tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17580905754184823332024-03-04T21:10:02.980-08:00Tri This . . . . . . . . . . . . Fleck's BlogAssorted notes and ramblings of mine. Mostly about endurance sports. Some serious, some not so serious. Some work related, others personal.Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-8226602686601724152018-03-21T08:31:00.002-07:002018-03-21T08:31:41.208-07:00It's All About The Base<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTpMN1uwe9ZHhXeXUUgC58xcrhW5uQtJfhusScRvrDvDoIUq06h5_vl7b1dv7V2SkZZ_o7Asg3egrYcvIgVBePTr_dusAmY2zGByU3oq04-5zRI0eQsaez6KmGnO_-AF99XYvvqh9EvE/s1600/Climbing+Kaloko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="960" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTpMN1uwe9ZHhXeXUUgC58xcrhW5uQtJfhusScRvrDvDoIUq06h5_vl7b1dv7V2SkZZ_o7Asg3egrYcvIgVBePTr_dusAmY2zGByU3oq04-5zRI0eQsaez6KmGnO_-AF99XYvvqh9EvE/s320/Climbing+Kaloko.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Climbing Kaloko in Kona, HI. Picture - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/paolina_allan/" target="_blank">Paolina Allan</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ounce again, I'm putting the 30-Year-Base to the test. If you have been involved in an endurance sport (running, cycling or triathlon) for less than 5 years, with all due respect, skip right to the end of this post for the final good news.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's at times like this that I'm thankful that I've been doing what I have for the last 30 plus years. You see, there is a huge advantage to having a massive base of aerobic fitness that you can tap into. You can do things and get away with things that the newer athlete can't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a few weeks we are off to Cuba again for some cycling with some pretty serious road cyclists. I'm really looking forward to it, and again, my goal is the same - don't get dropped!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because of the big base of fitness that I have, over a relatively short period of time, I can elevate my regular fitness to a higher level reasonably "quickly". It's not easy, and it does not come without some genuine, hard and concentrated work, but I always surprise myself, how quickly the fitness does ramp up. I've been using several different sessions on the indoor trainer, coupled with steady state riding on the rollers on the "off-days". I dug into some old training logs, and also read up on <a href="https://fascatcoaching.com/tips/how-to-sweet-spot/" target="_blank">"Sweet-Spot" </a>intervals. As a classic "pursuit-style" rider my whole life, these are the kinds of sessions that I both "enjoy", if that's the right word, have a high impact, and ramp up my fitness quickly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other two sessions I've been doing are NOT so enjoyable (to be honest they are ugly, brutal and painful) - but are also high-impact: <a href="https://www.bicycling.com/training/fitness/ultimate-interval" target="_blank">T-Max </a>sets, as well as one minute All-Out bursts with almost full recovery - I've always been the, world's worst sprinter on the bike, but these sprint sessions forces me to activate and work this range and the five fast-witch muscle cells I have in my whole body!! Both these sessions have me on the trainer for 60 minutes or less. A painful, 60 minutes - but a productive, 60 minutes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And it's all coming around - a month in and with just two weeks to go, I can feel the legs and the lungs coming around. I'm looking forward to the trip to Cuba, and fingers-crossed, not getting dropped from the main group.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The good story to end this with and for the newbies just joining back in now, THIS is one of the key up-sides and advantages to hanging in there for the long-haul with endurance sports. Once that serious, long-term aerobic base is established (roughly 5 years or more), you can whip yourself back into some pretty decent form over a relatively short period of time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The BIG base is helpful in other ways. When you have some down-time either by choice (vacation, taking a break etc , .) or by force (injury, sickness), the loss of fitness tends to be more minimized the bigger your overall fitness and aerobic base is, and the quicker you will return to good to great form!</span><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-8035585745123511012018-03-01T12:49:00.001-08:002018-03-21T20:10:46.000-07:00Will You Watch? What Happens When You Take the 5-Rings Away?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq8lOm4wn_t-0D163-DGy-yvxLhjmu8Oq1x7u0vnd5BwLZTsC7nBHgGnXVPQ-uzWCMXRNP5MGKBGVgqAFxa4jdbf7LjIBhfUC5FvVIJv5oiHJH_TaE539GuMZrNHml0eeW3kl_XxMfFA/s1600/Canada_cycling_teampursuit_Poland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="768" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq8lOm4wn_t-0D163-DGy-yvxLhjmu8Oq1x7u0vnd5BwLZTsC7nBHgGnXVPQ-uzWCMXRNP5MGKBGVgqAFxa4jdbf7LjIBhfUC5FvVIJv5oiHJH_TaE539GuMZrNHml0eeW3kl_XxMfFA/s320/Canada_cycling_teampursuit_Poland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Canada's women's Track Cycling Pursuit Team - they are perennial podium placers at the Olympic Games & World Championships</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did you watch the <a href="https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/index" target="_blank">Winter Olympic Games</a> from Pyeongchang, Korea over the last few weeks? You were not alone. Thanks to <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports" target="_blank">CBC Sports</a> and their great coverage, millions of Canadians tuned in to watch, our best <a href="https://olympic.ca/" target="_blank">Winter Sports Athletes </a>compete against the best in the world. Based on these exceptional viewer numbers from the Olympic Games, we <i>seem </i>to want to watch our best Canadian Athletes compete at this level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, did you know that, right now, and through this weekend, two other World Championships events - the <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships" target="_blank">IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships</a> and the <a href="http://www.uci.ch/" target="_blank">UCI Track Cycling World Championships</a> are on - <i>and Canada has medal contenders in both events</i>. Will you be watching either one, or both?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Again - CBC will thankfully have Live Streaming Coverage for the Indoor Track & Field Championships and the UCI has their own YouTube Channel for the Live Stream of the Track Cycling World Championships (links below </span><span style="font-size: large;">for both</span><span style="font-size: large;">)** . However the viewer numbers in Canada, </span><span style="font-size: large;">with some of Canada's best Track & Field, and Cyclists taking part, will</span><i style="font-size: x-large;"> </i><i><span style="font-size: large;">pale</span></i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">in comparison to the numbers who watched the Winter Olympic Games just over a week ago!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so we enter into that fallow, period between Olympic Games (now two years between the alternating quadrennial Summer & Winter Olympic Games), when most Canadians tune-out watching most of the Olympic Sports. Years ago, the excuse was they are not available to view - and that was true. However in the current internet age and the advent of streaming coverage, almost anything you want to watch sports-wise, regardless of how rare and obscure it is, is available via some form of streaming service to any kind of device - even your mobile phone in the palm of your hand, anywhere, where you are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My client <a href="http://athletics.ca/#sthash.4em85AU9.dpbs" target="_blank">Athletics Canada</a> in fact has a partnership with <a href="http://www.runnerspace.com/" target="_blank">RunnerSpace</a> - the top level providor of Streaming coverage of Track & Field and Running in North America, to stream, with top-level commentary talent, and production, many of their marquee, event properties and other races of significance each year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So the excuse, that "you can't see/find" these sports and the coverage of them, does not add up anymore. So why is it that Canadians who are <i>so</i> keen to watch our best compete against the best in the world, in the Winter & Summer, Olympic Games, when those same athletes are competing in, just as prestigious and competitive races/events, such as a respective sports World Championships, most Canadians are oblivious? Is the attraction of the 5-Rings, that powerful?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Later on this year, in August, Canada and Toronto, will host the <a href="http://athletics.ca/championnat/toronto2018/#sthash.wCOpUXGL.dpbs" target="_blank">NACAC Track & Field Championships</a> (NACAC = North American, Central American & Caribbean region) at Varsity Stadium, right in downtown Toronto. There is no IAAF World Championships (outdoor) this year - but there will be IAAF Regional Championships, like the NACAC Meet here in Toronto. It's worth noting, that in some races/events, the (100m - 400m) sprint events in particular, You could potentially have a Olympic Final, or World Championship Final, made up of athletes just from the NACAC region - so their will be truly World Class competition at the NACAC Championships in August.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Flipping over to cycling, Canada will again host, a leg of the UCI Tissot World Cup Track Cycling tour later on this year at the <a href="http://www.mattamynationalcyclingcentre.ca/en/index.asp" target="_blank">Mattamy National Cycling Center </a>in Milton, ON - home for Track Cycling at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. The dates for this are Oct 26-28. This will be year-two for this exciting event, after a VERY successful first effort by <a href="http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/" target="_blank">Cycling Canada</a>, back in December of, last year, that saw nearly sold-out crowds cheer on the best track cyclists in the world - some of whom are Canadian!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will you watch sports like Track & Field and Cycling, in these in-between years - between Olympic Games, either via Live Streaming online, or live and in-person, at the two events mentioned above? If your answer is, "no" - I'm very curious as to why, you will not be watching?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What happens when we take the 5-rings away?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">** Link for Live Stream of the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships - <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/trackandfield/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-1.4555165">http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/trackandfield/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-1.4555165</a> Link for the Live Stream for the UCI Track Cycling World Championships - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ucichannel">https://www.youtube.com/user/ucichannel</a></span><br />
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Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-26411008132130408792018-02-24T14:22:00.001-08:002018-02-24T14:30:49.148-08:00The Work Is Finding The Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Onsite at a <a href="https://multisportcanada.com/" target="_blank">Multisport Canada Triathlon </a>Race. Photo - <a href="http://www.mikecheliak.com/" target="_blank">Mike Cheliak</a></span></div>
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I'm extraordinarily lucky - the Work of Race/Event Announcing and Sports Commentary, does not feel like work. An entire day - that starts in the dark at 6am, at a big running, cycling or triathlon event and ends late in the afternoon, when the last finisher is across the finish line, and the awards all done - goes by VERY fast for me. I LOVE doing this. <i>The work is finding the work!</i><br />
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I spoke recently with someone in the music business, and they said that it's the same for many bands and musicians. Not every band and musician is U2 or Beyonce! When those lesser known bands/musicians are performing, most of the time it does not feel like work - they are very passionate about their music and their performance - that's why they are so good. They could keep going on and on! <i>The work is finding the work!</i><br />
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Thank goodness for my back-ground and experience in Sales. My phone rarely rings for Race/Event Announcing or Commentary work. I have to make it ring, and treat finding new work, as a classic B2B exercise. That means lot's of phone calls, cold-calls, email reach-outs, and networking/connecting via social media - I'm a big fan of both <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/flecksteve/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/stevefleck" target="_blank">Twitter </a>for this.<br />
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There are lots of dead-ends, no-responses, "No's" and "No thank you's" - occasionally, you get a few "Yes's". It sounds pretty bleak, but that is B2B Sales work. You just keep going! <i>The work is finding the work!</i><br />
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My "Off-Season" of working to find work has been reasonably successful for this year (2018), I've re-booked back in with many existing clients ( a hearty and grateful, Thank You), and have found a number of new clients who I will be working at this year ( a BIG Thank you to all of you).<br />
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In addition to the Live On-Site Race/Event Announcing my Live Stream Commentary work continues to grow - I'm REALLY enjoying doing this.<br />
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All-in, I already have over 33 gigs booked in for the year and have already started the year with a series of Indoor Track and Field Meets doing Live Stream Commentary.<br />
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With apologies for the pitch - remember,<i> the work is finding the work(!),</i> but if you are in need of a Race/Event Announcer or Commentator, please don't hesitate to contact me at stevefleck61@gmail.com or 416.888.7324<br />
