Author: Iron Rogue

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What I’ve Learned About Clipless Pedals (Tri-Talk/Tri-ed It Tuesday)



I’m doing a double link-up with Lakeshore Runner for Tri-ed Tuesday and both You Signed Up for What?! and Blisters and Black Toenails for Tri-Talk Tuesday to talk about some new knowledge about bikes that I picked up…

In my post announcing my new bike, Sable, I mentioned I had Shimano SPD pedals installed.  My rationale was that I wanted to be able to use my existing shoes in a Spin class, as spin bikes tend to have SPD compatible pedals.  I had been initially disappointed that I didn’t have such pedals on my original bike as I had been sold a set of Shimano 105 pedals.
The Shimano 105 pedal


The problem was that the bottoms of my shoes had three holes, which would make them compatible with a variety of road cleats, but not the SPDs. There did seem to be some kinds of adapters in existence, but I was never able to find any at local stores (in the very short amount of time I had to drive to stores and shop around).

One option would have been to buy new shoes, but a slightly cheaper one was to re-install the Shimano 105 pedals and buy new 105 cleats to install on my old shoes (the old ones were pretty worn out). I hadn’t had much luck taking my 105 pedals off my old bike with my own tools, so I also purchased a 15 mm pedal wrench; I consider that one of the smarter moves I’ve made when it comes to buying cycling accessories.

The Shimano 105 pedals on the left have some little pads that are better for walking on if you dismount your bike on a long ride.  At the bottom left you can see my old cleat.  The SPD equipment, you can see is much smaller and doesn’t fit the 3 holes you can just make out on the bottom of my shoe.
For removing the SPD pedals and installing the 105s, I followed this video:

Then I used an Allen Key to screw the cleats to the bottom of the shoes; there was still an outline from where the old ones were, so alignment didn’t seem to be an issue.

I’ll keep the SPD accessories and eventually install them on my mountain bike and buy new shoes for them too – apparently SPDs are intended almost solely for mountain biking. So I don’t meet my goal of having one pair of shoes for both road riding (and triathlon races) and spin class, but the good news is that Sable is finally ride-ready.

I celebrated with a 2 hours 15 minute ride on the trainer while I watched the movie Man of Steel – I think the recent trailers for the sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have gotten into my head. Superman makes for surprisingly good training inspiration, considering he never had to work for his superpowers…

Do you find bike technology as confusing as I do?
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German Vacation 2015 Recap

I used to break down these trips into multiple parts, thanks to extensive journals I kept, but I think I’d just prefer to do a single round-up and not just because I didn’t keep a journal this time.  I think I’m just going to do a summary by category.


Family Adventures


  • Climb UP! Climbing Forest.

This was one of the cooler adventures we got up to.  For adults, there are various challenges to climb up into the treetops, and of course, some zip lines.  We didn’t do the adult challenges in favour of accompanying the kids.  They each wore safety harnesses with 2 carabiners that got hooked into safety lines that ran alongside each climbing challenge.  The challenges were strung together to form an entire course to traverse.  At the end of one challenge, you’d unhook a carabiner from the completed challenge’s safety line and hook it into the new, then you’d repeat for the second carabiner, so that in principle, you were always tethered.  The kids never got any higher than around 5 feet off the ground, but I guess it’s the principle that’s important.  Shark Boy loved it and managed his own safety harness, and while the Lightning Kid seems to be a born climber, he got a little tired about halfway through the course so I let him bail.


  • Germendorf Zoo/Theme Park

We’ve visited this place annually for at least 3 years now.  When we got in, Shark Boy found a dead snake beneath a statue of an elephant, and by the time we were done, he still considered it a highlight.  This year I had us navigate toward the ‘Dinosaur’ section before we got too close to the carnival rides and playgrounds that always seem to high-jack the kids’ interest in the animals there.  I think I only saw one dinosaur (statue) but we got to see some animals we haven’t seen in prior visits.  For me the highlight was a puma, which is not only one of my favourite animals, but this one actually got up and walked around, which is kind of rare for big cats in captivity (in my experience).  He did seem to take an unhealthy interest in Shark Boy; at least, unhealthy for the boy – his ears pricked up, he stared, licked his chops, you name it.  


We got to see monkeys playing, meerkats, parrots and even pet and feed a deer.


Then it was time for lunch and rides.  We shelled out for them to ride these electrically powered motorcycles (they move fairly slowly), which not only gave us a sweet moment of the two brothers riding together, but we actually got the Lightning Kid to ride his own.  He did a great job of steering until he’d get distracted by what his brother was up to, and then he’d crash – which didn’t hurt him but resulted in tears from the sudden shock.  There was an indoor play area which used to house a ball pit and a few bouncy castles, but they’ve expanded it into a much more extensive play area with all kinds of climbing structures.


