Event #10 Run Relay

With such a tight battle for the overall, making the teams was a VERY stressful task. We wouldn't want someone getting an unfair advantage in the relay resulting in some type of physical harm being done towards Vincent Lavallee for making the teams, potentially damaging his generally good looks.

As a result, high school level math was required to compute the most balanced teams possible. With that done, everything was ready to go!

But wait... As the teams were being organized a surprise guest made an appearance as latecomer Kory Seder required a spot on a team. Fortunately for Kory, the teams had a minor inbalance prior to his arrival, and the acceptance of his entry into the race made the numbers work out significantly better.

This move did not come without consequence though. Kory's arrival made him the 19th participant. Damn prime number. Vincent took the bullet for this one and challenged the teams to a race. He would run the entire relay solo (3X900m followed by 3X500m).

On a dark and rainy night, the 6 teams of 3 lined up and prepared for competition.

As the gun went off Andrew Wight was quick to take the lead, running the first 900 meters in sub 2:50. YIKES! Followed closely by Kory and Liam Harrap. With the handoff the second round of runners took off.

Our unaccompanied hero Vincent pulled through in 4th, hoping to hold on. With the second wave of runners starting, Vincent regained his stride and managed to claw his way back to the top. Reaching the completion of the second lap close behind 1st place in second. As he started heckling Derrick Lee, he realized his legs were no longer nearly as fresh as someone's who has yet to run as Derrick started to slowly pull away. This crushing blow was only magnified as Vincent heard the quick pace of footsteps behind as some of the big guns, Matt Reeve, Winston Guo and Nathaniel Janzen blow by.

Intense handoff

Matt Reeve was seen running through the entire field from 7th into 1st over 1 lap running it in under 2:45. Vincent Lavallee Running in 3:20 laps was definitely feeling the pain in his legs.

As the set of 500m laps began, Vincent thought his chances may improve as his competition may have blown up on their first laps. But as it turns out, they were refreshed after a few minutes rest and ready to sprint. Vincent found himself in a world of trouble as he raced Kim Seder through the middle lap of the 500m. Despite Vince's best efforts, Kim managed to hold him off through the lap for her handoff to Victoria who took it home.

The 500m proved to be the downfall of our underdog hero. 500 meters is simply too fast for the waning Lavallee. Claire made short work of Vincent as she blew by him on her run of 500m.

Vincent being criticized for heels striking

In the end, our President Vincent Lavallee was not able to bring home the victory. His competition was simply too strong for him. This however, he will take as an accomplishment. Being run coach this must simply be a reflection of his coaching skills.

Andrew Wight, showing the effort

In the end the winning team of Rachel Schoeler, Lara Russel and Matt Reeve completed the 4.2km Course in a record setting 14:46, averaging 3:30.9 minutes/km. Pretty fast! Second place team, finished just 10 seconds back, meaning they ran each lap less than 2 seconds slower. Pretty fast group!

Team 1: 14:46

Rachel Schoeler

Lara Russel

Matt Reeve

Team 2: 14:56

Annie Mauer

Andrew Wight

Derrick Lee

Team 3: 15:01

Kelsey Foote

Greta Raymant

Nathaniel Janzen

Team 4 15:06

Celeste Pakstas

Winston Guo

Jesse Chao

Team 5: 15:18

Lauren Sagadore

Claire

Kory Seder

Solo: 15:31

Vincent Lavallee

Team 6: 15:38

Victoria Gilbert

Kim Seder

Liam Harrap

Special acknowledgment must be given to Scott Chris who although did not race, took times and photos for the group.

Tri BC Gala

This past week a group of the UBCTC and I went to the Annual Tri BC Fundraising Gala at the Stanley Park Rowing Club.

I wasn't too sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun. All together we had 10 of us from the club, who get along really well and had a good time.

The atmosphere of the Gala wasn't as much "Party" as it was "Socialize and Mingle", nevertheless it was a good time and it was nice seeing some people I raced against in the summer and haven't seen since.

Paul Regensburg and Meyrick Jones

Meyrick encouraged us to come out and I'm glad he did. There was a great talk by Triathlon Coach and Commentator Paul Regensburg. He told a great story about the 2000 olympics and how he announced for CBC Simon Whitfields win.