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See you at a race or event soon!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-92059421146820890122016-08-16T10:04:00.000-07:002016-08-16T19:09:53.366-07:00Can Sport Still Awe & Amaze Us?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OXV8c_6kd-17RR3l-NbkVgTUwYvha7Ifuu5_scyecHeKrypEZhyLfxEXIC-2uYRs_IhMvtVLj9fng7pxECl0H8lTcJ66c2PYyUIsrDWyp_2VFaTCOmIz7wvyUt50j4ZXae2G5BpSj1k/s1600/beamon-op-755x490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OXV8c_6kd-17RR3l-NbkVgTUwYvha7Ifuu5_scyecHeKrypEZhyLfxEXIC-2uYRs_IhMvtVLj9fng7pxECl0H8lTcJ66c2PYyUIsrDWyp_2VFaTCOmIz7wvyUt50j4ZXae2G5BpSj1k/s320/beamon-op-755x490.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Long Jumper Bob Beamon at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of my first distinct memories of the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/" target="_blank">Olympic Games</a> was watching the Long Jump competition at the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympic Games as a 7-year old live on TV - back when NBC actually showed stuff live! That was where American Bob Beamon broke the then world record of by an almost preposterous amount of nearly 2 ft( about 50cm), to push the new record to 29ft. 2 1/2 in.(8.90m)! That record stood for 22 years, until another American, Mike Powell broke it in 1991.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A short video of Beamon's jump can be seen here -<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEt_Xgg8dzc" target="_blank"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEt_Xgg8dzc</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I looked on, watching on TV, in true awe and amazement. Even Beamon was completely overcome with emotion, not by the win, by by the magnitude of what he had done - ounce it sunk in. He fell to the ground and was unable to get up or walk for a good long time after the distance was announced. He had jumped so far, it was almost beyond the measuring system they had in place! It was beyond what many thought a human could jump! But it was all real!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Later that day I was out in our back-yard with my Dad. He got out a tape measure and we measured off 29 feet. I stood at one end and my Dad stood at the other and I had my second moment of awe and amazement looking at my now distant Father and wondering, "How could someone jump THAT far"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do we still feel that sense of awe and amazement today, when new records or sport performance reach new heights that seem, exceptional? I wonder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first final of the Rio Olympic Games in Athletics was the women's 10,000m race. In that race, running only her 2nd 10,000m on the track Ethiopian Almaz Ayana crushed the standing 10,000m record for women, running an astonishing time of 29:17.45 - completely solo! She left a field of world class runners WELL behind breaking the previous record by 14 seconds! It was one of those extraordinary Beamon-like performances, that has announcers running out of superlatives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, no sooner than the diminutive Ayana was across the line and social media started to light up with talk of how, the record could NOT be "clean"! After all, the the record being broken, set by the Chinese runner, Wang Junxia was, almost for certain set by a runner using some form of Performance Enhancing Drug (PED). A number of the Chinese women who were part of that training group, called "Ma's Army", after their coach, Ma Junren, have admitted they were all using PEDs of one form or another at the time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Consequently with controversy and questions swirling around it's hard to be in awe and to be amazed any more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The true believers, the really naive, and many sport officials, will say - "Look, there are no positive tests". We have to conclude they are clean". But we know now, that athletes can be tested over the course of their careers hundreds of times, and never turn in a positive test. Exhibit-A in this regard would be Lance Armstrong - tested hundreds of times, never positive (one suspicious), and 7-Tour de France wins! Of course, as we know Armstrong admitted after-the-fact that he was using various PEDs all along and stripped of all of those Tour de France wins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who can we believe? What are we to make of exceptional and extraordinary sports performances now? Are we to be immediately skeptical, or can we to look on in a state of awe and amazement?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.8px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 16.8px;"> </span><br />
<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-31397253773396747622016-06-29T09:37:00.003-07:002016-06-29T09:37:41.152-07:00What A Week!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">So busy this week/weekend, they had me working two microphones at the Welland Triathlon! Photo - <a href="https://twitter.com/irinasouiki" target="_blank">Irina Souiki</a></span></div>
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My Race/Event Announcing work this year reached some form of a huge peak in the last week!<br />
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On Wednesday, I flew to Halifax to work with the <a href="http://www.runnerspace.com/" target="_blank">RunnerSpace </a>crew on the live stream broadcast of the <a href="http://www.aileenmeagher.com/" target="_blank">Aileen Meagher Track Classic</a> at <a href="http://www.smu.ca/" target="_blank">St Mary's University</a> - part of <a href="http://athletics.ca/championnat/national-track-league-2016/#sthash.HEjtBNPB.VaQ42gzY.dpbs" target="_blank">Athletics Canada's National Track League Series</a> (NTL) in the run-up to the National Championships and Olympic Trials in Edmonton, that start next week. It's always a pleasure to work with Bob Akamian on the commentary.<br />
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The Halifax meet was extremely well organized. The high-light being hurdler <a href="https://twitter.com/Brownnstone" target="_blank">Nikkita Holder</a> achieving the Olympic Games qualifying standard - something she was hoping and needing to do before the actual Olympic Trials.<br />
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I flew home Thursday. Friday night it was time for the <a href="http://www.speedriverinferno.com/" target="_blank">New Balance Guelph Inferno Road Mile</a> - right in downtown Guelph. This is always a fun event to work at. More communities should look into holding Street Mile runs like this!<br />
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Then it was on to Welland, for the Day-1 of the Rose City Triathlon on Saturday Morning - Race #2 in <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/" target="_blank">Multisport Canada's</a> season lone ReCharge With Milk Triathlon Series. This was the 10th year for this awesome race, but in a new home, at the <a href="http://www.wifc.ca/site/home" target="_blank">Welland International Flat-Water Center </a>in Welland, ON - home of Canoe/Kayak Competition at the PanAm Games last summer. This may be the perfect triathlon event location in all of Ontario, and perhaps all of Canada!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Welland International Flatwater Center, may be the BEST triathlon race venue in Canada!</span></div>
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After I wrapped up at the triathlon for the day, Multisport Canada Founder,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/john.salt.18?ref=br_rs" target="_blank"> John Salt </a>and I appeared via video link at an important conference in Ottawa organized by <a href="http://www.thetandemproject.org/" target="_blank">The Tandem Project </a>on Para-Sport!<br />
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After that it was time to drive back to Guelph to work ounce again with the RunnerSpace team on the live stream of the New Balance Guelph Inferno Track Meet at Alumni Stadium on the campus of the University of Guelph on Saturday night - another of the Athletics Canada NTL Meets. Bob Akamian and I were joined on the show by two-time World Champion Hurdler <a href="https://twitter.com/perditafelicien" target="_blank">Perdita Felcien</a>. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with Perdita. My role, on the commentary was to provide track-side analysis, and post race interviews with race winners when we could fit them in. The meet concluded with the Canadian 10,000m Championships on the track for men and women. Olympic Marathoner <a href="https://twitter.com/EricGillis42_2k" target="_blank">Eric Gillis </a>won the men's race and PanAm Games Marathon Bronze Medalist, <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelHannahRD" target="_blank">Rachel Hannah</a> won the women's race. Other highlights included, <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorpmilne" target="_blank">Taylor Milne</a> getting the Olympic Standard in the 3000m S/C and breaking the track record in the process!<br />
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At the conclusion of the meet in Guelph, it was time to drive back to Welland for Day-2 of the triathlon there on Sunday - the featured long-course race being run over some new distances - 2k swim/56k bike/15k run. Conditions were hot and windy, but nearly 400 triathletes competed had a great, time and marveled at, again what an awesome triathlon race location the International Flatwater Center is!<br />
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I'm taking it easy this week and weekend!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-42900083625653465992016-03-09T09:06:00.000-08:002016-11-04T15:50:15.680-07:00My 2016 Race/Event Announcing Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPwzFjZe-D_WADjUSP2oQH6o3WzWi_XhZxPUdqxf1uB9_xGpDttK3_mDX043NC-lCP4mle4gUBdAfjen939h4lJBBvKol440-HkQ5zYyyMw5Aqypt1P8zjk75qHIB4h1SeS4sFL7l1rY/s1600/Last+Finishers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPwzFjZe-D_WADjUSP2oQH6o3WzWi_XhZxPUdqxf1uB9_xGpDttK3_mDX043NC-lCP4mle4gUBdAfjen939h4lJBBvKol440-HkQ5zYyyMw5Aqypt1P8zjk75qHIB4h1SeS4sFL7l1rY/s320/Last+Finishers.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Bringing in the last finisher at the Toronto Island Triathlon! Photo - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mysportsshooter/" target="_blank">My Sports Shooter</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have a busy schedule of race/events that I will be working at this year as Race/Event Announcer. Below you will find my schedule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love doing this. It's a great privilege and honor to be involved in so many amazing race/events over the course of a year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Safe and happy training to you all. I look forward to seeing you on many start lines and being a small part of your dreams and ambitions at the finish line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's DO this!</span><br />
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<b>My 2016 Race & Event Announcing Schedule is as Follows:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Feb 19 - 21 Athletics Canada National Indoor Championships for ACTV & RunnerSpace <a href="http://www.athleticscanada.tv/">http://www.athleticscanada.tv/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mar 4/5 - Athletics Ontario, Indoor Track Championships -<a href="http://athleticsontario.ca/" target="_blank"> http://athleticsontario.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">April 3 - Toronto Triathlon Festival VIP Event - <a href="http://www.torontotriathlonfestival.com/">http://www.torontotriathlonfestival.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apr 24 - Paris-to-Ancaster <a href="http://www.parisancaster.com/">http://www.parisancaster.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 1 - Goodlife Toronto Marathon <a href="http://www.torontomarathon.com/">http://www.torontomarathon.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 8 - Ottawa SportingLife 10K <a href="http://www.sportinglife10k.ca/Ottawa/">http://www.sportinglife10k.ca/Ottawa/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 15 - Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York <a href="https://gfny.com/">https://gfny.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 27 & 29 - Grey County Road Race & ITT <a href="http://greycountyroadrace.com/">http://greycountyroadrace.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 28 Spin-The-Lakes Tour - <a href="http://www.bikemuskoka.ca/">http://www.bikemuskoka.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 4 - Destination Races Leesburg, VA Wine 1/2 Marathon <a href="http://destinationraces.com/runvirginia/">http://destinationraces.com/runvirginia/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 5 - Becel Ride for Heart <a href="http://www.heartandstroke.com/">http://www.heartandstroke.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 10 - Cambridge Mile <a href="http://www.runforlife.ca/classic-mile/">http://www.runforlife.ca/classic-mile/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 11- Recharge with Milk Woodstock Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/woodstock/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/woodstock/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 22 - Halifax NTL Meet for ACTV & RunnerSpace<a href="http://www.athleticscanada.tv/" target="_blank"> http://www.athleticscanada.tv/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 24 - Guelph Inferno Road Mile <a href="http://www.speedriverinferno.com/">http://www.speedriverinferno.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 25/26 - Recharge with Milk Welland Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/welland/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/welland/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 25(night) - Guelph NTL Meet for ACTV & RunnerSpace <a href="http://www.athleticscanada.tv/">http://www.athleticscanada.tv/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 9 - Recharge with Milk Belwood Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/belwood/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/belwood/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 10 - Toronto Triathlon Festival <a href="http://www.torontotriathlonfestival.com/">http://www.torontotriathlonfestival.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 16/17 - Recharge with Milk Gravenhurst Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/gravenhurst/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/gravenhurst/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 24 - TriFun Kids Triathlon <a href="http://www.trifunkids.com/">http://www.trifunkids.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 31 - Recharge with Milk Kingston Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/kingston/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/kingston/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Aug 6/7 - Recharge with Milk Bracebridge Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/bracebridge/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/bracebridge/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Aug 20/21 - Recharge with Milk Toronto Island Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/torontoisland/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/torontoisland/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Aug 27/28 - Recharge with Milk Wasaga Beach Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/wasagabeach/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/wasagabeach/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 1 - 5 Tour of Alberta - <a href="http://tourofalberta.ca/">http://tourofalberta.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 10/11 - Recharge with Milk Georgina Triathlon <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/georgina/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/georgina/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 16/17 - Centurion Canada <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/georgina/">http://www.multisportcanada.com/georgina/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 18 - Barrelman Triathlon <a href="http://niagarafallstriathlon.com/">http://niagarafallstriathlon.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 24/25 - The Canadian Track Cycling Championships for Cycling Canada - <a href="http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/">http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 29 - Oct 1 Milton International Classic for Cycling Canada - <a href="http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/">http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oct 2 - Cycle For St Joes <a href="http://www.foundation.stjoe.on.ca/">http://www.foundation.stjoe.on.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oct 17 - Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon for 680 News/Traffic <a href="http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/index.htm">http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/index.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oct 29 - CXTO - <a href="http://www.cxto.ca/">http://www.cxto.ca/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nov 5 - OFSAA XC for ACTV & RunnerSpace <a href="http://www.athleticscanada.tv/">http://www.athleticscanada.tv/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nov 28 - Canadian Cross-Country Championships for ACTV & RunnerSpace <a href="http://www.athleticscanada.tv/">http://www.athleticscanada.tv/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you are looking for a Race/Event Announcer to add an entertaining, and engaging presence to your race/event, and take it to the next level, please contact me - stevefleck61@gmail.com or 416.888.7324</span><br />
