Toronto Festival Triathlon was a Blast

Looking tired at the end of a hot run.

I participated in my first triathlon of the season, the inaugural Toronto Festival Triathlon. No I don’t know why they called it a festival triathlon. Maybe the “festival” part of the name was for the beer that you could apparently buy afterwords. In all seriousness though, I thought that for a first kick at the can at a downtown olympic tri, it was run really well and was a great race that I’d definitely do again.

A bit about the race. The swim was in Lake O, in and around Ontario Place. The water was not to weedy and warm about 21 C. The deep water start was nice, not too crowded to the first buoy. Getting out of the water was easy and smooth with a nice step out of the water. There were lots of volunteers ensuring you didn’t slip or fall in the stupor that you can be in when you go from swim position to the vertical run position. The transition area was well laid out and spacious. The bike was amazing! What can beat biking on the Gardiner and DVP, very cool, safe and smooth. The run was on the Lakeshore bike path and well supported with water and Gatorade. The path was mostly free of bike traffic and wide enough for the volume of runners.

The only improvement would be moving the finish closer to the transition area. The transition area was over 1km away from the finish, so the “festival” was kind of spread out between the transition area and the finish. The post race gathering would be improved by keeping the transition and finish areas close together as you always need to walk back to the transition area to get your bike and gear at the end of the race. Also the event was a bit stingy with the food at the end of the try, really half a banana per athlete, we just swam 1.5k, biked 40k and ran 10k. I’ve seen 10k running races with more liberal post race food.

I’m sure that next year the TO Festival Triathlon will continue and be even better than it was this year. I’m really happy that Toronto finally has an Olympic Tri in the core of the city and really hope it continues.

One final note, don’t forget that there one more Tri happening in the city, Toronto Island Mulitsport Tri on August 25th, which has been going on for years and is also a great event if you’d like do a tri in your own backyard (assuming of course you live in Toronto)

Happy training.

Mike

Sunset at the Shoreline

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Being so urban, it’s easy to forget that Toronto has such a beautiful waterfront, one that at 7pm on a Tuesday in July was alight with the fervor of triathletes learning how to maximize their open water skills. Trek Toronto hosted a very successful clinic at Cherry Beach led by Mike who gave us great pointers about efficiently getting in and out of a wetsuit, navigating buoys, sighting, and of course, the oft dreaded “mass starts”. There were a few little races staged. Congrats to Christine Wallace who, in her far too big wetsuit hit the finish lines first on those winning a nice stash of Clif Bar products.

 Suzanne and Mike

Join us for the next open water clinic August 7, 7 pm

Two things I love: Sport and Art

For some it’s sweet AND salty. For others it’s chocolate AND peanut butter. For others still: a good book AND a foot rub. For me: it’s sport AND art in one bundle of coolness (ok, I will take the good book and foot rub too). Seems my bike mechanic has a new calling in jewelry design! Thanks Steve—I love them!

I also really adore the sport-based artwork of Calgary sculptor Craig Leblanc…check out his work: http://www.craigleblanc.com

On Guard 2007
Fibreglass, Acrylic Urethane, Upholstery Foam, Vinyl
55″ x 77″ x 28″

Suzanne

And the Waves are Singing your Praise: Geoffrey Shulman

Today I’m sending out a whole of lot of love to the family of a very special friend who succumbed to a four and a half year battle with cancer. Dr. Geoffrey Shulman and his warmth, infectious smile (and really fast 50s in the pool!!) will be missed immensely. I will never forget Geoff’s return to master’s swimming at the University of Toronto following his initial surgery. It was incredible. Despite a scar that spanned his entire torso, Geoff seemed to recover his speed and agility in the water in a matter of weeks. Although things would eventually become more problematic with the cancer, witnessing Geoff’s fighting spirit, his tenacity, his courage and his superhuman efforts have made me a better athlete and a better person. For this and for his wonderful being I am most grateful. Thank you Geoff–you will be missed but through the many you’ve touched, and through you’re brilliant and talented children, you live on.
xo

Suzanne

First Beginner Open Water Swim Clinic Date Changed to Tuesday July 10th

Hi all, the Tri Trek Toronto Team has decided to cancel the first open water swim clinic scheduled for July 3rd and instead combine it with the session scheduled for July 10th.

The Beginner Clinic will be held at Cherry Beach (end of Cherry Street at Lake Ontario, we will meet by the washrooms) on July 10th at 7pm and will last about 1 hour. This is a free clinic (Thanks to the Trek Bicycle Store) that will be geared more towards beginners. You will need to bring a swim suit, goggles, a bright swim cap, and a wetsuit (this is not necessary, but highly recommended especially if you get cold easily as the water can be cold)

The Clinic will cover:
-Tips for putting on and getting off your wetsuit
-Sighting & Swimming in a Straight line
-Navigating the course and effective buoy turns
-Mass starts and swimming in crowds (this is great opportunity to practice this as it is tough to do on your own ;))

Thanks to our sponsor Cliff Bar we will also have Cliff bars and gels to give away for all survivors.

To sign up for the Clinic please add you name and info to the list at the link below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AppPbgLcAy1HdGF4ZDVwNzhqNEh4V1N2MjdIX2o4Q3c
Mike Medeiros