It has been a busy 2 months! But a good 2 months of solid racing and training! Here is my recap... 

Early February, I discussed with my sport director about the general direction of my season. Given the fact that I have multiple commitments and extensive traveling to consider, we agreed on keeping the 2010 racing calendar as close as possible to home. Given that I was in Florida for a family vacation, before the EPERFORMANCE TRAINING CAMP, I raced my first 5kms of the season. The first 5km on Feb 20 was not pretty! It had been a long time since I have been this anxious for a race... the results was not spectacular but I managed to run 17:00 (OK, it was slow!), 1^st overall. The following weekend (Feb. 28), I went back for more pain and my 2^nd 5km in 2 weeks. The result was less embarrassing, 16:30 1^st overall, but still a lot of work to be done.

After 2 weekends of racing, I made my way to Clermont, FL for the EPERFORMANCE TRIATHLON TRAINING CAMP for 8 days (Mar 05-13).

This camp focused on running for multi sport athletes. Most distance athletes are training long and slow, thus promoting slower times! We focused on speed work, drills, and body posture over multiple runs in a day. Even if the weather in Florida was close to freezing point, we kept on punishing our athletes with 3hrs rides and outdoor swims. This was my best experience at a Clermont Camp! Athletes were hungry for knowledge and the atmosphere was relaxing. We had a great group! 

After a few days home, I headed to New Jersey for the OCEAN DRIVE MARATHON (Mar 28). I made a quick stop in NEW YORK for a ONE-DAY SWIM/RUN clinic hosted by TRITRAIN (Mar 27). I had the chance to be accompanied by my sport director and work with Jason Schneider, who organized this clinic. We had an eclectic swimming group, most of them dreading the Triathlon swim. By the end of 90min clinic, all had improved their skills 3-fold! I moved the tired group across town for the running portion. Running can be easy... but the longer you go the harder it gets due to poor technique. Thus we focused on body posture and again: SPEED WORK!

I jumped in the car and drove down to the Ocean Drive Marathon (my first in 6 years). The marathon was from Cape May up the coast to Sea Isle City NJ, point to point. Pretty cold, crazy winds and some rain; overall a pretty challenging course (about 5 bridges) and fairly rough conditions. Five minutes before the start, my watch died. I had no time, no pace... I asked around to see if I could borrow a watch. No luck. I look around to figure out who was fast... but not too fast. I had agreed to follow the plan given by my sport director: don’t run faster than 3h00, so you get back the feeling of what running a 3h00 marathon is. I locked on to a guy that looked fit and fast... put my head down and went... TOO FAST! Headwinds were very brutal, especially on the bridges coming into the towns. I was in a group of 4... I had no clue what pace I was running. I made a decision to slow down... within 5km from the finish line, I moved to 2^nd place and finished with a time of 2h46:30. Not bad for running by feeling! This is something I DO NOT RECOMMAND TO ANY OF MY ATHLETES!!! CLEAR?!?!?!

I am now heading (Apr 06) to Mauritius, where I will be giving a triathlon Coaching course for the International Triathlon Union (ITU). I will be backing home on April 17.

NEXT EVENTS:

+ Apr 25 – 5km ST-Laurent, QC Canada

+ May 09 – Duathlon Chambly, QC Canada

+ May 16 – Duathlon Sorel, QC Canada

+ May 30 – Sprint Distance Triathlon OKA, QC Canada

+ June TBD: 70.3 Mooseman, NH USA or ITU Long Distance Triathlon Asian Champs in Korea

Thanks for reading!

Training in FREEEEZING Florida

I am now home under manageable weather. Montreal weather at this time of the year is usually in the low -20C... which seems much warmer than my last ten days in FLORIDA.

      MIAMI TRI CLUB “AKA SNOW EAGLES” Training CAMP in Clermont, FL

The first camp of the season is always chaotic. Either people are gunning for their new year’s resolutions or still recovering from their holidays. Even I don’t feel as quick (no joke please) or in “CAMP MODE”.

We had a small group of 12 athletes, with half of the team coming from Canada. Not bad for a Miami team! All were seasonal athletes looking to improve on their performance. The camp focused on TECHNICAL SKILLS.

We spent most of the camp complaining about the temperature and how old we all are (not me!!!), and switching between languages (English, Spanish, and French). And Yes we did train... when is wasn’t too cold, too early, too late, or too close to meal time (Mike this one is for you!). The great thing about this camp was that everybody improved their pre-identified technical skill weakness... The most important message we implemented was to “work on speed and frequency” before volume! 