<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-67345878507062306062015-09-24T09:38:00.001-07:002015-09-24T09:47:28.689-07:00The Magic Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/" target="_blank">MultiSport Canada</a> HQ Trailer at the Kingston Triathlon (one of the longest running triathlons in North America!)</span></div>
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I first heard the term, <i>"The Magic Show"</i> in the context of endurance sports events, from 8-time Ironman World Champion <a href="https://twitter.com/paulanewbyfrase" target="_blank">Paula Newby-Fraser</a>, when Paula was working for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/graham.fraser.353?fref=ts" target="_blank">Graham Fraser</a>, when Graham was running all of the <a href="http://www.ironman.com/" target="_blank">Ironman </a>races in North America. Paula was referring to the Magic Show that was the travelling road show that was Ironman at the time - moving from race location to race location, arriving in the Ironman race site, in town-x, and transforming the race site, into the amazing thing that the Ironman race site was with all the bells and whistles! But this could describe almost all triathlons, running and cycling events. The Magic Show goes on all over the place at thousands of events every weekend!<br />
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Endurance sports races/events, be they triathlons, running or cycling all do this. They transform a city street, a park, a conservation area, where ever the race is, into what the race/event participants see on race day. Almost everything, be it the finish gantry, the porta-potties, the signage and so on, has to be brought in and set up. The transformation for some of the bigger races - say the big city Marathons, or the Ironman triathlons can be extraordinary.<br />
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However, the work, and the magic, that goes into even mid-sized races/events, is substantial! I am the official race and event announcer for the ReCharge With Milk triathlon series in Ontario that is run by <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/" target="_blank">MultiSport Canada</a> (MSC). These are triathlon events that can have upwards of 1,000 entrants. The series itself is 11-events stretched out over the course of the summer in Southern Ontario. It's the largest triathlon series in Canada! At each event venue, be it a quiet conservation area, or a busy down-town location in a mid sized city, the Magic Show goes on and they transform the place into an awesome race venue for the athletes.<br />
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With a triathlon you are really putting on three races - a swim race, a cycling race and a running race, with a transition area, a space for an Expo and then the finish area infrastructure. It's a lot of work to get this all organized and set up and each race site is unique. The minute details - just keep coming and coming: Heavy rains the week before have made a part of the what was supposed to be the transition area boggy. A change in road permitting, will not allow access to a certain road. Last minute road construction that was not communicated can close roads. And so on!<br />
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The MSC crew move all their stuff in and out for each event in the series - it's remarkable to watch the set-up and the tear-down that happens and the work that goes into all this!<br />
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Nothing seems to phase the MSC crew - even horrific race-day weather - which is rare, but NEEDS to be planned for with details, is all worked out in advance, so when they face it, there is a plan and you implement it. Nothing is left to chance! That's part of the Magic Show to! Although, that's not really magic, just extraordinarily amazing planning and implementation!<br />
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I've often said, if you want to hire a Race/Event Director - hire a Triathlon Race Director, because, they are not putting on one race, <i>they are putting on three races simultaneously!</i><br />
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Race participants know <i>none of this.</i> They just show up and expect that everything will be in place. That there will be no wait at the porta-potties and that the 10K run is . . . measured to be exactly 10K. (With mobile GPS now, even course length accuracy is very important). That everything will be taken care of for them at the race. The expectations for running, triathlon and cycling race/event participants these days are VERY high. An event management company like MultiSport Canada knows this, and they go overhead and above to make it a great experience for each and every participant.<br />
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MSC Founder<a href="https://twitter.com/johnsalt" target="_blank"> John Salt* </a>even stands just past the finish-line at every race and shakes the hand of<i> every</i> person that crosses the finish line. I've heard John say, "If you want to know if an athlete had a good time at your race, just stand at the finish-line and shake their hand. If they have a good or bad day they will tell you right there. In 14 years, I've only had a few that were unhappy"! Now that's being in touch with your customers!<br />
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And that's the story of the Magic Show!<br />
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* Some bonus content: A podcast - Bob Babbitt interviewing MSC's John Salt <a href="http://www.babbittville.com/babbittville-radio/john-salt/">http://www.babbittville.com/babbittville-radio/john-salt/</a> A great listen!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-20863233756272425182015-08-17T16:10:00.000-07:002015-08-19T08:59:30.249-07:00It's All About The Rubber!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">For now - on a good road!</span></div>
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Life's to short to ride on lousy rubber!<br />
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I've never understood this - people spend thousands on bikes and then go cheap on the one part of the bike that connects them to the ground - their tires! Not sure why that is. This small contact patch, your front and back tires have with the road, is vitally important to the performance and enjoyment of your riding.<br />
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Many are paranoid about punctures, and this over-rules EVERYTHING when it comes to tire choice. It is worth being worried about, but not to the extent that many cyclists and triathletes concern themselves with. I've found the best clincher tires, installed properly to actually be remarkably durable! My wife, top coach and elite level road racer <a href="https://twitter.com/paolinaallan" target="_blank">Paolina Allan </a>and myself, ride a considerable number of kilometers in a given year of riding. On average, we get 2 - 3 flat tires between the two of us each year. That's it!<br />
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Our current tire of choice is the <a href="http://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tyres/race-tyres/grand-prix-4000-s2" target="_blank">Continental 4000S II</a> tires. We've had these tires on most of our wheel-sets for several years now. We ride on a combination of good roads, bad roads, really bad roads, and even stretches of gravel roads a couple of times a month. We don't baby these tires in <i>any way</i> . . . and that's the flat rate: 2 - 3 on-the-road flats/year. Last year I think there was only 1 between the two of us!<br />
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Over the course of many years of cycling, we've ridden the best tires from, <a href="http://www.vittoria.com/" target="_blank">Vittoria </a>and <a href="http://bike.michelinman.com/" target="_blank">Michelin </a>as well, and the results are similar.<br />
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I'm not a numbers and tech-guy but those that know far more about this than I do tell me that, the Continental 4000S II's offer the best all around combination of performance, and reasonable durability of all of the top tires these days. I like the feel of them, and on the durability side, our own on-the-road experience speaks for itself. Also, they go on/off all the rims/wheels that we need to get them on/off easily - particularly after they have been on a rim for a bit and inflated at the proper pressure.<br />
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I can't emphasis this enough - proper installation of tires, from the removal of old tires and a flat tube through to the installation of a new tube and tires is VERY important. It's not that hard, and it is something you very well may need to do on the side of the road on a training ride or a race! No one should need to make, "the call of shame", nor need to abandon a race because of a flat tire! It's a minor inconvenience! If you know what you are doing, it's a 2 - 3 minute exercise and you are back rolling again in no time. There are numerous online resources for this. Commit to being able to do it yourself! Many get flat, after flat, after flat . . . these are almost always installation issues.<br />
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Which brings me to my final point about rubber and tires - many over inflate. Triathletes are notorious for this. It will vary from tire size to tire size, and rim shape ( the new wider rims vs standard rims), and rider weight. But generally speaking, the proper psi, is less than you think - which will render a more comfortable, smoother and ultimately faster ride. Check with your tire mfg - most have a chart on their web sites.<br />
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As always - Your Mileage May Vary(YMMV)<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-90677019736865321522015-01-02T09:46:00.000-08:002015-01-02T09:48:12.962-08:00Triathletes - Two Special Requests for 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Two time Olympic triathlon medalist, <a href="https://twitter.com/simonwhitfield" target="_blank">Simon Whitfield</a> now encourages others to experience triathlon. Here's he's helping out para-triathletes at the Toronto Triathlon Festival. Picture -<a href="http://bobhatcherphotography.zenfolio.com/" target="_blank"> Bob Hatcher</a></span></div>
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No New Year resolutions for me. However I do have some requests for you.<br />
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Are you a triathlete? Have you been at it for a few years now? If you have, and you know the ropes, I have a couple of special requests for you for 2015:<br />
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1. <b>Encourage two people to do their first triathlon this year!</b> Help them out. Be their mentor, and make sure that they get to a starting line of a triathlon race sometime this year. Don't drone on and on about all of YOUR training, the 50 hours a week you train, and the 200 Ironman races you have done! That's most likely to <i>discourage</i> your recruits. Keep it simple, for them.<br />
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Many small local races ( read on to #2) have basic entry level triathlons, that are very short. You barely need to train for these things. A decent level of fitness, commitment and an open mind, is all that is required. The <a href="http://www.rechargewithmilk.ca/" target="_blank">ReCharge With Milk</a> triathlon series run by <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/" target="_blank">Multisport Canada </a>in Ontario has races called a <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/torontoisland/giat/" target="_blank">Give-It-A-Tri</a> (See - the name is <i>perfect</i> for first timers!) at many of their events. The distances are: 400m-swim/10K -bike/2.5K-run. This is something anyone can do, with a basic level of fitness and training.<br />
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2.<b> Race More! </b>There's a movement in the food business of eating local. It's better for you. It's better for local businesses and farmers and it's better for the environment. I'm saying - <i>Race Local</i>. It's better for you. It's better for local race organizers and businesses and it 's better for the environment!<br />
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These races don't have to be big, long, "world championship" type of events. It can be a local 5K, or perhaps a local sprint triathlon. Don't discount the 5K - 5K run fitness is the foundation of all other running performances! That 18 - 30 minutes you stay right at the edge, will tweak ALL of the key physiological parameters to make you faster at ALL races distances!<br />
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Finally, we do all this training so that we can race - that's where the thrill, emotion and the fun is. Don't you want to experience more of that, and be better/faster? Years ago there was saying, that seems to have been lost in the mists of training time - <i>"Racing IS the best training" </i>It's true!<br />
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Change things up this year!<br />
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Get more people into this great sport of triathlon and get out and race more yourself.<br />
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See you at the finish line!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;"> </span>Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-26061035811030090242014-11-21T07:06:00.000-08:002014-11-21T07:06:53.413-08:00Fast & Furious - Is Shorter Better for Triathlon?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The racing at the Las Vegas USAT Super Sprint was fast and furious!</span></div>
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In the space of 48 hours back in September I saw the two most exciting triathlon races I had seen in some time, live and in person.<br />
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At <a href="http://www.interbike.com/" target="_blank">Interbike</a> on a Thursday night, under the lights in Las Vegas, I watched the finals of the<a href="http://www.usatriathlon.org/" target="_blank"> USAT</a> <a href="http://www.usatriathlon.org/events/super-sprint-series/las-vegas-2014.aspx" target="_blank">Super Sprint Series</a>, produced in cooperation with Marc Lee and<a href="http://www.sstrigp.com/" target="_blank"> Kanga Productions</a>. This short and sweet, swim/bike/run racing, all took place in a large vacant parking lot, that was a stones throw away from the famous Las Vegas strip. The women's final, in particular was a barn-burner, with all 10 women, swimming, cycling and running neck and neck, and with a desperate and exciting sprint finish to the line, that almost needed a photo-timer to sort out!<br />
