Looking for an affordable indoor riding option or a little kick in the pants to get motivated?

The Trek Toronto indoor cycling winter training camp is in its 3rd year.  Come and be part of this proven program with its expanded class hours.

 

 

Trek Toronto Indoor Cycling 2013-2014

Fee structure

Bike storage is free

$20 tax included for 1 hour session

$25 tax included for 75-90 min session

$150 tax included for 8 class package

$40 tax included for 1 month Unlimited Riding (Team Atomica coached athletes only)

Bikes are set up on trainers prior to class

Refunds will not be offered at the end of classes (mid -March)

$35 tax included for individualized ramp test on Computrainer

Classes offered

M/ T/ Th/ Fri: 6:30-8:00 AM   

M                       5:30-6:30 PM

W:                      12:00-1:00 PM (LUNCH CLASS)         

T/Th                  5:00-6:15 PM

Sun:                   1:00-3:00 PM

 

Testing

Instructors will conduct field testing to determine power zones and heart rate zones for the athletes.

Trainers

Tacx Fluid with power

Signup Procedure and Rules

Self sign up via internet on Google doc at :

https://docs.google.com/a/teamatomica.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AppPbgLcAy1HdEpkZmx0Y29ZTVZhS2RNc0w2X3g3RVE&usp=drive_web#gid=0

 

To cancel their reservation, athletes must remove their names from the on-line doc 24 hours prior to the scheduled class.

Due to the limited class size, athletes will be charged for not showing up if they have not removed their name from the spreadsheet.

Instructions

Bring a towel

Bring a water bottle

Be at store 15 minutes early to be on your bike and ready to start on time

Wipe down equipment after use

Washrooms, water available

Shower facilities not available

 

Location and Parking

2063 Yonge Street 

(416) 481-8735

 

Park out front free until 8:00 or out back of store.

 

Location and Parking

Cheques, Cash or Interact transfers all accepted.

Cheques made out to Team Atomica

Interact transfers sent to ayesha@teamatomica.com

 

Instructor profiles

 

Trek Toronto Team Member

Ayesha Rollinson is a veteran pro triathlete who has raced on all the major triathlon circuits in North America, including ITU World Cups. She has podiumed nationally and internationally at most triathlon distances (sprint to ½ Ironman). She completed Ironman Cozumel 2012 in 9:52. She is the Founder and Director of Team Atomica which includes two triathlon swim clubs as well as private coaching. Ayesha is an engineer by training and brings a calculated scientific approach to all of her coaching and training endeavors. www.ayesharollinson.com

 

Trek Toronto Team Member

Suzanne Zelazo has been racing as a pro triathlete since 2009 with an emphasis on the 70.3 distance. In 2013 she also began racing as an elite cyclist. With a background of teaching literature and writing, she is currently the Managing Editor of Triathlon Magazine Canada and coaches with Team Atomica.

 

Both Suzanne and Ayesha re C.O.R.E cycling instructor certified.

 

Derrek Ivey has raced pro (without contract) in Canada, the US and Europe. A broken back experienced during a crash racing forced an early retirement in 2012 but still loves to race locally. Recently he was 2nd at the 2013 2nd Provincial Time Trial Championships and 1st at the 2013 O Cup Good Friday RR 2013.

 

 

Mont Tremblant, an exercise in how to handle a tough run.

Brownie from the Ironman Mont Tremblant Banquet

Ayesha’s brother Njal cheering me on on the bike.

Well I finished my second Ironman last Sunday and I’m just starting to feel normal again. It can take while to recovery from an Ironman. The race did not go exactly as I had hoped, but few rarely do as I usually have high expectations.

The swim was good. I had a good start and didn’t get banged up too much. I was able to stay on good feet for most of it, except the end when it got a bit wavy and I started to feel tired and lose form a bit.

The bike was a bit harder than I thought it would be. The hills on Chemin Duplessis took a lot out of me especially the second time around.

By the time the run started I was a bit behind schedule and had to have a great run to make up for it, but after about 10k it was clear that today would not be the day for the run of life, so I slowed down a bit. By the time 30k came around my legs felt like cement and the thought of bailing did cross my mind for a second, but was instantly erased with the realization that Ayesha, my mom, and Ayesha’s parents and brother were waiting for me at the finish line (thanks again for coming to cheer me on, you are so guys are so good to me). I decided to walk a few of the water stations to allow myself to recover a bit. I find that this is a good strategy as you get a good dose of hydration and nutrition while taking a breather at the same time. I also find it physiologically much easier as I only have to convince myself to run to the next water station which is a lot easier than focusing on getting to the finish.

