With the heart of champion, Mr. Lessing guts it out to the finish. He probably has never run this slow even in a training run, but rather than drop out, he pushed through to the finish. Congrats Simon. Super job. Alll you fans can relate to what this is like !
NAME SIMON LESSING BIB NUMBER 27 AGE 34 PROFESSION PRO TRIATHLETE STATE/COUNTRY CO USA SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL FINISH POSITION 47:01 4:33:49 3:18:25 8:43:13 4 RACE LEG DISTANCE PACE POSITION TOTAL SWIM 2.4 mi. (47:01) 1:14/100m 2 TOTAL BIKE 112 mi. (4:33:49) 24.54 mph 2 FIRST RUN SEGMENT 13.1 mi. (1:30:31) 6:54/mile RUN FINISH 13.1 mi. (1:47:54) 8:14/mile TOTAL RUN 26.2 mi. (3:18:25) 7:34/mile 4
And what about Chris Leito with that smoking 4:25 bike split, Vukovic on the podium after a 14 month hiatus, and Peterborough Half Ironman winner Nigel Grey running a very even split 1:29/1:30 ! Looks like it was a very tough day on the run !
I’m not surprised with his strong finish in Penticton:
SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL FINISH POSITION 57:31 4:40:44 3:00:22 8:42:15 3 RACE LEG DISTANCE PACE POSITION TOTAL SWIM 2.4 mi. (57:31) 1:30/100m 76 TOTAL BIKE 112 mi. (4:40:44) 23.94 mph 8 FIRST RUN SEGMENT 13.1 mi. (1:29:45) 6:51/mile RUN FINISH 13.1 mi. (1:30:37) 6:55/mile TOTAL RUN 26.2 mi. (3:00:22) 6:53/mile 3 TRANSITION TIME SWIM - TO - BIKE (T1) 1:46 BIKE - TO - RUN (T2) 1:52 PENALTY TIME TOTAL PENALTIES --:–
Ted…nope, just one more event…Canadian Half on Sep 3. If things work out on the home front logistics wise, I’ll also do the Esprit Half in Montreal on Sep 17th. After that, I’m packing it in and going deep into doughboyland and taking some serious rest before starting the 06 program with XC ski specific training in November :-). I also run an XC ski program for ~ 90 kids and I have to get the whole thing organized over most of Sep and Oct, so I need to focus on the “next generation”
What is the story with that XC program. I don’t think I am a “kid,” but I love to xc-ski, and would love to supplement my training with some this winter… PM details if you wouldn’t mind or email (my email is in my profile).
Rappster…think about it. You coulda been on the podium…then again, not everyday that Mr. Lessing is going to gift the field with a relatively pedestrian run (for him that is) :-). You likely blew your one and only chance !
It looked like Simon fried on the run as the day got quite hot later on. It doesn’t bode well for Kona I am afraid. A trip to the med tent six or so weeks out is not a good sign for a fast recovery.
Rappster, I run a XC ski program for my local club for kids age 4-12. Its called the jackrabbit program and you can read about it on the Cross Country Canada website at:
Pierre Lavoie who won 40-44 age group in Kona last year does zero swim bike run from Dec till mid April…just cross country ski, so it can work. Myself, in the winter it is typically no swim or bike, just XC ski and running. I find it too hard to stop running and then to try and get back into it. I am in a totally different time zone or tri racing compared to you, so stopping tri stuff is OK. XC skiing is my favourite sport, so I end up logging 2000-2800K per winter on XC skis. Come mid to late Apr, I get back into the bike and swim and I can usually ramp to my full speed and bike volumes within 2-4 weeks.
In any event, I suppose if you want to be up there with the Lessing crew, you need to do very specific tri stuff, and then mix in some XC skiing. I know that many of the Boulder based tri pros do just that.
I run outside all winter, mostly on snowshoes if the flurries do fly. THAT is a great workout, especially for hip flexors/extensors. Really works your running form and keep you from shuffling, as you absolutely cannot shuffle in snowshoes. I am also going to see if I can do speedskating this winter, as that is very similar to biking, as seen by the heavy crossover between long-track ss and track cycling. My goal is to mix in some XC skiing and some SS to keep from going crazy on the trainer, and then to log heavy bike mileage on some trips to warmer climates. Joel may nix this plan, but he seemed pretty positive about when we last discussed it. Trying to think warm thoughts right now, though…
Take the virtual tour, it is very cool. Between XC skiing and speedskating, its pretty quick crossover back to the bike, but of course, I am no Simon Lessing :-).
Actually, a trip to the med tent yields the fastest recovery!!!
Congrats to Simon. Would be interested to see what happend out there. Sounds silly, but for an athlete of his caliber to run “that” slow typically increases injury…
…how on earth did we hijack a thread on the man Simon Lessing, into a poser discussion about winter sport…the season must be coming to a close…
LOL…I don’t know. The last time I XC ski’ed was in '94 after Myriam Bedard won one of her gold medals in the biathlon. I was in Norway well into a second bottle of Norsk moonshine and I proceded to tell my cousins that Myriam had made it look too easy and that any Canadian could kick a Norwegian’s ass any day of the week. Needless to say that dream last about 3 seconds.
I wasnt expecting to see him finish 3rd
