Ottawa Triathlon Training Blog - Team Triumph Triathlon Club plus Triumph Triathlon Store

Athlete of the Week: Renee Roberts - A Triathlon Journey Through Time

This week, we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on Renee Roberts, a remarkable athlete whose journey spans decades and embodies the true spirit of triathlon. Renee's sporting saga began in 1975, a time when running gear was a mere afterthought, and denim jeans doubled as running attire. As a Psychology undergraduate student at Carleton University, she found solace in the rhythm of running, a way to burn off energy amidst long study sessions. Little did she know that this initial foray into running would set the stage for an illustrious athletic career. Her first taste of competitive running came in the scorching heat of August 1981 during a 30-kilometer race in St Jean, QC. ....
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Athletes of the Week: Lucie Tremblay and Melanie Bouchard - A Dynamic Mother-Daughter Triathlon Duo

Meet Lucie Tremblay, a military veteran and recently retired police executive officer with an impressive career spanning 35 years. Lucie's journey into the world of triathlon was not only a personal challenge but also a family affair, as her daughter Melanie Bouchard joined her on this exhilarating adventure. Let's delve into their inspiring story, triumphs, and the challenges they've overcome together. A Family Tradition: Triathlon from the Start Lucie's introduction to triathlon came through her husband, who completed his first triathlon in Ottawa after taking swimming lessons with the renowned coach Julia Aimers. Inspired by her husband's achievement, Lucie bought her first road ....
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Athlete of the Week: Simone Rose Oliver - Triumphing Beyond the Finish Line

Simone Rose Oliver, a dynamic force of resilience and determination, has not only conquered the challenges of the triathlon but has also seamlessly balanced a thriving career and a fulfilling family life. As our celebrated Athlete of the Week, Simone embodies the spirit of perseverance and the power of a supportive community, showcasing that age is merely a number when it comes to pursuing one's passions. The Journey Beyond Retirement Retiring in 2017 as the Superintendent of Schools with over 35 years of dedicated service in the field of education, Simone found herself transitioning into a new phase of life. Despite this transition, she continued to contribute significantly to the ....
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Athlete of the Week - Stephanie Bell: Conquering Triathlons with Team Triumph

Stephanie Bell, a distinguished Director at Bell Canada and a dedicated mother of three has shown that age is just a number when it comes to achieving one's goals. Her remarkable journey into the world of triathlons is nothing short of inspiring. In this edition of Athlete of the Week, we delve into her experiences, challenges, and victories that have made her a true role model for aspiring athletes. Stephanie's initiation into the world of triathlons was not without its hurdles. She initially sought to shake up her fitness routine, only to find herself overwhelmed by the complexities of triathlon training. However, with the guidance of her friend Denise, she found her footing and ....
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Champion of the Elements: Sarah Allen's Inspiring Tale from the Hawaii Ironman World Championships

Amidst the crashing waves and scorching heat of Hawaii, a true triumph unfolded. Sarah Allen, fueled by unparalleled determination, conquered the Ironman challenge, etching her name in the annals of sporting glory. As coaches at Team Triumph, we stand in awe of her incredible feat. It's undeniable: Sarah's victory is a testament to the unyielding support of her coaches and teammates, the driving force behind her momentous achievement. Here is her race report with the full details. Race Morning I had a great night of sleep and woke upat 4 am on race morning. Had my usual protein oatmeal with a banana and a black coffee. Other than being a bit itchy from some hives, I was feeling good and ....
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Athlete of the Week: Kyle Roman Triumphs Through Tribulations

In the realm of athletic triumphs, few stories resonate as profoundly as that of individuals who turn their personal struggles into sources of strength and motivation. One such inspiring narrative is that of Kyle Roman, a dedicated and resilient individual who recently achieved a remarkable feat in the realm of triathlon. Amidst his demanding role as an Assistant Superintendent at EllisDon, one of Canada's leading construction management companies, Kyle embarked on a transformative journey that ultimately led him to triumph in the Canadian Olympic distance triathlon. In a recent conversation, Kyle shared his motivations, challenges, and triumphs with us, offering a glimpse into his ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Julie Matte's Inspiring Triathlon Journey

Today, we're shining a spotlight on Julie Matte, our Athlete of the Week, who has not only conquered personal goals but also inspired others on her remarkable journey. Julie is a retired superintendent of education turned consultant, and she has a passion for triathlons that drives her to push her boundaries. Let's delve into her inspiring story. A Life Beyond Retirement Julie's life beyond retirement is far from the conventional image of slowing down. After a fulfilling career in education, she transitioned into consulting, where she continued to harness her skills and make a meaningful impact. But Julie's post-retirement story isn't just about her professional pursuits; it's about ....
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Athlete of the Week: Anna Huisman - A Pharmacist's Journey to Triumph

In our Athlete of the Week spotlight, we're excited to introduce you to Anna Huisman, a remarkable individual who wears many hats, both professionally and personally. Anna is not just a dedicated pharmacist but also the Director of Pharmacy at a small community hospital. It's a role that often surprises people because not everyone realizes that pharmacists play an essential role in hospitals. Her job is a fascinating blend of clinical responsibilities, including adult acute care and outpatient chemotherapy, and administration, where she manages accreditation, quality improvement, and more. To get a glimpse of her daily work life, you can check out these enlightening videos . Now, let's ....
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Coach Julia Aimer's Top Six Tips for Indoor Winter Bike Maintenance

With the arrival of winter, many cyclists retreat indoors to continue their training and keep their fitness levels up. However, the shift to indoor cycling doesn't mean neglecting your bike maintenance. In fact, the winter season demands even more attention to ensure your bike remains in top condition. Coach Julia, shares her expert advice on how to maintain your indoor bike this winter. Follow these six tips to keep your bike in top shape and ensure your training remains uninterrupted. Lube Your Chain Regularly: As the winter months can bring dry and dusty conditions indoors, it's crucial to lube your chain every couple of weeks. This simple yet essential step prevents the build-up of ....
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Team Triumph Shifting to Road Racing

For the members of Team Triumph, the thrill of conquering marathons and half-marathons in picturesque locations is not just a sport but a passion. The past few weeks have been brimming with achievements and personal bests, as our team members have once again demonstrated their resilience and commitment to reaching their goals. From the streets of Chicago to the stunning vistas of Victoria, their journey has been one of dedication, perseverance, and unwavering support. Celebrating Successes Our hearts swell with pride as we extend our warmest congratulations to the remarkable members of our team who have recently left their mark on the running world. France St-Denis, with sheer ....
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Athlete of the Week: From RN to Triathlete Extraordinaire

In the world of sports, we often celebrate the feats of professional athletes who push their bodies to the limits for the love of their respective games. But sometimes, the most inspiring stories come from the everyday heroes who embark on extraordinary journeys of their own. This week, we shine a spotlight on a remarkable individual who went from being a dedicated Registered Nurse to an enthusiastic triathlete, proving that anyone can conquer the toughest challenges life throws their way. Meet Sabrina Beauchamp, a compassionate RN in the Emergency Department, whose journey into the world of triathlons began as a way to find a new challenge and stay active during the summer. Little did ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Joanne Bezzubetz - Triumph Through Determination in Triathlon

In the world of triathlon, where determination and resilience reign supreme, Joanne Bezzubetz shines as a beacon of inspiration. Her journey from a healthcare organization administrator to a consultant doing work with organizations across Canada has been accompanied by a remarkable story of pushing boundaries, overcoming challenges, and embracing the spirit of endurance sports. Join us as we dive into the remarkable journey of our Athlete of the Week, Joanne Bezzubetz. A Life Dedicated to Health and Well-being Joanne's professional journey has been grounded in promoting health and well-being. With a career spanning the healthcare sector, she has served as a healthcare organization ....
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September Race Results are In!!!!!

Deborah Jackman and Julie Matte (pictured above) participated in our 8-month 70.3 group training program and were ready to step up to the start line at Ironman 70.3 in Mont Tremblant, but due to the smoke the event was cancelled at the last minute. After becoming great pals in the program, they teamed up together and decided they would do the 70.3 at the Barrelman. These two both made it to the finish line smiling. Congratulations to you both! We look forward to seeing what this dynamic duo has in store next season! Congratulations to Coach Gabi and Nadine Tischauser (pictured below) who both hit the podium at the Esprit Aquabike, giving them the opportunity to qualify for the Worlds next ....
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Team Triumph Racing All Over the Word

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PONTEVEDRA, SPAIN! What an incredible week we had in Spain from start to finish! If you haven't been to a world championship event, it is the thrill of a lifetime. As we marched along the road with 155 members of Team Canada in the Parade of Nations surrounded by cheering Spaniards lined up along the streets, we all felt so proud! The swim course was cold but beautiful with great views of the swimmers from a bridge. The bike course was basically like 2 Duplessis repeats but with a much wider road and beautiful views of the coast, and the run wrapped around the old town of Pontevedra. Congratulations to all of the gang from Team Triumph! Simone Rose-Oliver - ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Tom Zinck - Triumph Over Challenges in Triathlon

In a world where commitment, perseverance, and determination often lead to success, Tom Zinck stands as a shining example of these virtues. Hailing from a diverse professional background as a manager with the Federal Government, Tom's journey as an athlete has been nothing short of inspiring. As we delve into the story of our Athlete of the Week, we uncover his triumphs, challenges, and the unwavering spirit that drove him to conquer the world of triathlon. A Passion for Progression Tom's story in the realm of endurance sports began with a passion for running. Training for marathons in 2020, he completed not just one full marathon but numerous half marathons, marking his dedication ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Klara Doelle - Defying Challenges and Embracing Triathlon

In the world of triathlon, where determination, resilience, and a passion for three disciplines collide, Klara Doelle stands as a testament to the power of dedication. As a PhD student at the University of Ottawa with a focus on sports-related brain trauma, Klara navigates the realms of academia and athleticism with grace. Join us as we delve into the remarkable journey of our Athlete of the Week, Klara Doelle. A Life of Inquiry and Exploration Klara's professional journey is marked by her pursuit of knowledge and discovery. As a PhD student at the University of Ottawa, she dives into the intricate realm of sports-related brain trauma. Her dedication to understanding the complex ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Lara Winnemore - Triumph of Mind, Body, and Spirit in Ironman

In the realm of triathlons, where determination and self-discovery collide, Lara Winnemore emerges as an exemplar of resilience and triumph. Her journey from a distinguished career in the federal government to the world of fitness, combined with her unwavering commitment to triathlon, is nothing short of inspiring. Join us as we delve into the remarkable odyssey of our Athlete of the Week, Lara Winnemore. A Life Fueled by Passion Lara's professional journey spans a dynamic career in the federal government, where she held pivotal roles as a Policy Manager and Acting Director, delving into areas of immigration, refugee asylum, and public health. Post-retirement, Lara turned her passion ....
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Athlete of the Week Spotlight: Byron Johnson - Defying Limits and Becoming an Ironman

In the world of triathlon, where determination knows no age and obstacles are mere stepping stones, Byron Johnson's journey stands as a testament to the power of perseverance and the human spirit. On August 20th, 2023, Byron achieved a remarkable feat: he completed his first Ironman at Mont Tremblant. His journey, spanning five years, was marked by setbacks, triumphs, and unwavering determination. Join us as we delve into the extraordinary journey of our Athlete of the Week, Byron Johnson. A Five-Year Dream and the Road to Ironman Byron's journey to Ironman was a culmination of a five-year plan, originally intended to be three years until the pandemic shifted the landscape. A ....
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Triumphers Unleashed: Racing, Inspiring, and Setting the Pace Worldwide

IT'S BEEN A BUSY FEW WEEKS AT THE RACES! Over the past few weeks, the Triumphers community has been on a racing spree, with athletes showcasing their incredible determination and skills in various locations around the world. From Scandinavia to North America, from newcomers to seasoned athletes, the Triumphers have left their mark on the racing scene. Let's dive into the action-packed weeks and celebrate the remarkable achievements of these inspiring individuals. Ironman Triumph at Mont Tremblant A significant presence of Triumphers gathered at the Ironman Mont Tremblant event, showcasing their dedication and proving that hard work pays off. It's no small feat to conquer an Ironman, ....
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9 Aug 2023
RECOVERY ON DEMAND: WHAT IS IT & DO YOU USE IT?

RECOVERY ON DEMAND I recently read a quote explaining the concept of "Recovery On Demand" from a book Alan Couzens is working on. The explanation really summed up what I have been trying to communicate to the athletes I coach for years. We don’t plan recovery; we take it when we need it.” He went on to say, “all stimulus and no rest means no growth, no improvement.” Alan Couzens is a long-time coach and exercise physiologist from Colorado. While many of our athletes are now in their taper phase before Ironman Mont Tremblant, this blog serves as a good reminder to respect the taper and respect your intuition! At Tremblant training camp I spoke about ....
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Meech Lake, Bring on the Bay, 70.3 Muskoka

Two weekends ago our Team was busy, busy, busy.With so many races available to take part in I can see why. First up was the Meech Lake Triathlon. Meet Linda Lafrance, Annemarieke Goldsmith, and Cary Willis (see pictures) (you might also recognize Cary as our Triumph Shop Manager.) These three beauties met through Team Triumph many years ago. They came to our Utah training camp, Tremblant camps and we all went to the Musselman Triathlon together. Over the years they have become best friends, purchasing cottages on the same lake, completing epic cycling trips through the Pyrenees, and going on sailing adventures together. They have also completed some amazing feats in the endurance world. ....
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70.3 Muskoka Race Report - Joanne Bezzubetz

Joanne has been part of Team Triumph for 3 years in December. Although she is not privately coached with us she is an active participant in our swim practices. We were so pleased to see this race report from her most recent race Ironman 70.3 Muskoka and we just had to share. If you are interested in doing this race, her report will give you some good insight into the race. Enjoy the read. "I headed out from Ottawa to Huntsville on Friday morning - great drive, not much traffic, and perfect pavement from Ottawa past Algonquin Park. I always look forward to possibly seeing an animal or two, but unfortunately, none were around this time. I arrived at my coach's home after not ....
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Gatineau Triathlon, Musselman & Muskoka 70.3!

GATINEAU TRIATHLON Double Trouble! AGEISJUST A NUMBER! For those of you who don't know these two strong athletes above, meet Sue Bennett and Renee Robert. They are both long-time Team Triumph members and an inspiration to us all to just keep Tri-ing. They both won their age categories at the Gatineau Triathlon. Sue in the (70-74) and Renee (65-70) age group!! Congratulations gals you absolutely rock!! HERE IS WHAT RENEE HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE RACE... "It was a great race however a very hot day! My race commenced at 11:30 am. This event consisting of so many categories isamong the very best organized triathlons I have attended over the past… 40 years now!" Another BIG ....
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Mont Tremblant/Canada Day and More.....Race Highlights from the Team

TREMBLANT RACE WEEKEND We had so many athletes ready to compete in Tremblant and what a disappointment it was when they discovered on race morning that their race was not meant to be due to the smoke that blanketed the area overnight. Now that the dust has settled and Ironman has offered up some great choices for alternatives, I think everyone is feeling more optimistic and have already set new goals. We have some doing Musselman and Barrelman, and others who are doing the Ironman in August so grab the opportunity to take a breather and now ramp up for your BIG race. Fortunately, the 5150 race went ahead and we had a crew who competed their hearts out! CONGRATULATIONS TO: Melissa ....
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Virtual 70.3 Ironman Course Graduate races 70.3 Luxembourg

CONGRATULATIONS ISAAC GONZALEZ GARCIA!!! You are a 70.3 Ironman in Luxembourg! Isaac is a fresh graduate from our 8-month 70.3 group training program and he has proven to himself that he has what it takes to get to the finish line! Isaac lives in Brussels and has been following our program on Training Peaks, listening to the Zoom calls, and jumping on Zwift with us. Last Summer he was in Ottawa and took multiple open water swim lessons with Coach Dawn and then he was ready to join the team! HERE IS ISAAC'S REPORT: Dear mates, here is my 70.3 Ironman Luxembourg report. Hope I covered my main feelings and impressions. Hope to see all of you at the finish line in Mont Tremblant or ....
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How do I choose the right size wetsuit?

In general, they say a wetsuit should fit like a second skin. Not too tight, not too loose. An easy measurement is that the wetsuit should fall around the ankle bone with your legs and around the wrist bone at your arms. The rest of the suit should not have rolls or gaps. How do you know if a wetsuit is too big? It is important that your wetsuit is not too big, otherwise, the wetsuit is not keeping you warm properly. But how do you know if your wetsuit is too big? Check if there are rolls and gaps in your wetsuit. You can see the rolls mostly around your legs or waist. The gaps mostly appear around the armpit, they call them batwings and you don’t need them. Check if you can ....
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Wetsuit Drying Tips

Getting a practice swim in before your race is always recommended, and depending on when you arrive at the venue that may mean the day before the race could result in a wet suit on race day. If you have ever been to a triathlon a couple of days before an event you may have seen wetsuits draped over railings, on balconies or porches, and wonder.....is that the best way to dry my suit? Putting on a wetsuit when it is not fully dry is a nightmare, so here are some tips on how to dry your suit faster. 1. Rinse and hang your wetsuit inside out on a wide plastic hanger, OUT of the sun; 2. Wait 20 minutes until the water in the wetsuit starts to pool in the lower arms and legs; 3. Squeeze ....
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How to Choose the Right Size Wetsuit

A really important question when you are looking for a wetsuit is about the best size for you or even more specifically: how it should fit since every brand has its own sizes. In general, they say a wetsuit should fit like a second skin. Not too tight, not too loose. If it's too big, water could get in creating drag and not keeping you warm. If it's too small it could restrict the flow of blood and oxygen to your body causing breathing issues and your arms and wrists will also be uncomfortable. Here are some tips from our HUUB supplier on getting the fit right. GET MEASURED - Please don’t guess your size. Your size and weight may have changed, so grab a tape measure and ....
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The Early Bird gets Team Triumph out and racing

The big rainfallheld off enough for everyone to get the race complete, which made for a much more enjoyablefirst experience for the graduates of our Beginner Triathlon Program and our athletes. We couldn't be more excited to see so many smiling faces from Team Triumph cross the finish line. This race was a great opportunity for all those doing the70.3 in Tremblant and Muskoka to practice some race strategies and meet up with new friends. Congratulations to everyone who stepped up to the start line and poured their hearts and smiles into every minute on the course. We had a big crew out there at the race. Here are theirresults! THANKS, A MILLION TO OUR VOLUNTEERS! Brittan Fell Sarah ....
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Do's and Don'ts of Wetsuit Care

Triathlon can be expensive, with wetsuits being one of the most expensive items, other than the bike. So, it's imperative that you take care of your neoprene so it lasts a long time. When someone buys a HUUB wetsuit from us, we send them an email highlighting how to put the wetsuit on, what to do before storing the suit, how to store it, and more. Here are our pro tips: Putting on your wetsuit..... Use gloves to put the suit on so you do not nic it with your nails. Pull it up from the inside of the suit as much as possible. Putting a wetsuit on for the first time can be a chore, so we have a video from Head Coach Julia Aimers on your Youtube channel showing how to put the ....
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Cold Water Swimming Tips

You have an early-season triathlon and need to put some open water time in. What can you do to get prepared? I’ve been a triathlete for many years and even I dread the early season swims. The cold water temps are never easy to deal with regardless of your experience, but there are things you can do to make your early season swims more enjoyable. Let’s first discuss what is happening in the body when it is immersed in cold water. There are three potentially hazardous physiological responses associated with going into cold water. The first is the cold shock response (CSR), which is uncontrollable gasping, breathing, and an increase in heart rate that occurs ....
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Canadian Triathletes Race All Year Long

TEAM TRIUMPH WINTER RACING! The last couple of weeks has been busy with all kinds of fun winter races to keep our members chasing their goals of being healthy and happy! Congratulations to everyone for stepping up to the start line and challenging yourselves in all kinds of COOL ways! EMBRACE WINTER 10KM Darcy Yee - 2nd in AG! Courtney Douglass Darius Skusevicius Nadine Tischauser Shelley Kirkpatrick EMBRACE WINTER HALF MARATHON Helene Fortier - 1st in AG Byron Johnson - 2nd in AG Joanne Bezzubetz - 2nd in AG EMRACE WINTER 5KM Denise Pittuck - 1st in AG Thanks a million to Annick Desrosiers and Greg Robertson for volunteering at the race! PENTATHLON DES NEIGES, QUEBEC ....
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Team Triumphers Take on Mother Nature at the Richmond Road Race

If you've ever raced the Richmond Road Race you know it is known for crazy weather and this year was no different.Congrats to all of the Team Triumphers who battled the snow and cold and the famous train blocking the route in Richmond last weekend. Julie, Sarah, and Deborah from the 70.3 Group Training Program met up at the race. Here is Deborah's report: This was the first time I had run the Richmond Road Race. It is a smaller venue, but very well organized. Parking is simple and free right at the school. The open gym made it easy for spectators to stay warm while we were out on the course. Bib pick-up on the morning of the event was very easy and super fast. Mother Nature decided she ....
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Racing at Abu Dhabi Worlds

In 2019 my husband and I qualified to go to the Age group Worlds for the Olympic/standard distance triathlon. The event was to be held in Edmonton in August 2020. I initially thought that going to Edmonton would be a bit boring compared to some of the other locations that World's had been at...well, thanks to Covid, the event got postponed for 2 years and moved to Abu Dhabi in November...kinda the opposite of Edmonton! We went with another couple from our neighborhood and when we got there, found out there were several other competitors from the Ottawa area, although most seemed to be from the UK and USA. We decided to go to the mid-east a bit early and acclimate to the time zone and ....
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Stephanie Qualified for Worlds in Spain!!!!