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I hoped on a plane shortly after the women finished in Las Vegas, and headed back home, and directly to the <a href="http://www.centurioncycling.com/" target="_blank">Subaru Centurion Canada Cycling </a>event on Friday, in Blue Mountain, about 2 hours north of Toronto where I was working as the Race and Event Announcer. Part of the Centurion weekend of events, was the <a href="http://www.subaru.ca/" target="_blank">Subaru</a> <a href="http://www.centurioncycling.com/events/subaru-egames/" target="_blank">eGames</a> triathlon - in set up and concept it was similar to the USAT Super Sprint, with very short, repeated legs of swim/bike/run. Unfortunately, inclement weather necessitated the cancelling of the swim, which turned the eGames triathlon into a duathlon. Despite the absence of swimming, the racing over the very short, multiple lap run and bike legs was <i>very</i> exciting, with the winners in doubt right up until the end.<br />
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Video highlights of the Subaru eGames are here - <a href="http://vimeo.com/108393955">http://vimeo.com/108393955</a><br />
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Earlier, in the summer, I watched on TV some of the<a href="http://www.triathlon.org/" target="_blank"> ITU </a>World Cup event from Hamburg, Germany. The part that I watched was the 4-person, national team relay - 2 men and 2 women, racing again, over very short multi-lap swim/bike/run legs, and then when done, tagging off to a teammate. The race was amazing - with non-stop action, and some interesting strategy thrown in of which athlete would go in which position for the various national teams. The whole thing lasted less than an hour and made for great spectating and TV!<br />
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A year and a half ago, I was part of a two-day consultative exercise, that brought together many key people in the sport of triathon, from race and event management, from sports administration, from the media, and some top level marketing people. Also invited were Canadian Olympians and Olympic medalists from 4 different sports! The focus - come up with a new style or format for triathlon racing and competition. We did come up with something exciting - but for now, I'll have to keep this under wraps. Like the above examples, I can tell you that it was short and fast!<br />
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One interesting conclusion, that came out of the above two-day consultation was an agreement, that while we thought this new short and fast concept could be a winner, ironically, the current modern-day-triathlete, may not be a big fan of it! And that is why triathlon right now is at a bit of a cross-roads - some exciting shorter race formats are being experimented with, but for the most part the larger masses of Age-Group and participatory triathletes are more focused on longer races and seem little interested in it!<br />
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The situation is somewhat akin to what Nordic Skiing went through a number of years ago - the skate technique changed everything. In particular, the format of the racing. Shorter race formats started to be introduced, which were much more viewer friendly on-site, but also for TV. At first this was met with a fair amount of resistance from traditionalists, but after time, people started to come around to their popularity.The sprint events at FIS Nordic Skiing events now draw the largest crowds, the biggest TV numbers AND, perhaps most importantly, young skiers are being drawn into nordic skiing, because <i>they want to do the sprint events!</i><br />
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<b>On that last point - could there be some lessons for triathlon there?</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302948px; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;"> </span><br />
<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-15064193592196521212014-11-19T08:13:00.002-08:002014-11-19T16:08:48.474-08:00The Challenges of Cycling in York Region<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Why is it that only a few roads in York Region get this extra strip of pavement to the right?</span></div>
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An event called the <a href="http://www.sharetheroad.ca/york-region-bike-summit-s16955" target="_blank">York Region Bike Summit</a> was/is going on today. I found out about this too late to attend.<br />
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I lieu of of attending, I thought I might sum up a few anecdotes/observations/questions, from a regular cyclist who's lived in the heart of York Region, in Aurora for 14 years.<br />
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They have been resurfacing many of the secondary roads in the region, more out in the country-side, recently which is great.* Why is it when they do this, do they not add that extra meter of pavement on the other side of the white right line to all the roads? Safer for cyclists and for motorists!<br />
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I see that bike lanes do get added intermittently in some of the municipalities. Newmarket did add a bike lane to Bathurst on their section of Bathhurst when the road was refurbished recently, but when Aurora refurbished Bathurst on their stretch, extended to the south . . no bike lane! Why?<br />
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Aurora just added a bike lane on Bloomington Side Road between, Bayview and Yonge street. It's a great addition. Nice to see. Unfortunately this bike lane goes from nowhere, to . . . nowhere! I've cycled along there maybe 15 times since the spring. I've <i>never</i> seen another cyclist on it!<br />
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Some form of education, perhaps starting right at Drivers Education, needs to go on regarding cyclists. It's extraordinary the numbers of drivers I encounter on roads in York Region who tell me flat out, and with a straight face that, "Bikes are not allowed on the road!"<br />
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The sprawl has led to many services, and retail, being too far to walk for many (although it's not that far for some!), but a great deal of services and retail, is within an easy bike ride of thousands of homes in York region! I cycled over to a new shopping mall near me a few years ago that was less than 1km from my house. There was no proper place to lock up my bike. I polity asked, the store manger why this was the case. Her response: "We did not even think of that!"<br />
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When I walk around my neighborhood, and I peer into the garages of neighbors, I see that more than a few houses do have bicycles of some form in those garages. This is good news.Yet, I <i>never</i> see these people out riding their bikes . . . ever! Why?<br />
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The sprawl goes on and on. When they sell these ever sprawling sub-divisions in York Region, the collateral marketing material used by the developers (brochures, billboards, construction hoarding etc . . .) seems to frequently picture people walking, and . . riding bicycles, with tag lines such as, "Live close to nature . . . ". Yet, in an extension of the last paragraph, it's <i>rare</i> to actually see people out walking or riding anywhere in York region!<br />
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My sense is that the forces at work here are massively cultural/societal and will be <i>really</i> hard to change. When people are asked why they don't cycle more they'll come up with all manner of reasons and excuses - safety, weather, distance . . etc. My gut feeling, and I hate to say this, that as a culture and a society, particularly in heavily suburban areas of North America, such as York Region, we are becoming more lethargic and lazy! Go ahead pile-on. However, the ultimate evidence and acid test of this . . . our ever expanding waist lines!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-28855177842097501662014-08-27T10:51:00.000-07:002018-03-21T20:09:03.892-07:00Finish Lines<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">K-Town Tri Finish Line. Photo - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bob.hatcherrhb?fref=photo" target="_blank">Bob Hatcher</a></span></div>
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The finish line of a an endurance sports event be it running, triathlon or cycling is a special place. It's the goal. The destination. The place that many want to get to. It's when the clock stops. It's a place of high emotion. It's where you want to be!<br />
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I am lucky in my work as a Race & Event Announcer that I get to stand there at many finish lines of many races, in many different places and see it all! The pain. The joy. The exuberance. The sportsmanship. The battles. The camaraderie. The friendship. The solo runs across the line and the photo finishes. I get to witness it all up close and personal. It's the best part of the job! Finish lines are FUN!<br />
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In a way, the finish line is a metaphor for life. We set the goal. We commit. We work. We organize. We train. We organize. We start. We finish! Across the finish line family, friends, loved ones, high fives and handshakes await. We then get to hopefully bask in the accomplishment and fulfillment of it all!<br />
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A few weeks ago I was back in Kingston, Ontario at the historic <a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/kingston/" target="_blank">K-Town Triathlon</a>. This is one of the oldest triathlons in North America. It was the first race that I remember coming to in the mid 1980's, that had large-city main-street run in, and a big marquee at the finish. At the time it was the longest race I had ever done (2K/55k/15K). Getting across that finish-line really meant something to me at the time.<br />
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Working the finish line microphone on that morning in Kingston was a real treat for me - to relive my memories from a long time ago, but also to be there, and be part of new memories and experiences for many others.<br />
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<b>What do race finish lines mean to you?</b><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-71594416580620669052014-08-21T13:02:00.001-07:002014-08-21T13:02:54.328-07:00The Road Less Taken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I first got into cycling via the sport of triathlon, one of my favorite places to train and ride was my family's cottage in the Muskoka area, about two hours north of Toronto. <i>To get to the paved roads</i>, I had to ride 5 - 10km over gravel roads at the start of each ride, and then also at the end of every ride. Thus I became used to and adept at riding on the gravel and dirt early on.<br />
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Whenever I am out riding my road bike and the road turns to gravel, I typically just keep going. For me it's always been part of the adventure. And if you know what you are doing, riding on gravel is not as challenging as it first seems. I wrote a primer on rough road, and gravel road riding a few years ago. You can see it <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2009/07/rough-ride.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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In and around cities and even on further out into the country, there has been a movement over the past 20 years to pave many roads, that were at one time gravel. However, if you keep heading on out from suburban areas, eventually, some/many roads turn permanently to gravel!<br />
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Here's perhaps the best thing about riding on gravel roads - <i>few if any cars</i>! On a recent two hour ride on gravel roads, I encountered one vehicle. They stopped and wanted to know if I was OK or lost! That <i>never</i> happens on paved roads these days! With cyclist/motorists confrontations at an all-time high and growing - this very fact alone, makes gravel road riding appealing. Life does seem to be more laid back on gravel!<br />
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As noted above, a road bike, can handle the gravel very well - you may need to go slower and pick your way through some of the rougher spots, but a ride on a gravel road is not a time trial. As interest has built, some bike manufacturers have started to make gravel road specific bikes. Overkill, you may say . . . read on!<br />
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<a href="http://www.raleighusa.com/" target="_blank">Raleigh Canada</a> was good enough to send me one of their Tamland series bikes for a test ride. For several weeks a put the<a href="http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes-road-race-tamland-tamland-1" target="_blank"> Tamland I</a> through it's paces, including the 2 hour ride noted above. Compared to my normal road ride - the Tamland I is much better choice for the gravel. The longer wheel base, lowered bottom bracket, and relaxed geometry, all add up to a much more stable and confident feel on gravel. You can really roll along at speed.<br />
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Other features of the bike - the fat 700 X 40 Clement gravel specific tires, the Shimano 105 drive-train, and the TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes, allow you to really start to roll with precision and control after you get used to being on the gravel.<br />
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Now, this is no light-weight, but the Reynolds 651 chromoly steel frame, is extraordinarily rugged, and the mass, actually adds to the confidence when you are bombing along in loose gravel and over washboard! You feel . . well . . grounded!<br />
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When you have a bike like this, the mind really starts to wander . . . where could I use this? Where could I ride it? Obviously, it was designed for the gravel - but the bike would also be an awesome urban commutator - with ample room for fenders, plus the benefit of being able to handle the terrible pavement that now seems to be common place in many older cities. It would also make a great touring bike - and with a change to lighter/narrower tires and wheels it could also be a great machine for the odd century ride or Gran Fondo.<br />
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The Tamland could also be pressed, again with different tires, into use in cyclo-cross racing, but the geometry is a bit off of what a true CX bike is all about. That being said, light trail use, even in the mud, would be well within the bikes capabilities.<br />
