EverymanTri.com

Short film: The Spirit of Ironman

Update: Ironman drops the ball again as two races on the same day overwelm Ironman.com

Shortly after posting THIS opinion-editorial story about the Ironman.com web site going down yesterday, Ironman posted this notice on their web site:

As many of you know, there was limited access available to ironman.com and ironmanLIVE.com on Sunday, Aug. 29. Both sites were the target of a cyberattack designed to deny users access to the website, which made it difficult for fans to follow the progress of participants at Ford Ironman Louisville and Subaru Ironman Canada.

The intrusion, termed a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack, is a malicious and deliberate attempt to shut down a high-profile site. While the technical details are complex, the basic idea is to overwhelm the site with page requests from fake users so that legitimate users are unable to get through the resulting traffic jam.

Ironman drops the ball again as two races on the same day overwelm Ironman.com

Once upon a time the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) was a small company owned by a Florida eye doctor.

Besides the Ironman Kona World Championships, there was an Ironman race in New Zealand, one in Canada and a handful of races in North America, with a few more starting up in the rest of the world.

There was no 70.3 series.

And there certainly was no equity fund with deep pockets pulling the strings controlling the World Triathlon Corporation and pusing them to expand the brand and the race series.

Those days are long gone, but apparently some things never change.

Yesterday as about 5000 amateur athletes raced Ironman Canada and Ironman Louisville, their friends and family were unable to track them online since Ironman.com seemed to be overwhelmed with too much traffic.

In the old days this was a pretty common occurrence (especially when Ironman.com began to stream live coverage of the races).

Insider interview with co-founder of sunscreen aimed at endurance athletes

What’s so different about a sunscreen just for endurance athletes? A lot. Just ask the co-founder of SCAPE (Skin Cancer Awareness Protection and Education products, Dr. Nic Martens (seen here with Ironman Champ Craig Alexander), one of the leading experts in the skincare industry as well as a triathlete, snowboarder and surfer. Martens spent the last four years developing SCAPE—a sunscreen that can withstand the harsh conditions of sport. “Until this year, nothing quite like it existed,” he said.

“As someone in the industry and a consumer, I was unhappy with the sunscreen available to athletes,” said Martens, who’s from Germany and has a Cambridge PhD in biochemistry. “Products passed SPF tests, but not ‘athlete wear-and-tear tests.’ I tried a prototype during a triathlon and it wasn’t waterproof like it said it would be.” He mentioned this dilemma to skincare companies and simply was told that products are developed for the mass market, not triathletes.

Executive Director departs USA triathlon

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Triathlon announced today the departure of Executive Director Francis (Skip) Gilbert.

"We thank Skip Gilbert for his years of service to triathlon during which the sport grew to unprecedented popularity in the United States and around the world," said USA Triathlon President Brian Harrington.

Tim Yount, the Senior Vice President for Sport Development of USA Triathlon, will assume the role of acting executive director while a search committee seeks a replacement for Gilbert, Harrington announced. Yount has taken on that role during a previous transition.

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Fun 2010 Chicago Triathlon video

The Chicago Triathlon used to be the biggest in the world with about 8500 pro and amateur triathletes taking to the chilly water of lake Michigan at the end of August.

BTW: The title of largest triathlon in the world now belongs to the London Triathlon with a few thousand more competitors.

But that doesn't mean that the Chicago Tri still isn't one of the most fun races in the world.  Image swiming in lake Michigan, cycling up and down Lake Shore Drive and running along the lake right next to downtown.

Video: Zyemtsev and Kessler storm to victory at the 2010 Ironman Canada

It's pretty rare that after over eight hours of racing an Ironman two athletes are still neck and neck with just a mile to go to the finish.

But that's exactly what happened today at Ironman Canada when Ukarnian triathlete Victor Zyemtsev and German Ironman Christian Brader approached the end of the race.

Haskins and Fretta win a hot and humid 2010 Chicago Triathlon

August 29th CHICAGO, Ill. - USA Triathlon National Team member Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.) of USAT's Project 2012 program were victorious Sunday at the Chicago Triathlon.

Video: Aussie and Brit take top spots at the 2010 Ironman Louisville

An Australian and a British triathlete took the top spots at today's 2010 Ironman Louisville.

On the men's side of the race it was Brit Paul Ambrose who won his first Ironman title today by beating Martin Jensen of Denmark in a time of 8 hours, 29 minutes and 59 seconds.

Jensen came in second almost 12 minutes behind Ambrose in a time of 8:41:54.

Team EverymanTri completes the 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Paul's race report

Editor's Note: This week Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel finished the epic TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains Below are Paul's refextions on completeing the race of a lifetime.

It’s all over folks. The 2010 GORE-TEX® TransRockies race ended in Beaver Creek Friday afternoon and what a finish it was as we dropped out of the aspens and into the finish at the ski village after 27 hours of trail running. I must admit I got a little choked up with a few miles to go as I contemplated finishing this running odyssey across the Rockies.