The run of an Ironman can be a struggle, but taking a walk at an aid station can help you keep going and thinking of the people you love waiting for you at the end will bring you to the finish line.

Mike M.

Nutrition Talk this Thursday Aug 8th, 7:00-8:00 at the Trek Bicycle Store, 2063 Yonge St, Toronto.

It cannot be stressed enough that race nutrition is critical to a personal best performance for the longer races, ½ ironman and beyond. You have got to know what your needs are prior to race day. Rehearse your hydration, feeding, and salt strategy during your training sessions. There are so many variations between individuals that there is no single right answer.

To help you determine your nutrition needs, Ayesha and I are running a nutrition seminar this Thursday Aug 8th, 7:00-8:00 PM at the Trek Store on Yonge. The talk will cover how to calculate your sodium needs and why you need to take it as well as carbohydrate and protein requirements pre, during and post race. There will also be a section on nutrition specific to marathon running from Michelle Clark who is the local Clif Bar rep (and a sub 3:00 hour marathoner). She will be giving away Clif product. If you would like to attend, please send me an RSVP at medeirosmech@gmail.com

As a side, last weekend I did the Kempenfest 2k swim in Barrie, some pics are below. It was a fun chilly swim, swimming with Ayesha (7 months pregnant) and a bunch of swim camp kids (12 year old girls can be aggressive). For the record Ayesha still kicked my butt.

Mike M

Peterborough spill, bike maintenance is important

Me at the finish of the Peterborough Tri, bruised but not broken.

A few weekends ago, I did the Peterborough Subaru swim/bike. I had a terrific swim, but after that things didn’t go exactly as planned. It was pouring rain all morning and when I got on the bike it was really wet. About 10 minutes into the bike I was taking a turn and my back tire slid out from under me and I was down. My first fall in a race. Well this drove home 2 important lessons.

First, bike maintenance is essential for a good race, but more importantly to stay healthy. Ayesha had been telling me to change my bald back tire for weeks, but I just kept putting it off (the trainer really chews up the back tire fast). Fortunately for me I only suffered some road rash and bruises, but it could have been worse. A broken bone and all my Ironman training would all be for not.

Second, it is important to train in all race conditions because you never know what race day will bring you. It you have no experience riding in the rain and it rains on race day it could be disastrous.

Don’t neglect you bike maintenance and train in all race conditions and you’ll be more likely to stay all both wheels during race day.

Mike M.

Training through a sickness, not a smart move

Celebrating the finish at Mont Tremblant, I think I was really happy to finally reach the poutine and beer at the finish.

Last weekend I did the 70.3 Mont Tremblant Ironman. I was a tiring weekend with a lot of driving, but race was great. It was well organized, had good crowd support and the rain stayed away on race day. I great tune up for the Full Ironman I’m planning to do there in August. This Canada Long weekend I was laid up on my back, I had a terrible chest cold. It is really frustrating getting sick when you are preparing for a big race, but there is no sense getting stressed or trying to train through it. It will only delay your recovery and could make things worse if you do and may actually cause you serious harm. Research has shown that strenuous training while sick can increase the chances that the virus can spread to your heart which could lead to serious consequences, up to and including cardiac arrest. That would really put a damper on your training plans. If you just relax and get lots of rest, maybe even see a doctor, it will likely only be a week or less and you’ll back on your training schedule. It might even do you some good to take a week off. So don’t sweat it, relax and you’ll be back at it and training hard before you know it.

Mike M

How hard should we push ourselves?

Running the final leg of the Victoria Du

It’s been a while since my last post and a lot has gone on since then. I’ve completed my first duathalon of the season, had the big year end 5k event with start to finish (an after school group of 6-10 year olds I volunteer with) and I went on a vacation to London and Paris. Well I’ll focus on the 5k start to finish race. I’ve been volunteering at the Running and Reading Club for that past few months. The club’s focus is to improve kids reading skills and prepare them for a long term challenge of running a 5k race in May, a long way if you are only 6. So every Thursday after school the kids go through a 2 hr routine of running then reading. Well the big 5k race day finally came and everyone was really excited. All the coaches from my school, I’m coach Mike, ran with a group of kids. The start of the race was pandemonium over 600 kids running top speed. I tried to get my kids to pace themselves, which they did. I ran with one little girl the whole way, encouraging her to keep running. Then she started to cry and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I tried to tell her to slow down but keep going. I don’t think she was crying because it hurt, but because she wasn’t doing as well as she would have liked to do. I thought that by pushing her I could teach her the lesson of perseverance and show her how satisfying hard work can feel. I encouraged though whole way and by the end I’m sure she was sorry that I was running with her. I think I pushed her a little too hard because she wasn’t having fun. At the end of the run I felt bad and apologized to Brishna, the little girl I was running with. I was reminded that pushing yourself is important, but that having fun and enjoying the feeling of physical activity is more important. After all, that’s the reason that 99% of us do this anyway for fun.  Thanks for reminding me of this Brishna and sorry being a jerk.