I don’t like to make fun of personal appearances, but I have to tell this story.  My wife and I were sitting near the ball pit which was intended (according to the signs) for kids aged 0-5.  There were kids much older in there, and they were throwing the balls out of the pit and generally making a nuisance of themselves.  The supervisor turned up and told them off – and they got off light, because the supervisor was a witch from a storybook, I kid you not.  Hook nose, wild and wiry hair, crazy eyes… all that was missing was a wart.  I know we weren’t all created to have movie star good looks, but maybe using a brush once in a while… on the other hand, maybe it helps with her job.  My wife and I have read a lot of German children’s literature (as children ourselves, we don’t like it too much for our kids) where there is often some kind of boogeyman who comes and gets you when you don’t follow the rules (see here for an example) – so we couldn’t help but laugh to see one of these scenarios brought to life.


  • River Cruise

Another annual mandatory outing.  We had lovely weather, but this year they stopped making a stop near where we were staying, so we had to make a round trip.  The food menu seemed reduced too, but at least it’s getting easier to keep the kids safe while they roam the decks.


  • Bike Ride

We rode our bikes through the local forest into the town of Tegel to find a playground.  This day was particularly hot, so the shade provided by the trees was very welcome.  Shark Boy had been getting over a flu, and I think we overestimated his recovery, because he simply quit well before we could get home, in spite of covering a much bigger distance last year.  Still, taken as a whole, I have to call it a successful outing, and hopefully a precursor to future family bike trips.


Food


There’s a Simpsons episode where Germany is referred to as the land of chocolate, so we had plenty of that.  I honestly don’t quite understand how Germans stay thin (my observations of people make me think that they’re thinner on average, though I found this on Wikipedia – Canadian men are 2 kg lighter than Germans [who are 6 kg lighter than Americans] on average).  They have some good habits like more walking and biking as transportation, not to mention that the evening meal is generally quite light, with lunch being the big hot meal, but still!  The bread is made with white flour, the meat is often red; I have a hard enough time eating fruit at home, but with fresh cold cuts and cheeses bought on a daily basis, they really get pushed to the side.


And then there’s my fetish for ice cream made in the image of pasta… I try to eat Spaghetti Ice Cream as often as I can get my hands on it while I’m in Germany since I can’t get it back home.  The ice cream is pushed through a press to make noodles, the tomato sauce is actually strawberry sauce, and the grated cheese is either grated coconut, or grated white chocolate.  I didn’t get to try any new places this year, but I got enough samples to keep me happy.


My wife and I had two date nights: once at our favourite little Italian place, where they always treat us like royalty and once at Alten Fritz (which has been open, in some capacity or another, since 1410!).  We actually went to this restaurant twice: once with a larger group, and once with just the two of us.  The first time I had a Goulash made with Wild Boar, and the second time a platter with 3 kinds of dumpling; it was really an eye-opener to how fine traditional German cuisine can be.  There’s outdoor seating and even a little forested area with pond that really adds to the ambience.


Training


  • Swim

I used our proximity to the Havel River to my full advantage and I’d packed my wetsuit.  I got in 3 open water swims, and since I’ve been doing a lot more than usual pool training, the difference that the open water makes was a bit of a surprise to me.  I’m not sure of my technique in open water, but I’ve got the rest of the summer to figure it out.  I got 3 different swims in, and one was 1800m, close to a half-iron distance swim.  I think I’ll be putting together a post about swimming in an unfamiliar river.


  • Bike

In addition to the family bike ride mentioned above, I got in 3 rides.  I knew my cycling training would suffer the most for not having access to a road or tri bike, but two of my rides were with the Lightning Kid, including one that had us out for about 3 hours (2 hours of actual riding) – it was great bonding time for us, and he liked seeing the sights and sounds including visiting a pens where boars and deer are kept.  My third ride got cut short by a flat tire.


  • Run

Running is the easiest form of training to accomplish on vacation.  Running with my brother on the day we arrived with jet lag (after an overnight flight) was pretty challenging; I expected to feel tired, but I had this dead feeling in my legs that I wasn’t prepared for.   For the first few days in Berlin we had a lot of cold weather and rain so my first solo run was not enjoyable, but I also had nice runs in sunnier weather, alternating between going along the Havel River (and trying, unsuccessfully, to race one of the Steamboat cruises) and through the forest.



Beer

In addition to the usual suspects I also got to try the original Budweiser.  This Czech lager is nothing like the American brew and I really enjoyed it.  There was also Altenmuenster, which I gave 3.25 stars out of 5 and my wife and I both had a Kronbacher Radler.  If you haven’t heard of a Radler (Moosehead is making one, for example), it’s a little like a shandy or other beer based beverage.   A mix of sparkling lemonade and beer, the story goes that a bar owner was getting cleaned out of stock by thirsty cyclists stopping in, so he found a way to stretch his inventory while still quenching his customers’ thirst – Radler translates to ‘Cyclist’ as it turns out.  So of course we had one while on the family bike ride mentioned above.


That’s a wrap on another German holiday!

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Thinking Out Loud Thursday


I’m back from our annual trip to Germany and while I should be typing up a recap of it, or attending to other important (at least, important to this blog) topics, I thought I’d use a Thinking Out Loud Thursday Link-up as a way to clear some of the junk that’s been rattling around my brain lately.


