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| La Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal Now this is a church, wow! |
Last night we had our final Wednesday Mini Monster ride at Legends for 2011 and it was a real barn burner!
There wasn't a dry body in the house and I must say that I was impressed with the hard efforts that everyone was putting in.
Well done!
Saturday will see us wrap up the Monster schedule until the first week of January and at that time all the classes will come rushing back to help us prepare for the brand new 2012 triathlon season.
I was hoping to have an answer for you before this Saturday from the Legends management who have been very good to us over the years, about my request to them for longer class time for the already two hour Monster Ride.
What?
I'm finding that because of the 2012 long course racing schedule now starting so early I wanted more indoor riding time to help better prepare these triathletes for longer outdoor rides right off the bat when the springtime weather permits.
So one way to do that is lengthen the Saturday ride to three hours which I've proposed we begin at 6:00 am and finish at the usual 9:00 am but until I hear back from the them you can still count on the two hour ride to be in full swing come January 7, 2012.
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| La Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal You would not believe it until you see it! |
I stopped in to check out all the long overdue improvements that were made to this pool and I have to say that it is looking pretty darn good with new change rooms, lots of outside light coming in through big new windows, and the whole pool has a much more open feeling that was badly needed.
I would recommend that you head down there to see for yourself and if you think so let them know what a nice job they did. : )
On another note.
The other day here on my blog I had a photo of the 2011 Ironman Canada Finishers medal that was in my mind, properly not very clear and just a bit blurry because that is what the quality of the medal deserved!
This has nothing to do with the quality of the work put in to attain such a high level goal but rather the shoddy workmanship and less than a proud commitment to providing a worthy reward for an amazing accomplishment.
Crap!
Having said that I know some of you will be shocked by it because "nooobody" has supported Ironman Canada more than me for years and years because I believe it's the best of the best and I'm saddened to have to say it but you have to call a spade a spade when the proof is staring you in the face.
I have made four trips to Ironman Canada which is always held in Penticton BC, I've coached many triathletes for that competition, I've helped and supported this particular Ironman iconic event right from the first time I said the word "Ironman" because it belongs to us!
No other Ironman existed here in Canada until now that we have our second with Mont Tremblant, Quebec just over the horizon and waiting to kick off for the first time.
Ironman Canada will be 30 years old in 2012 but in my estimation suffered and bloody nose in 2011.
Yes, I have to admit with a heavy heart that on two fronts I was very disappointed with last year's IMC event.
First was that they ran out of water on the bike course which is not even in my thoughts anywhere near excusable in a sport that we know runs on nutrition to simply stay alive and healthy, crap!
I know this was obviously a mistake and had someone done a better job it wouldn't have happened but the facts show there were Ironman Canada "Finisher Hopefuls" who had to withdraw from the race because their hydration became critical.
Secondly was that crappy finishers medal made out of plastic that was shameful to see never mind own!
As a coach/friend/supporter I was concerned about our athletes and the damage done by the organizing committee to the reputation of our Canadian icon race.
So I encouraged everyone who had a comment on that matter to express their thoughts to the organizers and let them know how disappointed you are with them and the apparent cash grab at IMC 2011.
I know that sometimes we say that's like peeing in the wind, there is no sense because nothing will be done, ....., whatever!
Well not this time, it worked and some of you know this!
Ironman Canada has been enlightened and are now going to re-issue a brand new "2011 Finishers Medal" to all of those who survived to rule the day! Wow!
I am very happy and releived to hear this because say what you want, those medals are for life and being proud to show them or for personal pride is a big part of the Ironman journey and the mystique of it.
Secondly, the organizers have bowed down and went through a process they created to judge the DNF (did not finish) triathletes to determine if the lack of water on the bike course had an impact on these DNFs and those athletes who fell within their guidelines are being offered free entry in 2012 or 2013 Ironman Canada!
In our group we had two DNFs, both have been offered spots and both have accepted the return offer which makes the best of a bad situation in my books. I know it isn't perfect but on the other hand if nothing was said by the masses there would not have been any offer at all.
Well done!
I guess that bloody IMC nose is beginning to dry up but once bitten twice shy!
Please you Ironman Canada organizers, do not fool around with our Ironman Canada, it belongs to a Nation!
Cheers!
Above are a couple of pictures from our recent sightseeing bus tour in Montreal and from our 200 points of interest tour, this Notre-Dame Basilica was one of the best. I'm not normally so interested by this type of structure but if you ever get a chance to see it, it's well worth the extra $5.00 to get in! : )
