4 guests with 1 thing in common – all are Ironman finishers! It’s been a long time since we’ve had so many folks in the studio + it’s always a blast when we do.
This week on the show Roy McBeth gives us his take on all of the big news in pro cycling + triathlon and Mikey Ross updates us on what is happening this summer for the Abbotsford Triathlon Club.
Making his Fitspeek debut is local triathlete and adventure-seeker Thomas Hekl.
We also do a recap of some of our guest’s recent racing experiences, and to end off the program, we delve into their inner fears and find out what still scares them when it comes to racing. 45 minutes of local news, insights, + laughs is yours with the press of the button below.
Tested in the wind tunnel, on the Matsqui Flats, + on the Ironman Canada Bike Course, the SP bike is uber aero + adjustable. It checks in at under $3,000, so you can add some aero wheels and kick some serious butt at your next time trial or triathlon. Click on the bike to customize your dream ride today!
People participate in long-distance running for many reasons, there’s both the mental + physical benefits, as well as (for some runners) the social aspects.
For some runners who get into competing, one of the big deals in the sport is of course the Boston Marathon. But unlike most running events, you need to qualify for the race by finishing under a certain time. Chilliwack’s Kelly Kallevig came very close a couple of times but fell short of the mark. A new race strategy + a new race course was the approach that succeeded for Kelly in her third attempt to qualify for Boston. On the show this week we get to know Kelly’s progression as a long-distance runner and her advice for 1st – time marathoners.
Also on the show the latest episode of The 3 Rs with Abbotsford Triathlon Coach Mikey Ross. Just how much time should you be investing into your weight-lifting routine? Mikey gives us the latest research! Hear it all by pressing play below
Tested in the tunnel, aero + affordable here’s the RP of your dreams. And remember to use the Fitspeek 22 code to save $200.00 of your bike.
After having to go virtual because of Covid, the real Abbotsford Santa Shuffle is back and on the podcast is the real Marie Lashley!
On our program this week, we get you into the Christmas spirit with our annual chat with Marie. We Fitspeek about this year’s event, as well as her recent trip to Israel.
We are also excited to let you know about our bike sponsor, A Squared bikes out of Lake Oswego, Oregon.
With top-notch engineering that allows you to dial in your perfect position, you can go faster, longer. And with the FITSPEEK 22 promo code, you can go faster, cheaper. Check out their website for eye candy & inspiration.
And to register for this year’s Santa Shuffle, just click on the link below!
A few weeks ago, Vancouver’s Barry Berg participated in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. He qualified for the championship race at what has been called the toughest Ironman in St. George, Utah.
Although he had a pretty good swim & an ok bike in Kona, heat & humidity got to him on the run and he slowed down a lot. Barry took the disappointment in stride, as his real goal for the year is another triathlon world championship, which is also in Hawaii. Any guess as to what it is?
Being in the same age-group as me, I was interested in what made this guy so fast. I got the answer! In addition to being an ultra and an iron-guy, Barry is also one of the few folks around that participates in the newest type of multisport event – the swim / run. In our 30 minute chat we talk about his progression as an athlete from a swim kid in Fort Mac to a Vancouver realtor & age-group dominator!
Also on the show this week is Mikey’s Top Five List. This one is geared toward friends and families of athletes.
Just like me, I guess, Mikey has been asked “did you win.” one too many times after a race weekend. Mikey offers some better questions for friends or family members to ask you after your next race.
42 minutes of fall-approved Fitspeek begins with the click of the button below.
And what multisport athlete isn’t a bike geek? Introducing A2 bikes! They are a relatively new bike company located just down the I-5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon and our new Fitspeek sponsor. Take a look at the super fast SP tri-bike. Then look at the price! Then subtract 200 dollars when you punch in the Fitspeek 22 code.
In one of the first races in what seems like forever, Victoria’s Kylie Acford took the win in the female division at the Vancouver Triathlon last month.
This week on Fitspeek we spend some time with the champ. From her school days in England, to the East Kootenays of British Columbia, to the pool decks of Victoria, Kylie’s life has been very tri-centric.
And unlike her athletically gifted but motivationally challenged brother, Kylie has had to work hard for all her successes in the sport, making of course, every finish line (and podium!) all that more special. Today, Kylie juggles triathlon training and coaching, motherhood, and putting food on the table during this crazy 4th wave of Covid. Hear about how Kylie copes and triumphs by pressing that play button below.
As we kick season six of the show we do a quick recap of some of the big endurance sports highlights with our go to guy – F2C & Wattie Ink ambassador, Roy McBeth.
One of the things we’ve noticed lately, is that triathlon, like cycling has really begun to implement a team format. Not only has triathlon seen the Olympics in 2021 the team aspect of the sport has popped up in events like the Collins Cup & in Superleague triathlon. Roy explains how that works.
This weekend marks the return to racing for Penticton pro Jen Annett. The Ironman 70.3 event will be a chance for her to blow off 20 months of race rust and to test her legs and transition skills.
In our 20- minute chat we discuss heat training, camping, motherhood, and her very personable coach, Jonathan Caron. Also on the show, ATC’s Mikey Ross has been watching the Olympics. And although he hasn’t bought his Blummenfelt is Best t-shirt, he has been inspired by the athletes, both on the field and off. Hear his opinions now by pressing play below!
I’m not sure if it was another overdose of Starbucks Dark Roast that kept me tossing and turning last night but sleep was nowhere to be had. With time to kill, I switched rooms opened up the laptop, and watched that Battle Royale that held the tri-world’s attention for the past week.
Although some folks debate the validity (or the point) of going for an iron-distance record, the Frodo-Sanders duel generated more You Tube hits than the average cat video. As the minutes passed, the viewing seemed to get a bit more engaging, and seeing Jan’s less than graceful T1, made me appreciate him more as a human and an athlete than him holding 300 watts for 180 kilometres.