Stephanie trained hard to come back from managing a busy family while working as a surgeon at the hospital during the pandemic. It hasn't been easy for our athletes who registered and trained for races only to find out that the events were canceled. She was determined to make a comeback and crushed her goals in 2022 with a PB at the Mont Tremblant 70.3 and by qualifying for the World Championships Olympic Distance at the Esprit Triathlon. Many athletes ask me how do you get the training in when you have kids and a job. It's not easy but if you manage your time right and set realistic goals, anything is possible! I look forward to joining Stephanie, Simone Rose-Oliver and Sue Bennett ....
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Team Triumph at the Running Races

Triathlon racing might be coming to a close, but the running races are plenty. Congratulations to allwho raced at the Cookie Run 5km! Hope you enjoyed the treats :) New memberDeborah Jackman completedan epic 25km trail run in Milton and we had many members out for the Army Run and New York Marathon. Way to crush it out there everyone!! Check out the awesome results! COOKIE RUN 5km Paula Hickman - 1st in AG Debi Zaret - 2nd in AG Jennifer Rae-Brown - 3rd in AG Anna Belanger - 1st in AG Lara Winnemore - 2nd in AG THE BEAV 25km TRAIL RACE Deborah Jackman - 1st in AG ARMY RUN 10KM Shirley Clements Anna Belanger Marjorie Moffat ARMY RUN 5KM Shelley Kirkpatrick Courtney Douglass ....
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Coach Maggie Races Ironman Kona AND Ironman 70.3 World Championships

Some people think that one full Ironman a year is enough, but not Coach Maggie. She raced at Ironman Mont Tremblant this year where she secured her slot for Ironman Kona and then after she completed that race she went to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. We are all so incredibly proud of Coach Maggie's amazing feat! She not only qualified but completed both the Ironman and 70.3 World Championships while continuing to teach music and coach ourtriathletes this year. AHUGE congratulations Maggie. Time to rest and recover! Here's Maggie 70.3 World Ironman Race Report: On October 28, 2022, for the first time, I was called a“badass”as a compliment from a younger ....
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Taking our Summer Fitness into Fall

COACH KEVIN PLACES 2ND AT EPIC GRAVEL RACE! Coach Kevin loves to gravel ride and we all know he loves a BIG challenge! A HUGE congrats on coming in 2nd in your age group in the 5 day race against some real gravel pros! Here is Kevin's Report: The BCBR Gravel Explorer XLT race was held in the Penticton / Kelowna region of BC Sept 24-29. The XLT is a 5 day off road stage race that in total covered 370 km and 7,500 m vertical. See https://bcbrgravel.com . It was billed as covering a mix of everything a gravel bike is capable of and it certainly tested the limits. Each of the 5 courses located across the region featured verychallenging long climbs anddescents but incorporated a varied ....
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Running for a Cause, on the Water Front and in the Woods

This past weekend we saw many Team Triumphers and friends out at the races. We had 3 racing the Marathon and 1 racing the Half Marathon in Toronto Josée Perreault - 3rd AG Hélène Fortier - 9th AG Darius Skusevicius - 3:42 finishing time; and Chantal Beaudin- half marathon It was also great to see Erik Shantz and Denise Pittuck completing the 9 Run Run 10km race and Courtney Douglass running the Mad Trapper 10km Relentless Trail race. Can't wait to see what the team puts down this coming weekend. Julia Aimers CSEP Clinical Exercise Physiologist CSEP High-Performance Specialist Certified Triathlon, Cycling, Yoga and Swimming Coach USA Cycling Level 2 Coach ....
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Thanksgiving Runs and Ironman Hawaii

Fall is a wonderful time to run and hike, wouldn't you agree? There is no better way to experience the changing colours of the season than to get outside and exercise surrounded by it all! Breathing in that crisp fresh air and taking a break from our screens is also good for our mental health. We had a bunch of athletes out at the Fall Colours Races in Cumberland, and by the looks of the photos, they were treated to some beautiful vistas! A BIG congrats to Denise for winning her age category at the 5km race and to Maryanne Gillespie for placing 2nd in the 10km in her age cat. Congratulations also to Katie Dinelle and Annick Desrosiers for completing the Half marathon! Meanwhile, in ....
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Marathoning in London

LUC LAPENSÉE AT THE LONDON MARATHON! What was supposed to be a rainy day in London turned out to be overcast and as Luc sped to the finish line the sunshine broke through. It was such a joy to chase him around London on foot and on the Tube with his spouse Marie. Luc has been part of our custom coaching plan for 7 years and since then has done 5/6 of the major marathons including Boston and several others. Congratulations Luc for completing the London Marathon!! Your dedication and commitment to your training plan, nutrition and strength training is certainly paying off! Here is Luc's report: London Marathon was my 5th Major and it didn’t disappoint. Marie and ....
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Team Triumph Goes International Racing

Looks like the international race season has begun. Wehave Triumphers all over the placecompeting! Destinationraces can be a great way to see the world while racing. Congratulations to everyone on completing their races!! KEJIMKUJIK SPRINT TRIATHLON, NS CAF SUPER SPRINT -PO2 Craig Blake Memorial Fitness Challenge, NS Stuart Whittaker - completed his 1st two triathlons and is loving the sport. I know we'll see him at more races next year! IRONMAN 70.3 BARRELMAN, NIAGARA FALLS Linda Martin - had a speedy race!! IRONMAN 70.3 MICHIGAN Lara Winnemore - see full race report below! IRONMAN 70.3 ATLANTIC CITY Michelle Lacharity - completed her 1st 70.3 (seepicture to right!) IRONMAN 70.3 ....
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Last Big Triathlon Weekend in the Region

TEAM TRIUMPH AT THE RACES! ESPRIT TRIATHLON WEEKEND Team Triumph came together to celebrate our fitness and health at the last big triathlon weekend of the Summer in the region. The weather was stinking hot but the winds were fairly calm. The water was just on the brink but wetsuits were permitted. The Esprit is not just an awesomerace to participate in but also great for spectators. Wehad 2 more athletes from our Beginner Olympic program complete their first races! Congrats to Verity and Erin on ....
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Graduation Day with Gregory Robertson - Relentless Forward Motion!

GREGORY COMPLETES HIS 1ST OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON AT WASAGA BEACH! Congratulations to Gregory Robertson for completing his first Olympic Distance Triathlon! Gregory is from our Virtual Beginner Olympic Triathlon Program and is the 2nd athlete in the program to complete his A race with a large number of the other athletes racing this coming weekend at the Somersault event with the remainder racing in the Montreal Espirit. Gregory had this to share with us after his race in Wasaga. After months of training, I completed my first Olympic Distance Triathlon (1.5km Swim, 40km Bike, 10km run) Many emotions go through your head during a 4-hour race but in the end, it is about putting ....
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Summer is winding down, but Team Triumphers are not

With just a few weeks of the Canadian triathlon season left, our members are getting all of those end-of-season races in! Last weekend we had loads of athletes out doing Cornwall, IM Mt Tremblant and we even had one in Halifax doing the Navy Run 10k! Our Beginner Olympic Distance program is winding down. Erika Grey did the Olympic Distance in Cornwall last weekend, and Gregory Robertson is doing WasagaBeach this weekend. It's not too late to register for the Canadian Tri and the Esprit Triathlon, coming up at the beginning of September. Coach Julia will be in Montreal to cheer you on! Congratulations to everyone who raced andplacedover the weekend! CORNWALL Sprint ....
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Triumphers Spotted in Brockville and at the Riverkeeper Swim

VOLUNTEERING AT THE THOUSAND ISLANDS TRIATHLON (seen to the right) Thanks a million to Brenda and this crew from our Beginner Triathlon Program for volunteering at the Thousand Islands Triathlon! ANNA HUISMAN AT THE THOUSAND ISLANDS TRIATHLON The Beginner Olympic Triathlon Course crew are having fun training and learning new skills together with the goal of doing their first Olympic Distance Tri in September. Congrats to Anna for completing her first in-person sprint triathlon last weekend! RIVERKEEPERSWIM It was great to see four of our coaches out at the Riverkeeper swim. Coach Klara came in first overall in the women and we ....
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Triumphers Triumphing with Great Friends!

STEVE SWANICK'S (pictured to the right) LAKE PLACID IRONMAN REPORT Choosing an Ironman can be tricky. You will want to look at the course:is it hilly or flat, the past weather conditions, traditionally hot and or cool, water conditions, salt water, wavy, jellyfish? Do you want to fly with your bike?Are you a strong swimmer, a good climber, better in the heat? These possibilitiesare all things you want to consider before you hit theREGISTER NOWbutton. Ironman Lake Placid wasIronman number 3 for Steve. When he decides on which racehe wants to do, he looks carefully at all of the items mentioned above, but sometimes a detail can get lost, like the elevation described on the bike ....
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ARE YOU LOST IN WATOPIA? Why Consider a Virtual Cycling Program

ARE YOU LOST IN WATOPIA? Why Consider a Virtual Cycling Program I’m not going to lie, riding outside is always more fun and exciting than riding on an indoor trainer, but living in a cold climate, we have two choices when the snow arrives. Don’t cycle all winter and choose to focus on a winter activity, like cross-country skiing, and show up in the spring fit but not cycling fit ; or Move to the indoor trainer and keep your cycling fitness while enjoying the other winter sports so you show up in spring with your cycling legs and lungs ready to ramp up for the summer season. So you’ve decided on option #2. We fully support you on that ....
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Sleep and It's Relationship to an Athletes Performance

So many variables affect how we perform as triathletes. The right balance of work/rest, hydration, nutrition, strength training, stretching, and sleep all contribute to our performance. In this blog, we'd like to talk about theimportance of sleep as part of recovery in an athlete's training plan. Few people appreciate the physiological benefits that take place during rest, especiallysleep. Whilesleeping, the body releases growth hormones to repair the damage from the day’s training stress and to strengthen our bodies weakened by training. According to a 2013 article in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, sleep “has been identified as an important factor ....
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Last Minute Tips for Ironman 5150/70.3 Mont Tremblant

I know that many of you Tremblant triathletes are in freak mode. Please know that this is normal. Triathletes generally are high achievers and you all want the best possible result. Try to stay calm knowing that your training is behind you and now it's time to relax and taper! For those of you on Training Peaks with us, your number one goal is to make sure your TSB (Form) score comes up above zero. This is the time to treat your body like gold! Feed it the healthiest whole food, hydrate well daily, foam roll, stretch, do yoga. Have a massage no later than Tuesday. Go to bed earlier the week before so you can switch time zones. Eat earlier in the evening so you are hungrier on race ....
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YOUR TRIATHLON RACE DAY EQUIPMENT CHECK LIST

It's race day and you don't want to forget a thing! You have invested hours upon hours of training not to mention the investment in your equipment, your race day fees and travel expenses. There are so many items to remember. Our athletes have been known to forget super important items like their bike helmet, running shoes or swim goggles. Print this list and check it twice so you are prepared for everything on race day and if you see something on the list that you do not have check out our team store to see if we have it. Now that you have the list and are packed and ready to go, let's talk about race day and being prepared for it. RACE DAY PREPARATION Arrive 1.5 ....
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YOU NEED to read this if you're TAPERING!

STAY LASER FOCUSSED ON THESE 5 THINGS WHILE TAPERING: 1. EAT CLEAN NO added sugar, NO processed food, or junk food. 2. SLEEP WELL 8-10 hours of sleep a night. Use your good sleep hygiene tips. 3. NO ALCOHOL You will sleep better without it! 4. REST AND RECOVER Keep up your daily workouts but the duration should be shorter. Keep the intensity going but nothing that will make you really sore. Get a massage or athletic therapy after your last tough workout (4 days before) 5. GET ORGANIZED! Swim - Check the wetsuit, and practice taking it off. Check goggles - make sure they don't leak or fog. Bike - Get it tuned up, plug in your D12, and check to make sure your brakes ....
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HOW DO YOU QUALIFY FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

HOW DO YOU QUALIFY FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ANYWAY? At Team Triumph, we've had the privilege of reporting about our remarkable members qualifying for prestigious World Championship events. But have you ever wondered about the process behind these incredible achievements? Qualifying for a World Championship is an exhilarating journey that comes with representing your country, donning the iconic kit, and basking in the pride of your Canadian roots, eh! Our members have achieved qualifications across a spectrum of distances, from Super Sprint to Ultraman and everything in between. Ironman Branded World Championships: A Competitive Path Qualifying for an Ironman-branded World ....
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At the races with Team Triumph

Team Triumph athletes and coaches have been out having a blast at the races while challenging their race fitness! Congratulations to everyone for pushing your limits and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable! On behalf of all the coaches, I can honestly say that we are so impressed with these results. We know where you started from and how far you have come and we couldn't be prouder. As the Head Coach, I am also in awe of our coaches for their amazing results! Way to go coaches, you are amazing role models! NATIONAL CAPITAL TRIATHLON Phil Biha-Methot - learned how to ride a bike from scratch with Coach Janet and completed his first triathlon!!! Michelle Lacharity - ....
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WATTS UP WITH POWER METERS?

WATTS UP WITH POWER METERS? As the price of bike power meters to measure watts comes down, they are becoming more mainstream on road and triathlon bikes. As a coach, I'm getting more questions about how to train and race with watts. Watts are a fantastic tool to use if you know how to use them but so many people just look at the numbers and don't really know what they mean and what targets they should be going after. When running, we use our Garmins to measure pace per km, in cycling we can use speed BUT watts are a far more precise measure of the intensity you are actually riding at . Testing and knowing your watt zones allows you to be in the appropriate training zones for your ....
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9 Aug 2023
RECOVERY ON DEMAND: WHAT IS IT & DO YOU USE IT?

RECOVERY ON DEMAND “RECOVERY ON DEMAND”, I read Alan Couzens’ quote from a book he is working on, and it really summed up what I have been trying to communicate to the athletes I coach for years. “We don’t plan recovery; we take it when we need it.” He went on to say, “all stimulus and no rest means no growth, no improvement.” Alan Couzens is a long-time coach and exercise physiologist from Colorado. While many of our athletes are now in their taper phase before Ironman Mont Tremblant, this blog serves as a good reminder to respect the taper and respect your intuition! At Tremblant training camp I spoke about the Science ....
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Team Triumphers Battle Mother Nature at Richmond Road Race

It's almost a guarantee that if you participate in the Richmond Road Race Mother Nature is going to through some serious weather your way. This year was no different. Congrats to all of the Team Triumphers who battled the snow and cold and the famous train blocking the route in Richmond last weekend. Julie, Sarah, and Deborah from the 70.3 Group Training Program met up at the race. Here is Deborah's report: This was the first time I had run the Richmond Road Race. It is a smaller venue, but very well organized. Parking is simple and free right at the school. The open gym made it easy for spectators to stay warm while we were out on the course. Bib pick-up on the morning of the event was ....
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Team Triumph Goes International Racing

Looks like the international race season has begun. Wehave Triumphers all over the placecompeting! Destinationraces can be a great way to see the world while racing. Congratulations to everyone on completing their races!! KEJIMKUJIK SPRINT TRIATHLON, NS CAF SUPER SPRINT -PO2 Craig Blake Memorial Fitness Challenge, NS Stuart Whittaker - completed his 1st two triathlons and is loving the sport. I know we'll see him at more races next year! IRONMAN 70.3 BARRELMAN, NIAGARA FALLS Linda Martin - had a speedy race!! IRONMAN 70.3 MICHIGAN Lara Winnemore - see full race report below! IRONMAN 70.3 ATLANTIC CITY Michelle Lacharity - completed her 1st 70.3 (seepicture to right!) ....
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Beginner Olympic Program Graduates Conquer the Canadian

TEAM TRIUMPH AT THE RACES What a weekend for Team Triumph!! OurBeginner Olympic Tri Programgraduates participated and crushed it at the Canadian on the weekend. We are so incredibly proud of this group who launched into triathlon this year head first. For some of our gang, they went from completing the Sprint / Tri-a-Tri program and jumped right into the Olympic Distance. We set up the program so they could ultimately choose between the 2 distances. A HUGE shout out to Coaches Gabi and Brenda for doing an awesome jobfacilitating this program. These two created a wonderful sense of community that provided our athletes with a place to come together, ask ....
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When things don't go as planned - Bracebridge Triathlon Race Report

SARAH ALLEN COMPLETES THE BRACEBRIDGE TRIATHLON! On Sunday, I took part in the Bracebridge Sprint Triathlon. My first TRUE triathlon with the open water swim! I've been putting in the work with the Team Triumph Beginner Olympic Distance Virtual Online Course, and I was very confident going into the weekend. It didn't exactly go as planned, but what does? Saturday was HOT, (it got up to 39Cwith the humidity), and inside my car, with no AC it was up to 47C. I drove and roasted myself alive in that car for 5 hours to get to Bracebridge. Despite all of my precautions (covering my skin, windows down, stopping every 30-40 mins to sit in the shade, having 3L of water) I gave myself a pretty ....
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IM Tremblant, Montreal Worlds, Tupper Lake and IM Nice!!

What a weekend it was for Team Triumph as our athletes gathered at four different races to put their training to the test! Congratulations to everyone for stepping up to the start line and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable!! For many of our athletes, the swim is by far the most challenging part. We have helped so many of you over the years to learn to overcome fears of the water and anxiety. You can see by the look on some of their faces below, that they were pretty darn happy to get out of that water!! We had a great cheering crew out under the Team Triumph tent as well throughout the weekend. Thanks to those who cheered on their teammates and put smiles on their faces as ....
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Brittania Park Triathlon/Perth Triathlon Recap

On Saturday we had a bunch of athletes compete in the Brittania Park Triathlon. Unfortunately, at the last second, the wind picked up making the waves really high and the water unsafe. Many of our crew made the right decision to turn back to shore and then help the water safety crew point outswimmers in distress. A great reminder that in races, you are responsible for your own safety and if you feel like you're in an unsafe place listen to that voice in your head! The Olympic Distance swim wascancelled altogether. Congrats to everyone for making the rightdecisions and doing their best outthere! Sprint Tri Anna Belanger Navin Wicks Michelle Lacharity Kirsten Suttill Sue Bennett ....
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Ironman 70.3 Race Report- Annick Desrosiers

We had a few of our members taking part in the Ironman 70.3 Victoria race a couple of weekends ago and this report is from Annick Desrosier. Early season races, especially when you live in Canada are always tough to prepare for, but Annick did a great job preparing and racing. Here is what she had to say about her race. The Short Report: I had a personal best swim in a 70.3 Ironman. The bike was a lot harder than expected, the run was beautiful but I had a hard time. In the end...I had a blast! Finished in 6 hours 40 min and 28 sec. The Long Report: SUNDAY FUNDAY! Race day was here, and I felt excited. I ate my usual bowl of oats, some toast and a glass of OJ. We leave to go to ....
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Ottawa Race Weekend/70.3 Victoria

It's been 3 years since we've been able to race at the Ottawa Race Weekend. The weather was beautiful for spectating but perhaps a tad warm for the athletes, but this does not surprise us, as this weekend is notoriously warm. The race was well attended with by our Team Triumph members. Here is how they did. A HUGE congratulations to Darius Skusevičius (Lithuanian Ambassador) seen above running in support of the people of Ukraine. He completed the 2km/5km/10km and the marathon on the weekend! By the time he reached our place at the 33km mark, his spirits were high but he admitted he was feeling a bit sore. Congrats for being a real hero in this world Darius! 5km Shirley Clements 10km ....
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Early Bird Triathlon: My First Triathlon

The author of this race report (Jackie DeGouffe) is in the picture to the right. She is 4th from the left. The one with the huge smile and energy flowing out of her. I’m on the pool deck, lined up with many other swimmers. “I’ve done this so many times before” I tell myself. “I am a good fast swimmer. I grew up swimming” I repeat over and over in my mind. I dive in, my heart starts beating fast – I mean really fast. It doesn’t stop. I realize I’m freaking out. I breaststroke the whole way, with many people passing me. 3 minutes slower than my target. I complete the swim and move on. One day later, I keep thinking about ....
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Somersault Early Bird Triathlon - Epic first Triathlon!!!!

(Seen In Picture to the Right) Lucie, France, Veronique, Dipty, Boris, Verity, Annick, Jackie, Denise Ann Marie & Sarah I don't know who was more excited for the first Triathlon of the season? Somersault events or our team. We had a strong teamof twenty-fourTeam Triumphers racingat the Early Bird. A BIG thanks to Somersault Events for providing us with our own transition racks so we could all connect and cheer on our teammates. I had many proud coaching moments throughout the race and definitely very proud of the launch of our fresh grads from the Beginner Triathlon Course that Gabi, Brenda and I have been putting on for the past 16 weeks. As you can see below, there were ....
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Ironman St. George - How Hélène Fortier Tackled the Beast

Ironman World Championships in St-George, Utah May 7, 2022 (to replace Kona, Hawaii, from October 2021) S t George has always held a special place in the hearts of many Team Triumph campers as our favourite place on earth. When Helene asked me if I could coach her for the IM world championships of course the answer was a resounding YES!! With lots of careful planning, heat and altitude adaptation strategies, a cassette change and loads of communication back and forth we were able to get Helene to the finish line of the Boston Marathon and then the IM World Championships 3 weeks later on what was billed to have been one of the toughest IM courses and conditions. Many ....
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Boston Marathon Weekend

The Boston Marathon is special to many people – runners and non-runners alike. Marathon runners from all over the world aspire to earn their ticket to Boston, andrunning Bostonis often the highlight of their running careers. The Boston marathon has a long and storied history. Boston is a tradition. The success of the first modern-day Olympic marathon in 1896 inspired the first Boston race in 1897. That makes Boston the world's oldest marathon – as well as one of the oldest consecutively held sporting events. If you want to find tradition, you'll definitely find it on the road to Boston each spring. Many historic moments took place on the road to Boston, including the famous ....
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Is a Triathlon Camp Right for You?