Robots is Good People

Far too many people are still talking about the Zombie Apocalypse and not enough are worried about the Robot Uprising.  Not me, I’m going to work on making friends with our future overlords – I’m a survivor like that.  The Lily Camera has been getting some attention from outdoor and extreme sports enthusiasts for being able to intelligently follow its user that is wearing a small tracking device.

I had fantasies of making cool videos featuring me swimming, biking and running (not to mention *Burbathlon*, cross-country skiing, maybe mountain biking ) with chase cam footage.  A couple of days after I came across the video, I started seeing it everywhere – Facebook friends shared it with me having similar ideas to mine, and I even saw a couple of co-workers watching the video too.  Apparently one of the gotchas of drones is how much skill it takes to fly them, so this one having automatic ‘Follow Me’ modes (among others) is something of a breakthrough.  I also like how it’s waterproof and portable.

The thing is, with the autopilot feature being so desirable, they can’t be the only ones who have come up with a potential solution.  I also wondered if I might want a GoPro or other action cam to do First Person video too, and then have a drone that can mount the camera for the chase cam stuff.  I found the Iris, the Hexo+ as well as some highly experimental smaller drones like the Extreme MicroDrone 3.0 and the Nixie.

Of course, these are the serious thoughts of someone richer than me – I need to stay focused on getting my bike up to snuff for Barrelman.

Video Killed The Blogging Star

In a fit of Shiny Object Syndrome/Me Too Disorder (a.k.a Blogger Peer Pressure), I started using Periscope, an app for doing live broadcasts from your mobile device.  Tamara from Fit Knit Chick did a great little beginner’s tutorial and you can see it here.  I guess I thought I’d do similar content to what I had in mind for the drones and action cam; walking an audience through what I consider to be a fun workout or something.

I started with trying to incorporate a Bike Hill Training/Strength #WorkoutHack, previously seen here.  I don’t think the broadcast was terribly good or successful, though people were kind and generous with their ‘hearts’ (which are like ‘Likes’ on Periscope).  I didn’t enable a tweet share, and I haven’t found a way to share it now; even by uploading the MP4 file to YouTube (and the file doesn’t seem to be able to play natively on my phone either).  You may be able to see the replay if you find me on Periscope (in app, search for apkussma).  Based on that initial experience, here are my thoughts on Periscope (and yes, I’m aware of Meerkat, which is pretty similar).

  • You have to have something to say or show.  Either you have a prepared presentation/speech/lecture or tutorial, or your location is interesting enough to provide the scenery giving your audience a show and a way to virtually join in your experience, (for example, a concert or show).
  • You have to have a good network connection; this rules out doing any kind of swim or underwater video, and if you’re outside your home network (and are unwilling to pay roaming charges), there’s no chance to do a live broadcast.  This kept me from doing some Periscope video while in Germany… I could have shown you guys around.
  • If you want to broadcast action, be prepared for technical hiccups.  My broadcast ended accidentally and an error popped up.  I’m not sure if it was because the phone was being manhandled by me while trying to ride my bike, or if the phone ran out of memory while recording (you can enable the video to store a local copy) or if it was just a bug.  I’m glad I didn’t put too much thought or preparation into it.

With those caveats, I’m probably not done with Periscope, but I think I prefer doing video with Instagram; 15 seconds is enough for a lot of the messages I’m trying to send, and I’m not limited to a character count for when I want to add some extra hashtags (unlike Vine). Here’s an example:

Last but not least on the Video Star front, here’s the official video recap of Spring Into Action 2015.


Mo’ Media, Mo’ Problems (Mo’ Money?)

Both of the aforementioned feelings (desire for a little cash to spend on gear and tech abd Blogger Peer Pressure) have coupled which has me looking at expanding some of the ‘business’ aspects of the blog.  I’ve already joined some affiliate programs, you may have noticed some of the links in previous posts.  Affiliate programs, Ambassadorships and Partnerships, better advertising are all potentially on the horizon, and yet I constantly remind myself that this blog is a hobby… about my hobbies.  I do this mostly to go through the practice of writing, and share my experiences like some kind of glorified post-card. I train, I get outside, and I try to develop my writing ‘voice’ by describing those adventures. I do like to try new things, obviously, so I’m willing to put some effort into the kinds of things more professional bloggers spend time on, but I need to balance that with my sanity, and not make blogging yet another chore.

Ahhh… that feels better. See you next time with something more triathlon/family/something related, OK?

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Introducing My New Bike: Sable


sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)
  1. A small carnivorous mammal of the Old World that resembles a weasel, Martes zibellina, from cold regions in Eurasia and theNorth Pacific islands, valued for its dark brown fur (Wikipedia).
  2. The marten, especially Mustela americana.
  3. A black colour, resembling the fur of some sables.



