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@dusmithy2
Professional Duathlete for Canada, Coach with Toronto Olympic Club
Because of the way I originally created this blog it wasnt ideal so I just moved everytthing over. There will be no new posts here. All new posts will appear on the new one at http://dusmithy.tumblr.com
Thanks,
DU Smithy
Air Canada no longer allowing bikes for Edmonton Triathlon Grand Final!
http://www.getouttheremag.com/articles/3001/travel-canadas-best-airline-to-bike-with Has anyone seen this? We need to tweet, message and get Air Canada to change this. It hurts the sport and the athletes traveling to Canada, and Canadians who might travel to future World Championships. This is not good customer service so force them to find a way to accommodate customers and not leave them forced to find another way themselves! Just tweet this if you're on twitter: "@AirCanada Support our athletes & sport by allowing bikes for ALL incoming athletes to the @WTS_Edmonton #AllowTheBike" Always use the hashtag #AllowTheBike so Air Canada can follow the support for changing this policy or finding a way to handle the bikes!
Sweaty Elevator #Selfie after Ride around Toronto!
2014 National Duathlon Championships Course Preview Supplement
This is just an update to the National Duathlon Championships Preview by Jesse Bauer on DuathlonCentral.com. Jesse did a great job describing the course and these are some tips that will help you perform at your best and come out tops in your age group!
http://duathloncentral.com/category/races/previews/#ttf
THE RUN:
There has been a lot of talk about wind on the course and with 25-30km/h SW Winds the first 5k of the first run will be against the headwind! You will receive a little bit of reprieve as you pass by Palais Royal, and the Sunnyside Pavillion but it will be a strong and tough wind. Try your best to stay with others and don't get caught alone in this first 5k because this will help conserve energy. Only try putting a surge in around the Palais Royal or Sunnyside Pavillion while the wind is briefly blocked. Once you reach the turn around turn it up and stretch that stride out and let the wind take you. Your stride will most likely have shortened while fighting the wind so make a conscious effort to lengthen it on the way to T1. The hill by the Royal Canadian Legion is short and the only elevation change on the entire run course so don't be afraid to attack it with about 2km left.
THE BIKE:
The bike not a hard one but not easy either. Mount your bike and get through the turns of the Exhibition grounds quickly. Many will be fumbling on their bike through these turns with shoes, water, gels, etc causing them to lose momentum around the turns and a gap to open. Focus on getting through it quickly without having anything distract you because even with the smallest gap they wont be able to see you around the corners demoralizing them at the beginning of the bike. Once on the Gardiner its a short climb to the raised portion where the wind will be at your back! Hydrate, fuel then get areo because the tailwind will be strong.
There is a short dip onto the DVP where it levels out for about 3km. The next portion of the DVP is more rolling with a gradual climb. The climb of 3km from Don Mills exit to Eglinton exit will have some tailwind at the start but the climb will take its toll on the legs. Once at the 180 degree turn make the turn and dont think about recovery from the hill. You have to keep moving forward and know that you will recover on the downhill! You can ride the momentum through the rolling section after the Don Mills exit right through to the Gardiner on ramp. This ramp is steep and you could lose all momentum going up it. Try to maintain as much momentum as you turn into the headwind. At this point you will be tired and sore but really focus on getting aero and having solid form. The next 8km will be tough so stay close to the divider to minimize the headwind. The 2nd run is flat and 3.5km are with a tailwind so don't hold back on this last section of the bike.
2ND RUN:
The first 1.5km out of transition will be against the wind but its completely flat. The last 3km into the finish is with a tailwind and your stride will be slightly shorter from the bike and headwind, lengthen the stride and hammer it home. Think about turning the legs over quickly and lifting the knees. The "brick" legs or heavy legs are tired and they are most likely not getting the lift that fresh legs have causing the stride to shorten and turn into what can resemble a shuffle. To keep things moving forward through this last 5k don't think of it as 5k, but break it down into smaller sections such as the 300m until you go under the bridge, 200m until the turn around. These are more manageable and will keep you motivated and moving well right over the finish line!
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As always Le Tour is EPIC!
This sums up Stage 5 nicely!
