Hi Everyone. This blog is moving… but not very far. It is moving to the new FreeTrainingPlan.com community site at http://www.freetrainingplan.com/community/blog.
In the winter I’m usually quite lazy, but I have been trying to keep some form. I am back from Cuba (see pictures here, http://www.freetrainingplan.com/pictures/2008%2012%20Cuba/ ). If I find a few minutes, I’ll give you details on this interesting country, quite different from our western standards.
See you there!
Written by Michel on December 27th, 2008 with no comments.
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It’s fall, at least in the northern hemisphere, and most of you are probably taking it easy this time of year. Time to recharge, and if you’ve been busy racing this summer, it feels great to take some time off.
I’m not going to write about cycling, running, swimming or anything you were expecting to read on my blog. I’m going to write about something we don’t stop to think about.
Last Monday morning, I was commuting to work, like millions of others across our planet. We do it, because we enjoy it, and do our share to reduce the suffering our planet is experiencing from CO2 emissions. Rarely do I stop to think about how great it is to be alive. Physically active people, are not the norm. We are in a fortunate class to be healthy and to enjoy the outdoors and what our planet has to offer. But that Monday morning, a car passes me, I looked to left, and the driver was talking with a cell phone in hand, swirling across the center line. Not big deal I tell myself at first. But what if I was at the wrong place at the wrong time? I don’t really want to think about that.
Then I recalled last October, Robert Brisson, a father of two, cyclist, and simply a nice person, being killed by a truck who never even stopped. Robert was just commuting back home, and that day his wife had offered to drive him, since the weather was not very good. Realities like these can hit anywhere, anytime, to anyone of us.
This is just a small post to remind ourselves to take it easy when we are on roads both as a cyclist and a driver. Especially, this time of year when the daylight hours are reduced. We don’t need to be paranoid, but being aware of our surroundings especially in low visibility can hopefully help avoid some drama for us, our families and friends. If you are commuting in the evening do yourself a favor. Head to your local outdoor shop to buy a few LED lights and take it easy.
Written by Michel on October 9th, 2008 with no comments.
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A common question among cyclists is, “what is the ideal cadence?”. No one really has a clear answer. Some literature I have seem from an efficiency point of view (lowest oxygen consumption for highest power) indicates a cadence between 65-70 revolutions per minute. That may be true in a lab, but on the road it seems that higher cadences will help delay muscle fatigue. Most cyclists will spin between 80 to 110 rpm. You have strong cyclists that are on the low side and others on the high side. On short hills, most cyclists usually lower their cadence. I don’t have answer as to what is the optimum cadence, but I guess it does not work hurt to train your body at different cadences.
Last Sunday, was my last road cycling race of the season, a 40km two person time trial. This is a fun event at the end of the season, called the “Gentleman”. The idea is to have a young rider with an older rider, or father/daughter, mother/son, etc… Usually I play the young guy. This year I had strong and young triathlete to pull me around. Meet Jerome Bresson.
I met him two years ago when I did my second duathlon. Two years ago, was probably my best bike season so I was quite fit. I had passed him on the bike, and he suprised me by matching my speed for the rest of the bike leg. After the race, I chatted with him, and he told me he was going to Kona for the Ironman World Champsionships. So I asked where he had qualified, and he answered, “I don’t have a spot yet, but I’ll qualify in Lake Placid”. So I asked him if he was signed up for Lake Placid, and he answered, “No but I’m signed up for Muskoka, which is a qualifier for Lake Placid”. And so he did – finished first in Muskoka to qualify for Lake Placid, then finished 2nd in Lake Placid, to qualify for Kona. He is a young 25 year old triathlete, that will just keep getting stronger.
Two weeks ago, Jerome clocked a Half-Ironman in under 3:57, averaging 45km/h for the 90km bike leg. So I was expected the worse. To make things more interesting, 3 minutes before the start of the Gentleman TT, my rear derailleur cable breaks. And on my Kestrel Talon, the cables are internal. So that means doing a 40km TT in my 54/11 gear combination. I’m thinking, “I guess I’ll be spinning at 70rpm”.
