Mara. (You can read it at </span><a href="http://trstriathlon.com/forced-upgrades-make-the-best-amateur-triathletes-turn-pro/" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">http://trstriathlon.com/forced-upgrades-make-the-best-amateur-triathletes-turn-pro/</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">). O’Mara’s piece basically asked the question: should the top age group competitors be forced to turn pro? </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">The question gained a lot of traction on social media. It got me thinking, too, and after lots of back and forth with Triathlon Squad coach Paulo Sousa, I felt I should add my opinion to the debate and what’s more, I’d need more than 140 characters to do so!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">So what follows is one pros opinion on the problem that currently exists with simply defining a ‘professional triathlete’ (and later on, my solution to this problem). </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">What is a pro triathlete?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">A clear definition of a ‘professional triathlete’ can only help bring added value to the sport, for professionals, elites, and age groupers alike. Because right now, there’s just too much ambiguity around this term.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Is a pro triathlete somebody who makes money racing? Is it an athlete that has completed a set distance in a set time? Or is it simply somebody who owns a piece of paper that says ‘Pro Licence’ on it?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">I even went and checked the dictionary, and according to Webster’s, a professional is an individual who earns their living from a specified activity.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Anyway, for the purposes of this piece, I want to use my experience with becoming a professional to show some of the flaws that exist when it comes to making this definition.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">How I Became a Pro Triathlete - Take 1: </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">About five years ago I decided I wanted to become a pro. I’d won my age group at the national championships, I’d won some local races, and I’d found myself on the podium at some larger races. At the end of the season I decided to apply for my elite license (which confusingly is used interchangeably with a pro license). </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">So I submitted my resume with all my race results, and just like that, I was granted my elite license. Bingo! Did that make me a professional? At the time I thought so, but turns out it didn’t. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">To be totally honest, I’m not really sure what this card does (maybe someone from Triathlon Ontario will read this and clarify?) because I’ve known athletes who have this card to race one weekend as a “pro” and the next as an “age grouper”. So it doesn’t really make sense. In fact, it’s pretty confusing. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">How I Became a Pro Triathlete - Take 2:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">At this point I had my elite license. I was happy. I was good to go. I signed up for my first pro race, Rev3 Knoxville. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">A few weeks leading into the race I’m looking around online and I come across the Triathlon Canada International Competition Card (ICC). Hmmm, I say. I wonder what’s this? </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">I dig around some more and suddenly discover that THIS is actually what you need to race as a professional (I’m still not sure if this discovery was 100 per cent correct. Nobody has ever clearly defined this to me.) </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">So, in a panic, I quickly apply for this newly uncovered card. Now, there are a few different ways to qualify for an ICC. You can send in a resume (this is what I did). You can go under a certain time for a Half Ironman (4:20 for men and 4:45 for women) or a Full Ironman (10:00 for men and 10:45 for women). Or, you can place in a certain position at world championships. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Luckily I was granted my ICC card based on my resume, and I was good to go. Again. Was I professional triathlete at this point? I’m not sure.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">The problem is, some athletes with an ICC card will still race age group at bigger races and to me, this is where the flaw in defining ‘What is a professional triathlete’ really begins. It’s the source of a problem that flows for quite some distance.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Before Knoxville, I thought some more about my own status. According to Triathlon Canada and Triathlon Ontario I was a professional triathlete. According to the dictionary I was not. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Pro or not, I got destroyed in that first race. I finished behind some age groupers and behind some of the pro women. That trend continued for a few years, until 2014, when I began to mix things up in the pro field. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Should I have been granted a professional license when I first applied? Probably not. At the time, I'd have preferred to race at the back of the pro field, gaining some experience, rather than race towards the front of the age group race, but looking at it now, in the cold light of day and with a few years of racing as a pro under my belt, I feel I decreased the value of other pros in those races.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Racing at the back of the pro field, I was one of those guys that others, sponsors included, looked at and asked: is the pro triathlete valuable? </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Stay tuned for Part 2: My suggestion for a solution - the category system or open racing.</span>Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-86281316020777610422015-09-21T09:20:00.000-04:002015-09-21T09:22:17.362-04:00BarrelmanSo how do I start this blog post. . .<br />
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This weekend was the 2nd annual Barrelman triathlon. Like Muskoka 70.3 it was on my list for 2 reasons, 1 great venue and great atmosphere and the other reason REDEMPTION. After creeping the field the week going into the race I had a feeling there could be between 3 and 5 guys coming off the bike really close and doing battle on the run. I had a feeling I was going to be the fastest swimmer in the pro field, and I wanted to make the other guys have to work right from the gun chasing me. So far things were going according to plan. I was up about 45s exiting the water, and after a little mishap not being able to find the bag for my wetsuit I was onto the bike. With the unusual wind we had Sunday we were going to have a slight tailwind pushing us for the first 20k before doing a square down to the lake and then a slight headwind the way to Niagara Falls. With the thought of the headwind for nearly 50k I didn't want to push to hard in the first 20. So I relaxed on the bike, and let the power numbers come to me instead of pushing to get them up. Things were working out I felt comfortable, and I was only 1w below my target. At about 35k though my race and season came to a very abrupt halt.<br />
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Every now and then I hear stories online about people riding off the road or hitting gigantic objects, and I always thought they had to be idiots, blind, or both. Now it has happened to me though, and I think I will have to reassess my stance on the issue. At about 35km we were supposed to make a left hand turn at a t intersection. For some reason my brain didn't send the message to my body to turn, and I went splat right into the front wheel of the police cruiser that was parked at the intersection to direct traffic.<br />
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I have now had about 24 hours to think about what happened, and try to figure out how it happened. To be honest I'm still not really sure. I saw the corner, I heard the lead moto sound his sirens to let the officer at the corner know racers were coming, but for some reason I still thought it was better to try and take the short cut through the field instead of making the corner. I've suffered this similar lack of brain function after hard workouts when it seems like the brain just does not receive enough oxygen as everything is going to your muscles. My parents who come to most of my races often comment on the number of dumb things triathletes do that go against all common sense (I guess at the accident scene an age grouper who was in a constant stream of athletes decided to turn right instead of left, these things just don't make sense).<br />
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The good news is that I am still all in one piece just a little heartbroken that I couldn't finish this wonderful season the way I wanted to. I cannot say the same about my bike though. Upon impact the steer tube came right through the head tube. Surprisingly though the rest of the bike is in good shape for hitting a car at about 45kph, flying 10 feet in the air into a traffic sign, and then falling to the ground. My front wheel some how stayed in one piece, but I want to find somewhere to check it just to make sure it doesn't have a crack that I can't see. And my disc was actually borrowed by one of the competitors who got a flat at the same corner (I knew him and trusted him to get it back to me and he did). He was able to ride it to one of the top ag spots so at least my misfortune helped someone else. So I must say both Zipp (the disc) and Easton (front wheel) make excellent wheels, and Felt bikes are pretty strong to only suffer one noticeable crack after that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my new chopper</td></tr>
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This morning I am struggling to walk because I think when I hit the car both my quads hit the fender. I have a huge bruise on the left leg and the right one is a bit smaller. It feels like I have the worst charlie horse of my life. I can't complain though because I think looking back I am pretty lucky it didn't end up worse. A guardian angel somewhere was looking out for me. I planned on taking a week or two off after Barrelman so I will be able to handle laying on the couch and drinking beer a little better now since moving is a struggle anyway.<br />
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Thanks to John and the rest of the MultiSport crew. The Odyssey medical crew was superb and made sure I was ok before the ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital, and Colin was super helpful making sure I was well taken care of. I look forward to seeing everyone at the end of the year banquet and next summer for another great season.<br />
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It is now time for me to think about what I want to do next year. I think I had some great breakthroughs this year and things are trending in the right direction. I would love to travel to some more of the big races in the US to really put things to the test, but I will always keep a few of the MSC races in my calendar because that is where you go to see family.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-42409700445096062872015-08-31T11:42:00.001-04:002015-08-31T11:42:42.383-04:00Wasaga OlympicFor the fifth time this season Ang and I were at another one of MultiSport Canada's excellent races. This time we were in the beach town of Wasaga Beach, ON for their olympic distance race. Every year as the season starts to wind down I find myself starring at the point standings and doing some math on what I need to do to move up in the series standings. This season Jack Laundry and I have been battling it out in the series, but we have only faced off head-to-head once. He beat me in Woodstock when he absolutely left me in the dust on the bike portion, but with his short course specialty we haven't squared off in any of the longer series events. Once again I knew this race was going to come down to the bike.<div>
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Race morning in Wasaga started a little later than normal with the blessing of a 10:30 am start time, but Ang's mom was racing the try-a-tri so we arrived plenty early to cheer her on and get set up for the race. It was quite shocking this year that it wasn't raining and the wind, while present, wasn't at hurricane type speeds. Moving the race up from September to August paid off for the MSC crew. The swim at Wasaga beach takes place in Georgian Bay, and any time the swim is in a larger body of water there is always a risk of waves, and we definitely experienced some chop. Because we don't see this often in Ontario I am always worried the officials will cancel the swim, and it wasn't until the 10 second to go warning that I was 100% sure we would swim.</div>
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<b>Swim - 1st out 21:50</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW2tSRQ_d_mJY52H9F0Y-uyjCV6rR5JckO3vJvVhti50mGR7X_4Mop2muglyCBf6mWH_4KdctruGRfGxuj_OV_rRgEC_Wwa-ynblbIaAB5Xf3arwcGyr_WSj_yaUCEjcQWbnWWxLLrGXR/s1600/wasaga+swim+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW2tSRQ_d_mJY52H9F0Y-uyjCV6rR5JckO3vJvVhti50mGR7X_4Mop2muglyCBf6mWH_4KdctruGRfGxuj_OV_rRgEC_Wwa-ynblbIaAB5Xf3arwcGyr_WSj_yaUCEjcQWbnWWxLLrGXR/s320/wasaga+swim+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The waves felt much larger than what the picture suggests</td></tr>
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With the waves coming at us for the first 730ish meters my plan was to swim that section basically as hard as I could. It is much harder to draft off someone when the water is choppy so I knew if I wanted to get out first and secure some bonus series points I had to open the gap early. Andrew Bolton and I started on the left of the start line while Ang and Jack started on the right. Warming up I figured out I could take 3 or 4 dolphin dives before the water was at a depth where swimming is faster than diving then about 10 strokes before hitting a sandbar. At the sandbar I would have decide if I wanted to do a few more dolphin dives or just keep the head down and keep swimming. When the horn went I was off, and I wasn't waiting to see what anyone else was doing. I jumped as far as I could got my arms streamlined to crash through the first wave as efficiently as possible. As my fingers made contact with the sand I pulled as hard as I could, got me feet firmly planted below me and once again jumped as far as I could. After one more dolphin dive I hit the water swimming. My first breath was to the left, and I could see, thanks to my <a href="http://vorgee.ca/">Vorgee</a> goggles, Andrew had already dropped back a bit, my second breath to the right to see where everyone else was. Sometimes it is difficult to judge exactly where you were, but I thought I had a lead so I skipped the dolphin dives at the sandbar and just focused on trying to get through the waves as best I could. My swim stroke is generally a bit more kick heavy then most triathletes, and over time I have developed a bit of a "gallop" to my stroke. I'm not sure if this is the most efficient of styles, but on this day it worked well and I was first to the turn buoy. On the way back in I just focused on keeping my hips as high as possible with my feet near the surface trying to surf the waves back in which was made easier by my <a href="http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com/">Nineteen</a> wetsuit. Breathing to the right I could also see when the some of the bigger waves were coming in so I would pull harder for a couple of strokes to try and catch the waves. The last 200m or so I eased off on the kicking knowing my legs would be needed during the bike. About 100m from shore I hit the shallower waters again and tried to run a bit, but I found it more tiring than swimming so I dove back in and swam basically right up to the shore. I was rewarded with about a 30s lead on Ang and about 80s on Andrew and Jack.</div>
