The Loaring Chronicles

We Salute You

2008-07-22T12:11:00.008-04:00

The 2008 Loaring Triathlon was a great success. We have unofficially achieved our goal of raising over $100 000 for the Elena Loaring Memorial Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

To Elena Loaring--for being the greatest mom, and a great friend to many--we all salute you.

To the participants--especially those who completed their first triathlon--we salute you.

To the volunteers--who were all incredible in making the event a well-oiled machine--we salute you. Below I have cut and pasted an email that Charlotte sent out to our champion volunteer team.

To the sponsors--for being so gracious in donating product, services, or $$$--we salute you.

Dear Volunteer Team,

This morning, after the final bit of clean-up, I left the cottage in the same way I always do. I looked up at my mom's vase (a symbol of her physical presence), and her memorial tree (a symbol of her lasting life and memory), and I was immediately overcome with emotion. I realized what a great day I had just been part of; what amazing friends and family I have in my life; and the legacy of my mom's "arms wide open philosophy", strongly rooted, by her, in my brother, my father, and I. We can all firstly thank Elena Loaring for the inspiration.

Next, thank YOU from the bottom of our hearts, for helping make this event a memorable and successful one again this year. We are so very grateful for your contributions, time, and support. Despite slightly smaller numbers than some previous years, we consider this event our greatest success to date, as it was the most smoothly run and organized event we've ever had. Unofficially, we reached our ultimate fundraising goal of $100 000 for The Elena Loaring Memorial Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

Special thanks to the following people for their extraordinary voluntary efforts:

Miro Tot & Keith Henry - Miro & Keith were our tireless Bike Captain's (the toughest part of the course, and the most efficiently organized to date), who worked non-stop Friday & Saturday. (Keith's company, Windsor Mold Group, was also our top financial sponsor.) Thanks also to the team of volunteers on the bike course, including: Adrian Berkeley (who also made a special trip to assist on Friday with set-up), Karen Rocheleau (of the famous Thursday Night Social Running Group), Peggy Cozens, Eric Robertson, Mike Carter, Carolyn Harris, Bob Sidhu, Jeff Scott, Jaicee Rowan & friend Lauren, Miro Tot Sr, Jeff Digou, Rose Caille, Larry Letwin, Barb White, and several others who offered assistance on race-day due to volunteer support needs.

Nissim Abergel - Nissim was our extraordinary Parking and Clean-up Captain, staying until the afternoon on Sunday to ensure all was packed up and organized for 2010. He was assisted by parking co-captains Anthony Pannicia and Dick Watson (who was a jack of all trades on Saturday!).

John Sasso & Lindsey Manning - Doubling as Transition Zone Captains and swim lifeguards, they donated amazing full days of help on Friday and Saturday. Their transition team included assistance from breakfast chef & transition super-star Ralph Iannitelli, Bill Davies (who also secured Union Gas donations), Jeff May, Danielle McKibbon (who also hand-made all ribbons for our participants this year), Mike McWha, Krystle Campbell (who did numerous pick-ups the week leading up to race), and John McKibbon (our OAT official).

Rob Tranter & Tim Colbourne - Rob & Tim, our awesome Running Captains, assisted both Friday and Saturday with course set-up, and tackled the challenging needs of the run course segment. Tim doubled as our media contact, securing an interview for us with AM800, as well as perking the interest of the Windsor Star. Their running team included: Celeste Broadbent, Karen Goran, Haydon & Fallon Mitchel, Serena Hunt, and Kelly Krahn (who earlier in the month assisted with hand-delivering of triathlon event information to all neighbours along the race course).

Steve Watson & Jeff Cowan - Our dedicated swim captains, worked well with kayakers Randy Soepboer and John Loaring, and fellow lifeguard Michelle. Thanks also to Steve & Ashley for making the extra trip Friday night to lend us a hand.

Registration, Raffle & Awards - This was an area that spanned weeks, with the help of fellow colleages Adrienn Nagy & Jody Rowan. Adrienn and Jody sold nearly $1000 in raffle tickets for items generously donated by our many sponsors. On event day, Coleen Tot, Annie Bison, Raquel Cowan, and Kathy Sidhu were efficient and organized with race-kit pick-up, body marking, and awards assistance. Coleen secured us 50 bags of free ice, and special thanks to Kathy Sidhu & Carolyn Harris for chopping hundreds of veggies on Friday night! Breanne Loaring, and Janet, Brian & David Sharatt provided immeasureable support and help all weekend with unloading and set-up, and groceries for all volunteers over the weekend.

