DECADE

What was the biggest story in Canadian sports?
Globe and Mail Update
Published on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 10:58PM EST
Last updated on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 8:35AM EST

Here are five great moments chosen by champion rower Silken Laumann, who won medals for Canada in three Olympic Games and is now an author and the founder of a charitable movement dedicated to children’s recreation based in Victoria.

“There are so many great moments,” she says, “but a few really stick in my mind because they encompass some of the remarkable elements that make up Canadian sports.”

Ms. Laumann's picks:

1. Simon Whitfield winning the first gold medal in the triathlon at Sydney in 2000 and then, eight years later, having a remarkable almost gold performance in Beijing. The guy has guts.

2. Kyle Shewfelt winning Canada’s first ever Olympic gold in gymnastics. Gymnastics is a sport dominated by Eastern Europeans. To see a fellow Canadian win this event made leagues of aspiring young gymnasts believe they could do it, too.

3.The double gold – both men’s and women’s – in Olympic hockey at Salt Lake City in 2002. Did we Canadians feel on top of the world that week!

4. The men’s eight winning gold in the Beijing Games last year. They dominated – I don’t think there has ever been a group as fit, focused and determined to win. They were in a league of their own in the most highly contested event in men’s rowing.

5. Steve Nash, the first Canadian ever named the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player, an honour he received two years in a row (2004-5 and 2005-6). You don’t need to know anything about basketball to be electrified by the intensity, passion and skill this young man from Victoria brings to the court.

Love it. Full article here. Leave your vote in the comments.

NEVER GROW UP, MY FRIENDS...

WINTER TRAINING

I hear those ByTown guys do a lot of snowshoeing, and guys like Tom Evans and Jonnyo like to xc ski. Here's a plug for an interesting online video cycling program from coach Richard Pady who runs Healthy Results, called Indoor Rider. Anything to turn winter to our advantage is worth a look in my book.

I don't normally promote products etc. on the blog (and I haven't been asked to in this case), but it looks like a fun option for winter training, and Rich is a great coach, a great supporter of the sport and the community. And, he was always a gracious winner when he beat me repeatedly in junior racing a lifetime ago. And, I'm a big fan of Canadian coaches and athletes. And, you get to 'ride' with this guy (below), who is such an uber tri geek that he rides custom rollers in his custom training shed with a custom remote control camera. Sweet.

Simon Intro to Indoor Rider from chris pickering on Vimeo.

If anyone has some other ideas for beating old man winter, leave a note in the comments. Train smart.

JUST TRAIN...TRAIN...TRAIN

A few of these are making the rounds lately, and apparently you can make your own if you're feeling creative. It's a fun clip - a short break from studying for the university crowd, or maybe a distraction at work - but don't blame me if you feel like you'll never get those 5mins of your life back.

Edit: I didn't make this video. You can find the original page here, along with two more 'Race Report' shorts from "AussieShooter".

VERZBICAS WINS FOOT LOCKER

High school cross-country: Sandburg's Lukas Verzbicas wins prestigious Foot Locker national title
By Kyle Betts
Tribune reporter
www.chicagotribune.com
6:52 p.m. CST, December 12, 2009



Sandburg sophomore Lukas Verzbicas took his domination to San Diego on Saturday for the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship.

He'll return to Orland Hills with another prestigious title.

Verzbicas, the 2009 Class 3A state cross-country champion, finished the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 8 seconds -- 15 seconds ahead of second-place Matthew McElroy of Huntington Beach, Calif.

Full article here.

Longer article from Competitor.com here.

Webcast of races here.

STATE OF PROFESSIONALISM IN TRIATHLON

State of Professionalism in Triathlon
By Mary Beth Ellis
12/11/2009
www.xtri.com

There is an epidemic among the professional triathlete ranks, and I fear it is spreading. From blogs to race reports to twitter feeds, my compatriots are lamenting the difficulty of their life as if they have a tortuous job working on a chain gang. This constant hum of ‘woe is me’ self-pity is starting to worry me. I am not immune and have on occasion blamed others or circumstances for my own shortcomings. However, I have been lucky to have coaches who have taught me the importance of taking personal responsibility. When I started triathlon, I worked with Siri Lindley and more recently have been coached by Simon Lessing. Both have taught me an invaluable lesson for all athletes namely taking control of one’s own destiny and accepting responsibility.

Full article here.

IT'S A DEAL, IT'S A STEAL.....

...it's the sale of the century! (an almost direct quote from one of my favourite movies: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.)

The Bytown Storm Triathlon Team has organized a great fundraiser. From their blog:

Want to help support some of the best young triathletes in the country?

Want to help some of the newest young triathletes in the area?

Why not do both? The Bytown Storm Triathlon Team is a Not for Profit Ottawa area multi sport club that provides programs for all ages and skill levels. The Club is raffling off 3 Christmas Gift baskets worth more than $2500.00(approx. value) to help raise money for programs and to purchase much needed equipment.

To purchase tickets you can just email the club at endurancentre1@yahoo.ca or check our website for times and locations where we will be selling tickets( locations to be determined).

Full post, including all the prizes up for grabs, here.

HIT THE BOOKS...

...or articles as the case may be. Since we're in exam mode here, I thought I'd post a link to an interesting review article from Sportsci.org entitled "Intervals, Thresholds, and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training." Nothing new, but perhaps a good general review from a broad perspective - sometimes we get lost in the details. You can read/download the article from the main page (center panel, near the bottom), or you can read it here.

ENCORE

At the Training Day on Sunday, Ian, Connor and Dorelle talked to the athletes about their 2009 Can Games and/or Worlds experience, and idon debuted his latest work: