We have so many heroes in our tribe and this week we would 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 same time, she and her husband have 3 young children who need schooling, exercise, and feeding, of course. Our hats go off to you Louise for everything you are coping with. Louise, you are truly a Hero in our Tribe!
RIDE TO REMEMBER LOUISE'S MUM
Having a death in the family when you can't have a funeral and grieve with your loved ones is tough! We have organized a Ride to Remember for Tuesday at 9 am. We will connect on Zwift with Louise and all of you who would like to support her and choose a Zone 2 Route. This will be our virtual way of supporting Louise and connecting with her to get back in the saddle with her Triumph friends.
GAVIN AND JAYCEE GRUSNICK (see main picture)
In happy news, Gavin and Jaycee are proud to announce that they have a new baby boy! Waller Grusnick was born last week at 8lbs 1oz and his brother McCoy looks pretty happy to have a brother. Going anywhere near a hospital is the last thing on most people's list but they had to be heroes and go on in. Luckily Jaycee had a relatively quick and easy birth and they were sent home the next day. They are all happy and healthy at home.
OUR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
A BIG thank-you goes out to our heroic health care workers who when we don't want to go near care facilities they are going in to work or supporting the health care system in their way. Thank you to Stephanie Obaseki-Johnson, Lynn Scott, Nancy St-Germain, Sue Bennett, Darcy Yee, Robert Chen, Lucie Villeneuve, Linda Lafrance and anyone else who is out on the front lines. A big thank you also goes out to those members who are at home while their spouses or kids are on the front lines: Don Anderson, Sylvie Lemay, Brenda Ross, and Julie Deimling.Thank you all for being there for our community!
FANTASTIC FEATS OF FITNESS!
For so many of us, learning that you are not going to race your A race can be really disappointing and maybe affect your will to continue training. Yes, there will be ups and downs but it's really important to keep up your training and decide what level of training you want to proceed at. If we are able to race in September, what would that look like if you had stayed on the couch now?
Case in Point - Josee Perreault qualified for Boston but she kept up the training and finished the marathon yesterday! It's important to stick to your goals and maybe not race at your top speed but do your best to safely reach the distance you had set out. Gary Maxwell, Debi Zaret, Sophie Dagenais and Francis Pomerleau all finished the Ironman Virtual Sprint triathlon on the weekend! Congratulations to everyone for pushing their limits and taking up the challenge!
Reach out if you need any assistance and please remember to join us weekly for our yoga/strength/spin virtual classes. All of them can be found on our Youtube Channel here. Do not forget to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell so that every time a video is uploaded you get a notification.
#hero #heros #COVID19 #challenge #bostonmarathon #virtualtraining #rememberence
I love the accountability and the structure of the Virtual 70.3 Half Ironman training program. I don't think I would have gotten this far without the program. The accountability is huge for me!
Deborah Jackman
My coach Kevin Willis is amazing. His swim practices have been a real game-changer for me. A great communicator regardless of your swim level. The whole club is supportive of everything you do. You don't need to be an Ironman to benefit from their programs. 5 stars all around!!! - Denise Pittuck
I just wanted to thank you and your team (Gabi! Brenda! Maggie! Dawn!) for making last weekend's event so amazing. I had tried to do a try-a-tri on my own last summer, and the experience was night and day.
Even though I didn't make every virtual session, I felt so prepared... I knew where to go for information, and I knew I had a team of people (coaches and our beginner tri group!) who were all there to support me.
It was interesting to watch Eric train on his own (without access to the TrainingPeaks workouts and without the weekly meetings to ask questions and learn more about proper form and race-day stuff). When we left on Sunday, he looked at me and was like "we're DEFINITELY doing the training with Julia if we decide to go for the olympic distance, right?".
So glad to have found this club and looking forward to many more triathlons in the near future!!! Tai Teleso
Julia is incredible, I once had a coach who told me to get good at biking and running as he couldn't do anything with my swim technique. Then I was introduced to Julia who is so patient and has an amazing ability to translate it all into a way I could understand. I knocked a minute per 100m off my open water swim times after only a handful of sessions with her. The team is also really welcoming, inclusive and most of all FUN!
Triumph is a warm and fun place for every level of triathlete. Whether you’re just getting started and learning all about triathlon or have been at it for decades, like some of us, you will find camaraderie and expertise in this group with Julia Aimers’ support and caring. She keeps up-to-date in so many areas of training, especially for women and including women’s issues whether it be nutrition or menopause. I highly recommend Team Triumph for swimming, biking, running or putting it all together in one package. There is no other place or group, I would rather be training with. So many of my close friends were met in this group.
A huge thank you to my Triathlon coach, Julia Cooper-Aimers. She took the time last week to drop off (from a distance because of COVID19 restrictions) some tri shorts I ordered along with a well-appreciated note to remind me that there will be ups and downs and that things will get better. She has gone above and beyond to support all of her athletes and our Team Triumph club, by providing almost daily strength, yoga, and spinning videos that have been uploaded to Youtube for anyone who needs a little motivation during these challenging times as well as many words of encouragement. I am grateful for her support and encouragement. ❤️
Anita Lacelle Taylor
Training with Team Triumph for 7 months (so far) made me faster and stronger while building nourishing connections with like-minded fitness nuts and shattering the expectations I had of myself. TT is a crew of inspiring people pursuing epic individual goals and encouraging each other along the way. Julia and her team have expert knowledge and provide a thoughtful evidence-based group program that works. I am privileged and thankful to have Team Triumph in my neighborhood and can't wait to get back to the pool!
Alex Bourne
I want to thank you for always putting our well-being at the forefront of your business model. You suspended face-to-face programs in a timely manner, leading the way in a fitness business world that took much too long to respond and put their members’ health and the community at risk. You « triumphed « in quickly acting to flatten the curve.
Your caring nature resulted in a series of innovative and fun virtual sessions and opened them to the community. I am missing the live interaction now that I am working for a few months but I appreciate that I can access the videos according to my schedule. Yin/yang session tonight, just what I needed.
Not to mention the check-ins, the home deliveries, the charitable events. Priceless.
Simone Rose-Oliver
