Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon!

Today (Sunday July 4th) LiveFit athletes again raced really well at the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon! Way to go!

1/2 Ironman
Jim Broere, placed 18th, M4549, 5:39
Kirsten Dibblee, placed 14th, F3034, 5:56
Karyn Anderson, placed 15th, F3034, 5:57


Sprint distance
Rebecca Staynor, LiveFit Elite, place 1st Junior female
Lesley Hartford, placed 3rd, F40-49
Cam McDiarmid, placed 10th, M40-49

Elite Off-road triathlete award!

On June 25 2010, Triathlon Canada announced the Triathlon Canada Annual Awards, Coach Kelly Guest received the Elite Male Off-road Triathlete.
Thank you to Triathlon Canada and congratulations to all of the other award winners!

LiveFit Coaching news!

We are almost done our first open water swim session and looking ahead to our next block of open water swims.

We are going to be holding open water swim sessions on Monday and Thursday nights 6:30-7:30 pm at Thetis lake, 7 weeks long (July 5th to Aug 19th). Save $36 by paying in advance getting 14sessions for only $130 or drop in for only the sessions that fit your schedule and pay $12 drop-in.

These sessions are not only a lot of fun but they are safe and a great environment to improve you open water swimming skills!! Who wouldn't want to improve there swim split on the results? This is how to do it!!

If you would like more information or to register contact LiveFitCoaching@gmail.com

Quite a few races in a short span of time!!!

Three of the LiveFit elite athletes headed off on the a long and gruesome … well, maybe not gruesome but definitely long drive to get to Kimberly, B.C. to race the Wasa Lake Olympic distance triathlon. If any of you remember my former mountain man days... (living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no electricity or running water for three months during the winters of 2003 and 2004), well, the cabin was put to good use again this summer as it housed the guys while they got race ready.

Unfortunately the guys struggled with some cramping and dehydration issues (we’re just not used to heat!) but all managed to have decent races. And... Carlos got a chance to escape the raven that seems to have taken a particular liking to attacking his head every time he walks down Royal Oak Drive to the pool.

And Last weekend, the same three went over to Iron Mountain and Lowell Rockliffe won the race overall, Carlos Lesser was 4th with the fastest swim and run splits and an additional 12km on the bike, Andrew Hall also added the 12kms to his ride and felt the effects in the run.



A little closer to home... My home, that is... other Livefit athletes raced really well at the Western Subaru Triathlon Series at Elk lake.

Sprint race:
Kelly Guest 1st overall
Lesley Hartford 3rd overall women, 1st 40-49 female
Cam McDiarmid 10th male 40-49
Dale Mackie 16th male 40-49


1/2 Ironman:
Jim Cambridge 3rd, 55-59 male, 5:36
Kirsten Dibblee 10th, 30-34 female, 5:56
Jim Broere 21st, 45-49 male, 5:38

As well, on June 6th, Jim Cambridge (6:02) and Don Costello (5:41) raced the Oliver 1/2 Ironman.

Nice work Gang, Keep it up!!!!!!

Yeah! Summer is here! Let's get into the Lake!

I would like to invite you all out to LiveFit Coaching's open water swimming sessions, Monday's in June (7th- 28th) 6:30-7:30pm. If you know of anyone that would be interested in these sessions please forward this invite to them, the more people we have the closer to race conditions we will have! The cost for the session is $13/drop in or $40 for all. We will be meeting at the main beach (with the washrooms) at Thetis lake.

**Wetsuits are required!**

WELL DONE! To all of the LiveFit athletes that raced on the weekend at the Shawnigan lake triathlons.
SPRINT RACE
Lesely Hartford 1st (F40-49
Cam McDiarmid 3rd (M40-49)
Dale Mackie 4th (M40-49)
Helena Price 7th (F30-39)

OLYMPIC RACE
Carlos Lesser 1st OVERALL
Scott Dagnoll 2nd OVERALL
Lowell Rockliffe 3rd (M20-24)
Jim Cambridge 3rd (M 54-59)
Andrew Hall 5th (M20-24)
Kirsten Dibblee 5th (F30-34)
Jim Broere 6th (M45-49)

1/2 IRON RACE
Karyn Anderson 8th (F30-34)


This Sunday I want to have an short open water swim session followed by a transition practice. The time would be 8-9:30am @ Hampsterly beach (Elk Lake). The cost for the session is $20 and is guaranteed to make your transitions faster! Please let me know by Thursday pm if you are planning on attending as we will require at least 10 people to have the session run.
Remember to bring all of your transition stuff!

Where’s the sun?

For some folks May brings us towards the end of spring showers and that much closer to reliable sunny weather. Those that is, that don’t live in Victoria, B.C. that is! We haven’t had a great start to spring yet, although, here’s hoping it is just around the corner!

