from ITUtriathlon (www.triathlon.org)

Face to Face with Simon Whitfield

Face to Face with Simon Whitfield (May 1, 2009 )

The Beijing Olympic Games silver medallist Simon Whitfield is in a relaxed mood ahead of this weekend's opening race of the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series in Tongyeong, Korea. Having won gold in Sydney and silver in Beijing, Whitfield stands as one of the highest profile athletes to ever grace the sport. We caught up with him to find out his thoughts on preparing for the new season and what it was like to win a second Olympic medal. You do your career in four year stages. Can you talk a bit about this, the start of the fourth part of your career? Fourth? Yeah, you're right, it's the fourth phase for me. 2001 was a bit of a recharge year, or maybe I didn't take enough of a break after Sydney. 2005 was another recharge when I put on a bit of weight and turned up to a few races out of shape, but this year I'm probably somewhere in between, I had a fun off season but I didn't get too carried away. You kept training on after the Olympic Games last year. Was that one of the lessons you learned from 2005, that as you get older the body doesn't like that long of a break? No no, for me I just love it. I love training, I love racing. In 2005 I took a break because I wasn’t loving it anymore but this year I love being out with the guys and I feel really blessed being able to do what I do. We haven’t had a chance to see you since the Olympics, take us back to that incredible day last summer. I’ve had to run it through in my mind a couple of times, just really from the regret of that sprint finish [where Whitfield lost to Germany’s Jan Frodeno]. But yeah, what a spectacular venue, the Games were amazing and the Canadian support has just been incredible. It hit me later just what we had accomplished, and I’m very proud of that. Everyone wanted a medal, everyone wanted to be there, and coach Joel [Filliol] and the team got us there and I’m really proud. Talk a little bit about making the Olympic plans a team concept. A lot of countries had talked about it, but it was a small Canadian contingent that got the job done. Well New Zealand did it too, and Germany to an extent. Great Britain are such a great team they didn’t need to do it as they had three true medal contenders. But we had to do it, I felt strongly about that, but more importantly the high performance committee felt strongly about that. It will probably go back to more individual stuff now, but that was what we did. I’m not sure if it impacted too much on the day (I meant to say, it's not clear what impact it had on the day), but in the build up there was a great camaraderie and when we were training we felt like we were on a mission. With this now being a more consistent effort across a world championship series, is that something that plays to your advantage? Only you and Javier Gomez have won over ten World Cup races in the current field of athletes. Yeah, we’ll see. I haven’t spent too much time thinking about it. I’ve really spent my time focussed on just getting in shape and enjoying training. I have to talk myself out of being old. When [Alistair] Brownlee is running 29 minutes in local 10km races, and I’m thinking “man, I’m on a bit,” but we’ll see. I’ll tackle that when it comes. It is going to take a consistent performance across the races and I’m not sure whether that suits me this year. Peter Robertson [three time world champion] has said that somewhere in between you and him there must some sort of magic formula for winning both a world championships and an Olympic Games. One of the only things missing from your trophy case is a world championship and if you’re to get one you’re going to have to do it in a different way this year. It’s a difficult thing to get. It’s not just something you can pick off the shelf. I’ve been top ten on six occasions. Fourth, fifth, sixth twice and then a guy like Robbo [Pete Robertson] rocks up and takes them. Bevan [Docherty] has a gold from worlds and a silver and bronze from Olympics, and so that’s a pretty spectacular résumé, and then Robbo has his three world champs golds. You have gone from being a single guy with no responsibility to a married father with lots of commitments. How do you balance that because you’re leading a much more complicated life? Yeah, it’s more complicated. For instance this month I’m travelling to Europe with my family. I’m going to be staying with Javier [Gomez], with Pip my daughter and my wife, and then in the summer I’ve got to figure out how I can get back to Europe for races without spending more than a week away from home. It’s a difficult situation, that’s for sure, and my email inbox explodes over and over again, and I feel like throwing my computer out of the window and starting all over again. But you figure it out, you balance it, and there are many people juggling much harder situations than me. If they can do it, then I can do it.

new results website for Elite/PRO races

http://www.elitetriresults.com/

brought to you by AP and Andrew.

Eating cookies with Brent

Classic. Just landed in Seoul. First class what's up! Some random dude offered to drive us to domestic terminal. 30min drive from one side of Seoul to the other? Driver won't answer "how much?". But Brent brought wicked homemade cookies so who cares.

I think the next flight is short. I hope the next flight is short.

Brent give me another cookie!!!!

My 13th world cup season has begun and for the I don't know how many ith time I'm riding in a random taxi eating cookies with Brent.


Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

congrats Captain

TORONTO--Olympic triathlete, Sharon Donnelly, is set to guide Canada's rising young stars in the sport of triathlon as the organization's new National Junior/Under-23 Team coach, Triathlon Canada announced on Friday.

Donnelly joins the Canadian program after spending the last three years as an assistant and resident coach with the United States Triathlon Association based out of Colorado Springs. Living in Colorado with her husband, who is stationed there in the military, and their two children, Donnelly was also a member of the United States™ coaching staff at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.

Donnelly competed on the national squad between 1996 and 2004 during which time she represented Canada at the 2000 Olympic Summer Games, the 1999 Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Donnelly focused her efforts on giving back to the sport by coaching at the grassroots level in her hometown of Kingston, Ontario after retiring following the Athens Games where she served as an alternate on the Canadian team.

