Hello Everyone,                                                                                              June 22, 2006

In this Issue:

Melting in Muskoka

by Mike Coughlin

photos by Paul Graham

In the sprint race, there were more than 2 dozen Sudbury area athletes competing and it was tough to keep track of them all. Buddy Green is one to watch - at only 20 years old he won his age category and took 9th overall. There were also 6 of my Discomfort Zone athletes competing, including Patti Socransky, Jody Nadjiwon, Brad Walker, Chantal Demers, Steve Fessenden and John Leonard. Some of you have heard about Patti's acrobatic front flip off the bike as she came screaming into the last corner before T2 - you will be glad to know that despite a few minor injuries, Patti is OK and will live to fight another day. The rest of the crew finished strong and Chantal picked up hardware for her 3rd place finish in the W25-29. Great job guys!

In the Long Course race, the competition was as fierce as ever and the heat made things even tougher, especially on the run. Of the fifteen or so Sudbury connected athletes, Brent Poulsen took top honours with a stellar 6th place showing against some of the best triathletes in the world - a breakthrough race for sure. Special congrats go out to Bill Leonard, Andrew Thompson, Drew Anderson, Laura West, Donna Smrek and Discomfort Zone athlete Katherine Knight for tackling the Long Course Tri for the first time. Katherine used her hot weather experience from the St. Croix Half Ironman to secure a second place showing in here Age Group too - well done! Discomfort Zone athletes Paul Graham and Jody Nadjiwon also took part, with Paul finishing his second Long Course race in as many years and Jody following up her Sprint Race by cycling for the local Long Course Relay team "Go Bananas 2" with Laura Haapamaki (swim) and Becky Olacke (run).

As for my race, this was my fourth straight year racing Muskoka. Running in the heat is a weakness of mine, so I tried to stay positive and view this as an opportunity to practice hot weather racing. I also decided to pace myself to finish strong in each of the three sports instead of hammering from the gun.

The swim had much less contact than usual and that was nice for a change. With 10min to go, my group started to slow so I went off on my own and swam in clear water to the finish. Swim time 31:15, about a minute faster than last year.

In T1 I did the shoes on bike thing for the second time and knocked 20 seconds off my time from last year. I even managed to get into my shoes before the first hill coming out of transition. I'm sold – this way is faster for sure.

After weaving through the sea of duathletes that came out of transition with me, the bike was pretty clean and enjoyable. I was frustrated with my front tubular with the cheapo valve extender because I couldn't get it up to full pressure before the race, but I stayed aero, drank, and saved my effort for the ride back. The strategy worked and I rode faster than last year (by a whole second!). Ryan Grant from Ottawa came by me early and was killing me on the climbs, but I caught back up to him by T2 and beat him out onto the run – I am really starting to get the hang of this transition thing.

The run was a challenge as expected, but by running a bit slow at the start I was able to keep it going and finish strong. My stomach felt a bit bloated and my pace slowed for a few minutes after taking fluids at the aid stations, but it needed to be done and I always came around. Once Ryan blew by me again in the first km, my A/G position didn't change and I had to focus to stay motivated. It hurt to run 5 minutes slower than last year and finish slower overall, but all things considered it was a good race. It was also lots of fun to cheer on the growing number of friends and training partners out there racing with me. Congrats to all finishers on this very challenging day.

Results can be found Here

Mike Coughlin
Coach/Mentor
The Discomfort Zone
'Where true potential is discovered'

mike@discomfortzone.com
www.mikestriadventure.ca

Check out more TRi photos at Paul Graham's website http://www.paulgraham.ca/gallery/album44

Photo courtesy Victah Sailer

Emilie Mondor

Running Against Time

forwarded by Tim Uuksulainen

Mondor only started training again a few months ago. That was after two years of being sidelined with a series of stress fractures – the result of a rare medical condition that prevented her bones from absorbing calcium.