Over the May long weekend, LiveFit elite and age group athletes took to the chilly waters of Shawnigan Lake in preparation for the triseries Shawnigan Lake Triathlon race coming up this weekend. The course starts off in beautiful Shawnigan lake which is located here on Vancouver Island and, interestingly enough, is fed by the run off of Mount Baker, in Washington State. Apparently Washington State has yet to see the sun this summer as the lake was still extremely chilly! The bike course is a loop circuit around the lake and the number of loops depend on whether athletes are racing the Sprint, Olympic or Half-Ironman distance.

LiveFit athletes participating this weekend are Leslie Hartford, Mike Hucal, Jim Cambridge, Jim Brore, Cam McDiarmid, Dale Mackie, Helena Price, Carlos Lesser, Scott Dagnall, Andrew Hall, Lowell Rocliffe, Karyn Anderson, Kirsten Dibblee, Joyce Metcalfe, and coach Kelly Guest.

Carlos Lesser, a LiveFit athlete from Cancun who is living and training in Victoria, will be taking on LiveFit head coach Kelly Guest in a little friendly competition in the Olympic Distance race. Rumour has it that the runner up treats the winner to a post race snack at the ColdStone Creamery… I am sure it’s just a rumour though!

Good luck to all LiveFit athletes!

Sunday Technical Session

This past Sunday we had a solid group out for our technical swim and run session. We snapped some great video for analysis and were able to give instant feedback both in the pool and out on the field. I think everyone was able to take away some great feedback..and hopefully they don't mind us picking apart their technique.

We are coming up to the first major triathlon of the season, the Subaru Shawnigan Lake triathlon. We have athletes competing in both the Olympic and the Half-Iron distance and should be a really good turnout and hope the weather is nice.

I thought I would share this video for those that have not seen it. It is of the first few runners at approximately Mile 17 of this years Boston Marathon. Notice their foot strike and body position. Their foot plants directly under the body and they have a slight lean forward. If you also notice the level of the fence and their head height there is very little pop up or collapse down.

Elite Men in the 2010 Boston Marathon - Super Slow Motion from Runblogger on Vimeo.

Video clip of elite males running near mile 17 of the 2010 Boston Marathon. Runners in order on video are: 1. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, 2. Deriba Merga, 3. Tekeste Kebede, 4. Moses Kigen Kipkosgei (red/green singlet); 5. Abderrahim Goumri (purple singlet w/ yellow stripe), and 6. Mebrahtom Keflezighi. Video was filmed at 300fps with a Casio EX-F1 digital camera and slowed down in Virtualdub to play back a rate of 10fps. Video courtesy of runblogger.com.

Recent Happenings

Things have been ticking along well. Kelly and I were training quite consistantly together but as of late he has been battling some foot issues. I on the other hand have been feeling quite good (knock on wood) and starting to feel much stronger in workouts and races. I raced this past weekend at the Merville 15k and ran a strong 50:30 for 3rd place overall. I felt quite good throughout the whole run. Ran from 3km onwards by myself which made things tough..as did the down pour and 4C but I came out alive. My right hip was aching a bit. Ever since I did a beep test my right hip has been sore....it was probably because that was my take off leg for each of the repeats back and forth...a fun test though. I'd like to get a hold of the disk and try it again.

Coming up we have the Sooke River 10k on the 18th, Boston Marathon on the 19th, (good luck Jim!) and the Times Colonist 10k on the 25th. We have a lot people entered in the TC and hopefully weather permitting it should be a great race for everyone. All that ran Bazan Bay 5k, looked extremely strong and was a great indicator of whats to come this season.

Upcoming Fast One

We are less than a week away from the Bazan Bay 5km. This is one of the fastest 5kms on the Island and draws all the quick athletes. Training for both Kelly and I have been a bit disappointing lately. Kelly has been sick and with my lack of self-motivation and heading to Vancouver for the World Snowshoe Championships and Gold Medal game (way to go CANADA!) my training has been slack. Regardless, I am racing the 5k and am attempting to hack my way through it. Most of our athletes are racing this weekend as well and should give everyone a great look at how things are going.

My advice to those racing this weekend is to stay controlled. There will be a lot of people going out 15-20s faster for their 1st km than they should be. Don't let yourself get drawn into that. Just start strong and comfortable and work your way through the people that went out too fast over kms 4 and 5. You will feel more encouraged to finish strong and pass people coming home than you would if you went out too hard. Good luck to all those racing. See you on the weekend!