      My start of the season in Clermont, FL

Other than the cold, I had the chance to see the sun! It was not warm but I came back with an outdoor swimming tan (it always looks good). I was able to manage to get in some good training (24k swim, 500k bike, 60k run) and also a road cycling criterium (1hr style). 

I had not done this in the last 10 years. I was very nervous at the beginning of the race. I raced PRO & CAT 1-2. Within a few second of the start I was dead last. I moved up slowly with a few bumping and pushing. Within 15min, I was back in the top 1/3 of the group and stayed there. I even managed to sprint for one of the primes (well I tried to sprint!). It took me until the last 15min of the race to feel comfortable in the group and jump in the holes as they were opening. The stats are the following: avr. Speed 48kph, max watts 1113, avr. rpm 97.

      NEXT CAMP: EPERORMANCE TRAINING CAMP MARCH 05-13 IN CLERMONT, FLORIDA

Dear Friends, Athletes, and Sponsors,

I hope this email finds you well and warm...

I am heading to Korea for another ITU COMPETITIVE COACHING COURSE, where I will act as one of the facilitators (presenters). My topics will range from swimming and cycling planning, Nutrition strategies, athlete psychology, data analysis, and team management. It is always a great pleasure to share my experience with more than 30 coaches. As usual, I will be very lucky to work with two prominent figures in Olympic Triathlon, Alan Ley (USA) and Sergio Santos (POR). This will mark my final event for the 2009 season. 

Looking back, 2009 did not unfold the way I expected. I was very excited about the fact to return to competitive triathlon. This was my COMBACK year, which turned out to be a breakdown year! What is hard to accept is the fact that all my mishaps were not training related or injuries resulting from bad preparation... Just plain bad luck!!!

After my seven weeks on the road, I had to come to the evidence I could not do Ironman Arizona. It would have been mental suicide to show up on that starting line. I stayed in shape during my trips (California, Nevada, Germany, Croatia, Colorado, and Arizona) and I was excited about doing 70.3 AUSTIN... At the last minute, I had to go back home: kids were sick! One close friend pointed out that MAYBE I had too much on my plate. No, really?

As some of you know, I have been blessed with the sport of triathlon. Not only did (or do?) I have a great career supported by long lasting sponsor relationships (10 years with ADIDAS and POWERBAR)... Working fulltime in this sport that I love... As well as establishing the foundation of my family life! Triathlon has been my life for the last 12 years... And the fire of competition remains!

So, it is not time for me to give up just yet.

After a long discussion with my team manager, we established the skeleton for the 2010 season:

Feb 28 ½              Marathon Hyannis Port, MA

Mar 28                  Marathon Cape May, NJ

Jun 06                   70.3 Mooseman NH

Jul 11                     Quebec LD CHAMP QC

Aug 29                  Ironman Louisville

We are looking for events during in April and May in USA. July and August will be composed of mostly Olympic Distances Races in Quebec and Ontario. As for the fall, we are looking at 70.3 GA, 70.3 Austin, 70.3 Miami.

Stay warm, healthy, and fuel that fire!

See you on the race course

Thanks for reading J

Luc

2009 Long Distance Triathlon Asian Championships KOREA or 10sec...

Dear readers,

I arrived last evening after a 20hr flight from Hell… Missed connections, missing bike, missing reservations, etc…

The event itself was set to be challenging (80k bike climb and 20k cross-country run), and included many talented Long distance athletes from Australia, Germany, and USA.

Our two days prior the event was mostly spent in a bus or transferring between hotels. Never the less, I was excited about returning to international racing.

Asia has always been a good place for me to perform. Over the years, I posted my best performance in Asia. I was hoping to change my luck of the past few months by traveling to the ITU ASIAN LD Triathlon Championships… On race day, I felt fresh and ready to test my fitness. After a cold swim warm-up (14C), all the pros lined up on the beach and wait for the gun start…

I was nervous. My heart rate was already high… the gun went off… I sprinted towards the ocean, and… Hyper extended my knee as soon as I stepped down in a hole caused by the waves. I knew something was wrong. I stopped swimming and saw the pack get away. I was looking for a boat… could not find one and kept on swimming – mostly pulling! I got out of the water limping… and jumped back in the ocean to complete the 3km swim.