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<b>The Bike - 3rd 59:15</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great photos heading in and out on the bike by the My Sports Shooter team</td></tr>
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From racing Andrew a few times already this year, and seeing some of Jack's other race results I knew the bike was going to be where the race would decided. I talked to Rich the day before as I was driving up and we agreed that no matter what happened when I was caught on the bike I had to give it everything I had to try and go with Jack. We have both always run similar so anything more than a handful of seconds would be tough to make up on the run. Sure enough in true Wasaga Beach fashion we had some strong winds and a bit of rain, but my <a href="http://www.smithoptics.com/ca/">Smith</a> sunglasses kept my vision clear and eyes protected. There is really only one hill on the Wasaga course at about 15k, and I was really hoping to make it up this hill before I was caught. Sure enough though I was caught right at the base you make a right hand turn directly into the start of the climb. I'm not sure if the guys behind me were able to carry more speed into the hill or if they were just that much stronger, but I gave everything I had but to no avail. I was out of the saddle mashing the pedals and saw my power was about 470w (up until this point I was averaging about 230w). I was well over 300w for the rest of the climb, and tried to close the gap when the road levelled off a bit, but I just wasn't strong enough. When my legs gave up I spent what felt like several minutes riding at about 200w trying to get things going again but the gap kept growing. I think at the next turn the gap had increased to about 30s, but my legs were starting to come back around and the caffeine in my custom <a href="https://www.infinitcanada.com/store/pc/home.asp">Infinit</a> sports drink started to kick in. By about 30k when we made the turn to head back towards town I measured the gap to about 20s (I looked at my clock when they made the turn and then again when I made the turn), and it gave me some motivation that I might be able to get back on. When we made that final turn though it was right into the headwind, and almost instantly my power and pace dropped. I ended up arriving to t2 about a minute down.</div>
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<b>The Run - 2nd 34:33</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out on the run. Another great shot by the My Sports Shooter team</td></tr>
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Getting onto the run being about a minute down I knew it was going to be tough to close the gap, but I was going to try my best to do it. I caught Andrew on the first little uphill as he had to take a walk break, I guess he slipped on a wetsuit in t2 and landed on his hip pretty hard making it difficult to run. On the first of 2 5k loops I could every now and then catch a glimpse of Jack off in the distance, but it turns out I wasn't actually making up much time at all. I thought I was keeping the gap pretty similar, but it turns out he might have actually been pulling away a little bit. On the second lap as we started to mix in with racers on their first lap I couldn't see him at all, and as the saying goes "out of sight out of mind." I think this messed with my head a little bit because my pace started to drop off a bit during that second lap. Good news is that I felt a lot better than I did a Bracebridge, but I think I have now run 34ish both times I have done the full 10k here, and I've run 34:xx way to many times in tris.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69P1bmEVj0Yr0yaoNJucPEhDSigmrHIeCte_ijHohIGsGRzakhUHwXxTcft3VxkMJ-H8yVijcdCHV5fisZIs8cvPk8hNOOMJJApjUEp6F2_r9iW8lugQV1g6-BrfANnl8X2HFglaVGQWV/s1600/wasaga+post+race+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69P1bmEVj0Yr0yaoNJucPEhDSigmrHIeCte_ijHohIGsGRzakhUHwXxTcft3VxkMJ-H8yVijcdCHV5fisZIs8cvPk8hNOOMJJApjUEp6F2_r9iW8lugQV1g6-BrfANnl8X2HFglaVGQWV/s320/wasaga+post+race+1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good looking guy with a good looking moustache</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkBQB3-LALp6pid2Dh2-0GYGXDOkQH5_9mI5SPZB1GHLR5jfhz8I3RzItw1Czzax5pLnCzMfVY5LH8gkiFI3OYtNC-y4eERl6lD955PXWwwmvSNfIhM3TYI2rBF3tOxlIS8Rp35MBhHd5/s1600/wasaga+awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkBQB3-LALp6pid2Dh2-0GYGXDOkQH5_9mI5SPZB1GHLR5jfhz8I3RzItw1Czzax5pLnCzMfVY5LH8gkiFI3OYtNC-y4eERl6lD955PXWwwmvSNfIhM3TYI2rBF3tOxlIS8Rp35MBhHd5/s320/wasaga+awards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next up will be a few weeks to focus on Barrelman before I decide what the rest of season will hold or if I will just pack it in and start focusing on 2016.</div>
Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-38226123884045017252015-08-19T14:37:00.002-04:002015-08-19T14:37:40.886-04:00Bracebridge OlympicBeen a little slow to get this blog up, but training is in full swing for <a href="http://niagarafallstriathlon.com/">Barrelman</a> (you can still register if you are interested in racing this awesome race from Welland to Niagara Falls. Anyway back to Bracebridge. Bracebridge is a great venue with a time trial start. The pros and elite age groupers started 15s apart and the other age groups started 5s apart. I'm not a huge fan of tt starts because I like racing head to head against my competition, but it was a good opportunity just to race fast from the gun.<br />
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<b>Swim</b><br />
I was number 1 and first to leave the dock. I wanted to get out fairly strong so no one could swim up to my feet. Mikael started 2nd, Kristen 3rd, and Sean 4th. Heading down the river I just focus on keep a nice long stroke and keep the hips up. There isn't a huge current in that river, but you can still take advantage of it. On the way back I focused on trying to keep the turn over a bit higher. I exited the water first, but Sean had made up about 45s on me. Team Nineteen hammered that swim.<br />
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<b>Bike</b><br />
I had a good transition and got into my rhythm pretty fast trying to hold off Sean. I knew that if he could catch me that I would be 1 minute down, and it is easier to hold onto someone then it is to catch them. I was waiting for Sean to catch me, but at the turnaround I actually had gained a little bit of time on both him and Mikael. The 2nd have was fairly uneventful, and I just focused on holding numbers.<br />
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<b>Run</b><br />
The run I just focused on getting it done. We haven't been doing a lot of 10k pace work, and I could tell in my legs. I felt good, but I just couldn't pick up the pace. All in all I did what I had to do and got the win.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-33477730240898487252015-08-04T13:00:00.000-04:002015-08-04T13:00:46.005-04:00K-Town Long CourseWell if Muskoka was the "perfect" race K-Town Long Course was the opposite. Someone can go ahead and tweet this to @triexcuses because I have a pretty long list of things here. I don't like making excuses for why I wasn't at the front of the race, but I think people can learn from some of the mistakes I made.<br />
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<b>Swim</b><br />
The swim was rather uneventful for 1900m. The last 100m though was a 3 way sprint between who I believe was Marc Prud'Homme and Larry Hasson with Ang right behind. All I was thinking about was the bonus points for leading the swim because it is looking like it will be close race between myself and Jack Laundry for the series. I think I managed to touch the dock first, but the timing mat isn't the dock. My terrible upper body strength let me down, and I rolled onto to the dock something like a beached whale. There is my first excuse, but from now on at swim the end of swim practices I will jump onto deck instead of being so exhausted I have to use the ladder.<br />
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<b>T1</b><br />
Excuse number 2 - When taking my wetsuit off my chip came off with it. In 99% of my races I will put a safety pin through the chip to make sure it stays on. I was lazy this morning and decided not to and it cost me. Lesson 2 don't be lazy with race set up, it doesn't matter how important a race is.<br />
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<b>Bike</b><br />
The plan for the bike was to go out a bit harder than half-ironman (him) pace then ease into him pace during the second half. The first 20k of the bike was going really well. My normalized power was about 230w which is about 10w over him pace and right where I wanted to be, leading the race. Excuse 3 - However, at about the 20k mark I hear a whistling sound, and the first thought that came into my head was that I had a tack or nail stuck in one of my tires. I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road checked my front tire, didn't see anything and it felt normal. Felt the back tire it felt normal gave it a spin to see if anything was sticking in it, and that is when I saw the sticker that covers the valve hole in my disc came off and got stuck in my brakes. This once again goes back to just being a little bit carefree and not paying attention to small details when setting my bike up. Looking back at it I have used that sticker for all the races this year, and should have just replaced it. Looking at my Strava file it looks like I was on the side of the road for just over a minute and during that time Andrew and Jordan flew by. The next 5k I put the hammer down riding about 240w trying to catch back up. I think I managed to close the gap down a little bit, but just after making the turn around my legs went POP! If you missed it that was excuse number 4 and the lesson here is that if something happens during a race don't panic and stick to the plan. The power steadily dropped over the last 20k of the race, and Marc caught me at about 40k.<br />
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<b>T2</b><br />
My last mistake. Running out of transition I was carrying my number, hat, a gel, and my watch as I was still panicking and trying to catch up. During my panic I dropped my watch and had to stop and go back for it. Once again panicking doesn't make anything better relax and do what is in your control.<br />
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<b>Run</b><br />
Leaving transition I was a little bit surprised to hear I was 4:30 minutes down from the leaders as I was expecting maybe 2-3. At this point I thought about just tossing in the towel and saving up for next weeks battle in Bracebridge, but I told myself I need to get a longer run in anyway and my as well do it on a supported course. At the turn around I was about 2 min behind Andrew, and thought I had a chance to catch him. Jordan's lead stayed pretty steady so I knew I wasn't going to catch him. With about 2k to go Andrew's green tri suit stood out amongst the short course racers heading back in, and I found an extra gear. About 200m from the finish I came up on Andrew's shoulder just as he was receiving the news that him and Jordan missed part of the course and were being dq'd. I guess the missed the sign for a small triangle section that added on maybe 1k I'll make excuse number 6 for them that the sign wasn't very big, but you should also have a rough idea of the course route. I'm sure MSC will have some much larger signs next year as they do a wonderful job at their races and do a great job listening to feedback to make the races even better, no one is perfect. In the end I got the win, but you never want to win because someone got dq'd hopefully I can race these guys again soon and none of us make mistakes and we will all be in for a great battle.<br />
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Kingston is one of my favourites races in Ontario with its urban setting. I find it really motivating to races when there is a ton of people around cheering throughout the entire course. I want to thank all my sponsors. Vorgee for their amazing swim equipment, Nineteen for a speedy wetsuit, Infinit for simplifying my nutrition, CicloWerks for keeping my bike running smoothly, Smith Optics for keeping my eyes safe, MultiSport Canada for allowing me to race on a pro triathletes budget, and Franklin Terrazzo for their support.<br />
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Here is an interview Ang and I did with Roger from Triathlon Magazine Canada. Always great chatting with him after a hard day of work</div>
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<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-55808254963728344922015-07-06T20:40:00.000-04:002015-07-06T21:03:11.293-04:00Muskoka 70.3Someone pinch me I think I'm dreaming . . .<br />
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Sunday I competed at the Muskoka Ironman 70.3 in Huntsville, ON which many of you know was a redemption race from last <a href="http://alexjvanderlinden.blogspot.ca/2014/09/muskoka-703-race-report.html">year</a> where I crossed the finish line absolutely broken and disheartened. I was hoping last year this race would be my big breakout.<br />
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The week going into the race was your typical taper. I felt good in my swim and bike workouts, but my legs felt like lead bricks. Even race morning I was a little worried about how I was going to run. The night before when talking to Rich he assured me this was a good sign, but I think he just wanted to give me confidence going into the race. Race morning came quickly with a 3:45am alarm to allow plenty of time for breakfast (rice cakes with pb, banana, and honey along with a bottle of Infinit custom) to settle. Sitting in the hotel room waiting to leave I was getting a bit antsy so we left for Deerhurst a bit earlier than planned, but I find setting up transition calms the mind and removes any nerves I might have.<br />
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<b>Swim - 4th out of the water (26:37)</b><br />
This was one of the first times I didn't scout every name on the start list, but I knew there were a few I recognized as strong swimmer especially fellow <a href="http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com/">Nineteen Wetsuits</a> team member Antoine and Brazillian Igor. I tried getting onto their feet but before I knew it the gap had opened. I thought only 2 or 3 had gotten away so this left me leading the chase pack. Going around the first turn buoy I did a quick backstroke turn to see where the field was behind me and make the decision on if I should keep pulling the pack or save a little energy in the last 2/3rd of the swim. I noticed there was a little bit of a gap so I just kept pushing myself trying to limit losses to the group ahead. I came out of the water 4th about 3 min behind the leaders and about 10s ahead of a small group just behind me. The first climb from the water to T1 is probably one of the hardest, but I told myself to relax and not spike the heart rate to much. The race wasn't going to be won or lost on that climb. After slipping out of my Nineteen Rogue I was off on the bike.<br />
