EverymanTri.com

Why I don't ride my bike to work anymore

I used to commute by bike to work when;

• I had a shower in the building I worked in.  Now I don't.
• I didn't have to deliver children to daycare and pick them up in a timely manor.  Now I have kids and daycares are not interested in you being 30 minutes late because of a flat bike tire.  Not to mention it might slow you down to ride with the kid carrier to work and back to get the kids home.  And, where do you park that gear at work?
• I had a reliable work schedule.  I now work self-employed and meetings and work can take me anywhere in the Kansas City area.  Some routes just are not doable for bike riding and there's not enough hours in the day.

Where's Lance?

What happened to Lance?  This morning, if you Google “Lance Armstrong”, you will find a at the top of the list a few past articles breaking the news of his latest doping charges and some articles written about his legacy at the Tour de France being tainted with all of his past allegations.  What you don’t find is any news of him doing anything related to endurance sports.
 
Sadly he’s still sitting on the bench waiting to get back into the game.  He’s wasting time until the latest round of accusations get mashed out in court or dropped out right.
 
If you like him, hate him or love him, Lance has never had a positive test for any doping substances banned by professional cycling.  Sure, he may have had the best tools of the trade to hide what’s in his bloodstream and former teammates have testified to seeing it, but the fact of the matter is, there is not any concrete proof.  He’s innocent until proven guilty.

Ryan takes on the 5150 Kansas City triathlon

You’ve heard all the hype and pitfalls of the 5150 series by now, right?  It was supposed to unify several Olympic distance triathlons around the country and bring support to events not as large as the half and full ironman events.
 
They announced it last year, grouping Olympic distance triathlons as their own stand-alone series from the 70.3 and 140.6 races put on by the World Triathlon Corporation.  Last October, we mused if the series will make it HERE when the canceled the finale in Florida.

To GU or not to GU? That is the question

Why does everything have to be so complicated?  Balance work, family, religion and your personal goals among a few things in life.  For most of you reading EMT, some of your personal goals encompass triathlons, whether it be your first race or your 10th Ironman.  You can get lost in the minutia of clothing, bikes, mechanical equipment, GPS, heart rate, and everything that the sport entails.  Why should nutrition be any different, right?

Wrong.

It only makes sense that nutrition is an important part of triathlons.  You need to supply the right energy to get you through a grueling event.  Maybe not as important for sprints and border line for olympic distances, but anything further than that, and nutrition becomes the 4th element of triathlon.  That doesn't mean you need a rocket science degree or you need to be a nutritional expert or hire one to get the right stuff.  There are plenty of opinions out there about what to take, when to take it and how much.

Is Ironman triathlon becoming the new sport of the 1 percent?

Yesterday the Active newtwork announced that along with the Tour de France it was putting a dream triathlon camp called "Swim Bike Run with Lance & Friends," that would let you train and even race with Lance Armstrong and IM triathlon super stars including Craig Alexander, Chrissie Wellington, Dave Scott, and Greg Welch to name a few.

This "Triathlon Dream" camp will be held on the Big Island of Hawaii from May 26th through the 28th with proceeds going to the The Hawaii Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

That's great, and we are very grateful that the companies and triathletes involved are raising money for worthy charity.

But here's the catch. If you want to ride and race with Lance, and some of the sport's best (current and former) Ironman Triathletes you'll have to invest $25,000 for the three day camp.

The top 13 reasons why Lance Armstrong is good & bad for the sport of triathlon

He’s here to win.  No, not Macca, Lance Armstrong.  Like Chris McCormack, Armstrong makes no excuses for his competitive nature and drive to succeed.  Whether it’s cycling, kicking cancers ass and now at triathlons, Armstrong is here to win.

He’s made a huge splash by FINALLY making it official about his plans to race Ironman Kona and followed that up by coming in second in his first 70.3 race as a pro triathlete.  This after a couple of decades off from the sport as a pro.  Not bad.

In all the hubbub, in some corners, triathletes and fans of the sport are questioning the positive or negative impact this will have on the sport of triathlon.  No bones about it, Lance has brought A LOT of eyes, ears and TV cameras to the sport in just a week.  What’s going to happen if he qualifies for Kona and races?  Let’s look at some pros and cons for Armstrong in triathlon.

