Film Review: Wired to Win

If you didn't already know, there is an IMAX Film currently showing around the world called Wired to Win. In Ontario, you can see it at the Ontario Science Centre (be warned that parking costs $8 there).

What did I think of it?

I was really looking forward to it (since I love watching cycling) and it was quite good but not great. I'd rate it a solid 7 and possibly an 8 out of 10.

This film would have been tons better with more IMAX footage. I did not time it but I could have sworn that 30% of it or more was not even IMAX stuff and just OLN/TV footage, along with animation.

That first shot of the Tour de France with the camera coming over the mountains and hovering over the riders was breathtaking. All of the cycling footage was awesome to see, I just feel it needed tons more of it.

It was like the producers felt they needed to justify the science end of the film and constantly keep showing the animation to explain fairly basic stuff. The only thing I have left to say is make a Wired to Win 2 and give us more cycling footage because that was the highlight of the film.

It is worth seeing, but cycling junkies should be forewarned that their thirst for wicked IMAX cycling footage may not be quenched fully after watching this film.

Enjoy.

RH

A War of Words - Macca strikes back huge!

After winning Ironman Hawaii, good ole Normann Stadler could not leave well enough alone and accused Chris McCormack of drafting. Of course, with Macca being the straight shooter that he is, he went right up to Stadler at the awards banquet and confronted him about his comments. The last few days of verbal warfare have been quite interesting. The 2007 race season will surely be one to watch now. Especially next year's Kona.

Check out some of what Macca had to say at these sites. I've tried posting it here but it does not seem to be working. Enjoy.
RH

http://chrismccormack.com/news/newsDetail.aspx?id=164

http://triathletemag.com/Page755.aspx

My Multisport Canada Award

Courtesy of Mike Cheliak (the best photographer in the business) here is my HSBC Duathlon Series Award. 1st Place among Men 35-39.

I'll actually get my hands on it at the Series Awards & Customer Appreciation Day on November 4th at Enduro Sport.

Hoss

Michellie & Normann Win

Me with the now 2006 Ironman World Champion

Instead of doing work and packing for my move, I pretty much did nothing but watch Ironman Hawaii coverage on ironman.com all day. They did a wicked job. Although I would have preferred to see Heather Fuhr racing, she added to the quality of the coverage.

Some of my picks came through huge. Thanks and congrats Michellie. Maybe she will go for the double and try to take home the 70.3 World Championships too? That would be sweet and definitely possible. Too bad Macca ran out of real estate but running a 2:46 is absolutely insane. Like I said, he needed to go bigger on the bike. We just might see him too at the 70.3 World Championships in a few weeks.

Great to see Desiree Ficker finish 2nd. She is a genuinely nice person who obviously put in some hard work to make such a great improvement. A definite future threat. Also incredible to see Lisa Bentley plow her way through to a 3rd place finish. And of course I must mention that the legendary Karen Smyers at the age of 45, finished 12th with a time of 9:39. On a sad note it was too bad that Dick and Rick Hoyt didn't make the swim cut-off. This was supposed to be their last trip to Kona. They will hopefully be back to end on a better note.

Here are the final results (Top 10).

Men's
1. Normann Stadler 8:11:56
2. Chris McCormack 8:13:07
3. Faris Al-Sultan 8:19:04
4. Rutger Beke 8:21:04
5. Eneko Llanos 8:22:28
6. Marino Vanhoenacker 8:24:17
7. Luke Bell 8:24:26
8. Cameron Brown 8:25:22
9. Chris Lieto 8:27:37
10. Patrick Vernay 8:28:13

Women's
1. Michellie Jones 9:18:31
2. Desiree Ficker 9:24:02
3. Lisa Bentley 9:25:18
4. Gina Kehr 9:27:24
5. Katherine Allen 9:30:22
6. Kate Major 9:31:53
7. Joanna Lawn 9:32:48
8. Belinda Granger 9:35:48
9. Melissa Ashton 9:38:22
10. Natascha Badmann 9:38:52

The big Ironman broadcast is set to air on NBC on December 9, from 4-6pm. Can't wait.

Later
Hoss

Toronto Marathon, Kona Is Tomorrow

Last weekend L & I volunteered at the Running Free Aid station at the Toronto Marathon.
Quite a chilly morning but we had a ton of fun out there.

Nick Capra of Running Free provided the quality tunes on the guitar (despite his hands being frozen). Of note was his "We ran out of #$@ cups song". Yes, we ran out of cups just when a huge group of 1/2 marathoners came through. Luckily for the marathoners we managed to get more cups just in time for when they came through. Thanks go out the cops, and the race marshals on their bikes for grabbing these.

I was great to see Nicole Stevenson come flying by with a big smile on her face. It looked way to easy for her. She ended up winning the women's marathon, and actually negative splitted by a few seconds.

