Time Off For Good Behaviour

As the TA took it’s quivering liver* out for a post-Christmas run that felt longer than was strictly necessary, we got to wondering “why exactly it was that the run felt longer than strictly necessary?”, which segued nicely into “what is strictly necessary?” which was answered by “because it’s the off-season” which itself segued nicely into “what constitutes an off-season anyway?”.

For large game, an off-season usually means they can’t be hunted, so with that in mind the off-season means people can stop taking pot-shots at me for a while. That would be nice.

Back to sport.

There is a school of thought that says as amateur athletes, we don’t need an off-season. After all, we’re not performing to such a high level or intensity that an off-season is strictly necessary. It further goes on to say that, as age-groupers, we should be striving more for year-round fitness. If fitness is an enjoyable part of our lifestyle, then we shouldn't deprive ourselves of what we enjoy because we are strictly adhering to the notion of "a month off".

The TA for one (Eds note: and this is a personal belief), believes that all is in proportion and yes, while most of us are not racing Elite, a season of continually training and racing eventually takes a toll, Elite or not. We need an off-season to recuperate physically and psychologically. Besides, the TA's race-season only finished a couple of weeks ago and if we don’t get at least one afternoon asleep on the couch with a cup of tea in one hand and the remote in the other there’s going to be murders.

So if we’re agreed that an off-season is in order, what form should it take?

A month or two on the couch with the remote and a cup of tea (or whatever it is that floats your proverbial boat) might just be the ticket. We all know people who have trained like dervishes all winter only to hit the racing season burned out, injured, totally jaded or all three.

A prolonged period of inactivity would drive even the most saintly of us mad, but keeping the training tempo up through the winter could (perversely) ruin the coming season. So perhaps we should stay active. We reckon there are a couple of options.

Instead of bemoaning the season, we can embrace it. Go out and have fun in the snow. Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing are all perfectly acceptable ways of keeping your fitness levels up. Admittedly it doesn’t involve any of the sports we profess to enjoy, but if it keeps your heart-rate up and a smile on your face, it’s a winner in our book.

Just be careful taking this option. As we take the roll-call at Navy and Cyclesmith there are always missing names due to snow-related injuries. Of course, exotic injuries need not be snow-related – Laurent Jalabert did his back in changing a light-bulb, but be careful nonetheless.

Now we think about it, while you are at it, avoid Sunday Leagues like the plague. In Blighty these would be football (soccer to you) leagues but we suppose hockey would be pretty close. You’re bound to hear “We’re short a winger/goalie/forward/substitute and you’re pretty fit; join us Sunday?”. Yes we’re fit (thank-you very much), but our knees only work in a nice up-and-down plane. All that twisting and turning? And then an awkward hit? You want to do Greenwood? Thought so!

The second way to treat the off-season is to change our expectations of it. There’s no reason you can’t stay fit all year, but you needn’t stay in race-shape all year. Back in the day when the TA was a roadie, the winters were given over to the long slow bike-ride. Come the summer, those of us with a certain bent would sharpen our skills (and cough up our lungs) on the chain-gang but the long, slow ride was a sacrosanct Sunday staple in the winter. You could be ostracized for upping the pacing on a Sunday club-run! “You want a race, go find one, you want to be on this ride, stay here” the cry would come from the back.

Yes we know there have been rumblings in the trade-press that the long, slow bike-ride (as well as, we’re sure, long slow runs, swims and bouts of tiddlywinks) are physiologically inappropriate and, worse, uncool, but we tend to agree with BikeSnob on this one. Roadies (it is reputed) are incapable of having fun and a long, slow bike-ride is definitely enjoyable (the Crest CC was a beer club with a bicycling problem). By this rationale then, the winter should be intervals interspersed with longer periods of pain, because if we’re not enjoying ourselves, it must be good for us (and ipso facto, if we’re enjoying it, then it can’t be doing us any good at all).

Besides, the TA reckons long slow bike/runswim/tiddlywinks/whatever definitely has a place. For those with an early-season rendezvous with a marathon or an eye to something even longer, such as an Ironman, long 'n slow is the ticket. You need those long, steady miles with goals such as these in mind; nothing fancy, nothing particularly fast even, just a couple or three hours of good, low-intensity effort. Base-miles (which are 60% longer than base-kilometres). If you think about it in these terms, then far from being a pain in our frost-bitten fingers, winter was actually made for us!