Motor City Sertoma - What a group! Lead by Audree Sprague (whose husband and good friend of the Loaring Triathlon - John Sprague - continues his battle in hospital with colon cancer....we love you John). This amazing group of volunteers cooked and sold hundreds of dollars of food and drink, while making additional financial and door prize contributions. Audree brought food leftovers to neady people at Iris House, and hard-working staff at Met hospital so that no food was wasted.

Loaring Physiotherapy Staff - Thom Lovell, Erin Seguin, and Larry Brun donated their massage services the entire afternoon, while Mary Brannagan and Steve Georges were on-site physiotherapists who also came up with a Triathlete Specific handout of target exercises. This was the 3rd weekend in a row that the Loaring staff volunteered their medical services in their community - amazing!

Photographers - Professional photographers, Ed Goodfellow and Gil Shaw, dragged themselves away from the Dragonboat Races early on Saturday to capture our event, along with at least 3 reporters that I know of from local newspapers.

Elvis & Better Than Nuttin Band - Both talented musical line-ups donated their time and talent for free, and were especially appreciated by the die-hards in the group, who enjoyed them until the rain went away and the stars came out. Special thanks to Guido from Windsor Mold Group who assisted to equipment pick-up and set-up.

Wilf Goron - Our Heinz sponsor contact, Wilf also secured Elvis and our first ever Dove Release. Thank you for your unique and lasting impression on the 2008 Loaring Triathlon.

Our Neighbours (The Pawluk & Lawton Family's) - Enormous thank you to both neighbours for their patience, understanding, and support of our event and cause, involving the necessary and complete use of their respective properties.

Our Family - Last, but certainly not least, thank you to our father John, and our new family - the Sharratt Family (Breanne, Janet, Brian, and David) for their ongoing support and super assistance throughout this process.

We hope to see you all in 2010, when we plan to reveal the exciting annoucement of our new fundraising cause! Stay tuned!

Charlotte & James Loaring
Co-Race Directors
Loaring Triathlon

New Loaring Physio and LPC Brochure

2008-07-16T00:07:00.004-04:00

Click images below to view the new Loaring Physiotherapy / LPC brochure:

LPC July e-News

2008-07-15T13:39:00.003-04:00

Click the logo below to view the LPC July e-Newsletter

Musselman ITU Pan American Cup

2008-07-14T12:41:00.003-04:00

I came into the race with the knowledge that there were many talented athletes who have had much more training under their belt than I this past year. But I told myself to race with heart. And that is what I did. I finished 7th and tied my best ever finish for an ITU triathlon. Now my attention and focus turns towards the upcoming Loaring Tri this Saturday. It will essentially be a week of almost zero training. I am totally ok with that and can't wait to see the smiles on the faces of the many beginner triathletes when they cross the finish line. My sister and I are very fortunate to have such a fantastic volunteer committee to help with what really is a colossal undertaking. We are also very fortunate to have amazing community support--which have been instrumental in helping to raise over $100 000 for the Elena Loaring Memorial Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

A quick monster thanks to all those who have supported me. This past race was incredibly satisfying to finish where I did when I have so many other more important priorities taking place. My goal of a podium finish at Nationals is still very much alive--and there are still many other races that I want to perform well at this year. I might not be able to train as much as I would like--but I will show up with sharpened elbows (in Kelwona) and many rivals (who are all virtually great friends and former training partners at one point) are going to have to be willing to suffer if they want to beat me.

I suffered incredibly in Saturday's race and I am very very sore today. It was damn hot and the body just wanted to throw in the towel but the mind was bloody stubborn. Props to Yorke on a fantastic 6th place finish (I was second Canadian behind him). Props to Bechtel for being such a biking machine. I presented them with one litre of Crown Royal on Saturday night as a tribute for their blood, sweat, and toil. Although I am secretly wishing that they become alcoholics and stop training and racing so well...