Four essential items that belong in your transition bag that you're probably forgetting

Most triathletes spend the majority of time during the days and weeks prior to a race planning their triathlon gear for the race itself - shoes, helmet, bike, wetsuit, goggles and all the crucial elements to finish a triathlon. But the majority of these same triathletes neglect to consider post-race triathlon gear needs.

But if you show up in the race transition area with a backpack full of the essential triathlon gear you're going to need after the race, you'll be prepared for a much more comfortable and successful race and recovery. So without further ado, here's the essential triathlon gear you're probably forgetting.

4) Protein:

If you can consume a combination of protein and carbohydrates within 20-30 minutes after crossing the finish line, your muscles will have the amino acids they need to repair the muscle fibers that become damaged during a triathlon. Unfortunately, most triathlon finish lines offer bananas, oranges, energy bars, pizza, or other foods that are notoriously low in protein.

Pack your own protein, and you'll be set for far faster recovery, which is especially important if you want to get back to training or racing soon after your event. I personally put a bottle of something called "Recoverease" in my backpack, which contains essential amino acids and enzymes that assist in protein digestion.

Team EverymanTri goes long at 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Stage 5 report

Editor's Note: Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel are taking on the epic TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains from August 22- 27. Below is the stage 5 press update as our boys were out of cell phone and internet reach in the high Rockies.

With over 44 miles of running and 10,000 feet of elevation gain during the last two stages, there’s no easy way to the finish line of the GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run. Stage 5 from Red Cliff to Vail was going to be the longest day on the trails of the 2010 TransRockies Run with the most climbing and the hottest temperatures of any day so far this week.

Video: Tempe Town Lake may or may not be ready in time for IMAZ

Will Ironman Arizona take place this year, must be the biggest question on the minds of thousands of amatuer triathletes who signed up for the race almost a year ago?

As you may recall from THIS story the dam holding in the waters of the lake recently failed, and now Tempe Town crews are in fight against time to reapir the dam and refill the lake.

According to Paul Huddle, Ford Ironman Arizona race director, there's no reason to belive that the broken dam that drained Tempe Town Lake won't be repaired on time for the November Ironman race.

Team EverymanTri rebounds at the 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Stage 4 report

Editor's Note: Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel are currently running stage 4 of the epic GORE-TEX® TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains from August 22- 27.

The altitude took its toll on many competitors on day two of the grueling run across the Rockies, but it wasn’t  still the start of the most grueling day, the 24-mile Stage 3 from Leadville to Camp Hale, that it really kicked in for Team EverymanTri  athlete -  Paul Mandel.

Mandel started the day with typical AMS symptoms and barely made it out of camp along with the rest of the competitors.  At the top of the first climb of the day on Tennessee Pass (alt 10, 500 ft),  a dizzy Mandel ground to a halt with vomiting and nausea and then had to contend with these symptoms for another 12 miles to the finish in Camp Hale. It was going to be a long day in the saddle!

Team leader Paul Shippey nursed and coaxed the weakened Mandel over some challenging terrain, but in the process the team lost 1.5 hrs in the GC, finally staggering into the finish in 6hrs and 3 min, which dropped the team from 8^th to 13^th in the 80+ Men’s division.

Mandel was treated by race medics after the finish, and a bottle of oxygen later he felt way better - to the point that he was able to line-up for today’s 14 mile 3000ft climb from Camp Hale to Redcliff.

The best way to describe this race is; that it’s like an army special-forces test. 

Burger King to intro new Pizza Burger calorie bomb in New York next month

How long do you suppose you'd have to swim, bike or run to burn through 2,500...which (by the way) happens to be the daily calorie allowance for men, and which (by the way) happens to be the exact amount of calories in Burger King's new Pizza Burger.

According to published reports the Pizza Burger will have 144g of fat, 59g of which is saturated, and 3,780mg of salt...which is probably enough salt to preserve a moose.

Team EverymanTri suffers at the 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Stage 3 report

Editor's Note: Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel are currently running stage 4 of the epic TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains from August 22- 27. Below is the stage 3 press update as our boys are out of cell phone and internet reach in the high Rockies. But according to the posted results, the two Paul's apparently struggled on the highest and longest day (24.3 miles) of the race.

With a morning mountain chill in the air and fresh memories of spending the previous night huddled up to beat Leadville’s 10,200 feet above sea level cold, it was no surprise that the runners in the 2010 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run and RUN3 did everything they could to delay their arrival at the start line until just seconds before the early 8am start. Whether it was hanging out in the breakfast hall a little longer or spending a few more minutes sipping coffee at Provin’ Grounds, home of the best Joe in Leadville, runners found many reasons to avoid standing around for too long.