So as we emerge from a week’s debauchery (please tell us we weren’t the only one) and contemplate a snow-and-ice covered landscape, don’t worry. In our case, slow and steady definitely wins the race (and in slightly related news, Eddy Merckx once said the Tour de France was won in bed but that's a different post). Just forget the bricks, their time will come!

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*Apologies to Tom Wolfe

Letter From The President

Y'all

Firstly, let me wish you all the best of the season, whatever season that may be.

It has been an interesting year for TNS. Our ability to deliver programmes and services to you, the membership, ran up against the irresistible object that is the fact TNS is primarily a volunteer organisation. This notwithstanding, we were able to remain true to our core commitment and provided a race series that lasted from June to October from Cape Breton to Yarmouth. I'd like to thank all our race directors for their tireless efforts in providing us venues in which to test ourselves. I'd also like to thank all the race-day volunteers and officials, who provided a safe and fair environment for us to do the same.

I would also like to extend a huge word of thanks to the Board of Directors, who have collectively provided the support that allowed the Race Directors, Technical Officials and volunteers to do their thing.  An ex-president of TNS once defined the role of President as being one of "putting people in roles" as much as leading from the front and so whatever TNS has accomplished this year is thanks to them.

The only member of TNS who does not act in a volunteer capacity (well most of the time) is our Executive Director Sarah Wood. If anyone takes the credit for keeping the good ship TNS afloat, it should be Sarah. She has a hand (and sometimes her whole arm) in every project, every aspect, of TNS's activities and she has worked tirelessly over the year to ensure that we can do what we do. She also took most of the photos in this post. Sarah keeps out of the limelight and so one of the only pictures I can find of here is this one from Port Hood a couple of years ago; yes, she was leaving, but characteristically, only after the race has been run safely but well before the accolades (including hers) are given out. Merci Sarah.


Another asset to TNS this year was our summer student, Shawn Miller. He contributed significantly to our ability to put on races, despite forgetting to bring the buoys to Guysborough following a perverse "it's a triathlon, I didn't think you'd need them" logic. We understand that Shawn has since joined the Navy. He has already been counseled on the correct pronunciation of buoy (it's "boy" not "bu-i") and reminded that if he forgets the naval version the Navy, unlike the Guysborough TD, will have no qualms about painting him orange and setting him afloat in the harbour. And possibly mooring a frigate to him. Sometimes we wish for the days of keelhauling.

Shawn had a chequered summer. We did this to him after he tipped the HOTH TD's kayak over, dropping him into the lake fully clothed carrying a Garmin, radio and the laser range-finders. What were we saying about keel-hauling?

In order to support positions such as Sarah and Shawns, TNS derives much of its operating capital from grants such as NS Department of Health Promotion & Protection Block Funding. Our Block Funding request was successful this year and we secured funding for a further 3 years. As with many Provincial Sporting Organisations (PSO), we experienced a cut in block funding. In our case this was 10% or ca. $500, but compared to the swinging cuts exeriences by other PSOs, we did very well. Thanks to all who helped out in this process; your contributions may be invisible to the membership at large but they generated indispensible income without which TNS could not continue to survive.

This year has seen TNS perform on highly visible and public stages. In June, we attended the IKON Sports Awards. The IKONs are annual awards that recognise the best in amateur sport in Nova Scotia. Jason Murphy was nominated as one of the three top officials in Nova Scotia in 2008. I know we don't see very much of Jason in TZ nowadays, but this award recognised his work for Triathlon Canada and the ITU in the Americas and beyond. Shawn Amirault won the Fair Play award for his actions at the '08 Bridgetown Olympic. When read out over the PA, their citations seemed even more incredible, even if a typo (theirs, not TNS's) meant Jason worked at the National Spring Triathlon Championships. As Jason said "with two trips to the podium we looked like Soccer Nova Scotia, if only we had even a fraction of their money". I think the fact that we got two trips to the podium speaks volumes about the members of TNS. We do not adhere to the OCD, blinkered, Tri-at-any-price triathlete sterotype and that we take the time out of our day, out of our training and even out of our race to help others. Certanly Jason and Shawn did. Chapeau!

