How I Became a Triathlete… without Ever Entering the Water (Toronto Island Race Report)

— By Darren Cooney

Out of all of the races in the Skechers Performance MultiSport Canada series, the Toronto Island event attracts the greatest numbers of first-timers.  And that’s just one quality that makes it so special.

For Torontonians like me, it’s the one race in the series that we can reach by bike – no car required! – with the help of the Ongiara Ferry.  It takes places in “the city’s backyard” on roads that are essentially closed to traffic.  Oh, and it’s nice and flat.

Clearly, it’s one of my favourite races to do each year.

Last weekend, I got to experience Toronto Island through the eyes of a newbie, taking part in my first triathlon… relay, that is!  Okay, so perhaps the title is a click bait, but this blog will be worth it!

How did a solo duathlete like me end up in a relay triathlon?  Well, for much of the season, I’ve been off with an injury, which still prevents me from high impact activities like running.  On the bright side, cycling is low impact, and so as the race approached, I hatched a plan.  I just needed some help…

Pieter, Coach Michael and me, moments before the swim start.

Happily, my X3 Training family members jumped in: Coach Michael Liberzon as a swimmer and teammate Pieter Wijnhoven as a runner.  It was settled.

If you haven’t tried a relay, go for it.  It’s all the fun of a regular race, with 1/3 the stress and 1/3 the physical output.  (I suppose you could also look at it as 3 times the pressure, but I prefer to see the glass half full!)

It means you get to see more of the event as a spectator, including checking out my friends starting the first wave of the duathlon.

These guys were about to run 5 km.  I was about to wander over to the beach.

Our race started at 8:50 a.m., which gave us ample time to see what was happening around the site.  It struck me just how many staff and volunteers it takes to make this event a reality.  But before we knew it, our wave had arrived and it was time to get serious.

“Yes, you all have to swim out there!”  (*Quotation may reflect what was going on in my mind, not what was actually said by John Salt.)

Watching the triathlon start and seeing how far from shore that Coach Michael swam, my heart beat picked up a notch and I felt a ripple of anxiety.  Kudos to everyone that conquered the swim!

Michael got our team off to a great start and soon I was onto the bike and having an absolute blast.  It’s so much fun dashing out of the transition area to ride on fresh legs and knowing that I didn’t have to worry about a run after.  Out on the race course, I felt the effort pretty quickly, but I was able to sustain a decent pace that gives me hope about rebuilding my strength when my injury has healed.  I was also a kid in a candy store trying out my new 3SIXTY5 rear race wheel for the first time.  It rides like a dream!

Pieter in action!

Arriving back into transition, I had lost nearly a minute on our main competition, and it was all up to Pieter to close the gap.  He took off like a shot while Michael and I made our way over to cheer him on.  We also nervously watched as world champion duathlete Matt Straatman – and triathlon relay competitor – hit the run course.  Pieter flew along the path and actually surprised us when he completed his final lap and headed for the finish line.  Coach Michael took off in pursuit, cheering the entire way.

Surprise!  Topping the podium.

We were happily surprised to learn that we had won the race.  Winning aside, Pieter described it best, when he observed that in a relay you get all the best camaraderie of team sports, but in a sport that is usually solo.  We agreed that an allure of triathlon (or in my case, duathlon) is that it is up to you as an individual and your results, successes and failures are yours to own.   But in this case, it was a team effort, right down to finding the most efficient way to transfer the timing chip.  Huge thanks to Michael and Pieter for agreeing to race together!

Following all of the racing, watching other people race, and the awards, I opted for a little retail therapy.  Being a new triathlete and all, I thought it important to look the part, so I purchased a scrap of stretchy fabric, AKA a swim suit.  I hope that it will help me learn to swim 750 metres by next season…  I also meandered over to the Aquila booth because I’ve recently decided I need a new road bike.  Lots of thinking to do.

I’ve said it many times before that after several years of racing, MultiSport Canada events begin to feel like family reunions, because you see so many old friends.  The great thing is, you also meet new ones.  I’d like to send a shout out to the two new duathletes I met on the ferry back to shore — congrats on your first race!  I hope you’ll be back for more and join the province’s tight knit duathlon community.

John Salt in action.

