Winter Training

Brrr…  It’s cold outside.  You don’t want to get up before work and train outside.  The trainer is only so appealing, even with the $400 in DVDs and toys you have lying around.  Hit snooze and go back to bed? 

NO!  You can’t.  Your competition is training, and sleeping in a few times can become a habit and get you out of your fitness routine.  Here are some tips to get out the door and train when it’s cold, wet, or freezing.

Do Something

If you’re on a training plan, you’ve got your instruction.  If you’re not, I suggest getting one.  A coach can help here, or you can write one on your own.  The benefit of someone else writing it is that you are accountable to that person.  It’s the next best thing to having a training partner knocking on your door.  That voice in the back of your head saying “if you don’t get out of bed and train I will know it” is a powerful voice and can bring good results.

Make it Count

You don’t have to go for a 3-hour session to make it count, and many times shorter is better.  A short duration, high intensity trainer or treadmill session can go a long way toward fitness and can give you a great workout in 40 minutes.  Or a short run in the morning and a short run at lunch can give the benefit of a single longer run.

Be Consistent

Do something every day.  It can be stretching, yoga, or a great 3-sport brick, but set aside time, leave all else behind for a short period of time, and do something for your fitness goals.  Consistency is the key to endurance training—gains are made over time, not a single day at once, but each single day adds up to produce results.

Make it Fun

We’re in this sport because it’s fun, right?  Don’t lose sight of that.  You get to train, not have to train.  As a good friend of mine says, “train with joy or not at all.”

Join a Group

Group indoor sessions are great for all of the above.  It’s scheduled, so you are encouraged to get out of bed and get there.  They are typically intense and may have the bonus of being just what your fitness needs at this time in the season.  Weekly or daily classes bring the athlete consistency.  And the group setting, especially early in the morning when all of you want to sleep in, can be a fun, energetic start to your day.  At the Tucson Endurance Performance Center, we build the cycling sessions to be appropriate for the typical racing season, intense and challenging, and fun.  You can’t go wrong there. 

Now get out and train! 

Veterans Day

Veterans Day 2011.

 My Dad joined the Army out of college in the time of VietNam. He didn't have to go, he chose to because it was the right thing to do. He served well. Because it's the right thing to do. Infantry, then Airborne, then Ranger, then Special Forces (Green Beret). He served in Central America in the Panama Canal, swimming with SCUBA gear under the ships as they sunk in and out of the mud, looking for explosives.

I wasn't yet around when Dad was in the Army. But it was and is apparent in how he does things. He does what is right, even when it's not the 'cool' thing to do.

 He taught me that things worth doing are worth doing well. He taught me to do the right thing. He taught me that a strong back and a strong mind are equally important. And he taught me that life keeps score--success and failure are up to you and when life seems stacked against you, you just push harder. Whether you think you can or think you cannot, you're right.

It was also fun to play with his Army toys.

This Veterans Day, thank you to all veterans.

Eating my words on -some- MTB 29ers, and my Litespeed Cohutta review

I’ve been a mountain bike cross country racer for more years than I want to admit. When I started, we were all on rigid forks and steel frames. It was big news when the Scott suspension fork came out. But the fact it was basically a spring left a bit to be desired in the realm of front squishy. Then I got a lugged aluminum/steel bike with a Marzocchi fork. And then RockShox hit the scene and my world changed.

The reason I bring this up is that I grew up learning how to handle a bike—toss it around, lift it over obstacles and avoid the rough stuff. Really man-handle it...with finesse, of course. Now with full boing, tubelss wheels, and long travel you can get away with more mistakes and with a lot less finesse and skill, and the bike can take it without knocking you back or losing your energy too much.
But you still lose energy when you ride through and over obstacles rather than handle the bike around of over them. And this is the mindset with which I write this.

I’ve been a fan of 26” wheeled mountain bikes for a long time. I raced as a pro and elite amateur cross country and XTERRA racer for years on 26” wheels and 4 inches of max-speed-rebound squishy. Yes, 29ers hit the market, and although their ability to roll over the bumpies was promising, the inherent physics of larger wheels, a longer wheelbase, a longer rear end, and a shallower head tube means the bikes are slower to handle. What I saw with very few exceptions were companies taking a 26” frame and making it bigger and slapping on 29” wheels. Fail. I want a bike I can toss around. One I can feel like I can manipulate. A Ferrari, not a Chevy truck. And not just a Ferrari, but a 599 GTB Sport. Ferrarri Red. Black leather. …But I digress.