My new bike is an Argon18 E-80.  I’m not an expert on bike technology, but this is a solid bike with a combination carbon/aluminium frame, with an aerodynamic design that has been fully validated in a wind tunnel.  One thing I noticed in some research I did, is that for example, the front brakes are behind the fork to benefit from their aerodynamic shape; some bikes put the brakes in front of the fork where they only spoil the effect of the aero fork.  And of course, it fit my budget of $2000.00.


Argon18 is a Canadian company, which doesn’t hurt, and I’ve been playing around with red and black as an aesthetic; these things shouldn’t matter, but I can’t help myself.


So, back to the introduction, the bike is not only black, but named after a swift predator that relies on guile and skill more than raw power.  That’s why I picked the name.


Sadly, as of this writing, I won’t have ridden her yet.  I put on new SPD pedals, and when I wanted to switch my shoes to the correct adapters (I had bought both the pedals and the adapters over a year ago from a different store), it appears there were parts missing, so it couldn’t be done on the spot, and they didn’t have any more in stock.  There are some other complicating factors which I can’t go into right here, right now, but I do like the store where I bought the bike, Bike Zone Mississauga.

Between getting a proper fit, and accessories (like water bottles), I’m sure I’ll be spending more money…

Have you named your bike? What’s the silliest bike name you’ve heard?
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#WorkoutHack: Explosive Power For Triathletes Using A Heavy Bag

Disclaimer: I am not a certified fitness professional.  Please consult one or a medical professional before undertaking any new forms of exercise – you are at your own risk.  I present these exercises only as a way to exchange ideas and inspire others to be creative in their methods for attaining their fitness goals.

I’m now into the “Pre-Competitive 1” Phase (weeks 13-16) of my Half-Iron training (from Gale Bernhardt’s Training Plans for Multisport Athletes), and strength training is only once per week and the workouts are meant to be for “strength maintenance”.  For the preceding “Specific Preparation 3” phase (weeks 9-12), my strength workouts were coded as being “Power Endurance” (PE).

“The PE strength training phase is intended to combine strength with velocity.  Making fast movements with weights, however, is controversial.  At least one study has shown that when lifters were asked to move a weight as quickly as possible while maintaining contact with the weight bar, power actually decreased….”

So Gale Bernhardt wants me to lift the weight explosively, but is concerned I won’t get the most bang for my buck if I have to control where it goes?  I’m more concerned about whether I can handle the weight coming back down on the negative phase, and what that’s going to do to my body….

“One of the best options for a hip extension exercise with fast movements is a leg press machine that allows you to explosively jump off the platform with a load and return to the start position at a moderate speed.”

So if I understand it correctly, most of the PE movements should have an explosive lift, and ideally not carry any extra weight on the way back down.  I’m not sure my gym wants me dropping weights on the floor like that, but luckily, I’m good at finding ways to improvise…

Enter the Heavy Bag.  This thing has been hiding in my mother’s basement from the halcyon days of the late 90s when I took kickboxing and other martial arts.  It weighs 70 lbs, and that’s a lot less than the weight I dead-lift or squat, yet somehow carrying it out of her basement (and subsequently into/out of mine) is a workout unto itself.  Once I did, though, I found a way to get some great, explosive strength workout, and get a little Vitamin D in my own backyard.
Have a look.


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Race Recap: Huntsville Half Marathon a.k.a. Band On The Run

I had vowed to do Band On the Run this year after missing out the year before due to a certain procedure being performed.  In fact, at last year’s Angus Glen Half-Marathon, we hatched a plot for my friends John and Tina to visit us at the cottage and for John to do the race together.  Though our schedule was crazy enough that the plan was touch and go for a while, I’m happy to say that we all did the Huntsville Half Marathon last Saturday.


 We drove up to the cottage on the Friday night, and traffic was not kind so we got to bed much later than one likes to before a race.  Fortunately, the kids slept well, and we didn’t feel too rough the next morning.  Though we parked and got to the race site on time, somehow we dallied in saying goodbye to the kids (who would be watched by Tina and my mother – thanks again!) and we only put ourselves in the back of the very small corral a few seconds before the start of the race.


 Before the race, I had tried to do some analysis to come up with the right pace and thus a good goal for finishing time, or at least a rough estimate.  The problem was I hadn’t run a half-marathon type distance this season, and my longest run was the 5 Peaks Heart Lake Conservation Area Trail Race.  I figured that 16 km of trails was worth at least 18 km of road in terms of training, but I doubted it would give a good estimate of speed.  I also tried looking at training runs and figuring out an average speed that would keep me in Zone 2 of my heart rate.  That proved difficult visually; the graphs spike up and down in a way that’s difficult to simply eye-ball.  I even tried exporting my data into a spreadsheet and doing some analysis that way, but the numbers didn’t work, or at least, I couldn’t make them work for the time I could afford on the effort.  There’s probably another post in there – the raw data probably needs to be smoothed out by some algorithms to be usable.

 My final strategy before the race began was to simply set an alert on my Garmin to go off if my heart rate went into Zone 3.  I had 3 gels on me, and I took the first before the start… it has a lot of caffeine.