Social Night

We had an informal social night with a few of the LiveFit athletes at Spinnakers brewpub on Saturday evening. Scotty, Lowell, Carlos, Kelly, Eric and I all enjoyed a few beverages, nachos, Olympics, Pool and Darts. Good times were had by all and I feel that this will become a more common occurrence. Give us any reason to drink beer, watch sports and play pool or darts and I think all of us would be there.

Update

Well its been a bit since we last updated..but hopefully i can get my butt in gear and post more frequently. Training has been going well and the LiveFit group is looking strong. We are coming into a great time of year and the 'winter' we have had has been amazing for training. I just raced the Cedar 12k this past weekend. All round it was a good race. Just tried to stay relaxed and keep the turnover going. I am trying to race my way into shape a bit.

I am using the Frontrunners Island Race Series as strong tempo runs. I try to get a good warmup in and then a good long cooldown, essentially turning my race day into a long run with hard tempo. Today Kelly and I got out for a solid workout. We did 4k warm up, then 9k of hard hilly tempo and then 5k cool down. It was a struggle and the kms just didn't seem to go by fast enough. Kelly pull ahead around 5k into the tempo and looked really strong. Its always great to have someone to chase...and i'm sure he wasn't easing up and wanting me to catch him. Finding a training buddy for me is huge. I'm all about the social aspect :)

A Busy week of social engagements!

Last weekend, I traveled up to Penticton to take part in and present at a coaching seminar aimed at bridging the gap between youth triathlon racing and high performing junior elites. This was a really interesting seminar as most of it was disscusion and brainstorming on how do we get more kids into the world of triathlon and then, how do we develop the talent within the sport to achieve medals in the long term.

What struck me as very cool and somewhat unique, was a room full of coaches from different clubs and teams all sharing training and development techniques, all with the common goal of having a more competitive youth and junior racing enviroment while maintaining the fundimentals of our sport and sportsmanship. I think that in triathlon we have a fairly healthy direction for the future of our sport and I think that if we can continue to colaborate within our coaching community, teams, and governing bodies, we may soon have a model of high performance development that other sport will want to emulate.

Thursday Dec 10th, I went out to one of the local high schools to present an informal talk on goal setting and planning to a grade 12 class. It was an interesting experience. As any parent with teenagers has experience, it was much like asking in depth questions to someone that was just about to end their shift. Yet I did a simple coordination game partway through the talk (impromptu) just to see what the response would be and within seconds the entire class was smiling, laughing and comparing their short experience with this simple coordination game. I thought, fantastic! I have their attention. Then they sat down and returned to a collection of eyes looking straight through me at the clock behind me counting the seconds left in there class. I was not surprised by this response but I am always amazed by it. It reminded me of how glad I am that I am not in high school any more!

On Sunday Dec 14th, LiveFit Coaching is going to be offered another Technical running session. This session focused on body position, activation of core strength, and balance while running. The session was 60' with two coaches providing tips, corrections and input. Keep checking back, in 2010 we will be offering many more of these sessions and the best part is they are not restricted to LiveFit athletes, so if you are interested contact us as space is limited to 12 athlete.

Auctions and Fast food

Last weekend was a busy one! On Saturday night there was an charity silent auction at Trek Pro City bike shop to raise funds for the fight against cancer. This was a super fun and cool event! Pro City came out with their usual class providing enough wine and cheese to a cow lactose intolerance and a headache. The number of people at the event was fantastic, it was standing room only. That may have been because there were no chairs.
One two items near and dear to me were a run with Jasper Blake and the other was a Pub Challenge night with myself. Jasper if you haven't met him read his blog to the right (on the roll), he is the nicest guy you will ever meet! So it was not much of a surprise that two people bid $100 each to go for a run with Jasper. What was a big surprise, was that two people paid $100 each to take me on at pool and darts for bragging rights.
Thanks to everyone that made that such a fun event which I am sure raised a fair bit of cash!

On Sunday, Christine Ridenour (one of the bright young stars of Triathlon that I coach) held the 2nd annual "Fast Food Run" in Duncan. This is a 5km race that Christine founded to raise money and collect food for the Cowichan Valley Basket Society. It was a great event! I used Christine's event as a great chance to get a fast 5km time on a measured course for the young athletes that I coach. The athletes of KKT didn't disappoint bringing food and money donations and some fast running times to the event. We also had a couple of our LiveFit athletes that came out and ran! Thanks Lesley and Cam!

Green Silence!

I just came across this and I think it is the coolest marriage of technology, speed and responsibility that I have seen in a while!

Make an eco-statement with the Green Silence racing flat. Each and every part in this fast, groundbreaking shoe has a sustainable element, including soy-based inks and recycled materials. And in this case, "green" goes hand-in-hand with the great performance you expect from Brooks. The Green Silence helps you take responsibility, and first place—with good karma to spare. Weight: 6.9 oz.