When the 29er craze hit, I went in with an open mind, but admittedly with a little heartburn from the 650c wheel tri bike craze and a bit of apprehension in what I’d find. So I rode a bunch. A lot. Demos, friends’ bikes, Interbike Outdoor demo. They all felt like trucks. Yes, I could go over the little pebbles and baseballs a bit easier, but acceleration was slower, braking required more forethought, and maneuvering required more time and anticipation (read: truck). I’ll keep my 26”, thanks.

At Interbike Outdoor demo this year (Sept 2011) I again tried a few new 29er bikes. Five more brands. Bleh.

Then I went over to the fellas at Litespeed and checked out their Cohutta. I’d seen a photo but hadn’t seen one. I like Litespeed. I did my first three Ironman races on a Tachyon tri bike, had a Ghisallo, and now ride a C1R. I told them this, but followed it with “I’m going to tell you right now, I’m not a 29er fan but I want to give yours a try.” The rep started to say something, but stopped and told me to go ride and report back.

Result: Ferrari meets Star Wars Land Speeder.

Not only did this bike handle like a dream, but if I closed my eyes I thought I was on my 26. It cornered well. It descended great, and I had to hit the brakes at the top of the short steep climbs to keep from running into my friends. The 29 inch wheels indeed make you feel as if you're floating over the ground, not riding on it. I’m going to need more space in the bike room—and a marriage counselor—after riding the Cohutta.

I’ve always been a fan of Jim Felt, so I went over to ride the Felt Nine carbon hardtail. I was also impressed there. As with the Cohutta, it had a steep front end and a short chainstay and it handled equally well. It was lighter weight than the Cohutta. I did notice, however, the minor bumps and chatter from the fire roads and fast cruising quite a bit more.

I went back to the Cohutta again. This time I got a flat and was running late. I fixed it quick and hammered it home on the fire roads. That was when I decided the Cohutta was a better overall bike even with the weight penalty given the smooth titanium small-bump-eating frame.

Mine’s on order. Don’t tell my wife.

Vineman 70.3 Race Report by Elite Team racer Sylvain

We arrived at the swim venue around 6am with my wave scheduled to leave at 8:30am, the one before last. Waves are arranged in such a fashion that the earlier your wave starts, the longer distance you will have to get through T1 and T2, which are located in 2 different places. The idea here being that earlier waves have the advantage of cooler temperature (a considerable advantage on the run!), therefore they get the disadvantage of longer transitions. Although this might seem unfair as early waves get to do their run under cooler temperature compared to later waves, every athlete within each age group gets to start at the same time and since transition is arranged by age group everyone within the same age group is treated equally.

Swim (1.2 mile):
After watching the pros finishing their swim and leaving T1 on their bike, I finished setting up my transition before heading for an easy 7-8min jog and with another 1-1.5hr to spare. With water temperature in the low 70s, I chose a sleeveless wetsuit, which was warm enough. I got in the water 8min before, warmed up and off we went. Swimming in the Russian River is as close as it gets as swimming in a pool! You can see the bottom most of the time and can stand up most of the time too; just no line and no flip turns! I was able to draft for the first half of the swim, mostly because I had swimmers all around me and was not able to pass. I think I started to annoy the swimmer in front of me after touching his feet repetitively as he finally kicked me in the face and knocked off my goggles. Good thing I was able to stand up, put my goggle back (I always wear my goggles underneath my swim cap so that I don’t loose them), and was back on track but this time keeping my distance. Half way through, my hands could touch the ground every time I pulled. Next to me a guy decided to stand up and run in the water and I must say he was going as fast if not faster than me; therefore, I also stood up and started to run but quickly realized it was a bad idea. I could feel I was using more energy this way than just swimming, so I dived back in the water and kept swimming. Also I didn’t want to take the chance to step onto a sharp stone or worse. Upon reaching the half way point, a lot of people stood up to run around the buoy. Swimming back downstream was a blast, it felt great. Coming out of the water, I removed my wetsuit in the carpeted area before entering the transition area as each alley of the transition was pretty narrow and covered with stones.

Bike (56 miles):
Vineman has a clean transition. You are required to pack all items in the provided swim bag before leaving transition. After stuffing my wetsuit, goggles and towel in my bag (which then volunteers collect to bring to the finish line), I grabbed my bike and ran to the mount line, which is located at the bottom of a short but steep enough hill. I had seen many people from early waves either running to the top of the hill before mounting their bike or mounting at the bottom. Some were able to gain enough momentum to climb it while others failed and crashed. I had decided to wait to see how crowded it would get by the time I get to the mount line. As I approached the mount line with only 3 or 4 other cyclists, I jumped on the bike, pushed on my left feet a couple of times enough to get me going. The first 5 miles were pretty smooth. The most technical part of the bike course came at 5.3mile with a sharp 90degree right turn followed right after by a very short and steep downhill. Later on that day, we had learned that someone had gone too fast in the turn, went over their handlebar and crashed face first on the pavement. Apparently, this turn takes down a few riders every year, this year was no exception. The following 35 miles was a mix of rollers, hills and turns through many of the Napa Valley vineyards. Starting in the last wave has the advantage that you are passing a lot of people on the bike, which is mentally very motivating! Chalk hill came at mile 43. This was the most challenging part of the ride. About a mile long, this hill is steep enough and long enough to challenge every rider. After that, it’s a nice ride to Windsor where T2 was set up. With a time of 2:27, I knew I was well on time to go sub-5 but was worried I had pushed too hard on the bike to have a good run.