"Sharon brings a wealth of international experience, both as an athlete and coach, that will help develop Canadian triathletes that are aspiring to be the best in the world," said Kurt Innes, high-performance director, Triathlon Canada. "Sharon knows what is required to be an elite athlete, and will play a critical leadership role within our community of coaches across the country in shaping Canada's future Olympic and international medal-winners."

Donnelly's goal is to keep Canada's young triathletes engaged in the sport and focused on following the long-term athlete development model, while providing them with the tools, experience and insight needed to achieve success and growth along the way.

"It is an extensive process to develop a high-performance triathlete and I need to keep these young athletes attracted to the pursuit of excellence while ensuring they continue to have fun," said Donnelly who is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada."In order for us to have success as a nation, we need to work together as a cohesive team of coaches and athletes across the country, and stay patient with the long-term plan. If we can accomplish this goal, we will continue to produce more Olympic medals for Canada down the road."

Donnelly rounds out a community of full-time Canadian triathlon coaches who share a common goal of producing champions across the country. Last week, Triathlon Canada named Philippe Bertrand as the new coach of the Senior National Team. Patrick Kelly will continue his role as senior development coach at the National Training Centre in Victoria, while Craig Taylor is the provincial development coach with the Ontario Association of Triathletes. Gary Pallett and Benoit Hugo-St. Pierre continue on as the Regional Training Centre coaches in Manitoba and Quebec respectively.

Based out of Ottawa, Donnelly will officially start her new role on May 8 and join Canada's Junior and Under-23 athletes at the PATCO Championships in Oklahoma City on May 11.

Jennie's surreal morning (a VERY random blog post).

You know how every once and awhile you have one of those crazy mornings where you see some crazy ass s#@t.

Well it's not even 10am and Jennie's day has had more then its share of

"I can't believe what I'm seeing"

and that happened twice before the bear spray exploded.

Crazy exhibit A) while drive to meet me for coffee at 'Habit' Jennie has to slow down to avoid a man who is sprinting as fast as he possible down the middle of a major street with a full "Canadian springs" 5 gal water jug. Jennie described it as absolutely "epic". Race hydration?

crazy exhibit B) while walking from her parking spot to Habit Jennie and the rest of the general public are serenaded by a man in a doorway yelling "FFFFFFF!@$!@$@!!CCCCCKKKKK" over and over and over again at the top of his lungs. ok then.

Jennie arrives at coffee, it's peaceful and fairly empty in Habit. We order drinks, chit chat about swimming and Pippa's morning until the barrista casually asks us.

"do you pour milk or water on your face if you've been sprayed with bear spray"

to which Jennie casually responds

"Milk for sure, anyway, Pippa was trying to lick her foot this morning just like Laya (our cat), it was pretty funny"

and I say

"did he just ask you whether or not you pour milk or water on your face and you just casually answer milk?".

"yeah so?"

it seems (exhibit C) that a rather large man, a "bear" of a man wearing a rugged lumberjack jacket, was sitting out front of habit enjoying the sun having just (I'm speculating here) come back from months in the forest when the large orange bear spray canister that was attached to his backpack EXPLODED in the hot sun.

Apparently bear spray is 10% capsicum while pepper spray used to disperse riots is only 5%. This makes for a very painful morning coffee in the sun for mr "bear of a man" and the middle aged women quietly sitting on another bench 5 feet from him.

The tears flowed and the coughing began, slowly at first until the front door was wide open and everyone was sputtering and wiping their eyes. Not to mention the excrusating pain the "sun taners" we're in. As we coughed and sputtered we watched in disbelieve as the barristas casually poured milk and water (I guess it's both....) into and all over the faces those freshly peppered.

We left just in time to see the police arrive along with the local news station and the DHL delivery dude who just strolled into habit whistling away, dropped off a package and casually dodged his way through the crazy scene out front, without even flinching.

Apparently he already sees his fair share of crazy sh#t in a day

Just as we got to the car which was parked just around the corner the owner of Habit coffee, the always smiling "Shaner" came rolling down the street on his genuine 1940's wartime cruiser bike and said

"hey guys, the sun is shining, it's a beautiful day and I'm about to get a coffee, kick my feet up and enjoy the sun out front...... why are you laughing....."

and this random dude walked by and said "shaner, dude, I think there's a bear in your coffee shop".

Jennie's morning. All before 10am.

sqwitter

in sonoma. rode 2hrs+ yesterday with a couple solid pieces but all and all fairly easy. swam 4000y at the healthquest "resort", main set 600 fast, 4x300 fast, 6x100 on 1:05 (love yards....). ran 50mins before dinner. Pretty spectacular run actually, nothing quite like running alone on a dirt trail up a solid hill overlooking a very green valley with "hey rosetta" on the ipod. good times.

today we're headed up cavedale and down trinity climbs, a run off the bike and a swim on the way to the airport.


oh and I watched a bit of the NFL draft and learned some new strength training secrets...

sqwitter

in Sonoma with the gold medal plates group. Fun ride yesterday with Kwaz, McNoughton and Jordan. Took the group for 90mins this morning up to a fun loop. Chris Lieto came down in his awesome BASE nutrition mobile, great great guy, really interesting to chat with and most impressive was seeing him with the riders chatting away and giving of his time and energy, really appreciated.

double ride day today.... 90mins easy, and 90mins easy with an easy run tonight, we do our best on this trip to train but it's hard (and the food is soooo good - French Laundry restaurant....).