And then there was MMA world age grouper champion in waiting, our own Lionel Sanders. Our boy-wunder from Windsor, or is that Tucson, never fails to give a good show, win or not. Once again, it wasn’t his 310 watts for 180 kilometres that impressed me, it was him dropping his water bottle while hobbling out of T2, that made me like this guy even more. And for his less running style, which resembles more of an animal that has just been freed from a leg trap than a triathlon god, well, that’s just icing on the cake.
The production value on this Jan-inspired event was second to none in the triathlon world, and it really showed that when “mainstream” production meets multisport, viewer engagement is sure to follow. The televised bio metrics of the two athletes was often shown on the screen or mentioned by the commentators, and that data enabled us, the mortal triathletes of the world, to gauge our fitness against these gladiators.
But as amusing as the numbers were, as always, it was the final miserable miles of the marathon that entrained and inspired the most. Just like the Julie Moss crawl in 1982, it was the agonized face of the impervious German and the ever-deteriorating gait of Sanders that glued our eyes to the screen and ours hearts to our throats. Some sports analysts say that the champions make winning look easy, Sanders defies that adage when he wins, and when he doesn’t, it’s even “better.”
After the video I went to sleep, with visions of suffering triathletes, dancing in my head. Fast forward to 7AM and I woke up with the motivation to do some suffering of my own and since I am training for Ironman this year, it seemed like a sensible plan.
Fortunately the winds of the Okanagan were only too happy to conspire with my sadistic request. Unlike the dedicated athletes who possess the motivation and good sense to knock out their swim at 6 or 7 or 8 AM, my sloth-like ways saw me show up to the Big Peach at the crack of 9. The prevailing north wind was howling and the lake, as is often the case, resembled the inside of a washing machine set on permanent press. My plan was developing even further. Being the hydro-sloth that I am, my goal was to get in the water and see if I could do the distance is less than twice the time Frodeno did his swim on Sunday.
Unlike the Battle Royale swim course, there was no black line and it wasn’t certified. It was, however the Ironman practice route that athletes have been using for years, which is from between the Big Peach to the SS Sicamous, twice. Likely, this was the same route that Sanders would have taken in his practice swims here back in 2017 when he won the ITU Long Course Championships.
32 ounces of dark roast and a whole wheat bagel gave me the required fuelling for the attempt. My antiquated and torn but trusty wet-suit went on without a hitch but the new goggles that I somehow found in my swim bag were too loose. I cinched them up tightly, knowing that once I was out in the waves, adjusting them would be rewarded with mouthfuls of carp-infused water.
My first trip out to the Sicamous was leisurely and wavy and 22 minutes. I knew things would get only slower. My suspicions were confirmed on the return trip as the waves intensified to the point where I had to just focus on survival, not speed. The suffering that I had so desired was being delivered wave after wave after wave. The next 48 minutes was more of the same but even more so, as those well-cinched goggles began making the temples of my head throb with pain. While enduring this, I kept thinking back to those images of Frodeno and Sanders in their last few kilometers, those grimaced faces sustained me to the end. I suffered. I persevered. And… just like Sanders, I lost! I excited the water in 1:32 giving “The Goat” a 4 – second margin of victory, when you take his time of 45:58 and multiply it by 2.
So, what can be learned from such open water shennanigans? Well, for one, even at the age of 57, I am still suceptible to the influence of televised sports. Just as watching the Super Bowl, made me and my friends go out in the Alberta winter to throw the football around and get tackled in the snow 30 years ago, watching the actions of others still inspires me. Secondly, this stunt reaffimed that one of the joys I get from endrance sports is the suffering. Whether it is 800 metre repeats at the track, V02 max intervals on the trainer, or being bitch-slapped by waves in the water, that discomfort, usually…. puts me in my happy place.
As the 2020 Summer Olympics are underway, no doubt millions of Canadians, of all ages, will tune in and get inspired by the on-screen heroics. It’s my hope that as many of these folks as possible take that extra step towards a bit of physical discomfort, since suffering is only a baby step up from that.
This week on Fitspeek we celebrate the number 3! It is our 133rd podcast and we have a 3 ring circus to entertain and motivate you this weekend. First off, ATC is back in business. We have head coach Mikey Ross in for his Top Five List. Mikey gives advice about how to adapt those workouts you are scheduled to do, whether the source is from your coach, an Internet – based source, or a training app like Training Peaks.
Up second on the podcast, is the first part of our conversation with one of the most colourful & charismatic folks in West Coast Multisport, Victoria’s Nick Patenaude. If you’ve ever been to a triathlon in BC and have seen the guy with the colour and crazy hair…. this is him. We Fitspeek about his transition from video game geek to duathlon dude, to representing Canada at the World Championships.
We leave the last word to Dr. E on Between the Ears. If you are one of those folks who can talk the talk, but sometimes can’t follow through, the doc has some tips on how to “git-er-dun.”
Do it now! 44 minutes of Fitspeek is here at the press of THIS button.
Fitspeek 120 is an episode I’ve wanted to do ever since the podcast started. I’ve assembled a group of business owners, coaches, club presidents, and athletes from across the Lower Mainland.
The purpose? To see how their athletic, professional, and personal lives lives have changed due to Covid-19. It’s a conversation about adaptability, resiliency, and faith in ourselves and our communities.
Our panelists:
Bruce Wenting (Owner: Wenting’s Cycle)
Winston Guo (Elite Athlete: Vancouver)
Geoff Oram (President: Phoenix Velo)
Leigh-Ann Parker (Coach: The Fitness Lab)
Greg Cowan (Owner: F2C Nutrition),
Mikey Ross (Head Coach: Abbotsford Triathlon Club),