Spring has sprung and triathlon race season is around the corner, which means that you are going to see many triathlon camps popping up on your social media feeds. If you’ve never taken part in a training camp, you might feel intimidated and think that it is not for you, but we beg to differ. There are as many training camps as there are colours of the rainbow. They can be tailored for different abilities, different locations, price ranges and trip durations, but all have these things in common - swimming, cycling and running with coaches to provide guidance and feedback and fellow athletes to provide motivation and training partners. If you want ....
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Raising funds while having fun at our St. Paddy's day 5/10km walk/run

We had a great gang of 30 members and coaches out for the annual Team Triumph St Paddy's Day Fun Run/Walk. What a blast to get out and run, walk, smile, eat and socialize together!! For many this was the first time they have met in person after two years of either listening to their voices during the cycling classes or seeing each other on Zoom. Congrats to everyone for completing their planned distances and speeds! It was lovely to have Darius and Dorota's baby Sofia join us and complete her first Team Triumph event! Thank you to Gabi for getting the event organized. We look forward to the next one! Thanks a million to Martin, our Director of Logistics and Humour, for cheering ....
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Ride for the Shepherds of Good Hope

A couple of times a year we like to organize fundraising events. This past Saturday, our Community Coordinator Gabi Porter organized a charity ride where all funds raised would be donated to The Shepherds of Good Hope. It was great to have Gabi on Discord sharing her experience as a volunteer at the Shepherds of Good Hope. Most of us had no idea what amazing programs they have over there to help people in distress in our community feel safe. I know that every time I felt like I was suffering during the 5-hour ride I thought about those in our city who are homeless and hungry and the feeling went away. We had a great time on Saturday conquering the Mega Pretzel Route on Zwift! We chose ....
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Winter Racing is Fun and Challenging

BRENDA ROSS (RIGHT) VOLUNTEERING AT WINTERMAN WINTERMAN 2022 A HUGE shoutout to Somersault for putting on an excellent race on the weekend! Thank you to Brenda Ross and all of the folks who volunteered. Thanks to Triumpher John Gomes for sponsoring the event. Due to the downtown protest, Adam had to make a quick course change which sounded lovely. The course was a bit slick with loads of turns for the longer races but that didn't stop our gang from having some awesome results! Congratulations to all of the Team! RACE RESULTS Half Marathon John Gomes - 2nd in AG Mo Bennmouffok - 3rd in AG Josée Perreault - 1st in AG Hélène Fortier - 2nd in AG ....
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You Signed Up for a Triathlon in 2023 - What's Next?

It’s official you have signed up for a triathlon BUT now what? The race may be months away, so when should you start training for it? It all depends on the distance of the race and when it is. One essential element of any successful triathlete is to dedicate the time necessary to properly train for a race. Regardless of your experience or fitness level, it's important to start training at least 16 weeks before your first race of the season. This can mean the difference between feeling good and finishing strong, struggling to get over that finish line, or a DNF (did not finish). We share in our blog “ When Should I Start Training for a Triathlon ” when we ....
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Coach Maggie Profiled in Alta Vista Newspaper

Team Triumph is proud to share a lovely article about Coach Maggie. Read the story about how Coach Maggie qualified for the Hawaii Ironman Championships, started Coaching with Team Triumph and what her plans for the future are. Did you know that Coach Maggie is also a music teacher? Read on... Click to connect to the awesome news story recently published in the Vistas News by Anthony Hawden. Scroll to page 25 for the full article. http://vistas-news.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/VISTAS-Jan-2022-final.pdf ....
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Not all Virtual Cycling Programs are Created Equal

Not all virtual cycling programs are created equal. However, if you choose the right one you can reap some great fitness benefits that are guaranteed to transfer to your early season triathlon bike fitness. With spin classes no longer being available, if you want to cycle in the winter, having a stationary bike or bike trainer is a must. You do not have to own an indoor trainer to keep or improve your bike fitness over the winter months, but if you do have one, joining a club that uses trainers along with Zwift can be a game-changer. If you choose the right virtual cycling program you can not only maintain your previous year's fitness but improve upon it. I have been teaching ....
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They came, they raced, they concured - Final Races of the Year!

LINDA MARTIN 2ND AT XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! On our Triumph Cycling Discord channel, Linda Martin was saying that she didn't have huge expectations going into the Xterra World Championships in Hawaii but she was going to give it her all. It turned out the day was a much bigger challenge than expected. It was a windy stormy day and the ocean was filled with hazardous rip currents so they replaced the swim with a 3k run. The run was then followed by a 2 lap - 31km mountain bike ride and an 11km trail run with nearly 4000 ft of combined technical climbing! As the rain came down hard, you can imagine the course became slicker! After the pros had gone through the course the age ....
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Ironman Cozumel/Polar Bear Marathon

SUNNY IRONMAN COZUMEL! Congratulations to Drew on completing Ironman Cozumel! Drew is truly an Ironman veteran and proved that his years of experience can get him to the finish line even in the face of adversity, with injuries and Covid shutting down his restaurant for many months. We are so grateful to Drew for hosting our social at Finnigans in September. Here is his report: Ironman Cozumel 2021 Race Report PRE-RACE 4:30am the alarm went off and I looked out the window to see rain. This is something I had not anticipated but not something I felt would warrant a change in my strategy for the day. The morning plan was 15 minutes for a light breakfast, 30 minutes to get ....
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Cookies, and Waves oh my!!!!!

RUNNING FOR COOKIES & IM FLORIDA Last weekend our members were out in full force doing the Cookie Run with some great results! It was a perfect temperature for racing and we saw some fast times! Congratulations to everyone on their speedy 5km! The weather was much more challenging in Florida! Who knew! The ocean had massive waves and riptides that caused about 450 participants to stop their race and many to swim much farther than anticipated! Luckily Mo Benmouffok and Maryanne Gillespie are strong swimmers and persevered onto the windy and cool bike course. I'm sure they were thankful for the cooler temperatures when they hit the run. Congratulations Mo on completing your ....
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Polarized Training in the Great White North

Polarised Triathlon Training is the concept of planning out your training into specific zones using watts, pace and heart rate. Think of it as the North Pole (low-end zones) and the South Pole (threshold and above). Dr. Stephen Seiler researched and tested the Norwegian cross country skiers and discovered that the most successful skiers and those with the least injuries were those that followed a polarised plan training. They trained in either lower end zones or higher-end zones and they trained less in what we call the grey zone. I like to call this zone the edge of uncomfortable, that place where the endorphins are running high, you feel like you're working hard but couldn't go forever ....
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The Race Season Continues

BORIS ETHO ASSOUMOU FINISHES 1ST HALF MARATHON! (seen in picture) Congratulations toBorisfor completing his first half marathon! This has been a terrific season of firsts for Boris. He has learned to swim in open water, learned to ride a road bike in the Gats and has completed 2 Olympicdistance triathlons. As a former competitive soccer player, Boris knows what it takes to train hard and reap the rewards. We look forward to seeing what's to come next season, Boris! AT THE RACES! The race season continues! Congratulations to the following Triumphers who went to the races last weekend. Sadly we have just heard news that the Sacramento Ironman has been cancelled. Sending our thoughts to ....
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Marathon Madness!!!!

With so many of the big marathons being previously cancelled and postponed it seems like they are all happening at the same time this Fall. We had Boston and Chicago last weekend, Kit E in London and many members at the Petit Train the weekend before and Ranya in Berlin the weekend before that! Congratulations to Darius Skusevičius and Maryanne Gillespie who both completed the Chicago Marathon! Meanwhile back in Ottawa...Helene Fortier, Josee Perreault and Chantal Beaudin who had completed the Petit Train du Nord Marathon and qualified for Boston next year, completed the Virtual Boston Marathon. That is two marathons on back-to-back weekends...woohoo!! New member, Roupen Odabashian ....
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Gabi's Incredibly Inspiring Journey to Ironman Maryland

GABI'S INSPIRING JOURNEY TO IRONMAN For those of you who know Gabi, you know that this photo is about as serious a snapshot you will see of her. With her exuberant smile, Gabi was the life of our workouts at Meech this Summer! It was such a joy for me to coach Gabi along her Ironman Journey. When Gabi came to me for coaching, she hadn't completed a triathlon yet. Doing an Ironman before trying a sprint is not something I would usually recommend. After our first meeting, I knew that she had the fitness and grit that she needed to get it done! Being a military member, she has the discipline needed to follow her program every week. She completed her scheduled training through the ....
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Epic September of Racing

AT THE ESPRIT TRIATHLON ERIK - LARA - DEBI DAVE & KIRSTEN SUTTILL RACE RESULTS GALORE!! What a fantastic September it has been on the racing front for Team Triumph!! Our members showed us that when races were cancelled they never gave up hope and they continued to train. September has seen the EspritTriathlon, trail racing and Ironman Maryland happening and team Triumph showed up in full force! As Erik Shantz said the nice thing about our tribe is when we wear our Team Triumph colours teammates come over and say Hi...even though they all have masks on!! Congratulations to everyone who trained hard over the ....
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Weekend Race Results

It sure feels good to see our members racing in triathlons this summer. We are always so proud of their efforts and of course, like proud parents, we just have to share how they did. RACE RESULTS!! Congratulations to all of the Team Triumph Gang at Muskoka 70.3! Fellow Diplomats (Feature Photo): Sebastien Beaulieu (Canadian just returned from Senegal) Darius Skusevicius (Lithuanian) Top Left Photo: Josee Perreault - 1st 70.3 Race! Helene Fortier - 1st in Age Group! Coach Maggie - 1st in Age Group! Carole Brown Elle Wubbs Congratulations to Dan Begin! (Top Right Photo) He finished his first 70.3 Solo due to Barrelman being cancelled!! ....
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How Do you Warm-up Before a Triathlon?

HOW DO YOU WARM-UP FOR TRIATHLON? With race season back on in full swing, many triathletes are racing at all distances again. As a coach, I have seen many a triathlete go from standing on the beach at the start line of a race to 110% without a warm up of any kind. This may be ok for Ironman but for a sprint or super sprint, you don't want to spend the whole swim warming up for the bike and run. The shorter the race, the longer and moreintense the warm-up. How exactly do you warm up for a triathlon? If permitted,ride your bike on the course for about 10 mins. The bike warm-up will give you the opportunity to make sure your bike is working ....
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Making the Best the Summer of 2021

"TOES IN THE WATER AT 7AM" ....THE EARLY BIRDS! TEAM TRIUMPH EPIC SWIMS Our Mondays at Meech gang launched for their longest swim of the Summer last week. Julia Vlaming took the prize for the longest swim: just under 7km! Andrea and Maria did about 45 mins, Gabi 5km, Moneca doesn't wear a watch but was spotted past the 1500m buoy before she turned around, Kirsten did over 2km, Christine over 3km, Josee did 4km last week before she started her Muskoka taper. Unfortunately, the Early Birds wanted the photo of the week and Erik hurt his shoulder doing a handstand for it...oops! The Late Owls then joined us and Byron did his longest swim at over 3km, Julie Sauve ....
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The Ironman Roller Coaster

The 2020 and now 2021 Ironman race seasons have been filled with anticipation and disappointment for many of our athletes. The training involved consumes so much time and energy. With Tremblant, Penticton and Kona being cancelled and the border into the US remaining closed making access to Maryland IM a challenge, Ironman dreams have been thrown upside down and for many the option of a refund became a better choice both financially and logistically. In the BIG picture, you can be happy for your good health, your ability to do those epic long workouts and the mental health benefits the focussed training likely provided for you especially during lockdowns. Understandably, you may also be ....
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We Came....We Concurred....Montreal Triathlon

What a humongous thrill it was to watch the best in the world compete in Montreal! These triathletes were fresh off the Tokyo Olympics and on a high. Martin and I had a great day with one of our original Team Triumph members and a great friend of mine, Caroline Renaud who lives in Montreal. We ran into Kory and Pedro and Kirsten and Dave who cheered us on! Thankfully the weather cooled a bit for our race on Saturday morning. The race was wetsuit illegal and swimmers went off every 15 seconds. It was refreshing to dive into the water and be able to see perfectly without the crowd of swimmers. The transition involved a steep ramp to exit, followed by 5 flights of stairs and a 400m run in ....
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Racing and Training Together is on!!!!!

What a joy it is to report on races again! Now this feels more normal! We had two Team Triumphers compete at the Iron Girl Triathlon on the weekend. A HUGE congrats to Denise and Lara for their races on the weekend. DENISE PITTUCK "All done! Podium finish for my age group with a personal best for my swim. It was awesome. Thanks to Coach Kevin!!! Also top cancer survivor finisher in my group and had my best overall finish. Had no legs on the run, totally spent from the bike. Lots of fun. Already planning for next year. " LARA CAMILLE "Hey everyone - I mentioned I signed up last minute for the Irongirl Canada tri. It was yesterday and I had ....
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Racing is Back!!!!!

TRIATHLONS ARE BACK & WE COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!! It's been a long two years without racing but finally, we are back to doing what we love!! As all the gang were saying yesterday, the only thing that was really hurting was our smile muscles because we were just so happy to race again! Oh and maybe our egos were a bit bruised given the out-of-practice slow transition times but we were all a bit rusty...haha!! A huge thank you to the race crew and volunteers for putting on a safe Covid Triathlon. We were in masks at the start and given them at the finish, the T-Zone was well spread apart as were the races. They even ....
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Are you swimming with a broken paddle?

ARE YOU SWIMMING WITH A BROKEN PADDLE? As Canadians, we know a thing or two about canoeing. Canoe trips are a favourite family Summer pastime here in the great white North. Many of us have plunged a paddle into our sparkly water ways. Ahh... that wonderful feeling of pressing water against a paddle so we can drive ourselves forward, gliding through the waves. But what if your paddle was broken? It may take a little longer to get across the lake, eh? Having been busy doing open water swimming lessons this Summer, I have seen countless swimmers with broken paddles! Imagine your wrist being bent towards your arm as you are catching the water and pressing it back. This action would slow ....
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Finding Challenges When You Can't Race

SMILES THAT SAY IT ALL!! For many of the athletes that we coach on Training Peaks, so far this has been a triathlon season of many disappointments. With race after race being cancelled, we had promised them that no matter what, we will make the June Tremblant race weekend happen whether it was up North or in Meech Lake. With the borders re-opening in Quebec just in time, and everyone being vaccinated, we were able to quickly come through on our promise and get out to Gatineau Park last Friday for a fun race simulation. Due to Covid number restrictions, we had to keep the numbers to no more than 10 so we could not open it up to the whole club....just yet! You can ....
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How Do You Measure the Success of a Triathlete

The other day I was meeting with a new triathlete and it occurred to me that, before he had even started training, being a triathlete meant doing an Ironman. I don't know what it is about the people in our town, but for many, the measure of triathlete success means: you have to complete an Ironman. Many athletes have said to me after a race weekend that theyjust didthe Tri-a-Tri orjust didthe standard distance triathlon. I'm sure there are many Olympic triathletes who would be insulted if you told them theyjust dida sprint instead of an Ironman. An Ironman is a great long-distance event but it involves many more hours of training. For most people with a busy career and/or family, ....
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Ottawa Race Weekend - Virtual Finishers

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR OTTAWA MARATHON RUNNERS!! Gabi Porter, Glen Paradis and Anna Belanger have all competed their Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon challenges. Gabi, seen above with her dog Maze, was really pleased with her new marathon PB by 30 minutes. Stay tuned, she is on track to complete her 1st Ironman in Tremblant next! Glen has worked really hard on his distance running this Winter and brought his marathon PB down by 15 minutes!! IronGlen is hoping to strike back at the Tremblant Ironman in August! Anna, who is the local legend for hill repeats at the Beechwood Cemetery, has also trained hard all winter while finishing her Master's in Integral Coaching and running her massage ....
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Open Water Swimming - Tips to Tame the Anxiety Beast

Open Water Swimming - Tips to Tame the Anxiety Monster Regardless of why you want to swim open water, having anxiety is very common. What is it about open water swimming that creates fear in an individual? There are many reasons; the deeper water poor visibility plants fish/creatures fear of sinking the unknown a wide-open expanse of water the cold… the list goes on, but you are not alone. Anxiety is perfectly normal and you can overcome it! Here are tips to consider: Take Control Mentally - Negative thoughts can take root in your mind and distort the severity of the situation. One way is to challenge ....
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Why You Don't Need the Gym to Get a Good Workout

The health and fitness industry has seen massive changes over the last year! People are preferring the convenience of doing workouts right from their home over travelling out to a gym. Think about when you first heard about personal training being done over video. Maybe you were skeptical of the benefits. You might have asked yourself if a trainer can really correct your form over a screen, or if the program would still be tailored to your goals. The answer to both of those questions is yes. I have been told time and time again how blown away people are by the virtual training experience. No more battling traffic, carving hours out of your schedule or cancelling last minute because your ....
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Why You Should Consider Staying on Zwift through the Warmer Months

Training in the winter is always challenging. The race season seems so far away. Add in cold, dark wet days and COVID, well you know where we’re going with this. Thankfully we had Zwift and our Virtual Cycling Program to provide us with a structured and periodized plan that tracks our fitness and recovery. It was great to have a program to keep us motivated, connected with our tribe, and on track, even if the race season seemed unsure. Now that the weather is warmer, many of you are jumping off your trainers and onto the road. But wait…..should you stop Zwifting? Absolutely not! Here are some reasons why we think you should ....
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Emily Graves Virtually Climbs Mount Everest

CONGRATULATIONS EMILY GRAVES!! She did it! Emily made it up Everest on Zwift. When she started her training plan, we figured it would take her 23 hours given her FTP of 113 watts. Aftercompleting a well-executed coached training plan, Emily pulled up her FTP to 152 watts. Sheincreased herendurance in Zone 1 and 2 and finished much quicker thanoriginally expected. Grab and drink, sit back and read herinspiring story of will, persistentplanning,consistent training and true grit! Emily Graves'Story:on virtually climbing Mount Everest on March 26, 2021 Why vEverest? It started with the Zwift concept (“Tron”) bike, those virtual multi/neon coloured bikes that ....
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Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. How we celebrate this holiday inside of Team Triumph is with a 5/10km run along the canal followed by a brunch, but due to COVID, this year we added in a Virtual Zwift Ride and/or a virtual, do-it-yourself run. This was just one of the challenges we issued to our members for March. Two of our members sent in how their Do-it-yourself St.Patrick's Day runs went. Pretty darn impressive. Dan Begin hasn't run a 10k this fast since he was in his 30's!! Anita ....
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Members Matter Inside Team Triumph

Member retentionis not a simple equation. It's a personalized approach to building a better relationship with each of yourmembers. It's about providing them with the value they are seeking and solving the problems they thought you could help with. Secondly, improving yourmembership retentionrate can also improve your rate of growth. With a more consistent consumer base, meaningful relationships between these regularmembers(and even between staff andmembers) are more likely to develop. This sense of belonging can drastically improve thememberexperience. Why focus on retention? Because you can’t afford not to. Experts estimate that it can cost as much as five times more to ....
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What is an FTP Test and Why is it Important?

What is an FTP Test and Why is it Important? A Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test is a 20 or 60-minute bike test to see what your anaerobic threshold or Zone 4 is on the bike. You ride at a hard effort throughout the test maintaining a steady cadence of about 80-90 RPMs. Take your average power minus 5% if you do the 20-minute test or take the average power for 60 minutes. We usually suggest doing the 20-minute test since 60 minutes is brutally hard for the average athlete to push and focus their highest power for! Once you have your FTP, you can then determine your other training zones. If you don't have power on your bike did you know that you can do an FTHR test? The Functional ....
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Climbing for a Good Cause

This past Valentines Day we challenged our members to take part in the SHARE THE LOCAL LOVE Climbing Challenge WHAT A BLAST THAT WAS! We had a crew of about 18 who climbed just over 1,500m to the top of Mt Vent Top and did it in about 2 hours and 15 mins. Of course, once we got to the top everyone wanted to rack up some kilometers for the challenge so we whisked down the hill! Meanwhile in Mt Tremblant...Here's Pauline's report: "Well, some of the Mont-Tremblant contingents of Team Triumph took up your challenge Julia and climbed the mountain. There were seven of us: Debi and Neil, Sophie and Francis, Renée and Andy, and me. Together, we climbed over ....
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The Pursuit of Recovery

A common topic that comes up with our athletes is the question around overtraining and when to take a recovery day or week. As a triathlon coach, we do all of the strategic planning to put together an appropriately structured training plan but how each athlete reacts to the training stress can be completely different. As the science of exercise progresses, we are learning that metrics are a great tool to use for monitoring training stress. Using the Training Peaks coaching software, your coach can test for your training zones in all of your sports and then monitor how much training stress you accumulate. This Training Stress Balance (TSB) score is usually a pretty good indicator ....
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Everest Challenge w/Emily Graves Part 1

Over the holidays, Emily Graves reached out for some coaching to achieve a goal of climbing the equivalent elevation and distance of Everest on Zwift. After analyzing her current metrics and zones, we put together a structured plan to get her to the finish line. Part 1 was to get her to Base Camp.Now that we know Emily's current abilities, we can build on that to plan Part 2 of her training. Here is her report: A triage between, and a test of #mindbodyspirit ! This rookie 54-year-old cyclist hit basecamp (4500 meters) and will now progress to train for the full Mount Everest (8849 meters) climb on March 26. It was a bit of a rocky start as my wattage was high (I thought there was ....
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How Do You Enjoy Your Oatmeal?

It's well known that athletes not only like to eat, but they like to talk about eating. Recently during one of our Virtual Cycling Club rides where we converse on discord, the topic of "How do you like your oats" came up. Not a single one of our members liked their oats the same way. There are even a couple of rebels who will switch their morning oats out for another grain like Quinoa, Buckwheat or Millet. Here we share some of our member's favourite ways to eat their morning cereal. I like to blend in a little chocolate Athlete's Blend protein which contains all of the Essential Amino Acids we need to power up my workouts, combined with some collagen to protect my joints ( ....
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Who Needs Races when you have Challenge Events?