Missing Pippa and Jennie, home sunday night and off to Korea on tuesday at noon but they meet me in Florence on the 7th of may so I'll survive. Florence with the family..... it's hard.

time to nap.

S

run fast Reid (stolen from www.runnersweb.com)

Reid Coolsaet will make his long awaited return to competitive running Sunday at the Billy Taylor 15k in Guelph, Ontario. Coolsaet has missed the last year with two major injuries the first of which, a nerve injury, forced him to miss the 2008 Olympic Games and the most recent a fractured foot, caused him to miss the 2008 AGSI Canadian Cross Country Championships. The four time Canadian 5000 Meter Champion will use the race as a tune up for his marathon debut which will take place May 24th in Ottawa at the Ottawa Marathon. The Ottawa Marathon will serve as the selection race for the Canadian team at the 2009 Berlin World Championships. Coolsaet posted a few comments about his decision on his blog.

Why run a marathon?

RC: My cross-training volume has been high since the beginning of the year and that type of training is physiologically closer to Marathon training than 5000m training. Also, my tempo runs and longer intervals are at a higher level relative to my track workouts right now.

The standard for the marathon to make the World Championships (2hours 18 minutes) is easier relative to the track times (13:20 for 5km and 27:47 for 10km). The reality is that I've never run a marathon before, so although it is theoretically easier there will not be anything easy about it.

I have been interested in running a marathon for the past couple of years and with the possibility of Canada sending a full marathon team this year to Worlds it seems like a good time to take a crack at it. Even if it doesn't go well I know the training and experience will help me down the road in later marathons.

Why not just train until June and by then your track times should be better?

RC: I've never had a layoff as big as I have in this past year, so either way there are going to be some unknown variables. It's also still possible to run fast on the track come July if I run the marathon on May 24th (the last day to qualify for the World Championships on the track is July 26th).

Did you decide to run a marathon after watching Boston on Monday?

RC: No, I had been thinking of this for a while but I didn't think Dave (Scott-Thomas, Coolsaet's Coach) was going to go for it so I didn't mention it. It turns out Dave had been thinking about it as well when looking over my training and when he brought it up a couple of weeks ago I was all over it. I just needed to make sure I could handle the longer stuff and then commit before I bothered telling people.

Why do a marathon so soon?

RC: The last day to qualify for the 2009 World Championships is May 24th in the marathon. Waiting until later is not an option for the marathon.

Why run a marathon when you won't have the optimal preparation?

RC: In an ideal world I would of had a longer training block for the marathon however, I am also not trying to run as fast as I would with an ideal build-up. My 5000m and 10 000m times rank me in the top 4 in the All-Time Canadian rankings, to break into the top four for the marathon I would have to run 2:11:15. I'm not aiming to go that fast on this outing.

What are some of the challenges you will face in running the marathon?

RC: The first of course is 42.2km. I've never run that long. So far I have a 35km run under my belt and with 4.5 weeks remaining I'll have one more long effort this weekend.

Figuring out what to drink and eat during the event and practicing taking it in while running 3:12/km. Thankfully, Dr. Trent Stellingwerff has been advising me on what to take and when to take it. I'll practice taking in fuel on the run this weekend at the Billy Taylor road race. I've also been practicing, a little, already with gels and water bottles.

I'm going to have to get used to running on pavement. So far the majority of my mileage has been on soft surfaces. I'll have to train more on the roads to get my legs used to the impact.

Reid Coolsaet's Bio

Hometown: Hamilton, ON
Birthdate: July 29, 1979
University: University of Guelph '03
Coach: Dave Scott-Thomas
Agent: Chris Layne

Personal Bests:
1500m - 3:40.38
3000m - 7:53.51i
5000m - 13:21.53
10 000m - 27:56.92

Best placing at Canadian Championships:
2000 - 6th 3000m S/C
2001 - 4th 5000m
2002 - 4th 5000m, 4th 1500m
2003 - 2nd 5000m, 4th 1500m, 2nd Cross Country
2004 - 1st 5000m, 3rd Cross Country
2005 - 1st 5000m, 5th Cross Country
2006 - 1st 5000m, 2nd Cross Country
2007 - 1st 5000m, 1st Cross Country

From:
Chris Moulton
Director of Communications
Speed River Track and Field

Our sport has some great stories, this is one of them.

Seeing Beyond

visually impaired ironman speaks
on leadership and life
triathlon training

Matt Brown is a Vancouver
executive, husband, father of two beautiful girls and avid
yet amateur (very amateur) triathlete. Matt is currently
training for the 2009 Ironman Canada Triathlon.
What makes Matt’s attempt unique is that he is legally
blind as a result of a rare visual impairment called
Achromatopsia. Matt is using his journey to the Ironman
finish line to launch Seeing Beyond, a charitable campaign
aimed at raising awareness and $140,000 ($1,000 for
every mile of Ironman) for CNIB – an organization that
has helped Matt and thousands of others See Beyond
life’s limitations.