Jason Murphy (L) and Shawn Amirault (R)

On a sporting level, no stage was more highly visible this year than Summerside PEI where Triathlon made it's inaugural appearance at the Canada Games. Despite representing a small sport in a small province, our men's and women's teams of Jill King, Meggie Soehl, Emily Wood, Mac Grant, Brad Piggott and Parker Vaughan performed admirably in the individual and team competitions. We mustn't forget the coaches Jason and Jennifer Lawton too, who were indispensable members of the team. Not only did they coach the team to CG, but they set in motion a process that generated not only the '09 CG team but is already looking forward to growing the team for the '13 games.

The 2009 Canada Games Triathlon Team (L-R) Mac Grant, Jill King, Meggie Soehl, Emily Wood, Parker Vaughan and Brad Piggott

Without too much hyperbole, Brad Piggot had a breakout games. He posted the fastest swim split in the individual event and the fastest run in the team competition (think how fast Simon Whitfield runs, that's how fast Brad was going!). He was unlucky not to medal, having led the individual race out of the water and making the lead pack. Thanks to these performances, together with his twin brother Matt, he was recently extended an invitation to triathlon's National Training Centre.

Brad Piggott

Indeed the men's team was denied a medal in the Team competition due to an untimely mechanical, coming in 4th. In an unprecedented and understated show of sportsmanship, the 3rd place Manitobans presented the NS lads with their podium pins!

The Manitoba (white/grey) and Nova Scotia (Blue/white) men's triathlon teams.

Nova Scotia also provided 25% of the officials team at the CG including Tracy Crowell and Linda McLeod. They spent the week in Summerside learning how to ply their trade at the highest levels and when it came to the Team competition, literally making it up as they went along. Speaking of major games, we understand that Linda and Jason will be working in official capacities at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Not as triathlon officials, but in official capacities nonetheless; good luck guys.

The Canada Games Triathlon Canada Officials (in red) and Local Organising C'tte (yellow)

Age-group athletes from TNS have also been visible in competitions across the world. We especially think of Dana Philips, who came back from a horrific crash at Navy '07 to represent Canada at '08 LC Worlds in Australia. This year we were lucky enough to have Worlds spots at several races right here at home and so many Nova Scotians will be donning the red-and-white skin-suit this coming year; good luck all.

That was then, what about now? Well looking forward, I can announce that early in the New Year the AGM will be on Jan 30th at Banook Canoe Club, followed by the Awards banquet (same place). Please come and have your say in the running of this organisation and then stay for the party.

The more net-savvy of you will have realised that a skeleton race-schedule is on Atlantic Chip Timing. These likely aren't the only races however. We're working on another duathlon as well as a draft-legal race so fingers crossed. It is already promising to be an exciting season!

We relaunched the TurnAround too this year, as you probably know if you are reading this. I hope you like the new look and format. Even though some things have changed, some things stay the same and we welcome all contributions from members. We already have followers all across Canada, but even so please forward the links and articles on to people you know who might be interested.

It has been an honour to be your President this year, even if sometimes there's been a touch of the deer-in-headlights and blue-arsed fly about me. As this year draws to a close, take a well-earned break and try not to think about triathlon too much over the Holidays. Come Jan 1 there'll be swim, bike and run aplenty; I look forward to seeing you in TZ

Andrew
President; Triathlon Nova Scotia

Credit Crunch

So the TA retrieved it's credit card from the Finance Officer following the Christmas Crackers post, knowing that with BTC stalwart Tom Rogers' fourth installment of Livemultisport's Christmas list it might have to be returned forthwith. Having seen the new list (which dropped yesterday) it turns out that merely returning it to the Finance Office was not enough and the only recourse was passing it repeatedly over a strong magnet, cutting it into very small pieces and mailing aforesaid pieces back to VISA. The CC equivilent of being hung, drawn and quartered we suppose. It really was the only way.

The previous lists were modest in scope; a hat, an espresso machine, earings. Areo-wheelcovers or maybe Cliff's NSFW hot-tub were as grand as it got. Tom's list starts with some "gotta do races" and goes downhill (or uphill depending on your credit rating) from there.