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For a dedicated road rider, who's not interested in a full blown mountain-bike, or the triathlete who wants a second non-TT bike, something like the Tamland, makes an awesome choice. You really can't go wrong!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"> </span>Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-42777731244783107792014-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:002014-06-23T09:04:08.653-07:00The Key Contact Point on a Bike - Part 2. Time For New Shoes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_1e5cv0aG7Iqfgms2wToltQPb-6s_wLbw4oK2n6L5gpuvZHno4FUwEgSsXgD1BHRa60dYbNKp6L3EKjNW8x_Sxekj-d5uQAxRisJ_wnB-TgYJfS-ApZpvkkoBz8Lm4o9ZrdZM0lY9ck/s1600/Aurora-20140430-01014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_1e5cv0aG7Iqfgms2wToltQPb-6s_wLbw4oK2n6L5gpuvZHno4FUwEgSsXgD1BHRa60dYbNKp6L3EKjNW8x_Sxekj-d5uQAxRisJ_wnB-TgYJfS-ApZpvkkoBz8Lm4o9ZrdZM0lY9ck/s1600/Aurora-20140430-01014.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have vivid memories of my first real cycling shoes. They were purchased in the early 80's - black, all leather, lace-up Detto shoes. It made me feel like a real cyclist. They had holes all over them to help keep your feet cool. I don't recall the coolness, but I do recall having the Dettos shined up, by a street-shoe-shiner, in Baja Mexico when I was down there to do the Tecate-Ensenada bike ride back then. The shine-job left permanent block polk-a-dots on my socks!<br />
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I was having a bit of a flash-back to the Detto's when I opened the box of my new <a href="http://www.giro.com/ca_en/empire-acc-20862.html/" target="_blank">Giro Empire ACC</a> shoes. Like a few other things in cycling - everything old is new again, and the Empires don't disappoint on this front - they are lace-up shoes, for one, and they have these, not really holes in the uppers, but micro perforations to aid breath-ability!<br />
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The Empire shoe model started as a collaborative, one-off project between Giro and <a href="http://www.bmc-racing.com/int-en/home/" target="_blank">BMC Pro</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorphinney" target="_blank">Taylor Phinney</a>. Phinney came to road cycling from the track, and some of the shoe manufacturers still made lace-up shoes for track cyclists. The project grew from there with the Empire being introduced to the impressive Giro shoe line 2 years ago. It's started to catch on!<br />
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Most modern cycling shoes have given up on laces, and most commercially available shoes and the most popular shoes, be they for road cyclists or triathletes*, will use <a href="http://www.velcro.com/" target="_blank">Velcro</a> closure straps, ratcheting systems, or now becoming very popular, <a href="http://www.boatechnology.com/" target="_blank">Boa</a> closure mechanisms - or a combination of two of these systems.<br />
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*FWIW - I note that the Empire ACC is <i>not</i> a shoe for triathletes!! Unless you like <i>longer</i> transitions times.<br />
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Laces, may seem old-school, and a bit of step back-wards, but, you can <i>really </i>micro-dial in the fit across the top of the shoe and around your foot. Of course, the one major draw-back of this, compered to the other, now, more conventional mechanisms is an inability to adjust on the fly with the Empires. You need to dial in the fit and the tension <i>before</i> you start riding and can only change ounce off the bike. I was able to sort this out after the first few rides! One tip I found helpful - put the shoes on early in the getting-ready-for-the-ride process. Then if you have under/over-tightened, you can change before getting on the bike. In other words, don't wait to put the shoes on last, and jump on the bike!<br />
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I'm very particular about cycling shoe fit and am cognizant of the fact that cycling shoe fit is very individual. However, I will say that the Giro Empire with it's completely seam-less upper fit my somewhat normal, average width feet, very nicely. I did have to size down a half size - I've been consistently a 44 in several other brands over the last few years - 39.5 was the magic number for the Empires.<br />
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While the Emprires may seem a throw-back to days of old and the Detto's, other than the laces the Empires are cutting edge in cycling shoes. They are feathery light! The <a href="http://www.eastoncycling.com/" target="_blank">Easton</a> EC90 sole is one of the stiffest and thinnest around. The upper is made from EvoFiber utilizing silver embedded anti-microbial X-Static fibers in the lining. The shoes also come with Giro's own SuperNatural fit-kit of an insole and 3 interchangeable arch supports. I fiddled with these, but in the end used the custom molded insoles from a previous pair of shoes - for me that yielded the best and most comfortable fit. They've even come up with a solution for, what to do with the lace ends ounce you have them tied up - you put them through an elastic hold-down strap, that's part of the tongue!<br />
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On the road and on the bike they have been outstanding. I run Look pedals and cleats (<a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2014/04/the-key-contact-point-on-bike-part-1.html" target="_blank">see more here</a>) - mounting and interfacing was perfect. The sole is a bit flatter front-to-back, than my previous shoes, but after a few rides, I started to really like this, particularly when ankle-ling in the pedal stroke in a bigger gear. The inability to not be able to make adjustments on the fly, as previously noted, for me has been a non-issue. I wore them early-on (5 - 6th ride), in the 100 mile <a href="http://granfondony.com/" target="_blank">Gran Fondo New York </a>race, and never needed to change lace tension the whole way!<br />
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Finally, they sure are conversation-starters - people want to know more about them. "What are those", people ask? And so I tell them a bit of the above story!<br />
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Thanks to Heath and the team at <a href="http://www.labicicletta.com/" target="_blank">La Bicicletta</a> in Toronto for help with a size exchange.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"> </span>Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-87638063628386334222014-06-03T08:55:00.000-07:002014-06-03T08:58:34.323-07:00Success in Sales. Parallels with Endurance Sports and, is it all about the Follow-Up?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYroAEyO4F0SNjC1nUtv5R33BW-2y2Tg6CvXjJxGFLx4BhGZd3SldxPRgY5UQWmk2nZSeGfQq-6ZUJxL7YW2Wj4lLw9eVG3IyU2i3Vc9hvLMD7ea5Sqf8p_0QvfTVKtlJ9I7OCXzuaqM4/s1600/Sales.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYroAEyO4F0SNjC1nUtv5R33BW-2y2Tg6CvXjJxGFLx4BhGZd3SldxPRgY5UQWmk2nZSeGfQq-6ZUJxL7YW2Wj4lLw9eVG3IyU2i3Vc9hvLMD7ea5Sqf8p_0QvfTVKtlJ9I7OCXzuaqM4/s1600/Sales.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The poster above, from the National Sales Executives Association* has been circulating around on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn </a>in the last week or so. As many do, I often get asked what I do. I've worked in Sales or it's newer, sexier, moniker these days, Business Development (BD), for many years. The stats, above would be a good starting point to explaining what I do. I do a lot of following up!<br />
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People who don't work in Sales or BD, will not understand the above. But the facts and the stats speak for themselves. In business, "success", at it's most fundamental, is about selling something, to someone! Thus, Sales is critical to the whole process. We've all heard the over-night success stories and the small start-up that hit it out-of-the-park from the get-go and was then bought for a billion dollars! Those business stories, while fun to read and inspirational, are the exception and not the rule. For the vast majority of businesses, it's a drip-drip-drip process, practiced over time (read- years), that leads to "success"<br />
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It's at times like this, that, I feel blessed to have a back-ground as an endurance sports athlete. The parallels are obvious. You need to be committed and focused. You need to really enjoy doing what you do. You need understand that really what's important is the preparation, because there are so many variables beyond your control, that impact the outcome, that you can't really worry about it. You just need to know, if you prepare properly, you will reach that goal. There will be set-backs, but again, the focus and the preparation will keep you on track.<br />
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Olympic Triathlon double medalist (Gold & Silver), <a href="http://simonwhitfield.com/" target="_blank">Simon Whitfield</a> had a phrase and motto, <i>"The relentless pursuit of . . .".</i> That sort of sums it up nicely. Whitfield was also big on not worrying about outcomes . . . just staying focused on preparation, because, "That's all I can control"<br />
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It's the same in Sales or BD. Some will look at the numbers above as being rather bleak and grim. Others will look at it as an opportunity! That first stat is startling - "48% of sales people never follow-up with a prospect". Following up is, really, if you read through the whole poster above, what it's all about. You are <i>always</i>, following up! It's like breathing and brushing your teeth for Sales People! But, there is a right way to do this . . that's a discussion for another day. Point is half of sales people, <i>never</i> follow up!<br />
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All those lessons of the endurance sports athlete start to apply - in short, it's a long road, to success, in sales and business, so you better enjoy the process, you need to stay focused & committed, be relentless, you need to worry about preparation, not outcomes, and be in it for the long haul. There are few over-night sensations! Oh . . and make sure you follow up!<br />
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*A quick <a href="https://www.google.ca/" target="_blank">Google </a>search revealed that this Association, is fictitious. However, for Business-to-Business sales, while a generalization, and perhaps anecdotal by someone, I don't think they are too far off. <b>What do you think?</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"> </span><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-6490270280667451642014-05-16T14:14:00.001-07:002014-05-16T14:14:07.185-07:00Gran Fondo New York: Pre-Event<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ0QApkUzpA1sep3-Y92zN0EI9ctGn_l4hKhHe8rrDMkKW5eGFn4NbeKFei1i-Zk6uv381woru3PBIuM3ASR9cOFR2t80r3eAOwMYNxWiL0NXYds-AwRjZG1HifLkppxykcqgDkwdlk0/s1600/IMG-20140516-01033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ0QApkUzpA1sep3-Y92zN0EI9ctGn_l4hKhHe8rrDMkKW5eGFn4NbeKFei1i-Zk6uv381woru3PBIuM3ASR9cOFR2t80r3eAOwMYNxWiL0NXYds-AwRjZG1HifLkppxykcqgDkwdlk0/s1600/IMG-20140516-01033.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You are greeted by this when you walk in the Expo at <a href="http://granfondony.com/" target="_blank">Gran Fondo New York</a>!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/fluhme" target="_blank">Uli </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/lidiafluhme" target="_blank">Lidia</a> Fluhme are the driving, or should I say, riding forces behind Gran Fondo New York. In four short years they have taken their event from a start-up, to a 7000 entrant, cycling race and event, that has entrants from 70 countries and 48 of the U.S. states.<br />
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That it happens in New York City is a help - anything associated with NYC tends to be a big deal, but Gran Fondo New York has really set the standard, for what a Grand Fondo event should be!<br />
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Today was the Press Conference and the opening day of the Expo. One thing you notice right away with Gran Fondo New York is the attention to detail - from the branding, to the quality of the volunteer help. Other event and race directors should take note. Some don't understand this, but in a competitive market for both, participants and for sponsors, you need to think more like a business, and your brand has to be at the forefront of <i>everything </i>you do.<br />
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The really good endurance sports events get this. Events such as the <a href="http://www.ironman.com/" target="_blank">Ironman </a>triathlons, <a href="http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/" target="_blank">The New York City Marathon</a>, the <a href="http://www.baa.org/" target="_blank">Boston Marathon,</a> and others get it that, their event brand my shine bigger and brighter than the event itself. How else to explain, why people will tattoo the Ironman logo on their bodies, or spend years trying to qualify for Boston.<br />
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Gran Fondo New York has risen quickly to this same level of brand prestige and profile in the world of large mass participation cycling events, and perhaps all of endurance sports. The Fluhme's have gone out of their way to not only ensure that they run a very high quality event, but have taken the extra steps, to make sure that the GFNY brand is always at the forefront of everything they do. See picture at the top! <span style="text-align: center;">My wife, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/paolinaallan" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Paolina Allan</a><span style="text-align: center;"> posing. It was a popular spot for pictures!</span><br />
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At the press conference today, kept moving along by the great endurance sports MC & Announcer <a href="http://www.whitraymond.com/" target="_blank">Whit Raymond</a>, there were speeches from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and other dignitaries. The Fluhme's as were everyone else there, dressed impeccably! This is a classy event . . . after all it is New York City! The event has strong support from the City, with a formal proclamation, from the City Council, being presented, and from great support from key business leaders.<br />
Also on hand, were the great Stephen Roche, who in 1987, won the Tour de France, the Giro, and the World Road Championships, and U.S. Olympic track sprinter, and Olympic Medalist, Nelson Vails - both Roche and Vails plan on doing the full 100 miles on Sunday!<br />
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The Gran Fondo New York is now part of an international series that the Fluhme's are overseeing, with new events in the next year planned in, Italy, Mexico, Pueto Rico, Spain, Columbia and Brazil. Ride on!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; font-style: italic; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"> </span><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-82737032434653060912014-04-28T10:35:00.000-07:002014-04-28T18:41:19.971-07:00The Key Contact Point on a Bike - Part 1<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The under-side and business part of the new Look Blade 2 pedals.</span></div>
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This is the first of a two part series on what I believe is the key contact point on the bike - the pedal-cleat-shoe interface.<br />
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Contact points with the bike, are big with me. Previously I have blogged, about<a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2009/11/new-bars-3t-ergonova-team.html" target="_blank"> handle bars</a> and even <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2011/04/handlebar-tape-more-important-than-you.html" target="_blank">bar tape</a> - stressing their importance, as key contact points. While others seem to stress about frame weights and materials, aerodynamics and Crr, for true riding enjoyment, comfort, and ultimately performance, it's the contact points we have with the bike, that are key to a great ride with optimal power transfer!<br />