Thanks to my Beautiful Bre, and to Pre for lending me his race wheel. His pre-race email really helped. All he has to do is mention 'ika' and I am ready to release the beast within. Thanks to Coach CT for his perfect training program--designed for a busy scrub--and especially for becoming a father on July 11th!

The Lore of Athletic Legend John Loaring

2008-07-11T22:22:00.003-04:00

My grandpa Johnny Loaring is shown on the cover with fellow Olympic legends Silken Lauman, Marnie McBean, and Kathleen Heddle.

Below is the article on page 14 of the magazine. Click on the image below to read the full article online.

Karmel Sakran and Mussleman

2008-07-10T16:54:00.005-04:00

I am wearing many hats these days, even though I am literally not a hat-wearing chap. This weekend I am diving in with the sharks and racing the ITU Mussleman Pan Amercian Cup Triathlon in Geneva, New York. Although I am ranked 21st entering this race, I am going in with a slightly ambitious attitude and will be fighting for a top 10. I am one of eleven other Canadians on the start list. It will be my first Olympic Distance Tri this year, and first ITU race since August of last year. It is nice to be able to compete in an ITU event that is only a 4h drive from home.

Then the hat will be turned 180 degress and I will go into machine volunteer mode to prep for the July 19th Loaring Tri. The past couple weeks have been busy! I have had to miss a few training sessions, but have been reasonably consistent and the fitness is beginning to come along. I participated in the Karmel Sakran Canada Day 5k Run, finishing in a time of 16:15. Not that fast, but it showed that the running is slowly coming into form. Still lots of work to go--but hopefully I am not too far from holding that pace for 10k when it counts.

Ageless Wonder

2008-07-05T18:14:00.007-04:00

Many great stories have come out of the USA Olympic Swimming Trials. Certainly there have been phenomenal performances from the likes of Phelps, Lochte, Hoff, Beard, Peirsol, Spann....

But I believe that the greatest story of these trials concerns 41 year-old mother Dara Torres. Torres came out of a 7 year retirement to win the 100m free yesterday, qualifying for her 5th Olympic Games. In a sport where a 25 year-old is considered 'ancient', Torres has proved that anything is possible. Torres set a WR in the 50m free when she was only 14. It is mind boggling that 27 years have passed and she is still swimming amongst the elite of the elite. The New York Times featured this excellent article here.

Become Human

2008-07-04T11:27:00.004-04:00

Inspiring video of fellow PTC training mate Adrian Del Monte.
Produced by Adrian's bro Mikey, who is competing this weekend in the 800m at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

Canadian Track & Field Olympic Trials

2008-07-03T15:29:00.006-04:00

The Canadian running community will be very focused on the events that take place in my hometown of Windsor these next few days. The Canadian Track & Field Olympic Trials are underway!

Here is the race website:
www.canadiantrials.ca/

Here is the event schedule:
http://www.canadiantrials.ca/PDF/2008Schedule.pdf

Today's Windsor Star feature article here.

Loaring Physiotherapy will be providing volunteer medical support.

Best of luck to the all athletes, including Speed River and Windsor Legion!

Loaring Triathlon Interview

2008-06-27T22:50:00.003-04:00

AM800 interviews Char regarding the upcoming Loaring Triathlon:

Guelph 'Race' Report

2008-06-25T15:45:00.004-04:00

I decided to be a cheerleader instead of warrior this past Sunday at the Guelph Tri. I recovered terribly from a set of 400m repeats a couple days prior and the poor hamstrings were very sore. They have recovered 100% and it has been a couple good days of training this week. I felt guilty not racing since it was a local race that I was looking forward to participating in, but I had a lot of fun being out there on the sidelines. I know I made the right decision and there are many races still to come.

My little bro "Pre" was in a different time zone at the Guelph Olympic Triathlon. He absolutely smashed the bike course (it was 43k). The Guelph Mercury wrote a very nice story about his success. Read the front page story here. Also a big congrats to Brian for having a fantastic race and completing his first Oly Triathlon. Brian will be participating in his first 70.3 in September--so this was an important stepping stone. It was so much fun to cheer both of them on.