What would the choice be? As with the other lists, there was one stand-out for us; wind-tunnel testing. Not that we stay up all night worried about our aerodynamics. If we did, we could do worse than get rid of our Jammers and get something a little, well, flatter. There's a video somewhere of your faithful reporter "getting aero" (hefty dose of irony) that would make a tri-coach shudder. Neither would we drop $390 USD/hr (and like so many things, one hour minimum) in any belief that it would improve the TA's athletic abilities. The TA is pushing the envelope to keep evens in a TT (20mph/32 kph), so doing a Cadel Evans and welding one's stem to the steerer-tube through a cut-out in the head-tube to reach the heady maximum of 21 mph would only come at the expense of a worsening back and a wicked case of vertigo.

Cadel Evan's TT rig. Yes, the stem really is bolted to the steerer tube!

No, rather, it's because sometimes the best gifts aren't necessarily things that you want or even need. Sometimes, they are the things that you wouldn't even dream of buying for yourself. So, because wind-tunnel testing is so outrageously in the "not only what the TA doesn't have on his Christmas list but is so far out there he didn't even think to put in on his Christmas list in the first place"category, by some strange concatenation of logic, it makes the perfect gift. Plus, having your own private wind-tunnel data; that would be so cool! How could you not name-drop that in TZ?

What would you pick (assuming you don't have half of them already)?

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Swim, Bike, Brunch?

Our first TA poll closed yesterday. We asked "Are you still riding outside?" and you said;

The most popular single answer was "Been on the trainer since November"; 34% of respondents (8 of 23, or in a stunning piece of unwarranted extrapolation, about 130 TNS members) have been. Makes sense. The conditions aren't exactly suited to monster rides any more and if you've got one eye towards an Ironman in the near future, then the trainer (and a hefty supply of DVD box-sets) is probably the way to go.

The majority of you, as of mid-December, were still riding outside. Chapeau (and a thick wind- and waterproof chapeau at that)! Some 13% were "riding" and given that an option was "Hell Yes" your enthusiasm sounds muted and I sincerely hope you are still enjoying your time outside. The swinging endorsement that was "Hell Yes" accounted for 30% of the votes. I'm going to guess that the "Hell Yes" crowd are doing something different; mountain-bikes, 'cross, stunt-recumbents or something.

Finally, 21% responded "Commute". Don't knock the commute. Look past the panniers, hipster-cysts and the fluorescent tabard for a second. Back in the day whenever a club cyclist had an outstanding or breakout season, we didn't say "drugs" we said "(s)he must be doing a commute". A bike-commute is one of the best ways to improve your form without even trying to. Plus, it gets you on two wheels in weather you wouldn't put the proverbial dog out in (gaining precious Hardman Flandrian points). Finally, when you eventually get out again on a bike without bags, rack, fenders, lights, steel and touring geometry, you'll go zooming off into the sunset! Seriously!


So here's another poll for you (over on the right bar). At this time of year our time gets even more squeezed. When push comes to shove, which sport do you tend to stop doing first; swim, bike or run?

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Photo courtesy of Ian McGrath, graph courtesy of evidently I have way too much time and need to get a life!

Christmas Crackers

If you're anything like me, then your days pretty much follow the same routine. As comforting as a routine may be, it does mean that if, ITTET, you want to augment your income with a tax-free Christmas bonus by kidnapping me and holding me for ransom all you have to do is hang out at the intersection of Willow and Prince and I'll just fall into your lap (or van with blacked out windows or whatever). Of course, this assumes that a) there is someone who will wish to ransom me back and b) should (a) be true, they have the means to pay said ransom. Both of which are rather large assumptions. However, I digress.

The reason I bring up routines is that many of us will have found that our routines have been subtly disrupted recently; a police road-block on the way back from the pool, your lunchtime 5 miler this Thursday is clashing with something all of a sudden or Cyclesmith have hung a bunch of white-painted sprockets in the window. What gives?

The holidays are upon us once more and while they tend to creep up on people at the best of times, I think it's worse for us. One moment we're racing, then we're digging out the big gloves and hats while pondering next season's program when all of a sudden we're ambushed by mince pies, egg-nog, tofurkey and you know that spot in the living room where you put your rollers? Some-one has gone and stuck a tree there!