A professional and dynamic speaker
Matt Brown is currently sharing his story with the younger
generation at schools as well as to professionals in the
Lower Mainland in exchange for donations to the CNIB. In tough economic
times, it is easy to cut the seemingly “unnecessary” spend toward employee
engagement. Matt would like to share his story with your organization about true leadership as a husband, father, executive and athlete with extremely limited vision. From being struck by
a car to global business travel, Matt has heart-wrenching, emotional and
hilarious stories that are guaranteed to motivate and inspire your audience!
learn more |

If you are interested in learning more
about the cause, the athlete or ways to get involved,

please
check out www.seeingbeyond.ca or contact the team at
seeingbeyondteam@gmail.com

sqwitter

training is going well. easy easy day today after a big weekend of intervals. set up the new Cervelo R3 then rode 3hr on saturday w/1hr of suffering intervals + 10min run@race pace off the bike, played at the park in the afternoon. Sunday 2(20mins LT bike / 12mins race pace run) and a 4k swim. doesn't look like much when I write it but it all hurt.

Go CANUCKS!!!!

I just heard this on the radio. Brilliant.

In the wake of the current BC election propaganda campaigns, this is priceless (by the way it's John Clark and he's "taking the piss").


speaking of funny.

from Kirstens recent blog.

"First off I would sincerely like to thank the Easter bunny for his role in the return of my strength. Very much appreciated. Sorry you and your young had to be sacrificed in the process. ;)"

these guys are just so dedicated and focused on winning.....

that they aren't even going to go out partying during the playoffs.

wow, they are taking it to a whole new level, what focus, what dedication, what commitment.

"guys this is the playoffs, you get paid millions of dollars to win basketball games so try and get to bed before 3:30am between games".......

from www.espn.com

Wade, Haslem declare 'no-go-out policy'

Comment Email Print Share

Associated Press

MIAMI -- In preparing for a 4½-day trip to Atlanta, the Miami Heat charter flight was loaded Saturday with luggage, uniforms, sneakers, tape and all the things players will want and need heading into the first two games of their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Party attire was optional, and highly discouraged.

Ask any player which NBA cities are the most fun to visit, and Atlanta quickly comes up. The scene, the nightlife, it's a tantalizing combination.

And this week, it's forbidden to Heat players.

Not by decree of the coaches -- but by captains Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem.

"I think it's the best leadership and the strongest leadership that these guys have shown here in a Heat uniform," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's the most powerful. We've talked about it all the time as a staff. Sometimes that can fall on, you know, not deaf ears, but when your veteran guys and your captains say that, I think that's a beautiful thing."

Wade and Haslem are the only rotation players left from Miami's 2006 NBA championship team. They endured a playoff sweep in 2007 and the free fall to the NBA basement last season, so this year's postseason opportunity is particularly meaningful to them both.

So they decided long before the playoff matchup with Atlanta was known that wherever they were heading, a "no-go-out policy" would be in effect.

"The veteran guys before us, when we came in to the league like Brian Grant, Eddie Jones, that's what they believed in," said Wade, referring to two former Heat captains. "So this is the core of what we know. This is focus time. This isn't play time. Play time is the summer. You can do what you want in the regular season, too. Not now. We're the leaders, so we're just going from what we know."

Teammates didn't mind.

Wade is the NBA's scoring champion, and Haslem is considered by most as the hardest-playing guy in the Heat locker room.

What they say goes.

"They're our leaders," rookie point guard Mario Chalmers said. "They've been setting an example for us young guys all year long and that's what got us to where we are now."

The decision wasn't borne from some unsavory incident, nor has this Heat team given off a vibe that they're taking the playoffs less than seriously. Haslem said it's a move just to reaffirm how much the postseason means.

Players won't be locked in their hotels, either. Going to dinner, relaxing a bit, that's all acceptable.

Late nights and carousing -- even though there are two full off days between Sunday's Game 1 and Wednesday's Game 2 -- won't be tolerated, Haslem said.

"Some guys will even have their family around," Haslem said. "Basically, we're going on a business trip."

Violators, Haslem warned, may face fines.

"It's not really a curfew," Haslem said. "But we've got eyes everywhere."

The Heat have seen many times before what late nights in a party scene can do to a team.

Miami has what's known around the league as the "South Beach Factor." The lure of Miami Beach is tough for some players visiting South Florida to ignore, and a late night in a club -- whether imbibing or not -- is sometimes tough to overcome when playing basketball the next day.

Atlanta's the same way, Haslem said. He spent time there hanging out last summer, enjoying the scene.

But not this week, he insists.

"The No. 1 focus right now is to take care of business," Haslem said.

Rob FOUGERE reports into sqwracing with photos from his adventures in Europe.

(from Rob).
The story is as follows:

On April 3rd, 2009 three friends set off to bicycle heaven - Belgium. Former domestic US professional cyclist turned professor Christopher Ahern was celebrating his 39th birthday by riding the Ronde Van Vlaaderen and brought with him Koen Raedschelders, and former Victoria triathlete turned student/photographer, Robert Fougere.

We completed the 260 kms of Ronde, an epic ride of cobbles and climbs, and spent the remainder of our one week holidays by watching the pro's race and by touring Belgium; visiting relatives and enjoying European cafe culture! The adventure was capped by watching crowd favourite Tom Boonen win his third Paris-Roubaix from seats 100 meters from the finish in the velodrome.

Photos were taken on a 1956 Rolleicord TLR film camera and large size prints are available.