And finally, my thanks to John Salt and all of the staff and volunteers who made Sunday’s race possible.  You make it possible for so many people across the province to challenge themselves to achieve new heights and pursue their dreams.

Happy training and see you next time!

5 lessons on injuries from the wrong kind of elite

— by Darren Cooney

In 2018, after many years of hard work, I think I have finally qualified for elite status. No, I am not the kind of elite athlete who completes a sprint distance race in under an hour and competes as a professional. Instead, have unfortunately qualified for the rare status of elite collector of injuries.

Shin splints became my nemesis the day I first put on a pair of running shoes as an adult. From my first duathlon, through to Running Room clinics and on to focused training with a coach, I have been dogged by aches and pains in my posterior tibialis muscles. In 2013, I had my first stress reactions – injuries that are essentially one step below micro fractures in your bones – in both shins. In 2016, I had a stress reaction in my upper left femur. In 2017, I added Achilles tendinitis (right foot) to my list and in early 2018 that injury was followed by plantar fasciitis (left foot). As I write this post, I have been sidelined for six weeks with an undiagnosed shin ailment.

It’s clear that my time in duathlon has not been a tale of linear progression and improvement, much as I wish it were! In fact, if my multisport career were a line graph, the ups and downs would resemble a trip through the Rockies.

In hopes that you can learn from my experience, I am sharing my top 5 lessons for preventing and dealing with injuries, all of which I learned the hard way. Just a reminder, I am neither a doctor nor a physiotherapist, so if you’ve got an issue, speak to the pros. (See tip #2!)

The best way to manage an injury is to prevent it in the first place. The big things to work on here are mobility, strength and recovery.

For mobility, I know my hips get very tight, so every morning I do hip opener exercises before getting out of bed. How flexible are you? Can you maintain your position on the bike? Help prevent injuries by adding stretches to your daily routine to offset these issues.

For strength, if you want the most pay-off for your time, you’ll want to incorporate sport-specific exercises that will not only help prevent injury but will also make you a better swimmer, cyclist and runner. For example, I do single leg glute bridges each morning to work on my butt, which is often weak in runners. You will find ideas in these two helpful books: Strength Training for Triathletes by Patrick Hagerman, and Running Strong by Jordan Metzl.

For recovery, invest in a foam roller and spend a few minutes at least every other day – daily, if possible – working out the kinks, aches and pains that may be developing over time. If you’re able, plan to get a massage a day or two following your races to help keep your body in fine form.

Get help from the experts! Do you have pain that is present during daily activities like walking? Does an ache throb when you’re lying down in bed at night? Are you compensating for pain when you’re exercising? If so, get attention ASAP. An expert can diagnose your issue, get you on a treatment plan to fix it and help you figure out how to prevent it from happening again. I’ve found an amazing sports doctor in Toronto, as well as a health and wellness studio that specializes in running – exactly what I need because that’s where I keep hurting myself.

Me receiving an electroacupuncture treatment to loosen up a locked ankle joint.

As mom used to say, “Finish your vegetables!” Eat a range of fruits and vegetables that contain anti-inflammatory properties, as they will help to prevent a number of the overuse injuries that plague endurance athletes. Make sure to have a healthy snack within 30 minutes after each workout, to replenish glycogen (energy) stores and repair muscles. Whether you realize it or not, you are an athlete and you need to make sure you’re eating enough to fuel your body – this includes carbs, fat and protein – as chronic under-fuelling in endurance athletes can lead to all sorts of problems.

The quickest way to an injury is to do too much, too soon and too fast – especially in running. This is where I usually mess up. While you may have cardiovascular endurance, your body needs time to adapt to the stress of the repeated pounding on the pavement. I’ve done best when I followed the 10% rule: add no more than 10% volume or intensity each week, while also taking an easier “recovery” week every fourth week. My problem is that with my hectic schedule, I will occasionally miss workouts and skip to the next one, without the progressive “step” in between them. My body doesn’t like that and lets me know it.

You may be wondering, “If you do all these things, why do you keep hurting yourself Darren?” Good question.

There is one final and most important lesson: listen to your body and act on its advice.

In chatting with my coaches, it is clear that my strong focus on my goals has drowned out the voice in my head that says, “This hurts. You’re pushing too hard. Slow down.”

