EverymanTri.com

Year in Review: Top News Stories of 2008

Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps, Craig Alexander, and Chrissie Wellington were just some of the top athletic names in the news this year. Here's our brief list of the year's Top News Stories:

Triathlon:

Click HERE to read how Chrissie Wellington surprised no one by winning the Ironman World Championships for the second year in a row.

Click HERE to read how Dr. James Gills surprised everyone by selling the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) to a private equity fund for tens of millions of dollars.

Click HERE to read how the WTC and Ironman also surprised everyone by adopting the USAT age-group rule starting tomorrow.

Most Popular Story of 2008: Super High Intesity Training

Editor's Note: Many online and traditional publications will feature their most popular stories at this time of year.

We're no different, so here's our most popular story of 2008:

We don't mean to brag, but we will. In fact we have to!

We're so proud of our entire EverymanTri team that we just must let you know all about it today, this minute, right now.

Consider yourself very lucky indeed as you are getting a sneak preview of something that will change the way that the world trains for long distance endurance sports.

We promise that today's announcement will be even bigger news than the new iPhone...at least in the world of endurance sports!

Most Interesting Athletes of 2008

With 2008 almost officially in the record books we thought you would enjoy hearing from the most newsworthy endurance athletes of the year.

As the year draws to a close, today we'll feature our last and we think most interesting and entertaining interview with an athlete that made news this year.

He holds several crazy hard endurance world records, and he's not done yet.

His name is Greg Kolodziejzyk.

On July 17th, 2006 on a race track in Eureka, CA, Greg set two world records recognized by both the International Human Powered Vehicle Association and Guinness World Records. The first record is for the most distance traveled in 24 hours by human power (647 miles, 1041 km), and the second for the world's fastest 1000 km time trial (23 hours, 2 minutes).

Click HERE to listen, or download, or subscribe to the podcast now.

Chrissie's excellent adventure

Chrissie Wellington spent the Holidays in England.

But before coming to Boulder (for a meet, greet, and bike fit with her new coach Simon Lessing), and after her Ironman World Championship performance in Kona---she spent some time in Argentina pushing  a gear laden mountain bike up and down huge mountains.

She chronicles her Latin American adventures on her blog:

"Unwashed, somewhat smelly, full of goat, covered in bruises, scratches, boils, blisters and the odd bite - but overjoyed to have managed to complete the newly named ‘Luna de Miel’ or ‘Honeymoon’ Route - and what has to be one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Hottest Triathletes of 2008

Thousands of votes have already been cast.

But it it not too late to cast your vote for the Top Three. Best of all once you vote you'll see the current results of the voting immediately.

Earlier this month our editorial staff put together a list of triathletes worthy of the 2008 Hottest title.

Both male and female...

Both Iron distance and Olympic distance athletes...

Both newbie professionals and seasoned pros---from all corners of the world.

But we sill need your help to pick the Top Three Hottest Triathletes of 2008.

Top 5 outstanding women's runs of 2008

It is of course that time of year when reporters and columnist look back at the year and chronicle the best moments.

For women and running, the Examiner's Jennifer Gill picked 5 moments of 2008 that stand really stand out.

Everyman Endurance Podcast with Jessi Stensland

On her web site Jessi Stensland writes:

"About a year ago I kicked off my training after 2 years *completely* off. I don't mean off as in triathlete *off* -- I mean off as in very normal, don't work out for a month at a time, then maybe hit the gym 2 days in a row, then repeat. That kind of *off*. To give you an idea in terms of endurance performance, at that time, my body tested out to be only 68% as efficient compared to what I was used to operating at for the first 29 years of my life."

Click HERE to listen, or download, or subscribe to the podcast now.

B-Fit B-Day: Get fit(er) & healthy(er) for the New Year

"Today I took the B-Fit Challenge. . I did the gold challenge. I'm turning 27 so I swam 2,000 yards, biked 27, and ran 7 miles." TriRunner 12/28/09

Are you looking for a new challenge for the New Year?  Perhaps you need a realistic goal to make that  "get fit and healthy" resolution a reality in 2009.