Contact robfou@gmail.com.

I got a "have a great ride" kiss today and while I was out Pippa showed off her Sable goggles.

Mr. Hall

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid416421194?bctid=19531259001

mediaone and Ryder present

Montepaschi Eroica - Behind the Scenes with GARMIN Slipstream from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

Our Olympic Chef Cosmo just goes for it!

New age grocery store takes chance in tough neighborhood

Meens hopes to add new life to community

By Richard Watts, Times ColonistApril 14, 2009 8:50

A new-age grocery store specializing in locally grown produce is opening on Pandora Avenue in a block notorious for junkies and shopping-cart hoboes.

Scheduled to open in June, the store called Village Family Marketplace is undergoing renovation and reconstruction at 920 Pandora Ave. which is a storefront formerly occupied by a house painting business.

It's located across the street from Our Place, 919 Pandora Ave., a drop-in centre offering free meals and some shelter to the city's street people.

But store owner, Cosmo Meens isn't put out in the least by what is happening outside his door. "I'm not afraid of that scene."

Meens said his new store is all about buying the right food for all the right reasons: A healthy body, a healthy community, a healthy economy and healthy agriculture. "What I have to offer is consciousness through food."

The food will be locally grown and organic and even the prepared deli items will feature ingredients that can be traced to local sources.

Customers will know their money is going back to local farmers and local businesses operating in a downtown locale.

For Meens, the store is about community and connectedness and that includes the neighbourhood with its street people.

He notes too many people say they want social services and social programs but flinch when they are offered up in their backyard. "Well, I want all those things and I'm OK with having them in my backyard.

"I know I'm taking a risk on the location," said Meens. "But what I am really doing is calling the community out."

Meens, a 30-year-old father of two who started working in restaurants at the age of 12 as a dishwasher, is no stranger to opening up businesses in tough neighbourhoods.

About five years ago, he opened Mo:Le Restaurant, specializing in local food, just down the road, at 554 Pandora Ave. It was an area about which he was cautioned because of the drug-fueled street life. Last year, right next door at 556 Pandora Ave., Meens opened Cafe Bliss, specializing in raw, vegan, organic cuisine.

Both have proven successful not only as businesses but also as part of a rejuvenating streetlife.

Meens' willingness to invest himself, his business know-how and money in Victoria's downtown is already winning him notice and support at city hall.

Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe said she was delighted when she heard of the new store opening up in that particular block of Pandora.

She said the new business will complement the nearby deli on the same block and thought it would help create "a good mix" in an area known for its social services.

"I welcome it, I think it's great," she said. "I'm definitely looking forward to going in there.

"Hopefully, it will generate more openings."

rwatts@tc.canwest.com

my favorite post race game of all time

Jennie just reminded me of my favorite race of all time. Well, not my favorite race but my favorite memory so far that wasn't actually a race but involved the antics we got up to after wards.

"A hotel" in Toronto, down on the waterfront. Hamish Carter, Lance Watson, Aaron something (Jills husband) and I playing flubber hockey in the hallway for 2hrs then "greatest catch" in Hamish and my room until hotel security came along and asked if they could play.

Flubber hockey involves hucking a gelatin climbing gripper down the hall and past the opponent. A flubber puck is, of course, an oddly shaped handle that you were supposed to use to strengthen your grip but in this case it's odd shape provided the perfect unpredictable bounce to trick the goalie. Whipped, nay, hucked at terminal velocity down the hall and bouncing off the walls and floors it provides for hrs of laughter, excitement and a champion

We started with a round robin tourney, a scheduled "home" and "away" series between each player, because one end of the hallway was different then the other.

Aaron was eliminated pretty early as his hands seemed to be broken and his face could only take so much gelatin pounding. After a heated 1 vs 2, loser plays winner of 3 v 4, who plays winner of 1 v 2....... I beat Lance and secured my place in awesome superdom. Hamish was eliminated on a "great googly" toss by Coach Lance in the semi; a perfect balance of speed, bounce and spin that left the kiwi speechless and sheepish (get it, the Kiwi is "sheep"ish...... ha)........

from there we went to Hamishs room and set up two mattresses and a chair. The object was to perform the "GREATEST CATCH" of the flubber puck. This involved sprinting from down the hall, into the room, bouncing off the one mattress, clearing the chair and catching the flubber puck before crashing onto the other mattress. If I recall correctly and I'm sure I do, Aaron won this round when he slammed into the far wall head first with the puck jammed into his armpit. He didn't move for a bit, even as Lance dashed across the room yelling "that was soooo awesome!!!!!" and collided into his corpse. Eventually Aaron struggled to his feet to find his audience rolling around on the floor laughing, Lance tending to a stumbled toe and mr. security guard at the door clapping and saying "got next"..........

the greatest post race game ever.

So as for training.

a good weekend marked by todays effort on the trainer/treadmill that finally gave me an indication that the hard work is paying off.

25mins wu on trainer.
20mins solid at 90-95 cad.
5mins easy
3x3mins with 2mins rest very solid.
5mins easy
10mins moderately solid

straight onto the treadmill

1min jog (to get woody up to speed)
4x5mins at race pace with 2mins rest
3x3mins at faster then race pace with 90sec rest.
wd.
followed by a 4.5km recovery swim and ROCK BAND with Pippa on our bed, in which she ROCKED OUT to the White Stripes and smeared chocolate all over the place (from her moms chocolate cookie).