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As to the last point - the pedal-cleat-shoe interface is where your hard earned fitness and power is transferred <i>to the bike,</i> then to the road, and is driving you forward! It's more important than you think.<br />
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There's lot's of choices for pedals. Some of this will be based on individual feelings and needs. Full confession, I've been a <a href="http://www.lookcycle.com/en/us/route/velos.html" target="_blank">LOOK</a>-man since they first came out with the first clip-less pedals back in the late 80's. I've had various LOOK and LOOK compatible pedals over the years. For me they have always worked, and worked well. The designs have been reasonably simple. The pedals have been durable, and easily maintained. They have always lasted longer, than I would have thought given the abuse they get.<br />
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My LOOK Keo Carbon pedals were starting to show their age. When the pedal platform and interface point on either the pedals or the cleats start to get worn down to the point, that you are getting a bit of medial-lateral rocking it's time to change either the cleat or the pedal or both. Closer examination, of the old Keos. showed that the platform was showing some micro-wear - that even new cleats may not have helped with.<br />
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Naturally, I first had a look, at the current LOOK line up. When the Blade came out a few years ago, It looked intriguing - but the reviews were mixed, and like many I was a bit concerned with the exposed outboard location of the actual carbon fiber blade on the pedal - the functional part of the pedal that was applying the force to keep the cleat clicked in. It appeared, one, even minor bike crash, with a laying down of the bike on the side, might render the pedal useless!<br />
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For 2014, Look completely overhauled the Blade pedals - now called the <a href="http://www.lookcycle.com/en/can/piste/pedales/keo-blade-2-cr.html" target="_blank">Blade 2</a>. The carbon fiber blade was widened, and moved to the very bottom and middle of the pedal. This made the pedal more rugged and, FWIW - improved aerodynamics of the pedal itself. It's so good at this now, LOOK stopped making a truly aero Blade pedal, for the time-trialer and triathlete!<br />
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Other improvements include a substantial increase in the contact interface between the pedal and the cleat (now 17% wider) and a slight lowering of the stack-height to the pedal axle ( now 13mm). Reviews, of the original Blades were that the click-in was a bit vague, and one could hardly tell you were even clicked in. I can say, that the with the Blade 2's the click-in feel is not dissimilar to the very popular Keo line - by both feel and and a nice and noticeable "click" noise. You know you are in!<br />
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The Blade 2 comes in three set tensions ( the Keos had adjustable tension) 12nm, 16nm and 20nm. I'm riding on the 12's, and they are similar in tension to the way I was set up on my Keo's - which I would judge as moderate. I'm told that most Pro level riders, who are riding the Blade 2's are going with the 16's. The 20's? Maybe for track sprinters?<br />
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Riding impressions: Fantastic - compared to my Keos, the contact with the bike seems more firm, positive and substantial. I use the grey LOOK cleats, that have a bit of float and everything feels amazing.<br />
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The one slight negative that I have about the Blade 2, is, that the pedals do not naturally return, to that heel-down position, that the Keos, and most other similar pedal designs do. This makes getting in the pedal a bit frustrating at first, as you are always expecting the pedal to be in that position - ready for action! It's this way for two reasons - LOOK used more robust seals on the inboard bearings, than previously, so the pedals don't spin as freely when un-weighted. The bigger reason, is the weight of the pedal is now more evenly distributed throughout the pedal and not concentrated in the heel - as it is with the Keo's. So, the pedals when you click out, if they end up up-side-down, will tend to stay up-side-down, until you want to click back in. Here, a little flip with the toe is needed to spin the pedal back into the correct position, to click back in cleanly. It takes a few times before you get the hang of this.<br />
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If you are looking for new pedals, that are <i>very</i> light (110g - CroMo, 90g - Ti), offer an amazing contact interface with the cleat/shoe, and are aero, then the new LOOK Blade 2 is one for you to consider.<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-59975927276537278502014-03-07T09:19:00.003-08:002014-03-07T09:28:51.773-08:00Old School Marketing: What did we do before the internet?In a job interview recently, my interviewer was running through that predictable list of questions while looking over my resume. When she reached, the <a href="http://www.sugoi.com/" target="_blank">Sugoi </a>part from many years ago, she asked, "What was your greatest accomplishment at Sugoi?". I had to think about that for a second, as it was a while ago - pre-internet actually, and that's where the story starts to get interesting.<br />
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Again, keep in mind, this is, while not exactly pre-internet, but in 1997, the internet was the briefest shadow of what it is now. When I do think back to that time, and as I was starting to tell that story of a significant accomplishment at Sugoi, I had to be careful to qualify my comments, that it was pre-internet, and that the woman interviewing me, most likely was not even in the work-force then, and had only been in the working world with the internet more as we know it today! Good heavens - I am sounding old!<br />
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The story seems rather quaint now when I think about it. Sugoi had just launched their run line in 1996/97. As the Marketing and Communications Manager, I was tasked with raising awareness of the Sugoi brand in the running market. No internet. No social media. The only option for advertising of any significance to consumers at the time was <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/" target="_blank">Runner's World Magazine</a> (RW). We could not afford ad buys, so I took a different approach - try to get exposure, through product reviews, and the holy grail, getting a cover-shot of some Sugoi product. I made it a goal to get a RW cover-shot of some Sugoi product within a year!<br />
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I worked on developing a close relationship with the key apparel review people at RW, as well as the main Photo Editor - always making sure that we had Sugoi product submitted for on-going apparel reviews. I did the same for all of the known Freelance photographers, who submitted photos regularly to RW for use - making sure that they had current Sugoi product in their bags to use on various photo-shoot work. I stayed in close contact with all of these people and made sure that whenever there was an opportunity to meet, at a Trade Show or other event, I made sure to take advantage of the opportunity, briefing them on the latest developments at Sugoi and product up-dates.<br />
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I got a phone call one day, from one of the freelance photographers - he was shooting a runner for what he was hoping might lead to a cover-shot for RW. Right away, I shipped via <a href="http://www.fedex.com/" target="_blank">FedEx</a>, a selection of Sugoi apparel to Colorado. The shoot went well. The images looked fantastic. I reached out to the Photo Editor and she did indeed, confirm that some of those shots taken by the photographer in Colorado, where in contention for the cover of the next issue of RW that they were publishing. She liked the overall feel of the shots, and she said the Sugoi Technifine T-shirt, "Really popped"! Wow!<br />
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A few weeks went by, and then I got THE CALL - they were going to use one of the Sugoi shots for the cover of Runner's World! That was just about a year, to the day, that I first hatched the plan.<br />
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I believe the circulation of RW at the time was just over 500,000. With no other options available for exposure this was HUGE for us. The Sugoi product had been getting great reviews. However, our Sales Reps on the road, had been struggling to get doors open and buy-in, in key run specialty shops around North America. This changed everything - the Reps now went to those retailers, with a copy of that issue of RW in their hand with Sugoi product prominantly on the cover, and suddenly there was interest, and a conversation. We signed up more dealers. Orders increased. A small part, to the great growth that the company had in 4 years, nearly doubling it's overall sales. <br />
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Today the marking and promotional opportunities for a company in this space are much wider and deeper. There are a lot of different options and channels to get the message out there. Back then, pre-internet, was a simpler time in some ways, but much more limiting. After a lot of hard work, you often only got the one shot! A cover shot!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-79263477317708018422014-02-18T12:30:00.003-08:002014-02-18T12:40:48.597-08:00Sick!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my previous blog I spoke about being <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2014/02/walloped-by-winter-what-are-you-doing.html" target="_blank">Walloped by Winter </a>and what to do about it. The Winter season is also when Cold and Flu season peak. I'm not sure about you, but for me, I am typically felled by one garden-variety head-cold each winter. Seems par-for the course.<br />
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For endurance sports athletes, it presents a bit of a challenge. How do you beat the cold, and get back to normal ASAP? There is that gnawing worry about the down-time and the lost fitness.<br />
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Years ago, when I was much younger and perhaps not as wise, I used to push things and not listen to my body. I would ignore the early signs of the cold coming on - the body aches, the weakness, the head or chest congestion. Then it would hit in all it's fury - down for a few days, but then I would rush the come back, and the cold would then drag on for sometime with remnant symptoms hanging around for weeks.<br />
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Two events changed my views on getting sick in this way.<br />
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One time before my biggest triathlon race of the season, I came down with a head-cold just over a week out from the race. It was a doozy - sent me to bed for a few days. I was then wrestling with what to do in the run-up to the race. I chose to do <i>nothing</i> - no training at all. All tolled, when I toed the starting line, I had done no training for a full week. I did not feel that great physically, but that race ended up being one of my best races of the year! The one week sick-with-a-cold taper in full-effect! Lesson: A week of resting and recovery from a cold, does not impact your fitness.<br />
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The other event was more sinister. I came down with a really bad chest cold. It was very bad. I thought I had recovered and I jumped right back into training at a high level. I had a relapse, that morphed into full-blown pneumonia. This really knocked me out. Close to being hospitalized. Had to take 3 weeks off work. Two of which were spent at home in bed.<br />
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Follow-up x-rays and testing discovered that I had done some permanent damage to my lungs - perhaps losing as much as 25% of my absolute, lung capacity. Disturbing news for an endurance athlete. However, I was advised that the lungs can over-compensate and some of this 25% deficit could be taken back and the loss not noticeable.<br />
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Lesson here - listen to the body. Take the time to recover fully, before resuming heavy training!<br />
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In summary - when you get sick with a head or chest cold, just take the time to fully recover. Recent, studies have shown that despite what all the cold-medication companies tell you, nothing that you can take will make the cold go away any quicker. The OTC drugs, just make some of the symptoms easier to cope with. In short - rest and relaxation and letting the body fight and deal with the infection as best as it can, is the best thing to do, and for the endurance sports athlete that means stopping training until you are 100% recovered and ready to go. When you get those early symptoms - the weakness, the body aches etc . . just shut it down and get as much rest as you can. Help your body help, itself!<br />
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On the defense front - the old fashioned way of frequently washing your hands, has been proven to be the best defense from getting sick in the first place. It's far better and more effective than many rumored methods that people talk about. Many of the more popular defense methods - over-dosing on Vitamin-C, taking echinacea etc . . have proven to have little to no effect on cold prevention! Eat a healthy and well balanced diet, and you should have all the natural disease prevention and immunity that you'll ever get. Also, make sure you are getting enough sleep. Recent research has concluded that<a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/rest-and-recovery-for-runners?page=1" target="_blank"> sleep, is the #1 recovery tool for your body</a>.<br />
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Again - wash your hands. And if you do get sick, don't panic. Just take the down-time to rest up a recover well. Know that under normal circumstances your garden-variety head or chest cold runs it's course in a week to 10 days, and there is really not much you can do about that other than doing nothing at all!<br />
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<b>Have you been sick this winter? How did it go?</b><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-40499021054851874702014-02-06T10:23:00.001-08:002014-02-06T10:27:27.112-08:00Walloped by Winter! What Are You Doing?<br />
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I saw a map this week online. It showed that 2/3 of Canada & the U.S., ie most of the North American continent, was covered in snow. I know that for almost all of Canada (save for the lower-mainland of B.C. and Vancouver Island) - that's normal. The snow-cover and deep cold has also extended much farther south in the U.S. than "normal" this winter.<br />
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We've been walloped by winter, actually. In my area, just north of Toronto, ON, after a number of rather benign winters, it's been full-on this year with, from what I can tell, record snow-falls and, the coldest average temperatures in over 10 years. For endurance sports athletes who for the most part train outside - runners, triathletes, and cyclists, it's been challenging to keep the training going. How have you been coping?<br />
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I've always had two views on this - you either take it inside, and shun winter as much as you can, or you embrace it, and make the most of it.<br />