Run (13.1 miles)
Coming on to T2, I quickly racked my bike, pulled out my shoes from a plastic bag I had prepared the day before (T2 was set the day before, meaning shoes are left outside overnight). I put on my shoes, grabbed my visor and electrolytes and started the run. The first hundred yards were a bit shaky as we exited the high school but quickly found my rhythm. I was feeling good, but with my pace 30s faster than what I had planed, I forced myself to slow down to a comfortable 7:15 pace (comfortable pace early on the run often translates to a near impossible pace later on the course!) trying to focus on form and cadence. The run had some nice and long rollers with a few challenging hills. By this time, the sun had come out and temperature was slowly rising, so I took a couple of Endurolyte pill. I alternated at every aid station (located every mile or so) between water and Gatorade, while pouring cold water on my head. The first 5 miles felt amazing. I passed a lot of people; spirit and confidence were pretty high! At mile 5, I started to experience stomach cramps…as usual! I slowed down and worked hard on my breathing for half a mile until it was under control. At mile 6, we entered one of the winery and did a couple of loop around the vineyard, the only time we ran on dirt road. I took a gel now that my stomach was feeling better. At the half way point, I got passed by a runner and decided to pick up the pace to try to stay close. A few minutes later, she was gone! I was now running 7:20, and this was no longer comfortable. Legs were starting to feel heavy. I still felt OK but I could see my pace slowly starting to drop. Around mile 7-8, I got passed by a runner in my age group. I was determined not to let him go and stayed right behind for a mile or so, but he stopped at the next aid station. I grabbed more water and kept going. On the downhill, I let my legs go with long strides, while going easy with short strides on the uphill. At mile 10, I could feel I was now running on a pretty much empty tank. I started to grab cola, Gatorade and had my last gel within the next 1.5 miles. I started to experience blurred vision but the realization that I could finish this thing sub 4:40 kept me going. At this point, I was unable to pay attention to what was going on around me, that’s how I missed the last turn! Finally a volunteer screamed at me and I turned around, wondering how I could have missed such an obvious turn. The last mile lasted forever it seemed. Approaching the finish line, I could hear the crowd welcoming finishers. Entering the high school, I was begging for the finish line to be around the next corner. As I finally saw it, I got passed by the same guy I had chased earlied. I couldn’t believe he waited for the last stretch to pass me, but I would have done the same, he did great. Upon crossing the finish line, I was welcomed by a wonderful 60-year old lady who offered to carry me to an aid station to get some water, that was really sweet. Overall, this was my best race and finished with a 4:39:35, a 24 min PR good enough for a 11th AG and 59th OA place.

Vineman puts on a great race in the beautiful Napa Valley, either you’re looking for your first ½ Ironman or your next challenge, this race will please everyone. Worth making it a vacation away from the Tucson heat! GEC and Tucson were well represented at the race, with Trisports being one of the sponsors. It’s always nice to travel so far away from home to find so many familiar faces! No need to say that the help and guidance from coach Brian Grasky was key to a successful race! Now time for a vacation…

You're an athlete

You have more bike bottles than drinking glasses. You are never seen without one.

When you buy a car, it's ability to carry bikes is first on your requirements list.

You have trouble paying $30 for a nice shirt, but you'll drop $250 for a cycling kit in no time.

Your only pair of hand made Italian leather shoes has cycling cleats. And you have 2 pair.

Although saving the environment and gas money is nice, the real reason you commute to work on the bike is because it increases your weekly training volume.

You spend more on bike tires than car tires.

Your car looks and smells like a gym locker. Your bike is spotless.

You log it when you climb a set of stairs.

You have a pantry dedicated to endurance fuel. It's categorized by solid, semi-solid, powder, and drinks. By brand.

You have trouble staying awake past 9pm and your non-athlete friends are wondering if you're still alive. But you'll stay up til midnight to watch the Tour de France. For the 3rd time that day.

Your family does not know that vacations don't have to be planned around a race.

Your bike box is standard travel equipment.

Your coworkers are used to seeing the goggle marks on your eyes after lunch.

Your desk drawer at work is packed with recovery fuel.





And you're ok with it all. Press on.