Just had Easter dinner featuring the Great Lake Swimmers and a nice Slipstream beer.

Blog, Norma, and bath time.

S

quiz show

I love the online ticket services, I really do, but sometimes they come up with some options I just don't need to see.

for instance.

which flight would you take if you wanted to get from ROME to FLORENCE (a one hour flight), leaving after 9pm.....

for $221 usd would you take?

Leave		Alitalia 1681
	Depart: 9:25pm Arrive: 10:25pm	Rome, Italy (FCO) Florence, Italy (FLR)

Non-stop

• Economy
• 1hr 0min
• Airbus A319

OR

for $863usd would you take?

Leave		Air One 5408
	Depart: 9:30pm Arrive: 10:30pm	Rome, Italy (FCO) Alghero, Italy (AHO)

3 stops

• Economy
• 1hr 0min
• Airbus A320

Change planes. Time between flights: 7hr 35min

		Air One 5522
	Depart: 6:05am Arrive: 7:15am	Alghero, Italy (AHO) Turin, Italy (TRN)

• Economy
• 1hr 10min
• Boeing 737

Change Airline. Time between flights: 2hr 40min

		Meridiana 194
	Depart: 9:55am Arrive: 11:40am	Turin, Italy (TRN) Catania, Italy (CTA)

• Economy
• 1hr 45min
• Boeing Douglas MD-80

Change planes. Time between flights: 4hr 5min

		Meridiana 3492
	Depart: 3:45pm Arrive: 5:20pm	Catania, Italy (CTA) Florence, Italy (FLR)

• Economy
• 1hr 35min
• Airbus A319

Total duration: 19hr 50min

This is an overnight flight.

hmmmm

sqwitter (lazy posting continues).

watching the world curling champs, the best, Kevin Martin is bad ass. The Scots have the coolest accents

"Iey runi in cross da er".

good day training, yesterday was solid so today was a little lighter with a recovery afternoon, my version of a "sleep in". swam 5k with 10x100 and 8x200, ran 75mins nice and easy right after swimming, massage with SUPER Kim (90min sleep), coffee with PK and Jennie, sat on the porch with Jennie watching PK run around the yard, talked with Hasi and now the curling, which is great.

yesterdays solid consisted of 5km swim, 2hr ride with 2x30mins at threshold and a hard tready session off the bike.

oh the curling is getting good.

Kevin Martin just called a "time out" he's got his finger on his chin (his thinking stance), they can "draw around the situation" "but it might go bang bang bang" "we do here and all he has to do is blast that" "he can blast all he wants at the first one" "wanna give him one" "its a long guard on the two" "he'd love to get another stone in there which makes it hard to get another stone in the 4 foot" "yes"

back to the curling.

"the situation in the house isn't bad but there's an awful lot of yellow rocks"

ok then.

sqwitter

I'm absolutely blown away by how amazing the new GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS album is.

Outstanding.

Not to mention the HEY ROSETTA, which is inspiring music to run too.

a great choice.

TRIATHLON CANADA NAMES PHILIPPE BERTRAND AS NEW SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM COACH

—Bertrand to implement intensive four-year plan focused on winning Olympic medals—

TORONTO—Canada’s high-performance triathletes received a boost of support in their quest for the international podium. Philippe Bertrand has been promoted to head coach of the Senior National Team, Triathlon Canada announced on Thursday.

Bertrand, who helped lead Simon Whitfield to his electrifying silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing as an assistant coach, brings a wealth of international experience and knowledge to his new role. The 35-year-old Bertrand has worked his way through the Canadian triathlon system over the last 15 years as a national-team athlete, and has coached actively at the provincial, national and international levels since 1998.

“This is a great opportunity to have a Canadian system in Canadian hands,” said Kurt Innes, director, high-performance, Triathlon Canada. “Philippe is a workhorse, and played a key role in the final preparations of our medal-winning team last summer in Beijing. He has a proven track record at all levels, and we are extremely excited to have him onboard to help lead Canadian triathletes to more podium finishes in the near future.”

Bertrand’s record of success also includes leading young Canadian triathletes to world-leading performances at major international events including: Olympics; World Cups; Junior and Under-23 World Championships; and Pan American Games.

“This is truly a dream come true for me to join a strong coaching and technical support team that will lead a group of world-leading athletes,” said Bertrand. “I am determined to create an intensive athlete-centred plan that will fully prepare Canadian triathletes with the opportunity to win. We have lots of work to do and I am excited for the challenge ahead.”

The Quebec-based Bertand replaces Joel Filliol who stepped down from the head coaching position this winter to pursue a new coaching opportunity in Great Britain.

“I gained a great deal of experience as an assistant to Joel, and from being on the inside with the team in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics that I will carry with me into this new position,” said Bertrand. “We have an exciting team that combines veteran leadership and youthful energy, and that is very exciting. Together, we are going to work hard, follow the plan and ultimately win more medals for Canada.”

Bertrand has been extremely successful in creating a long-term athlete development model for young athletes in his Quebec-based Tri-O-Lacs Club, which he founded in 2001 and is now one of the largest in the country. As head coach, Bertrand drives the Board and manages eight assistant coaches. Growing the club to 160 athletes since its inception – many have advanced through his long-term development plan, and are successfully competing on national and provincial junior teams, including Montreal’s Kathy Tremblay who made her Olympic debut in 2008.