LPC's Helen Robertson also completed her first Oly Distance Tri as well. Helen will be competing in the Ironman Steelhead 70.3 on August 2nd. The Guelph Oly was therefore an important progression for Helen. She had a great race and will be ready to tackle her first half in 6 weeks time.

Margaret Wojtowicz also went quite well. Margaret raced 'fresh' from 11,000km of driving with her husband to and from the ITU World Tri Champs in Vancouver.

Margaret's son Rob had a smashing ride. On a road bike with no aerobars and riding in the hood postion the entire way, Rob's average wattage = 317. Due to the rolling course, his normalized power was 337 watts. Those are BIG numbers! His peak CP60 = 326 with a NP = 341.

In the Press and Over the Air

2008-06-23T23:53:00.004-04:00

Excitement is brewing for the upcoming July 19th Loaring Triathlon. If you live in Essex County, turn the radio on and tune into AM800 at 4:45pm, Tuesday, June 24th, to hear Charlotte get interviewed about the event.

As seen in the Windsor Star on June 17th and June 18th:

TRIATHLON The eighth Loaring triathlon takes place July 19 in Essex. Beginner and double triathlon events will be followed by an awards ceremony, and post-race party with live music and refreshments. All proceeds will go to the Elena Loaring memorial fund for breast cancer research, which provides annual scholarships for University of Windsor graduate students conducting breast cancer related research. Visit loaring.com to access pledge and registrations forms, and other information. To volunteer, contact Charlotte Loaring at 519-257-3762 or e-mail charlotte@loaringphysio.com.

Change Your Mindset Today

2008-06-23T13:53:00.003-04:00

What is High Performance?

By Wayne Goldsmith

One of the most commonly asked questions in this business is, “What Exactly is High Performance?”

People talk about, write about, think about sports science, sports medicine, exercise physiology, talent identification, performance psychology, biomechanics, skill acquisition, elite coach development, recovery, sports physiotherapy, sports massage, performance analysis and all the elements and components of high performance sport, but what is it? What is this thing called High Performance?

I can summarise it all in one word………Change.

People make High Performance seem a lot more complex, tricky and mysterious than it really needs to be. Sure there is some really cool technology and terminology involved - as there is in all industries - but the essence of High Performance is Change - or rather, accelerating the rate of it.

Full article HERE

Muskoka Chase Report

2008-06-20T08:35:00.009-04:00

The Muskoka Long Course Chase Triathlon is in the books, and in less than 48 hours, there is another toe of the start line. 'The Chase' is a 2k swim, 55k bike, 15k run over a scenic and challenging course, in beautiful Huntsville. It is called 'The Chase' because the elite women depart several minutes ahead of the elite men, with a differential largely determined by the previous year’s spread and the strength of field. This year's differential was determined to be 18minutes--so the elite women were sent 18 minutes before we could begin the chase after them. It makes for an exciting race, a race within a race, where the ultimate goal is to be the first person across the finish line.

The gun finally went off and immediately it was a very fast opening pace that reminded me of an ITU race (thanks to Buddy Green who is a sub-16 minute 1500m swimmer). 4 of us immediately gaped the field but I was having trouble staying on after 1k. I felt a little bit flat and I managed to hang on for the first 1400m. I excited the water in 4th 45 seconds behind. I must have really lost focus to lose that much time in only 600m! I was 1:15 ahead of eventual winner Kyle Guembel and my bro Dave 'Pre' Sharratt. I started the bike feeling good, but then after about 10k I knew I just didn't have the fitness in me to sustain my wattage output for the entire 55k. Kyle and Dave caught me just as I was catching third place, which was just before the half way point of the bike. It appeared as it was now developing into a great race--as we were all putting massive time into the talented ladies. I started to lose a bit of contact and fell off the fast pace being set by Kyle. I settled into my own rhythm and tried not to fall apart on the tough hills on the course. I still have to bring the fitness up!