Why not swim, bike, and run your age on your birthday like these folks did in 2008.

Triathlete of the Year: Joanna Zeiger

In over ten years of racing Joanna Zeiger has won and done almost everything a women professional can do in the sport of triathlon.

She’s an Olympian.

She’s multiple Ironman winner.

She’s an ITU Champion.

She’s won too many 70.3 races to list.

She is the 2008 70.3 Ironman World Champion!

Oh yes, she also happens to be a working scientist with a PHD.

This year alone she’s won at Eagleman, a 2nd place at Buffalo Springs, a win at Vineman, a win at the 5430 triathlon, and a win at Muskoka.

For all these reason and many more, Joanna Zeiger is our pick for the:

2008 TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR!

Take celebrity health advice with a grain of salt

“Highly trained medical leeches” is what Demi Moore, the actress, suggested might be a good way to "detoxify" her blood.

Kate Moss, the model, is reported to be on a strict “detox” diet of fruit and vegetables at a health spa in Thailand. But nutritionists wonder how her body does without when she excludes important food groups such as protein.

According to the Times Online:

"From Madonna’s quest to “neutralise radiation” to Tom Cruise’s dismissals of psychiatry, celebrities are seldom shy about expressing their views on health and science – even when they appear not to know what they are talking about.

10 super foods athletes hardly ever eat

If you are like most, you've probably spent the Holidays eating a lot of unhealthy and perhaps fattening foods.

But did you know that you could change your eating habits tomorrow?

A good place to start might be with what nutritionist have termed super foods. These foods are packed with vitamins, antioxidants and healthy nutrients.

According to NBC.com the list of these Ten super foods athletes hardly eat include:

"Swiss chard

Hidden in the leafy-greens cooler of your market, you'll find this slightly bitter, salty vegetable, which is actually native to the Mediterranean.

Most Interesting Athletes of 2008

With 2008 almost officially in the record books we thought you would enjoy hearing from the most newsworthy endurance athletes of the year.

Over the next few days, as the year draws to a close, we'll feature the most interesting and entertaining interviews with the athletes that made news this year.

Today we continue with an athlete who raced Kona this year, ended up on the podium, and cover the 144 miles using only his arms.

Press Release: America's biggest half Marathon sells out

INDIANAPOLIS (December 27, 2008) – The 500 Festival announced today the 33rd running of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon has sold out with 35,000 entries. The event is schedule for May 2, 2009. Participants from all 50 states and 9 countries have registered.

Should you work out when you have a cold?

It is that time of year again when the nose runs, the muscles ache, and the sinuses explode with the symptoms of a cold.

But should you work out when you obviously have the cold?

There is surprisingly little research in this area to help doctors make recommendations, but two little know studies from long ago support the theory that exercise can be beneficial to people suffering from the cold.

Most Interesting Athletes of 2008

With 2008 almost officially in the record books we thought you would enjoy hearing from the most newsworthy endurance athletes of the year.

Over the next few days, as the year draws to a close, we'll feature the most interesting and entertaining interviews with the athletes that made news this year. Today we continue with someone who is one of the most successful and accomplished triathletes of of recent times:

4 Time World Triathlon Champion (1992,1995,1996,1998)

World Long Distance Triathlon Champion 1995 (4km-120km-32km)

It was the best of times for swimming. It was the...

A grand total of 108 new world swim records were set this year. There's little disagreement in the swimming community that these new records were set (to a large extent) with the aid of new swimsuit technology.

Specifically both Speedo and Blueseventy have introduced new swim suits to the world stage that are dramatically more hydrodynamic, more slippery, and offer much more flotation. The outcome---swimming world records are falling like snow flakes in Alaska.

This was apparent to anyone who watched Michael Phelps and the Olympics this summer. But now many of the word's swim coaches are now crying foul.