The midwinter festivals are rooted in a hope that the sun, seemingly dead, will come back into our lives. As outdoor athletes we are probably hoping more fervently than most (and given another month of this, I suspect potentially more likely to resort to animal sacrifice) for the return of light, warmth, an ice-free lake at Ingonish Beach and cropped tops. Most of all we're hoping for a new racing season!

What better way to start off preparation for the Navy sprint (May 30, mark your calendars) than some shiny new kit? Our friends at livemultisport.com have trawled through the catalogues, websites and LBS (both near and far) to bring a selection of what's hot. Not only that, but they're doing four lists, each list curated by different people with different tastes. Here are my favs from each list...

From Jen's list, a hand-made, tweedy, wooly cycling cap. What did you expect? I ride fixed, I ride steel and I do it at the same time; what sensible, gear-ratio quoting ubergrouch Sheldon Brown wannabe wouldn't pick the hat? Yup, it looks dumb in TZ and it about as technical as my late grandmother but it isn't made for TZ and a high-intensity workout, it's made for scooting over to TIBS on the fixie for an espresso and a croissant.



......sorry, I'm back, I was thinking about those croissants. Where were we? Oh yes. From TJ's list, espresso. Seriously. Yes, I'd love a pair of Rapha shorts (I'd love that Rapha EPO T-shirt even more but I'm dead out of luck), but c'mon; something you can crash or coffee? Was there really a choice?


Finally (for now) from Cliff's list, aero wheel-covers. You tell these guys what wheels you have and they have aero wheel-covers for them so you can convert a regular wheel into a disc-wheel without all that messing around skinning your knuckles with a chain-whip and blowing a wad on race-wheels that cost more than your first car but you only use three times a year. "A $90 price tag that acts like a $700 purchase" as Cliff puts it. Do you think Wheelbuilder will laugh when I ask if they have a set that'll fit MA2s?


Go check out what I didn't pick. I'm off to reclaim my credit-card from the Finance Officer and LMS haven't even published week 4 yet. I'm doomed!

In all seriousness though, thanks LMS

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Blood Sport

The final Cyclesmith Kona Kupa Soup Kross (sic) cyclocross race of the season is this Sunday (Dec 13th) at Seaview Lookoff Park in Halifax. To find it, ride down Gottingen, proceed straight on as it turns into Novalea and when you get to the end, carry (no pun intended) on straight through the gate and down the hill (under the MacKay). Then just follow the caution tape.....


For those of you not familiar with cyclocross it is basically a non-technical(ish) mountain bike race done on modified road bikes; wide tyres, lower gears, cantilever brakes and a ton of clearance.


Whispy, lightweight, windcheating Cervelos these are not. As a sport, 'cross maybe considered a bit of an anachronism and despite STI (Shimano Total Integration that is, not the other STI), SRAM, tubeless, aluminium and crabon these bikes have a touch of the "back-in-the-day" about them. That said, this race is all about fun and mountain bikes are welcomed, our friends at Cyclesmith just ask you remove the bar-ends.


The course has something for everyone, a real crowd-pleaser! There are steep muddy climbs and descents.....


.....gravel.....

...... and at least two places where you have to get off your bike and carry it up hill or jump over barriers.



And all of this is considered de rigueur.




It's short, it's fast, it's unrelenting, you should expect to crash at least once and if you're into that kind of thing it's insanely good fun. Some magazines will try and tell you it's a good way to "maintain post-season form" but don't drag that into it! If you can't enjoy yourself in December, when can you eh? Plus at $5 per race and no day fee (or about 50c a lap including warm-up) it's way too cheap not to!


This is the last chance to pin on (well zip-tie on) a number this year and unlike some end-of-season events, this one will be raced in dead earnest. It's a 45 minute race and typically you'll be racing with the throttle wide-open, think of your 10K effort and you'll have a rough idea.


Several triathletes have taken the 'cross plunge, in some cases literally, over the past few years; take a bow Norm Lai (sorry, but I can't find a pic of you), Tony Walker, Gerald Lewin (dude, Lemmy form Motorhead called, he wants his mustache back), Tyrone "for reasons of national security now known as" Grande, Marie-Claude Gregoire, Antar "if you're not wearing that can I borrow it" Fuentes and yours truely.