Winston and I dressed somewhat similarly

Following the Gala, the group of us went over to Matt's place for a few more drinks and games.

All round it was a pretty fantastic Thursday night if I may say so myself and hopefully we can have a lot more team outings like this in the future.

All in all, I would say it was good for the club to have such a big showing. We were by far the largest and ONLY club represented there. Considering the growth we hope to make over the next few years, I think its exposure like this that could really help.

How to Hold your Breath

1. Now that Nathaniel has gone, I can give up the secrets, here are a few helpful tips for how to hold your breath as long as possible.
2. Before holding your breath, inhale and exhale slowly from deep within your diaphragm. By doing this, you're ridding your lungs of low-quality air.^[2] Spend 5 seconds breathing in and 5 seconds breathing out; do this for two minutes, and be sure that when you exhale, you push out every last "drop" of air.^[3]
3. Take a massive gulp of air and hold it. Don't breathe in so much that you're about to pop; fill your lung capacity to 80-85% so that you still have room to relax.^[4]
   • Always do this with a partner watching, since you can lose consciousness without warning.
   • Don't hold air in your cheeks. This method is meant for an air reserve, but you have to "let go" of the air in your lungs if you want to use the air in your cheeks, and exhaling air in your lungs usually gets rid of the reserve in your cheeks. In other words, it's not easy to switch out the air in your lungs and the air in your cheeks without letting both escape. But it can be done -
4. Splash cold water on your face. It has been observed that putting a person's face in contact with cold water triggers bradycardia, or the slowing of the heart rate, which is the first phase of the mammalian diving reflex.^[5] You don't need to actually put your entire head underwater, though. You can splash some cold water on your face right before you hold your breath, or try using a cold, wet washcloth (don't use an ice pack, though; the same study suggests that the shock of something too cold triggers other reflexes). Just make sure it's cold enough (21 °C or 70 °F) and the rest of your body is in a relaxed position.
5. Relax every muscle in your body. Meditate so that you can lower your heart rate. Your body will consume less oxygen that way.^[6] By closing your eyes, feeling, and focusing on slowing your heart beat, it is possible to lower your heart rate significantly and increase the time you are able to hold your breath for. Concentrate on something that's relaxing to you. When you can't concentrate anymore, distract yourself by doing something with your hands, like counting to 99 with your fingers.^[7]

Event #9 Swim Test Set

On a lazy Sunday morning, the University of British Columbia Aquatic center saw 17 triathletes dip their toes in the pool in preparation for event number 9; the 500m swim set.

To everyones surprise dominant swimmer Nathaniel Janzen was nowhere to be found. Has he given up the chase against Matt Reeve. This could equate to a critical 15 point swing if Nathaniel decides to make up the event.

Ironically, in our first swim with the new tent in place, the sun decided to come out from hiding. There are many mixed emotions towards if the tent is a good of bad thing. Time will tell. The main impact it had for the swim test set was that the pace clock was no longer visible, would this affect the racers? Probably not, but you never know.

Looking over the group, Winston Guo surely must have been seen excited by the turnout. Having voiced his concerns over lost ground in the swim set, seeing that many of the middle range swimmers were not present, this bode well for him.

With the table set, Ivan called the start and the race was on. Leaving on 15 second intervals to prevent drafting, the fastest swimmers of each lane went first, followed by the rest.

There were many strategies, Vincent Lavallee*, followed Rachel Schoeler by 15 seconds where he decided to try and bridge the gap by sprinting the first 100m with the hope of getting into her slipstream, however, he had no luck in such matters as she quickly pulled away leaving him tired and without shelter. This technique may have been more successful in other lanes, but this narrator is unaware if that is so.

By the end of the grueling swim, Alex Lush was a clear winner in a time of 7:00 flat with Rachel finishing in second in a time of 7:20 and Vincent in 3rd in 7:25.

This is the first time in the University of British Columbia Triathlon Club history that the women take the win, and not only that but take second place on the podium as well!

With that done, the race came down to the further lanes to see where the division of rank would come. Matt Reeve who was worried of his hold on first overall maintained a solid showing finishing in 3rd male just behind Scott Chris distancing himself from Winston, but where was Nathaniel?

In the women's race Spazzzzzzzzz or infrequently known as Lauren was capable of holding off her main rivals in the overall to regain her place atop the women's field.