Tremblay and her senior squad teammates will join Bertrand for his first World Cup event on April 20 in Tongyeong, Korea. Other members of Triathlon Canada’s 2009 Team Teck Senior National group includes: Victoria’s Simon Whitfield; Edmonton’s Paul Tichelaar; Victoria’s Brent McMahon; and Kyle Jones, of Oakville, Ont. on the men’s team. Kathy Tremblay will be joined by Vancouver’s Lauren Groves and Victoria’s Kirsten Sweetland in women’s racing.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.

*****

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

Triathlon Canada

T: 281-703-4394

Dave Grant and his Olympic ring

back in the early 70's a young runner named Dave Grant decided to dedicate himself to making the Olympics, he trained and trained, he dedicated himself everyday to excellence and to remind himself of his goal, to hold himself to it, he had an Olympic ring made. Now I'm not sure if he wore that ring everyday on every run or if he kept it on the mantle to welcome him home from runs in the snow or to provide a needed nudge out the door to get a key hard session done but that ring served as a symbol to make sure he worked as hard as possible and did everything he could to run faster, every day.

Dave (who I used to call Mr. Grant) had the dedication but he felt at the end of the day he simply didn't have the talent and his Olympic dream feel short. A journey he was glad he took, because to him the goal was to give it everything he had, to make the sacrifices and see where it took him. He didn't make the Olympics but he did however go on to be a terrific high school running coach who led Frontenac high in Kingston Ontario to numerous championships, some times at the expense of my high school Kingston Collegiate (KCVI). I recall Mr. Grant ran a great program and when I was in grade 10 a good friend and rival named Mika Mcgowan ran 1:52 for 800 (if my memory serves me correctly) and Mr. Grant was his proud coach. I remember Kris Carrier, Scotty Holland and I wondering how we could ever out kick Mika and our dedicated coach Yelda Medima was likely thinking the same.

I left Kingston in 1992 to attend Knox Grammar school in Sydney Australia. I ran for my dads alma mater, broke some school records on the grass track in front of the school and managed to win the city champs in both the 1500 (4:00.1) and the 3000 (I can't remember) yet I never forgot the great rivalry between Frontenac and KC, between Yelda and Dave, and the fact that I never did outkick Mika.

Honestly I hadn't thought about Frontenac or Dave Grant in years. I haven't been back to K-town in awhile, although I have spoken to Yelda live ON AIR during a CBC call in show (I knew that voice as soon as I heard it).

Which brings me back to the ring.

In January I was back in Toronto for a speech and as my mom tends to she took the early bus from Kingston just for a hug and quick hello. And she brought with her a small package, which she sheepishly admitted to having forgotten to give me when I was out in November. The package contained a note and a small box, the note was from Dave Grant who shared with me the story of his own Olympic dreams and journey. The box contained his Olympic ring, the symbol of his dedication to excellence, his nudge out the door and although he didn't quite make it, it wasn't for lack of commitment and it wasn't for a lack of dreaming.

I've been to three Olympics and although I've always thought about getting a ring I've just never managed to get my finger sized and now I don't have to.

Jennie noticed the ring today sitting on our mantle, I put it there to remind me to get out the door and she asked where I got it (I was sure I told her). When I told her the story I realized I hadnt been able to connect with Dave to thank him.

So thanks for the ring Mr. Grant, the story of your dedication and the rivalry. And just so you know, that image of Mika at speed is burned into my memory. He was tall wasn't he, just like that German guy......

S

sqwitter

back home, finally. traveled from 5am to 8pm Tucson to Edmonton, ate while trying to watch the final 4 but some dude sat down right in front of the tv, slept, woke up early for appearance at Goldstar plant. Met some great people, zipped off to airport, waited, flew, waited, flew, waited. arg. finally home. Played with Pippa and got some jobs done before a brief tready run in front of sports center.

tomorrow is a bit of a lighter day then it's back at it.

cant wait.

S

in transit (I was looking over Jones shoulder and stole his blog header)

I'm sitting around the corner from Jones and Groves in the Admirals club, which in this case just means "seats in a different area behind a door, a long hall and a counter with crumpy staff"..... some free apples tossed in and this is the life!!! :) all good.

Camp is done and done. As Lochey V. used to say, "log it". All and all a good camp. We got the work done, I stumbled a bit with an annoying right leg that didn't seem to want to cooperate at times but at the end of the day I got 90% of the work done and we'll build from here.

The squad was great, Lauren and Kyle did a great job, Philippe was superb as "coach in charge".

The RTC gang did a good job.

S

Great job Brent! edit AND KIRSTEN WINS AGAIN in New Plymouth

New Orleans 70.3 results.