Misfortune hit at 45k into the bike. My rear tubular flatted! I tried to ride on it for a few hundred meters but the course is so hilly that there was no chance of finishing the bike on the flat. I had no spare. I stood on the side of the road thinking my day was over and wondering how long it might take before a car came by to scoop me up. Fortunately, Karsten Madsen (who was out on a training ride and also serving as a drafting official) road by. What a classy guy he was in immediately offering me his rear wheel! I will admit that thoughts raced through my mind in passing up his offer, as I was discouraged that time had been lost and that I was now out of contention. But those thoughts were immediately replaced with positive vibes and I took his wheel and tempoed the rest of the course. I was happy to be out on the run course instead of feeling sorry for myself if I had dnf'd. I would have liked to have been trying to slug it out for a top-5 finish, but you can't control the uncontrollable. But I did control whether or not I would finish or not! I actually felt quite good on the run and pleased with the entire Muskoka experience. I look forward to doing this race next year, and hopefully the stars will align.

I may not have reached my goal time--but I still fought hard and got to the finish.
Here I am sporting the new LPC threads. I think I need to customize an LPC time trial helmet as mine looks a little like something Ronald McDonald would wear.

Yup, confirmation that I am going to design a new LPC time trial helmet. I want to look sexier than Dave "Pre' Sharratt.

Ladies and gents, David 'Pre' Sharratt. I am shown talking like a monkey in the background to OAT Executive Director Linda Kirk. I think I was trying to get Dave disqualified for his choice of attire.

This Sunday brings anther race and anther battle to be fought. The Subaru Guelph Olympic Tri is on and it should be a solid field toeing the line. It will be nice being able to roll out of my own bed and drive 10mins to compete in one of Canada's largest and most popular races.

Training and Another Sunday Bloody Sunday

2008-06-13T11:03:00.005-04:00

It has been a good week of training with the PTC. We have put in the bank a few solid open water swims. I have not touched my road bike in three weeks. Instead, the time has been spent atop the saddle of the time trial steed. I will admit that I have not spent nearly enough time, but hey, I did just get married! I have struggled a bit with fast running legs, but today is a rest day and tomorrow is race prep. Sunday will be a tough race on an awesomely hard course. There is a battle to be fought this Sunday at the Muskoka Chase Long Course Triathlon.

Team LPC will be well represented in Muskoka, and will also be making appearances at the Leamington Triathlon Weekend, the Running Factory Moon in June 10k Run and 5k Run/Walk, and the HSBC Binbrook Sprint Triathlon. A big weekend indeed!

Wedding Pics

2008-06-13T10:51:00.008-04:00

Bre and I are excited to look at the professional wedding pics next week. The photographer just sent a couple pics to wet our appetite:

Here I am stunned by the beautiful sight walking down the aisle.Below is the beautiful sight.
The First Dance.

Bring on the Heat

2008-06-07T09:34:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was smacked in the face with my first hard day of training since the wedding and honeymoon. After almost a complete week off of training (except for one ez 3k swim and one relay race were I swam/dolphined/ran for 6minutes and change), I am back swinging with the PTC.

Temperatures soared to 42 degrees on the humidex. Coach CT once again showed no mercy and we had a solid open water swim a guelph lake, a tough interval bike, and 400m repeats during a sweltering run. Coach CT pulled the plug on me halfway through the run session because it was very evident that my head was about to pop off. But I was too stubborn to let ADM suffer alone--and after being given the thumbs up from coach, I slugged it out to finish the set--and am still alive and kicking and typing this post 15 hours later.

The temps here in Ontario and other parts of North American are in stark contrast to where the eyes of the triathlon world are focused this weekend. Current air temps and water temps of 11 degrees and 12.5 degrees respectively, greet the competitors on the start line of the ITU World Triathlon Champs in Vancouver.

Check here for the complete schedule and start times--and to launch the live coverage feed. Barrie Shepley went straight from my wedding, to Vancouver--and will be the voice of the World Champs these next few days. Let's see if he has the stamina to make the call for what will be a very exciting men's and women's elite race on Sunday.

Make sure to cheer on LPC's Dennis Masse and Margaret Wojtowicz!

Also on tap this weekend is Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Ralph Iannitelli and Shelley McKee will be blazing on this pancake course and will have endure record high temps.

The HSBC Triathlon Series kicks off this weekend with the Lakeside Tri / Du

Congrats to all who participated in the Belle River Tri / Du this past Saturday. Results can be found at www.chiptimeresults.com

Honeymoon in Niagara

2008-06-07T09:10:00.008-04:00

Bre and I had a short honeymoon in Niagara Falls. It was so nice. We lucked out with perfect weather.