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<b>Bike - 7th into t2 (2:30:05)</b><br />
Onto the bike a trio of myself, Jordan Monnink, and Nicholas Chase soon got to work chasing down the guys ahead. The improvement of my bike fitness has allowed me to stay with the guys I typical come out of the water with, but I don't have the power to make a move and get away. I spent most of the day at sitting 2nd or 3rd wheel stressing about staying the legal distance as we had an official motorcycle beside us quite a bit of the ride, and with the saw tooth profile the gap was constantly growing and shrinking. I was trying to keep the power as steady as possible on that course knowing what happened last year, but every uphill there would be a surge. I would fall back a little bit then fight my way back on during the descent. I had to take a couple risks early on a couple descents where I got dropped on the climb before. In the last 15k it seemed like the surges the other guys were putting out got even bigger, and I made the decision at that point just to let them go and cruise in knowing that any gap made in the last 15k of the bike could be made up on the run. Most 70.3 the bike would be around 2:15, and I can use just my two custom bottles of infinit nutrition and a gel, but with the extra 15 minutes on the bike I added an extra gel and grabbed one bottle of water from the 2nd aid station.<br />
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<b>Run - 2nd! (1:16:34)</b><br />
Coming off the bike it was a quick transition and onto the run. I was in 7th starting the run and only handful of seconds behind 5th and 6th. I was telling myself one thing and it turned into the theme of the run, "Be Patient!" As I mentioned earlier the thought of last year was in my head, and I did not want to blow up in the 2nd half like I did last year. I took it particularly easy on the first couple of steep downhills before you get onto the highway. Just as we dropped down into the neighbourhood (~2km) I moved into 5th, and at the time I thought that was as far up as I would go. As anyone who has done the course knows, this course can crumble you. People out watching told me I was looking the best out of anyone except Lionel, and I thought I could make out someone way down the highway. By the first turn around I had just caught Igor, Kyle was about 3 min up, and Ian about 90s. This was the first time I thought I had a chance to run my way into 2nd, but it was also the first time I felt a little twinge in my quad. From that point on I started grabbing more gatorade from the aid stations instead of just pepsi and water. I caught Ian just before the 2nd turn around and Kyle not long after that. Once I moved into 2nd I started to get excited, but still told myself there was a long way to go. Anything could happen in that last 7k. It wasn't until the last kilometre I knew I was safe and I embraced the moment. I knew I was capable of a run of this calibre I just needed things to come together. 2 years ago at Challenge Florida I ran 1:17:xx, but last year every race something happened before the race (crashes or illness) or during the race (over biking and cramping). I think the improved bike fitness has allowed me to run closer to my potential this year. Each race this season I have run a bit better. I am looking to forward to following up this result with many more this season. Finish 2nd to Lionel made this feel like just another local race.<br />
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I was talking to someone the day before the race and they asked me what it was like to race Lionel, but having raced him for probably the last 5 years in tri and were probably at some of the same high school track and cross country meets. When he is in the field it is almost a calming sense of any race being like a local race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJw_zDSug9epFRLb8aK6FhRD0B4qKiUwIlk56cY12JjeR1UGBTa438S9luUT4i-wEYMS6OApk1w1jndR0TMxgmLAlOWGhDWL5izobmQhaOCuZD2FIYSIvISOtiIQhyphenhyphen9b75QmRRPPmhAlh/s1600/muskoka+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJw_zDSug9epFRLb8aK6FhRD0B4qKiUwIlk56cY12JjeR1UGBTa438S9luUT4i-wEYMS6OApk1w1jndR0TMxgmLAlOWGhDWL5izobmQhaOCuZD2FIYSIvISOtiIQhyphenhyphen9b75QmRRPPmhAlh/s320/muskoka+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Killing time pre race with my number 1 fan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toughest climb in the race is going from the water to transition. My Nineteen isn't only good for swimming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming into T2</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of the run</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish chute</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gI2YoZGOh8IKasR6r6OmjxaG3xaVmwHzDLA7yxRi7cGYbbx7HAgYP8ZwFLKXOmydqk8GoEhLFk1gp_4JI8Jlexc3Ggk1MKfSbl0wuMVg96I1UjNEVxvEMLQofjLB357CAYpYLTj-9v1j/s1600/muskoka+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gI2YoZGOh8IKasR6r6OmjxaG3xaVmwHzDLA7yxRi7cGYbbx7HAgYP8ZwFLKXOmydqk8GoEhLFk1gp_4JI8Jlexc3Ggk1MKfSbl0wuMVg96I1UjNEVxvEMLQofjLB357CAYpYLTj-9v1j/s320/muskoka+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've been finishing 2nd to Lionel for many year. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5BjPWQw4CsxiXOUIa0eK26eDcwczN3VGBz4oFFTZvNCp_eSis78MF5IEyq67JA_ovx11mX5g8bPn6v090emIrvE4Slwr4OuAyRfxtA1uRuabNCDNho3XvpJvmMV9vyhIxizcN3HzUx1Q/s1600/muskoka+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5BjPWQw4CsxiXOUIa0eK26eDcwczN3VGBz4oFFTZvNCp_eSis78MF5IEyq67JA_ovx11mX5g8bPn6v090emIrvE4Slwr4OuAyRfxtA1uRuabNCDNho3XvpJvmMV9vyhIxizcN3HzUx1Q/s320/muskoka+7.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheers!</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-22635611147383690752015-07-03T18:34:00.000-04:002015-07-03T18:34:01.998-04:00Mine Over Matter - sprint finish number 2Figured I should write a quick race recap from Mine Over Matter before Muskoka gets here and I'm two races behind.<br />
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Mine Over Matter is one of my favourite races I do, and I have done it the last 3 years. I find the mountain biking to be great cross training the compliments road tri and especially road tri at the professional level very well. One thing with mountain biking (or maybe I'm doing it wrong) is that is seems like things are either full gas or backing off for a technical section or corner.<br />
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After Welland took an easier week to recover from racing back to back weekends, but Rich wanted to get in one more solid week of training before Muskoka as it the big A race for the first part of the season. So the training load going into Mine Over Matter was a bit higher than typical races. I managed to get out to Milton a few times before the race to pre-ride the course. The first time had some race efforts chasing Rich Pady and Sean Bechtel, but there were a couple sections I wanted to ride again. I went back up on the Wednesday before and did an easier ride to really focus on some of the technical parts and try a couple of different lines through them. Pre riding the course multiple times for an off-road race is essential. If you are going in blind all I will say is good luck. Each year things get a little more technical, but each year I have enjoyed the race more. Riding cleanly through a new section is a great feeling.<br />
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The other thing I love about off-road racing is that things seem much more laid back. You don't have that nervous tension throughout the transition area, and it leads to a very low stress race.<br />
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Going into the race Karsten Madsen and Sean were the pre-race favourites, but I wanted to make things a bit more competitive than past years.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd out of the water. Fast in the Nineteen Rogue and Vorgee goggles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather Pady on her way out on the bike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karsten hammering out the bike on the way to victory</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich coming into transition</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather cruising to her 3rd national championship</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aero is everything even on the bike. New Smith Overtake helmet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich trying to close the gap on me</td></tr>
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<b>Swim - 3rd out of the water</b><br />
The plan was just to get on to the feet of either Sean or Karsten and stay there for as long as possible. After a bit of confusion at the start, due to someone ringing a cowbell and some people thinking that was the horn to start, I was a bit slow to get going. The first ~400m to the turn buoy I felt like I was swimming strong, but I felt like I was all over the place with no rhythm. Once we made the turn I lost the feet and swam solo the rest of the 1000m.<br />
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<b>T1 - 3rd onto the bike</b><br />
Usually my transitions are super smooth, but I just haven't figured out the best way to do it on the MTB. My shoes have boa dials and no heel loop so I tried doing a flying mount and putting them on at the beginning of the bike. I couldn't get my foot in and eventually gave up stopping, pulling my shoes off with my hands, and putting them on on the side of the road.<br />
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<b>Bike - 7th off the bike????</b><br />
I think this was the cleanest year on the bike I have had. In the past I would get fooled by an obstacle and have to unclip but I rode everything clean so that was a big positive. It took Rich the first lap to catch me and then we exchanged leads a few times before he attacked me climbing the ski hill. I think I rode well overall but took it a bit slower on a couple parts as finishing in one piece the weekend before Muskoka was the number one priority of the race.<br />
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<b>T2 - 7th out</b><br />
All smooth on the t2 front<br />
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<b>Run - 3rd across the line</b><br />
When I was coming out of transition I thought I was in 4th and could just see Rich leaving transition as I came in so I had my first target to chase down. However, just out of transition I passed an unknown runner and then about 100 meters later RTC coach, Craig Taylor, told me I was in 7th and it took me off guard for a second (turns out a few people made wrong turns on the bike). Hearing the news didn't change much of the race as I was in chase mode anyway. I passed Rich at about 4k when we entered the only real technical section on the run course. About 3 steps after making the pass I rolled my ankle on a root and went crashing to the ground. I really expected if I was going to hurt myself it was going to be on the bike, but here I laid on the ground with my ankle screaming and a few scrapes. The adrenaline kicked in, and I popped up quickly and started running again. It was short lived as I felt like I couldn't put any weight on that foot. I started walking/hobbling a bit trying to fight back thoughts that I messed things up for Muskoka. When things go poorly time slows down, and it felt like I walked hobbled for 5 minutes but it was probably more like 90 seconds before I started to try and run again. I took thing really easy especially on the descents because I wasn't sure if I could handle it, but as I kept running things started to feel better. I could feel my legs slowly picking it up and when I was able to see another guy that passed me when I was hobbling the switch in my brain flipped and the chase was back on.<br />
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<b>The finish </b><br />
One of the best/worst parts about the Mine Over Matter course is that you basically come back to transition just to run about another ~1800m around the quarry. I could just see Rich up ahead, and I thought there was a small chance I could catch him. 3 years ago when I first did this race I was running neck and neck for 3rd when I got dropped in this last section so I wasn't going to loose here again. With about 400m to go I caught Rich and was in for my second sprint finish of the season. I thought I had passed him with enough authority he wouldn't come with me but as we approached the finish line everyone was getting really noisy. I didn't even have to look over my shoulder to know Rich was coming fast. I found another gear and was able to hold off coach for a small 0.5s margin of victory.<br />
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<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-17478194230291054292015-06-14T21:55:00.002-04:002015-06-14T21:55:56.620-04:00Welland HalfAt the beginning of the season Rich and I had picked out Welland as one of the local races to focus on this season. I had 3 goals going into this weekend 1 go after Cody's record, 2 if I fell short of that I really wanted to go sub 4, and the last one was to get the win. Especially after coming second last weekend I REALLY wanted a win. However, things got flipped on their head about mid-week.<br />
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Wednesday morning Ang woke up with some pain in her stomach, but we didn't think about it to much. The pain intensified all day and that night around 12:30 we decide to go to the ER. We left the ER around 5:30 in the morning with orders to return at 8 for an ultrasound because they thought it might have been gallstones. The ultrasound didn't show anything so they shot her up with some drugs and sent her home. The pain wasn't gone for long and before you know it we were back at the ER to figure out what was going on once and for all. A CT scan revealed that her appendix was inflamed and before we knew it she was in surgery. All of that was a whirlwind of 48 hours of going back and forth to the hospital. Not the ideal taper before a race, but sometimes life comes first.<br />
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Saturday was the first time I was able to workout so I got in a quick bike and run with a couple of race pace intervals. I was pretty close to throwing in the towel and skipping the race. My bike felt like i was pedalling through slop, and my calves started getting tight running just 60s at race pace, but after much debate and Ang pushing me I decided to suck it up and race.<br />
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<b>The Race</b><br />