The course starts climbing right away… and my heart rate alarm went off before I had gone 300m.  I tried to slow my pace, but there didn’t seem to be a pace more than a crawl that was going to keep me in Zone 2, so I reset the alarm to go off if I crossed into Zone 4, and I tried to keep an eye on the absolute value of my heart rate, and simply be conservative for the first third to half of the race.  Maybe it was the hill climbing, maybe it was the caffeine, but without much recent experience at the half-marathon distance, I knew I had to be conservative.

 The climbing continued.  I was a little shocked to see so many people walking within the first 2 km of a half-marathon, but there was a great sense of community, and I joked with people at the appearance of each new incline as if the hills were a novelty, and not becoming tedious.  The race had promised musicians at regular intervals, and they delivered for at least the first 7 km.  The race course at one point crossed Highway 60, which they couldn’t close for the race completely, and a police officer stopped traffic so that runners could cross in batches.  I was impressed, because some people in front of me must have had to wait a little, but I don’t think this contributed any significant delay.

Seen on my run: clowns on bikes, fire trucks, bagpipers. 

Like I said, there was a great sense of community in this race, even though the number of runners was small – from the back of the pack, there was only 22 seconds difference between gun and chip time for me.  I was impressed by how often spectators seemed to know runners by name,  though Huntsville is a major hub of cottage country and population swells seasonally, I guess it’s really just a small town when it comes down to it.  In the first third of the race course, I also found my new favourite race sign…

Yeah, that’s right… potty humour.  I’m not even sorry.


I heard someone mention that we’d be visiting Arrowhead Provincial Park, and I could tell by the route we were taking that they were right.  The park’s front gate had porta-potties, an aid station and a great musician; I can’t remember what he played when I was on my way in, but he played R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” on my way out, and it was awesome.


While the park’s road was more peaceful for traffic, and provided shade and some of the nicest scenery on the run, it was also the biggest climb.  I saw John on the way in, he had already hit the turn-around at 10 km and was moving fast.  He told me it was only 3 more hills then corrected himself to 2.  He was actually right the first time.

The last musician I saw before the turn-around point was playing the Lumineers’ “Ho Hey”, and I joined in with my own “HO” and “HEY”s which probably only confused everyone else; I guess they don’t know that’s my jam…

As soon as I hit the turn-around I felt some relief.  I knew I’d have lots of downhill to look forward to, and I congratulated myself for playing it safe and leaving plenty in the tank to try and get a really significant negative split.  Up until that point, I’d been running at a pace that would have netted me 2:15 finish time, and that’s being optimistic.  I saw my wife around the same spot that John had gone by me, and we shared a kiss for luck.  She was smiling when we saw each other, which I took to be a good sign, as I knew the hills would be rough on her.  That moment definitely gave me another little boost.

 I really picked up the pace for the last half; I took my gels, didn’t have any more bathroom breaks, and generally paid more attention to the pace than my heart rate.  The route seemed a little deserted by that point, and I crossed the Main Street Bridge and ducked into the alleyway that led to the finish line.  Shark Boy and the Lightning Kid (along with my mother, John and Tina) were all there to give me my finish line hugs.

The Lightning Kid with makeshift sun-protection as it had gotten quite sunny.

My finishing time was 2:06:05 which gives me an average pace of 6:00 per km.  I’m pretty happy with that, even if the total time was well over 2 hours or even 2:05.  What I’m proudest of is the negative split.  I did the first 10 km with a 6:24/km pace, and the final 11 with a 5:29/km pace.  Or, put another way, the first 10 km took me 1:04 and the next 11 km took me 0:54:45… now that’s a negative split!



We did have to wait a while for my wife.  Apparently the last 3 km were the worst for her; like I said, it was a tough course.  It was nice, however, being able to spot her crossing the bridge to alert the boys to her arrival – I cheered her on from under the bridge and she pulled out some last effort to break back into a run.  Once she came down the alley, Shark Boy accompanied her on the last stretch, and the Lightning Kid let me know he did not want to be left out.  The race announcer took note of the whole family coming into the finish line and it was a nice moment.


We slowly (painfully), made our way back to the car and headed home, with a stop at Kawartha Dairy for ice cream.  We had beer and ribs for lunch and took a dip in the lake to cool off our inflamed joints and muscles.

We did want to attend the music festival… all the runners were entitled to it, and the Lightning Kid got a kick out of dancing and making a spectacle of himself last year.  We arrived a bit into the head-liner’s show.  It was the Joel Plaskett Emergency, and they were a lot of fun.  Joel Plaskett managed to put some fun word-play into his lyrics and even mash-up covers into his own songs.  His son Shannon (less than 5 years old by my rough estimate) danced and took videos from up on stage which only added to the fun, family-oriented vibe.  People were dancing and having fun with their kids in front of the stage, and the Lightning Kid was not to be left out; Joel Plaskett even called out to him as “the kid in the Spider-Man hat”.