1.       PLUS - He brings more notoriety to the sport.  EVERYONE knows who Lance Armstrong is and every got that he was a pro cyclist.  A smaller population knows what order you swim, bike and run in a triathlon, or even know what three events make up a triathlon.  I bet after this weekend, a LOT more people know what a triathlon is.

2.       PUSH - With notoriety comes money.  Sponsors and TV deals are sure to follow.  It’s good to have funding and more money to go around, but with money come higher stakes and more pressure and a breeding ground for corruption and cheating.

3.       PLUS – Livestrong and Armstrong go hand in hand.  He’s bringing a monster charity to a new playing field and building a bigger army.  You cannot argue that more funds for cancer research is not a good thing.

Video: Hypoxic Training Mask makes Tri coach look like Darth Vader

Don't get us wrong...Being based in Boulder, Colorado at an altitude of over 5000 feet above sea level we certainly understand the racing benefits of hypoxic (without air) training.

In the interesting video below this triathlete says that the way to "take you training to the next level," is to go completely hypoxic for an indoor training session includes the swim, the bike, the run and a few other exercises like working the punching bag...which he demonstrates.

HITS triathlon series rolls out slowly with only a handful of IM distance racers

Checking the HITS race results today it is hard not to be struck by the fact that only 17 triathletes completed the Iron Distance race this weekend in Naples, Florida.

The Naples race was the second in the nation race series of triathlons that consists of a total of 12 races being put on by the new HITS race series, which culminates in a series Championship in Palm Springs at the end of the year.

The first race, which was held last month in Palm Springs, and had a total of 21 finishers at the Iron Distance according the the race results.

What makes the HITS series of races unique is that over the course of the weekend, the race organizers put on 5 races with a Family, Sprint, and Olympic race held on Saturday while the Half Iron and Full Iron Distance race is held on Sunday.

And just in case you are wondering, several hundred triathletes raced in Naples this weekend over the course of all five races.

Ironman Florida 70.3 race director puts a positive spin on new race venue

Last week the World Triathlon corporation announced that it was forced to move next year's Ironman Florida 70.3 from the Walt Disney World Resort to Lake Eva Park near Haines City, Florida due to upcoming construction at the Disney Resort.

For almost a decade Ironman Florida 70.3 was a very special and unique highlight of the ever expanding Ironman 70.3 race series.  There can be no doubt that it was the most family friendly Ironman race of all. In fact, we would include the Disney Ironman Florida 70.3 race on any Top Ten List of must do triathlons.

The Fort Wildness Campground, the longtime venue of the race, is not only in the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort, but it offers the perfect combination of family fun, super easy race day access and spectator viewing. Plus, it was perhaps one of the only Ironman races where athletes would actually run by their cabins during the race as their families cheered them on to the finishline.

Are points series races the new triathon sales and marketing tools?

What makes you want to get up in the morning?  What drives you?  Better yet, what drives you to get up at the crack of dawn or before to train for triathlons and then go to work and for a lot of us, still manage the family life?

Let’s face it, most of us aren’t professionals and we aren’t going to get the podium spots and win real money to make triathlons a worthwhile profitable adventure, and that’s ok.  But, we still train and race and put a lot of effort into the sport.

Some race organizers are getting smart to add extra incentives to get you to race their events.  Sure, you have the event t-shirts, goodie bags, coupons, giveaways, samples, finishers’ medals and finishers’ t-shirts.  A lot of events even have prizes for the top 3 in each age group, but that seems to be going by the wayside while race organizers scramble for ways to turn a profit while presenting a quality race.

What’s the next step?

Is the WTC's 5150 series on life support?

There are so many triathlons out there that are scraped together by passionate people and run on a shoestring in order to provide a race for the dedicated populous.  Take the SWAT Triathlon near Kansas City.  Sue put on the event for Supporting Weatherby's Adopted Troops and only asked for enough to cover some operating costs and to have some to donate to help local veterans and their families.  There were no lifeguards, no medals, no timing chips and no bike racks.  Around 130 athletes came out and ran the race.  The forum posting shows that everyone had fun and no one was missing out on the fanfare that has become WTC events.
 