Driving to the race I was texting with Rich, and we kind of decided to scrap goals 1 and 2 and just focussing on getting the win. If I just focussed on that the times would come if they were meant to. My dad and Ang's mom got a bunch of pictures so I'm just going to use those to describe the rest of the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swim start - there were only 6 people in the elite age group/pro wave and we started a minute ahead of the 39 and unders</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was pretty overcast and chance of rain so I went with clear Vorgee Missiles to compliment my Nineteen Rogue<br /><br />I came out of the water 3rd. After trying to make a couple moves and shake Andrew I decided I should just conserve some energy and moved to Andrew's feet. Some guys from the wave behind us caught us at about 1500m and we moved onto their feet for a fast last 500m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RCj2gThkXP6izKcQtIkYe9YgNO4-hwuF8DJLy3xWuoQQuMx4ALfcD32oaBUt1fW8ICaXqxGO2rWoYwvrbp81VxmgUcNL8wHLBFwBp-3k6xM32t5KbLesQJwQco2lvvV3PjlhKPx0eBpt/s1600/welland3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RCj2gThkXP6izKcQtIkYe9YgNO4-hwuF8DJLy3xWuoQQuMx4ALfcD32oaBUt1fW8ICaXqxGO2rWoYwvrbp81VxmgUcNL8wHLBFwBp-3k6xM32t5KbLesQJwQco2lvvV3PjlhKPx0eBpt/s320/welland3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ride was pretty uneventful. I pulled away for about 60k, but Andrew reeled me back in around 65-70k. I sat in for about 10k before making my final push for the finish. Once again with the cloudy skies I swapped out the lenses on my Smith PivLocks for clear lenses just in case it started to rain again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvBYHSHO70zl4KQQzk622eB9X9FF-iA4KpaSQsinHwbP_O-fy2uryS1ZVQOth7U2mbPal1J1VQq4XiwyihBNElfXSnSXEvDuNahdtQzcAo9WqVFfIZUmodUmgqBiXbCAeDiPDydKGDYYE/s1600/welland4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvBYHSHO70zl4KQQzk622eB9X9FF-iA4KpaSQsinHwbP_O-fy2uryS1ZVQOth7U2mbPal1J1VQq4XiwyihBNElfXSnSXEvDuNahdtQzcAo9WqVFfIZUmodUmgqBiXbCAeDiPDydKGDYYE/s320/welland4.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out on the run. 1st 10k were pretty solid before it started to fall apart. I've been getting a tingling left foot in the last 2 halves so I think I will try to loosen my shoes a bit next time. Hopefully that will be one less thing on my brain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPz69J5UjMAvIsHAnv2xyXuNzBYjKAPBakV8XBnOcMXrCjSNOT4QU05cqnSEgGUwq9vdRQMjFV4MrJxybP6SK2DrIqRsUyOEVqjCRQSR9vjHDW7QKnd9fl_sHqin5A2JTuomFT9frQWo1E/s1600/welland5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPz69J5UjMAvIsHAnv2xyXuNzBYjKAPBakV8XBnOcMXrCjSNOT4QU05cqnSEgGUwq9vdRQMjFV4MrJxybP6SK2DrIqRsUyOEVqjCRQSR9vjHDW7QKnd9fl_sHqin5A2JTuomFT9frQWo1E/s320/welland5.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I kept checking my watch as I knew the 4hr mark was close. I could hear Steve Fleck counting down, and I tried to pick it up for one last kick. We thought I broke 4, but later found out the clock started with the age group wave 1 minute behind me. I just missed sub 4 going 4:00:40.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaking the tape</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating what we thought was a sub4 performance </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cheering squad. Mom, Dad, and Ang</td></tr>
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<br />Once again Multisport Canada put on an excellent race, and it is always fun racing with so many friends. There are always things you want to do better, and I think I have the ability to go sub 4. My swim was 90s slower than last year, my bike power was a bit lower than Knoxville, and I think I lost some mental focus on the run when it seemed the win was locked up. My next chance to really break the 4 hour barrier will be at Barrelman, but before that I will be racing Muskoka.<div>
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Thanks for reading. I will try to update things a bit more tomorrow with power numbers etc, but I wanted to get something posted before calling it a night.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-50316680170209960972015-06-06T18:40:00.000-04:002015-06-06T18:46:16.569-04:00Woodstock Race ReportThis morning the Ontario triathlon season kicked off with the Woodstock Tri. Woodstock will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first "real" triathlon I competed in way back in 2010. Luckily my last name is mis-spelled so my result will always be a secret . . . Over the last 5 years I have steadily improved with a big time improvement when the race was shortened from the Ontario distance to the tradition sprint distance. I have won this race twice as well and was going for the threepeat this weekend. If you want the short race report I ended up 2nd after winning a sprint finish between <a href="http://andrewbolton-triathlete.blogspot.ca/">Andrew Bolton</a> and <a href="http://staernathan.com/">Mikael Staer Nathan</a> while Jack Laundry was up the road. Full results are <a href="http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=23897">here</a>. Here are some pictures from the race, but if you want to read more about the sprint finish scroll beyond the pics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJgkBoO_LZV5qQHy-OHp3PwOczphlPwLfMwUyNUMLlcihM7-e6mMhi7fBosjo31nRsWr6lfzH_F7xEZqzYG5syTMfNQo-GBixPRIWpHNW6iJGgpP_ho4W5QTnkHyPh7sWLT3M3_URqHTS/s1600/woodstock+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJgkBoO_LZV5qQHy-OHp3PwOczphlPwLfMwUyNUMLlcihM7-e6mMhi7fBosjo31nRsWr6lfzH_F7xEZqzYG5syTMfNQo-GBixPRIWpHNW6iJGgpP_ho4W5QTnkHyPh7sWLT3M3_URqHTS/s320/woodstock+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering T2 thankfully no crashes this year. Thanks Ryan Power for the photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winding up the kick. Another photo by Ryan Power</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0RoBg-EKNwHRPHbMkEnnMCTk84vMPy0qEUyiVB0eIkYSrwUXDmp7MloIhLkUJU9Jo5WtBmZ5ZtN9xLRABXz5Pf6IFQF2aRmF8oPYSd_3ooGmjRzFAJjIB5601WAVJjqrERfMLrSMrlFs/s1600/woodstock+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0RoBg-EKNwHRPHbMkEnnMCTk84vMPy0qEUyiVB0eIkYSrwUXDmp7MloIhLkUJU9Jo5WtBmZ5ZtN9xLRABXz5Pf6IFQF2aRmF8oPYSd_3ooGmjRzFAJjIB5601WAVJjqrERfMLrSMrlFs/s320/woodstock+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bro captured this one turning the corner into the finish shoot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVf-vYyhojHmXVW7xLPk6_7ynpnkvJfw17XJnAFYyYvYxRad_yofYnk83vBZymLZseILdegHClQ3xMh8FV9a5p3frVcHPAO8hKgdo0AAZlG34eIunaTBlbvn4rpioavt2hyphenhyphengpOHBFo2Oc/s1600/woodstock+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVf-vYyhojHmXVW7xLPk6_7ynpnkvJfw17XJnAFYyYvYxRad_yofYnk83vBZymLZseILdegHClQ3xMh8FV9a5p3frVcHPAO8hKgdo0AAZlG34eIunaTBlbvn4rpioavt2hyphenhyphengpOHBFo2Oc/s320/woodstock+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">@multisportcan posted the picture of the pro podium<br />
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Now the long version of the blog . . .<br />
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<b>Pre-Race</b><br />
Ang and I arrived as usual with lots of time before the race. I love getting to sleep in my own bed the night before the race and with only a short 40 minute drive to the race I slept in a bit 5:15. However, it was like a family reunion at the race. Being the first race of the season I found I spent most of the morning catching up with friends I had not seen in probably 8 months. Racing locally seems much more laid back. About 50 minutes before the gun was to go off I went out for a short warm up run with 2 athletes I have been coaching, Andrew Flanagan and Ben Snider-McGrath. Next, I slid into my new Nineteen Rogue and headed down to the water for a nice swim warm up.<br />
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<b>Swim - 2nd 10:12</b><br />
Every year at this race Ang and I start on the far right side and all the other guys start on the far left. I'm not sure if I am picking the wrong spot or they are. After about 5 strokes I had clear water all around me, and so I kept the head down and kept pushing for about 200m. I generally use 200m as the point where I look around (thanks to my Vorgee goggles I feel like I can see everything) and get my first idea of how the race is unfolding. Today, one swimmer who started on the other side had already opened a gap, and I was swimming even with the next group. I thought the swimmer up ahead might have been Jack because I heard he was swimming well this winter, and he swam further than me at the indoor tri this winter. I didn't want him to get to much of a gap as I knew he was a serious threat on the bike. Usually I would be one to sit in the draft and try to save some energy for the bike, but I decided I would take charge and try to chase. There was no pulling back the lead swimmer, and I exited the water in 2nd. As I entered transition I was glad to see the lead swimmer wasn't Jack and that they only had about 30s on me.<br />
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<b>T1 - 37s the race is on</b><br />
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<b>Bike - 30:53 3rd into T2</b><br />
The Woodstock bike course starts with a nice climb right out of the park. This is where you get to see just how hard you swam and how your legs are feeling. Mikael was right on my wheel up the hill with Bolton and Jack just behind him. Once at they went by me one at a time, and I told myself I had to go big here or kiss the race good by so I just pushed the pedals as hard as my legs would go. I was just holding onto the back of the group of Andrew and Mikael but Jack was already pulling away up the road. After the first turn my legs were starting to come around so I surge past Mikael and would stay in 3rd for pretty much the rest of the ride. Coming down the hill into t2 I eased off a bit more than usual, but after crashing there 2 years ago I didn't want to do that again.<br />
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<b>T2 - 33s always seems a lot longer than that</b><br />
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<b>Run - 16:34 2nd (fastest run)</b><br />
Leaving transition Andrew had a bit of a lead and Mikael was right with me. Mikael and I were in the situation a few times last year at both Syracuse 70.3 and Toronto Island, but a new year means new fitness and you never no what the other guys really did over the winter. On the first section of gravel road Mikael pulled just in front of me, and then I reposed again on the bridge. We were slowly pulling Andrew in, and I could just see Jack off in the distance. I knew to pull back both I would need to have the run of my life and hope they both imploded terribly. The next kilometre on the crushed gravel from the dam to the road not much changed. I finally pulled up beside Andrew just before the turnaround, but Jack I guessed Jack had about a minute on us and the gap wasn't coming down fast enough. With Mikael still right on me, and Andrew running stronger than in the past this is where the race started to get tactical. We had already swam (7s separated us in the swim) and biked (about 10s separated us) together so no one was going to let the other get away on the run. This is where having raced the course so many times came into my favour I think. I tried putting in a small surge after the turnaround, but it didn't do much. When we got back on the crushed stone I eased up a bit and Mikael went to the front. I knew if someone was going to try to make an early attack it would be on the small but steep climb up to the dam. I was prepared to cover the move, but it never came. The part was the dam; the dam always seems to have a headwind as you run across it. I was just biding my time and trying to have as much patience as possible sitting at the back of the pack. I was feeling relaxed, but it was hard to tell how the other guys were feeling. You could almost feel the tension as we approached the 1km to go sign. Andrew was the first to go basically as soon as we hit the 4km mark, and I went with him just sitting on his hip. I wanted to counter attack this move, but I told myself it was to early. I was still feeling good, but I wasn't sure about a 1k kick. Andrew's surge let up about 150m later, but it was short lived. He quickly attacked a second time with about 700m to go. With about 500m to go I said now is the time! I counter attacked. I was pumping my arms as hard as I could and just put the pedal to the floor. It's probably been about 10 years since high school track where I had my last heads up kick (I got out leaned in a tri a few years ago but I was kicking from behind and rand out of room), and during high school track I had my fair share of wins and loses in these kicks. One thing when your kicking is there is no 2nd or 3rd chance. When you commit you have to go all the way, either you make it to the finish or you tie up before and risk not making it. All I thought about was go go go. When it started to hurt I told myself go some more. Do not look back just keep running! Coming into the final turn I made a quick shoulder check just to make sure I could take the tangent, and it wan't until here I knew I wrapped up 2nd. I think this is probably one of the funnest and most exciting races I have had in my tri career. There is nothing better than going head to head to head with 2 other guys for about an hour with never more than 10s between you.<br />
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After the first race of the series it looks like this summer is going to be a great one in the MultiSport Canada Series. I can't thank John enough for giving us the opportunity to race in an elite series for prize money. It has elevated the weekend to weekend racing so much in the last 3 years. Last year we had Lionel and Cody put on a clinic, but Jack was only 3s off lionel's time from last year, and I think today was a tougher day with some chop on the water and wind on the bike.<br />
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I'm looking forward to the rematch with Andrew next weekend over 4 times the distance at the MSC Rose City Half in Welland, and hopefully there will be a few more awesome match ups over the summer.<br />
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I'd like to thank Nineteen Wetsuits for the brand new Rogue wetsuit, it felt fast on the swim today. Vorgee goggles make open water swimming much easier when you can see where you are going. Smith Optics for keeping the sun out of my eyes before during and after the race as well as helping with my style. Rich from Healthy Results for whipping me into shape this year, I'm looking forward to the future. Lastly, my family, I had the whole gang out to watch today mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, my brother, and of course Berlin, who cheers the loudest.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-79639595657496400062015-05-20T19:56:00.003-04:002015-05-20T19:56:59.735-04:00Challenge Knoxville Race ReportMy season kicked off last weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Challenge Knoxville Half Distance race, but before I get started there I will give a quick background of things that have been going on in the last few months.<br />
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The first thing and the most exciting is that Ang bought a house, and I moved in with her. This happened the end of April right after we got got back from training in Vegas for a week. Lets just say that April was a bit of a hectic month as I had to be out of my apartment in London before leaving for Vegas, but we didn't get the house until we got back. This meant doing essentially doing 2 moves in 3 weeks. Training during that time was hit and miss but I will say it gave me a bit of a taper going into the race. The other couple of changes are that I have a few new sponsors that I will be working with this year. They are <a href="http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com/">Nineteen Wetsuits</a> and <a href="http://www.ciclowerks.com/">Ciclowerks</a> bike shop in Waterloo.<br />
