Race Reports and Swim Meets (please let me know if I've
missed anyone or any races!):
Twelve Carleton Masters competed in the Technosport
Invitational at the University of Ottawa on Saturday, March 16th.
There were some great results and a good time was had by all! A big
thank you to Mits for taking splits. The official results are not yet
available, but here's a quick unofficial summary. George
(Whitecaps), Bernie (Earlybirds), Lynn
(Whitecaps/Coach) and Margaret formed
Carleton's first ever 240+ relay (4x50 Medley) -- so it must have been
a club record! Meyer (Whitecaps/Very Earlybirds) did very
well in his first meet, finishing 100fs in 1:15. Kristi
(Earlybirds/Coach) and Moe M (Earlybirds) tied in nearly all
their races, and they did some tough ones (100fly, 200IM, ...).
Richard P (Earlybirds) and Tom A (High
Intensity) had a close race in 100br (both finishing in 1:20!).
Tom also set club records in 100fs and 100fly.
Jeffrey F (Earlybirds) broke :40 in 50br!
Bernie (Earlybirds) raced 100fly and 100back for the first
time, setting club records in both. Gerry (Nightcaps)
raced 200fs for the first time. Isla (Earlybirds) did a
best time in 200fs, just outside the club record.
Margaret improved her 50bk and she would also have improved her
50fs, if it hadn't been for an obstacle in her lane (ask George...)!
George (Whitecaps) was just outside his club record in 100br.
Lynn set a club record in 200br.
The next local meet is at U of O on Saturday, April
13th:
Time: 8:30am Warm Up; Meet Runs 9am-11:30am
Cost: $25 for an unlimited number of events (bring cash or
cheque payable to Technosport on the day)
Order of Events: 400fs, 100IM, 100fly, 100bk, 200fs, 50br,
50fs, 100br, 100fs, 50fly, 50bk, 4x100fs relay
Entry Deadline: let Lynn know by e-mail or sign up on the
bulletin board by Monday, April 1st
Three Carleton Masters (George [Whitecaps], Tom
A [High Intensity], and Lynn) will be making the trek
to Etobicoke for the Ontario Masters Provincial Championships,
April 5-7th.
One Carleton Master (Lina V [Whitecaps]) will attend the
Quebec Masters Provincial Championships in Dollard-des-Ormeaux
(Montreal), April 19th-21st.
Several people have already asked about local open water swim
races this summer. There will be a 3k race on Saturday, July 13th
at Meech Lake (from Blanchet beach and around the island 4 times). There
is also a 4k race (Blanchet to O'Brien) on Saturday, August 17th. Although
these races are organized by Technosport, they are not sanctioned by MSO
(Masters Swimming Ontario) and thus are open to all (i.e. you do not have to
have an MSO number to compete). More details once the ice and snow
melt! I expect that Rudy (Whitecaps/Earlybirds) will
again be organizing weekly training swims in Meech Lake (traditionally 6am
Fridays) once things warm up.
Skiing:
Congratulations to Tom M (Whitecaps, I think -- I haven't
seen him in so long!) on his 34th place finish (5th in his 40-44 age group) in
the Mont Valin Loppet (50k) in 2:54.53.
Running:
The following Carleton Masters competed in the St. Patrick's Day runs -- if
I missed anyone else, let me know!
David Barclay (Earlybirds) was 15th overall (12th in men's
20-39) in the 5k finishing in 17:50.3, followed closely by Rich
M (Whitecaps/Very Earlybirds) who was 23rd overall and 16th in the same
age group in 19:13.2.
Ross W (Very Earlybirds) was 39th overall and 21st in
men's 20-39 in the 10k, finishing in 40:54.5.
Triathlon:
Congratulations to Sheila K (Whitecaps/Very Earlybirds) on
her 7th place finish in 1:56:53.8 at the ITU Winter Triathlon
Championships (5.4km run, 10km mountain bike, 10.8 km ski) in Canmore, Alberta
on March 16th (-19C and windy). Ask her about her new favourite food:
donuts!
You may have noticed that the Masters workouts on Saturday, May 25th are
cancelled due to a triathlon. Perhaps you are interested in participating
(last year quite a few Carleton Masters took part)? Details on the Ottawa
Early Bird Triathlon, put on by Somersault Promotions can be found at:
http://www.somersault.ca/2ottawa.html.