Having live music to enhance the whole musical theme of the Band On The Run race really makes for a whole day of fun and fitness, and I already can’t wait till next year.

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Indoor Sky-Diving at iFly (with Shark Boy)

I’m linking up with Lakeshore Runner for Tri-ed It Tuesday.  Wait till you get a load of what Shark Boy and I tried the weekend before last!
OK, this post is going to be off-topic, since it’s got nothing to do with triathlon, or fitness or any of the usual subjects.  I suppose it is related to active family living, as one of the ways we manage to get the whole family involved in physical activities and travel is to treat our life as an ongoing adventure.  Plus, the experience was simply too cool not to use this space to shout about it.


During the winter, we were taking the Lightning Kid to a hearing test at ErinOak Kids.  I spotted a building called iFly and deduced it was dedicated to indoor skydiving; something I had read about when I was a kid, and seen on TV, but never experienced.  The idea is that you’re put in a wind tunnel that simulates the air rushing by you when you’re in free fall.  By assuming a spread-eagle position, you float on the air currents.   All the fun of sky diving without jumping out of a perfectly good airplane – far less risk, somewhat less adrenaline.

 Unbeknownst to me at the time, my wife was taking mental notes, and gave me a pass to be used in the future as a Valentine’s Day present.  I waited for my chance (i.e. a break in our weekend schedule) and took Shark Boy, as they take kids as young as 4.

 We had booked a 6:00PM slot, so after a rushed dinner at Boston Pizza, where I think Shark Boy was too excited to eat even his favourite foods, we walked into the facility and reported to the front desk.  I was sent to a screen to fill in waivers for the two of us.  They asked the usual health questions you’d expect, as well as asking about a history of shoulder dislocation.  Doing it digitally was nice since it auto-filled a lot of Shark Boy’s information with mine (e.g. address, email, and phone number).

 After that, we were weighed for the record and sent upstairs to the viewing area where we could see flights in session.  We were told we’d have about 2 and a half hours of time to spend there which would include some training time.  I worried about Shark Boy’s attention span for any classroom orientation, but watching others tackle their flights was exciting enough to keep him engaged.


We were assigned a group number, and our instructor, Mike G, came to the viewing/waiting area to gather us into a classroom.  He was very laid-back and casual, and told us the classroom training would be an hour and a half.  That was apparently a joke, as it turned out to be about 15 minutes.  He was great and engaging kids and adults alike, and walked us through the basic rundown of what our flights would be.  We had two flights each, although you could book 4 beforehand and one lady in our group had.  The suggested method for her was to make her flights twice as long, and still have two sessions which would give her more time to hone her skills.

 Mike explained the basics of the correct body position; the hips should be the lowest point of the body, the hands should be level with the plane of vision and most importantly the chin should be up.  There are hand signals used in the tunnel because between the ear plugs and helmet for protection and the noise of the turbine, you can’t communicate verbally. Some of the signals are for safety, some for guidance (straighten your legs=two straight fingers, bend your legs=two bent fingers), but my favourite was ‘relax’… it’s the old ‘hang loose’ sign from surfer culture (thumb and pinky extended from the fist).

He showed a video to get us oriented with the basics of entry and exiting the tunnel, and it ended with an expert rising to the top of the chamber and diving back down in an array of flips and turns.  One concerned parent asked if it was possible for someone (especially a child) to rise up that high accidentally.  The answer was no, it actually took a high degree of skill to get up that high – you need to build up momentum somehow.  Of course, getting us excited about getting to that skill level is how they get people to come back!

I made sure Shark Boy was paying attention and repeated as much as I could to him to make sure it was sinking in, I also volunteered him to lie on a special chair to simulate the position.  I probably came off as a little intense, but I just wanted to make sure we got the most out of the experience (it’s not cheap!)


We headed out of the classroom, and got suited up.  The jumpsuits have little handles on the back to make sure the instructor (who is in the chamber with you) can control your motion if necessary.  You can’t bring valuables (including cameras or phones) into the wind chamber with you, but they have lockers which are easy to use.  I snapped a few pics before putting everything away.


There’s a control booth with a window into the chamber where an operator can control the wind speed (or shut it down completely) and also a camera recording video (so they can sell you a DVD of the experience, of course).  While we were waiting for our group to get its turn, I checked out a few facts that were printed on a wall.  Apparently the wind tunnel is built with the motors at the top, meaning the air is actually being sucked from the top as opposed to blown from the bottom – though it does feel like the wind is coming from below, and your cheeks and face show it.  There was also a list of other such facilities all over the world – I only counted 26, so figure we’re lucky here in the Greater Toronto Area (this place was built in 2014).

I have to tell you, each individual flight is only a minute long, which seems dreadfully short when you’re spending 2 hours there, but I swear the time flies  (my puns are always intended).  The inner chamber’s floor is simply a net that air can flow through, but enough to cushion your landing should your flight skills not be up to scratch.  You enter the inner chamber through a doorway, and just outside that is a bench where you wait for your turn.  The kids went first, and when they get in, they all flop around like fish out of water.  The instructor is very attentive to every possible movement and keeps the whole situation under control though – that’s for adults as well as children.  I sat on the bench next to Shark Boy, because I wanted to make sure his exit was as smooth as possible.  I needn’t have worried, since it went perfectly.