Fabian Cancellara (SUI) of Trek Factory Racing after the mud madness on the cobbles at stage 5 :: Photo by Pim Nijland / www.pelotonphotos.com :: #pelotonphotos #fabiancancellara #mud #mudface #stage5 #trek #trekfactoryracing #tourdefrance #TDF #procycling #cycling #ciclismo #cyclisme #wielrennen #arenberg
Fueled by the mud between the cobbles! LOL This is an amazing photo! I have always been a fan of Fabian Cancellara (SUI) of Trek Factory Racing! He owns the cobblestones!
Legs up. Just finished a dry run of my duathlon( run-bike-run) next Saturday. I just did 1.5-11.4-.3 in ~51 minutes with transitions. Full race distance next week is 1.6-12-1.6. #cycling #fitness #shutuplegs #shavedlegs #training #duathlon #DUthespeedway
This is one way to motivate your legs to put the hammer down!
Running Form is so important to stay injury free, and more importantly most energy efficient! dusmithy
Maravilla Martinez dixit
A great way to motivate you towards your goals and dreams! Start by putting pen to paper then forward and beyond!
HAPPY CANADA DAY!
What is Your Theme Song?
I recently went to watch the Blue Jays play against the Cardinals and the Jays lost. It was also one of the shortest baseball games I have ever been to! Everytime one of the players went up to bat a song of their choice was played. You can see all of the music they chose here:
BLUE JAYS PLAYER MUSIC
I got to thinking about the music I like, and what represents me. Asking myself this one question...
When I am called to the start line or up to the podium, what would be my THEME SONG?
Finding your theme song can help motivate you and get you in the zone before a race or competition. Michael Phelps always has his headphones on before a race and his playlist is carefully selected to keep him focused and getting him ready to race. I have over 5000 songs on my iPod and narrowing them down to a couple is very hard to do because they all represent more than just the song. Here is some of the methodology that I went through while trying to find my theme song.
All the music I enjoyed over the years could represent some aspect of myself or a part of my life. Our kindergarten class performed Whitney Houston - Greatest Love Of All, and when travelling everyone associates Bryan Adams - Summer of 69' with Canadians. Well not everyone, but its happened on numerous occasions and even if their English isnt great they know how to say Summer of 69'. Both great songs but not something that would be a great theme song for me because they were all chosen by someone else..However Summer of 69' can get you pumped up and Greatest Love of All is very inspirational and could work for someone else.
Many songs I listen to now and again because I associate them with not one event or person but a larger time in my life. When I was in Australia in 2005, Madonna - Hung Up was played non stop the entire time and Ludacris - Area Codes was released during Fall of 2003, and is a memory of my University of Waterloo Varsity Cross Country experience that year. Although these songs both represented exciting and great times in my life, they wouldn't be right as the theme song.to anything more than those moments in time! Since Fall 2003 was my strongest Cross Country season with a 9th place finish at OUAs, Area Codes would help associate me with that moment when I was racing at my best. The mind can very easily associate sight, sound and smell cues to a past experience allowing you to almost relive it. If I used Area Codes as my theme song, then while it plays, I would visualize the last 500m of that 2003 race and recreate the feelings, thoughts, focus and energy of that moment so its fresh in my mind going into this new race. We all have had a great race in the past and emulating the things we did in that race in our visualizations will help the mind accomplish it in a race. The biggest being keeping focus on the things we can control in a race and not letting doubt, weather or others distract us. Building focus and tuning out distractions is part of what getting in the zone right before a race is about. (not after the gun or horn has already been fired). .Getting in the Zone at Duathlon World Champs in 2008
I have been browsing my top 100 list (that is constantly changing as things are added and sometimes deleted), Some of those songs come with a lot of emotion because they were part of a relationship, or remind me of someone, or got me through some difficult times. But depending on the emotions evoked by the song it may not be what you want if it is playing as your called to the start of the race. The theme song needs to be something that when I hear it, the lyrics and beat can motivate me, pump me up and help get me into the zone. I am a huge fan of Great Big Sea, John Legend and Kylie Minogue and have always enjoyed belting out Journey - Don't Stop Believing. At Karaoke my go to songs also include Kenny Rogers - The Gambler, The Lonely Island - I'm On A Boat, and Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way. The group efforts include Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline, The Beatles - Let It Be, and Tina Turner - Proud Mary.