We're all doing it for a variety of reasons. I think one of them is to dispel the myth of triathletes as dodgy bike handlers. Of course it would help if between us we hadn't racked up an insane number of injuries; swathes of road-rash, a cracked rib, at least six stitches and a reputation for running far more of the course than anyone else. I think you can safely say we're collectively taking one for the team!


If the prospect of red-lining it in person two weeks before Christmas doesn't fill you with joy, come down to watch instead. Especially if you have that blood-sport type of mentality; why hurt when you can watch other people hurtin' for you (and for entertainment)? Ave, morituri te salutant indeed! Gun goes at 11:00. Dress-code is welly boots, big coat, hat, gloves and a cow-bell.
Traditionally 'cross also goes with frites, mayonnaise and insanely strong Belgian beer (one concept: post-retirement Eddy Merckx. Need I say more?) but I'll leave that up to you.


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Photos & video of Cyclesmith 'cross events from Steve Fougere, Lawrence Title and Ed Rushton

Transition Year.

Everyone has good years, bad years and transition years. Well, it was one of the later for the TA. It explains why the TA has been so quiet. Not his usual self, one could say!

But now is time to come back on what has been an extremely interesting season in the world of multisport this summer in Nova Scotia. News faces, the Canada Games selection and races, many anecdotes and happy stories. Too many results to publish them all… but our friends @ Atlantic Chip Timing have almost all of them on their website: http://www.atlanticchip.ca/events/results.php?year=2009 Check this out!

Did you miss the TurnAround? You don’t have to answer, but the TA surely missed you and is craving to read your stories about the 2009 season. Do you have pictures you would like to share? Send them too!!!

The 2009 TNS race season is now officially completed, but there are still many of you racing in running, cycling (‘cross!) and swimming events, or even triathloning outside NS. To all of you, the TA is wishing the best. And for the rest of us who are taking a little bit easier until 2010… enjoy a well deserved rest, book a massage and buy yourself a nice novel to read curled up on the couch, with a big fluffy blanket and a nice cup of coffee… After your long run, of course, because we all know what it means to take it easy during the Fall… J

This is the new TA Blog, just in time for discussing the best present to offer to the triathlete who already has everything… Will it (really) snow before the Holidays this year? Snow? You mean the white cold stuff that comes back every winter? Well, as the TA spy has been able to observe in Shubie Park, the roller skiers are already out, and they are performing the dance of snow every night, wishing for the white fluffy matter to fall on our head as soon as possible and stay on the ground!…

Keep on having fun,

- MCG

Welcome to the new look TurnAround

I'm back!!!

To be honest, hacking through your door with an axe is soooo 1980. I mean who uses an axe any more? Does anyone under 18 even know what an axe is? Instead, we'll hack into your inbox. Either way the result will be the same, The TA will still get into your consciousness without all that inconvienient crawling through windows and freezing to death in mazes.

I hope you will welcome the TA back into your lives after ignoring you for most of the 2009 season. Nothing I can say in extenuation and mitigation will be enough, so please just accept my heartfelt apologies.

We'll try a new direction this year though. Instead of a newsletter in a print-off-and-read-in-the-bathroom format, we're going to try an electronic approach, using Twitter, Facebook and blogging. The content should remain the same though, the same mix of fact, meandering ramblings and the almost fiction that are some of my race-reports!

A change in medium asides, I hope that this will make The TurnAround more consistent with your lifestyle (if not your bathroom reading habits) and continue to make you feel part of a provincial-wide triathlon community. I hope too that you will start to become more involved in the TA through the ability to directly comment on posts, both here, on FB. and Twitter. Write what you will for now.

Some of the usual caveats still apply. We are always looking for material and the off-season is always the hardest season for us to fill. Unless you want to read ad nauseaum about socks, then let us know what you're up to and we'll post it. Also, the look-and-feel (and functionality) of the sites will evolve with time as we learn what it is you want from us.

In the meantime, enjoy your month off and remember that if you are still swimming outdoors, wet-suits are definately in!

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