In conclusion, my races lasted about 10sec… and I flew 20hrs roundtrip for a 3k swim… I am not a happy camper at the moment!

Thanks for ready and sorry if I sound moody! I know you will understand.

ASTC Long Distance Triathlon Asian Champs

Dear Friends,

It looks like my bad luck as finally ended! I am heading to Korea tomorrow for the 2009 Gangweon ASTC Long Distance Triathlon Asian Championship.

After discussing with my Sport Director, we agreed that this would be a good opportunity to resume racing. My training suffered during the past few weeks following the recent crashes, thus racing becomes a must to reassess our goals.

Thanks for all your kind emails… Migraines are gone… I have additional scares that will make up for good stories!

I will follow up with a race report upon my return!

Ciao

Dear Friends,

When will it stop? Back in April, when I was traveling to 70.3 New Orleans, I got hit by a sever fever that lasted 3-4 days plus a 10-day sinus infection. It totally wiped my April preparation… thus not allowing me to race at 70.3 Florida.

Yet again, one week before another major event (Mooseman Long Distance Triathlon ENDUROFUN SPORTS, NH), not only did I crashed on the day prior to The OKA TRIATHLON (Sport Triple, Quebec)… I crashed again 3 days later - Please NO WISE CRACKS! Both times, I crashed hard on my right side. After the second crash, my left elbow is now the size of my calves - Please NO WISE CRACKS. Scared my right hip, so it is now completely raw. Can’t sit either.. My glut is bruised - Please NO WISE CRACKS.

On a more serious matter, I have experienced a migraine since Saturday. I was not sure if I hit my head … but now I definitely know I did last evening. I will have it investigate today.

For those of you who are more concern about my bike and wheels – why is it always the first question??? – All is OK. My bars took most of the impact. I will have to change my bars for the second time this week. Lucky enough I have solid equipment!

Sorry Keith, I will not be present at your event this weekend. I will see you at 70.3 Austin in October.

I know have my feet up and sitting on my pillow!

Thanks for reading!

update may

Dear Friends, Athletes, and Sponsors,

Camps are over… or almost… training resumed… and racing started!

It took me a while to juggle with all the components of this season (coaching/consulting) and my return to racing. I can securely say I am on the right path!!! I have been back in Quebec for a few weeks. My goal is to reduce my traveling by using Quebec races as part of my preparation for the major events (refer to racing calendar).

When training and racing around Montreal, one has to deal with the constant changes of temperature. That is what happened on May 10, when I took part in the first 10k race of the new DIX30 running circuit. The 3C weather was combined with rain and a 30kph wind! I had not expected this type of weather, given I was in California 5 days before. I must admit, I showed up under dressed. I had to warm up wearing my jeans and using my whole socks as gloves. Let that be a lesson: I have great training and racing gears. This should never happen! The race itself went very well. I ran faster than I would have imagined (34:30). It was not a stellar time, but good enough to give me 3rd place and considering the return to a structure program. 

The following weekend (May 16-17), I headed to New Hampshire with my athletic director James McMorran. We decided to bypass a Quebec Duathlon race (Tracy), because I had not been able to race hard and long in April/May. We therefore opted to race back to back during the weekend and take part in the BlackBear Duathlon (Tritanium Sport). The first day of racing was a 5km run/30k bike/5km run on a hilly run and bike course. We were lucky… no rain… but very strong wind! I managed to control the race and put a hard effort to bring me to the finish line in first position. The next morning, the temperature had dropped to 4C, raining buckets, and a strong wind. This time, I was prepared for the cold weather… well almost! The 10k run/ 60k bike/ 7.5km run was the double of what I had done 16hrs before, but in much harder weather condition. I was concerned with the fact that I have  a tendency NOT to perform very well under cold weather, therefore I went with my full winter cycling uniform! The first 10k went relatively well (heavy legs), but things fell apart when I drop my POWERGELS flask during the first 10km of the bike. As my level of energy kept dropping, I had ask for sport drinks and kept receiving water (not good). On the second bike lap, my watts kept dropping like the DowJones. So I started looking for food on the side of the road! I saw a dead moose… but opted to recover for my POWERBAR flask. My level of energy somehow came back, but I had lost to much ground and finished 3rd. Overall, I was happy with my weekend of Training/Racing.