So Jerome has the brilliant idea of asking around 2 minutes before the start if someone at the start line has a screw driver, to lock my derailleur one or two gears up. Someone did have a swiss army knife, so we were able to lock my gears into 54/13.
The TT itself turned out very well. 54/13 happened to be the best compromise. In the tail wind section I was probably spinning in the high 90s, and in the head sections, probably in high 70s. So we came in at 54:34, in first place in front of two teams with riders from the Calyon Pro Cycling team. Another close one, just a 2 second lead over the second place, and 3 seconds over third place.
I felt fast with good late season form as I was able to do my share of the work. Jerome didn’t make me suffer too much (maybe next year as he continues to get stronger and stronger).
Written by Michel on September 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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There is a french expression, “sauver les meubles” which translates to “save the furniture from the burning house”, or “save what can be saved”. That sums up quite nicely my race at the Canadian Duathlon Championships last Saturday in Montreal.
Most duathlons I had done recently were sprint distances (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km bike), but this was an Olympic distance (10,40, 5). I new the field was going to be strong, and Benoit Simard who won in St-Sauveur, was at the start line. My strategy was simple, maybe too simple. Simply stay with the lead group on the first 10km run, use my strength on the bike to build a lead, and use my remaining energy to hang in on the last run for a 1st place finish.
For the first half of the race, the plan work. The first run was fast. I started in the lead group of 5, we dropped 3 and I came into the first transition second just behind another racer in about 34 minutes. I hopped on the bike, was in the lead with another racer for about 15km until Benoit passed me. I tried to match the pace, but soon ended up with my left calf cramping and seizing up, to the point where I had to pedal with my right leg only for a few hundred meters until the left calf came back.
From then on, I knew I had to do whatever I could to finish the race at a pace that would not do any more damage. My legs were simply beaten up from the run, and I could not get into my regular bike pace. I focused on keeping a good position on the bike, pedaling smoothly without overdoing it.
I started the second 5km run in third place. My mind was telling to push harder and try to make up some time on the leaders, so for the first 2 kilometers I gave it all I had. Then came the breakdown again. My thoughts became negative, with questions like: “that’s it, you’re 40 next year, time to stop racing. This hurts too much. Why the h#$% did you buy a new HED Jet Disc if your done racing?”
With more than 1 kilometer to go, I look back and there is a group closing in on me. I know I’m their rabbit, and I feel like the Energizer Bunny running on dead batteries from the dollar store, being chased by a pack of foxhounds. I’m about to be eaten and my chances are slim. If I crack, I’m probably down to 15th place or so.
So I kept running on automatic pilot, got passed by one hound that broke away about 400 meters before the finish, and came in about 10 seconds before the chase group. It turned out OK, with a 4th place finish overall, and first in my age group. Had the race been a few hundred meters more, the house would have burnt down completely.
Written by Michel on September 19th, 2008 with no comments.
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A few weeks ago I decided to replace my old HED Standard Disc. I bought that disc second hand 3 years ago, and it still was in good shape, but I thought it was time to get a lighter disc and maybe move to clinchers.
A quick look at ZIPP discs turned my head away, as my budget was under 1000$. After a few days of searching a few models came up, RENN, Blackwell, X-Lab. Contacted a few vendors online with a few questions, and found that most online shops have terrible customer service.
The Blackwell is basically an old ZIPP disc model (non dimpled, but who really cares about dimples?), so it was a high on my list. X-Lab disc looked interesting, but I found out that X-Lab now discontinued their disc so that made me suspicious. RENN has a good reputation, but I found out that this is a very low volume operation, and the Madeira, is not in production right now. I didn’t really care if the disc is lenticular of flat, although HED claims a lenticular disc is faster. I guess if a flat disc was faster, ZIPP would certainly mention this in their marketing for 909 tubular, because they are quite good at marketing like advertising discs with negative drag.