Mike

Goodlife Toronto Marathon, unfortunately not a miraculous day.

Warming up at the start of the TO marathon.

I first ran the Toronto Marathon in 2007. It was my first marathon ever. I decided I wanted to try it again and take another kick at the sub 3 hr mark last weekend. When I first starting training for the marathon in 2007 I had a comprehensive plan and stuck to it consistently for 4 months. All things considered my first marathon went well, I qualified for Boston. Even though I didn’t achieve my goal of a sub 3 hr marathon (it was ambitious for a first attempt I know, but hay I really didn’t know what I was getting into). Since that time I’ve ran about a half dozen marathons and have literally come within seconds of the 3hr mark. This past Sunday, I diluted myself again to thinking I could break the 3hr mark with less that optimal training, when I never have before with very good training behind me. I basically compressed most of my marathon training into just over a month of solid month of running. A friend once said to me “don’t expect miracles on race day”. This statement is so true, but we are an optimistic species by nature. Given all the pain and suffering out there I think we have to be. Bottom line is if you want to see personal best results on race day, you need to have put in some personal best training before race day, no exceptions. Unless of course you are the Pope or something and really do expect miracles.

Mike M.

Training while pregnant

Here starts a new block of training.  It is called the pregnancy phase.  Gone for this year are the posts about hard training sessions, race preparation and race results.  I will be writing about how I am ‘training’ (note: keeping active, healthy and strong) through my pregnancy.

I  found out in January that I was pregnant.  It was not unplanned, but it was definitely unexpected.  To be completely honest, given my age, activity level and low body fat I thought it would take me much longer than it did.  In fact, I thought there was a definite possibility that having a child would not happen for me.  Apparently my ‘fast twitch’ genetics don’t just apply to muscle and nerves…

 

Training in the first month was a struggle.  In particular I felt out of breath at paces or powers below my ‘zone 2’.  I had to take breaks often and my heart rate soared at the mere mention of working out.  I did persevere and continued to exercise allowing my body to tell me what I should be doing. I did not force the pace, did not look at the clock and just did what I could.  Napping during the first few weeks came easily. This was a pleasant surprise as I have always struggled to nap.  It has always been hard for me to shut down, both physically and mentally. 

The following two things I found the most interesting: a severe lack of drive and motivation, as well as a crazy, cannibalistic hunger after every workout.

After I had conceived, but before I knew I was pregnant, I recognized an uncharacteristic drop in motivation.  I noted this on several occasions in my training log but wrote it off as being tired from other life events.  I have this intrinsic desire to push, to do, to achieve (these are not always good things, believe me).  I used to hate siting down. Honestly.  I had major difficulty simply sitting down to watch a movie – I had to be doing something else at the same time, situps, stretching, sorting laundry…  But this all changed.  I was perfectly happy to sit.  I was okay with not finishing workouts.  Frustrating people, things, situations all bothered me less.  I was blissee…and I continue to be.  This is one of the very great things about pregnancy, everything seems good.  The new and copious amounts of hormones are to blame, so all should return to normal in about 6 months!

The most disturbing thing was the hunger.  I have done Ironman and I have been racing and training triathlons for over 10 years.  I know what being hungry feels like.  But this, this was something else, and it hit as soon as I finished training. Triathlon hunger is this low-mid level desire for food (carbs, mostly) that buzzes throughout your whole body.  THIS pregnancy hunger felt like someone had taken a power drill with a very, very large drill bit and was driving it right into my belly button.  It was a desperate hunger and I am surprised that no one in my immediate vicinity lost any body parts.

The first three months, I trained 1-3 hours a day in smaller pieces and at a lower intensity.  I biked, ran, swam and did weights.  The only exception to this was 10 days I spent in Clermont leading a training camp where I did a few 2 and 2.5 hour rides to accompany my athletes. 

