Our whole house sick sick sick with the flu yet my wonderful wife still somehow remains beautiful.

how about a TIME BUDGET.

(I went to bed last night and realized I wrote this from a completely male perspective, which is a very.... male thing to do. I  must admit, I simply don't know what the time standards are for the women but obviously the same concept could be used for the smarter sex)


We had an interesting discussion on standards during this mornings long run.


Most federations, I assume, have standards. These standards are used for talent ID, for race entry and in some cases directly for funding. 

Remember the following "time budget" is about talent ID and race entry, it's not about who can go head to head with Jonathan Brownlee tomorrow.


From what I understand and correct me if Im wrong on any detail in this blog post, most federations don't do a cycling standard for ITU racing. Although I'm sure there are lab geeks out there with V02 test results done on the bike and this is possibly given some weight.


Either way, how about this.


start with swim and run and have a "time budget".


18mins and 00 seconds,


a 750meter swim (short course pool, 1 person per lane).


a 3000meter run on the track.


tests done separately but must be done within 3 weeks of each other.


FOR EXAMPLE, if you swim 9:00 for 750meters, you'll need to run 9:00 for 3000 meters, 9mins+9mins = 18:00


a fast swimmer who swam 8:15 would only need to run 9:45 for 3000meters. a weak swimmer swims 9:30 better be a good runner and bang out a 8:30/3000m. for talent ID purposes I'd want both of those athletes in the system.


athletes would be simply ranked within a country by total time and everyone would need a moderately easy to achieve bike standard. Lets be honest, cycling is the easiest to improve and the least important, one sport has to be, just is what it is. [back in the day, before draft legal racing, you could be a weak swimmer and still compete, now you can be fairly weak on the bike but you'd better have that swim/run nailed].


When the "budget" has been met the athletes do a standardized bike test done to confirm their "rank". It's done as a set watts per kilo (watts/kg) for a 30min TT on a calibrated power meter. OR a gps file w/HR, spd and cadence done on an out and back 20km TT course, say 33mins? for 20km out and back? Remember this is talent ID and race entry. Standards are usually done in the winter as athletes prepare for races. note; a 68kilo rider holds 300 watts for 30mins is riding at 4.41watts/perKG. Is 4watts/kg for 30mins (275watts for a 150lbs rider) fair? 3.8 watts/kg?


right now with our federation the athletes don't have to do a bike standard and they can do the swim/run tests within a calendar year (correct me if I'm wrong).


the standard for World Cup entry is;


800meter swim; 9:36


5000meter run; 15:40


in "time budget" terms that's 9:36+15:40 = 25:16 (prorated to 750m/3000m that's 9:00 + 9:24 = 18:24 budget... bit loose that, especially considering there's no bike standard and they can be done 6 months apart...).


so where are the gaps?


right now this scenario exists,


athlete A swims 9:35 and runs 15:39, he's neither a very good swimmer or a very good runner but technically he has 2 standards, off to the races he goes (and gets crushed.....).


athlete B swims 8:40 but runs 15:41, he's a far superior swimmer and basically the same runner as athlete A. but he only has 1 standard and athlete A goes to the races while athlete B sits at home.


in a "time budget" scenerio,


athlete A - 9:35+15:39 = 25:14
athlete B - 8:40+15:41 = 24:21


which athlete would you rather have at a world cup? who should be "ranked" higher, who is a better talent?


in an 18min time budget, when that "budget" is met then the athlete needs to perform a 3.8watts/kg? 30min TT or equivalent 20km TT (for those without access to a power meter the federation ships a gps with hr/cadence monitor).


Athletes are ranked by the national office in order and entered into WC's/WCS races according to ranking, standards must be met within 8 weeks? 6 weeks? of the race an athlete wishes to enter, with a cut of date dictated by the entry cut off date set by the ITU.


athletes need to "prove" fitness at least once per year, athletes can improve their ranking simply by.... redo'ing the standard (can keep their best time?).


how about that? what am I missing?


Simon


* if anyone thinks this is about them, it's not, it's just me "thinking outloud"and it's really not a criticism of TRICAN as it's very easy to sit on the outside and piss inwards.


* the ?'s are there because I can admit I don't know the answers, this is simply a suggestion, a "would this work" scenario.