Then you have the other side of the spectrum with WTC and the Ironman race series.  You have the full 140.6 miles, the 70.3 and more recently the 5150 series.  No one can argue with the success of the full and half ironman distances.  Build it, and they will come.

Should Chrissie Wellington fight another day?

"Chrissie Wellington drops out of the Ironman World Championships in Kona," is a headline we hope to never have to write again...especially in the next two weeks.

But while Chrissie has put a brave face on her recent bike crash by tweeting, "The body is capable of amazing things. I WILL be on the start line."

The simple fact remains that she is seriously battered, bruised and beaten. In fact we hear that she's in great pain just walking today...let alone training. And we fear that with such a traumatic bike crash she may not realize the complete extent of her injuries for days.

Of course if there is anybody in the world that can compete and persevere through sheer guts and determination it is Chrissie Wellington but....

Why we just can't seem to get along running, cycling, and driving

On a lovely Friday morning, my run group was doing intervals at Coot Lake. A very cranky woman shouted at us that we did not belong there and she was not responsible if her dog took one of us out. A hot debate ensued with neither side satisfied with the outcome. The angry woman still believes that runners should not encroach on her trail and we still believe that as long as we are courteous, we can continue to run at Coot Lake.

Just yesterday, I was on the last few miles of a long run. I was delighting in the spectacular weather and admiring the mountain view as I ran along a popular dirt road toward the Boulder reservoir. I ran toward traffic as is customary. A cyclist was coming toward me. I expected her to move left as cars and cyclists usually do. She did not budge and screamed at me several times, “I am not moving over.”

Second man dies after last month's Kansas City Warrior Dash

Is the Warrior Dash (WD) too much?  The distance is "only" a 5k, 3.1 miles.  The Warrior dash mixes in obstacles such as wall climbs, hay bale climbs, rope swings and a huge mud pit.
 
According to the KC Star, "A second man has died after running in last month’s Warrior Dash [in ], an obstacle course race that saw dozens of people treated for heat-related symptoms.  Jeff Fink died Tuesday after suffering heat stroke on July 30, first day of the two-day event, according to an Internet page that his family and friends set up. Fink collapsed on the Warrior Dash course and was rushed to St. Luke’s Northland Hospital where he remained until his death.  Another competitor, Jeremy Morris, who also went by the name Jeremiah, died last week."

Competitor Group fires first shot in upcoming battle with the World Triathlon Corporation

It was always just a matter of time before Competitor and the WTC went to war. Of course this is not a war fought with guns and bullets, but instead a war for the hearts, minds and wallets of Endurance athletes around the world.

Among other things the Competitor Group (CGI) puts on the hugely popular Rock 'n' Roll series of half and full marathons. BTW: In case you haven't noticed CGI has been on a buying spree lately.

The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) of course now owns and operates over a hundred triathlon races around world (read Ironman, 70.3 and 5150 races) so it was almost inevitable that the two giants in the endurance race event biz would go after the same customer...you.

With CGI’s TriRock Triathlon Series expanding (see today's press release below) and the WTC announcing new races while acquiring shorter ones....it was just a matter of time before all out war broke out.

We predict one of two outcomes in this brewing war that will direct impact you:

Top 10 reasons why Lance Armstrong should race Ironman Hawaii in 2011

Dear Lance,

It was with great disappointment that we recently learned of your decision not to race the Ironman Hawaii World Championships. Our little triathlon hearts twittered when you recently tweeted:

"no Kona for me. Unless hangin out, riding bikes, and swimming w/ whales over the holidays count"

So in a desperate, last-ditch effort to try to convince you to come and race at the greatest triathlon event on the planet, here are 10 reasons we think you should come race Ironman Hawaii.

#10: The Chamois Is Thinner. Let's face it, Lance - that thick, bulky chamois lining the underside of your bike shorts may make the daily Tour de France long haul a bit more comfortable, but it ultimately looks like a chunky diaper when you're not on the bike, and us triathletes are all about sexiness over function. So we have a nice, thin, quick-drying chamois you can wear - and as a bonus, it won't leave hemorrhoid-sized cheek chafing after the marathon.