We are athletes and we love a good challenge! A good challenge is why we race and that's also what motivates us to train. With no live races going on, it continues to impress me how so many of you in Team Triumph are being creative in finding your own ways to challenge yourselves and or trying one of our challenges. Read below to discover what challenges are going on! What is going to challenge you in November?? FRED CARLE RUNS HIS FIRST HALF MARATHON....IN THE WOODS!! Running a half marathon for the first time is a challenge in itself but Fred lives inGatineau and loves to escape into the woods for his runs. He decided to train up to the half marathon distance and complete ....
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Swimming Math: Why Technique Trumps Fitness in Swimming

Why Technique trumps Fitness in Swimming Ever wondered why when you compare your times for a 100 m all-out sprint vs a 100 m at your regular pace you are only able to shave off a few seconds? All that extra effort and so little to show for it! What is holding you back – is it swim fitness, or drag, or an inefficient pull? Let’s look at the math (or you can ignore the math and just read the conclusions) For a swimmer swimming at a steady speed, the forward thrust force developed by the swimmer is equal to the drag force holding the swimmer back. The thrust you can generate is dependent on your stroke rate and stroke efficiency and ....
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Luc Lapensee Runs Home to Plantagenet!!

LUC LAPENSEE RUNS HOME TO PLANTAGENET!! With so many races being cancelled, our members are looking for new and creative ways to dream up personal challenges to keep them motivated to train. When all of Luc's marathons were cancelled, Luc got in touch and asked whether it would be possible for his personal training plan to include a 60km Ultra Marathon from Ottawa to Plantagenet. Being his long time coach, I knew that Luc has what it takes to do a long run so of course, I agreed!!Luc keeps busy in his life as a branch manager at Lumen while alsorunning the family Binerie business in Plantagenet. He thought why not add a little more fun to the mix and run home! We ....
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Bruno Completes the Ottawa Marathon

BRUNO BARIL RUNS OTTAWA MARATHON!! Bruno contacted Coach Julia during the Summer to get a custom training plan on Training Peaks. As a young and busy military officer living in Petawawa, his schedule can quickly be thrown off if he goes on a gruelling course. Despite the challenges, one of his goals was to run the Ottawa Marathon which he was registered for but the actual live event was cancelled due to COVID. So we planned for the race to happen on Sunday. He came to Ottawa to run the course and we had a great chance to meet-up to plan his race. He was super happy to report that he PB'd by 1 minute under his last Ottawa marathon in 2014. After the race, he reported that the ....
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Run Off the Grid 50km race

This Saturday September 26, our Onboarding Coordinator Brenda completed her second 50km trail race. The race was held in Mattawa, Ontario. It was the 10th annual running of the event that the event organizers lovely names 9.5 due to COVID restrictions not allowing them to run the event as they had in years, but they were happy to have 100 participants attend. They ran a 12.5km, 25km and 50km race. It was Brenda's first time at the event, but her run partner Fay #448 had run the 12.5km distance last year with a friend, so had some idea of what the terrain was going to be like, BUT 12.5km is a little different than 50km. In previous years the route is alternated, but due to COVID ....
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ESPRIT, MONTREAL - Don't Mind if we du/tri

Cory got in touch with us at the beginning of the Summer to set up a private open water lesson and ask for a few tips about gettingstarted for triathlon training. After another lesson and then a biketransition training session he was ready to launch his triathlon career! He is one of the few people who actually was able to do a real race at the EspritTriathlon in Montreal. Way to go, Cory, we are so happy for you! HERE IS CORY'S STORY: I havelong been wanting to give triathlon a try and COVID presented the perfect opportunity. Itook the time Inormally spendcommuting to and from work and used it to train for myfirst triathlon. First, Istarted swimming at ....
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The Definition of Epic Is.....

DAN BEGIN What a Triumphant weekend for our tribe members! Dan set a goal to complete his first Half Ironman at the Barrelman race. With his race being cancelled, he trained throughout the Summer to continue his dream. Unfortunately, 11 weeks ago an old calf injury came back and stopped his running in his tracks. We thought this was it, his season was over. Dan wasn't having it. He immediately got in for treatment and laid off the running. We brought him back gradually, one minute at a time until 4 weeks ago he was able to run continuously again and get back to 8 km. Decision time came last weekend as we spoke about the possibilities of completing his goal. ....
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Glen Paradis from Ottawa Canada....You Are An Ironman

IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN AT THE FINISH LINE OF AN IRONMAN, you will know the famous line that is repeated by the announcer as each emotional and overjoyed athlete crosses the finish line: "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!". On Sunday night at 10:30 pm Glen Paradis crossed the finish line and as his coach, I was emotional, overjoyed, and darn proud to be able to repeat those words too! Glen...YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!! Mont Tremblant Ironman was supposed to be Glen's inaugural Ironman after years of preparing to complete this grueling event. When COVID hit, we spoke about doing the Ironman on his own, and with his contagious smile and humble positive energy, he agreed that he would like to do it anyway. ....
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No Races...No Problem for our Members

As the awesome outdoor season rolls along, we are seeing more epic workouts hitting Training Peaks and Strava. Although triathlon isn't only about going long, I have to say, there have been some pretty impressive feats happening this week by our members! Congrats to Glen Paradis for completing a long brick as he prepares to complete the iron distance this Summer:143km Bike - 18 km Run! Congrats to Dan Begin for completing his long brick as he prepares to complete the half-iron distance: 90km Bike - 9km Run! Ranya has been working with Coach Maggie all Summer in the water and has officially gone from doing a choppy and challenging head-up front crawl 750m open water swim last ....
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The Art of the Wetsuit Wedgie

When you hear the word wedgie, does it conjure up memories of your sibling or childhood friend trying to pull your underwear over your head? Well, that's not what we are talking about in this video. Watch Coach Julia Aimers show you how to put on a wetsuit and master the art of the wetsuit wedgie ....
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BOTB Swim Challenge Results and Next Challenge

BRING ON THE BAY 3K SWIM (WEEK OF JULY 6TH) This week's challenge was a HUGE success!! We asked you to swim a continuous 3km OR 1500m and Team Triumph once again grabbed the challenge and swam with it!! Congrats to all those who got out there and swim, swam and swum! Ranya El Sadawy with Coach Maggie - 3065m Brad Vlaming - 3041m 58:53 Debi Zaret - 1522m (43 min) 1st ever 1500m followed by a 1st ever 2002m (57:43) later in the week with swim buddy Sophie Dagenais Sophie Dagenais 3000m (1:08) with swim buddy Janet Whitley France Girard 1700m in Cornwall Josee Perreault 3013m (1:23) Janet Whitley 3202m (1:05) Harry Briggs 3227m (1:06) Alla Khvatova 3244m (1:15) Julie Watkins 1999m (52:45) ....
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Our Challenge Series Is Still Going Strong

CANADA DAY RUN CHALLENGE
This week we challenged you to run 5km or 10km on Canada Day and show off your Canadian spirit! Congrats to all who got out and celebrated Canada and their running fitness! 10km
Cristina Martinez and Nathalie Ranya El Sadawy Brad Vlaming Debi Zaret Shawn Charland 5km
Martin Couet Darius Skusevicius Glen Paradis Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson Emily Graves Joanne Dawes and Mike Chambers Gary Maxwell Randy Graham Gavin Grusnick MEECH LAKE TRIATHLON CHALLENGE
This week we also challenged you to do the Meech Lake Triathlon. Some were able to complete both challenges this week! Congrats to those who are injured and picked the sports they can do. ....
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Virtual Run & Triatlon Challenge

This week in our challenge series we have not 1 but 2 challenge options for you. Challenge #1 - Virtual Canada Day 5/10km run
Run 5km or 10km on Canada Day! Wear your red and white or a maple leaf and show off your Canadian spirit in style. Tag us in your social media or send us an email to pbest.ca once you're done, with a picture! Challenge #2 - Virtual Meech Lake Triathlon
MEECH LAKE TRI FAMILY AFFAIR!
Throwback to the Meech Lake Triathlon when Linda competed with her daughter Julie and was greeted at the finish line byher son who volunteered as a Paramedic and her daughter-in-law and grandson. WHAT A HAPPY DAY FOR THEM ALL! MEECH FEAST CHALLENGE (WEEK OF JUNE ....
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Mont Tremblant Triathlon Challenge was a cooker

TREMBLANT CHALLENGE COMPLETE!

What an incredibly HOT weekend it was for our Tremblant Challengers. None of us were adaptedforthose conditions yet!! Thank goodness we weren't really racing. Last week we challenged you to complete one of the Tremblant race distances: Sprint 750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run or Standard 1500m Swim, 40km Bike, 10km Run, or 70.3 - 2km Swim, 90km Bike, 21km Run. For those that Tremblant was their A Race it has been a bumpy ride of ups and downs of whether to even bother doing it. Understandably, everyone has been struggling with their motivation since the races have been canceled and the pools have been closed. Congratulations to everyone who was ....
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Mont Tremblant Virtual Triathlon Challenge

This coming week, we are challenging you to complete one of the Tremblant race distances: Sprint - 750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run Olympic - 1500m Swim, 40km Bike, 10km Run, or 70.3 - 2km Swim, 90km Bike, 21km Run. Please be sure that you are adequately trained for the distance that you choose and that you bring the proper fuel along for your event. Also, be sure to have a swim buddy and a float with you if you're heading into open water. Some of our members are going to be in the Gats on Saturday to do their challenge. Hopefully, we will see you whizzing by! A great option is to swim from O'Brien and make the parking lot your transition zone. A short loop is 21k, 2 loops would give ....
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Cycle Challenge Is Complete

Last week we challenged our members, in honour of the Rideau Lakes Tour to complete two long rides back to back. The options were: 25k/25k 50k/50k 50k/100k, or for those well trained up 100k/100k or maybe more! This truly was a bigger challenge than expected given a few rainy days, extreme winds and the cooler weather we had. There were 7 of us who completed the challenge: Dan 51k/100k Glen 121k/122k Darius 120k/45k Ranya 54k/108k Luc 60k/120k Renee 60k/83k Coach Julia 100k/100k For those tapering for their A Event Tremblant Challenge next weekend, I was happy to see that you behaved and stuck to your schedule! Congratulations everyone. After Ranya El Sadawy's private ....
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Swim Buddy Program and Cycle Challenge

SOCIAL DISTANCES SUGGESTIONS

Due to the current rules, we are still not able to gather in a group of more than 5 people, so we suggest that when heading out, pack your own water and snacks so you don't have to stop at stores without a mask on, however, if you are doing a long-distance ride/run that will require that you stop to restock your hydration, carry a mask in a plastic bag so you are prepared or have a family member meet you with the necessary supplies so you can restock. GROUP CYCLING
Our club is sanctioned through Triathlon Ontario. They have made it clear that we are not permitted to gather in a group of more than 5 and we must maintain a physical distance of ....
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Why now IS NOT the time to retire as a Triathlete

Don't throw down the transition towel just yet! Having a challenge or goal is what drives people forward. For athletes, having a goal is our raison d'être.When our goals are taken away it can leave us feeling lost and unmotivated. For many of us, our goals have been shattered due to races being canceled. Over the past couple of months, I have personally seen motivation levels go up and down like the hillsin the Gatineau's.If you are feeling this way, I want you to know that you arecompletely normal. "If you are feeling motivational ups and downs, I want you to know that you arecompletely normal."
When we retire from work, we are given retirement classesto prepare us for no ....
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Rideau Lakes Cycling Challenge

Although the RLCT is canceled this year, we want to encourage our members to complete it virtually in some capacity. The Rideau Lakes Cycling Tour is one of the country's longest-running cycling events. The two-day ride takes you through picturesque towns and villages along the Rideau Lakes waterway to the shores of Lake Ontario. Traditionally two days, four routes. 220 to 420 kms. With the tour being canceled we realize that many people may have stopped training for the event and may not be in a position to complete the 220 to 420kms that they would have, had the tour been a go, soooooo.....we are asking our members,during the week of June 8th, to do two long rides back to back ....
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Challenges Everything. Our Team has been busy!!!

It was great to see so many people out and about this past week. Pascale Savard completed a Spartan Challenge. Luc Lapensee did the Perth double distance duathlon. France Girard completed the Perth Triathlon and even did an open water swim at Britannia! Coach Julia also did the Perth Tri but opted for swim strength instead. Julie McInnes set out to walk 10km a day and complete500km of walking. I was so happy to be outside when she walked by my house the day she finished the 500km! Pascale Savard took a break from sewing masks to complete the Spartan Challenge!
With the Tremblant Half Iron challengecoming up, Anita Taylor and Glen Paradis were busygetting their long bricks done. ....
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Perth Virtual Triathlon

Next in our Virtual Challenge series is the Perth Triathlon. Perth is oneof Team Triumph's favourite races and for sure a 1st triathlon for somany. Here is the challenge: complete one of the swim video workouts on our youtube channel [here] or a real swim then bike 16km and run 3km OR
32km and 6km if you want to do the double distance. Look at your stats from last year and see if you can beat them or if you can win your age category from last year! Be sure to let us know what you did! Do not forget that the prizes given away are usually baked goods, so you have permission to eat pie after :-)
....
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ORW Challenge Results and Mask Donations Update

What an incredible weekend of weather we had. The icing on the cake was the opening of the Gatineau Park. On Strava,it looks like mostof our members took advantage ofthe weather and got outside and into Gatineau park for hikes, runs, and long rides. Harry Briggs even got out for aswim in Britannia andMichael Pierce was swimming from Salt Spring Island! We issued the Ottawa Race Weekend Challenge last week and as always our members rose to the occasion. Congratulations to all of our members who went outand challenged themselves. We know it's not easy to push the pace when there isn't a real race. The sheer ability to get off the couch and do the distance is not something that ....
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Ottawa Race Weekend Challenge

With Ottawa Race Weekend on the calendar for next weekend, (May 23/24) we are challenging you to complete a 5km, 10 km, half marathon, or full marathon between Tuesday and Sunday this week. Please post your completed challenge on our private Facebook page or send us an email to let us know when you're done. Pictures are always fun too! ....
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Early Bird Triathlon Challenge Results

What a glorious weekend to take part in the Early Bird Triathlon Challenge that we issued this past week to our members. As always our members rose to the challenge and we had a good number of them reporting in that they completed the challenge. CONGRATULATIONS TO ...... DAN BEGIN RENEE ROBERT FRANCE GIRARD RANYA EL SADAWY DANA COOPER FRANCOIS MENARD GLEN PARADIS JOSEE PERREAULT ANITA TAYLOR CECILE BEAUREPAIRE GARY MAXWELL STEPHANIE OBASEKI-JOHNSON LUC LAPENSEE STEVE SWANWICK COACH JULIA Dan Begin - Selfie after finishing the challenge Dan's run time was faster than the last time he did this race. Could it be that he has been joining the Run Club on a regular basis? France ....
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Early Bird Triathlon - Challenge

The OttawaEarly Bird Triathlon& Duathlon is a greatearlyseason warm-up for the avid participant and a super first time event for the beginner. The pool swim is safe, warm, and features a time trial start to help ensure you are not lapped. The cycle course is scenic and traffic-free along Colonel By Drive. Unfortunately, like many other races, the organizers canceled this years event do to COVID19. We are a huge supporter of this race so we would like to issue a challenge to those are were signed up for the event this year.
The Challenge? Try to beat your previous self.

Check out your stats from the last time you did this race and try to beat your bike and run times. Be sure to ....
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Challenge Complete - Mont Tremblant Camp

Last week we upped the challenge and some of our members were able to get it done! Not an easy camp to complete indoors and out especially given the weather but it was certainly fun to complete. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR TREMBLANT CAMP CHALLENGERS!
GLEN PARADIS JOSEE PERREAULT ANITA TAYLOR CECILE BEAUREPAIRE DEBI ZARET GARY MAXWELL RENEE ROBERTS They completed the Duplessis climb ride, Maggie's dynamic warm-up, followed by a 5-15km run on day 1. On day 2 they completed a 50-70 km ride and our swim strength video on YouTube. Anita Taylor got the Tremblant Challenge done with a little war wound but she kept going! This happened before she passed Coach Julia on ....
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Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, May 10 th is Mother's Day. This has me thinking about the incredible women we have in Team Triumph who are amazing mothers, and triathletes. It’s been said that mothers wear many hats: · Law Enforcer · Entertainer · Handy Women · Wrangler · Nurse · Ring Leader · Educator · Financial Advisor · Chef · Maid · Leader · Chauffeur So how do our members do it? How do they manage to work full time, run a household, be a ....
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Mont Tremblant Triathlon Challenge

This week would have been our Mont Tremblant Training Camp. Do you have what it takes to complete the training we would have done at camp? SUGGESTION OUTLINE OF CHALLENGE
Day 1: Ride a Duplessis hilly 20km either outside or Coach Julia will lead it on FB Live and Zwift (*Wednesday at 9 am).After the ride,run or walk 5 to 15 km. Day 2: Complete one ofour Strength Training for Swimming Workout Videos on YouTube [ here ] and then do a 2-3 hourbike ride. *Wednesday and Thursday look like the best days weather-wise at the moment but you can do the camp anytime you like as long as you do the workouts 2 days in a row. The order doesn't really matter. Once complete, we ask that you ....
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CHEO Virtual Cycle Challenge - SUCCESS!!!!!

CHEO CYCLING CHALLENGE What a perfect weekend for our CHEO Cycling Challenge! Team Triumphers took to the streets and jumped on their trainers to support the challenge. The goal was to ride 50-70km or bike 5km with their kids to support our drive to donate children's masks to help protect the kids at CHEO. Congratulations to everyone who geared up for the challenge. According to Team Triumpher Pascale, our master seamstress, she has 126 orders so far. Let's see if we can get to 150 masks! The good news is, it's not too late to order! Just $5.00 goes a long way!
Thanks a million to Pascalewho has been busy sewing masks galore for ourCHEO Challenge! If you would like to purchase one for ....
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Heroes in our Tribe - Follow Up

HEROES IN OUR TRIBE OF TRIUMPHERS We have always been impressed with our members, whether they are slaying their triathlon goals or are being just amazing in everyday life. Here is an update from our blog last week on what we would like to call our "Hero's" Thankyou to everyone who called, messaged, orstopped by with food for Louise or joined us on our Ride To Remember for Louise's Mum. It wasamazingto see our Tribe coming together to support our teammate through this difficult time. Louise had this to say "
Lasted an hour and cried off and on through the whole thing. My teammates are such kind and wonderful people
❤️"
Thanks also goes out this week to Anna Belanger ....
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Cycle for CHEO Challenge

CYCLE FOR CHEO CHALLENGE The weekend of May 2/3 would have been the CN Cycle for CHEO. Due to COVID19 it has been postponed, but we can still do our part! Here's the challenge!! Do a ride between 50-70km inside or outside or ride 5km with your kids and donate (1) $5.00 mask or as many as you like for CHEO. Once you have accepted the CHEO Challenge, you can order your masks from Team Triumph member Pascale Savard. Coach Julia will pick them up and deliver them directly to CHEO. If you would like to order masks for yourself, you can either pick them up in Barhaven at Pascale's house OR Julia will bring them back to her place and leave your order on the front porch for you to pick up. ....
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Cornwall Walk/Run Distance Challenge Results

We have some pretty motivated individuals on our team. We issued a challenge to complete the Cornwall Walk/Run Challenge this past weekend and once again Team Triumph stepped up to the plate! Here is our list of Team Triumphers who ran on the weekend.... Glen Paradis 26km (he also did the Sprint Triathlon last weekend!) Luc Soucie, his wife and theirdog - Half Marathon Jennifer Rae-Brown - 5k Luc Lapensee - Half Marathon Dan Begin - 15km Anna Belanger - 11km Cecile Beaurepaire - Half Marathon Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson - 16.5km Steve Swanwick - Half Marathon Debi Zaret - 13km Anita Taylor - Half Marathon (1 minute faster than last year!) Darius Skusevicius - 11.8km Lucie Villeneuve - 26km ....
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Heroes in our Tribe of Triumphers

We have so many heroes in our tribe and this week wewould like to recognize a few of them. Isolation and social distancing are tough for us all but for some of our members, they have increased challenges in the face of this pandemic. LOUISE LEWIS-JAMES
Sadly Louise lost her Mum to cancer on the weekend. Our deepest condolences go out to Louise and her family. When it became apparent that COVID-19 was going to hit Ontario, Louise got herself to Guelph and picked up her Mum and Step-Dad knowing that if she didn't she wouldn't be able to help her ailing Mom. She brought them back to Ottawa and made it her mission to make sure that her Mum had everything she could possibly need. At the ....
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Cornwall Walk/Run Distance Challenge!!!