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Now to the race!<br />
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I have raced in Knoxville 3 times before this, but they had all been the olympic distance put on by Rev3. With the new name came a new distance for the pros to race, but it was the same excellent race experience. In true Knoxville fashion or maybe it is only when I race there the rain started coming down race morning. Setting up transition it was just a light drizzle, but during the swim the rain picked up significantly.<br />
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Full results can be found <a href="http://timing.rev3tri.com/mobile/athlete-search/8BAD2F50-C238-4765-AF99-124BEA5ABF83/1">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Swim - 28:11 ~12th out of t1</b><br />
2 years ago when I raced in Knoxville the water was, a take your breath away, 50 degrees, but this year was like jumping into a warm bathtub with a balmy temp of about 73. This meant the pros would be swimming sans wetsuit. Unfortunately, because of the history of Knoxville I didn't think I would need a swim skin. I will be contacting Nineteen asap to see if I can get a swim skin before my next half just in case. I'm not sure if it was in my head but as soon as I jumped in it felt like a had a bit of a parachute on my torso. One of the downsides to being a 125lbs is that it is hard to find skin tight tri suits. Oh well nothing I could do about it and it was time to focus on the swim. It took what seemed like forever for the gun to go off as we all waited doing the usual tread, scull, creep forward that occurs on the start line. The gun finally went off, and we were gone for 4 hrs of racing. I was trying to find <a href="http://baucco.com/">AJ Baucco's</a> feet as he has been swimming really well this year, but it turned out his goggles and contacts got knocked off so he was at the back fixing those before swimming through a lot of us. So I settled onto some other feet and let them pull me to the turn around. I feel bad for however's feet they were because I have a really bad habit of swimming to close and touching feet every few strokes and I'm sure they wanted to kick me in the head. I felt comfortable during the swim, but I had a feeling it was not a fast one. I have to thank <a href="http://vorgee.ca/">Vorgee</a> because even with the cloudy skies and rain I always knew where I was since my goggles were so clear. I exited the water with a group of guys who I was out swimming by about a minute last year. I was a little worried my race was essentially over here as they would out bike me by about 8 minutes last year, but I kept it cool knowing <a href="http://healthyresults.ca/">Rich</a> and I have worked hard on my bike all winter.<br />
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<b>Bike - 2:23:55 11th out of t2 </b><br />
<b>Strava file - </b>https://www.strava.com/activities/306557760/analysis<br />
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During the swim the rain really picked up, and I knew this would play a factor while descending some twisty mountain roads. I'm pretty confident in my bike handling so I knew I would maybe have to take a couple risks out there. Turned out the lead group went the wrong way at the first turn so we all came together about 3k into the ride. I'm not sure who all made the group, but I'm going to think it was about 10 guys with another 4-6 close behind. Rich and I had a race plan of trying to have a normalized power of ~220w by the end of the ride and try to keep the spikes under 260 to be sure not to burn to many matches. This quickly went out the window when I found myself in the group. I was determined to stay with them for as long as possible. Every race I enter I go in with the mind set that I will do whatever I can to win the race so I was going to ride until I blew up as long as it kept me in striking distance, and if I didn't blow then perfect. At about 4k there is a downhill, and at the bottom there is a set of railroad tracks followed by a left hand turn about 30m after them. Going over the tracks my water bottle popped out from between my bars, spun 180 degrees, and I managed to snatch it out of the air and put it back in my cage without slowing down to much. Lady luck was on my side here, but she would make me pay later. I guess playing with those finger skateboards as a kid payed off, and I might be adding that to some of the athlete's I coach training plans. I believe in the first 10k my normalized power was about 230w, and I had a max power of 360w, just a little above . . . At about 10k the first big climb of the day starts. I was still sitting in the lead group (4 guys were still up the road), and I told myself if I could make it to the top of the climb with the group I would be good for a bit as it was a long descent afterwards where it would be hard for the group to separate. Unfortunately, lady luck made me pay for the water bottle save. Somehow a link on my chain got kinked and caused the chain to fall off when I switched to the small ring. I'm not sure if this was because of water and grit or what happened, but all I could think of was FUCK!!! I tried to finesse it back on but since it kinked instead of just falling off that wasn't happening so I quickly unclipped pulled the chain back on, and tried to get going again on the hill. By this time the lead group was long gone, and I didn't think putting in a huge surge at this point to try to get back on was going to be a good idea. The second pack (most of the guys I swam with) caught me pretty quickly, and I was hoping we could get back to that lead group. Last year a lot of these guys would just ride away from me so for the first half of the ride I played it safe usually sitting 3rd or 4th wheel while Ryan Bates and Mike Hermanson did a lot of the work on the front. *I have mixed feeling about the stagger rule that USAT races use, but if it allows me to get a bit of extra draft I'm going to use it. We had a moto on us most of the way so everyone rode within the rules, but it definitely is an advantage to have a group of 4 or more guys*. At about 30k I really had to pee so on one of the descents I sat up assuming the guys would pass me, and I could drop to the back and pee. 2 guys went off the front when I sat up, but no one else went around me. I didn't want to pee in the middle of the back but I was getting uncomfortable and it had to be done. Thankfully it was raining heavy at that point and don't worry I did wash my bike after. When I noticed though that no one went around me I assumed people were being hesitant on the downhills. Having raced the olympic here (part of the courses overlap) I knew there was a technical descent with about 10k to go, but the turns were actually wide enough you could carry pretty good speed. When we reached the climb I put in a little attack to get to the top 2nd in my group and then hammered the descent trying to get a bit of a gap. This set me up to be able to ride a bit more conservatively for the last 10k to set up my legs for the run.<br />
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<b>Run - 1:20:08 Finish 11th</b><br />
After a quick transition I was first onto the run from my group. I started out quick averaging about 3:30/km for the first couple of kms before settling into pace. Finishing off last seasons with 3 rough races, and especially my epic blow up in Muskoka where weighing on my mind a bit so I made sure to feel relaxed and controlled in the first 5k. I knew the middle ~10k of the Knoxville course were the most difficult so I told myself I would hold off on picking things up until the 2nd half of the race. I just hoped some other guys from the front group would go out to hard and blow up. I was about 3:35/km through the first 5k, but then the climbing started. The next 10k was around 3:45 pace as we ran the hills of Knoxville. I managed to catch one guy just after the turn around, but no one else was coming back. The last 5km was starting to get really tough, but I knew I was either barely in the top 10 or just outside so I didn't want anyone to catch me. We joined back up with the olympic course, and as I passed people doing the Olympic I would tell them "good job we are almost there." I think I did this more to try to convince myself, but maybe some of them were feeling the same way I was and it helped them get to the finish.<br />
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All in all this first race excites me for things to come this season. I'm now swimming with the Waterloo University varsity so hopefully my swim comes back, and I think I will keep improving on the bike and run.<br />
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Thank you for making your way through this entire race report, I know they can be lengthy. Thanks to all my sponsors, and a special thanks to my parents. Also thanks to my brother and his girlfriend for coming down and watching the race in the rain. It is their fault there aren't any pictures though because they were to hungover to grab the camera.<br />
<br />
Next up will be Woodstock and Welland in preparation for Muskoka 70.3.<br />
<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-55659080884643365022015-01-25T20:44:00.002-05:002015-01-25T20:44:23.377-05:002015 is hereWell 2015 is here so I have no more excuses not to update my blog a bit.<br />
<br />
2014 did not end the way I wanted it to so after about a month of doing absolutely nothing it was time to start training again. Back in November I started working with Rich Pady of <a href="http://healthyresults.ca/">Healthy Results</a>, the real reason for this is that I look great in orange, and their team kits are orange. No, in all seriousness Rich is extremely knowledgeable, has been in the sport longer than I have been alive and after spending time with him in Vegas and at his house in Orangeville last summer I felt like I would be able to work well under him.<br />
<br />
In the past my weakness has always been my swim, and last season (thanks to Ken, Paul, Cliff and the Mustang Swim Team) my swimming was no longer my number one limiter. I wasn't coming out of the water in the lead at major races but being only a couple seconds of the main chase pack and leading out of the water at local races was right where I hoped to be. That means this winter I really get to focus on my bike where I was losing huge amounts of time. My skin has really thanked me however the stock of cocoa butter lotion has dropped significantly. At only the end of January I am already feeling more confident with my cycling. The last time we tested was back in December, so I am anxious to see if the numbers from a retest will confirm how I am feeling during interval sessions.<br />
<br />
As for swimming I had a bit of a dip in November and December where I wasn't feeling comfortable in the water. I was only swimming 3x a week for about 3-4k which was a big drop from the prior year where I was doing 5 swims of 6-7k. We have also been trying to change my stroke by increasing the strength and efficiency in my pull, and limiting my kick. In the past I had always had a strong 6 beat kick and after trying to swim hard to hang on the back it would take a while to get going on the bike. Raleigh last year was a perfect example of this where I think I avg'd 10 or 15w higher in the 2nd half of the bike. The goal now is to come out of the water in the same time or faster but feeling more relaxed.<br />
<br />
Running is running. Being that it is my background and traditionally my strength I never get to really put in a run focus. November and December was mostly spent getting some miles back in my legs with some strides or a couple short (30-45s) intervals thrown in the run. I ran a 5k on the track Dec 23 and went 16:40. I wasn't to happy with this time, but I knew the season was still a long ways away. In January we added a couple "longer" interval runs in (aka a whopping 6x1min) and some tempo off the bike. This week I retested the 5k this week (this time on an indoor track so in my opinion a little faster) and went 16:04. That is pretty close to my official pb as I have an * next to my time from du worlds.<br />
<br />
2015 will once again focus on the half distance. I am hoping to go to a couple of the challenge races, but with Muskoka and St. Andrews being the same weekend I think I will stick close to home and save some travel money since a pay check is never guaranteed when racing. I am going to kick things off this year at the Awake Chocolate Indoor Tri at McMaster University on Feb. 28th then a couple local running races before the season starts most likely in May in Knoxville. I am going to try and race a bit less than last year, especially less long races in back to back or back to back to back time frames. I think having a lot of long races at the beginning of my season bit me in the butt at the end.<br />
<br />
The last big change for 2015 is that I am officially an NCCP certified coach. I am now working for Healthy Results. If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your goals feel free to contact me or fill out our questionnaire <a href="http://healthyresults.ca/coaching/health-assessment-form">Here</a>. Also, head over to our Facebook page (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Healthy-Results-Training/145234188864686">HR FACEBOOK</a>) and give us a like. Any information about training camps and mega days gets posted to Facebook, as well as, interesting training articles we come across and tips to make you a better athlete.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-2167448286493468732014-11-25T12:39:00.002-05:002014-11-25T12:39:43.574-05:00Winter Running TipsI wrote this up for the group I coach at Western University, but thought I would share it here as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
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Here are a couple quick tips for running outside during the
winter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Clothing – layers are your best option because temperatures
can change quite a bit throughout a run especially on a windy day. Avoid cotton
as this will hold moisture and make the wind chill even worse. Most of our tri
club runs will be when it is dark so wear something that can be seen such as
clothing with reflective or visi clolours. Don’t assume because it is a lighter
colour such as white it will be easy to see you because that is not the case.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shoes – I really like to use trail shoes in the winter. I
like a trail shoe because it is still a rubber sole so if you end up running on
a bare road or sidewalk for part of the run you don’t get the awkward feeling
of running on something harder. For really bad days or if you don’t want a
specific winter and trail shoe there are a couple other options. One is to buy
something that goes around the outside of your shoe like a yaktrak that will
give extra traction, or if you like a diy project short screws can be drilled
into the bottom. Fellow Ontario pro Cody Beals has a good blog on how to do
this at <a href="http://codybeals.blogspot.ca/2013/12/traction-control-screwy-shoes-yaktrax.html">http://codybeals.blogspot.ca/2013/12/traction-control-screwy-shoes-yaktrax.html</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Routes – this could be the most important decision on the
run, where to run. I really enjoy running the trails. I find the snow gets
packed down from other runners and walkers that you get good traction. The
trees all around also block a lot of the wind making it significantly warmer.