For experienced triathletes it is a 500m pool swim, 23k bike and 5k run (there
is also a duathlon which substitutes a 2.5k run for the swim, but who would want
to run when you could swim?!). In addition, there is a Try-a-Tri novice
category made up of a 100m pool swim, 12.5k bike and 2.5k run -- hardly a chance
to get wet in that one! :-)
For those who are interested in getting into Triathlons, an all levels /
all ages clinic will be held on Saturday, April 27th, 9am-4pm at the
Sawmill Creek Community Centre. The clinic includes: swim/stroke workout,
cycling skills, lunch nutrition seminar, running drills, stretching class.
It is coached by certified triathlon coaches and hosted by the OAT (Ontario
Association of Triathletes). Cost is $30 for OAT members; $40 for
non-members. For more information:
info@triathlonontario.com or
1-416-410-3628.
Dear Coach:
Are
you allowed to flip from back to breast in IM? Turning Around
Dear T. Around: The backstroke to breaststroke turn is considered a
backstroke finish, so you must touch the wall while still on your back.
Thus a flip is not allowed.
Dear Coach: I am very evenly
matched with one of my lanemates. If I go ahead, he catches up, and vice
versa. What should we do? Toe Toucher
Dear T. Toucher: It's best if you are
swimming so that there is no one within 5 seconds ahead or behind you. If
someone is closer than that, you will have a "draft" effect (as in
cycling). If you find that the 5 second gap between you keeps closing,
then (unless your lane is very crowded) increase your gap to 10 seconds.
That should help keep you apart.
Dear Coach: I want to do some open water swim
racing this summer. Do I need a wetsuit? Can you let me know about
the existing events, as well as offer suggestions on how to train (how often and
how much)? Distance Swimmer
Dear D. Swimmer: I will let you know through
the newsletter about any open water races I hear of. Wetsuits are not
allowed in open water swim races. However, if you get cold easily, you
might want to try one out for training early in the season. You will have
no problem with races up to 5k or so on the amount of training you are currently
doing (3-4x/week). However, you may want to consider adding one LSD (long
slow distance) type swim per week, either in the pool or outdoors (once it is a
bit warmer), swimming some long continuous or longer repeats (400s, 800s)
building up to a 5k workout. Ask in person for some more specific
advice.
Very Earlybirds, Earlybirds and Nightcaps Notes
Here are the attendance leaders to date for the Winter term (weekday
sessions only):
Very Earlybirds, starting February 25th:
Perfect Attendance: Andrew K, Jen G
Missed one Workout: Dave Bourdon, Gilles, Manon, Mits,
Nadja, Ross
Earlybirds (and/or Very Earlybirds) starting January
2nd:
Perfect Attendance: Alan, Bernie, Gwen, Jeffrey
F
Missed two Workouts: Julie,
Mel
Nightcaps starting January 3rd:
Missed three Workouts: Kevin
N
Missed four Workouts: Mark Hynes, Tony P
The Very Earlybirds have now finished going through all the strokes.
If you have any other requests of things to work on (e.g. turns), just let me
know. The only thing currently planned is open water sighting which will
be next week.
Next week we will also be doing a longer freestyle swim, and starting the
session's time trials (Thursday). This time we will do the time trials
starting with lane 1. You can be timed for any event(s) that you like, and
it's optional... The rough schedule is:
Nightcaps:
Thu Mar 29th and Tue Apr 2nd: lanes 1-3
Tue Apr 9th and Thu Apr 11th: lanes 2-6
Tue Apr 16th: lanes 5-6
Earlybirds:
Mon Apr 1st and Wed Apr 3rd: lanes 1-3
Mon Apr 8th, Wed Apr 10th, and Fri Apr 12th: lanes 2-5
Mon Apr 15th and Wed Apr 17th: lanes 5-6
Note that Blake will be coaching Nightcaps on Thursday,
April 4th and all Earlybird groups on Friday, April 5th as I'll be away.
Thanks, Blake!
Penny and Sue A-B (Earlybirds) have
started tracking their fly distances this week. Penny is now at 800m, with
Sue (who missed two workouts this week!) trailing at 375m.