Who doesn't love a challenge? We had so many people join us for the last challenge that we thought we'd issue another. Given that April 25th and 26thwould have been the Cornwall Half and Full Marathons, we are challenging everyone to either run a half marathon (only if you are trained for it!) OR increase your last longest walk or run by 10% OR if you have trained up for the full marathon go ahead and do your marathon! If you have done an 18 km run lately then you should be good to go for 21km otherwise just increase your current distance by 10%. Once you are done, post it on Strava and Facebook ( do not forget to tag us) as the Cornwall ....
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How One Team Triumph Member is Managing Her Stress During COVID19

Can you tell us a little bit about your self
I'm a mother of 4, grandmother of soon to be 3. I started triathlons late in 2017 after joining Team Triumph. I am a runner first at heart! Our family moved here in 2008 and it has been an adventure since! How long have you been a member of Team Triumph Triathlon Club
I have been a faithful member of Team Triumph for 2 years now. Julia and her expertise is who taught me how to swim! How has COVID19 affected you and your family/business?
COVID is deeply affecting my family and business. My second daughter's due date for her first baby is May 3rd. The fear of not having her husband and family with her during her ....
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Utah "Virtual" Triathlon HUGE HIT

In our last blog, we mentioned that we had to cancel our Utah Camp and that those who would have attended the camp would have had the option to take part in a triathlon. We issued a challenge to our members to do the triathlon virtually. We were super stoked to see that 21 members took us up on our challenge. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR UTAH TRIATHLON CHALLENGE FINISHERS!!
Anna Belanger - 1/2 Iron (Saturday) plus Sprint (Sunday) Shawn Charland - 1/2 Iron Darius Skusevicius Julie Watkins Dan Begin Debi Zaret Anita Taylor Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson Linda Lafrance Robert Browne Jen Kellar Cecile Beaurepaire Renee Robert Brad Vlaming Glen Paradis Dana Cooper France Girard Francois Menard ....
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SHAC Triathlon Virtual Challenge

As we come into week 3 of our virtual training program we are setting a challenge to complete the Utah Triathlon! This weekend the participants that were coming to our Utah camp would have been participating in the SHAC Triathlon - a 500m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. We are issuing this challenge to anyone who is able to do the bike and run and do the strength training for swimmer video too! You can find our strength training for swimmers on our website here . Share your triathlon on Strava and your fun photos on Facebook!! Make sure to tag us. #COVID19 #virtualchallenge #challenge #virtual #teamtriumph #ottawatriathlon ....
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Head Coach Surprises Members

One of the members of Team Triumph had posted that their trail race had been canceled, but the Race Director was going to send anyone who had signed up and still decided to complete the race distance a pair of socks for doing so. This got me thinking that I would like to do something similar for the 45 members who participated in the Team Triumph Virtual St. Patricks Day run. I decided that a headband would be nice. On Thursday and Friday of last week, me and my Director of Logistics, Martin Couet, set out to hand-deliver the headbands to anyone who lived locally. As we drove, walked or mailed the prizes I kept thinking how incredibly grateful I felt to have these people as part of my ....
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Challenging Times call for Virtual Racing

With races being canceled, many of our members have decided that they will continue to train and run the events anyway. This weekend the Oldest Race in North America - Around the Bay 30km Road Race was due to take place. We had 4 Triumphers complete the virtual 30km distance in Ottawa and surrounding areas: Linda, Julie, Ranya and Shelley so far. It was great to see Stephanie and Annemarieke jump onto the course to support them along the way. Linda wrote on her Facebook page..."You can cancel the race, but not the runners". What a great perspective. One to embrace for sure. LINDA & JULIE LAFRANCE COMPLETE THE 30KM AROUND THE BAY CHALLENGE Thanks to Stephanie for escorting ....
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St. Patrick's Day Virtual 5/10km Was a Sucess

TEAM TRIUMPH - ST PADDY'S VIRTUAL CLUB RUN FOR MENTAL HEALTH WOWOWOWOW!! What an amazing turnout we had this weekend for the 5km - 10km virtual walk/run event!! It was such fun looking at all of your accomplishments and pictures. Congrats to all who took part. We actually had a few PB'stoday which is pretty amazing given the stress levels of the past week. A special shout out and thumbs up to ByronJohnson,one of our oldest members (over 70), for staying indoorsand self-isolating after returning home from the states. I know it's not easy and if you know Byron he could kick most of our butts runningandcycling for that matter! Here are the results! Julia Vlaming Jennifer Kellar Julie ....
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TEAM TRIUMPH TRIATHLON CLUB SHIFTS TO ONLINE TRAINING

When the official notice stated that Canadians should consider implementing “Social Distancing”, to slow the virus down, we knew that the best decision for the health and safety of our club and its members was to discontinue all programs for at least 3 weeks. Once this decision was made, the coaches and I started discussions on contingency plans for our members to be sure that they can have a reasonably stress-free time while they are self-isolating or social distancing in order to do their part in slowing down the spread of the virus. We felt a good option was virtual training via Facebook Live. We sent out a schedule and launched our first Facebook live strength training ....
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Creating a Catchy Swim Catch

The catch phase in freestyle is the most powerful part of the swim stroke and yet this is also the part of the stroke so many swimmers have trouble catching on to. A faulty catch is also where rotator cuff injuries can stem from. Let's take a look at some past ideas on the catch, where we are now and what you can do to improve your catch. There are many descriptions of the catch, one of which is the S pull. The story on the S pull as I have heard it isthat the Americans saw an underwater video of the Russian swimmers back in the '70s and the optical illusion of the water and bad quality video cameras made it look like the Russians were creating an S underwater with their arms. Being that ....
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Hypothermic Half and First Triathlon of the Year!!!!

HYPOTHERMIC HALF MARATHON
It was a beautiful day for the Hypothermic Half, and Team Triumphers stepped up to the line in droves! Congratulations to
Lynn Scott
John Gomes
Carl Habel
Anna Belanger and Mark Belanger seen above. Also out were
Glen Paradis
Josee Perreault and
Ranya El Sadawy. There were some fast finishers in the group with some sweet rankings. Well done everyone! FIRST TRIATHLON OF THE SEASON COMPLETE!!
Congratulations to Gavin Grusnick and Rayan Mamun for completing their 1st Olympic distance triathlon out in Alberta on Saturday at the UBC Triathlon. Gavin is seen above with his pregnant wife Jaycee and son. Here is Gavin's fun ....
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Team Triumph Spotlight - Harry Briggs

This month Harry Briggs shares his inspirational story of getting started in triathlon. Harry, it is such a pleasure having you on the team. Your lightheartedness and genuine spirit make us all relax reminding usthat at the end of the day, we're all here for health and fun! Thanks for sharing your story.... Before starting with Team Triumph I always enjoyed chasing a goal. In the early days, this was often a mountain, my favourite trip being a ski de Randonnée on the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. When my daughters arrived my running started, completing a couple of marathons and the 54 mile Caledonian Challenge. However, a knee injury brought this all to a crashing halt. So ....
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Fundraising and Racing - What We Were Up to This Weekend

We had so much FUN on Saturday spinning our Hearts out for our future Olympians. Everyone reported how motivating it was to not only get the average watts up but also to try to keep them up for 90 minutes!! It was tough but we had such a blast doing it!! We pumped out 2715 average watts and raised $2715 just from that effort on Saturday. Our final fundraising efforts will be announced shortly, as those that could not make it to the class were given permission to submit their avg watts from their weekly rides. The numbers are still rolling in. AT THE RACES!!
Those who were not spinning on Saturday were out competing at all kinds of races!! Congratulations to everyone who ....
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Hearts of Gold - Olympic Hopeful Spotlight #3

Each Year Team Triumph endeavors to give back to its community by raising funds for an organization or individuals in need of financial support.In 2020 Tokyo will be hosting the Olympics so we have decided that we would like to support our future Ontario Olympians! We have identified 3 young athletes who are in need of a little extra funding this year and we would like to share a little about each of them with you. Our second featured athlete is Segun Makinde, Competitive Runner Segun Makinde is a Canadian Track and field athlete, 2x Olympian, and 3x International medalist whose events include the 110m Hurdles, 200m, and 4x100m Relay. Born in Nigeria, Segun moved with his parents to ....
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Ice Ice Baby Ice

Team Triumphers were out competing yesterday in the Winterlude Ice Dragonboat Festival!! Julie McInnes, Joanne Beveridge and Cary Willis were on TeamThe Girls in the Hood.They had a fantastic day of competition, completing the event with a second place finish in the Women's Division! That strength training is paying off!! For the full race, summary see - https://www.icedragonboat.ca/canada-wins-gold-2nd-iidbf-world-ice-dragon-boat-championships/ It was so much fun!! -Cary CONGRATULATIONS GALS!! But not all of our team were racing on ice, Kit E and Kelly Hudson were racing in Miami on the weekend. Kit E placed 2nd in her age category in the 5k and went on to the half marathon today. ....
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Hearts of Gold - Olympic Hopeful Spotlight #2

Each Year Team Triumph endeavors to give back to its community by raising funds for an organization or individuals in need of financial support.In 2020 Tokyo will be hosting the Olympics so we have decided that we would like to support our future Ontario Olympians! We have identified 3 young athletes who are in need of a little extra funding this year and we would like to share a little about each of them with you. Our second featured athlete is Aethan Cubitt, Competitive Sailor Aethan Cubitt,17,is one of the top Laser youth sailors in Canada. He has been around sailboats his entire life, including a year abroad with the family on a sailboat. Aethan has sailed competitively for 7 ....
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Hearts of Gold - Olympic Hopeful Spotlight #1

Each Year Team Triumph endeavors to give back to its community by raising funds for an organization or individuals in need of financial support.In 2020 Tokyo will be hosting the Olympics so we have decided that we would like to support our future Ontario Olympians! We have identified 3 young athletes who are in need of a little extra funding this year and we would like to share a little about each of them with you. Our first feature is a young skater Reese Rose. Reese Rose is a 10-year-old National level figure skater, who represents the Gloucester Skating Club and is a member of the Skate Ontario competitive team. In her short skating career, she has achieved a lot of ....
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AHAA Moments in the Pool

By Julia Aimers, Head Coach of Team Triumph Triathlon Club I LOVE IT WHEN OUR ATHLETES POP THEIR HEADS UP IN THE POOL
and you can literally see the lightbulb go off! They follow it with "I get it when you mean...______" The swimmer then goes off down the pool with a whole new stroke and us triathlon coaches are doing the happy dance on deck. We have found the language or drill that has created this ahhaa moment to help the swimmer feel smoother, stronger and faster in the pool. AT LAST: A BREAKTHROUGH!!!!
I'm sure any swim coach would agree that when you hear an "I get it when you mean" type sentence you throw it right into your coaching bag of ....
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Triathlon Season is just around the corner

Triathlon season is just around the corner which means that it's time to look at the race schedule on Somersault and decide which races you want to complete. Having races in your calendar gives you a goal to chase. Having a goal keeps your motivation to work out high. When your motivation is high, your training is consistent. Consistent training makes you fitter, healthier and happier. The fitter you are, the more likely you are to not only achieve your goals but maybe even exceed your expectations! How do you decide which races you should choose? First of all, it's best to check the family calendar and see what's scheduled for the Summer so there are no conflicts. When deciding on the ....
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Triumpher Spotlight - Meet Jeffrey Yateman

TEAM TRIUMPH SPOTLIGHT
JEFFREY YATEMAN
This week we share an interview with Team Triumpher, Jeff Yateman. Congratulations to Jeff who qualified for the World Championships in Edmonton! We look forward to following his journey as he prepares for August 2020. Here is his story... What is your name and what do you do for a living?
My name is Jeffrey Yateman, and I am a student, entrepreneur & full-time insights analyst at PepsiCo. I have one year left at McMaster University, and I currently have three Startups that I operate with my business partner Rami Fahel(who is also a Team Triumph athlete) and have a full-time job in Toronto. ....
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Do You Have the Power? Triathlon Age Group Power Profile Chart!

OFF SEASON - WATT POWER PROFILE CHART We are excited to share with you, the first Power Profile Chart for Age Groupers of it's kind! Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey and allowed us to develop a chart so you, our members could aspire to power profile numbers you can actually relate to. There are charts for high-level category ranked cyclists and elite triathletes but nowhere can you find a chart like this! The average score for women in the club is 2.4 and the average score for men in the club is 2.5. You can see on the chart what the athlete type is and whether they have qualified for the world championships. So if you want to qualify in your age group or do a ....
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Challenges, Parties and Athlete of the Year

SIX WEEK STRENGTH CHALLENGE!! 3 x 30 mins a week of strength training CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE #LHS CHALLENGE! LAST NIGHT'S DRAW WINNERS: CÉCILE BEAUREPAIRE FRANCE GIRARD BRENDA ROSS RENEE ROBERT GARY MAXWELL JANET WHITLEY Congrats to Renee, Gary, France, Debiand Brenda whocompleted 30 minutes for 6 weeks and remembered to submit their hours!We hope you enjoyed this 6 week challenge. Keep strength trainingwhen and where you can, your body, your speed and your power will thank you for it! TEAM TRIUMPH HOLIDAY W PARTY! Thanks to everyone for coming out to our annual Holiday Party and playing along ....
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Awards, Challenges and Giving Back

CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE AWARDS
New Team Triumpher France Saint-Denis (far left) and Coach Julia won gold and silver for the most points in their age category for triathlon at the Somersault Champions Challenge Awards on Friday evening. Gary Maxwell also won in the duathlon category. Congratulations everyone!! We had a lovely dinner hosted by Christine McKinty and Ian Fraser of Somersault and it was great to catch-up with friends from the race circuit. We like to keep our members motivated, and one way we do that is host challenges. Our Lift Heavy Stuff challenge is just finishing up, but this past weekend we caught Coach Maggie and Coach Julia doing their strength ....
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Do Triathletes Really Need to Swim in the Winter Months?

DO TRIATHLETES REALLY NEED TO SWIM DURING THE WINTER? IT'S COLD AND DARK...the alarm rings at 5:30 am. You could roll over and get an extra hour of sleep or get to the pool. Your sleepy brain says nahhh... I'll stay put, triathletes don't really need to swim in the Winter. Have you had that conversation with yourself before? There has been a long-time rumor in the triathlon community that triathletes who are decent swimmers don't need to swim during the winter months. The idea is that triathletes will get fewer gains from being a couple of minutes faster in the water and they should spend that time swimming or cycling more. Yes, that may be true but... The problem with this theory is ....
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TriRudy Awards 2019

TRI RUDY AWARD
A HUGE congratulations to Coach Maggie for earning her 4th Tri Rudy Award!!!! If you haven't heard about this prestigious award, it involves completing the Winterlude Triathlon, a marathon, the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour plus an Ironman all in one year! Not an easy feat for one year and this is Maggie's 4th time completing it! Way to go Maggie!! This evening Coach Maggie received her award at the Tri Rudy awards night and party. Team Triumph is a proud sponsor of Tri Rudy, a daily email chat for triathletes which was started in Ottawa. www.trirudy.com or join their Facebook group AT THE RACES
Congratulations also go out to Ranya El Sadawy for completing the half ....
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Byron Johnson - From Sprint to Half Ironman at 70 years young

This past September 7th, I completed my first ½ Ironman equivalent, the Demi-Esprit in Montreal and qualified for the World Championships. This was my seventh triathlon of thesummer but only an intermediate goal toward doing a full Ironman in 2020 which is my final goal of a three-year plan. However, even that three-year plan took a couple of years to develop. I had a strong cycling background and could, even coax my 70-year-old legs to run at a reasonable pace, but swimming was going to the challenge – I didn’t realize how much of a challenge until I tried it. Four years ago, I signed up for a weekend swim clinic with a local sports club. At the end of the first day, ....
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Team Triumph Takes to the Road Races

Debi - Jennifer - Gary - Coach Maggieat the Cookie Run
It's been a busy road racing season and tough to keep up with all the races our members are participating in! We have a few to catch-up on that were missed. Congratulations to everyone for getting out on the roads and chasing your PB's! 9 - RUN-RUN
Jennifer Rae-Brown 10km (3rd in AG) LE P'TIT TRAIN DU NORD MARATHON
Ranya El Sadawy Bob Brown John Gomes TORONTO WATERFRONT HALF MARATHON
Francois Menard (1st half-marathon!) Ryan Aimers (1st half-marathon...proud mum :) THE HAUNTED HUSTLE (TEMISKAMING)
Monique Beland 5km PB! (3rd overall - 1st in AG) COOKIE RUN 5km
Jennifer Rae-Brown - 1st in AG Debi ....
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Fall Marathon Weekend for Team Triumph

Lyse Scott - Lucie Villeneuve - Kit E - AT THE RACES A Marathon Weekend for Team Triumph!! With perfect temperatures and loads of sunshine, what an amazing weekend it was for racing! Congratulations to everyone who got to the start line and made it to the finish line. You are all amazing athletes! 9 - RUN-RUN
Jennifer Rae Brown - 10km (3rd in AG) Anita Lacelle-Taylor 10km Dan Begin - 1/2 Marathon PB by 7 minutes! LE P'TIT TRAIN DU NORD
Half Marathon
Simone Rose-Oliver Louise Lewis-James - 12th Half Marathon and......negative split the run Steve Rathwell (PB) Kit E Lucie Villeneuve Full Marathon
Luc Lapensee (Boston Qualified!) France Saint-Denis (Boston Qualified!) ....
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Fall Colors Half Marathon Report - France Girard

As some of us may have experienced, stomach issues during an endurance event are not fun! Finding the right fuel, electrolytes and water consumption before and during a race is key but sometimes it just doesn't work out. Here is France Girard's Honest Race Report: The perfect Fall day to have a competition! The best part of all those races is the little turkey trot at the beginning of the morning. All those littlekids from 2 years old and up running around the track with their parents and their grandparents cheering them! Lovely! About 200 adultsparticipated inthe half and the marathon, just the perfect number not to feel overwhelmed for the turtle that I am!!! I had my ....
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At the Races. A big weekend for endurance sports.

AT THE RACES

A BIG WEEKEND FOR ENDURANCE SPORTS!
Team Triumph had a busy weekend in Canada and the US! Congratulations to Suzanne Rivest (seen above with her brother and son) for coming in 2nd in her age category at the Fall Colours 5km. France Girard was also out and completed the Half Marathon. While the world record for the marathon was being broken, Linda and Jean-Paul Lafrance were also on the course pushing their limits at the Chicago Marathon! Congrats to you both! Meanwhile in Louisville, Kentucky, Steve Swanwick completed another Ironman yesterday!! Unfortunately due to blue-green algae the swim course was canceled. Steve had been keeping his open water swimming ....
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Anna Belanger Shares Her Inspirational Triathlon Story

Anna Belanger is a very busy mother, wife, educator and business owner of Anna Belanger and Associates , a massage therapy business-driven and operated by her talented team of educated, strong and compassionate therapists. Here is here story.... I started Team Triumph with a strong base in fitness, however in no way was I a triathlete. In fact I was far from it. I was afraid of open water, could only breast stroke and had a road bike I had not ridden in 4 years. There was hope on the running front though as I had already completed two marathons and over 15 half marathons. I was an athlete, but an athlete with deep fears associated with biking and swimming. My last ....
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Team Triumph Members Enjoy Fall Racing

Coach Kevin Willis was busy on the weekend doing the Bruce Peninsula Gravel Gran Fondo. Here is his report:
"Lots of Mud!!" RUN CLUB NEWS
Congratulations to Jennifer RaeBrown(seen above,far left with Gillian Scobie, Harry Briggs, Lucie Villeneuve and Cecile Beaurepaire)for coming in 4th overall and 1st in her age group at the Rattle Me Bones 10km last weekend!! Jennifer has been consistently running with our club for over a year now and is reaping the rewards! Joanne Daweswas out on the weekend doing the Run for the Cure. Thanks for participating and raising money and awareness for Breast Cancer, Joanne! ....
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France Girard climbs another mountain

Back in June, we did a spotlight on France Girard in the OAC blog. Today, we are publishing an exciting update from her. With the race season winding down, we will catch-up on a few spotlights in our weekly news to keep you inspired for next season! France is a retired school principal and Grandmother. I had the pleasure of meeting her at her 1st triathlon in Brockville where I quickly "cleaned-up" her transition zone and gave her some pointers on how to do a triathlon. She then joined Team Triumph and has been hooked ever since! Here are France's Words of Inspiration:
"Life is made of multiple challenges that you need to overcome, mountains that need to be conquered, sometimes big, ....
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Falls Racing is under way

AT THE RACES
It was a quiet weekend in Ottawa on the racing front as our members get ready for Le Petit Train du Nord and the 9 Run - Run races but that didn't stop our members from going afar to find a race! Congratulations to Gary Maxwell on doing a speedy fast race at the Neptune Festival 8km in Virginia Beach! Kit E completed a rather wet Berlin Marathon today and knocked another one off the 6 Major Marathons bucket list: BOSTON NEW YORK BERLIN CHICAGO TOKYO LONDON I believe Kit is just missing London. Kit has also done Paris and Toronto. Amazing feat! Luc Lapensee is reaching for the same goal! Has anyone actually completed the list or are you trying for it? ....
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70.3 Barrelman and Army Run reports are in!!!!!

Back in June we did a spotlight on France Girard in the OAC blog. Today, we are publishing an exciting update from her. With the race season winding down, we will catch-up on a few spotlights in our weekly news to keep you inspired for next season! France is a retired school principal and Grandmother. I had the pleasure of meeting her at her 1st triathlon in Brockville where I quickly "cleaned-up" her transition zone and gave her some pointers on how to do a triathlon. She then joined Team Triumph and has been hooked ever since! Here are France's Words of Inspiration:
"Life is made of multiple challenges that you need to overcome, mountains that need to be conquered, ....
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Fall Racing at its Best

AT THE RACES!
LAUSANNE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

What an incredible week in Lausanne Switzerland at the ITU World Championships! Team Triumpher, Sue Bennett and I marched at the parade of nations with our fellow Team Canada mates. We checked out the course and there was one steep climb and one really steep descent just to add tothe excitement. The water looked like a calm ocean. It was a beautiful green, blue and wonderfully clear. When race day arrived the water was a bit rough but Sue took it all in stride and hit her target in all three events making it to the finish line and coming in 28th in the world!! Congratulations Sue!! We are all so incredibly proud of you! ....
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So.....You've Gone and Done it!!!!

It’s official you have signed up for a triathlon BUT now what? It’s months away, so you can wait until January to get started, right? It all depends on the distance of the race and when it is. One essential element of any successful triathlete is to dedicate the time necessary to properly train for a race. Regardless of your experience or fitness level, it's important to start training long before your first race of the season. This can mean the difference between feeling good and finishing strong, struggling to get over that finish line or a DNF (did not finish). We share in our blog “ When Should I Start Training for a Triathlon ” when ....
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Look out World Championships in Edmonton!!

Steph O in PEI winning her overall and Qualifying for World Championships in Edmonton AT THE RACES! 2 MORE TRIUMPHERS QUALIFIED FOR EDMONTON WORLD'S 2020!! What an amazing weekend of racing. Our gang was also racing in Mont Tremblant, Valleyfield, Brockville and PEI today! Last weekend saw a few people out as well doing the Iron Girl race and Bracebridge Tri. Both Jeff Yateman and Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson were gunning for a spot at World's and BAM!...mission accomplished! I was in Valleyfield and crossed the finish line and looked up at Jeff who was waiting at the line. I put one finger up to show 1st place and he nodded his head YES!! Jeff turned 21 today and ....
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Inspiring Performances this Weekend by Team Triumph Athletes

Sophie Completes 12km Swim at
La Traversée du lac Tremblant 2019

Congratulations to Sophie for taking on this incredible challenge! We are all so very proud of your accomplishment and grateful that you had Annemarieke by your side all the way! Here is Sophie's Race Report:
"Aug 4th was the second edition of La Traversée du lac Tremblant. When I submitted my application for the 12k HUUB Ultra Swim, I thought I wouldn’t be selected and would enjoy instead doing the 3k swim taking place on Saturday. I have always been intrigued by long-distance swimmers and La Traversée seemed the perfect location to try it. I first registered as a swimmer to ....
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National Capital Triathlon/Duathlon and IMCanada Podium for Coach Maggie!!!