If trails aren’t your thing check the wind direction before you head out, and
try to pick a route that is headwind first. The headwind will be the coldest
spot so if you run it first you wont get that chill from freezing sweat if you
do it after a tailwind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This should get everyone started, and if you have any tips
yourself feel free to share them or if you have any questions ask Andrew or I.<o:p></o:p></div>
Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-70656814414946049952014-09-11T15:13:00.000-04:002014-09-11T15:13:47.774-04:00MultiSport Canada Training and Racing Series: How To Draft In The SwimAs a member of the MultiSport Canada Ambassador Team I have been asked to write an article that will help new and experienced triathletes with training or racing. Here is what I have to say about drafting during the swim.<br />
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With the end of the season races here we are all looking to get the most out of them. One way to save some time or energy is drafting. While drafting is viewed as a deadly sin during the bike, during the swim it is completely legal. The two main forms of drafting during the swim are drafting on the feet or on the hip of the swimmer in front of you. There is some conflicting views in the swimming world about which one is more effective so I would go with what you are most comfortable.<br />
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<b>Catching the draft</b><br />
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The first and most important part of drafting is that you need to catch the draft. You have two options at the start of the swim, you can go out hard to catch faster feet or go out comfortable. I think a lot of this depends on what you are racing for. If you are racing for the overall win or age group win you probably want to try and get on the draft of some faster swimmers. If you aren't aiming for the win, I would suggest not "burning a match" early on and start out at a comfortable pace. We all know the first 200m of a swim can be a bit of chaos so I don't worry about trying to find a draft here. Just focused on trying to maintain a comfortable stroke and composure in all the splashing. Once things calm down a bit I will look for the person for me to draft. This is where having some good goggles that don't leak or fog will pay off. When things start to calm down I will sight a couple strokes in a row this will allow me to make sure I'm on course then to find someone within a couple of meters to draft. This is where not going out like a maniac can pay off, if someone is only a couple of meters ahead I will put in my surge here. This is also where you will decide to go for a hip or feet. If you are surging up to someone you will probably try to get on someones feet, and if the person you want to draft is more to your side you might look to get on their hip.<br />
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<b>Drafting the hip</b><br />
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When drafting the hip you are going to position yourself between the lead swimmers belly button and knees. Some of the advantages to drafting on the hip are that the water you are catching is much cleaner because you are are on the hip there isn't as much turbulence coming off the head and arms compared to the feet. This allows you to feel like you are anchoring into the water more efficiently just like in a pool. It is easier to site when you are on someone's hip because you can still see ahead. If you don't trust the person you are drafting will go the right way this will allow you to stay on course *side note it is more efficient to draft someone going slightly off course then swimming alone perfectly straight, this will be another game time decision you have to make. The hip allows you to ride their bow wave and will pull you along slightly. Lastly, if you do start to fall off pace you can slide onto their feet and get a 2nd attempt at keeping in the draft. The downside to drafting on the hip is that if you only breathe to one side you will want to make sure that you are breathing towards them. If you are breathing away from them you are more likely to bump them or not realize they are pulling away. The other is that if you get to close you are likely to get hit by their arms so keep an eye on the flailing arms especially around the buoys.<br />
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<b>Drafting the feet</b><br />
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Drafting the feet is when you stay about twelve inches off the feet of the person swimming in front of you. Drafting in this position is the most hydrodynamic position so it can be the most efficient, but it is a bit more sensitive to position. If you get to close to the feet, and the leader is a heavy kicker, the water here will be very turbulent, and it will tough to catch the water. Also, if you get to far behind the benefit of the draft start to dwindle.<br />
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One thing to watch in both positions is contact with the lead swimmer. If you are constantly hitting their feet or bumping their arms you are disrupting their rhythm, and it will slow you both down. I know if someone is continually bumping me I will ease off and let them take the lead even backstroking a couple strokes if I have to.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-38821558561324664292014-09-11T14:57:00.001-04:002014-09-11T19:51:32.684-04:00Muskoka 70.3 Race ReportWell the pain has almost left my legs so I figured it was time to write my race report for Muskoka 70.3. Muskoka wasn't originally on my schedule, with the long hard bike ride it doesn't suit my strengths, but with some bad luck before Steelhead it was the option that made the most sense.<br />
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<b>Pre-Race</b><br />
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A couple weeks before the race I came down with a nasty stomach bug that put me on the couch leading to the race. Even the Thursday before Muskoka I had to cut a run short and spent more time in the bushes then running. Lets just say at the pro meeting when they said there would only be port-a-potties every 2k I was a little nervous. Also, I wasn't sure where this break had left my fitness, and long course racing is about being as mentally prepared as physically.<br />
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Friday afternoon I made my way up to Muskoka with my mom and dad. Saturday involved a short bike ride on the first part of the course, registration, pre race meeting and all that fun stuff. Ang was supposed to race in Wasaga Beach Saturday, and she was able to make the trip up to Muskoka Saturday night. My support team was all there to cheer me on.<br />
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<b>Race Morning</b><br />
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Come race morning I woke up, prepared my usual rice cakes and bananas, and went about packing up my race stuff. I decided to leave my bike racked over night so come race morning all I had to do was pump up tires, set up my shoes, and calibrate my power meter. After a quick run it was time to get my wetsuit on and hit the lake. I really thought I had a good shot at top 5 and my first pay check, but I knew it was going to be a tough race.<br />
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<b>The Swim</b><br />
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With a small pro field and large start line we all had lots of room on the start line. Usually I'm aggressive on the line and try to hang on to the front as long as possible. Confidence was a little bit on the low side coming off very little swimming so my plan was to try and jump onto Cody's feet and hang on. I was feeling pretty chill, on what I thought were Cody's feet, but unfortunately it was someone else. By the time I realized the lead group was gone. I finished the rest of the swimming cursing myself for this mistake. Good news is the swim felt really easy so I was ready to make up for it on the bike (mistake #1 never try to make up for something just move on). I believe I was 6th out of the water with 2 other Canadians right with me. My 2XU wetsuit and Vorgee goggles did exactly what I want from them. When you have peace of mind in your gear thats one less thing to stress about.<br />
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<b>The Bike</b><br />
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After the tough run up to transition it was on to the bike. I was feeling good, but I knew I had some work to do. The first 10k was spent exchanging pulls with fellow Ontario athlete Ed Cyr, and we were caught by Kyle Pawlaczyk around 15k just as we were getting onto the highway. When he went around me Ed came up quickly right after. I settled in at the 12m, and I was to get pulled for a bit on the more open highway roads. A gap started to open between Kyle and Ed, and I had to make a decision at this loin: to I try to ride with Kyle or do I just stay back. I was riding within my power and feeling good so I decided to try and go. I hesitated a little bit to long though and by the time I got around Ed the gap to Kyle was to large to close. However, this surge put me within I sight of 4th place. I didn't know at this point what place I was in, but the racer inside of me took over. I knew we had gained on 4th during the first 15-20k so I kept pushing on hoping to catch him. At this point my power just started to increase. With the exception of Welland where I only did the swim and bike, my best bike split was at Syracuse this year where my ap was 197, np 207, and best 20 min was 225 well at Muskoka thing might have been a little bit higher. Ap was 214, np 220, and best 20 min was 229 (this was mistake number 2 coupled with a max of 448w whoops). I moved into 5th place at around 65k, but this was short lived. Once I caught Tom Eckelburg he counter attacked on a longer climb, and I had nothing left to go with him. This was when I was starting to wonder if I rode to hard. Tom managed to put about 30s on me in the end.<br />
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<b>The Run</b><br />
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This was the first time I got an update on what place I was in. Someone told me I was sixth, and when I heard that the turbos went into to action, shoes on and Smith sunglasses and I was on my way . I was getting my first top 5!!! Legs were feeling ok and at 6k I moved into 5th. Tom and I exchanged leads over the next 6k with neither one getting much of a lead. This is when then went from great to terrible with the flip of a switch. On a small hill Tom put in a surge, I clawed my way back onto his shoulder just in time for the next small riser, this is when Tom put in another surge and put the nail in my coffin. From about 12k to the finish it took all the will powor I had to keep going. There was a pretty big gap to 7th, but I knew they were coming up fast. Only a few times have I felt absolutely powerless, and this was one of them. The only thing keep forward motion was a slightly forward lean and just catching myself before I landed on my face. With about 2k to go the race directors do a really mean thing. You're running on the final road towards Deerhurst Resort when they make you turn right and drop down a hill just to add one more nasty up hill. At this point the train started to catch me. I was broken I had nothing left and as people started passing me I started walking. I never thought the day would come in a race when I would walk. I thought I was a failure and I wanted to quit. How can I call myself a pro while I was walking. I tried to start running again, but every time the road turned up all I could do was walk. I was so happy to finally make it to the finish line. There was a 2 minute difference in pace between my first 11.8k and from 11.8 to the finish. I had dropped from 5th place down to 9th in the pro field. This is still my best finish ever, but it was a little bittersweet after being in the top 5.<br />
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<b>Post race analysis</b><br />
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In just the few days since the race I have already learnt a lot. 1) I'm not invincible - I used to think that no matter how things got I would always be able to finish strong. Never before in racing had I pushed my body until I couldn't go any more, I didn't end up in medical though so maybe I could go a bit harder. 2) Pacing is key in long course racing. Most cramping issues are either from pushing to hard or messing up nutrition. I don't think nutrition was the cause of my issues, and my Infinit served me well. However, I think I pushed a little to hard on the bike especially from about 35-60km. 3) I can't get down on myself. It has been a tough year with some bad luck, from mechanicals to crashes to illness, but there is something to learn from each of these. Next year I will come back stronger from this season.<br />
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I have one more race left at the MultiSport Canada Barrelman race in Niagara Falls. I was going to keep racing into October, but after being sick I am ready to pack it in. I am coaching the Western Triathlon Club again, but I am hoping to only be in London until December. I am really hoping that I can get away somewhere to put in a big early season training block. I am already starting to get excited for next season.<br />
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<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-74615363148906863362014-09-03T09:30:00.000-04:002014-09-03T09:30:22.212-04:00Big News!A couple of you may have noticed a couple new edition in my support section. I am super pumped to be part of the ambassador teams for both Smith Optics and Vorgee. I have been using Smith sunglasses now for 2 seasons, and Vorgee goggles since I was introduced to them in the winter.<br />
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<a href="http://www.smithoptics.ca/">Smith Optics</a><br />
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As I said earlier I have been wearing the Smith PivLock sunglasses now for 2 seasons. I found these to be the perfect glasses for training or racing, running or riding. The lack of frame really opens up your field of view when in the aero position, and the pivlock mechanism makes changing out lenses, when the weather changes, quick and easy. When I crashed, and lost one of the arms, the customer service was awesome and I had new set in my possession before I could even start riding again. With numerous performance and lifestyle options you are bound to find something that fits your style.<br />
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One of the upcoming products I am most excited to get my hands on is their new <a href="http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/06/24/smith-adds-overtake-road-xc-helmet-and-more-updates-pivlock-full-coverage-sunglasses/">Overtake</a> helmet. I used to think crashing would never happen to me, and for 4+ years I had never crashed, but one day it happened. Having probably suffered from some minor concussion symptoms brain protection has become more important in my choice of helmet. This comes without much downside with wind tunnel testing showing it faster than the Giro Air Attack and slightly slower than the Specialized.<br />
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<a href="http://vorgee.ca/">Vorgee</a><br />
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Vorgee goggles were introduced to me last winter at MultiSport Zone. I will be honest, at first I was a little hesitant. Sometime I feel like with how much time I spend on Slowtwitch and other triathlon sites, that if I haven't heard of a product I become a little skeptical. However, once I tried their Missile goggle it was love at first dive. I had alway struggled with finding goggles that fit my face and was left with "swedish" style goggles where I was trying to trim the string to tie as the nose piece, but with the Missile goggle Vorgee offers 4 different nose pieces which seems to fit most faces. And don't even get me started with goggles fogging. Previous goggles would maybe last me a month before they started to fog, and I would be trying every trick in the book to no success. I know all goggles will eventually start to break down especially when used in nasty chlorine, but my Vorgee goggles seem to last forever. After swimming ~10 hours a week for January - March I finally retired my first pair in April, but they probably still had another couple months (I actually gave them to someone to test out, and they ordered 2 pairs of their goggles a few weeks later). If your someone that doesn't like a goggle that sits inside the eye socket check out the Vorgee website (link on the side or above) for a wide selection of goggles.<br />