We stayed in a very nice room at the Embassy Suites. It was a stunning view that overlooked the falls. Even Little Loaring appreciated the wonderful view from Bre's tummy :-)

The Big Day

2008-06-05T15:08:00.013-04:00

What an incredible week! This past Saturday was the best day of my life. It started in the morning with the Belle River Triathlon. My groomsmen and I formed two relay teams (Spartans versus Trojans). While most groomsmen decide to play golf on the morning of the Big Day, we decided to support this excellent event, where the proceeds went to a great cause. I captained the Spartans and we prevailed and defeated the mighty Trojans. Some thought I was nuts for doing a tri on the day of my wedding. But I just did the swim (which took an entire 6mins20secs), and it was just what I needed to settle the nerves of sheer excitement for the upcoming wedding ceremony.

Team Spartans
Swim = James "CJ" Loaring = The Groom
Bike = Miro "Slavs" Tot = Best Man
Run = Rob "Base" Tranter = Groomsman

Team Trojans
Swim = Anthony "Paniche" Paniccia = Groomsman
Bike = Scotty "The Man" Schelter = Groomsman
Run = David "Pre" Sharratt = Groomsman/Brother-In-Law

It was a great morning and I am lucky to have such an awesome 'Band of Brothers' on my side. I am glad I participated in this event as I would have gone crazy just sitting around doing nothing (except bite my finger nails) until the ceremony began at 3pm.

Perfect weather greeted the ceremony. I was pretty emotional and everything went very well. Bre almost knocked me out with her stunning beauty. The Spartans had one in the morning and I had just married someone even more beautiful than the Helen of Troy. I am a lucky guy.

Some priceless pics were taken and then we were off to the reception. I had an absolute blast--as did many--and the food, dancing, and ouzo, were all exceptional.

I am very fortunate to have married the world's greatest sweetheart. I am fortunate to have so many truly great friends and family in my life. It was the greatest day of my life--a day that was shared by my closest family and friends. On this great day, I not only gained a beautiful wife, but I also gained a beautiful family. Brian, Janet, David, and the entire Sharratt family are truly wonderful. My groomsman are the best friends I could ever ask for. My pop and big sis Char are truly the greatest. My mom was there in spirit. The night before, as I was trying to sleep without success--I could hear her tears of joy coming from above. On the morning of, she brought the sunshine out and her spirit was felt throughout the day. I look forward to an exciting future with my beautiful wife, my beautiful Bre.

LPC's Shelley McKee was in attendance and was nice enough to post some pics and video on her popular blog:

http://ironm4n.blogspot.com/search/label/Loaring%20Wedding

There are tons of pics circulating on Facebook. I will put some more pics eventually once we get the goods from the professional photography and videographer.

A great time was had by all!

Cobwebs (partly) Removed

2008-05-28T12:38:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday was my first competition since the Dec 1st, 2007 Canadian Cross Country Champs. I had built up a ton of cobwebs over the winter and the Caledon Triathlon was successful in removing some of them. In past years I have opened the season much sooner--but this year is much different with the focus being on coaching, and of course the Big Wedding this Saturday! Although I will be The Groom this Saturday, I was relegated to bridesmaid at the Caledon Triathlon with a 2nd overall finish in the 440yard swim (20 yard pool), 15k bike, and 5k run. Nobody could stop Yorke today, he was bloody strong. Not even Pre could stop him. Yorke--you are going down next time my good friend. The race has re-sparked the competitive juices and I will get my vengeance next race :-)

Actually, I am pleased with how it went down. I am swimming really well right now. My time trialing on the bike requires a ton of improvement--something I knew going into the race--and something that was confirmed during the race! I simply have not spent enough time playing in the saddle. I wish I could train more these days--but I have to make the best of my constant time poverty state. I ran well considering it was my first hard run off the bike. I have yet to do a hard brick wkt this year. But the season is very young for me, and while some are smashing it right now--I will be patient and hope to be smashing it soon (and when it counts most).

The Caledon Tri concluded a good week of training. The goal was to have a solid week since next week will be virtually a complete week off of training--with the Big Wedding followed by a short honeymoon in Niagara Falls.