My research stopped when I found the HED Jet Disc and this review. There really was not much information out about the HED Jet Disc. Even on HED’s site, it stated something like “Hed Jet Disc coming soon”. At the moment there is not much more info either, apart from two pictures, the weight (1220 gram), and the suggested retail price 995$.
While there probably isn’t any wind tunnel data to indicate if it is faster than other discs, it certainly does look fast, having a similar shape to the ZIPP sub 9 disc, with a large bulge on the outer perimeter, and a lenticular shape in the middle.
The disc is actually a spoked wheel, with a thin carbon structure bonded on both sides of the wheel. Being a spoked wheel, with the tire off, it is possible to true the wheel if it ever would get out of true. The only negative aspect is that the wheel is not serviceable at all. Bearings are not accessible. If a spoke would break, it would not be possible to change it, without opening up the carbon structure. I have spokes break on very old wheels (10+ years), just from the spoke tension, so I don’t think spokes breaking will be an issue during the normal lifetime of the wheel. As far as bearings go, since this should be a race only wheel, there probably won’t be much need to service them.
At 1200 grams for a clincher disc , that is light enough. And under 1000$ that made my decision simple. I started shopping online. Being a new model you won’t get much discounts from the manufacturers suggested price at most popular cycling and triathlon online stores.
I happened to contact Mark Kouri at Peleton Cycles and ordered the disc from them. Mark operates a small retail business with low overhead, so he passes along great prices (his prices are often lower than major online retailers, so he usually does not publish them to avoid problems with price match requests). The service has been great and very responsive. If you need some equipement, give him a call, 609-668-8530, highly recommended.
So far I have done two duathlons on the wheel. The nicest thing about the wheel is that it is a really nice ride, and it feels exactly like a spoked wheel – of course, it is a spoked wheel. Compared to most other discs that have a harsh ride. There is very little flex either.
As for me, I’m still recovering from the National’s duathlon last weekend. I’ll have a race report shortly…
Written by Michel on September 17th, 2008 with no comments.
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Last Saturday I was in St-Sauveur, Quebec for the cyclist’s duathlon. A 3km run – 33 km bike – 3km run. This is a great introduction to duathlons for any cyclist that can run 3 kilometers straight.
That’s what I did 2 years ago when I did my first duathlon. No one new who I was and they were all surprised to see me ride away on the bike. So this was a simple formula that also worked for me last year: Run fast on the first leg (even if it hurts and you don’t have any running style), then use the longer bike leg to open up a large enough gap so the lead is secured on the second run.
Again, this is what happened this year, but it was a strong mountain biker and cyclo-cross rider, Benoit Simard, that took control of the race. In my first run, I ran a fast 3:14 per kilometer pace, escaping from the main field with Benoit. I started to be a bit suspicious because he seemed to be reasonably comfortable running at this pace.
So finally, I had a quick transition without any hiccups, I was out of T1 first, but a few hundred meters later, Benoit passes me up a hill. The bike course was quite hilly, no long gaps, but having many 500 meters to 1 kilometer small chain ring climbs. So I tell myself, I may just be having a slow start and increase the pace. I finally pass Benoit a few kilometers later until the next significant climb… from which I never got close to his wheel again.
I was about 1 minute behind in T2, and in the first kilometer of the second run I tried to see if I had a chance to catch him. Realizing it was not going to happen, I looked back, checked that there was no one behind and smiled my way to the finish for a second place finish. I was was very happy with my race, being two minutes faster than the year before in rainy conditions, even if I did not bring any flowers home. Hats off to Benoit who had a strong race. I hope he comes out and does more duathlons/triathlons.
