Strength training at Pinecrest

Sandra, who leads the strength training class at the Pinecrest recreation centre on Thursday mornings insists on proper form and her instructions are clear and precise.  She doesn't seems to mind repeating words like "extend" when I am actually contracting. I am in love with the muscles on her upper back and shoulders which I am sure have names and when I see myself in the big mirrors inhaling instead of exhaling, tummy out instead of in, I am very glad that there are 5 other people in the class with lumps and bumps, all serenely working their lats and pecs. I know that this is going to help with my swimming, running and cycling.  I am very grateful to have found this instructor, who is one of the best I have ever had and this group which fits with my new life as a full time "athlete".

A Century and a Half: I finally taste Rideau Lakes

By Louise Rachlis

One by one, for many years, I have been doing my own modest version of some of the athletic events that I’ve admired. I’ve done some of the segments of the impressive Canadian Ski Marathon, I’ve managed to swim Beach to Beach at Meech, but not at 7 a.m. before work, and the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour was always on the wish list.

When running along the Canal early on those June Saturday mornings, I’d see the riders whooshing out from Carleton University and I would stand in fascination. I never thought I could do it.

There are four route options – The Challenge, 450 k; The Cruise, 358 k; The Classic, 354 k, and The Century, from Perth, 200 k.

Early this year, some of my friends and I did sign up for the Perth to Kingston Century Route, encouraged to jump in by Hazel Ullyatt who had done the full route many times. Charlene Ruberry and Kristin Goff and I were first-timers. The experienced was enhanced by spending the night before on friend Lynn Campbell’s boat at Rideau Ferry.

It was also enhanced by purchasing booties and a rain jacket at Bushtukah, which I actually got to wear for 40 minutes during the tour.

We scoped out the Curling Club beforehand to make sure we got to the right place in the morning. We wanted to start as early as possible, and were pleased to see that people were heading out before 9 a.m.

The maps and signage were great, the rain held off, and the route was beautiful. Naïve that we were, all the rolling hills came as a bit of a surprise. I’d heard for years about the big hill at Westport; I just didn’t realize that the Westport hill had so many relatives.

Let me explain that while my friends have cycling shoes and nice bikes, I am biking on a hybrid in running shoes. They were amazed I could get up the hills at all.

Hazel advised us to stop in a restaurant in Westport for a proper lunch to fuel the rest of our journey. Consequently, we arrived in Kingston in pretty good shape, got settled in residence and then joined the throngs in the busy buffet supper. In the evening, like many others, we walked down to the water and admired the view.

The next morning Kristin and I left Kingston around 7 a.m., while Hazel and Charlene, being faster, opted to sleep in and leave a bit later.

As is usual, the second day was harder on the backside and the leg muscles than the first day. I was going so slowly, and on the hills I felt as if I were standing still. As the day got warmer and more humid, my pace slowed further. Just outside Westport, the kind drivers of the Myers Motors sag wagon asked if we wanted a ride. Realizing that under my own steam I wouldn’t get into Perth before the luggage left and the place shut down, I decided to accept the ride and Kristin came along with me.

Charlene and Hazel completed the route themselves.

The driver deposited us in Last Duel Park just before some of our friends who were biking arrived. I quickly explained how I’d managed to beat them, and they congratulated me on “knowing when to quit.”

So I only completed “a century and a half” of Rideau Lakes, 100 kilometres the first day, and half that the second. Nevertheless I’m so pleased to have seen the beautiful route, the talented pelotons, the friendly participants and the excellent organization. And now I can picture it and admire even more all the thousands who every year go the distance to Kingston and back.

Second annual Rice Pudding Winterlude Triathlon

By Louise Rachlis

On the past beautiful Winterlude weekend, a group of women friends got together again to do their “Rice Pudding Winterlude Triathlon.”

The self-styled event was created a year ago with the following e-mail:

Hello Friends
This morning Kristin and I had another brilliant idea: We're going to do our own version of the Winterlude Triathlon on Saturday February 5th. Like the "real" Winterlude Triathlon, ours will also involve an 8k skate from Dows Lake to Pretoria Bridge and back, a 5k ski through the Arboretum and a 5k run.
The gimmick is that we're doing ours just after the real one which starts at 8 a.m. (We're just too speedy for those hundreds of flashing blades in the mass start, so we're giving them an hour to head out ahead of us :-).) Once they're done with the ski tracks set in the Arboretum, we'll use them by ourselves, and then run by ourselves when the others are finished. So we get all the benefits and excitement, with none of the stress. It will be a collegial activity, which we're doing together. Anyone want to join us?

