Triathlete Gift Ideas: 6 Gifts For The Triathlete On Your List

December 15, 2015December 14, 2015Leave a comment

With Christmas just around the corner, here are six ideas to help you gear up, outfit, and accessorize your favorite female triathlete (or yourself) this holiday season.

This is the third in my series of gifts for the fit females on your list. Check out my rad runner, and yoga lover posts for more seasonal ideas for your favourite female on the move.

As a triathlete, what do you covet most? What have I left off the list? Let me know in the comment section below. Happy holidays.

Cat Attack Silicone Cap – Elastomeric Fit. SpeedoUSA. The Speedo Elastomeric Cap is the first silicone swim cap specifically designed for fitness swimmers. Elastomeric caps offer greater elasticity and increased ease of stretch (as in won’t give you a headache during a longer swim) with a softer silicone compound than traditional performance caps. It contains a micro grid texture on the inside of the cap which provides more comfort with less snagging and pulling of hair (yippie!). They have may cute prints – but this is one is purrrrfect to get ready for your next race. Available online. $14.99 USD.
Garden Party ISM Adamo Prologue Saddle. Betty Designs. Betty took her inspiration from runway fashion to put a spin on the current floral trend. The result is a seat with touches of feminine flair in black and white to match whatever frame you ride. TECH SPECS: The Prologue builds on the success of the Podium and Breakaway. ISM’s design team kept the longer length and narrower hamstring section to allow for more forward and rearward body movement. We also integrated the sloped front arms to cut down on superficial chaffing on the inner thigh. The biggest change is they added more foam and gel padding to soften the ride. Great for distance cycling and triathlon. Cr-mo rails. 270mm long and 135mm wide. Available online. $189 USD.
Get a Coach! X3 Training. For the traithlete who is looking to take one part, or all three, of their racing to the next level – hire a professional! I’ve worked with Michael in the past for cycling and know a number of athletes who have reached the big BQ (Boston Qualifier) under his coaching. Whether it’s off season fun, or regular season work – check him out! Prices vary on program.
Race Entry. Toronto Triathlon Festival. I’ve blogged about TTF before, as well as how race entries make great gifts – well with TTF your athlete gets double the present when you sign them up (with their permission) before December 25 as they will also qualify for TTF Gold Member status (which means lots of great bonus swag and it will save you a few bucks too!) Read about why you should choose TTF here! Available online. $108-$130 CAD
Fresh Foam Zante. New Balance. Personal bests are meant to be broken. Help your triathlete break theirs with the all-new Fresh Foam Zante – 2015 road shoe of the year. This shoe has carried me through hundreds of training kms and the Paris marathon – and it’s definitely a favourite shoe of mine. Featuring an impossibly smooth heel-to-toe transition and an explosive toe spring for an overall faster ride, the Zante gives your triathlete the opportunity to turn personal bests into personal betters. Available in various stores around the GTA and online. $129.99 CAD
2016 SIDI Buvel Women’s Fuchsia cycling shoe. Lickbike.com. So many reasons why this shoe is on my list – but I think the first is very obvious (it’s pink!!). It’s also a less expensive version of another shoe I’ve fallen in love with. Lickbike will ship to Canada, so if you’re wondering the source, that’s why. TECH SPECS: : New for 2016, the SIDI Buvel MTB shoes are the absolute favorite for cross-country, mountain bikers, racers and adventurer seekers – I race triathlon in mountain bike shoes (the clip is embedded so for me they are easier to run in). European handcrafted quality that keeps on performing season after season offering superb comfort. The shoe features a Caliper Buckle two-way ratchet for easy on-bike adjustment with incremental tightening and loosening. Soft Instep Closure System and padded tongue eliminate pressure points. High Security Velcro won’t shift or slip. SIDI Competition Sole. Made in ITALY. Guaranteed for 1 YEAR. Available online. $199.88 USD.

Joe’s Team: A race for the Average Joe or the experienced triathlete

May 29, 2014May 29, 20141 Comment

As many of you who follow me on other forms of social media (twitter, Intsagram) may have already figured out, I’m back drinking the triathlon juice and am considering my first 70.3 (yup, you read it here first). I’ve been researching different races and checking out where I want my season to go, and through social media (mainly twitter) I have continued to came back to Joe’s Team Sprint Triathlon.

The Scoop.

Held at beautiful Lake Joseph on July 5th, athletes of all levels gather to participate in this event that raises money for cancer research. As the one goal is to conquer cancer, even if you are new to the world of sprint triathlons you can participate in your first race alongside other newbies or get a team together to do the relay. As I’ve seen online, they work hard to build a sense of community, which is why so many athletes return to this event year after year.

This year is especially exciting for Joe’s Team as this will be their 8th year and their goal is to raise the remaining $1 million needed to establish the Joe Finley Centre for Head and Neck Cancer Research. The centre is name after the man who started this event and his memory is kept alive through Joe’s Team. Check out why Joe started this event 8 years ago.

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What does the money go towards exactly?

Dr. Fei Fei Lui who is a participant and doctor at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre shares in this interview what the impact is for cancer research. For example, the cancer centre team has grown from 5 people to 80 thanks to this event. Each participant raises a minimum of $500, which really doesn’t take much (a few facebook shares and tweets) since so many of us have been touched by cancer, and who doesn’t want to support their friend for such a great cause.

The After Party!