NATIONAL CAPITAL TRIATHLONS & DUATHLONS It was another stinking HOT day for a race but as I always say - everyone has the same heat and humidity so just do your best and keep moving forward! Don't worry about your competition, they are suffering just as much as you are. We had many first triathlon folks out on the course. It was awesome to see the next generations getting into this amazing world of multi-sports! The BIG wins of the day went to our newest member Jeff Yateman who came 2nd in the men's sprint tri and 1st in AG; and our Director of Logistics and Humour, Martin Couet came in 3rd overall in the men's sprint duathlon and 1st in his age category. Sylvie Lemay ....
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Toronto Triathlon Festival - Coach Julia vs Son

TORONTO TRIATHLON FESTIVAL
Son vs Mum And the Winner is..... What a blast we had today at the Toronto Triathlon Festival!! This race was a first for me and a great experience. Over the Christmas holidays, I challenged my son Ryan who is now 25 to a triathlon. He is working in the financial industry in Toronto so needed a little extra incentive from Mum to kick his butt out of the office and get to the gym! I had coached him and his brother when they raced in Kids of Steel but he hasn't done a triathlon since he was about 10 years old. Even though the temps were baking hot, I had been warned that the water temperature never really warms up so I was happy I decided to wear ....
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The Perfect Day to Bring on the Bay

The sun was shining, the winds were calm, the water was a bit choppy:all par for the course on the mighty Ottawa River! Team Triumph had a great turnout of swimmers and volunteers. Thank you to Martin and Nancy St Germain's husband Paul for supporting the swimmers in their kayaks. In its13th year, BOTB is a really well-organized event with sailboats lined up every 100 meters. Great volunteers, food, and fun all around. We had three podium finishes today! Congratulations to our newswim coach Mike Olsenwho won his age category and posted the fastest Team Triumph time of the day at 53:12!He was also our eldest competitor at 76 and posted a personal best time for this event! He is keen to ....
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Mont Tremblant 2019 Triathlon Weekend Congratulations

We are so darn proud and excited of the members of our club that participated in the Mont Tremblant Triathlon weekend on June 22/23 that we could not resist putting together a video montage of their day. Fall programs start in September with details coming out in August, but we still have room in our Summer Program. If you have a late-season triathlon on your agenda and are looking for like-minded individuals to train with you can find information on our summer program at www.teamtriumph.ca What it Takes to Participate in the Mont Tremblant Weekend ....
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50 Plus Triumphers' Participate in Meech Lake Triathlon 2019!

MIKE COLLINGWOOD MEECH LAKE TRIATHLON CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TRIATHLETES!
The water was a bit rough and the temperatures hot, but triathlon IS an outdoor sport, so we roll with the punches! It was an honor to watch you all test your limits, high five you at the finish line and place medals on our top triathletes. Will Manning-Dewar earned the fastest male Triumpher of the race in a time of 1:42:56 and Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson was our fastest female at 1:45:52. Fastest Swimmers Anna - 20:33 Don - 22:07 Fastest Cyclists Glen - 49:16 Stephanie - 51:49 Fastest Runners Will - 29:03 Stephanie - 32:29 Will Manning-Dewar Stephanie ....
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3x Podium Finishes at ITU World Triathlon Series - Montreal

What an exciting day of racing for Team Triumph! We started the race at 11:20 am in the stinking, hot and humid Montreal heat so the debate was on to wetsuit or not to wetsuit? Two of us decided to go without, which in a 750m swim you can save time by not taking the suit off but how much time do you lose without it on? My choice was to go without to bring down my core temperature which was already high. The swim was lovely; not too wavy and well spread out. The bike was super fun!! It was a 5 x 4 km loop and was very technical with tight turning descents and a descent into a sharp, short steep hill. Each time you could play with how to take the turns a bit faster and tighter. When we hit ....
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Spectacular Performances by Team Triumph Members at Mont Tremblant Triathlon Weekend

What an incredible weekend for our members and families of Team Triumph! We had an amazing turnout of athletes and cheerleaders. It was wonderful to see everyone out on the course doing their best to achieve their goals. The lake on Saturday was so rough that over 100 people had to be pulled out and they had to shorten the swim course for the 5150. Thankfully the lake was flat on Sunday morning but then in came the wind for the bike course and the HEAT for the run. Nobody is heat adapted which made for a very challenging run for those out there for the long haul. As I kept saying, triathlon is an outdoor sport! You can choose to only show up on sunny training days but when ....
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Kale & Potato Pie - Pre Race Rocket Fuel!

Team Triumph's famous Kale & Potato Pie started out with one of our members, Cary Willis cooking it for her husband Kevin Willis before many of his Ironman races including the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Well when word got out in Team Triumph that this is what he fuelled on every night when he won the 3 day triathlon Ultraman Canada, Kale & Potato Pie became the go to rocket fuel for Team Triumph!! Thank you to Cary Willis for your nutritional knowledge and education of rocket fuel and thank you to Linda Lafrance who shared this recipe and also fuelled on this delicious treat when she qualified for and then completed the World Championships in Ironman in Kona, Hawaii! ....
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Great North Swim Competition in Lake Windermere

SUE BENNETT COMPLETES 3 DAY SWIMMING EVENT!
Sue and her sister participated in the Great North Swim Competition in Lake Windermere last weekend in the Lake District in England! This 3-day open water swimming event involved a 2-mile swim on day 1, a 1-mile swim on day 2 and 1- mile swim on day 3. Sue reported that there were "breathtaking vistas and extremely cold water temperatures of 14C!" Congratulation ladies. ....
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Record Cold Water Temps Did not Stop Us!

BRITANNIA PARK TRIATHLON
After a really chilly week in open water, we were all skeptical about doing a triathlon in the Ottawa River. But being the crazy triathletes we all are... WE DID IT! The water was colder than I have ever swum in and we all had a bit of trouble breathing due to the cold water but we all managed to get in and get the job done with great success. What a confidence booster knowing that the water is only going to get warmer! Congratulations to everyone on a successful event! SPRINT TRIATHLON
Louise Lewis-James - 8th overall - 2nd in AG Anna Belanger - 5th in AG Lucie Villeneuve - 4th in AG Coach Julia - 6th overall - 1st in AG OLYMPIC - SWIM/CYCLE
Janet ....
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Welcome our NEW Coaches

Welcome to the Team Triumph coaching team
Mike Olsen and Kevin Willis Team Triumph is excited to announce that Mike Olsen and Kevin Willis have officially joined the Team Triumph coaching team!
Mike has been Julia's swim coach over the years and has also coached Kevin and Cary Willis, Michael Pierce and many others at the St Laurent Pool in the past. Two weeks ago he was at the National Master's Swim Championships in Montreal and earned himself 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze and 6 - 4th place ribbons. Mike is joining Team Triumph to teach private swimming lessons. If you're looking to make improvements in freestyle or any of ....
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Would you race for pie? We do. Highlights from the Perth Triathlon

The Perth Triathlon has always been a long time favorite for Team Triumph. In fact, Kris Plant, race director, asked the participants who had done the race more than 15 timesto stand up and yes, I was happy to say that Ihave done this race since my son was born 25 years ago!Krisand her team do a fantasticjob at making 1st-timetriathletes feel welcome. This race also gives themore seasoned triathletes a little healthy red lining competition! For some of us, it's a check to see that we can still do this race and at a good speed! It was a very wet morning but you're wet when you come out of the pool anyway so no need to complain. Triathlon is an outdoor sport and sometimes you just have to ....
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SUE MARTIN-BUSH TEAM TRIUMPH MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

I have 3 children and one granddaughter who is adorable. Our family has always been active in sports, hiking, camping and I have a great husband who is very athletic and keeps me motivated to work out. It is a priority in our house! I was the Fitness Director at the Ottawa Athletic Club and then after having children, I worked part-time in the Corporate Wellness field with Julia.Now that both my husband and I are retired we have been able to do some traveling together. When I started training with Team Triumph I was already running, swimming, cycling and spinning, and I had done a couple of triathlons a few years before and I was keen to try another one. I thought training ....
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Early Bird Triathlon Done and Dusted!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR EARLY BIRD TRIATHLON PARTICIPANTS!
Triathlon season has officially begun! The SUN was shiningand itwas a cool morningbut that didn't stop everyone from getting up early and hopping in the pool at Carleton U. There were lots of nervous smiles before the raceand after the smiles were of pride all around especially from Coach Julia. Well done everyone! Next up Perth Triathlon. Gary Maxwell - 2nd overall - 1st in AG Duathlon France Girard - sprint tri Dan Begin - 1st in AG (long tri) Cecile Beaurepaire - 3rd overall - 2nd in AG (long tri) Debi Zaret - 1st in AG (sprint tri) Pascale Savard - 1st triathlon! (sprint tri) Carolyn Hann - ....
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Mont Tremblant Training Camp Recap and more.....

MONT TREMBLANT TRAINING CAMP 2019 What an awesome couple of days of training in Mont Tremblant. Thank you to Maggie, Kevin, Brenda and Martin, our coaches and support crew who came up and made it one of our best camps yet! We had a last minute itinerary change which we all agreed was for the best due to the looming rain. Everyone was in top form on day one to be able to complete their long rides and learn about group riding. The dinner and coaches' talk at Casey's covered everyone's survey questions and a few new gems from the 2018 Training Peaks conference in Manchester. On Friday we had a morning swim practice followed by a wet run along the course and then the pièce ....
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Mallorca, Rio Grand, CN Cycle for Cheo and More

HARRY BRIGGS CONQUERS THE RIO GRAN FONDO
AT THE RACES.... What a beautiful weekend to be outside! The Gatineau Park loop is all clear now and was filled with smiling faces this morning. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the various events on the weekend. Lucie Villeneuve was at the Toronto Half Marathon and placed 1st in her age category. Louise Lewis ran the 10km Wakefield trail run with friends, Laurent Lenert was in the same race with a scorching fast pace that earned him a 1st place in his age group and 10th overall. Darcy Yee did the very hilly half marathon trail run and placed 3rd in her age group. Today was an amazing day for the CN Cycle for ....
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Spring Road Racing to start the Season Off

SPRING FLING RUNNING THING
Despite the cooler temperature, today’s race DID feel like a true Spring Fling Running Thing. This is a great race that takes place in Smith Falls and helps raise money for the local hospital. Team Triumph runners showed up with smiles and strong legs! Leslie Baird: 5 km - 1st in age group (she also had a little competition with her grandson!!) Gillian Scobie: 5 km - 1st place in age group! Jennifer Rae-Brown: 10 km - 1st place in age group AND first woman! Cecile Beaurepaire: Half Marathon - 1st in age group, 5th overall and a PB! Glen Paradis: Half Marathon - 2nd in age group and a PB! Coach Maggie: Half Marathon - 1st in age group ....
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What Distance Triathlon Should I Race?

What Distance Triathlon Should I Race? By Julia Aimers, Head Coach Team Triumph Triathlon Club This might seem like a simple question to answer. If you have never participated in a triathlon before it seems logical that you would start with a shorter distance race like a super sprint or sprint. But, this is not always the case. There are many variables to consider when deciding what distance race you should take part in such as…..
Your fitness background. If you come to the sport from an endurance swimming, cycling or running background, then participating in a short distance race might not fuel your competitive or physical abilities
Your time constraints. ....
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Why Ride in a Group if you are a Triathlete

Group Riding - Beneficial for a Triathlete? by Julia Aimers, Head Coach Team Triumph Triathlon Club Why would I recommend that you join a group ride as a Triathlete when Triathlon is a non-drafting sport? Here are just a few reasons:
Improve your Average Power - Normalized Power ratio - Do you ride with Power? If you do you are probably familiar with AP and NP. The less technical your cycling is, the harder it’s going to be to keep pace. Find out more about AP-NP and why it is important to look at those metrics here .
Improve Bike Handling Skills - You will learn how to efficiently handle turns (triathletes are known to be less than skilled ....
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How to Pick A Triathlon - Considering Factors

How to Pick A Triathlon - Consider these Factors As mentioned in my previous article Triathlon Tips , if your first race is in June, the latest you should start training is in February. That would make the winter season the perfect time of year to start looking for races, shopping for a coach or club, and acquiring the necessary equipment to start your training. So let's start planning! When choosing your race, consider these factors: The average temperature on race day.What temperature do you like to race at? If you have never raced before all you have to think about is if you don't like to be cold, you might want to stay away from a May race in Ottawa, unless it is an indoor triathlon ....
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Gettin Jiggy With it on St. Patty's Day Weekend

Most festivities that surround St. Patricks Day involve green beer, crazy green clothing, and oh did I mention the green beer. We at Team Triumph choose to drink water and maybe some green Gatorade and wear crazy green clothing while taking part in our Spin Like the Irish Cycling class or our St. Patrick's Day 5km run along the canal while raising funds for a good cause. I think St. Patrick would be proud. This year we choose to March Forward Toward Mental Health in support of the Vanier Social PediatricHub where we raised $150.00 to date. Having fun + exercise + raising funds made for a great weekend. Here are some pictures that captured the ....
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Hypothermic Half was no match for Team Triumph Members

Saturday, March 2, the HypothermicHalf Races took place at the Marshes Golf Course in Kanta. With the winter we have been having, participants were hoping the weatherman was going to be right and it was going to be much warmer than previous years. This race has a history of being very very cold, and living up to its name. Thankfully the weather was much nicer this year, allowing the participants to focus more on the course and less on the weather. This was a looped course with rolling hills and plenty of turns to keep racers interested. The event had a brunch after and all participants got a bladder pack as race kit and super cool finishers medal. Congratulations to our ....
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Spinning Classes for Triathlon Training - Beneficial or Not?

By Julia Aimers, Head Coach of Team Triumph Triathlon Club Not all spin classes are created equal. However, if you choose the right one you can reap some great fitness benefits that are guaranteed to transfer to your early season triathlon bike fitness. You do not have to own an indoor trainer to keep or improve your bike fitness over the winter months. If you choose the right spinning class you can not only maintain your previous year's fitness but improve upon it. I have been teaching spinning for over 25 years.I use it exclusively for my winter bike fitness. Our classes are designed with the triathlete in mind using watts, gaging perceived exertion and heart rate. ....
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Team Triumph Takes on the Gatineau Loppet, Winterman and Hypothermic Half

Coach Maggie and Friends Harry Biggs - after the 27km Gatineau Loppet It was a big weekend of racing again for Team Triumph.
COACH MAGGIE'S REPORT:
A Perfect weekend for the Gatineau Loppet
! On Saturday, with picture perfect conditions, the classic skiers raced: Pat Konantz placed first in her age group for the 51 km! Kory McDonald Ibarra and Coach Maggie also completed the 51 km distance. Olivia Garay took on the 27km! On Sunday the skateskiers were out in somewhat chillier conditions but cheered on by the brilliant sunshine. Laurent Lenert completed the 51 km; Harry Briggs,Nancy Manning and Karen St Arnaud completed the 27 km and Barbara ....
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Having Fun with Winter Sports

Winter can be a long haul, especially in Canada where it can last for upwards to 5 months. As triathletes, it is pretty evident that summer is probably our favorite time of year, but due to the long winter months, we can end being caught complaining about how long it drags on. Why not take up a winter sport instead. This past weekend two of our members showed us how fun snowshoe running and Dragon Boat racing on ice can be. Anita Lacelle Taylor was jumping for joy when she discovered that she won her age group at the Summerstown Trail Snowshoe Race on the weekend. Congrats Anita. You certainly look like you have been doing your plyometrics lately. Our other member embracing winter is ....
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When Should I Start Training for my Triathlon?

Triathlete tips

by Julia Aimers, Head Coach Team Triumph Triathlon Club
Whether it’s your first season or tenth season participating in triathlons, you want to have a good performance, so it is important to keep in mind “ Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance” One essential element of any successful triathlete is to dedicate the time necessary to properly train for a race. Regardless of your experience or fitness level, it's important to start training long before your first race of the season. This can mean the difference between feeling good and finishing strong or struggling to get over that finish line. Here is roughly how much time you'll need ....
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Winterlude Triathlon - No Swimming Required

WINTERLUDE TRIATHLON – NO SWIMSUIT REQUIRED
Congratulations to Coach Maggie and to Patricia Konantz for winning their respective age categories at the Winterlude Triathlon on Saturday! Lyse Patenaude organized a team with her sonand niece and they placed first in their category as well!A snowy morning but a good time was had by all. Maggie reported that this year's challenge was running with your skate gear. Here is Pat's report: WINTERLUDE REPORT:
This year's race was all about new logistics:Drive to Mooney’s Bay/leave skis and poles in T2/Shuttle bus to Hartwell Locks/leave running shoes and pack at T1/put on skate gear and skate to Bronson warming ....
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TEAM TRIUMPH JANUARY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT SUZANNE RIVEST

TEAM TRIUMPH JANUARY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT SUZANNE RIVEST My interest in triathlon started in what seems like a long time ago.I had started running in 2001 but was injured in around 2006 (the timeline escapes me).The sports medicine people strongly suggested that I turn to cycling for recovery and since I already knew how to swim the natural progression was to turn to triathlon. At the time, I joined the OAC who put me in touch with Julia and Team Triumph. It was through the team that I got through my first few years of training and racing and even got to a few of the longer distance races (4 Half Ironman from 2008-2010). Truly an exhilarating time in my life, ....
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Celebrating Bliss with this Holiday Season

IN SEARCH OF BLISS! Creating more blissful moments in your life. I am known for my crusades. I suddenly become passionate about a topic and have a strong desire to discuss it, share it and explore it with everyone who will listen to me. Let’s blame it on the red hair and freckles. Lately, I have been wondering about BLISS! My latest crusade inspiration came from a quote from Kyle Maynard in the book Tribe of Mentors written by Tim Ferris. Kyle has climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro amongst other fantastic feats and owns a Crossfit gym. He wrote: “Thinking of what makes me happy doesn’t give me the same clarity as thinking ....
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Completing my First Ironman - PART 2: LOW CARB - LOW HEART RATE TRAINING

COMPLETING MY FIRST IRONMAN
Steve Swanwick – Team Triumph Member Spotlight PART 2: LOW CARB - LOW HEART RATE RACING
In Part II of Steve’s journey, he will describe how his diet and training got him to the finish line of his first triathlon and then the Ironman. In 2017, I set out to do my first triathlons after using the Phil Maffetone training principles of low carb, high fat, low heart rate for a little over a year. I completed the Meech Lake Triathlon and then the National Capital Olympic Distance Triathlon. I wrapped up the season with the Canadian Half Iron Distance. I trained, raced and fueled fat adapted for all of these races and it worked ....
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Completing my First Ironman - PART 1: LOW CARB - LOW HEART RATE TRAINING

I was asked to write about my journey into endurance sports, joining Team Triumph and more specifically low carb endurance training and racing. I will start at the end and then go back to the beginning. I limped into my first meeting with Julia in January of this year. At that point, I hadn’t been able to run for about 4 months because of a bad case of plantar fasciitis. Time was running out and I had to find a coach and get started if I was going to meet my goals for 2018. Fast forward to 8 months later, I ran my first marathon, did my first full Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour and completed my first Ironman at Mont Tremblant. My journey began about 3 years ago when, like ....
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MARATHONING - 2 PROVINCES - 2 COUNTRIES - 2 CONTINENTS

2 PROVINCES - 2 COUNTRIES - 2 CONTINENTS
Emily Graves set out to accomplish this goal in one year and she just finished the Istanbul Marathon to reach it. Istanbul Marathon, November 11, 2018 I have a penchant for themes. Shortly after my first marathon at Niagara Falls, crossing two countries from US to Canada via the Peace Tower Bridge in 2017, I was enticed to take it to the next level: cross two continents, from Asia to Europe via Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge in 2018. I was convinced that my theme held together because here in town, I routinely cross two provinces by crossing bridges from Ontario to Quebec as part of my regular running routes. It seems like a blur now, ....
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Team Triumph Weekend Flash Sales!!

24 HOUR FLASH SALE! If you are a time-crunched triathlete then the Weekend Warrior package is for you. Register for the Saturday Spin and the Sunday Swim and get 10% off at the checkout. By signing up for this package you are guaranteed to get your long rides, runs, brick workouts and swims in on the weekends. You will Improve your strength and speed on the bike and learn to swim effortlessly so you can speed up. The OAC offers daycare or better yet, get your family involved in tennis or swimming while you train on Saturdays. You will be coached by professional triathlon coaches who will guide you through the type of workouts you need to reach your Triathlon goals. Don't miss out ....
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WEEKEND WARRIORS UNITE! Is it OK to be a Weekend Warrior?

