North Bay, Fairbank Lake training camps concluded, pundits speculate: time to taper?

A long weekend of training starting with a 1.5 day training camp in North Bay, Ontario, followed followed by a 1.5 day training camp at Fairbank lake provincial park.  TSN analyst note that the training spreadsheet has not been dutifully updated, leading to speculation that Rob is following the classic VCC tactic of sandbagging.  Allegations of sandbagging aside, paparazzi stationed at the provincial park gathered some eye-witness evidence that training potentially took place; and as no drownings were reported over the long-weekend, it is unlikey that Rob took advantage of the 275m long lane rope spanning the swim area at Fairbank lakes pristine beach, for training sessions spanning into the 1s of kilometers.

A quick hammock was all the setup Rob needed for his hasty solo training retreat.  A lengthy gravel road in the vicinity, and the famed Wa-Shai-Ga-Mog hiking trail are rumoured to have seen some world-class* training over the weekend.

 Fairbank lake is a cold, clear, spring-fed lake, with a large swim lane demarked, ideal for taking photos from the shore of a potential training spot.

With 11 days till race day the sporting worlds sits on it's toes: is now the time to taper?  At 11 days it would be one of Rob's shorter in his career, with a previous PB of a 9.5 year taper.

Greater Wanup Triathlon Club training update: Rob announces decenium personal best

 (Greater Wanup Gazette) A training update from local homesteader and multi-sport athlete Rob.  After attending a training 1.5 day training camp in North Bay Ontario, taking zero rest days Rob was up early for a morning ride around scenic Greater Wanup.  With a total distance of over 25 kilometers, and lasting well over an hour, the statistics tracking indicates that this is Rob's longest ride in close to one metric decade, a personal best!

"I really hit the wall at the 3km mark", said Rob, "but I pushed through it and stopped for an eye-opener at the General Store.  Luckily there was the recent addition of a new gravel bike to my training arsenal, as road conditions here were tougher than usual."

 

 

When asked about the route of his personal-achievement setting ride Rob responded:

"I wanted to explore the diverse country side and training potential of the Greater Wanup area - some of those areas, especially out towards 'Old Wanup' are rather remote".

 

Local cyclist attempts world record ride in Naughton Ontario

 (c/o Wanup Daily News) A local area cyclist made international headlines on Thursday with a new world record attempt in the category of 'Worlds Shortest Training Ride'.  A route map of the record attempt is shown below.  Starting at the parking/transition area, the cyclist rode a short distance into the trail network before noticing a low inflation of the rear tire.

"I didn't wake up this morning thinking that I was going to potentially set a new world record", said the cyclist, "but when I noticed my rear tire was too low on air to continue and I noticed that the distance I had ridden had not even registered on my Garmin 910XT multisport watch, I decided to turn around and go for the record attempt".

"Even though it's late in the training season, this might be the first time this bike has been on a trail in 2021, and I had neglected to check the air or bring a pump with me"

 The GPS track of the record attempt is currently being analyzed by the Union Cyclist Internationale (UCI), the governing body of professional cycling, and an official announcement is pending verification.

"Even if it's not a new world record, it's likely in the top 10, and that's something.", said the visibly jubilant cyclist.

"In terms of my training program today's training ride was a psychological win.  They say that showing up is half the battle, so I can log this as a half-distance training ride in my statistics spreadsheet.  Additionally awkwardly changing into my race kit inside my truck will count as T1/T2 transition training as well, so all-in-all, another great day of training"

The exhausted cyclist paused for a quick selfie after the attempt in the parking lot.
 

Cross-training for Triathletes

One day into this 18 day journey to my podium attempt at the Xterra Conquer the crater race, in a bold departure from triathlon training culture of training only in the sports of swim, bike, or run, we introduce the notion of a 'Farmers Brick', where any of those three sports can be combined with hay-bailing and/or hay-tossing (peculiarities of local vernacular makes this distinction important).

 After getting hay all day, on what I believe is still possibly Wednesday July 28, my recollection of training is a bit scattered.  As it stands:

Sunday  July 25 - 1km, possibly more, casual open water swim at Fairbank lake

Monday July 26 - Picking wet hay off the field, possibly a run, records are sketchy

Tuesday July 27 - Open water swim at Moonlight beach in Sudbury despite rain warnings, beach was deserted.  Possibly a run, records are sketchy.

 Wednesday July 28 (date of post) - no run, no swim, only hay.  Lots of hay.  Counts as cross training. 

Rob announces return to triathlon racing

 (Reuters) In an emotional press conference outside the Wanup General Store, local homesteader Rob announced a triumphant and much anticipated return to the world of multi-sport racing, with bombshell news that he had been approached by race organizers to participate in the Xterra Conquer the Crater off road triathlon on August 14, 2021*, happening in the nearby town of Sudbury, Ontario.

Rob, best known for misspelling his own name on LinkedIn, was a familiar character in West Coast endurance sport circles.  Easily recognized around Vancouver with his penchant for flamboyant cycling kits and matching cycling accessories; his stalwart performances in the infamous Vancouver Cycle Series invitational elite racing series, and finishing performances in the 2009 Vancouver International Half-Ironman, and 2010 Ironman Canada races, earned him much acclaim in the sport.

Though his triathlon career was on a rocket-like trajectory, controversial investigations by Triathlon Canada into complaints of public 'indecency' during IMC 2010, reports of vandalism and hooliganism by his race-supporters and fans during the same race, followed by a semi-anonymous report made a member of the ominous "Center for Excellence in Internet Surfing" on the suspected use of a banned, leafy substance, led Rob to unofficially retire from the sport and take up homesteading in Ontario.

"I wasn't planning on returning to multi-sport racing", said Rob during the press conference, "but the shortened swim distance, limited registration spots to maintain social distancing, covid travel restrictions meaning zero international competitors, my recent entry into the 40-49 age bracket though being only 39 on race-day, and the recent legalization of previously banned leafy substances, mean that even untrained, this is my best shot at a podium spot in decades."

When asked about his burst of social media activity including the announcement of a new blog Rob said, "My biggest regret from the pinnacle of my racing career was never starting a social media empire or blog like every other triathlete at the time - blogging was a behaviourism so prevalent in the sport that I wanted to maintain some mystique, and develop my reputation purely through my racing performances and word-of-mouth, letting my fame grow organically."

A confused reporter asked, "What is Greater Wanup?  and what can we expect from this so called 'blog'?"

"Greater Wanup, not to be confused with Wanup itself, is generally considered to be the the area along Hwy 537 in North Eastern Ontario between the community of Wanup in the South, and Wanapitei to the North.  The Greater Wanup Triathlon Club was founded on July 27, 2021, with the aim to bring elite multi-sport racing and training to the area of Greater Wanup.", said Rob.

"With the race only 18 days away this blog aims to document and advertise my unique and successful approach to training cycles, with rapid periodization, and extended tapering.  I will be using all of the tricks and techniques learned during my many days of intense training, and multi-year tapers to take a shot for the podium on August 14".

With the press conference concluded, the confused on-lookers, mainly patrons who were attempting to get into the the General Store, brushed passed the press gallery and into the store to purchase beer and chicken feed.

* Definitions of 'Approached by' may and include stumbling upon the race website in this context.