Next week, is the Canadian National Duathlon championships in Montreal and the bike is a flat 40km on a race track. Just the way I like them 
I’ll check in next week and give you more info on the new HED Jet Disc.
Have a nice week!
Written by Michel on September 8th, 2008 with 1 comment.
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It is not the first time luck is on my side and I take first by a fraction of a second. At the Coupes des Ameriques stage race in 2004, my lead was less than 1 second. Last Saturday was the Quebec provincial (state) time-trial championship, on a flat 21.5km out-and-back course. I finished in 28:56 (44.6km/h) just half a second in front of my teammate, Carl Dessurault. I knew that if I was going to win, it was going to be close because Carl was in fine form the week before winning a stage race in Ste-Marie de Beauce, and last year’s winner, David Gaszi was also at the start.
The course was closed to traffic, flat and straight – quite a boring course. So the most important part of the race was to keep a constant focus. During a time-trial, I repeat a mental phrase to myself, to help me keep my focus. I use the words “position-power”. It keeps me focused on keeping my aero position, and continually applying steady power on the pedals.
The Sunday was the provincial championship road race. A long 120km flat course, with the heat and wind being the main difficulty. After taking 1st in the TT by only a half-second in front of Carl, I told Carl I owed him a good lead-out, if this was going to be a pack finish. Instead, the best I could do for Carl was give him a water bottle when he lost his because of the bumpy Quebec roads. He didn’t need a lead-out, as he initiated a 3 man break in the last 30km and came in second.
On my side, I decided to go early. I was on a break with 5 riders during the first 40km of the race. In important races like National and Provincial championships, early breaks with the right people often work – probably because the commitment level is very high. 2 of the 5 racers were taking very strong pulls, 2 were just hanging-in, and I was just doing my share of the work, without putting the extra effort thinking I needed to conserve some energy and hoping we would be fast enough. That was probably a mistake. To make a break work, you have to commit and do what it takes to get out of sight from the pack. Of course, there is the risk of bonking, cramping, not being able to make to the end – but it is taking those risks that can pay off big time. I ended up finishing in the main pack in about 20th place.
Here is the podium picture from the TT, with David Gaszi, myself, and Carl.
Written by Michel on August 27th, 2008 with 3 comments.
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It won’t be long, the racing season will be over and it will be time to reflect on what worked and what did not worked. One thing I learned that you just can’t “swing it”, are the high intensity intervals above your anaerobic threshold. In most criteriums and road races I did this year, I just didn’t have the top end speed to instigate or bridge to winning breakaways. Looking back, that was to be expected as I really did not focus on that type of training. Cycling road races, are much different than triathlons/duathlons – what makes the difference in a cycling race is the ability to sustain those anaerobic efforts for a few minutes, recover, repeat, recover, repeat, recover, repeat… until the winning break.
On the other hand, time-trialing/triathlons/duathlons are steady state just at your threshold, and the only time you go above your threshold is in the last few minutes of the race (if you have other competitors near you…).
Duathlons suited me particularily well this year, having improved my running combined with strong cycling in the last few years. Last Saturday was a sprint (5km, 20km, 2.5km) duathlon in Drummondville, Quebec. My goal in the first run leg, was to stay in contact or remain very close to the leaders. It turned out, 5 of us, ran as a group, everyone looking at each other hesitant to accelerate risking to fade before the end of the race. I was content to keep it all together and we came into T1 (the first transition) in 16:55.
My strength is the bike and after stepping first into T1 but leaving third out of T1, within a few hundred meters as was in front of the race. Since the second run was very short, I kept a good focus on the bike, always making sure my position was aero and tried to avoid any mental distractions.
When I arrived in T2, I had about a 2 minute lead, as the annoucer was looking for upcoming racers. Since he couldn’t see any, I remember him saying something like “unless there is a technical problem, it’s pretty much in the bag”. Then a volunteer, as I come out of T2 tells me “it’s ok you can slow down now”. So taking the advice, I slowed down just a notch to make sure I don’t experience any “technical problem” (at least it’s not possible to a flat on the run) and made it to the finish line in 56:09.
