November 2013
What’s New @TriOntario
Board of Directors
On October 26th Triathlon Ontario held a great day of informative seminars with fantastic speakers, and our annual awards luncheon where we recognized 60 award winners and contributors to the sport in our province, followed by our AGM. During the AGM four board positions were up for election. Congratulations to Colin Docherty and Chris Staples on their re-election and a big welcome to newcomers Jackie Smalec and Chris Caswell.
There were some changes to the executive committee, Mike Greenberg moves from Treasurer to President, Colin Docherty resumes his role as Vice-President from a short stint as Interim President, Jackie Smalec is our new Treasurer and Chris Staples continues as Secretary. The remaining board members include Gary Hutchinson, Jen Amaral, Jim Brockbank and of course newcomer Chris Caswell.
A big thank you goes out to outgoing President Steve Harrigan, who joined the Triathlon Canada board of directors, and Brian Gomes for their valued commitment and contributions to the board.
(Seminar Guest Speakers from Top to Bottom: Top- Greg Kealey, Shaunna Taylor, Ryan Van Praet, Dr. Greg Wells, Steve Indig, and Lionel Sanders)
Roots Hoodies
For those that attended the Awards Luncheon you may have noticed thesnazzy Roots hoodie sweatshirts we handed out as prizes instead of trophies or plaques. We have been receiving many requests for the ability to purchase these cool hoodies. We are happy to say thatwe are putting together an order sheet with order details and pricing shortly, just in time for the holiday season. Keep an eye out in your inbox, our website or Facebook and Twitter for further details!
Coming Soon….
- Details on our first edition of our much anticipated Online Continuing Education Coaching course
- Announcement of our inaugural Indoor Provincial Triathlon Championship to be held in the winter
- Additional clinics and seminars
- Announcement of our first ever Provincial Development Team and upcoming Training Days dates and details
Sponsorship
We are just finalizing the details of our first ever sponsorship agreement. What does this mean to you? Membership value will increase even more as Triathlon Ontario members will be entitled to a significant discount for online purchases simply by entering your current membership number during checkout. Details of the sponsor will be announced shortly, stay tuned!
Tara’s Nutrition Analysis and Q&A with Coach Greg
ITS TOO EASY! If you would like Tara to look at your Nutrition or yo
u would like to get a review please contact [email protected] and/or if you have a triathlon question for Coach Greg send it into [email protected] and receive some FREE triathlon swag.
Off Season Membership
The wait is over, our non-racing off season $10 Triathlon Ontario membership is being offered this 2013 season. This membership is ideal for club activities or any Triathlon Ontario clinics or seminars and is good until March 31, 2014. Membership applications must be submitted via paper based applications found on our website here or through club memberships (additional club fees may apply).
Did You Know…..
Apparently there are other sports out there like hockey and figure skating. What do you get when you take a former NHL pro, an aspiring figure skater and a recent sub 12 hour Ironman? You get Scott Thornton on CBC’s Battle of the Blades! Since retiring from the NHL after 17 seasons, Scott recently took up triathlons as a hobby and recently became the fastest former NHLer to complete an Ironman in 11 hours 43 minutes, beating Pat LaFontaine’s previous record of 11 hours 48 minutes.
Scott is now in this Sunday’s final of CBC’s Battle of the Blades (8pm), trying to win the $100,000 prize for his charity, the Ontario Breast Cancer Foundation. We’re calling on all triathletes to vote for Scott and win the money for this worthy cause. Details about the competition can be found at cbc.ca/battle
Quest for Gold Funding Application
For those high performance athletes and coaches who have HP athletes, the 2013-2014 funding application and criteria are posted on the Triathlon Ontario website. All information regarding the Quest for Gold program can be found here
Triathlon Ontario Clinics
Triathlon Ontario has partnered with Personal Best and McMaster University to present two clinics on the weekend of November 30th-December 1st. The first, on November 30th, is open to athletes of all ages and abilities and the second, on December 1st is open to coaches who would like to enhance their skill levels.
Saturday November 30th Clinic
Many of Ontario’s top elite athletes (Lionel Sanders, Sean Bechtel, Andrew Yorke, Taylor Reid, Brooke Brown) and coaches (Olympic swim coach Andrew Cole, Hall of Fame Coach Barrie Shepley) and internationally recognized speakers (strength expert Sheldon Persad and Yoga/Guru Caron Shepley) will be running an extensive one day swim-bike-run-yoga-nutrition-strength triathlon day for all ages and levels at McMaster University. Sign Up!
Sunday December 1st Clinic
This one day “Coach the Coaches” clinic is designed for coaches of any level who want to enhance their knowledge at working with triathletes in their club/squad. The difference between the Sat. Nov. 30th and the Dec. 1st “Coach the Coaches” clinic is that the focus is on sharing insight, resources and “teaching skills” to the coaches to enhance their success with their triathlon clients. Sign Up!
Q & A with Coach Greg
Greg Kealey is based out of Ottawa and is Triathlon Ontario’s Provincial Development Coach and Ontario’s Canada Summer Games coach for Triathlon. If you have a training or racing question you’d like answered in an upcoming newsletter, send them to [email protected].
Hello Coach Greg,
My nine year old son (William Weist), had a great mini tri season this year. 2nd in Barrie, 3rd at Lakeside. What is good training to help build his bike and swim conditioning in the off season. He is great runner, so I feel he is good there. Is there a website or easy off-season once a week training program you can recommend?
Thank you,
Mark Weist
COACH GREG
Hi Mark
Thanks for the email and great question, one that I’m sure a lot of parents have.