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I haven't used any of their equipment, but I have some on the way. Everything looks to be of a higher quality and I can't wait to hop in the pool with it.<br />
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If you have any questions about either of these lines let me know, and I will either find the answer for you or get you in contact with someone who can.<br />
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The 2014 season isn't even over yet, and I can't wait to see what 2015 brings.<br />
<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-50016509477155014292014-08-28T12:38:00.000-04:002014-08-28T12:38:04.056-04:00Final Build - Toronto Island ReportLast weekend I competed in the MSC Toronto Island sprint as my final tune up before Muskoka 70.3. Leading up to the race I put in a solid cycling block between St. George, Bracebridge, and Orangeville. I was feeling more confident in my bike and run, and I really wanted to see what I could do.<div>
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However, the Wednesday before the race I came down with a bug and spiked a nasty fever. Thursday I layer on the couch all day and just never felt quite right, Friday I tried taking something for relief but this led to a night on and off the toilet, and Saturday all I could do was chill in the hotel room. I really didn't want to race, but with the point series my choice were race Sunday, race Lakeside in between Muskoka and Barrelman, or give up on the bit of cash available for the MSC series. I told myself I would start the race and see how I feel, if I needed to drop out I would.</div>
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Sunday morning came and I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel good either. I heard the bike course was narrow and could get hectic so Andrew Taylor, Cody, and I hit the course to scope it out. For some of the horror stories I have heard about this race I think MSC did an excellent job this year spreading the race out with larger time gaps between waves. I didn't do a run warmup because this is what was aggregating my stomach the most, instead I put on my 2XU wetsuit and went down to the swim start. The water was a balmy 13 degrees and the swim was shortened to 375m. With the water being so cold I wanted to get in early so it didn't shock the system. A lot of people make the mistake of not getting into the water until the race starts and when you hit the cold water it takes your breathe away. </div>
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<b>The race</b></div>
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Well even getting in early, I didn't feel ready to go when the gun went off. Usually, I can get out fast to avoid some of the thrashing, but with the strong field at the race I was right in the thick of things. After taking a couple bumps to the head, I needed to get to the outside, aggressively made a path to the inside of the buoy and got some clear water. On the back stretch Cody and Mikael pulled up beside me and I sat in until the finish. I haven't had many races this year with dolphin dives, and lost a bit of time on the exit. I was about 10s back of the group leaving transition.</div>
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Once on the bike I could see Mikael, Andrew, and Aaron up the road with Cody a bit further up on them. I knew I had to catch this group or they could possibly ride away from me so I put my head down and focused on catching that group. Cody rode away from everyone in his typical fashion, but I was able to catch the rest of the group by the 5k turnaround. The 5m draft box is really to small in my opinion, but I will take every advantage given to me so I sat in a bit to recover before launching my move. I went to the front of our group around 7k to see if I could get away, but when Mikael was still there I eased up a bit and let him take the lead back. At this point I was getting a little nervous it would come down a running race, and I wasn't sure how my stomach was going to react.</div>
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After a little bit of confusion in T2 Andrew, Mikael, and I hit the run hard all leaving transition within a couple of seconds of each other. I went to the front and told myself I was going to run as hard as I could and either blow up spectacularly (legs and stomach) or take 2nd place. I managed to hold on for 2nd and had the fastest run split. </div>
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I was really happy with the way the race played out in the end despite stomach issues leading in. I'm still not feeling 100%, and I have a drs appointment on Friday. Hopefully everything will be figured out then, and I can get in at least a couple days of training before Muskoka to get a feel. I'm not to worried about loosing fitness in this time, and I am telling myself a little extra rest leading in is what I need.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2Kf0OW7uohNRRRPAJkMO-8ezV5t9DSm52t446wRWTJ4YsU2d3oa0inWnLgVfNStBTahj5XMa5AoD_b6Ispd1VVFt4AJwV_C8IiHVmTUDO007lmtu0VGkLFj85-O4DFzrsn5G51Czt-6a/s1600/toronto+finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2Kf0OW7uohNRRRPAJkMO-8ezV5t9DSm52t446wRWTJ4YsU2d3oa0inWnLgVfNStBTahj5XMa5AoD_b6Ispd1VVFt4AJwV_C8IiHVmTUDO007lmtu0VGkLFj85-O4DFzrsn5G51Czt-6a/s1600/toronto+finish.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sigh of relief as I crossed the finish line without an "accident"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I kept the top of my wetsuit on as long as possible to warm up after the chilly swim</td></tr>
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Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-84115688790289355992014-08-05T17:41:00.003-04:002014-08-05T17:41:44.919-04:00Phase 2 (Crashes, Races, and Goal Changing)In my last blog update I had just finished a big block of early season racing, and I was just starting prep work for the 2nd a race of the season at Steelhead 70.3. Not all things go as planned, and I had to pull out of Steelhead due to some set backs that I will talk about below, but here is what I have been up to.<br />
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As I alluded to I raced the Mine Over Matter - Canadian Cross Tri Championships at the beginning of July, and I was 4th behind some experienced guys (Sean Bechtel, Karsten Madsen, and JP Thibodeau). I was 3rd out of the water about 45s back of Sean and JP and just ahead of Karsten. Karsten passed me on the first climb while I fiddled with my shoes, and I raced the rest of the way in no mans land finishing 5 minutes back of those 3 and 7 minutes ahead of the next guy. As awesome as off road can be it can get lonely on the trails when you can't see more than a couple hundred meters ahead of you at a time. Besides a couple small errors on the first loop of the bike I thought I rode well, but same as road tris I lack the power to ride with the top end of the field. There is a plan to address this weakness and it is to ride a lot in the period leading up to my next A race.<br />
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The plan after Mine Over Matter was to put in a couple weeks of high volume training as I prepared for Steelhead 70.3. Unfortunately on one of those first rides a crashed while taking a corner to fast on my tri bike. Luckily for me nothing was seriously broken on the bike or my body, but instead of putting in a big block I was forced onto the sidelines while my body healed. I haven't learnt from watching others and through my own experiences that if something isn't right down time is sometimes the best decisions. When I crashed my hip got beat up pretty bad, and I was worried that if I tried to run while it was still sore I would compensate for it and injure something else that would keep me out longer. I took about a week of running and cycling, and with open wounds, I was off swimming for about 2 weeks. With the set back I decided to pullout of Steelhead and do Muskoka 70.3 instead.<br />
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I think this small set back actually put me ahead in the long run. Prior to the crash I had been feeling rather flat in races. I was putting out good numbers in training, but I could not get into a good rhythm during a race. This was especially noticeable in my run, where I felt like I could never find my stride and leg turnover. Since the crash I have had a lot more pep in my step, and I didn't loose much, if any fitness, during the little bit of down time.<br />
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Since the crash I have raced 2 weekends in a row at the Multisport Canada races in Bala Falls and Kingston. Bala Falls is a nice quite race up in the Muskoka region, and Kingston is the exact opposite in the middle of the city.<br />
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Going into Bala, I had been back training on the bike and run for about a week and a half and feeling good, but swimming was BRUTAL. I did 3 swims leading up to the race and worried the lifeguards would have to save me in each one. Come race morning though I knew I needed to lead the swim for the bonus points in the MSC series. I told Ang before the race to get on my feet quick because I was taking the swim out hard to try and prevent people from getting on my feet, and things went exactly as planned. Ang and I started on the far left of the swim while all the top guys started on the right side. I had clear water all the way, and knew I had to get as much time on Lionel as possible if I wanted any chance at glory. I exited the water first, ripped off my wetsuit, and off on the bike I was. There was a little bit of rain the morning of the race, and this definitely played with my head a little bit on the bike. Last thing I wanted to do was crash again. Lionel passed me early like a bolt of lightning, and there was a group not far behind chasing. The second half of the bike I just focused on holding off this group, and I came into transition second but they were right on my heels. The run was rather uneventful. I felt better on the run, but still wasn't quite feeling like I was last year on the run. I came into 2nd well behind Lionel, but I was excited for my best placing of the year and leading the race out of the water was awesome. I have to thank <a href="http://www.2xu.com/">2XU</a> for an awesome wetsuit and Vorgee for great goggles that allowed me to see where I was going the entire swim.<br />
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The next week after Bala I headed up to Kingston for the 31st running of the K-town tri. I did this race in 2011, and I was excited to go back. MultiSport Canada was organizing this race for the first time, and I really liked how they left a lot of the K-town tradition in place while still putting some of their own flare into the race. There aren't to many races in Ontario that take place in an urban setting, and there is no better feeling than running down one of the main streets in Kingston with a lot of people from the community out cheering you on. Once again points were on my mind for this race, and I knew it would require a strong swim and run, with my best bike to date. I had the same strategy as Bala, I started on the outside and got out fast. Just before the first buoy someone was just ahead of me so I settled onto his feet and waited for my chance to make a move. After getting gapped a little in the third quarter I fought back and exited the dock even with the leader, and the race for the mat was on. I made it out of transition first claiming the first bonus and the bike bonus on my mind. I put my head down and took some risk (going across the metal bridge in my aero bars), and had a good first half. Things fell a part a little in the second half, and coming into transition Nick was just behind me. I really wanted to make this run hurt, and I went out with that on my mind. I tried to block everything out and just focus on pushing hard. I didn't start to enjoy things until I got across the line with my first win of the season.<br />
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I have to thank my parents and Ang's parents for all the driving to races and allowing me to stay at their houses. Since MultiSport Zone closed I have been staying at Ang's house or my parents house most of the time. It has been nice to have Ang as a training partner.<br />
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In other news some of you might have noticed me talking about <a href="http://www.vorgee.com/">Vorgee</a> a lot on here, Facebook, and Twitter. I am happy to welcome Vorgee on board as a new sponsor. They have really been making a push in the Canadian triathlon market sponsoring some of the top local talent. I started using their Missile goggle around Christmas and fell in love with. This was the first goggle that really fit me well offering 5 nose pieces (maybe more), and after numerous hours in the pool the anti fog seemed to last forever. The only reason I have had to get new pairs is because I wanted some clear lenses and mirrored ones so I could have some for every occasion, and I am looking forward to trying some of their other products. If you are looking to get a pair Du, Tri Run has them at the MSC races, team aquatics is carrying them as well as some other tri and swim shops in Ontario.<br />
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Next up for me will be the Toronto Island tri, followed by Muskoka 70.3, <a href="http://niagarafallstriathlon.com/">Barrelman</a>, and I am looking into an October or November 70.3 to end the season. I am leaning towards Challenge Ranch Cordova because I really like what the Challenge family offers to triathletes, and Ang really enjoyed St. Andrews.<br />
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Here are a couple pictures to the races from this phase. Just a warning Bala was a retro race and some photos are pg13 rated as well as the last picture is my hip from the bike crash.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leading the swim at Bala Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5omTXqR0D8JYVE01NNpwpEmRDsV7mHNXaEVvpff5J7jO5Lu26WHuGmWRhVDmPuTGLy1NOq3avAi_BrcYL97r9y9T-T7cg7psMh9N9FHgkJRlfkWuWQpnzH1kT13BLwc1o-vsLv9Iva3Du/s1600/bala+retro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5omTXqR0D8JYVE01NNpwpEmRDsV7mHNXaEVvpff5J7jO5Lu26WHuGmWRhVDmPuTGLy1NOq3avAi_BrcYL97r9y9T-T7cg7psMh9N9FHgkJRlfkWuWQpnzH1kT13BLwc1o-vsLv9Iva3Du/s1600/bala+retro.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockin' the retro Mankini</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First off the bike at K-town</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3JpSHH9g7Z4t6rTbnYlc9UTLaD2V31qPOdyK0ao7j0jlT8Us7qBCMguwmQW06DJlSmHg5yoVR4Uxrn-IsRtzmQdy8u1Dbtt8Oo6cyhHh1IEpL39aecj4GM4MOuhghVOPLDEil8VCfYI-/s1600/ktown+podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3JpSHH9g7Z4t6rTbnYlc9UTLaD2V31qPOdyK0ao7j0jlT8Us7qBCMguwmQW06DJlSmHg5yoVR4Uxrn-IsRtzmQdy8u1Dbtt8Oo6cyhHh1IEpL39aecj4GM4MOuhghVOPLDEil8VCfYI-/s1600/ktown+podium.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">K-town Podium</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little road rash</td></tr>
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<br />Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-63620997058665899252014-06-27T15:32:00.001-04:002014-06-27T15:34:45.446-04:00Phase IOnce May hits I become a racer. I train hard all winter so come spring I can put all that hard work to use. Since Triple T (Mid May) I have race every week/end except for one, and if you go back to April when I did Xterra West there has maybe been 3 or 4. However, not all of these have been "A" or even "B" races. I believe races can also act as wonderful workouts if you do them properly, but I will admit sometime they can throw things off. So instead of writing individual race reports I will summarize all of them with thoughts on the pros and cons for me doing that race.<br />
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My focus race during this first phase was Syracuse 70.3, so my thoughts will be about how each of the other races went towards focusing on this one.</div>
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First up was American Triple T. Ang and I finished 1st in the co-ed division at the end of the 4 races (super sprint, oly, oly, half). Triple T was designed to be an overload camp type of weekend. When else would someone in their right mind compete in 4 races over a weekend. The plan for the weekend was to race hard in the first 2 races and do my best to support Ang and make her weekend as easy as possible in the next 2 races. Her significant gains on the bike during the winter made those 2nd two races more difficult than planned, but you always come out of a weekend like that confident. If planning to use Triple T as an early season prep race make sure to pace it properly, and I would recommend a teammate for the mental companionship on that run course.</div>