WEEKEND WARRIORS UNITE! Is it OK to be a Weekend Warrior? The short answer: apparently yes. If you would like the long answer on how to be a weekend warrior read on. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a weekend warrior is a person who participates in a physically strenuous activity only on weekends or part-time. The expression was first known to be used in 1981 when marathoning started coming into style after the 1970’s running boom and after the first Ironman in 1978. Training on the weekends became a necessity for the time-crunched age group athlete. The average person with a job and 2 kids wanted to try Ironman events but quickly realized they didn’t ....
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Meet the Team Triumph Staff

Meet the Team Triumph Staff
We at Team Triumph like to say.....It takes a village to create a swimmer, cyclist, runner or triathlete. It's time to meet our Village Leaders. HEAD COACH - Julia Aimers Julia Aimers (BA Rec Admin, Certified Exercise Physiologist) is an NCCP Level 1 Triathlon Coach and Level 2 Technical Road Cycling coach. She has completed her NCCP Swim Coaching course and is an Ottawa, Ontario based coach who uses the Total Immersion ™ approach to swimming. COACH - Margaret (Maggie) KIng An avid triathlete, Maggie has been racing since 2006 and has participated in a variety of distance races from homegrown triathlons to Ironman. Leading an active life she aims ....
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Triumpher Spotlight/Somersault Championships

JULIA VLAMING TEAM TRIUMPH MEMBER SPOTLIGHT When I started with Team Triumph in July,I had been working out pretty much all of my adult life. Physical activity has always been a great outlet for me. When I started with Team Triumph I wasn’t really working out anymore. I played beach volleyball once a week, but that was the extentof it. I noticed myself getting slower at volleyball and was not as motivated tobe active. I had quit my gym membership because we moved. I did 2 triathlons before I had my son (who is now 3.5). I was already in love with the sport but needed a serious butt kicking to getback into it, and training with a club seemed like a ....
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Great Wall of China Marathon Report - Wendy Gifford

WENDY GIFFORD COMPLETES THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA MARATHON!
Doing the great Wall of China Marathon has been on Wendy Gifford's bucket list for quite some time. Last weekend Wendy dropped another goal into her bucketbut it was no easy feat! Look at those hills and those stairs!!! Here is Wendy's Report: "Inspired by the challenge, mystery, and a haunting history, the Great Wall of China marathon surpassed my expectations. With >1,000 meter ascent (clocked on my Garmin – which died at 32 K at 5 hours) – this was no BQ race. Instead, a group of 34 runners from 6 countries departed from a small village on the outskirts of Beijing - 6 runners to ....
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25 Oct 2018
GET OUTSIDE AND RUN!

"GET OUTSIDE AND RUN!" We spend many hours a day running to work, running to the grocery store, running to an appointment…the verb “running” gets a bad reputation this way! One of the best remedies for this is to put aside the watch, the destination, the deadline and just step outside and actually RUN. Bring back the smile as you run for the pure joy of running. This may be the most important “running” you do in your week. Form and fitness along with increasing your speed and endurance start first with your desire
to run. Sharing that desire with like-minded souls creates a wonderful environment that revolves around mutual motivation! With ....
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New Staff, IMKona/Fall racing hightlights

INTRODUCING KELLY ADAMS MENTAL PERFORMANCECOACH A HUGE welcome to Kelly Adams, B. Music (Performance), M.Ed. (Educational Psychology), ACC (Accredited Co-Active Coach)who has joined the Team Triumph team as our new Mental Performance Coach! We all need a little help to realize and become the best version of ourself and Kelly is here to help us with just that. Read on to hear more about Kelly: I always wanted to be an accompanist! While completing my Bachelors degree in (solo) Piano Performance I always made sure I had plenty of vocalists, strings and woodwinds to work with, and frankly this gave me more joy and feelings of being part of a community ....
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Prince Edward County Half Marathon

Prince Edward County Half Marathon Congratulations to Anna and Mark Belanger! Looks like they had an awesome time at the Prince Edward County Half Marathon! Here is Anna'sreport: The temperature was perfect for running and the locals are super lovely. Mark got a PB...he is on my heels! It was a decent race for me but I was exhausted(Anna did the Army Run's Commander's Challenge last weekend) What I love about this race is the winding country side and the locals who come out to support the race. You have the opportunity to run along the lake, throughforestsand then through the town. Great overnight with friends, local wineries and quaint restaurants to ....
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A Triumphant Day By Johanna Oehling

The concept of aging women is fraught with stereotypical misconceptions and misnomers. Typically, women today are often viewed as physically weaker and more frail , particularly once they reach ‘a certain age’. The Gatineau Trails group of CFUW-Ottawa is a case in point in how that is not so. About 75 women take part, many of them super fit and super active. We are fortunate to have access to so many recreational amenities and appreciate the trails, nature, lakes and rivers around us in the Ottawa and Gatineau areas. Weather permitting, during the spring and fall, we typically engage in demanding hikes in Gatineau Park. These adventures alternate with urban walks led ....
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It's a Wrap - OKA Triathlon and 5km Canadian Championships

OKA TRIATHLON Congratulations to all who went out to Oka for the last triathlon of the season! Here is Steve's report: Sunday was a beautiful day for a race on a scenic and challenging course! Even at 20k we used most gears with some long slow climbs. Swim was fairly shallow - we both did well - keeping the panic in check. Run was interesting through the woods with 600m on the sand. All in all a great inexpensive small race - Anna rocked it - beating me by 23 seconds (caught me in the run). Highly recommend the Oka Triathlon - although Anna was devastated by the lack of medals! Steve Rathwell Steve Rathwell - 5th in age cat Anna Belanger - 2nd in age cat Sue Bennett - 1st in ....
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Another Perspective on Being Injured

There are many articles out there on how to “cope” with injury . They make great points about the value of reaching out for help, doing the things you can do- like walking instead of running, focusing on improving other areas of your fitness, eating well, and sleeping regularly at least 8 hours a night. These are all tried and true tips, and a good beginning. But here’s the thing. The biggest challenge to being injured is the fact that you can no longer DO- you have to just BE!
Many athletes (and the vast majority of the rest of the world) have been trained to rely solely on their bodies and utilize them to maximum strength. Our culture highly values ....
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Last of the Season Triathlons - Epic Conditions....Epic Adventures

AmphibiousChallenge Last weekend Janet Whitley and Sophie Dagenais took on the Amphibious Challenge! Congratulations to you both sounds like a wonderfully challenging adventure! Here are their reports... The Amphibious Challenge is an Otillo style Swimrun event. It is almost 4 km of challenging open water swim mixed with about 14km of on and off-road running. There is also a 39 km long course that involves going up some steep climbs! The conditions were near perfect: warm water temp (18C), cool air temp (15-18), and sunny. The wind was steady and made for some serious chop. The course was predicted to be 16 km but was actually 18.5 ....
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Team Triumph at the Races

Cornwall 2018 Great Turnout at the Cornwall Races! We had a big group from Team Triumph at the Cornwall race weekend. Cornwall is a spectacularvenue and as such has become a popular and very competitive race.A big shout out to Debi for placing 1st in her age group, Gary Maxwell for placing 2nd!Congratulations to everyone who raced last weekend!! Olympic DistanceTriathlon: BrendanMurray - 1st Olympic Distance Glen Paradis - 1st Olympic Distance Cecile Beaurepaire France Girard Anna Aylett Colin Knight Carl Vaillancourt Sprint Triathlon: Debi Zaret - 1st in AG Monique Beland Steve Rathwell Rick Baird Sprint Duathlon: Gary Maxwell - 2nd ....
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At the races and in the standings...Team Triumph Athletes Shine

Mont Tremblant Ironman 2018 What an exciting day of events Sundayin Mont Tremblant! Congratulations to everyone who got to the start line and made it to the finish line. When the going got tough, as it always does, some of you may have considered jumping off the course but you didn't. You stayed out there and made the decision to finish the event no matter what the predicament. How do you spell MENTAL TOUGHNESS?!! Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer and encourage their teammates ! The big news of the day was Linda Lafrance camein 1st in her age group and qualifiedto go to the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii!!! This is an incredible feat that so many people ....
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Summer Highlights from Team Triumph Triathlon Club

Team Triumphers Have Been Busy Training, Racing and Adventuring It's been a busy Summer so far on the race scene and it's been great seeing everyone enjoying theirfitness and putting it to the test in the water, on the bike and on the roads.For most of usin Team Triumph, being fit is not only about competing in triathlons, it's also about being able to go on adventures into the wild and rock climb, take the kids on a canoe camping trip, kayak, mountain bike, trail run in the Yukon or hike the highest peaks in the Arctic! It's been such a joy to see all of the pictures of the various adventures. The pictures open the doors to possibilities for everyone. Below are some of the ....
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Meech Lake Triathlon and Celebrate Summer Awards

Mike Collingwood Meech Lake Triathlon 2018 TRIUMPHANT TURNOUT AT THE MEECH LAKE TRIATHLON! Thank you to all of the Team Triumphers who baked, volunteered, coordinated and competed in the Meech Lake Triathlon this year.There were a total of 45 of us from Team Triumph involved in the race and helping to raise $5000 for the Ottawa Heart Institute!! Thanks To Our Volunteers: Martin Couet - Volunteer Coordinator Tara McGowan - Food Coordinator Roylana and Yves Larochelle - Water/Run Coordonators DavidGoldsmith & Kevin Willis -Bike Coordinators Don Stewart - T2 Coordinator Sue Martin-Bush Pauline Lynch-Stewart Cary Willis John McGowan Sevak Manjikian Patrick Wong ....
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Tremblant-Syracuse-Welland-Tinman-Smith Falls Race Highlights

Tremblant Ironman Weekend2018 CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU! Congratulations to all of the Team Triumphers who raced the Sprint, Olympic and Half Ironman Races. It was a joy to race with some of you and cheer on the rest of you. Thanks so much to everyone who cheered us on and ourfamilieswho carted our stuff around and supported us at our races!! The weather could not have been better, the lake was a perfect temperature, the wind picked up on Sunday just after most had turned around on the bike, and the sprinkles of rain came when most were done running - and those runningcould use the cool off. We had one podium finish on the weekend which went to Debi Zaret who camein 1st ....
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Team Triumpher Spotlight - Ariane Zeba

Ariane Zeba meets her goal of becoming a swimmer and doing triathlons!
When I started with Team Triumph I was working out a little bit with a personal trainer and irregularly attending group lessons at a gym. My husband and Iarrived in Ottawa and I began to look up triathlon clubs on the Internet for my husband to train with a club. At first, Team Triumphlooked like a pro club. I must admit that I was a bit intimidated when I first signed up, but my fears were assuaged because the coaches are very welcoming and so are the members of the club. How I joined Team Triumph is an example of how sharing your dream with someone can lead to the realization of that dream! During a hike, I shared ....
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Weekend Highlights (Riverkeeper and more)

Team Triumph had another great turnout at the Ottawa River Triathlon on the weekend. The weather was ideal and the water was cool but not freezing. The attraction to this triathlon is that your transitions don't count so it's basically 3 time trials. You can take as long as you like to change, drink, stretch and smell the flowers. It's a great training race to try out clothing and fuel for your A race. Jacques Denault just turned 70 and that didn't stop him from doing his first duathlon. His wife Sue Bennett was there doing the Sprint Triathlon without a wetsuit! Congratulations to everyone!! SPRINT TRIATHLON: Sevak Manjikian - 2nd AG Lucie Tremblay- 4th Overall/1st ....
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Incredible Racing at Perth Triathlon

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DAY AT THE PERTH TRIATHLON!! Thanks a million to Triumpher Kris Plant and her team for putting on another spectacular event! We had a record-setting 25Team Triumph members competing this year..woo hoo!! There were so many amazing stories to be told today;from where everyone started and where they are now. It's all about the journey and for some, it has just begun. For others, it's a test of the three sports and what life throws at you from one year to the next. What stands out, is that no matter what,we stay healthy and fit and keep coming back year after year. It's equally important that wehave the same joy crossing the finish line as we did the years before. As you ....
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ORW Extravaganza. Our Team Rocked it out there!!!

Congratulations to everyone who raced, cheered and volunteered for Ottawa's largest race weekend! It was great to see somany familiar faces whether at the race expo, on the course or cheering. Check out all of the latest results and pictures below from Triumpherspast and present... MARATHON FINISHERS Julie Lafrance - 1st Marathon Steve Swanwick - 1st Marathon Glen Paradis - Personal Best Coach Maggie - 11th in AG - Boston Qualifier Wendy Gifford - Happy to be marathoning again :) Kevin Mercer - Boston Qualifier Valerie Bellemare Debbie Ward Kris Plant - Out pacing her son :) HALF MARATHON Gary Maxwell - 19th in AG John McGowan Kit E Kory MacDonald - Guide ....
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Team Triumpher's Race Highlights

AT THE RACES! CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE ....who participated in the Early Bird Triathlon Races on the weekend! Roylana , Albert and Dan completed their 1st triathlon and we had many on the podium on the weekend. Super Sprint Triathlon Ariane Zeba - 4th AG Sprint Triathlon Sue Bennett - 1st AG Roylana Larochelle- 11th AG and son, Albert Larochelle 4th AG Kevin Mercer - 1st AG Long Course Triathlon Christine Demers - 4th AG Cecile Beaurepaire - 4th AG Dan Begin - 3rdAG Byron Johnson - 2nd AG Coach Julia - 2nd AG Long Course Duathlon Gary Maxwell - 1st AG Sprint Duathlon Pam Dilawri - 2nd Overall, 1st AG Long Course Swim - Cycle Nancy St-Germain ....
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Triathlon Transitions Clinic

The Transitions Area is NOT a rest stop. They are another leg of a triathlon, but shorter. Most people would not do a triathlon without having swum, run or cycled, right? Same should go for transitions. At our transition clinic, we shared some great tips to makethose transition smooth, reviewing what to bring and how to prepare forrace day. We then put those finely tuned skills into practice doing sweet spot bike intervals followed by zone 2 runs. This is a great workout to prepare and train for the transition from bike to run. ....
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Mont Tremblant Training Camp Highlights

TEAM TRIUMPH TREMBLANT TRAINING CAMP 2018 A good time was had by all at camp! We were "blessed" with all kinds of weather. We had a warm rain as we climbed and descended Duplessis so we could all get used to riding it in the rain, and then a cold front pulled in and we were challenged to dress for a cool run and a windy and cold long ride. Again, great mental preparation for "anything can happen on race day". The St-Jovite pool was awesome and gave everyone an opportunity to work on triathlon passing and sighting skills plus a few tough drills and sets. Thanks a million to Debi Zaret who graciously hosted the potluck and the 3 Coaches Talk on Tricks of the Triathlon Trade. ....
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Outdoor Summer Fun Program

At Team Triumph, we could not be more excited to announce the BEST DEAL OF THE YEAR on comprehensive Triathlon Training in Ottawa. Our Outdoor Summer Fun program is offering men and women of all skill levels the chance to take on comprehensive coaching, incredible support, and a huge group of new friends. We're kicking off the Summer Fun in May so don't miss out! EXPIRED
Why Is The Outdoor Summer Fun System Right For You?

The simple answer is you can save an incredible amount of money with this once-a-year offering. You'll get professional grade training for as little as $2.85 an hour! Still unsure? We have broken down the price point for you so you can see just how amazing a ....
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Paris in the Spring and Flinging in Smith Falls

RACE SEASON IS UPON US!!
Paris Marathon - Emilie's Run - Spring Fling Running Thing - Montreal Half Marathon Congrats to Lucie Villeneuve who just came back from completing the Paris Marathon and then joined Kit E this weekend as they completed the Montreal Half Marathon (seeabove). Anne Edwards was at the finish line to greet them! Debi Zaret was out at the very competitive Emilie's Run 5km race and did a smokin' time! Coach Maggie, Renee Robert and Janet Whitley were all really pleased with their times at the Spring Fling Running Thing. Busy weekend and it's only just begun...woo hoo!! Coach Maggie - Renee - Janet Spring Fling ....
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Linda Lafrance Tames the Beast Known as the Boston Marathon

Linda Lafrance Completes the Boston Marathon!! I was apprehensive leading up to Boston. I know just how insidiously an injury can happen but this time I felt strong and ready. I had two good legs. The weather was tricky, 100% chance of rain with winds at 45-55 km/ hr from the East. So, a head wind all the way back to Boston. I think I got the layers right but the rain weighed me down in the wool socks and warmer long pants. Despite this, my leg muscles never warmed up.I had to fuel more often as my body was working hard at keeping me warm and at feeding my muscles. I started off the downhill at a pace of 5:00-5:15 then tried to stay ....
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Utah Training Camp Highlights

UTAH TRAINING CAMP 2018 We had 9 spectacular warm and sunny days at training camp this year!! There were so many highlights from seeing our newer athletes complete their first triathlon to the veterans looking stronger than ever and exceeding expectations in terms of speed and distance covered. We had four coaching clinics on Group Cycling Skills - how to ride in a pack, Race Day Skills - transition training and preparing for race day, Cycling Skills - on climbing, descending, gearing and cornering, and Running Skills and Drills - to improve running technique. We did video analysis of the swimmers and then coached in pool stroke correction so the swimmers could feel the ....
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Karen Completes the 2 Ocean Ultra Marathon in Cape Town

Karen Completes the 2 Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town! The 2 Oceans Ultra is a 56 km race which takes place in Cape Town on the Saturday of Easter weekend each year.This was the 49th year. 11,000 runners in the Ultra and another 16,000 in the half marathon. It's called 2 Oceans because you run along the Indian Ocean for part and the Atlantic for part . I had prepared well and was ready for the race. We arrived in Cape Town on the Tuesday before. Everything was going well until Good Friday when I got food poisoning or picked up a bug. Lots of trips to the bathroom!I thought it was out of my system, but not so. I was in the bathroom ....
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Cancer no match for Suzanne Rivest

SuzanneComes Back from Cancer &Completes Her 100th Dive! I just received this picture which I needed to share.Suzannejust completed her 100th dive in the Cayman Islands!! WE ARE ALL SO PROUD OF YOU!!! Suzannehas always been an enduranceathlete best described as humble and determined. Shehas completed multiple Ironmans, marathons and many other triathlons since at least 2001 according to Sportstats records. Shehas been a long time member of Team Triumph who quietly goes about her workouts consistently every weekwhile balancing family and her important career with Canadian Blood Services. Last year Suzannewas diagnosed with colon cancer ....
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Team Lafrance (Mother and Daughter Duo) Rock Around the Bay 30km Race together!!!!!

MOTHER - DAUGHTER CROSS THE FINISH LINE HOLDING HANDS THE AROUND THE BAY 30KM RACE....anexperience that neither of them will likely forget. JulieLafrance and her mum Linda crossed the finish line at the 30km holding hands. This mother and daughter duo have been doing their running training together. They are both super busy with their careers and family but put aside the time each week to train together. Today Linda earned herself a personal best on the course coming in 8/129 in her age category. Julie finished her first 30km race and now looks forward to her first marathon! Congratulations gals, keep up the great training! ....
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Great Results for Team Triumphers

Triumphs at the Loppet! After some Facebook and Sportstats scanning it looks like there were loads of Triumphers out at the Loppet Winter Events! Congratulations to all of those who got out of the house andparticipated, contributing to the improvement of their health and fitness.If I missed you, I apologize. Annemarieke hada lot to smile about! She completed the 27k classic ski coming in 4th andthe next day went on to do the 27k skate ski. Now that's endurance. Well done Annemarieke!
GATINEAU LOPPET 2018

LAURENT & SEVAK
Laurent and Sevak are great old friends. Whether on the golf course, ....
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World Cyclocross Championships - Congratulations Patricia

WORLD CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS

RACE REPORT
I travelled to Belgium at the end of November to participate in the World Masters Cyclocross Championships which were held in Mol, about 100 km NE of Brussels the first weekend of Dec. The site of the competition was again the Zilvermeer Recreation area with a very scenic but tough race circuit due to the amount of deep sand to ride or run through, mostly running. I arrived on the Friday before my race so had a full week to recover from the jet lag and to prepare. The awesome B and B where I stayed was about a 2 min drive from the venue and within easy access of numerous bike routes which are ....
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An Inspirational Story about Not Giving Up

AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY ABOUT
NEVER GIVING UP!
My friend Lucie and Itraveledto Quebec City to participate in the ITU Winter Triathlon which was held on the Plains of Abraham. The distances were a 5km snowshoe (3 laps), an 11km skate (30 laps) of a skating oval and a 9.5 km ski (3laps). The day started off somewhat on the cool side with some blustery winds but we optimistically thought that the weather would improve and that we would have a pleasant afternoon in the sun. That turned out to be overly wishful thinking! By the 3rd lap of the snowshoe, a winter weather system moved in with blizzard-like conditions, howling winds, blowing snow and poor visibility. The skate ....
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January Highlights

TRIUMPHERS TRIUMPHING!

HIGHLIGHTING OUR MEMBERS
This week we really want to highlight YOU, our readers! YOU are an incredibly inspiring group of people who workout each week on your various journeys to self improvement and optimal health. Life can get in the way sometimes, but you always come back to your pride knowing that the support you need will be there and YOU will carry on getting fitter and staying healthy in mind, body and spirit. Some are here to compete and some are here to complete. No matter what your goal is, we've got each other's back. And that is what it's all about. HIGHLIGHTING OUR TEAM
WE are incredibly grateful for the ....
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First Podium Finish In Bahamas

KIT E - 3rdat theBahamas Half Marathon! Congratulations to original Team Triumph member Kit E for coming in 3rd today in her age group at the Bahamas Half Marathon! This is her first podium finish at a half marathon in a time of 2:03. As she celebrates her 60th year she is on the road to the Miami Half Marathon and then the Boston and Tokyo Marathons! GOKit GO!! ....
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Twas The Night Before Tri Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Team Triumph Coaching Staff!
From: Maggie. Brenda, David, Ashlen, Julia and Paula
We look forward to helping you CRUSH your goals in 2018!!

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE TRI CHRISTMAS!
Twas the night before a tri Christmas, when all through the house, Not a triathlete was stirring, not even their spouse; The wetsuits were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that TriSanta soon would be there; The running shoes were nestled all snug in their boxes by the beds, While visions of personal best danced in the triathletes heads; And the tribike in the garage, and I in my swim cap, Had just settled down for a long ....
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A Merry Stem Cell Christmas!

A Merry Stem Cell Christmas! by: Julia Aimers Owner and Head Coach Team Triumph Triathlon Club Today I ran 10km in the beautiful hills of Vermont. No big deal right?...for some people, and for others well, they just don't run. Why am I feeling so Merry? Because I haven't been able to run 10km in 5 years. My last long running race was the Shelburne, Vermont half marathon in November of 2012. A skating accident in February of 2013 on the world's longest skating rink, the famous Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario damaged my previously damaged knee and took me out of running. Without going into the trials and tribulations of what happened between then and now, I can tell you that I had a ....
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7 Tips for Winter Running

Adapting to Winter Running Conditions Paula Burchat ( https://www.balanceandmotion.ca/ ) 7 TIPS YOU NEED NOW FOR WINTER RUNNING! Training for spring races and events can be extremely challenging in a cold climate. You want to follow your program and have a good routine in place so your body can adapt to gradual training changes. However, it is important to be prepared to adapt to the changing winter weather conditions. Losing training days due to bad weather can hamper your training outcomes, but working too hard in conditions that are difficult can also lead to repetitive strain-type injuries. Finding a balance is important. Training consistently and regularly is ....
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Where Do You Look When You take Your Breath?

