|
|
|
|
CeeVacs Triathlon Page Index Who is signed up for Ironman 2008? A great tim was had by all who journeyed to Penticton this year to volunteer and helped out at Ironman's 25'th Anniversary. Wow! What an exiting week this was! Thousands and thousands of people descending on this small community of the most enthusiastic voluteers of any town I have ever seen. The whole city embraces and welcome the triathletes with open arms and their is a Carnival atmosphere with tons of stuff going on. There is not a hotel/motel/campsite available as this week is usually reserved almost a year ahead of time with minimum stays allowed for reservations at around 5 to 7 days. A few of us did the ritual thing to do when signing up for Ironman and camp out outside the registration tent all night in order to be the early ones and to make sure we get a spot for the event. Totally exiting and fun thing to do. This event is totally sold out within 24 hours. This year, it was a bit different however as when the registration opened up, you signed a small form with your name and stats after which you got a piece of paper with a special confirmation number on it. From there you could go home and had a two week window to sign up on line with your special number that would be collated with your name and information you gave them. Quite an efficient way to do it really. And one did not have to pay on site or stick around for so long like the old registration process. On race day, a lot of athletes that are there strictly to sign up for the following year, volunteer their services to the athletes and it's event for the current year. This is also a good way of giving back to the sport for all the help you have been given to you as a participating athlete. That is a good philosophy for everyone to adopt instead of just taking from the sport without giving something back. As a volunteer you got a free t-shirt, a special band that would allow you in the transition area if you happened to volunteer to work that area. This also allowed us to have the best seat in the house to observe the athletes coming in and out of the transitions between each discipline. It is terribly exiting to see all the top athletes as well close up and personal. Don't get me wrong. It might be fun but it is also a long and tiring day. But what a feeling as it is so very gratifying to be able to help them out in this special way. Makes up all the hard work very worthwhile. They even fed us sandwhiches and pizza for lunch and made sure we could stay hydrated by supplying lots of liquid refreshments. There can be also moments of sadness as we say this middle aged guy doing everything he could to get in from the swim before the cut off time and not making it. The poor guy broke out in tears with his wife arms around him and consoling his vast disappointment. All the people in transition felt compassion for this person and gave him a thundering long applause to show him their support and encouragement to try again. There were many moments like this that you can only appreciate by attending one of these events in person but overall it is such a blast! Congratulations to two local athletes who performed extremely well in Ironman this year, John Tillie a Ceevac member and his friend Ansley O'Caroll, a young and aspiring athlete from Shawnigan Lake. We afre so proud of their acclomplishments. So....who is signed up for 2008??? Well there is Julie Langelo and her husband Bob who will be attempting his first Ironman, Rob Jackson, a veteran Ironman of many years, Barb and Gerry Dortch.......Barb will be in a new age group of 60 and a phenomenal athlete in her category. Their daughter Chantal from Toronto will also be attempting her first Ironman. Good old Graham Kissass...Oops! I mean Kissack, another veteran Ironman is also signed up for another year now that him, Belinda and family are moved back on the island and will have time to put in all the hours in training. Graham is also thinking of turning Pro this year. I, Gary will also be attempting my second Ironman having learned lessons of what and what not to do from my first one in 2005. These are the ones that I know of who singed up for next year's Ironman Canada. Good luck and Good training to all in this endeavour! Triathlon Season near it's end. The Triathlon season is almost over for 2007 and we have had a number of triathletes who have successfully participated in a number of triathlons this year. Check out their results below. It is also time to start thinking about taking a bit of a break for a month or two and then start a brand new training program for next year's season. If you are serious about becoming a triathlete or improving your skills, one would do well in obtaining a good triathlon coach to guide them through this demanding endurance sport. Choose your coach wisely as the cheapest rate is not always the best one. There are many on line coaches now available that will taylor a structured program to fit your abilities and goals. As well there are a few local island coaches that would fit the bill also and may even be better as programs can be discussed in person or on the phone rather than just following an online program. Be careful of those free or cheap generic programs as most of them are suited for the average Joe Blo which as we all know are all different in their abilities, their work, family life and the amount of hours they can dedicate to a training program. Personally I find that a coach who has been a Triathlete themselves are best suited to train triathletes. Don't get too wrapped up in certifications. Experience as a successful Triathlete often works just as fine. Check out some of their clients and their satisfaction and success of their coaches. As with last year, we will again be attempting to reserve a time slot for bike spin classes at Playland located by Serious coffee at the south end of town. Playland had 8 or 9 good quality spin bikes that we have used in the past and the cost has be$10. This year we are attempting to have them on Wednesday nights at 7:00pm. Let us know if you are interested in joining the class. Keep posted with the latest Tri news by visiting this tri page and if there are any corrections or omissions, please contact Gary at triguy101@gmail.com 2007 Triathlon/Duathlon Results:
Ironman Canada,
24 Aug 07 (First Ironman Performances. Simply Outstanding! )
Full Results
Cadboro Bay Duathlon,
08 Aug 07
Self Transcendance Triathlon and Duathlon, 05 Aug 07
Sooke International Half Ironman and Sprint, Tri 22 Jul 07
Special Mention to Julie and Rick who achieved
their first ever GOLD performances in triathlons. Julie's Time Overall time is
much faster by approx. 5 minutes due to a timing error in her transition.
Lake Stevens
Half Ironman, Lk. Stevens, Wash, 08 July 07
Desert Half Ironman, Osoyoos, 08 July 07
Coeur D'Alene Triathlon, Idahoe 24 June 07
Qualicum Triathlon, 24 June 07
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