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Next up was the MultiSport Canada Woodstock Sprint. I have a race report written for this one so if you want the nitty gritty check that out. I was the 2-time defending champ at this local race so I felt like I almost had to do it. The plan for Woodstock was to do what needed to be done to win, but try not to dig a big hole, and do another workout later in the day to get some more mileage in for the half distance. I think this is a great way to train for longer distances because it gives you valuable race experience (transitions, open water swimming, nutrition, etc). However, with some big guns showing up this year and fatigue from triple t I had to dig deep and that was still only good enough for 5th. The workout later that day got scraped, and all I wanted to do was sleep. With Raleigh the next weekend I didn't want to make a hole I couldn't climb out of.</div>
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Raleigh 70.3 wasn't originally on my schedule, but Cliff wanted me to get a competitive 70.3 under my belt before the goal race of Syracuse. The only options that kind of fit were Raleigh and St. George, and Raleigh made a lot more sense from an economic and logistic point of view. So my sherpas, I mean parents, and I headed off to NC for the first 70.3 of the season with not much of a taper. Raleigh was awesome because it gave me confidence my swim is where it needs to be to at least be competitive for a podium finish at most 70.3 races, but that bike was a big shot to my confidence. There is always something that needs to be improved, so the bike is going to be my phase II focus.</div>
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After Raleigh I was supposed to have 2 weekends of training with no races, but my addiction took over. Angela was racing the MultiSport Canada Welland Half, and my scheduled had me doing a swim and bike. I figured since I love the MSC races so much and I was going to be spending the day watching why not do the swim bike race. I think this is a great idea for anyone preparing for a half or full because it allows you to push a longer distance than many will in training, and coupled with a short run off the bike it doesn't leave you beat up for days on end. Going into this race we made sure the legs were nice and tired from a couple hard bikes and runs, with the intent to see just how hard I could push the bike if I was tired. I managed to ride ~10w higher than Raleigh and felt like I could still run if I had to.</div>
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The final race of this phase and what everything was leading up to, was Syracuse 70.3. The week leading up to Syracuse things were cut back slightly, but not as much a taper as most people tend to do. I have found that if I take it to easy during the week leading up to a race I feel flat so the intensity stays up, but the volume gets cut a little bit. I was happy with my race in Syracuse, but just like Raleigh my bike is leaving me to far behind to be a threat. Also, some rookie mistakes leaving T1 put the nail in the coffin of trying to hang with big boys.</div>
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Phase II has now started with the goal race at the end being Steelhead 70.3, but my racing ways won't disappear. I have already done my first mtb race as I get ready for the Canadian off-road championships in Milton in another week, and I will also be racing Bala Falls as a quick road tune up before Steelhead. </div>
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Racing makes for tough workouts and also a place to fine tune some of the smaller aspects of triathlon like transitions, swim and bike skills, and nutrition and while you don't need to race every weekend I believe a lot of triathletes would benefit from racing more than they do. It also give you more chances to hit that race when everything clicks instead of putting all your eggs in one basket.<br />
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All of this racing wouldn't be possible without the support of my parents, Franklin Terrazzo Company, MultiSport Canada, 2XU, and all the wonderful people around me. This is a very difficult sport if you don't have a strong support team behind you.</div>
Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-35088341122430261622014-05-28T13:02:00.002-04:002014-05-28T13:18:36.881-04:00Woodstock Race RecapWell my blog has resurected from the dead with the start of a new triathlon season. I am not sure what I am all going to write about, but I will at least try to keep you updated with race reports and results.<br />
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Last weekend was the kickoff to the MultiSport Canada Recharge With Milk Triathlon Series in Woodstock, ON. I will start off by saying that Woodstock is by far one of my favourite courses, maybe it is because I have won here twice or maybe it is that the course is awesome (smooth swim, rolling bike on well paved roads, and a run along a nice crushed gravel path). Like always John and crew especially behind the scenes man Mr. Pickering put on a great race like always.<br />
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I feel bad for everyone that skipped out on the race fearin bad weather because the tri gods were on our side this year and everything was perfect. Especially compared to TTT that saw air temperatures under 5 at the start of the races.<br />
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Now to the race details (results can be found <a href="http://www.sportstats.ca/displayResults.xhtml?racecode=106945">here</a>)<br />
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<strong>Pre Race</strong><br />
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Here is where I get to set up all my awesome excuses! 2 weekends ago Angela and I headed down to Southern Ohio to once again compete in the American Triple T to settle some unfinished business with results and tough courses. We had an awesome race and won a close battle in the co-ed team division, and with Raleigh 70.3 this weekend Woodstock was squeezed in the middle I wasn't sure how the body would react.<br />
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<strong>Swim (10:05 ~1s faster than last year)</strong><br />
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My swimming has been a major focus all winter and I have to thank coach Ken Fitzpatrick and Paul Midgley, and the Western Swim team for allowing me to swim with them all winter and really pushing my swimming to a new level, every race I have felt confident getting into the water that I will be one of the first out. At TTT I had the fastest swim split in all 4 races and felt good coming into the race this weekend.<br />
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I figured everyone would be trying to get on the fast feet of Derek Quick and Ben Sayles so to avoid the hustle and bustle I started on the other side hoping to get on to the fast feet once everything calmed down. Looking back on a race you never really know if you made the right decisions, I missed the leaders feet, but ended up right behind two other and was pulled the rest of the way. Could I have had a quicker swim with a different start strategy who knows?<br />
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I ended up 5th out of the water in 10:05, and closer to the lead swimmer than I had been in the past. I was only 1s faster than last year, but the joy (pain) of triathlon is that it is near impossible to compare results year to year. Comparing myself to the competition I was faster than I had been previously, but once again you never know what they have been doing.<br />
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After a speedy T1 I was onto the bike in 2nd with the leader in my sights.<br />
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<strong>Bike (32:00 ~36s faster than last year)</strong><br />
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The bike for me has always been a bit of a weakness and something that is going to become more of a focus now that my swim is where it needs to be.<br />
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With Ben in my sights and the fear of fellow ambassador teammates and super bike runners Lionel and Cody behind I was on a mission. In hindsight I went out a little bit hard (~253w for the first 5k), before fading to an avg of ~233w (Strava file <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/146338247/overview">here</a> I cut the first and last little bit where there was a lot of coasting dealing with shoes etc).<br />
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The last 10k were absolutely brutal, and I came off the bike in 6th with Jeff Scull and Garrick Loewen just ahead of me.<br />
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<strong>Run (17:40 ~16s slower than last year)</strong><br />
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Well the run is what it is. I came out of transition a bit back of Jeff, and in typical fashion took the first km out fast and caught him by the dam. Kids reading this blog here is a tip know who you are racing, chasing a guy who has run sub 15 numerous times and even heard he has run sub 14, even if he isn't in top form you might be going out a little quick. We exchanged leads a couple times but after the turn around he finally started pulling away from me for good. With about 2k to go and the realization that I was going to end up 5th I eased off the pace a bit and decided it was better to save my legs for Raleigh instead of pushing it home and increasing fatigue. <br />
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Next up is Raleigh 70.3, and I hope my legs come around there. The A race for the first part of the season is Syracuse 70.3 so I won't be doing a full taper until then. The goal is to get in that lead pack on the swim, hang on during the bike, and when people start to suffer in the heat pick em off 1 by 1 on the run.<br />
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Special thanks to Mom and Dad for their support, 2XU for making awesome wetsuits and apparel, MultiSport Canada for putting on awesome races that attract some of the best triathletes, and everyone that was out there cheering. I love doing local races and see so many familiar faces.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-87488099192150989742014-01-14T11:15:00.001-05:002014-01-14T11:15:16.896-05:00Alex Vanderlinden - 2013 MultiSport Canada Post-season Interview.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QolrBKzRP8o" width="480"></iframe><br />
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A little interview I did with MultiSport Canada to wrap up the season. Looking forward to being part of their Ambassador team in 2014. Big things to come.Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-34983599343342494172013-11-26T14:58:00.001-05:002013-11-27T20:56:46.885-05:00Tentative 2014 Race ScheduleWith most of the race series hammering out their final schedules for the 2014 season, I decided to put together a tentative schedule. I would like to do more Rev3 Races because they put on such a great series, so we will see what I can fit in from them. Once again it is a mix of locations, distances, and formats.<br />
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">February 16</span><sup style="font-family: Cambria;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"> –</span>Xterra Key Biscane then stay for a training camp after<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>March<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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March 28<sup>th</sup> – 30<sup>th</sup> – Provincial
Swimming <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>April<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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April 5<sup>th</sup> – Xterra Virginia<o:p></o:p></div>
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Apr 18<sup>th</sup> – Downtown 5k <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>May<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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May 16<sup>th</sup> – 18<sup>th</sup> Triple T<o:p></o:p></div>
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May 25<sup>th</sup> – MSC Woodstock sprint<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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June 22<sup>nd</sup> – Syracuse 70.3<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Championships <o:p></o:p></div>
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July 27<sup>th</sup> – MSC Bala Falls "Triathlon" distance<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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September 6<sup>th</sup> or 7<sup>th</sup> – Wasaga Beach
Sprint or OLY<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>October and November<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Maybe a half<o:p></o:p></div>
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Maybe an Xterra<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560450163582921284.post-21387303638308750042013-11-18T19:44:00.001-05:002013-11-18T19:44:19.886-05:00Nov 19th
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
table.MsoTableGrid
{mso-style-name:"Table Grid";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-priority:59;
mso-style-unhide:no;
border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">WU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">1000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">5x200 10sri <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">swim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">s/k by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">k/d by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">d/s by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">MS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">1600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x400 descend on 20s rest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">CD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25k<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25d<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">WU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">800<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x200 10sri <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">1.
swim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">2.
s/k by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">3.
k/d by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4.
d/s by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">MS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">1200<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">3x400 descend on 20s rest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">CD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25k<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25d<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">WU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">800<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x200 10sri <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">swim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">s/k by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">k/d by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">k/s by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">MS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">1600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">3x400 descend on 20s rest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">CD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25k<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25d<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">WU<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">3x200 15sri<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">swim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">s/k by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">k/d by 50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">MS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">400 on 20s rest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x50 10sri<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 118.8pt;" valign="top" width="119">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">CD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 324.0pt;" valign="top" width="324">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">4x100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25k<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 36.0pt;">75s/25d<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--EndFragment-->Alex VanderLindenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634911762171388365noreply@blogger.com0