In the end I came up with two songs that best encompassed everything I thought made the ultimate theme song for myself. After hearing them I would be ready to go and give it 100%
Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way
Great Big Sea - When I'm Up
The first song I would play would be Get Outta My Way because its up tempo, helps build confidence and reminds me that I do belong on that start line because I put in the training and had that commitment. It was the most played song on my iPod and everything I associate with it is positive. When I Am Up by Great Big Sea is inspirational and really gets me pumped up because it reminds me that once I get in the zone, I cant get out and must keep focused for the entire race (when I am up, I can't get down). During the race if I do find myself wondering and losing focus I can say that line from the song and it will help bring me back and refocus on the race and what I need to be doing. They are positive, up beat and catchy I am able to associate with them both quicker than a slow, negative complicated song.
I couldn't chose between the two songs for third place, I decided they can be used race day but they are to help me quash any race day jitters or doubts on the drive over or during a quiet moment well before the race.These two songs are Desree - You Gotta Be and Gabrielle - Dreams both of which remind me that I am living my dream through all the hard work and sacrifices and I do belong in the race despite some difficult times, bad races and obstacles along the way! Here are some of the other songs that made the final cut.
Montell Jordan - This is How We Do It
Scissor Sisters - Lets Have A Kiki
Plain White T's - Rhythm of Love
John Legend - Number One
Flo Rida - Good Feeling
Usher - Yeah
Blackstreet - No Diggity
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
What would your theme song be? Comment and share using the hashtag #MyThemeSong
I cant wait to hear what everyone's theme songs could be!
Kevin J Smith
@DU_Smithy
dusmithy.tumblr.com
Check them all out in the 8Tracks Playlist Player
Theme Songs from dusmithy on 8tracks Radio.
Except there are shortcuts to get out of the nightmare that is Ikea! But has anyone ever really found them?
WCH Withdrawl
I am so happy and proud for all my friends and competitors who are racing this weekend in Pontevedra, Spain at the 2014 Duathlon World Championships. Age Group, Elite and others all racing with the best in the world, oh how I miss it! Someone asked me this week whether I had the shakes, turned to drinking and suffering from World Championship “withdrawal”. Of course I am! 12 years in a row and now I am not there. It wasn’t really noticeable at first because it’s so early in the year this year and truth be told I was really trying to avoid it all. I am not as fit as I was and can’t afford to race so I have been avoiding the entire Duathlon scene all together which made it easier to not get caught up in it. However seeing the pictures, status updates and numerous posts on Facebook it has really made me realize how much I miss it all and how much it was a part of my life. I realized I can’t just ignore and avoid it, but I need to be there through email, Facebook and social media to support everyone I know in Pontevedra! No they are not all Elite athletes but I can be there in spirit supporting my Canadian team mates, friends and competitors!
And on that note, I am always happy to answer questions, give advice to those who need it. I produced the course profile of the World Championship age group course when my friend Jane asked and was happy to do so. There is so much more information and knowledge that I have gained over 15 years of racing that’s all stored somewhere under my thick skull that I can’t just let fade away! Good Luck to everyone racing!
Fortitude Vincimus
DU Smithy Kevin J Smith @DU_Smithy [email protected]
Zombies & Running Just Belong Together!
Some of you might think that Zombies are invading running like almost everything else in this world! You see them on TV from the hit show The Walking Dead, to movies in World War Z, Warm Bodies and in video games like Resident Evil! But now they are on your run! People would always yell "Run Forrest Run" or ask "What are you running from?" They already think your crazy for running 60+km weeks in heat rain or snow so why not just yell back "Running from Zombies!" Races have started popping up across North America such as the "Ready Set Die!" Zombie Obstacle Course series in Ontario starting on May 31 in Toronto. Its a 5k run with 13 obstacles and 1km of zombies! You can register as either a survivor and try to survive the zombie apocalypse or a zombie where you will be done up with special f/x makeup to prevent any survivors! But there is now more!
You don't need to sign up for a race to run from zombies, or play a video game. A new app being developed for the Google Glass, primarily as a fitness app has a "race yourself" component similar to the friendly competition you see on Strava. It keeps track of speed, distance, calories and a quick glance at the glass has it all. No more looking down at your watch or phone because if you turn around there could be zombies! In the "race yourself" options you could have zombies behind you or even a boulder rolling ever closer to you like Indiana Jones! Check out this video with a quick introduction!
