In its 28th season, the popular Comox Valley Tri-K Triathlon welcomes a new title sponsor.
"The team at Shoreline Orthodontics is happy to be joining the annual event," an event spokesperson said after event chair Rick Gibson made the announcement late last week.
If you've ever wanted to do a triathlon this is a great event to start with. There are divisions for all ages starting at five years old right up through adult. As the age increases so does the distance – the longest being a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
For those new to the sport it is short enough to be attainable yet long enough to be challenging. For experienced triathletes it is an early-season event that will allow you to gauge where your training is at.
The Shoreline Orthodontics Comox Valley Tri-K is being held on Sunday, May 29 at the Sports Centre pool. Information about the event and registration is available on the website, www.trik.ca.
With just over 10 weeks before the race, there is plenty of time to get ready for the challenge.
An eight-week training schedule will be published in this paper starting the week of March 28.
This training schedule will help participants get ready for the event. The first step is to gather your gear.
You’ll need to get :
• A swimsuit – you don’t have to wear a Speedo, but wearing something without pockets and somewhat form-fitting will help with your time
• Runners – use ‘real’ running shoes, not those skateboard shoes
• Shorts – could be same as your swimsuit
• A T-shirt – bare torsos are not allowed on the race course
• socks – make running much more enjoyable
• a water bottle – for hydration, even if the sun is not beating down on you, hydrate
• a bike – pump those tires up, tighten all screws and bolts, take the streamers off the handlebars, tighten the seat and handlebars
• and a helmet – must be approved by A.N.S.I. or Snell
• registered at www.trik.ca.
The triathlon experience can be enhanced by the quality of equipment and by adding some extra pieces of equipment to your list of gear, such as swim goggles, sun glasses or toe clips. There are many sporting stores in the Valley (Extreme Runners, Simon’s Cycles and Canadian Tire, to name a few) who can outfit you for your triathlon.
Now that you have all your stuff, get out there and try it out.
These initial sessions will help you gauge where you are physically and where your equipment is mechanically. Maybe your bike tires need a little more air, maybe you’ll find you can only run once around the block before you start to walk or maybe you’ll have to find out about the pool schedule. Don’t let these discourage you.
Triathlons are all about planning, organization and preparation. Although the training schedule only requires a commitment of up to one hour on weekdays and a little more on weekends, you will benefit from being ready. Both the Sports and Aquatic Centres offer length swims. They also have Swim-fit, a drop in aquatic program that offers coached swim workouts.
The staff at Extreme Runners can hook you up with various running groups around the Valley, and you only need to roll out of your driveway to get going with your cycling routine.
The cycle route for the Tri-K is an out-and-back. There is a slight incline for a majority of the ride out, but it is all downhill for the ride home. In preparation for the ride you may want to take your bike to the Sports Centre and ride the route, or a part of it, to get a feel for the road.
You have your homework; assemble your gear, try it out and look for the training guide in this paper the week of March 28.