Once one of the world’s top distance runners, with PRs of 31:10 (10kms) and 14:59 (5kms), she suddenly found herself with the body of a 50-year old woman with osteoporosis. She tried treatment after treatment until she discovered Forteo. At $10,000 a pop for an 18-24 month treatment, it’s not cheap. But it’s keeping her running.

Normally the drug is injected into the fat below the belly button or into the quadriceps but at less than110 pounds on her 5’6” frame, it was just too painful. So she started injecting it into her buttocks. “Luckily I’m not afraid of needles, “she says. “My dad almost went unconscious thinking about it.”

Mondor plans to use the RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women <http://www.runnersweb5k.com> as a tune-up for the Canadian Track Championships in Ottawa on August 4th, where she’ll try to win back her national title of 2004. If she keeps going the way she’s been the last few months, she may be breaking 15 minutes for the second time in her life.

“I want to promote road racing in Canada. I’ve always been impressed with Ken Parker and his support of the sport. When Ken talked to me about coming back to Ottawa for the RunnersWeb5K.com <http://www.runnersweb5k.com>, I decided to go for it.”

After only three weeks of training, Mondor surprised herself with a solid second at the Sporting Life 10kms. She followed that up with a come-from-behind performance at the Nordion 10kms to take third in 32:27, the second best time of her career. After the race, she announced to race committee that she plans to come back next year and go for the record.

With times like hers, why doesn’t opt for the more lucrative races in the States? She says she wants to stay close to home this summer, keep things low-key, and focus on the August Nationals in Ottawa. She says she’s proud to run in Canada, she finds the competition is good here and she likes to be close to her family. Besides, like other Canadian runners, she’s disappointed by the bonuses US races are now offering only to American runners. “With so many Kenyans, Ethiopians and Russians grabbing the top places, I can understand they want to have some incentives for American runners. But it’s too bad they don’t try to support North American talent.

Sure Mondor has talent. She showed that early on, running 16:10 for 5kms at 16 years old in Montreal’s Parc Lafontaine and running herself into the top 10 at the World Cross Country Championships that year.

But it’s more than that. She is forged-steal tough. And she has the heart of a lion. “I feel I’m cheating in a race unless I’m in deep pain. That’s why I hate tactical races. I think it steals the victory.”

If she can hold her body together, she hopes to move up the marathon one day. While she won’t make any bold predictions, you can bet that she’ll be going after the Canadian record there too.

…On Training
Once a 200kms a week runner, Mondor follows the less-is-more philosophy these days. Self-coached, she says her training is more in line with the African mentality. She trains mainly on her own. Her main workout of the day is 60 to 90 minutes (maximum) of non-stop running. It usually adds up to 14 to 17 kms. Within that, she does speed work three times a week and it’s usually fairly unstructured. Since she’s training for 5kms for the next few months, she’ll do shorter intervals, say 200 on/100 off for 25 minutes or so as her primary workout. She rarely runs longer than 15 minutes for a tempo run. (Of course, for Mondor, that just about adds up to 5kms.) She usually gets on the Elliptical trainer for an hour as her second workout of the day.

…On Running a Marathon
The London and New York marathon race organizers have been after her to move up to the marathon, which she’d like to do one day. What does she expect to run? Like any elite runner, she’s won’t share her real target, but with a 1:08 half marathon, you can bet she’s looking at a 2:29 or better.

On Government support
Mondor says she’s less and less attracted to the track. “Track is so hard on the body.” She much prefers racing on the roads but she sees it as a necessary evil her in Canada, if she wants to continue to get national funding, which adds up to $17,000 a year. “We lack a national term structure here at home. It’s a big weakness compared to other countries.” She says that if she doesn’t make standard this year – despite the fact that she is undisputedly one of the top female distance runners this country has ever produced – she could lose her funding. Nonetheless, she’s happy to race here at home. “While the system isn’t perfect, I’m still proud to be Canadian.”

Photos from www.emiliemondor.com <http://www.emiliemondor.com>.