For my first flight, I was glad to be able to go independently, without Mike holding on to me, though I had a bit of a laugh at how I crashed into the sides.  I even mugged for the camera.

We went through the entire line-up, and when it was the second round, the girl at the front of the line had lost an earplug.  The effort of getting it put back in meant shutting down the turbine for a minute or two, and by the time we had everything going again, she had lost her nerve.  She declined a second flight.  Then the kid behind her (her brother, same age as Shark Boy, I believe) declined too.  I was worried that it would be contagious and Shark Boy would follow suit, but no, he was game.  On the second flight, you’re a little more comfortable and you do a little better.  Shark Boy flew in what we called a ‘helicopter’ with both he and Mike in the air unanchored, spinning around the tunnel, and I got right up to the top of the viewing window, which apparently is as high as a beginner can get.

The session ended with our instructor Mike demonstrating flips and spins with  big rises to the top of the chamber (a good 30 feet up from the floor) and dives to within inches of the floor.

Once the group’s session was over, we got out of our flight suits, and there was an option to save on future flights if we purchased them that day.  It was enticing, but I wasn’t willing to commit.  If we do go back, we’ll spend less time in orientation and the flights will cost less. As part of our package, we got the DVD and I managed to not only rip the video from it, but edit it to show only the exciting parts (i.e. Shark Boy’s flights and mine).


I talked at length with Shark Boy about how glad I was that he didn’t chicken out because this was a really rare experience that not everyone will ever get to enjoy.  I really meant that.

What do you think? Would you give it a try?  What about the real thing (i.e. jumping out of a perfectly good airplane)?

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Review: Everlast VP Vegan Protein Mix

Disclaimer: I’m officially an Everlast Nutrition Ambassador.  I earn commission on orders made through my discount code.
Vegan Protein


Everlast is a known brand in fight sports; I’ve got a heavy bag (from a previous life where martial arts played a bigger role in my fitness) and a jump rope from them, and they’re still part of my workout regimen today (stay tuned to this site in the future to find out how).  What about the nutritional side of things?


I see two dueling trends when I look around the fitness/wellness blogosphere:
  1. Athletes with incredible bodies who take pre-workout, post-workout supplements to optimize everything from performance to recovery.
  2. A trend toward “real food”, and staying away from artificial ingredients and compounds with unpronounceable names.


My experience with supplements is limited. I do take a multivitamin more or less as insurance against nutritional deficiencies that I might be accruing through an imperfect diet.  I also try and get extra protein for two purposes: a) re-building muscles that are getting torn up from daily workouts and b) feeling full so that I stay clear of less healthy snacks that I run into throughout my day.  Sometimes I throw hemp seeds onto cereal or other foods, but my most frequent protein supplementation is to make a smoothie, usually for breakfast.  Typical ingredients include some combination of
  • Milk
  • Strawberries
  • Peanut/Almond butter
  • Banana
  • Coconut Water
  • Hemp Protein
  • Ground Flax Seed
  • Blueberries
  • Kefir


I had tried the pre-ready protein powders in the past, but because I liked my shakes to be creamy, I always used milk which never dissolved the powder well, and I found eating the powder after drinking a near-flavourless shake to be a little unappealing.


Everlast nutrition sent me this sample pack of their new Vegan Protein mix to try.  Looking at the ingredients I saw:
  • Pea protein
  • Carrageenan
  • Sea Salt
  • Natural Flavor
  • Rice Protein
  • Hemp Protein
  • Stevia Glycoside

The carrageenan would be a source of concern, but the truth is, I haven’t found a chocolate milk product (even organic ones) that don’t have it, so I guess it’s necessary for the whole ‘shake’ experience.  A lot of people swear by stevia (I’m not a convert), but I guess I’m grateful for sweetness without sugar (or the attendant calories).  The rest sounds like really good stuff.  The sample pack was only good for one serving, so I opted to try it simply with milk to get the best idea of its taste without going the watery route.


After a really intense session at the gym, I bought a large milk and went to my desk to try mixing it in a smoothie bottle.  I’ll bet I shook that bottle for at least 5 minutes before I tried it. Bad news first: like all other protein shakes I’ve tried to make in the past, the end result had only a portion of the powder dissolved and the rest sat at the bottom.  That makes the flavour weaker than it needs to be, and the idea of eating the remnant powder alone is disgusting.

Yuck


Now the good news: the taste is fantastic.  I think it’s the sea salt; you know how the only thing better than caramel is salted caramel? It’s like that, only with vanilla plus a little bit of nuttiness.  I refilled the container with water and enjoyed the rest of the drink.  And in case you hadn’t figured it out (and it’s important to you) the product is vegan (though the warning label admits it’s produced in a facility where dairy products, eggs, wheat and soy are also handled).