Louise

We thought we’d ask, but Kristin and I figured we’d just be in this together, two latecomers to athletic pursuit with more enthusiasm than talent. However, by mid-January we had six fellow triathletes on board to share the experience, including Anna and Hazel who had actually done the real Winterlude Triathlon many times, but appreciated our low key approach.

 We now had a responsibility for others in our Rice Pudding group. (The group name Rice Pudding was launched a few years ago after Lynn and I ended a two-hour-long snowy run with a bowl of rice pudding at the Green Door Restaurant. It tasted so good we thought we should share the experience. We invited other women to join us the next time, and long after we’d stopped eating rice pudding, the name still stuck.)

We spent days on the logistics, setting up our start time, organizing clothing and equipment, and questioning our sanity in creating the activity in the first place. Unlike the real Winterlude Triathlon, we parked in the Dows Lake Parking lot and used our cars as the transition zone for the skate/ski/run.

Some of the fit and fast athletes in the regular Winterlude Triathlon skate to their 8 a.m. start, their skis and backpacks over their shoulders. We had so much stuff packed into the car we couldn’t walk with it all, let alone balance with it on skates.

It was a happy exercise in camaraderie and support as we glided cautiously from skate to ski to run. We paired up frequently, and each of us always had company, whether we were fastest or slowest in the skate, ski or run.

After our first Rice Pudding Winterlude Triathlon, we drank wine in the restaurant overlooking Dows Lake Skateway, wore the Rice Pudding medals Kristin had engraved for us at a Vanier trophy shop, and toasted our plan to repeat the event this year when several of us turn 65.

And so we did! Last weekend, we finished our second annual event, and are now making plans for the third.

Volunteering at Ironman Mont-Tremblant

‘You are an Ironman – volunteer!!!’

By Louise Rachlis

The clock was ticking towards midnight, and the “catchers,” VIPs and earlier finishers were all crowded near the finish line, swaying to the blaring music, awaiting the last of thousands of competitors to get through.

Since 7 p.m., Kristin Goff and I had been fulfilling our catcher duties, the last of the four volunteer positions for which we had signed up a year ago for the inaugural Ironman Mont-Tremblant. There were more than 3,000 volunteers to make the event happen.

 ‘Catching’ entailed lining with fellow catchers, and in turn grasping the arm of the latest finisher, congratulating them, then leading them along through receipt of their medal, their finisher shirt and hat, timing chip removal and race photograph. We held their gear during the photo, got them a chocolate milk if they wanted it, showed them where to find the massage tent and food, and chatted with them to honour their achievement. If someone appeared weak, we’d do it in teams, grasping each arm. Otherwise one at a time, keeping them moving. Many paused briefly to acknowledge and hug family and friends at the sideline. No matter whether it took them 10 hours or 17 hours to swim 3.8 kilometres, bike 180 kilometres and run 42 kilometres, some were in great shape, some were suffering, some were laughing, some were crying.

 Ironman race day, August 19^th, was actually the easiest of the volunteering week for us.

 We got up early and walked out the door to our balcony, wrapped ourselves in sleeping bags, and watched the 7 a.m. chain of whitecaps as 2,500 Ironman athletes stroked out on the swim in the chilly 6 degree morning.

Then we strolled to the beach and watched the faster athletes run from the swim exit to bike transition, and the slower athletes attempt to make the swim cut-off. The last 10 minutes was heart-stoppingly dramatic, as kayaks gathered around and the waiting crowd screamed to encourage the final swimmers to touch the beach before the two-hour-20 minute cut-off to proceed to the bike. The last woman to make the cut-off collapsed on shore and was taken away on a stretcher, unable to proceed to the bike in any case. Several others missed the cut-off by a few minutes, and their Iron day was over. We correctly figured we’d see some of the slower athletes again during our finish line catcher shift.

 Earlier in the week, at 8:45 Thursday morning, we had assembled with the other “benevoles” for athlete check-in to receive our instructions from France, our volunteer captain. The captains for all the volunteer areas wore turquoise shirts and gray shorts so they could be easily spotted. France gave us a detailed round-up of all the tasks to be performed at athlete check-in, from the door greeter repeating “‘athletes only’ with a smile” to station 8, chip activation.

“Don’t think outside the box,” she warned us. “Ironman has been doing this for 20 years. Follow instructions.”

 Step 1 Alpha List was finding the race numbers by last name. “Check if they’ve reversed the name, or there’s a married name. If you still can’t find the name, go to the Solutions Table. The Solutions Table was the final recourse for all the stations.