It was great to see a lot of familiar faces out there. One fast dude I know (Jason) just failed to qualify for Boston. He came by the aid station and was walking with a limp. But at least he toughed it out to the finish. And get this, he still managed a time of 3:30. Crazy! I wish I could struggle like that. That only goes to show how fast he is. There will be better days dude. You will get to Boston. I am sure of it.

A sly person I know (family in fact), did this race under the radar. We did not see him go by (likely during our cup situation) but I saw him in the results. Way to go Saul. Sub 2 hrs is a great job. You are so lucky we did not see you go by or else you would have received a Gatorade shower for sure.

Right now I am so excited and can't wait for Ironman Hawaii to get going. Despite the earthquake, all systems are a go and the race will go on as scheduled. Just another 14-15 hours to go. Go Michellie and Macca!

Back again soon with the post Kona report.
Hoss

Check out some pics from the Running Fee Aid Station below:

Who is going to win Ironman Hawaii Next Weekend?

One more week until the biggest race in multisport, Ironman Hawaii.
But who is going to win?

Yes, you can play it safe on the women's side and go with the always dangerous Natasha Badmann. But I am hoping that Michellie Jones has learned from last year's 2nd place performance and is ready to lay a serious beating on the rest of the field.

So here is what she will do. Michellie will stay near the front on the swim, totally put the hammer down on the bike and come out with a monstrous double digit lead heading out of T2. She will then run sub 3:15 to prove to herself and everyone else she can run in Kona. Winning time will be 9:17 or sub 9:09 if it is not windy. After meeting and chatting with Michellie at Ironman Arizona this year, I am even more of a fan of hers. For someone of her stature in the sport, she is down to earth and really cool. So maybe this pick is a bit more from the heart. Go get 'em Michellie.

Here are my picks for top 5 Women:
1. Michellie Jones
2. Natasha Badmann
3. Kate Major
4. Lisa Bentley
5. Joanna Lawn
Sleeper Pick: Lori Bowden

Now for the men. As far as I am concerned it is a free for all. But my pick is Macca (Chris McCormack). I just want him to tear up the course and run in the 2:40's again. I love watching him race and if he pushes that bike a bit more and runs like he can, then the victory will easily be his. If he lets guys like Stadler and Al-Sultan go then he wont make that time up. If he doesn't sit back too much on the bike his finish time should be 8:25 or 8:12 if the traditional strong winds are not present on the Queen K.

Here are my picks for Top 5 Men:
1. Chris McCormack
2. Cameron Brown
3. Normann Stadler
4. Faris Al-Sultan
5. Cam Widoff
Sleeper Pick: Michael Lovato

That's it, now we just have to wait for the race next week on Saturday October 21, 2006.

Enjoy the wait, happy training (I've done a total of 2 hours of training this week so I gotta get back on the wagon soon), back again soon.

Hoss

HSBC Duathlon Series Champion 2006

For the second year in a row, I am the HSBC Duathlon Series Champion for the 35-59 age group. I gotta toot my own horn here because who knows how long this bit of success will last.

It is also good to see my other race buddies winning their age category as well. Angus Kim (Clydesdales under 40), Kelly Anthony (Clydesdales over 40), Rico Medeiros (30-34), Gord "Uber biker" Avann (45-49), and the eternally young at heart Jimmie Georgas (80+).

Check out all the results and final standings at:
http://www.multisportcanada.com/ms/events/results/2006/2006_overall_results_combined.cfm

Multisport Canada has posted their tentative schedule for 2007 and there are some cool changes in store.

Til next time
Hoss

Migranes, Migranes, Migranes

Yup! I'm still getting these suckers huge. About 3 a week now.
I haven't got headaches since grade school so I don't know what's up.

After a nice day of riding and running Sunday, I went to the movies to see J2 (juvenile but hilarious) and my worst migrane attack came near the end of the film. If you can imagine someone drilling or hammering something into the left side of your skull to the point of puking, then you have good sense of my pain. I came home and was off to bed from 6pm til this morning.

Went to the doc today to get some high powered medication (it seems to work) and spent the rest of the day sleeping. With such a beautiful day outside (sunny and 19 degrees) I sure wish I felt differently.

By the way, my new addition, affectionately known as "Sabertooth" feels awesome. It is wickedly good looking, fast, smooth, comfy, and climbs like no other bike I'd ridden before. Those FSA Compact Cranks sure improve my spinning and climbing ability. Real pictures to follow but this will have to do for now.


The Litespeed Factory Team race uniform arrived last week too. It looks sweet and I will get pictures of that soon too. Just too busy right now with work. Keep an eye out for a little something in the upcoming Transitions Magazine, and the Christmas Toys piece in Triathlon Magazine Canada. Lots of cool stuff but that new Polar RS 800 is real impressive.

Till next time
RH