ATHLETE RANK AGE/DIV SWIM BIKE RUN TOTAL
1 MCMAHON, BRENT 7/3/1 29/M PRO 00:25:27 02:06:19 01:17:14 03:52:08
2 MCCORMACK, CHRIS 9/2/2 34/M PRO 00:25:46 02:05:04 01:21:00 03:54:33
3 O'DONNELL, TIMOTHY 3/10/3 29/M PRO 00:24:53 02:11:37 01:15:45 03:55:08
4 VAN LIERDE, LUC 1/6/4 40/M PRO 00:24:21 02:10:14 01:18:32 03:57:13
5 HOFFMAN, BEN 18/5/5 26/M PRO 00:27:17 02:06:43 01:20:47 03:57:42
6 MARSH, BRANDON 5/7/6 35/M PRO 00:25:17 02:09:41 01:22:08 04:00:13
7 FLEISCHMANN, BRIAN 2/12/7 31/M PRO 00:24:52 02:12:59 01:19:48 04:00:55
8 DEVRIENDT, DENNIS 10/9/8 27/M PRO 00:25:46 02:10:37 01:23:52 04:03:03
9 PARK, JUSTIN 17/14/9 29/M PRO 00:27:08 02:12:27 01:20:58 04:03:41
10 FAURE, HERVE 20/16/10 33/M PRO 00:28:16 02:12:01 01:21:00 04:04:13

ITU Continental Cup

New Plymouth

Elite Women

1 Kirsten Sweetland CAN 2:02:22

2 Nicky Samuels NZL 2:03:50

3 Kiyomi Niwata JPN 2:04:37

4 Andrea Hewitt NZL 2:05:54

5` Misato Takagi JPN 2:06:39

pics from yesterdays ride

sqwitter (lazy posting continues).

training is going well, being back running is brilliant. Sore the first couple days back after missing 10days but we're rolling now. 3x10mins off the bike on wednesday felt uncoordinated but still managed to run well. did a bike fit "check up" with coach Nick and Gord Fraser (Canadian cycling legend). Really impressed with the subtle things they noticed, I've been riding in a "road" position for the last 12weeks and switched to my "ITU" position at the beginning of the week. Some tweeking was necessary to move from the one position to the other. I made a rookie mistake this winter when I moved my cleats (and Q factor) out to accommodate my thick cycling booties (they were rubbing on the crank arm), I forgot to move them back in now that I'm sans bootie so this was the first thing they changed. Gord hooked me up with Bill Peterson of Foot Fitness here in Tucson, Bill spent 2hrs with me looking at my feet and cycling shoes, he then walked back into the shop and made a pair of orthotics 24hrs later, I'll test them out today. Bill started esoles but has since returned to just doing his own thing, with an infectious passion for cycling and triathlon.

we're off to Mt. Lemmonaide today, some intervals followed by steady climbing. Mrs. McGlone is joining us, it's always great to catch up with red head. After noon run to prep for tomorrow's track workout and we roll along.

hanging with the Manitoba crew

Punish the men behind the curtain pulling the strings. Jail?

from www.thestar.ca sports section.

Jeanson's Coach and Doctor Banned for Life by CCES

The coach and doctor who aided former Canadian cycling star Genevieve Jeanson in doping received lifetime bans today from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

Canada's Genevieve Jeanson is shown in junior women's time trial at the World Cycling Championships in Treviso, Italy, on Oct. 4, 1999.

Coach Andre Aubut, a highly controversial figure even before Jeanson tested positive, has been barred from coaching for life, and Dr. Maurice Duquette has also been suspended from being involved in sport for life.

The CCES also sanctioned Jeanson for her on-air admission in a Radio Canada interview to using EPO, but because of her assistance in establishing the doping infractions against her coach and doctor reduced her lifetime ban to 10 years, along with permanent ineligibility for federal funding. Jeanson has indicated she has no intention of resuming her once bright cycling career.

The CCES investigation found that Aubut directly administered EPO to Jeanson and also encouraged her to use the blood banned booster.

After Aubut excercised his right for a hearing, the arbitrator in the case found Aubut guilty of the charge and that he directly administered the drug to Jeanson and “aided, abetted and assisted in the administration of prohibited substances to Ms. Jeanson, also during the time that he was her coach.”

‘’We expected this was the type of suspensions the CCES would be handing out and we fully agree with it,’’ said John Tolkamp, president of the Canadian Cycling Association, in a statement. ‘’The CCA and FQSC are united in the fight against doping. Our organizations will be investigating any additional sanctions and will be reviewing the results and titles Ms Jeanson has been awarded.

‘’We are happy to see this resolved so that we can move on to pro-actively supporting our athletes who are committed to drug free sport.’’

This is the first time for Canada and for the anti-doping code that a coach and support personnel are sanctioned.

“The actions taken against Jeanson’s coach and physician outline the fact that athletes don’t act alone most of the time,” said Louis Barbeau, director general of the Quebec federation, in a statement. “It is important to punish, when possible, all the people involved in these situations.”

Because Jeanson started using the substance at 16, Barbeau added that parents should remain involved and be cautious, especially when the athletes are minors.

“Parents should ask for certified coaches, and ask the coach’s motivation and objectives with their children, to ensure that what is done is appropriate,” he said

Tolkamp said the actions by Jeanson, Aubut and Duquette have caused irreparable damages.

‘’This is a tragic case but in cheating, Ms. Jeanson, her coach and physician have also affected the cycling careers of other national team athletes,’’ said Tolkamp. ‘’They were denied funding opportunities, spots on national teams and positions at the world championships and Olympic Games.’’

Jeanson, 27, was among Canada’s top road racers for several years earning double gold at the 1999 world junior championships and winning World Cup, Tour and national titles at the senior level. She placed 11th at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

-- Louis Daignault of Canadian Sport News contributed significantly to this report