Highlighted names on the numbers list were people who owned money for their Triathlon Quebec fee and they were to be reminded of that.

The organizers do think of everything. There were magnifying eye glasses if needed to read the numbers, pens and post-its for writing the numbers down.

Step 2 ID and race number verification was verifying photo ID with the names on the list. There was a gopher volunteer to take a person with a problem to Solutions – “Don’t let them go themselves.”

Step 3 was waiver pick-up by number, blue for English, green for French. Tell them to read it all before they sign, write their bib number on the top right corner, and ensure information is correct and current.

Step 4 was weigh-in station. Three scales, three volunteers, keep shoes on. Purpose of weigh-in is to assist medical staff in knowing if the athlete has gained or lost weight if they have trouble on the course or at the finish.

Step 5 was medical waiver drop off. Volunteers ensure the card is complete and signed. All the waivers have to be filed in the place where the race envelope is removed.

Step 6 was envelope pick-up.  In the race envelope was the wristband, number, helmet sticker, bike check out ticket, and swim cap. Volunteer takes out the wrist band and puts it on the athletes so they can’t give it someone else.

There was also a piece of paper to be redeemed for the goody bag, but that extra security wasn’t working too well. A volunteer had the idea to cut off the end of wristband instead, to show the goody bag had been picked up and that system was used the second day.

Backpack Pick-up i.e. goody bags was Step 7. The goody bags were smart Ironman backpacks with plastic transition bags, coupons, a granola bar and other small items inside. Most of the athletes were really delighted to receive a backpack instead of the usual race drawstring bag.

Step 8 was timing chip scanning, and athletes received a Velcro ankle strap on which to place the chip. Any discrepancies between information on screen and ID, and they are sent to Solutions Table.

Our assignment the first day at athlete check-in was the weigh station, and on the second day we gave out goodie bags. At the weigh station, some athletes joked, some worried, and many wore five-finger toe shoes that looked great on the scales. There were 100-pound women and many 200-pound-plus men. There was a couple with a 13-month-old son, both doing the Ironman. Many babies and children accompanied their parents. A woman with a pink cast on her arm said she was doing the Ironman anyway, and I was her finish line catcher at the end. She proudly held up her cast-clad arm for her finisher photo.

You couldn’t guess people’s weights by looking at them; many looked lighter or heavier than their actual weights.

There were plenty of black toenails sticking out of sandals.

People emptied their pockets of coins, cameras and cellphones to lighten their loads. Some squealed when the scale revealed more than they thought.

On the third day, at bike and bag check-in, under volunteer captain Caroline, there was a lot to learn. “Make sure they only leave a water bottle and bike computer on the bike, all else goes in the gear bag, including shoes. Walk with the athletes and give the personal touch. Line up and meet the athletes one on one.”

Photos were taken of each bike, with the volunteer holding the bike. We were told this was for “documentation purposes.” We suspect it was for “advertising purposes.” There were four lanes, and four photographers. The volunteer then guides the athlete and his bike to the rack with his/her number. Bikes hanging by seats not handlebars, bike on side facing the number. Then to the gear bag drop-off in the big tent where the banquet was the evening before.

We looked after bag check-in after the bikes were dropped off. Rows and rows of blue bags of bike gear to be picked up after the swim, and rows and rows of red bags of run gear to be picked up after the bike. There was an artificial leg on top of one of the bike bags and one of the run bags, I assumed for the same athlete. In between the two rooms were the male change room and the female change room, with lines of chairs where the athletes can sit and change for their next activity.

For all our volunteering days we were working flat out 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a short break for a Subway sandwich lunch in the Volunteer tent. It wasn’t just about the tasks of handing out bags, cutting off bracelets or escorting to bag drop-off; it was all the dozens of questions that we had to quickly learn to answer… “Can I access my red bag in the morning…Where do I exit for the run…Where do I leave my ‘special needs’ bags?..Do you have a safety pin? A Band-Aid?”  As on all our volunteer days, we were there to provide information, reassurance and support.

The mix of French, English and other languages added a unique touch, as everyone tried to accommodate everyone else. The French-speaking volunteers from the Tremblant area were particularly ebullient and energetic, and proud of a great event.

Some athletes were relaxed and familiar with procedures; others had many more questions and concerns. They came from Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Japan, as well as Ontario and Quebec, and 850 Americans and 100 Mexicans. Many were truly appreciative of the efficient race organization and in the midst of their own concerns, we were often thanked by the athletes for volunteering.