If you want to try Everlast VP Vegan Protein, you can use the code IRONROGUE at checkout when you visit EverlastNutrition.com.  In addition to this Vegan Protein, they have a performance drink mix called Everlast Fuel that has both electrolytes (for optimal re-hydration) and protein (for muscle recovery).

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Motivation Monday: Crashing the Sport Chek #SweatForThis Party

Sport Chek invited some of my favourite local bloggers, like Wildly Fit, Robyn Baldwin and Darwinian Fail (as I composed this sentence, I envisioned them as Charlie’s Angels, and I’m like Bosley or something) to participate in their #SweatForThis campaign.  


Krysten (a.k.a. Darwinian Fail) is even on a TV commercial which you can see here.

I love this campaign, because everyone has their reasons to run, swim, bike, lift and generally break a sweat, so I decided to crash the party with my own reasons.  I’ve compiled them into this video, I hope you like it.  

I #SweatForThis



For some of the stories behind those images, our active family adventures can be found under the tag ‘family‘. I’ll call out some particular highlights like the 5 Peaks Heart Lake Race, our Ski Vacation to Smuggler’s Notch, the 2014 Toronto Yonge Street 10k, and our First Kids of Steel Duatlhon.

What do you think of the video?

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Friday Five: Top Five Father’s Day Gifts for the Many Faces of Iron Rogue

Disclosure: The links in this post are referral and/or affiliate links.  I get a credit/commission for items purchased through them.


1.) For the office drone who needs to get more active and/or stronger on the bike:

 In a triathlon, you’re likely to spend more time on the bike than swimming or running, yet it seems to be the hardest to get out and do; the extra equipment and getting to a safe route can be time consuming.  Enter the Stamina 15-0120 InStride Cycle XL. This thing sits under a desk and lets you quietly pedal during your workday.  
2.) For a guy who, kind of, sort of, cares how he dresses.  Frank And Oak make some of the clothes I most like to wear (except my flannel sweatpants and old hooded sweatshirts though they do make hoodies too).  A Frank and Oak shirt is my go-to when I have an important meeting or it’s date night.  I’ve also got khakis, slacks, jeans, shoes and blazers from them.  All their stuff is affordable, and special mention goes to the shirts which are tailored well to an athletic physique; the more generic shirt you get from department stores tend to billow out if you’re slimmer than a husky man.  The styles lean toward hipster, which helps this 40-something feel younger, but not to the point of embarassment.
3.) For the dad who likes turning play time with the kids (or any other semi-reasonable time) into a workout.  Gripsling is an innovative, tough training device that basically can give you a handle on anything you can loop it around for lifting, or pulling yourself up.  Their base model has a loop on one end and you grip the other end of the strap, but I like their next model up which has loops on both ends.  If you don’t need the second loop, you don’t have to use it, but I always prefer have-it-but-don’t-need-it to need-it-but-don’t-have-it.  They’re light and portable so it would be easy to take them along on a run to make a burbathlon more interesting.  I can’t wait to integrate them into trips to the playgrounds and parks with the kids or even impromptu backyard workouts.

Save 20% on your order when you use the discount code “IronRogue” at checkout.
4.) For the multisport smart phone addict: I had a waterproof dustproof camera that I used for taking pics at races for the blog and for when the family was out and about the way we often are, but the quality was never very good, and in the meantime, my phone’s camera has eclipsed it in megapixels and capabilities.  While the Samsung Galaxy S5 has some baseline waterproof capabilities, I needed to not only feel safer in the water, but account for my own clumsiness which was going to result in a dropped phone (it’s happened in the past).  Enter Lifeproof.  I use the FRE case on my S5, and it’s saved it from multiple drops, and if you’ve ever seen one of my swim videos on Instagram, that’s how I capture them.  Customer service is very good too, as they replaced the first one I got after a scratch showed up, and they did it quickly and efficiently.
Galaxy S5 Case – frē $79.99


Once you have the case like I do though, the bulkiness of it can make it less convenient to have around at any given time, so I’m thinking about adding the quick mount accessories like this bike mount,
Bike + Bar Mount with QuickMount $39.99


























or a simple belt clip.
Belt Clip with QuickMount $29.99




























5.) For the father who’s not getting any younger… I only know two things about aging skin… a) sun makes it worse and b) you should moisturize.  I’ve gotten a lot of skin care products as birthday, Christmas and Father’s Day gifts over the years and some are expensive, but I’m simply not fussed enough to go about multiple steps in any kind of regimen, at least not on a regular basis.  Most days, I’ve been using the Every Man Jack Daily Protection after my shave; my skin gets moisturized against the irritation, and I get SPF 15 protection for the walk to and from my car and dropping the kids off (I use a higher SPF product if I’m training outside).  You can get Every Man Jack products, and other grooming items (as well as socks, underwear and neat things like deodorant wipes for when you can’t shower) at ManPacks.com.

Linking up with Friday Five from You Signed Up For WHAT? and Fit and Fashionable Friday from Fitful Focus