* if the math is off I only have a high school diploma and likely some sort of learning disability considering, how many, comma's I use (and brackets).


oh and I don't know what I would have done when I was 21 (IN 1996!!!!) for 800/5000, maybe 9:35 and 14:35 in peak fitness (or a "TIME BUDGET" of..... 8:59 and 8:20-:25 (i was fast but not very strong) ranking me at 17:25ish.

the lost files - the good yards (Maui 2011)

My youngest daughter Evelyn was having one of these days today.

which is what most of last week was for me.

Lets make this a better week ok. ok?

Freddies videos are so much better then mine. (and what a novel idea, the young guys and the vets train together.....)

Times Colonist 10km, get out there and do it!!!

"get off your ass and do it" - Pat Tillman/Jake Plummer

from; http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=YOU+HAVE+TO+WONDER+WHY+A+RED-BLOODED+-+02.14.11+-+SI+Vault&urlID=446423022&action=cpt&partnerID=289881&fb=Y&url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181772/index.htm

The link is to a really interesting article about Jake Plummer, an NFL star quarterback who walked away from it all (from $5million a year). It's a great read.

Below is the paragraph that really stood out to me.

-

In April 2004 Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Two weeks later, at the funeral, Jake walked to the podium wearing a suit and, in honor of his friend, flip-flops. He had been mulling what to say for weeks, and though at the time he meant the words as a testimonial to his friend, in hindsight they hinted at the path Plummer would choose. "I was in the store the other day and I saw PEOPLE magazine, and it had the cover of the 50 most beautiful people in the world, or America, and there was a picture of Pat," Plummer said. "It was kind of ironic because I really looked and said, What is beauty? Is beauty a pretty face, a nice smile, flowing hair, nice skin? Not to me, it's not. To me beauty is living life to higher standards, stronger morals and ethics and believing in them, whether people tell you you're right or wrong. Beauty is not wasting a day. Beauty is noticing life's little intricacies and taking time out of your busy day to really enjoy those little intricacies. Beauty is being real, being genuine, being pure with no facade—what you see is what you get. Beauty is expanding your mind, always seeking knowledge, not being content, always going after something and challenging yourself."

In closing, Plummer said, "I believe that to really honor Pat, we should all challenge ourselves. No more I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. Do it. As Pat would say, probably, 'Get off your ass and do it.' Why, you ask, should we honor him this way? Because that's what Pat did his whole life."

-

I'm going to sit back, listen to "tallest man on earth" and think about the challenges ahead.

Exciting new facility in Downtown Oakville Ontario (that's in Canada, to the left of Toronto).

Hiperformance Fitness Facility is located in the heart of Downtown Oakville, Ontario. The fitness facility is all functional all the time, meaning you have to use every part of your body when working out and not just stay on the sagittal plan, which most gyms keep you at;)  Designer of this studio is Tyler Lord, who has a 10 year back ground in fitness and is currently racing professional in half and full Ironman events. 

Hiperformance has all commercial grade equipment from TRX, Kettlebell, Free Weights, ropes, treadmill bikes and Muay Thai.

Tyler is so happy with how it turned out and how high end the facility is. He didn't skimp out on any part of the gym and has hired only the most qualified trainers for this private studio. 

Tyler's main goal with this facility is really to expand personal training and group training to a wider spectrum. He believes in keeping the cost reasonable to allow people to train and gain the benefits of a personal trainer. Tyler is currently offering special pricing right now to anyone who says they saw this on Simon Whitfield's Blog. (i should have organized a kick back!!!)

Please contact Tyler at tyler_hiperformance@hotmail.com, there is a trainer waiting for you and your fitness needs;) WEBSITE:  www.tylerlord.com

Tyler Lord
Hiperformance Personal Training Studios Inc.Strength and Conditioning Specialist 

Canadian Triathlete/Coach
(ISSA), (ADV-CPT), (SCS), (CPR/AED)

(905)- 580-9641
www.tylerlord.com

www.tylerlord.blogspot.com

____________________________

first there was Nike AIR, now there's BIKND AIR.

the biknd bike case. 
the super case. 
the bike box with airbags.
yes airbags.
Airbags, which are usually reserved for cars and to 
describe the guys who make excuses after races.


The www.biknd.com bike case.
engineered by smart dudes in Montreal Canada. 
Winners of design awards.
Used by Slipstream which is pretty much 
the coolest cycling team out there, the guys in argyle. 


The team Ryder Hesjedal rides for, the team with the World Champion named Thor.


Biknd is the bike case with heavy duty wheels, tons of room and air that puts my old bike case to shame.
That's my old bag crying in the corner, by my daughters dolls.


The bike case so easy to use that you can put your bike back together,
with the assistance of your 10 month old.


you'll see.