This part is super exciting – they have an awesome after party with Gord Downie, and The Sadies. As if I need to tell you who Gord Downie is! and I saw the Sadies for the first time last month during School Night Mondays at the Dakota Tavern. I was actually there with work folks to see our colleague Margaret Good (matriarch of the Good Family Band and mother of The Sadies) and they were all jamming as one gigantic folk family and it was amazing! This is an exclusive event as tickets are only available to Joe’s Team participants and a guest and the rumour is, it’s always a sold-out event!

So gather a team, or get yourself signed up for this incredible event! Because amazing things have when you TRI!

Toronto Triathlon Festival Race Re-Cap

July 23, 2012December 8, 20153 Comments

After 2 months of training and making my first serious commitment to triathlons I completed my goal race, the sprint distance in the Toronto Triathlon Festival. For those who don’t know, that’s 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run – my longest triathlon to date.

I woke up (6:45am) and for the fourth day in a row with a stiff neck -yes, I know it’s likely my pillow. So I stretched and went through my typical race day routine (fueling, praying, stretching), and got on the road with my friend Jenna who was also racing – it’s now 7:45am.

While riding to the transition zone we were able to catch Canadian Olympian and flag bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Simon Whitfield, as well as Paula Findlay finish their races – very motivating and inspiring.

The Toronto Triathlon Festival has been an amazingly well organized race. From the race kick off Fun Run sponsered by Porter Airlines (they gave away 5 flights) and Training Mobs who captured all the fun on camera, to the mandatory race briefings, to all components of race day, all aspects of the race were thoughtfully planned.

When we arrived, the Olympic distance had already begun. We set up our bikes and our gear in our designated spots (so well organized) and listened to the hilarities that were being mc’d by our friend (and race organizer) Travis, and watched for our friend Julien, who was racing the Olympic.

At 9:00am we were in our wetsuits and waiting to race. It was already above 25 degrees, so in neck to ankle wetsuits we were roasting! We cheered on our friend Vince who with his brother Victor started the Sprint at the first wave at 9:30am. Eventually it was our turn and we were treading water during the in water start. The horn blasted and we were off.

This is only my third Tri of the season and the open water swim has been my biggest challenge, not because I don’t know how to swim, but because of the mind games I have been playing. In order to prep for this race, I integrated more open water swims, 3 more than any other race this season, and I feel it worked. The horn went off, I had positioned myself in a great spot to the left of the group and I followed my sisters Iron Man tactic of 20 head up strokes to get acclimatised to the water and the race. I made the first two left turns, and on the long straight away, with lots of open space, gave in to my speedy stroke and rolled over and started swimming back crawl – I laugh as I type this because it is so silly. Now you can swim anyway you want – that’s in the rules, and while back stroke isn’t ideal, it’s my fastest racing stroke, so I felt confident in my space and just took off. I was calm and relaxed and watched all of the other green caps as I raced passed, and 15min later (and in 4^th place) I finished the swim, climbed the stairs out of the channel and started to strip the wetsuit off.

I found my bike – row 2, although I actually ran to row 3 first – and sat down to rip my suit off. This has become my new habit, after struggling my first race to remove the suit, from then on I just sit down and get it done. The bike leg had a huge transition to the mount line. It was up a hill and on a bridge to cross the Gardiner expressway. The bike leg definitely felt like a challenge, it ended up being my slowest leg – again. It was full of slight inclines and declines and a headwind. A couple training rides ago I finally got my bike computer working, so was glad it decided to work today and I could see my pace. I tried to keep it as close to 30kmph, my race results had me at 28.7kmph. I was happy to see my fellow lululemon’s along the way, hearing Sam shout encouragements, as well as seeing fellow Queen St. Ambassador Vince when I had only 5km left. The husband also appeared along the route cheering after walking up the Gardiner off ramp – definitely a surprise to see him standing on the off ramp median cheering. I soon found myself back to the dismount line and with burning legs, had to run down the hill. This part was a challenge as my legs were on fire and were feeling very heavy. My dad and Aunt Care were cheering at the bottom of the hill and it pushed me forward to the final 5km run.

With a quick transition the running shoes were on. I decided to grab my hydration belt because by this time of day it was HOT out. I took a gel, grabbed my Nike+, and hat. With the hat on and gel eaten I was no longer holding my Nike+ (not good as it had my 2010 NYC Marathon band) but I kept running, now no longer knowing my pace (and those who know me, know I’m a gear nut, so this was going to be a challenge). With more mc’d support from Travis I exited the transition zone and started the run. I fueled at most stations, or opted to dump the water into my hat (a trick I learned from my grade 6 male students). Near the 2.5km mark I had a huge energy boost brought on by my Queen St. Lululemon family who were hosting the cheer station. It was great seeing their smiling faces and hearing their encouragements, it made me feel like I was an Olympian ready for London. After the half way turn I was headed home – nearly literally as we were running along the Blue Water Martin Goodman Trail, a trail I run daily and often refer to as “my backyard” – to the point where I even said to myself while running that I wasn’t going to let anyone beat me in my own backyard. So I pushed on, through the fatigue and heavy legs and headed to the finish line. With only 1km left, I started to feel really drained and decided the best thing to do was give thanks. And so I continued to thank every volunteer I passed and began to list in my head my top 10 list of things I am grateful for (family, friends, fitness and couldn’t seem to get over those three items, so kept repeating them in my head). With only 300m I was happy to see Julit cheering me to the finish, friends Tammy and Lisa who came out to help me “bring it home” and my family standing and cheering along the chute.

I got a personal best and am happy to say an 8^th overall finish for my division. It was a great day, a great race, and I am so thankful for the love and support of my family and friends who not only supported me through my months of training but through my race day.