Following this excited weekend and many trips to HOME DEPOT (just bought a new house), I was heading yet to another camp: TRIATHLON QUEBEC JUNIOR CAMP (May 22-24). This time the weather was great (20C+)! The camp’s focus was to identify the new Quebec Provincial Team. It was my first experience with Triathlon Quebec as a coach - Funny, I have been coaching around the world and back… but never in my backyard! This camp provided me the opportunity to work on my Canadian Coaching license and meet more than 100 athletes, general managers, and coaches from all parts of Quebec. The camp was a success. It was a strange feeling not having to manage a camp or coordinate coaches. Never the less, I learned a few things and it opened a few opportunities… to be continued!

This weekend I will be racing in a local event (OKA Sprint Triathlon) and head to New Hampshire for the MooseMan Long Distance Traithlon (half-Iron distance).

 Thanks for your support and for reading.

updated schedule online

click here I am for my updated schedule.

Tri*Carneros Technical Camp

Dear Friends ,

I am now back home and resuming normal training. The month of April was a total write-off for me: being sick before 70.3  New Orleans, antibiotics that kick my read end for 2 weeks, traveling to Japan, and coaching at the Tri*Carneros Clinic.

The Tri*Carneros Clinic was a great success. The concept of focusing on technique, with an exclusive group, for 2 days prior a sprint distance triathlon is a fantastic idea. The athletes were asked to concentrate on proper from and technique and apply this knowledge in a race situation. The results were spectacular! Not only did all athletes performed better, without changing their fitness level, but also establish Personal Records!

Tri*Carneros will develop a series of annual camps (3-4) in California. Camps will be limited to 6-8 athletes and in association with a local Sprint Distance Triathlon.

Enjoy the pics and visit www.tricarneros.com

Thanks for reading

70.3 New Orleans – No Show!

I have to pull out of my first race of the season. On Monday (race is Sunday), I got sick with sever fever, muscle pain, congestion, etc.

It is obvious that I was not be able to race on Sunday.  I am very disappointed not to race. I was looking forward to race again among the top… I will have to postpone it… Looking for options at this point!

Thanks for reading

ePerformance Training Camp in Clermont, FL

This was my 9th edition as a head Coach at the ePerformance Training Camp in Florida. I was happy to be back in Clermont and visit my old friends.

We had a great group of athletes from USA, Canada, and Guatemala. The chemistry of the group made up for the hard training sessions!

We decided to go back to our old Training Camp Recipe: few days concentrating on technique and high volume training.

We definitely had tired athletes at the end of each day. Most of they could not believe that they could recover that fast... Day in and Day out, they were amazed what proper nutrition, stretching, and well placed workouts could do.

Again thanks to all our athletes  - You made this camp one of my best camp ever!

Merci

70.3 Austin CONFIRMED

A quick note to let you know that I have confirmed my participation to 70.3 Austin on October 18, 2009 

In addition to 70.3 New Orleans, 70.3 Austin is my second official confirmed race on the 70.3 circuit.

NEW TEAM

Tri-Carneros – Professional TRIATHLON

Great news, I just signed with a new Pro Squad from California: Tri-Carneros. The new team aims at supporting emerging pro triathletes and providing them the tools to grow and establishing a long and lasting career. My position on the team will be to provide experience and support to my teammates. I will write more about my new team in the next few days. I am very excited to be on board as the “OLD GUY”.

www.tricarneros.com

70.3 New Orleans CONFIRMED

I have confirmed my first ½ IM of the season. 70.3 New Orleans will mark my official return to racing, I am looking forward to compete once again at the highest level.

More races to be confirmed in the next few days…

TRAINING IN CLERMONT

I am presently training in Clermont, FL from Jan 26-Feb 01. This is the first step, in a series of few personal camps, where I will be developing my based for the upcoming season. My focus will be on swimming frequency (pool is outdoor), the bike will be at low intensity with a focus on power, and running will be minimal mostly off the bike at high cadence low intensity.

thanks for your patience...

LUCMORIN.com is now with a new design online!

Dear Friends and Partners,

I just returned from my last trip in 2008. I am now taking the time to wish you and your family health and prosperity in 2009.   Enjoy this holiday season and I am looking forward to see you in 2009.   

Happy Holidays

Cher Amis et Partenaires,

Je viens de terminer mon dernier voyage en 2008.Je prends le temps de vous souhaiter de la sante et prospérité en 2009. Profitez de ce temps des fêtes et au plaisir de vous voir bientôt en 2009.   

Joyeuses Fêtes