WHERE DO YOU LOOK WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR BREATH?
This week in the pool, we worked on whale eye, pirate mouth and laser beam. Where Do You Look? :
During your next swim, take a couple of laps and start to notice where you look when you take your inhale. If you are looking at the ceiling, you are looking to high! Start playing with looking at the buoy line and looking back slightly over shoulder. Whale Eye:
Think about rotating hips, shoulders and head so that you can get just one goggle (whale eye) out of the water when you inhale. Pirate Mouth:
As you take your breath, take your mouth off to the side like a pirate saying "argh", matey do you want to go to sea? Laser Beam:
....
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5 WAYS TO EAT HEALTHY ON A BUDGET by Ashlen Leonard Team Triumph Nutrition Coach

5 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget
Maintaining a healthy eating routine takes hard work, commitment and investment- both time and money. It is true that ordering fresh produce and lean protein will most likely hit your wallet harder than a Big Mac will. However, there are ways to make healthier choices in your every day life without taking out a loan.
Location, location, location
Where you buy your groceries is a huge contributor to the monthly food bill. Grocery stores like Whole Foods, Farmboy, and Sobeys tend to be on the higher end of the spectrum. No Frills, Metro and Loblaws/Superstore are a few of the less expensive locations. You could also sign ....
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4 MORE DAYS UNTIL GO TIME!

Get your dancing shoes on...it's time to get this party started!! We have just 4 more days until we launch Team Triumph's biggest season yet! This season we are introducing a new Swim Class on Sundays at 7:30am with Ironman Hawaii finisher coach Maggie King and our new Running Club workouts on Fridays at 9:00am in the Arboretum with endurance running coach and massage therapist Paula Burchat!! What an incredible season it is going to be! With training camps in Utah in April and Tremblant in May we are stoked to get your training started!! If you're not sure if you're ready to commit to a program with a proven track record of taking newbies to Ironman, Sprint Distance ....
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$100 Team Triumph Giveaway!!!

We are giving away $100 dollars
to the next NEW member to join Team Triumph!! Our goal in 2017 was to reach 100 members and we are currently at 99 members!! Thank you to everyone who has continued to support Team Triumph. To celebrate member ONE HUNDRED
, we are giving the next NEW member to join a Team Triumph group program a $100 credit to your account when you join!! If you have been sitting on the fence about whether to join us this season, jump online and register for a Team Triumph program NOW before someone else gets this amazing offer! If you're wondering if you will indeed be #100, please text - AM I #ONE HUNDRED? TO 613 298 8837
Once you have registered for the program, ....
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Do You Remember This Race?

Do you remember this race? It was 2001, Simon Whitfield had just won the Olympics in Sydney and Canada was inspired to try a triathlon!! Two Mum's asked me if I could coach them personally while their kids were at school, knowing that I had organized a triathlon club in the 90's while working full time as the Fitness Director at the Ottawa Athletic Club. Many people ask me why is it that most of your programs are during the "work day"? Team Triumph's foundation was built 16 years ago for parents who wanted a structured, fun, social and science based triathlon program when their kids were at school. Quite frankly, I was in the same boat. After school, I put on my Taxi ....
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Tremblant Ironman Inspiration

It doesn't take much to complete an Ironman. It's a 4km Swim - 180km Bike - 42km Run. Easy right? I don't think so! It takes years of preparation to learn to be competent at all three sports, compete at shorter triathlons and train your butt off! These three athletes from Team Triumph proved that anything is possible when you have the will and determination to get to the finish line of an Ironman.
CARL VAILLANCOURT'S IRONMAN REPORT
I guess I would have to say I am very happy with my race. I didn't have a time in mind, just to finish. It was an incredible experience. I did the swim very conservatively since I knew I had a long day ahead. I had lots of energy coming out of ....
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Does Strength Training for Triathletes Make a Difference?

Does Strength Training for Triathletes really make a difference? I believe it does and so does Pauline. Pauline just finished her first Half Iron Swim 2km - Bike 90km Triathlon to celebrate her 60th Birthday!! With hard work in the gym, in the lake and on the bike, not only did she meet her expectations but she exceeded them! Follow her story here: PAULINE'S HALF IRON SWIM - CYCLE JOURNEY What a fun race! I enjoyed every minute of the swimming and cycling. And it inspired renewed admiration for all of my friends in Team Triumph who jump off the bike after 90 km and run a half marathon! I don’t have much to say about the actual race. Except to again thank those who spent hours ....
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TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE MUSSELMAN TRIATHLON 2017

TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED -FROM THE MUSSELMAN TRIATHLON 2017 A couple of weeks ago a group of 15 Team Triumphers went to the Musselman Triathlon in Geneva, New York. After the race, we had a debrief on our successes, challenges and lessons learned. Here is the list of our lessons learned. Feel free to share it with your fellow triathletes! 1) Always ride your bike before your race. If your gears got messed up in transportation, that's a long 90km with messed up gears! 2) When it's HOT outside, take a dip in the lake then keep your core temperature down by waiting to put on your wetsuit, keeping it up only half way and then only put your swim cap on just before you go in. 3) Learn how to ....
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Use This Technique If YOU Want to Swim Straight in Open Water!

Check out this awesome video of a sighting technique in open water we call alligator eyes. Works like a charm! The eyes lift just out of the water and then your breathe to the side. As you lift your eyes the lead arm stays where it is and presses down slightly to help you lift your eyes. It's just the eyes not the nose and mouth. If you lift too high, the legs will sink and break your stroke rhythm. Line yourself up right in front of the swim buoy and lift your eyes every 6 or 9 strokes. If you're a bilateral swimmer but more comfortable breathing to the right, every time you breathe right get in the habit of lifting the eyes. Sometimes you will see well, sometimes you won't but at least ....
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Team Triumph Rocks Tremblant Ironman Weekend!

TREMBLANT RACE REPORT
Congratulations to Team Triumpher's past and present for completing the Ironman 70.3 and the 5150 in Mt Tremblant this weekend!! We are just in the door from an exciting day tracking Triumphers on the course. I was so impressed and proud of everyone out there doing the best with who they are and their life situations. Everyone has a story and a reason why. What's important is that you are all out there doing what so few people in this world can do. You all completed what you set out to do and hopefully had fun training and completing it. Our top female athlete of the day was Laurie Gorman in a time of 5:10 and 7th overall in her age category. Our top ....
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20 Jun 2017
Ironman Syracuse 70.3 & Ottawa International Triathlon Championships!

KATRYNA FINISHES HER 1ST HALF IRONMAN IN SYRACUSE!!
According to John, who also raced Syracuse on Sunday, the swim was choppy, the bike was really windy and the run was HOT, HOT, HOT!! But, the weather conditions didn't stop John or Katryna from finishing the Syracuse 70.3. Congratulations to you both! Katryna, a Mum of two young children started with Team Triumph in the Fall doing a few private swim lessons and spinning. She had completed a short triathlon last year on a hybrid bike and doing breast stroke. As I told her when we met, we have a sharp learning curve, but I made it my job to try to give her as much information possible to get her to the finish line. After that it was ....
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It's All About the Pie... At The Perth Triathlon!

Thanks to Kris Plant and the team of organizers for bringing back the Perth Triathlon! It's the perfect season kick off or newbie event. For Team Triumph it's all about racing for the pie if you win your category. Something about winning a dessert just sweetens the deal :) The potluck at the end of this awesome community event is a pretty sweet feature as well. Congratulations to everyone who participated! Everyone who started, finished. Tara completed her first triathlon and Team Triumph picked up a few pie and cookie awards! It was great to see Triumphers encouraging each other and we are always so grateful when Heather's pompoms come out at the finish line! RESULTS
Team ....
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Team Triumph Successes At The Early Bird Triathlon!

Team Triumph Successes at the Early Bird Triathlon!!
We had 11 Team Triumphers at the Early Bird Triathlon this year at it was great to see them out doing their best! I had many proud coaching moments on the course! The weather was beautifully sunny but freezing!!! Most of us had to put on jackets, socks and pants!! I decided to make my transition to warm clothes coming right out of the pool so I didn't catch a chill. I even wore my swim cap all the way to the bike to stay warm. Congrats to all who participated!
Sprint Triathlon
Lucie - 1/20 in age category and 7th overall Katryna - 6/16 age category (2nd triathlon and gunning for the Syracuse Half Iron!) Coach :) - 1/17 in age ....
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Our Members Rock: Member Appreciation Week!

TEAM TRIUMPH MEMBERS ROCK!!! To show our appreciation to our loyal members, this week is member appreciation week. THE NEXT DRINK IS ON US: After all of the workouts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week, we will be serving up FREE smoothies, coffees or teas! MULTI SPORT AWARDS: This week we will be presenting our Winter multi sport awards to the members with near perfect attendance in swim, bike, run, strength and run workouts and who exemplify our definition of team spirit! FREE 5KM TIME TRIAL RUN: On Friday, we will be giving you the opportunity test your 5km speed on our measured 5km running route from the Ottawa Athletic Club. Please be sure to register on Amilia under the ....
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Team Triumph Race Reports and News

Heather's Florida Race Reports
5k Race
"Had a wonderful time at the 5k fundraiser run for Special Populations! Flirted with some cute Cape Coral Firefighters and danced with some great walkers and volunteers. Managed to come FIRST in my age category out of ONE! I am stiff competition for ...myself!! 28 minutes... Needed to reapply my lipstick at the finish line! ????!!" 10 K in Naples
Fundraiser for youth music scholarships Just under an hour ....59 min Explanations (excuses!): *It was HOT at 8:00 A.M. ! * my piercing toe cramp 7 K * I was trying to keep up with a man 10 years older than I am who told me he would run with me for a while because he was recovering from an ....
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Luc Storms the Paris Marathon!

Luc Storms the Paris Marathon! "Paris was great, I fell in love with this city, it has changed a lot since my last visit. We had a wonderful time, visited the sites of Paris, walked, ate, climbed stairs, ate ?? The RACE: It went almost according to plan, wasn't prepared for 25c at 11AM, not even a cloud in the sky lol! The first 30km was perfect, then it got a little slower because of the narrow roads, creating a funnel effect. We even had to come to almost a complete stop. There was complete chaos in the refreshment zone, slippery with banana and orange peels + water on the ground... but what the hell it makes for great conversation after the race lol! Forgot, one toe was bleeding ....
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Partnerships

CHECK OUT OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS BELOW: ....
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Our Training Camp Secret is Out!!

OUR TRAINING CAMP SECRET IS OUT!! If you thought that training camp is all about training well, I guess what happens at training camp didn't stay at training camp! The bonus of training camp is enjoying local delectable treats! This deelish Mexican restaurant is so good we went back three times! The famous Veyo Pie shop, (which Kevin looks pretty happy about) has been visited by cyclists from all over the world! It's a stop on the awesome Veyo loop which we ride right from the front door of our resort. Training camp is really about making great friends, exploring the vast beauty of Utah, learning new skills and throwing some great fitness in the mix. We have beginners coming who ....
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What Are Your Race Goals for 2017??

SET AND SHARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2017! January is not only a time to set resolutions, it is also a time to set your goals for the 2017 racing season. For many people, having a goal keeps you motivated to stick with your training. If you know where you're headed then it's also much easier to plan your training schedule. Start by picking your A race. Your A race is the most important race that you either want to complete or do really well in. From there what are the B races or events that are going to help you practice or build up to your A race. C races can be road races, time trials or distance swimming events that get you stoked for the main event. Take the time now to look at the event ....
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Team Triumph's Event Calendar 2017

TEAM TRIUMPH EVENTS It's always fun to travel to an event with your teammates! Here is a list of upcoming events that are popular with the gang at Team Triumph: Jan 16 - Richmond Road Race Feb 4 - Winterlude Triathlon Feb 13 - Beat The Blues Triumph Retreat at Le Nordik - (tba) Feb 18-19 - Gatineau Loppet Feb 19 - Winterman Road Races March 26 - Around the Bay 30k, Hamilton May 6 - Wakefield Covered Bridge Runs April 1 - 10: Triumph Utah Training Camp May 11-12 - Triumph Tremblant Training Camp May 20 - Somersault Early Bird Triathlon at Carleton U May 27-28 - Ottawa Race Weekend June 3 - Perth Triathlon?? June 10 - Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour or Somersault Ottawa River Triathlon June 17 ....
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A Facelift for Team Triumph!

Our website is in the process of getting a facelift and a new registration operating system. For now you are seeing the bare bones website until we present you the new and improved website which is coming soon! ....
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Holiday Gift Certificates Available Here!

How does it work? Choose the amount and we will email the completed gift certifcate to send along to family and friends. Can be used for any private or group training and products on our website! ....
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The Positive Crusade!!

THE POSITIVE CRUSADE! If you were in one of my spinning or yoga classes this week, you have probably heard about my latest crusade! Yes, my no added sugar crusade is still on but now I have challenged myself and some of you and your families to join the Positive Crusade! STOP COMPLAINING! After reading the article in the Globe and Mail last week on "How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity", I learned about how the same way we create compensation patterns for injuries we get rewired for complaining and our life can become more negative. If you have someone in your family who complains a lot that complaining can be like second hand smoke and before you know the whole family is ....
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Bring a Buddy Holiday Spin Class

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE FREE BRING A BUDDY HOLIDAY SPIN CLASS!! Click the link, click atend and then you and your buddy are in! https://www.facebook.com/teamtriumphottawa/ ....
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Team Triumph Saturday Morning Program

Sadly those hot and sunny cycling days are over. Time to come in from the rain. BUT.....We are EXCITED to announce that Team Triumph will be adding a Saturday Triumph Program!! STARTS: SATURDAY, NOV 19TH 10:15-11:45AM OTTAWA ATHLETIC CLUB non members welcome Discover what all the excitement is about!!! We will be offering our popular Spin/Run/Strength Program on Saturdays at 10:15am! Join coach Julia and her team for a periodized program that develops your endurance, power and speed over the Winter months. Each class builds on the last using your personal training zones. You will learn to feel what training zone you are in so you know when to push and when to hold back when you go ....
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Free Trial for Spin/Run/Strength Oct 11 & 13

PRINT THIS PAGE AND BRING IT WITH YOU OR GIVE IT TO A FRIEND! email - info@pbest.ca to let us know you're coming! ....
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Triathlon: From Beginner to Ironman

TEAM TRIUMPH & THE OTTAWA ATHLETIC CLUB PRESENT: TRIATHLON: From Beginner to Ironman Saturday, October 1st 10:30-11:30am Ottawa Athletic Club With Julia Aimers (Certified Exercise Physiologist & Head Coach of Team Triumph Triathlon Club) Featuring Kevin Willis PhD (Ultraman Canada Winner and 2 time Ironman Hawaii Finisher) Discover what it takes to go from being a beginner triathlete to the winner of Ultraman Canada. Kevin Willis will share some of his secrets about how he puts his training, racing and nutrition plan together. As a leading Canadian expert in salt and health, Kevin will also talk about his thoughts on salt, hydration and supplements. To reserve your spot, join ....
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Margaret Qualifies for Kona!!

A HUGE congratulations to Margaret for coming in 1st in your age category and qualifying for Kona (the Ironman World Championships!) Margaret set her sights on Kona last Fall and has worked extremely hard to achieve her goal. She diligently worked at her training plan, carefully adjusted her diet and never missed a beat. Margaret has proven to all of us that if you have a goal and stick to the plan that anything is possible! I'm sure I can speak for all of us with Team Triumph, WE are all so proud of you and wish you nothing but the best on your journey in Kona!! ....
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8 FOR 8: Congratulations to All of Our Tremblant Ironman Finishers!!

From what I have heard it was a rough day on the Ironman course yesterday, (I think that might be an understatement!) The rain came down hard throughout the entire bike course but that didn't stop all 8 who I was following from finishing the race. Congratulations to everyone who had the guts to sign up, train hard and start the race and congrats to all who finished!! Linda, who sustained a bad injury just before the Boston marathon and was unable to complete the race not only got to the finish line but came 7th in her age category! Several weeks ago we chatted about the possibility of even doing the race. We carefully adjusted her plan to make sure that she could put her best effort ....
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Having a Blast at the Brockville Triathlon

We had a blast today in Brockville! Team Triumphers were out in flying colours! What a great surprise to see Theresa (original club memeber from 16 years ago) and her hsuband John, and Peter at the race! We were all grateful to have long time member Suzanne at the triathlon. She really undersatnds what being part of a team is all about. She has done the race many times annd was quick to search out our newsest member Monique and give her and the rest of the gang last minute tips for success! Monique quickly learned how much fun it can be to train and race with a triathlon club! ....
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Monique Completes her 1st Triathlon in Brockville

Monique started private swimming lessons with us in June to learn how to swim front crawl. Her goal was to do a triathlon next Summer but she was really worried about the swim. She caught on to the Total Immersion swim technique really quickly and practiced dilligently. After just 5 lessons and a one on one coaching session on how to do your frist traithlon, she completed her first super sprint triathlon at the Somersault Brockville Triathlon! Not only did she complete the race but Monique came 1st in her age category and 5th overall in the women! Congratulations Monique!!! Now Monique had graduated to taking our group classes and she's working on her speed! If you would like to improve ....
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Triumps at Bring on the Bay 3km Swim

We had a perfect day for the 3km swim this year and it was great to see so many Triumphers old and new out there doing their best. We had our first two podium finishes! Chris came 2nd in his age cat finishing in a time of 46:35 without a wetsuit! Renee came 3rd in her age cat! MEANWHILE IN MUSKOKA... MUSKOKA IRONMAN 70.3 It's always a reassuring feeling to know you're not alone out there on race day especially when it's your 1st race! Thanks to Carl for connecting Phil, John and Christine together. Congrats to all of you! CARL SPEEDS TO THE FINISH LINE IN MUSKOKA! "CARL...you are an Ironman!!" ....
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Team Triump Triathlon Club- Heading Outside!

Team Triumph Triathlon Club is heading outside for the Summer and we would love to have you join us!! Starting May 10th: Triathlon Clinics and Workouts Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00-11:15am Featuring - Group Riding Skills, Transition Training, Climbing/Descending and Gearing, Brick Training in the Gats, Time Trials, Pond Swims and Meech Lake Feasts - Swim, Bike Run the Meech Lake Triathlon course. Starting May 20th: Group Rides Fridays 11:00-3:00pm Casual lovely rides exploring the roads and cafes of Ottawa Gatineau Region Starting June 27th: Meech Lake Open Water Swims Mondays 10:00am Weekly open water swims in the fresh waters of Meech Lake exploring the islands ....
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Team Triumph Triathlon Club- Spring Programs

BE PREPARED FOR RACE SEASON!! In just a few weeks the 1st triathlon of the season will hit the Ottawa area. Are you really ready to race? Be prepared and get race ready with Team Triumph! Sharpen your swimming skills and speed, increase your power on the bike and run like the wind. Work on your transitions and learn about fuelling. TRAINING FOR YOU... DURING THE WORK DAY Team Triumph provides great training opportunities during the work day for people who are retired, work shifts, stay at home with their kids and business owners with flexible schedules. GET TOP NOTCH COACHING! Get top notch coaching from a Certified Triathlon Coach and Exercise Physiologist with over 25 years of ....
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CHI Running Workshop!

CHI RUNNING WORKSHOP Friday, April 1st 9:00-12:00pm Ottawa Athletic Club We're excited to announce that Eric Collard, Chi Running Certified Instructor is booked for a Chi Running Workshop on Friday, April 1st at the Ottawa Athletic Club (2525 Lancaster Rd). Non members welcome!! THE CHIRUNNING TECHNIQUE Since 1999, ChiRunning has helped thousands of runners transform their technique - reducing, preventing and recovering from injuries. Runners of all ages and levels have improved their efficiency and performance, and now find running to be pain-free, easier, and enjoyable. The main principles of ChiRunning include: Relaxation Correct alignment and posture Landing with a ....
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5 Reasons to Quit Added Sugar Now! The Sugar Coated Truth Series: Part IV

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist but the more I’m reading about added sugar, the more I realize how much better off I am without it! My curiosity has lead me to this week’s article on what eating too much added sugar actually does to the human body. I started by looking at the health association websites to find position statements on the effects of added sugar on cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and then broadened my scope to the Harvard and Web MD type websites. I did find a few disconnects when it came to getting real answers. In the meantime, while more research needs to be done, most sites agree to stop eating the white stuff and start eating more of the ....
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To Tax or Not to Tax: Which one has more sugar?

WHICH ONE HAS MORE SUGAR? STARBUCKS GRANDE SOY CHAI LATTE 36 GRAMS OF SUGAR 1 CAN OF POP 39 GRAMS OF SUGAR 1 BOTTLE OF GATORADE 35 GRAMS OF SUGAR If you guessed the can of pop, you're correct but the other sugary beverages aren't far behind! Today (February 9th, 2016) the Dietitians of Canada released a new position statement recommending that the government put a 10-20% tax on sugary drinks due to "the negative impact of these products on the health of the population" (http://www.dietitians.ca/Media/News-Releases/2016/SSBPosition.aspx) Other health organizations have also chimed in to agree with this position statement. Will taxing the products be enough or do Canadians ....
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St. George Utah: Triathlon Training Camp Update

ST GEORGE, UTAH TRAINING CAMP UPDATE We have 11 people booked so far and the hotel has given us an extension until Feb 19th to add two more suites. We can take 4 more happy campers!! Join us for an awesome week of training in: St George, Utah!! April 3-10th, 2016 Swim, Bike, Run, Hike, Spa, Do Yoga Pick from the menu or do it all! We will be staying at Red Mountain Resort at the base of Snow Canyon State Park. A beautiful red rock playground. We have all levels and ages of campers from the Ultraman Canadian champ to beginners. No one will get left behind! Included: Kitchenette Suite at Red Mountain 4 Star Resort Transportation around St George Professionally coached ....
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