Following the event, speculation of where Nathaniel was started to leak out. The predominant vote was that on his bike ride in to campus he got cold and decided to bus home. But confirmation was still needed for this.

In a follow up, Nathaniel Janzen, Andrew Wight and Kendra Swain did the swim on the following Tuesday, setting two new course records! Kendra set the women's record in a time of 6:31 and Nathaniel, in a time that would have lapped Vincent set a time of 6:11. Those will be two times that may stand the test of time on the record board.

Congrats to all who showed up. And shame on Nathaniel for sleeping in.

Results:

Alex Lush	7:00
Rachel Schoeler	7:20
Vincent Lavallee	7:25
Scott Chris	7:39
Heather Enns	7:45
Matt Reeve	7:47
Spazadore	7:49
Celeste Paskstas	7:53
Kelsey Foote	9:00
Claire	9:30
Winston Guo	9:41
Victoria Gilbert	9:41
Derrick Lee	10:00
Eddie Wu	10:20
Debbie Poon	10:55
Jesse Chao	11:20
Yan Liu	12:20

Nathaniel Janzen	6:11
Kendra Swain	6:31
Andrew Wight	8:30

*Generally good looking guy

Brick Workout Event #8

Oh my I'm behind on updating the blog. Nearly 10 days out of the Brick/Swim set and I'm just getting to it now. Shameful!

There have been many speculations as to why I haven't updated in so long. The leading hypothesis can be heard in this re-enactment of a discussion overhead in the triathlon club office earlier this week.


Make sure your sound is on.




The accuracy of this video is incredible. The space aged office, Nathaniel and Matt wearing spandex, Vince being... Well you know.


No doubt in my mind that this happened.


However, it saddens me to admit this is not why the blog was so delayed. In all truth, its because I've been so busy with lab work. Mixed in with a visit from my mom and I'm just getting around to it now.


But rest assured, I remember all the important parts.


As one of our smaller events, the brick workout only had 14 people show up for the legendary ride on that cold wet morning. The conditions dampened the hopes (hahahaha) of those who had counted on drafting the entire bike course, however, this courageous bunch wasn't going to be deterred by the weather.

Nathaniel Janzen ready to take on the rain

An oversight, due to the weather, the official timer (and security guard for bikes) did not show up. This left the club with somewhat of a conundrum. Fortunately the graceful leader opted out of participating in order to watch over the bikes. Who knew that along with being a generally good looking guy, he was also so giving.


Due to weather conditions, the duathlon turned into a brick workout as the team opted out of doing the first running leg.


Quickly on the bike, a small trio of Barry Claman, Derrick Lee and Kory Seder took off the front. They worked hard and managed to open a gap on the rest. At the turn around Kory missed the turn only to venture another 700m down the road (Correction, Barry turned too early and everyone else followed. Kory is the only one who did the correct course). At this point Barry was able to distance himself from Derrick and came in to transition with a solid cushion of time.


Following this leading trio was the main pack of men, with Nathaniel, Winston and Scott all following not too far behind.


In the girls race, it was a little more of individual efforts as Kim Seder biked away from the group finishing the bike course with a demanding lead heading into the run. A little ways back the main pack arrived led by Victoria Gilbert with Lauren Spazadore and Celeste Pakstas just behind.

Kim Seder Leading the women's race

Female Peloton coming in to transition

Barry rounded out the finish in an impressive 21:31 with Kory having an adjusted time (due to the detour) 30 seconds back.

Barry Claman Coming in to finish

Nathaniel with a strong run, was able to break away from the pack and rounded out the podium in third.


In the girls race, Kim led from the gun finishing the run nearly a minute ahead of second place, where Victoria was able to break open the pack and lead Celeste to the line by just over a minute.

Woman's chase pack

Winston looking freakishly happy despite the weather

Derrick's finish

In a controversial turn of events, 4 members of the UBCTC partook in the brick the following Wednesday with the aid of Spazadore timing. The weather forecast was terrible, rain and cold, and therefore it was agreed that these conditions were fair to be similar. However, as lucky twist of events, Wednesday turned out to be a beautiful day. A little windy but otherwise amazing conditions. Since this was clearly no longer a fair battle, a new scoring system was put in place. Individuals racing an event after the original event has taken place, DO NOT GET PARTICIPATION POINTS. With that, we felt the advantage was neutralized, because although conditions were better. This would result in a net 13 point loss at the end of the series.