This most recent injury made me realize that I need to focus on training with the long-term in mind. In other words, I need to get to a place where I can train on a consistent and sustained basis, even if that means pulling back a little (or a lot!) from the intensity.

I listened to this tea bag affirmation when I should have listened to my body!

I admit that it’s a hard lesson when I want to faster. My willpower and endurance levels are stronger than my lower body. But I’d much rather show up at a race happy, healthy and perhaps a little slower, than not show up at all, which is the situation I’m in now.

A final thought: if you aren’t able to race because you’re injured, it is truly disappointing, but I’ve found that one of the best things you can do for your mental health is to volunteer instead. You still get to take part in the action – from a different angle – by giving back to the Skechers Performance MultiSport Canada Series, which was given so much to all of us.

Come volunteer – you’ll be glad you did it!

We often learn the most through life’s setbacks, and that includes sports injuries. I hope that with these painful lessons I can relinquish this “elite” injury-prone title ASAP… and that you can avoid it altogether!  See you at the next race!

Be well!

Not so fast; relish the accomplishment

— By Daryl Flacks

“It’s not how fast you go but how long you go fast.” No one knows this better than endurance athletes. The ability to maintain speed over the longer distances requires consistency…. draining the reserves and then going beyond. It’s not uncommon in a hard training session to puke a little, shed some tears and have self-doubt. We strive to go faster, it’s all about speed. But is it really? I’m often asked, “does it get easier the longer you are in the sport?” The answer is simply “No”.

“It never gets easier; you just go faster” – Greg LeMond

Endurance sport requires a huge commitment but the satisfaction of completing your FIRST event is like no other. The hours dedicated to training, the new-found aches and pains, the highs and the lows…it became your normal. Your friends encouraged your sanity, in awe of your dedication and craziness – enjoy, you’ve earned it!

Too often our goal focused dispositions have us immediately analyzing our results. We want to go faster, race smarter and ultimately become better at our craft. We log longer training runs, buy more expensive equipment, analyze data and count calories. We train in less than ideal conditions and hunker down in the basement watching Netflix while putting in hours of training on the dreaded treadmill or bike trainer. The result if we’re lucky, is a brand new shiny Personal Best Time and the process starts all over. In a lot of instances, this is almost immediate.

Truthfully, many athletes have more bad days than good days. Training sessions that are less than fulfilling and races that don’t go as planned. Many second guess their training, are plagued with injuries have work commitments, family responsibilities and the inevitable…just simply getting older.

I speak from experience, seeing my fastest days are behind me. My training logs are filled with big mileage weeks – back to back and months on end. Times got faster but I was never satisfied. I was always chasing the next faster time, never appreciating the times I had worked so hard to achieve.

So, promise yourself to take a moment and relish your accomplishment. New to the sport? You just earned your first Personal Best Time. Remember, it’s never just a 5k, or “oh, I just did the Sprint distance.” You trained, you put in the effort and you worked hard for that result. There’s no guarantees in life. Take the time to enjoy each and everyone of your accomplishments because it never gets easier and there’s no guarantee we go faster. Enjoy the training, your new-found friends, health and the fact that you’ve achieved something many will never experience. You are a MultiSport Athlete!

Going Short

— By Felicia Long

This year my friend in Florida selected an early season Ironman for us to do together — Ironman Brazil in May. This seemed like a good idea last year when we entered but as we all know this year’s winter was especially long. Swimming and running are not affected by the cold weather for me… I swim indoors with Toronto Triathlon Club and I run in all weather, hot or cold… and yes I have had a few accidents running in the ice. The biggest effect of the weather has been on my biking – I like to do my cycling outside. I work harder and am not distracted by the TV, the pile of laundry I can see from my trainer or the fact that I can just sit and pedal without falling off when indoors. As a result I ventured out on my bike in April while there was still snow on the ground, in 0-degree weather.  While it was stunning to look at, I just could not keep my feet warm and the pain was not pleasant. I decided then that early season Ironmans should not be considered again!