At your sons age I think the focus should be more on skill development than conditioning. Developing the skill sets for swimming, cycling and running will yield a larger return on performance as he grows up. I run a program for kids around your sons age (8-11) as part of our club and we stress skill development in all disciplines. Kids need to master a set of skills before moving from Level 1 to level 3, at that age we are less worried about how fast they are, but rather how fast can they maintain proper form and technique. We break the year into 4 phases to focus on different aspect of the sport.
For example winter (Nov to March) we focus on swimming, all our practices are swim related and we start with teaching streamlined position in the water, proper kicking (free and back) head/body position and balance. Once the athletes are comfortable in those areas we move on to rotation, arm entry breathing patterns etc….
My advice for the winter would be to find a city or club swim program that will stress skill development and spend your training time over the winter with that focus.
As for biking I would suggest the same approach for next year, maintain a focus on skill development. One of the least developed skills on the bike is balance (you see this from kid to age grouper) good balance on the bike allows for better efficiency, power transfer and if your son wants to eventually race draft legal, bike skills will be crucial.
In my experience you’ll find two different approaches to development for youth, one suggests specificity, kids should focus on a single sport year round and one suggests variety and exposure to many different sports allows for better long term development. I’m a big believer in the latter. I mention this because I think if your son is involved in other activities his fitness will continue to improve. I recently read an article by Dr. Ross Tucker on the training, LTAD and proper youth development. I specifically like the section on ” Delayed High Volumes of Training Predict Success” I think the whole article is well worth the time spent reading.
Thanks again for the question I hope some of this helps in taking a direction over the winter for your son’s development.
Nutritional Analysis
Triathlon Ontario Profile:
Name: Lisa Richardson
Age: 40
Occupation: Panno Medical Inc: First Aid Attendant, Spin Instructor
Hometown / Place of Residence: Toronto
Years in Triathlon: 10
2013 Triathlon Goal: Ironman Coeur d’Alene (completed 13:17)
Dream Triathlon Goal: Kona qualification
Nutritional / Training Concerns: Maintain what I have as far as endurance, strength and speed. Stay on track of eating healthy and not get into a rut of eating too much sugar. With it being summer time, social situations always make it tough to not have an extra glass of wine or one more beer.
My Day and a Typical Training Day:
Breakfast: 7am- coffee with almond milk, rye toast with honey, half grapefruit and hard boiled egg.
Bike Workout: 60-90 mins on indoor trainer with Sufferfest videos. Hydrate with lemon water
Snack: 10am- protein smoothie with Vega One, banana, basil and strawberries
Lunch: PB & J sandwich, apple, water
Snack: Chocolate almond joy bars (home made). Sometimes coffee, and a glass of water
Dinner: 6:30-7:30pm – Pork chops with asparagus, green salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Swim workout: 9-10:15pm 1900-2800m
Registered Nutritional Consultant, Triathlon Coach and Personal trainer, Tara Postnikoff, assesses an athlete’s food journal and offers advice for improved athletic performance and health.
Tara’s Tips
First off congratulations on reaching your 2013 triathlon goal and completing Ironman Coeur d’Adlene!
My first concern is that you might not be eating enough to maintain your current activity level. You’re training 2-2.5 hours per day but barely eating 2000 calories (estimate based on details provided above). Two hours of training will burn approximately 800-1200 calories depending on intensity, leaving you with only 1000 calories for basic functions, sleep, and work.
If you are increasing calories you will want to find calories that count. Healthy, nutrient-dense calories that will nourish your body and help you ward off sugar cravings. I think you could benefit from the addition of some healthy fats into your diet. Foods like chia seeds or ground flax can be added to your smoothie to offer omega-3 fatty acids, which help support the immune system as well as act as anti-inflammatory’s. Coconut oil and / or avocado are also great additions to increase calories as well as nutrient. Adding raw nuts and seeds as snacks too will help satiate you throughout the day.
I would also recommend eating less bread throughout the day and switching to a lentils, legumes or starchy vegetables for your carbohydrates. These digest slower, and don’t disrupt your blood sugar as much and also have more protein and fiber then bread. Switch lunch to a “bowl” type meal vs. a sandwich as it will also give you an opportunity to get more vegetables in your diet. Think about something like a quinoa lentil bowl with steamed vegetables and some sunflower or pumpkin seeds or avocado. This is quick and easy to make and can be preserved for a few days.
You may want to also consider some squash or other starchy vegetable with dinner to give you some energy for your swim later in the evening.
A post-workout recovery snack (post swim) is also a good idea to help your body repair tissue and replenish glycogen stores over night. You don’t want to deplete your body further as you are working out again in the morning. To save time you could make a bigger morning smoothie and save the leftovers for post swim.
Overall I think these small changes will make a big difference in your training and athletic performance and help you have the energy to push towards your Kona goal. When choosing foods, consider the end goal and ask yourself if this food or drink will help you or hinder you in trying to achieve that goal. Sometimes a little perspective makes the choice to eat or drink something a little more clear.
Best of luck!
New Coaching Course and Officials Course Added in Muskoka
We have added an additional Community Level coaching course in Muskoka on the weekend of February 1-2, 2014 and an Officials course as well in Muskoka onJanuary 31, 2014. Details and registration for the coaching course can be found here and details and registration for the officials course can be found here. Why not make it a complete weekend and do both! Sign Up Now!
Stay Tuned for courses in the New Year in the Guelph area. It will be held sometime in March.
TRInspiration
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
~ Muhammad Ali
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