I will get a picture of these cool kicks up asap but until then check out Brooksrunning.com under the competition shoes!

Are you smarter with wisdom teeth or without

Well the rains and early evenings are here which means it is time to build the weaknesses and maintain the strengths for the coming season. For me one of the weaknesses has been the looming pressure of getting my wisdom teeth pulled. This is a topic that has come up with my dentist for many years and I have always said " in the off-season". This year I actually meant it and now I am without wisdom teeth. I have heard that a lot of pro cycling teams schedule regular dentist visits for their top pros as a small infection in your mouth can affect your entire immune system.

So this is me, raising a bowl of ice cream and saying "cheers to better health". The photo says it all.

News and Updates

Xterra World Championships
Oct 24 & 25, 2009
On Saturday, the Xterra Makena Beach 10k Trail Run took place with 284 finishers. Coach Nick Walker placed 1st overall in the race, winning the grand prize of a flight provided by Hawaiian Airlines from mainland US to Hawaii!
The next day (Sunday) coach Kelly Guest competed as a pro at the Xterra World Off-Road Triathlon championships where he placed a very impressive 16th place amoung a very strong world class field. More information about the race can be found at Xterraplanet.com

Royal Victoria Marathon
Oct 11, 2009

A great weekend for all the participants at this years Royal Victoria Marathon, Half-Marathon and 8km. Full Results at Royal Victoria Marathon.
Half-Marathon
Nick Walker - 10th overall - 1:11:52
Karyn Anderson - 1:54:23
Marathon
Kirsten Dibblee - 4:23:32
8km
Helena Price - 40:58

Subaru Sooke International Triathlon
Sept 13, 2009

TriTraining.ca athletes and coaches had an amazing weekend at this years Subaru Sooke International Triathlon with overall wins in the Half-Iron and Sprint and a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the Olympic. Full Results at TriSeries.ca
Half-Iron Results:
Kelly Guest - 1st overall - 1st age group
Mike Hucal - 45th overall - 6th age group
Kirsten Dibblee - 83rd overall - 7th age group

Olympic Distance Results:
Nick Walker - 2nd overall - 2nd age group
Jeff White - 3rd overall - 1st age group

Sprint Distance Results:
Chris Sundby - 1st overall - 1st age group
Lesley Hartford - 1st overall - 1st age group
Cam McDarmid - 16th overall - 13th age group
Helena Price - 15th overall - 2nd age group
Dale Mackie - 44nd overall - 14th age group

Vancouver International Triathlon
July 12, 2009

Kelly placed 5th overall in a very competitive field in the Half-Iron distance. Full Results at TriSeries.ca

New Balance Victoria International Triathlon
June 21, 2009

Another stellar performance from coach Kelly Guest. Kelly placed 3rd overall in the Half-Iron with an amazing time of 4:04:45. Full Results at TriSeries.ca

New Balance Victoria International Triathlon
May 24, 2009

Congratulations to coach Kelly Guest for WINNING! the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Internation Triathlon Olympic distance. Full Results at TriSeries.ca

LiveFit Athlete Recognition and Post Season Celebration

Athletes are invited to an end of season celebration on Sunday November 15th. Contact Coach Kelly at livefitcoaching@gmail.com

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Tritraining and LiveFit coaching would like to thank our sponsors
Power Bar, Uvex, Wigwam and Frontrunners Westshore!

www.tritraining.ca

Check out www.tritraining.ca for Coach Kelly and Coach Nick’s tips on nutrition, gear, injury prevention and footwear

Meet the Coaches @ LiveFit Coaching

KELLY GUEST
Kelly has been a triathlon coach for over 6 years with more than 15 years of triathlon experience himself.
He has been among the top triathletes in the world including being named to the 2002 Commonwealth Games triathlon team for Canada, named Male 2007 Off-road Elite Triathlete of the year, and the 2007 National Off-road Triathlon Champion. Kelly is also the founder of Kelly's Kids Triathlon (KKT) located in Victoria, B.C.

NICK WALKER

Nick has been a highly competitive runner for the past 14 years competing locally, nationally and even internationally. He was selected to the World Junior Cross Country team in 2001. He is a multiple provincial cross country, track and road running champion. He has helped coach athletes from beginner runners to successful Ironman triathletes. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Victoria in Molecular Genetics and Human Physiology.

AMY MILLS-GUEST

Amy has been involved in triathlon and running as an athlete and coach for over 5 years. She loves to compete in events of all distances and is currently focusing on half marathons. She enjoys coaching athletes of all levels and helping them acheive their goals and reaching their maximum potential. Amy is also currently a Masters in Psychology student.