Luckily I attended the Toronto Tri Club Collingwood camp on the May long weekend and while the weather had sun, rain and cold – I was cycling outdoors, that and a few other cold cycles left me feeling more comfortable about cycling the 180km required in Brazil and I am happy to report that I finished it successfully and in one piece. Now that is out of the way and this summer I am planning to do a lot of sprint triathlons as part of the MultiSport series. I have usually shied away from the shorter distances as I believe them to be way harder than the longer Ironman distances – I know you are scratching your head and wondering how I could possibly think that. Well, Ironman is a long race at a lower intensity and I can go for days but a sprint involves a lot of energy over a short period of time and I have to change my thinking to make my body make that effort. I am nervous and excited to see how it goes.

I will be at a lot of the MSC events this summer, please say hi and ask me whatever questions you may have and I might know some of the answers 🙂

Happy racing!

How does your thyroid affect your endurance training?

— By Raúl Andrés Pérez

Being a triathlete is demanding, and to meet your goals in races you need to ask a lot of your body in training. So what happens when we (triathletes) suffer from a condition that doesn’t allow us to complete our training as expected?

For me, by the end of summer in 2010, I had had several months of being unable to complete my training because I felt so lazy (not intentionally) but I was not doing anything except sitting on the couch, I also had muscle pain frequently, cramps, and feeling that all my body ached; I had never felt those symptoms before so I went to see my family doctor to understand what my problem was.

I always was a really “active” person, full of desire to discover life in different ways, practicing all kind of sports and being happy most of the time.  It was like in the movies when all happens in slow motion and it seems you are a spectator of yourself. The doctor said that word that I never heart before —“Hypothyroidism”, describing what I had after analyzing the routine blood exams I had done.

Hypothyroidism, also called underactive thyroid or low thyroid, is a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as poor ability to tolerate cold, a feeling of fatigue, tiredness, constipation, depression, and weight gain among others.

This was not good news at all for me. My doctor gave me a prescription and said, “We’ll see how it develops from now on”. You will have to take this medication for life. ..  After a few seconds of silence, I still did not understand anything. The doctor handled me a few brochures with related information about the thyroid. That day, started my battle against this “athletic killer”– not literally a killer, but it is very easy to give up and let the symptoms step over you.

Once I got home and started to read all the info received, I called my mother and asked her if she had ever been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, it was in my DNA — my mother had when she was younger.

In time, after taking my medication for several months; I started to feel better, closer to the person I used to be, but never ever the same “me” again.  Since then, the battle continues every single day of my life, every morning I start the day taking medication (… and … do not forget it, it will be a bad day).

It’s a challenge to get through busy days of work with enough energy and then try and fit some good training in as well. Only in time, after so many years, I have been able to rethink my approach to life and continuing to be an Ironman triathlete. My advice for anyone with this condition — absolutely don’t give up training or racing! It’s probably better not to, probably it will be a reason to be excited about yourself having some clear objectives and goals to complete. Additionally, if we stop training, we tend to put on weight more easily and lose it more slowly than others despite the medication. Some people have knee problems to beat, we have thyroid problems. Don’t let the thyroid win 🙂

If you’re anything like me, you’ll wake up one day and have a bad training session and then realize, “hang on, I’ve been having bad training sessions for 6 weeks now”… and then it all clicks. If you get to a point where your training is not progressing, you’re falling asleep during the day for no apparent reason, feeling fatigue after a good night sleep, you’re putting on weight changes despite no alterations in training/diet or you have other factors that led you to look for diagnosis, go and see the doctor again and again, and insist until agrees to check your thyroid with the corresponding blood exams. A big number of people (women and men) are underdiagnosed since it is easy to get confused with other similar conditions. Unfortunately, it’s going to get worse over time (assuming you don’t want to have it surgically removed).

Some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
• Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
• Coarse, dry hair
• Dry, rough pale skin
• Hair loss
• Cold intolerance (you can’t tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
• Constipation
• Depression
• Irritability
• Memory loss

It’s been almost eight years now that I‘ve been battling hypothyroidism and despite all complications, I was able to complete my first full Ironman – 140.6 miles – at Mont Tremblant in 2016 (this is considered one of the most challenging races) and also six other Ironman 70.3 races and about 20 Olympic distance triathlons.  Currently I’m training to participate in Ironman Frankfurt this year. Hopefully I will be able to finish it. My thyroid does not control my life. It is me the one responsible for my own actions. I won’t quit. I won’t let my thyroid control me.

Hope this provides some guidance and help to any other fellow triathletes in a similar case like me eight years ago.