Some good sessions at the PTC were put in the bank last week. Last Tuesday was an awesomely hard group ride with the Speed River Cycling Club. Wednesday was a solid tempo run with a MS of 2x3k hard. Friday was a big day of hurt. We swam at the Swimplex in Waterloo. The MS was 20x100m on 1:20. I averaged 1:09 for the first 10 and then 'had a go' and went as hard as I could and averaged 1:03 for the final 10. Then in the afternoon AD and I had a war in a solid run along the 2k Trillium loop that consisted of a MS of 2k hard, 8x400 fast on 2:00, 2k hard. We were both toast by the end of the set. Coach CT showed no mercy for me on Saturday. Forget the ez pre-race wkt that I was hoping for--instead I did an awesome 85k ride from my house to Milton, up Rattlesnake, up Sixth Line, and then back home. It is my favourite bike loop. I followed that up with a 30min run off the bike and then had a quick snack as I was excited to jet over to the Sharratt's to help Brian put together a new Signet Broil King BBQ. After putting the bbq together--it would have been a sin to not spark it right away. This therefore provided the golden opportunity to consume the perfect pre-race meal: chips and dip and a quarter pound of chocolate fudge for an appetizer. 2 gigantico fully loaded burgers and 3 different salads and 2 pops for the main course. Unfortunately I was too stuffed to indulge in any form of dessert. Now I know that some of my athletes might read this--so all I can say is "do as I say not as I do".

So that is a training update (finally!) T-minus 4 days until the wedding! I am looking forward to making things 'official' and calling my beautiful fiancee, my beautiful wife :-)

Loaring Triathlon Sponsorship Brochure

2008-05-16T00:14:00.011-04:00

I would like to express a huge monster thanks to the many supporters and sponsors who have provided incredible support in sponsoring the Loaring Triathlon. We have currently raised almost One Hundred Thousand Dollars for the Elena Loaring Memorial Fund for breast cancer research! The Provincial Government will match dollar for dollar all monies received!

2008 Loaring Triathlon Poster

2008-05-15T10:39:00.004-04:00

Amherstburg Kids Cancer Ride

2008-05-12T15:26:00.005-04:00

Loaring Physio will be on hand to support the Amherstburg Kids Cancer Ride. For those roadies and tri-geeks in Essex County--consider incoporating your long ride in with this event.

Spinergize

2008-05-12T11:42:00.005-04:00

This is a collage of pics from Spinergize 2008. It was a fantastic event that I was proud to be a part of.

In this collage, am I:

A) teaching kung-fu while Jane is intensely watching a kung-fu DVD

B) explaining proper pedaling efficiency while Jane is focused monitoring her Spin Scan on the Ironman 70.3 Clearwater CompuTrainer course.

I am really looking forward to Spinergize 2009!

LPC Athletes Firing On All Cylinders

2008-05-09T17:09:00.005-04:00

A big congrats goes out to my big sis Char for successfully tackling the Beast and having a blast at the 70.3 St. Croix. Perhaps when she finds time--she can have another guest appearance and submit a race report (she is a MUCH better writer than I am). LPC athletes Jane MacLeod and Ralph Iannitelli also conquered the Beast and qualified for the 70.3 World Triathlon Championships! Champions!

Lisa Cheney and Kathy Henry did in fact fly across the finish line at this past Sunday's Flying Pigs Marathon in Cincinnati. Lisa had all the stars align for her while setting a new PB and obliterating her MRP (goal marathon race pace), crossing the line in 3h42min. This time qualified Chainz for the 2009 Boston marathon. In looking at her GPS data--Lisa actually covered 26.2miles in 3h39. The race was delayed due to a fire and had to be rerouted. The last second change to the course added 500m to the marathon!

Kathy Henry came oh so close to qualifying for Boston. It was her second fastest marathon ever, (in a total of 10 marathons) and Kathy will get another crack at the Boston standard in the fall. Champions!

Rob Tranter continued to impress by taking the win at the Path to a Better Heart 5k.

This Sunday will have LPC athletes tackle the Mississauga Marathon and the Forest City Half Marathon.

Happy Training,
Coach James