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For the Shunners, the solutions, are obvious: For the triathlete - swim/cycle/run, can all be done indoors. If you are into this, and have access to the right facilities and equipment, in a perfect world, there can be minimal interruption in your training. True - the cycling and the running, on indoor trainers and treadmills can get a little tedious, but videos can be a great distraction and some of the interactive, computer driven indoor bike training set-ups are truly extraordinary! If you are just a runner or a cyclist, just plug into the above.<br />
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For the Embracers - the great outdoors can really open things up. Full disclosure - when I was training seriously for triathlon this was my approach. I was never a fan of the treadmill or the indoor bike trainer. What did I do?<br />
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First - I never stopped running outdoors. In fact, winter is when I would lay down the most overall volume of miles running. With the right apparel and attitude, you can run in just about any kind of weather, anywhere. Sure the footing, was lousy, the deep snow sometimes slowed you down, and the wind would force your pace to a crawl. Note the word "volume" back there - <i>that was the focus</i> . . not speed, pace or time. Just get the miles/K's in!<br />
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Second - I cross-country skied . . . a lot. Both classic and skating. Nordic skiing is the king of aerobic sports - it works more muscles in the body than any other single activity - upper body, lower body, core etc . . It all get's worked. When I had a great winter of skiing - where I put in the biggest volume of skiing and took my skiing to the highest level of performance, I noticed two things: 1) My cycling and triathlon performance the following summer was always better. 2) Despite very little cycling through Dec/Jan/Feb, come March, after just a few weeks of riding, I could ride 100K at a decent pace with very little ramp up!<br />
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Third - I did not eschew the indoor training completely. I would get in the pool maybe ounce a week, just to keep in contact with the feel of the water. I would also get on the indoor bike trainer, and would do one or two very high intensity sessions a week, lasting no more than 60 minutes. As to the latter, they say that even for the cyclist, who just rides, the time on the trainer in the winter, is better spent with a focus on higher intensity, power based riding, than slogging out long sweaty sessions on the trainer. These days, I only ride, and that's my focus: 3 - 4 very specific high quality session on the bike, and never more than an hour. Plus some cross country skiing mixed in.<br />
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As a Canadian, I've always had to put up and deal with a winter of some kind. It's part of being a <i>Canadian</i>, in my view - that's why I have always embraced winter. The <a href="http://www.olympic.org/" target="_blank">Winter Olympics </a>are about to begin, and I've found a great deal of truth, honesty and inspiration in the <a href="http://olympic.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Olympic Committee</a> official hashtag for the Canadian Olympic Team - #WeAreWinter. For Canada and Canadians it's perfect!<br />
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<b>Do you shun or do you embrace winter? What's your strategy to coping with this real winter we are having this year?</b> <br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-69586830346239613432014-01-13T09:02:00.003-08:002014-01-13T16:09:21.663-08:00Shorter Cranks: A Case (n=1!) For Older Cyclists & Triathletes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is a bit of a buzz these days for going to shorter cranks (crank arms) for both triathletes and cyclists. It's not for everyone, and like many things there are some misconceptions and misunderstandings of what's going on.<br />
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If you are in a great position on your bike and are having no issues, then going to shorter cranks is most likely not going to be helpful for you: Shorter Cranks does not automatically equal better/faster! If you are suffering some specific issues, relating to to your bike fit and in particular, where an opening of the hip angle will be helpful, then going to shorter cranks may be beneficial to you.<br />
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I had always ridden on 175mm cranks on every bike (road & tri bikes) that I have ridden since getting into cycling via triathlon in the early 80's. I had never given this a great deal of thought, because <i>every</i>, "58cm" bike I had ever owned, came with 175mm cranks on it! However, a couple of years ago, when I had just turned 50, I noticed a few things when riding the road bike:<br />
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1. I was getting increased lower back pain when riding<br />
2. I could no longer ride in the drops of my road bike for extended periods of time<br />
3. I had lost a bit of my jump<br />
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A swapping of kit on one of my wife <a href="https://twitter.com/paolinaallan" target="_blank">Paolina Allan's</a> bike made a set of <a href="http://bike.shimano.com/" target="_blank">Shimano</a> Dura Ace 170mm cranks available to me. I looked into this a bit, and came across the findings of the 2001 Jim Martin study in several articles online (<a href="http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/ask-the-engineers/crank-length.html" target="_blank">this one on the Cervelo web site</a>), that came to the conclusion - basically, power generation is the same for a rider, using a wide range of crank lengths. I also compared notes with friend and Pro triathlete<a href="https://twitter.com/rappstar" target="_blank"> Jordan Rapp</a>, who had just gone to shorter cranks on his set up, and noticed no difference in performance.<br />
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I started to put this together with what I knew was happening with my body - as I aged, I was becoming <i>less flexible</i>, and I was becoming <i>weaker and less fit.</i> Hey, it's inevitable! Shortening the crank arms, making the appropriate changes in the fit elsewhere (raising the saddle and bars slightly, to compensate), would open up my hip angle, and also make the circles that I pedal in slightly smaller.<br />
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The great news about the new crank and bottom-brackets, is that with the right tools, these are very easy to make changes - so, out with the 175mm cranks and in with the 170mm ones. I did this in the winter, so that the first few rides would be on the trainer. Just to check everything out.<br />
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I did notice a slight difference when I first started to ride with the 170's. However, by the end of a 45 minute ride on the trainer, I could not really tell any difference. Some informal bench-mark testing on the trainer over the next couple of weeks, backed up the research and observations previously mentioned - I noticed no difference in my "performance". Another difference I noted was that, at a given level of effort, I might need to drop down one cog to maintain the pedal RPM that I preferred. For me, not a big deal as I have always been a bit of a "spinner" with a naturally higher pedal RPM. <br />
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The real test came in the spring when I was outdoors again and going for longer rides:<br />
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A) Lower back pain was much reduced on longer rides<br />
B) I could now ride in the drops like a used to<br />
C) My jump in big accelerations on group rides was much better.<br />
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Conclusions: If you are an older triathlete or cyclist, (45+), and you are not feeling comfortable on your bike, and you have some other issues such as I noted, and all other things being equal, you might want to look at your crank length and consider trying shorter cranks. Even shorter than "recommended", or what just came on your bike. Note - at 6'2" (188cm) generally speaking, my recommended crank arm length would be 175 and as noted, on every bike I owned, it came with 175's. For me going shorter helped.<br />
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Hope this helps. <br />
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<b>Are you an older cyclist/triathlete? Have you tried shorter cranks? </b><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-77597441745563204162014-01-09T07:39:00.001-08:002023-10-05T13:42:26.051-07:00PowerBar - An Early History<br />
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"<i>Steve, I can't afford to buy an ad right now, but I can send you as many boxes of PowerBars, as you like"</i>!<br />
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And so began my relationship with <a href="http://www.powerbar.ca/" target="_blank">PowerBar</a>, and PowerBar founder Brian Maxwell. I was trying to sell Maxwell an ad in the magazine that I was working for at the time. We agreed on a volume of PowerBars that would be the "payment" for the ad, and Maxwell was good on his word, the shipment of PowerBars did show up, and I used them regularly for my training and racing for triathlons in the late 1980's.<br />
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It's hard to imagine these days, but PowerBar had humble beginnings. The products introduction also started up a whole new category of sports nutrition. Prior to PowerBar, "sports nutrition" for endurance athletes was water, <a href="http://www.gatorade.com/" target="_blank">Gatorade</a> and bananas! Maxwell, a world class marathon runner, had struggled to finish a few marathons, due to what we now term, "bonking", or what in physiological terms is called hypoglycemia - what happens when you start to deplete, your bodies carbohydrate stores, that start to dwindle significantly beyond the 90 min to 2 hour mark, when working at a moderately high intensity. You can keep going, but you need to take in more carbohydrate to replenish those stores.<br />
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Maxwell had qualified for the ill-fated 1980 <a href="http://olympic.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Olympic</a> team. It was the pinnacle of his career as a distance runner. Unfortunately, he never made it to the Moscow <a href="http://www.olympic.org/" target="_blank">Olympic Games</a> due to the boycott. He took a job as the Track Coach at his Alma Mater,<a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/index.html" target="_blank"> University of California, Berkley.</a> Maxwell and his wife Jennifer Biddulph, a nutritionist started to think about and try and come up with solution to this issue of, what then was commonly referred to as, "hitting the wall" in a marathon or other long distance endurance sport, when the body starts to run low on carbohydrates and the blood sugar starts to drop. They started making and baking energy bars in their kitchen of their home in Berkley, CA. It took a while to come up with a formula and a composition that would be functional. Eventually they did. By 1986, and with $55,000 cash, they started PowerBar!<br />
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It was a tough go, as many business start-ups are, particularly because, as noted, it really was a whole new category. There were many skeptics. A key strategy, was to get as many athletes, to try the PowerBars - thus, the using of the PowerBars themselves as currency to "pay" for advertising, marketing and sponsorship opportunities. They gave away, a lot of PowerBars in the early years, and really launched as well, the whole business of experiential marketing - try-this-ounce-and-you-will-then-be-a-customer! PowerBar and Maxwell also pioneered the concept of, "photo contingency sponsorship" - they would sponsor athletes, and then pay that athlete, either in cash or early on, in more PowerBars(!), <i>only</i> when they would get photo logo exposure in magazines and other media!<br />
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FYI - The PowerBar logo colors, that are used to this day, are the team colors for the UC Berkley Sports teams!<br />
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Early competitor, Gary Erikson, who founded <a href="http://www.clifbar.com/" target="_blank">Clif Bar </a>in 1990, pays tribute to the hard-work and legacy that Brian Maxwell laid down in Erikson's excellent book <a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/raising-the-bar-integrity-and/9780787986711-item.html" target="_blank">"Raising The Bar"</a>.<br />
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The first real boom in the sport of triathlon occurred in the late 80's and it coincided with the early years of PowerBar. Long distance races, such as the <a href="http://www.ironman.com/" target="_blank">Ironman</a> triathlon, that for the top competitors take 8 hours to complete, require that competitors take in significant amounts of carbohydrates for them to keep going for that long. Many triathletes were early adopters and fans of the PowerBar product - that gave them 220 calories of carbohydrates in a neatly wrapped, easily transported and easily digested package.<br />
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Other endurance sports, such as cycling, soon caught on as well and the growth in the early 90's for PowerBar was impressive! In addition to Clif, a number other companies jumped into the sports nutrition business and by the end of the decade it had become a world-wide, $billion business!<br />
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In 2000 Brian Maxwell and his wife, sold PowerBar to world-wide food giant <a href="http://www.nestle.com/" target="_blank">Nestle</a>, for a reported, $375 million. Sadly and tragically, by then a father of six, Maxwell died of a massive heart-attack, in 2004 while out for a short run!<br />