Next weekend it’s back to cycling with the Quebec provincial (state) time-trial and road championships. I’m not setting any goals for this one other than given it my best effort, as I know the competition will be tough.
Written by Michel on August 18th, 2008 with no comments.
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Harder ….. Faster was an April Wine album from 1979. I can’t find a better way to concisely describe what a team time-trial feels like.
Last Saturday, the Opus/A team (all four of us, David Albert, Michel Courval, Carl Dessurault, and myself) competed in the 4-man Quebec provincial team time-trial. With good results at the Granby and Gaston-Langlois TT’s, we knew we could clock a good time on a hot and humid sunny morning.
4 laps for a total of 56 kilometers… We held back just a touch on the first 5km or so to get into a rythm. Then it was just one hard pull after another, each one seemed harder and faster, until we completed our fourth lap for a total time 1:10:41 for an average of 47.5km/hour (29.7 mph). That was a fine team effort, but the Sport Bazar team headed by Sebastien Laflamme (who is in fine shape this year winning the Masters North American Championships in Sutton this July), took first place with an amazing time of 1:10:03 (48.0 km/h), placing us in second place.
Here are a few tips for a fast team time trial:
- Make sure your fastest rider is not behind your weakest rider, because that will break the rythm – otherwise the weakest rider will always have difficulty after he/she finishes their pull.
- Take fast short pulls. We could have done better with this. Dave really got this right. He took very strong pulls for about 20 seconds always keeping the pace harder/faster. I think Carl and I probably tooks pulls that were a little long. Most of the the time I came around for my pull I was fully recovered, so I should have taken shorter but harder pulls. A team TT is really just a series of intervals. With a 4 man TT, the intervals roughly become 20 seconds on/60 seconds off.
- Have a good warm up with race like effort. There is no point losing precious seconds warming at the beginning of the race. You have to start hard from the gun.
- Practice with your teammates to have tight fluid rotations. Make sure when you pull off, you fall back on the side that will shelter the pace line.
Written by Michel on August 5th, 2008 with no comments.
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I apologize in advance, if you understand Canadian French, you may be offended by the title.
Last Sunday I was off to Magog in the eastern townships of Quebec, for a 5km run / 40 km bike / 5km run duathlon. Many of us from the YMCA Parc Avenue Montreal triathlon club was participating in various distances. We all had a great time on a hot summer day.
Sometimes, as an endurance sport athlete, whether it be cycling, triathlon, running, anything with the phrase “long distance”, we are signed as “outsiders”, or crazy people putting our bodies voluntarily under physical pain. Indeed, it does seem strange, and we can probably make up hundreds of reasons why we do it, again, and again, and again. We put ourselves through it so that for a few seconds or a few hours, we feel something special in our bodies or mind, that just would not happen otherwise.
My little special moment in Sundays race was when during the last kilometer of the first run leg. I catch up to the race leader who is nearly half my age (so if your wondering, I’m 39), and then after a sharp 90 degree corner, I increase my pace knowing there is about 1 kilometer to the bike transistion. Then I hear “Tabarnak” from the runner I just passed. This word is probably the strongest swear term you can use to express frustration.
From then on, I knew I was having a good race as I was felt good, and was running fast at a 3:30 / kilometer pace. With a hilly bike course I increased my lead, to finally finish comfortably first overall with a gap of over 8 minutes on the second finisher.
Another quick note, is I tried Newton running shoes for the first time in a race. The shoes felt great and work really well if you have adopted a “toe striker” running style, they are worth it. I’ll keep you posted how they do in the next races.
Speaking of which, next weekend will be quite intense. Saturday is the 4 man Quebec team time trial championships, followed by a 120km road race on Sunday. Should be fun.
Written by Michel on July 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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