Quartet of make up session

That being said, a different tactic was employed by the men on this fateful Wednesday. Matt Reeve, Vincent Lavallee and Andrew Wight decided to work as a team rather than trying to break one another on the bike. Doing so result in the fastest bike split of the week by over a minute. As the hit the run, Matt pulled away and won in a new course record of 20:34 with Vincent 7 seconds behind.


Claire also took part in the make up session of the brick workout. However due to some navigational issues her time had to be doctored, her time works out to 26:16 but please don't ask me how I came up with that. There is a lot of hand waiving involved.


Full Results

Matt Reeve	20:34
Vincent Lavallee	20:41
Barry Claman	21:31
Kory Seder	22:03
Nathaniel Janzen	22:27
Derrick Lee	22:53
Winston Guo	23:12
Scott Chris	23:22
Andrew Wight	23:37
Kim Seder	24:47
Victoria Gilbert	25:20
Ceilidh Curis	25:38
Jesse Chao	26:08
Claire	26:16
Celeste Pakstas	26:44
Lauren Spazadore	27:02
Kelsey Foote	29:50

Photos

Fall Classic Half Marathon

Congrats to everyone who raced yesterday!

We had a decent sized showing in the half marathon and another few athletes running the 10k.

In the half marathon we had a few first along with a few personal best finishes despite TERRIBLE running conditions. Race morning was COLD (4*C), RAINY, and WINDY!

When I woke at 6AM up for the race, I checked the weather network and this is what I saw

I realize this says Monday Nov 16th, but fortunately for the blog today had the same warning as Sunday

At 6AM this is not what you want to see. Despite this, it was still a great day. Times were a little slower than normal but spirits were still high.

Congrats again to everyone who raced!

Half Marathon

23 1:26:27 Vincent LAVALLEE

33 1:27:50 Liam HARRAP

48 1:31:23 Eric SUESS

55 1:32:29 Winston GUO

80 1:34:42 Tobi VOLKMANN

106 1:38:06 Nathaniel JANZEN

140 1:41:29 Clara GOMEZ

154 1:42:59 Chris SCOTT

433 1:58:10 Ceilidh CURTIS

522 2:01:11 Sarah SIMON

10k

7 36:16 Derek WESTRA-LUNEY

11 37:18 Matt REEVE

100 46:28 Victoria GILBERT

If I missed anyone let me know and I'll add you on.

New Event in 2010 Spring Race Series

Super Sprint Triathlon

I saw this on Chuckie V's blog and think its a great idea.

Triathlon, by its very design, is an endurance sport. In general, the capacity to go fast is inferior to the ability to last. But it needn't be this way.

And so it is I hereby propose a true sprint triathlon, the Tri-Dash. And this is what I have in mind…

First, the rules. Then the events.

The rules are essentially like any other swim-bike-run triathlon but for one primary difference: there are no transition areas or transitions. That is to say each of three events is a separate entity, occurring as its own competition. Each event is separated by a number of hours, though all three of these events are to take place in the course of a single day. The results of each event are judged not on a points system (as per decathlon, heptathlon, etc) but strictly by time standards. Athletes qualify for the final through a round of qualifying heats. There would be a women's race and a men's race, of course.

The events…

The Swim: The swim consists of a single 100-meter freestyle sprint, from the blocks. It takes place in an Olympic-regulation-size 50-meter pool and each athlete competes in his or her own lane.

The Ride: The ride consists of a 1-kilometer flat, straight time-trial. Tri(athletes) are to start individually from a standing start.

The Run: The run consists of a single 400-meter dash. It takes place on a 400-meter track and essentially follows the rules as that of the International Olympic Committee's track and field rules: each athlete competes in his or her own lane against seven other runners.

How I see things…
Fast and fun! Any male capable of breaking 3-minutes would likely be deemed "world-class" and perhaps can consider himself one of the truly fastest triathletes in the world. Female times would likely hover within seconds of the male individual event times.

Tips on Swim Stroke

A few helpful tips that will improve most everyones swim stroke.