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After my phone-call and ad deal with Brian Maxwell, I met him the following year at the annual <a href="http://www.interbike.com/" target="_blank">Interbike </a>trade-show. We talked about sports. We talked about our shared Canadian roots, and we talked about sports nutrition. Of course, ever the promoter and salesman, he would not let me out of the PowerBar booth without, putting <i>another</i> box of PowerBars in my hands!<br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-70836523521706330832013-12-13T07:02:00.002-08:002013-12-13T09:26:16.760-08:00Tying It All Together for Endurance Sports Events<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Working the Mic at the recent <a href="http://monsterdash.ca/" target="_blank">Monster Dash</a> run in Toronto*. Picture - <a href="http://mynextrace.com/" target="_blank">MyNextRace.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I just finished reading digital marketing guru, <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/" target="_blank">Mitch Joel's</a> new book <a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/ctrl-alt-delete-reboot-your/9781455523306-item.html" target="_blank">Ctrl-Alt-Delete</a>. It's a highly recommended read. Three big take-aways:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Social media, and marketing through social media is big!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. The current buzz with brands, is wanting to speak directly to end-user customers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Everything is going mobile! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Endurance sports events be they, running, cycling, triathlons, MOB's or themed runs, sit at the intersection of the above. By their very nature, these events are social - with lots of social interaction going on. I mentioned this briefly in a <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2013/03/running-usa-conference-review.html" target="_blank">previous blog</a>. However, this week I came across an info-graphic that spelled this out in more detail with some<a href="http://gen1.activeendurance.com/Assets/ActiveEndurance/Mob/infographic-profile-of-a-mobster-2013.pdf#" target="_blank"> interesting data and stats</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These events are also the meeting up point for brands(sponsors), and the large amounts of numbers and data that these events are starting to generate and put together - to say nothing of the gathering of hundreds, if not thousands of people in one spot, at one time. Remarkably, few events seem to be taking full advantage of this. Some are, but more could and should do more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It goes without saying that the demographic attracted to most endurance sports events are plugged in to a high degree via mobile devices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the<a href="http://www.runningusa.org/" target="_blank"> Running USA</a> conference last winter, a marketing executive who works in the endurance sports space, said to me, "Consider you are at an NHL or NBA game, with 10,000 or more spectators. Think about how much marketing and promotion you have been exposed to from the time you buy your ticket, to the time you leave that game. Now compare that with the promotion and marketing that goes on an endurance sports event with similar numbers from the time you register, to the time you are finished and heading home". Many events, are not taking full advantage of the opportunities here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's a great opportunity to leverage the social nature of these events, the social interaction that is organic to them, the high adoption of social media of the participants, and the want for brands to talk directly to end-user customers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An example of linking that up with mobile follows:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With my frequent work as a Race and Event Announcer*, I often see the collision of the old and the new at the events that I am working at and where the above opportunities go wanting. Often the number one question that I get asked when I am on the mic at an event is, "Hey - where are the results being posted up?". Many smaller to mid sized events still post up printed hard-copy, for participants to check their times/results - if the event is a timed event, with results. In the online, digital age, this now is passe. I'll often announce, where on the race site, that hard copy of the results are posted up, and you'll see that huddle of people surrounding the posted sheets of paper checking their results. However, if a company such as Ottawa, ON based <a href="http://www.sportstats.ca/index.xhtml" target="_blank">Sportstats</a> is timing the race and producing the results, those results now go almost instantly on-line when a person crosses the finish-line (or timing mat out on the course), to that events page on the Sportstats web site. If people, have a mobile phone with internet access, they can go <i>right there</i>, and see their own results on their own mobile device in the palm of their hand! Even more, Sportstats has a <a href="http://www.sportstats.ca/about.xhtml?tab=6" target="_blank">App</a> that ties all of a persons results together that can be customized for that person. People can even "follow" a friend doing an event that Sportstats is timing around a race course. I make the announcement over the PA about this new way of accessing results to. I think it's catching on! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See the linkage and possibilities with <i>all </i>of the above? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are an endurance sports event organizer:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>- Are you taking full advantage of the social media opportunities for your event?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>- Are you allowing your event sponsors to speak directly to your event participants?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>- Are you tying this all together for mobile? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span></span><br />
<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-91029091375047857532013-09-25T08:13:00.000-07:002013-09-25T08:13:26.271-07:00Race More?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqinZwOovmqVmoFNUEmlIgbSifatDrwP-KwoD8t2dGX8hyphenhyphen-Q_7UQGnj3kKRuh0IvcZwsWThRPoOrP4Qtm-Gulu9qgllJSO3AthctRQTkV_2Qf-WBTuHh-tUt1JCVAdz9xhNL-a6Yju71k/s1600/Wasaga+Beach+Finishline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqinZwOovmqVmoFNUEmlIgbSifatDrwP-KwoD8t2dGX8hyphenhyphen-Q_7UQGnj3kKRuh0IvcZwsWThRPoOrP4Qtm-Gulu9qgllJSO3AthctRQTkV_2Qf-WBTuHh-tUt1JCVAdz9xhNL-a6Yju71k/s320/Wasaga+Beach+Finishline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.multisportcanada.com/"> Recharge with Milk</a> Wasaga Beach Triathlon Finish-line - Photo <a href="http://www.mysportsshooter.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mysportsshooter.com</a></span></div>
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I was about to embark on writing a blog straight-up, about the benefits of racing more, for triathletes. I was and still am of the belief that many problems and challenges that the modern triathlete encounters, in races, particularly longer distance triathlon races, could be over-come in part, by racing more.<br />
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Then, two things happened:<br />
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1. I attended a local social event in my area where over 30 triathletes, many of whom I knew personally, were in attendance. As some know, I work as a Race/Event Announcer almost every weekend at triathlons, running and cycling races. As I stood there in the room filled with triathletes, I realized that I had not seen <i>any</i> of these athletes, with the exception of one, at a race all year!<br />
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2. The following day, I asked the question, "<i>Why doesn't the modern triathlete race more?</i>" on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/stevefleck">Facebook page</a>. There were an enormous number of responses - some very detailed and informative. You can see the thread of responses<a href="https://www.facebook.com/stevefleck/posts/10151871820127863?comment_id=29398261&offset=0&total_comments=79"> here</a>. It's a good read.<br />
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Both of these previous points, caused me to re-think things a bit. <br />
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From reading the Facebook thread, it's clear that these days, <b>time </b>and <b>costs</b> are the key things that limit the number of races that triathletes do each year. There is no question that races are getting more expensive - for obvious reasons: The costs to put these races on have gone up substantially. As for the time issue, if you look at the largest age-groups in the sport, most active, modern triathletes are right in the middle of their key child-rearing years with 1, 2, 3 or more young kids at home, and also at a time in their careers, when time-on for work, is at it's highest. Add all that up and, and it makes sense why, the modern triathlete races less now, than a previous wave of triathletes did 10+ years ago.<br />
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I still believe that many triathletes, particularly newer athletes, in
the sport for four years or less, would benefit greatly from more
frequent racing. I am backed up on that point by some of the leading
local coaches, who also feel the same way, but are pushed back on this,
by the athletes they coach. Knowing this, and reading the responses on my Facebook posting, one
wonders where the cart and horse are with this. Many athletes want to get better. They want to go faster. A proven way of doing this is to race more frequently (within reason, of course).<br />
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Which leads me to what is the definition of a race? My sense is that for many modern triathletes , their definition of a "race" is a big production + long distance triathlon = expensive. However, not all races have such big production, and there are certainly many shorter race options (and are hopefully less expensive). Despite what athletes think, these outings can be very helpful and valuable experiences in their overall development.<br />
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Also there are "other" racing options - standalone, running, cycling, and swimming events, that again, can be if you look around, not terribly expensive and time efficient. As an example, many local cycling clubs, offer weekly time-trial races, that for club members cost from nothing to a few dollars (with club membership). While <i>not</i> a triathlon race, these standalone races in individual sports can provide great feedback, and serve as outstanding training efforts for the triathlete. Some of these are mid-week, and because of their short and brief nature, can take up less time, than a "normal" triathlon training session.<br />
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<b>What do you think? What is your definition of a "race"? Knowing that racing more, will make you better/faster, is that something that you would commit to? </b><br />
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<br />Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1758090575418482333.post-19338788042540441512013-08-16T11:50:00.000-07:002013-08-16T15:46:06.286-07:00Have Endurance Sports Events Gone Retail?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSOx4Q3WP7lHPbJEtXy1K0Bnwqqic1JM-BcK9DYuuWLHhXvSYOoqxsWr11wWWF2NmFRoC2ePFTx9DFkw3LGVWZS0izGu9UvLvam32lt-PM_SH2LsjuCPuzSkCAGV-ILEdXAd8JmQMKss/s1600/Porta+Potties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSOx4Q3WP7lHPbJEtXy1K0Bnwqqic1JM-BcK9DYuuWLHhXvSYOoqxsWr11wWWF2NmFRoC2ePFTx9DFkw3LGVWZS0izGu9UvLvam32lt-PM_SH2LsjuCPuzSkCAGV-ILEdXAd8JmQMKss/s320/Porta+Potties.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A long line of porta-potties at a recent large running event in Toronto*</span></div>
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I have written in this space before recently about what's been going on in the endurance sports events business, <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2013/03/running-usa-conference-review.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://stevefleck.blogspot.ca/2012/07/rich-time-for-endurance-sports-events.html">here</a>. A lot is going on! The growth right now is impressive. If you add up all the running, triathlon, cycling, themed running events, and also the mud/obstacle races and events in North America, you are looking at a impressive double digit growth in participation numbers and an aggressive addition of new events along the way. It's hard to keep up with it all.<br />
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With all this growth has come competition - serious competition. So much so that, from what I have seen events have gone retail, where <i>everything</i> about an event starts to matter. Your brand. Your logo. Your date. Your route or course. How hard or easy your event is? Your registration process. How many porta-potties you have*. The enthusiasm of your volunteers. Your charity. Your timing and results company(if needed).<i> It all starts to matter.</i> Even stuff you have no control over, like the weather starts to matter! Get two years of lousy weather for a start-up event, and it might be done right there!<br />
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Onsite experiences on race/event day are critical. People will come, and maybe they get spoken to in a wrong tone by a volunteer, there are not enough porta-potties or registration/kit-pick-up takes forever. Just like in retail, they will silently go away, never to return, and even worse, they'll most likely tell more than a few people about it. On average, people tell 4 people about good customer experiences, <i>but tell 13 people about bad customer experiences</i>. And that's what RD's need to do and understand these days, beyond getting the cones in the right places, and the directional arrows on the road right - they are in the business of delivering positive participant experiences.<br />
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Even the process of race and event registration, these days almost 100% through online services, can be critical in the whole event experience. Some are complicated and unwieldy - with high abandonment rates. In other words, that person who was going to register for your event, gave-up part way through the actual registration process, for one reason or another. You got them to the door . . . but then lost them! Check out some of your sports online forums, to see what people are saying about your registration provider. You might be surprised.<br />
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It's important that events think more like businesses, albeit small ones and even non-profit ones, about their brand, and about their image, because, as noted, it's all starting to matter.<br />
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The mud & obstacle events and the themed runs, have really driven this point home. How else to explain, the extraordinary growth? Some of these event series did not even exist two years ago. Some will surpass a one million participants this year! In these situations, branding, and imaging matter greatly. There is a buzz. People want to be going to the cool event that everyone else is doing.<br />
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Now you may be thinking, "I run a triathlon or a running race. Why should I be concerned about a mud run or zombie run?" Be concerned - they are competing just like you for mind-share and commitment from reasonably young, and active people. And some of those events now really have some serious momentum, behind them and mega-buzz. You run a cool and great event, but it's just a 5K run. You have to think about everything at your event and <i>every</i> touch point with your event participants. How is it impacting them? Is it a quality and a positive experience, or at least matching up with their expectations?<br />
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I know the organizer of one of the largest triathlon series in North America, who stands at the finish-line of <i>all</i> of his events, regardless, of the weather, and personally says, "Thank you", and shakes the hand of <i>every</i> finisher who comes across the finish line at every event. Sounds corny, but that's the kind of thing that people remember - just like in retail they remember the good and the bad, experiences. Events need to do everything they can to make sure that everyone's experience at an event is an outstanding one. If so, just like in retail, they will be back!<br />
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Whether you like it or not, events have gone retail. What are you doing to make your event stand out? What are you doing so that each and everyone of your race/event participants have an extraordinary experience?<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">If you like what you see here, please feel free to share this blog with your preferred sharing app from the buttons below:</span>Steve Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09323624438361035624noreply@blogger.com6