For running, I have kept my HR below 160 (4:45-6:30/km) for the most part and I don’t deliberately seek out hills.  For biking I have kept my power under 170 for the most part (again HR under 160).  The one exception to this was the PowerWatts session I did a few days after conception (I didn’t know I was preggo) where I was up at 300+ and I really thought I was going to die.  I had NEVER felt so awful on the bike before and it was the closest I have ever come to quitting a workout (but I didn’t…I thought it was nutrition so took too gels, sucked it up and got back on the bike!).  The swimming has slowed considerably, but I use effort and body temp as my guide, not pace.  I am still able to do intervals at 1:20/100m, as long as they are relatively short.  The key thing with swimming is that I float now.  I haven’t ever floated in my life.  This new body comp of mine is helping me maintain pace with less effort in the swim ;).  After each pool session I go off to the site and just float around for a few seconds because it stills seems a little unreal that I can!

I will keep you all posted about how training is going and what I am up to over the course of this new block of training.  If you have any questions, shoot!

 

Around the Bay, no expectations

Around the Bay at the finish, obviously happy with the result.

Last weekend I did the Around the Bay road 30k in Hamilton. This is a great road race that feels more like a marathon from an energy and organizational standpoint, though 12 fewer kms does sure make it feel a lot easier than a marathon. There is always a Grim Reaper and midget, sorry little person near the last big hill at about 26km. I always wonder about these odd characters, why they come year after year, are they paid by the race or do they just love participating. This year the little person was in a wheel chair and not dancing to we will rock you, which made me feel a bit sad as I ran by but it was also somehow motivating. The race is apparently older than Boston, at least according to the race shirts.

It was my first road race of the year and despite a lack of long run training it still went really well, only about a minute off my PB. The lesson is that sometimes going into a race with no expectations can be a great thing. It really takes the pressure off and allows you to really pay attention to your body, stay on pace and really enjoy the moment. Sometimes all the pressure to hit a certain time can cause you to go out to fast, which will catch up to you later and lead a blow up. It is definitely important to have goals, but sometimes going into a race with no expectations can be a great think and the result will more often than not be pleasantly surprising.

Mike M

Training with Power

Power Spin Class at the Trek Toronto Bicycle Store

I’ve been riding inside relatively consistently at the Trek Toronto Bicycle Store and as always I’ve been using a power meter. A couple of weeks ago was the last inside spin class at the Trek Toronto Bicycle Store and the Canadian Cycling Magazine came by to document the event. They put together a piece on using power to improve your training and racing. I was interviewed after the ride and rambled off something about how I would suggest you go about starting to use power in your training. Surprisingly, I didn’t come off sounding like a total idiot. After thinking about it more here is my more complete answer to how I would suggest you go about starting to use power in your training.
First, I’d suggest trying out training with power at a spin class that has power trainers. There are many types of spin class offered around the GTA. The classes at the Trek Toronto Bicycle Store are a great option and very reasonable at $20 per workout. The class size if small, 9 or less, so you will get lots of attention, but alas these classes won’t start again until next winter.
After trying a power spin class, if you like what you see, the next step would be to consider purchasing a trainer with power. Trainers with power can also be pricey, mid hundreds to thousands, really depends on what you get. Again there are many trainers around and Trek Toronto Bicycle Store had a great sale on the trainers they used in this year’s spin classes. The trainers were the TACX, Flow T2200, see the link below for more details. http://www.tacx.com/en/products/trainers/flow#tab_2
Finally, if you are going to do longer races and are really concerned about your race results, you might consider buying a power meter that is built into your bike, again there are quite a few models out there. Built in power meters can be pretty pricey, from over a thousand to 4 or 5 thousands. If after you go to a few classes and you are serious about your race results, I’d suggest forgoing the trainer with a power meter and going right to the build in power meter. This will give you the best of both training and racing with power. You can buy a trainer without power meter (much cheaper than those with power) and use it with your build in power meter to do indoor workouts with power just like with a power trainer. And when it’s race day and it counts you’ll be able to hit the numbers you’ve been using in training and have your best possible race result. I have a PowerTap, and I’m very happy with it.
The link to the article/video using power to improve your training and racing by Canadian Cycling Magazine is below.

http://cyclingmagazine.ca/2013/03/sections/training-guide/training/use-power-to-improve-your-training-and-racing/

Happy Training.
Mike M.