Endurance Blogs

 

As if I wasn't excited enough about participating in the world's hardest mountain bike race later on this year, I just learned via a press release that Chris Carmichael is getting behind the La Ruta as well. Best known for being Lance Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael is seeking 10 qualified athletes to race 2010 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica. All of the buzz, of course, is where Lance himself will be during that time. Could it be that he'll make an appearance?! That's what I'm betting on!

Here's the press release in its entirety:
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2010
Contact: Jim Rutberg
719-635-0645, ext. 118
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Chris Carmichael Launches 10@50, Seeks 10 Qualified Athletes to Race 2010 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica.

(Colorado Springs, CO) Chris Carmichael, personal coach to Lance Armstrong and founder of Carmichael Training Systems, today officially launched Chris Carmichael's 10@50. To celebrate Carmichael Training Systems' 10th Anniversary and Chris's 50th birthday, he has decided to compete in La Ruta de los Conquistadores and offer a $10,000 package of race entry, 7 months of CTS coaching, 3 training camps, and full race support at La Ruta to 10 qualified athletes. To qualify, athletes must submit applications and commit to attending all three training camps, including one recon camp in Costa Rica.

La Ruta has earned a reputation for being the world's toughest mountain bike race. Held November 17-20, 2010, the 4-day race travels from Costa Rica's Pacific coast, through the mountains, to the Caribbean Sea. But the beauty of Costa Rica's rain forest belies the danger and adversity riders must face. Steep terrain, deep mud, deteriorated train trestles, and sweltering heat and humidity are just some of what riders need to conquer. Only about half who start reach the finish line.

Asked why he chose La Ruta, Chris commented, The 10th Anniversary of CTS and my 50th birthday are significant milestones in my life. Some people buy cars or boats to celebrate; I choose to go complete the biggest physical and mental challenge I've faced since preparing to race the Tour de France 24 years ago. When it comes to finding an authentic challenge, La Ruta is the real deal.

Chris's familiarity with La Ruta developed through long talks with 2009 La Ruta champion Manuel Prado, a CTS Athlete who works with coach Adam Pulford. Prado will play an instrumental role in the reconnaissance training camp in Costa Rica. When asked about his rationale for including 10 everyday athletes in his 10@50 challenge, Chris said, In the lives many of us lead, we face stress from work, family, and even fitness goals, but we have few opportunities to truly discover how deep we can dig. La Ruta offers that, and the 10 people who come with me to Costa Rica will return with a new perspective on stress, adversity, and accomplishment.

The application process will have two phases. The initial phase is an online questionnaire available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T6WNZQG. In the second phase, video submissions will be required from selected athletes. The application deadline for Phase 1 will be February 28, 2010. Finalists will be notified March 5, and will need to submit a video application by March 26. Final selection of the 10 athletes will take place by March 29. The 10@50 coaching program will commence on April 1.

Full details available at http://www.trainright.com/info.asp?uid=4765.

About CTS:
Founded by Olympian, US Olympic Committee Coach of the Year, and bestselling author, Chris Carmichael in 2000, Carmichael Training Systems (CTS offers personal coaching, training camps, and performance testing services to athletes of all ability levels. CTS is the coaching choice for some of the world's greatest athletes, including seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and Ironman World Champions Craig Alexander (2008-2009) and Normann Stadler (2004, 2006). For more information on CTS, visit www.trainright.com.

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One morning back in 2007, our Editor Joe Nuss walked into the office and informed us that he was doing one of the hardest mountain bike races in the world - the La Ruta de los Conquistadores, or what most people simply call "La Ruta."  We all quickly went online to http://www.adventurerace.com to learn all about this incredible event that Joe would be training for.  I still remember the very first image that was displayed on the site.  It was of 4 mountain bike riders riding trough a river of muddy water about 3 feet deep in the middle of the jungle.  

While we may have had some initially doubts about whether Joe could pull it off, we quickly learned that he was fully committed to the training that it would take to survive this epic test of endurance.  Sure enough, fast forward 4 months and there we were once again all huddled around Joe's computer, this time looking at the pictures that he'd taken during his successful race as well as listening to the incredible stories that accompanied them.  All the while, somewhere in the back of my mind, a little voice was saying "someday you should do this also."  Well, the time has come to listen to that voice and see for myself what La Ruta is all about.  The Race Director, Roman Urbina, was kind enough to grant me a comped entry in exchange for marketing, so this blog will serve as the official announcement that I'll be racing in the 2010 La Ruta!  Many monthly blogs will follow, so come back often.

The La Ruta  is a 4-day stage race that takes place during the month of November in beautiful Costa Rica.  It starts on the Pacific Coast and ends on the Caribbean coast.  The route brings riders over and through just about every imaginable ecosystem and type of terrain.  To finish requires tremendous physical conditioning, guts, and frankly an ability to to tolerate a good dose of pain and misery.  But, as is the case with any major endurance race, this finish is amazing and, based on Joe's stories, well worth every sacrifice and every ounce of determination that it takes to get there.

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Many of you probably already know who Alex McDonald is.  Alex moved to NC last year after completing medical school and his full-time gig is now as a professional triathlete for Timex - something most of us can only dream about.  Alex is obviously known for being fast (2007 IM Lake Placid winner, 2007 & 2008 Duke Half IM winner, etc.), but he's also a super nice guy.  Most age-groupers know Alex as the "fast guy that cheers for everyone as he's winning the race."  I received an email from Alex today, and thought I'd share it with you.  It gives you an idea of how hard these guys train, how fast they are, what sort of opportunities come their way, and unfortunately what kinds of obstacles they must overcome to stay on top of their game.

After a great start to the season at Ironman California 70.3 I entered 4 week block of very heavy training.  I was training 30-35hrs each week, averaging about 20k in the pool, 350 miles on the bike and 60 miles of running.  I was certainly tired by the end yet I focused on proper recovery and nutrition before and after every workout and my body responded well to the training stress. 

At the beginning of April I then entered a heavy racing block.   I began with a local race in North Carolina, the White Lake 1/2 where I had a great race, but a flat tire caused me to miss first place by just 30 seconds.  None the less it was a great mental practice to stay calm and continue to move forwards in the face of adversity.  A week later I raced at Ironman Florida 70.3 at Disney world which was a great venue.  At this race I lost focus for a few minutes at the start of the swim which cost me a few minutes and I was playing catch up all day.  Despite the depth of the competition I knew with a better swim I could have had a top ten finish.  Lesson learned and I will certainly make sure to avoid such loss of focus in the future.  Then 3 weeks later I made the trip to Middlebury CT to race at the inaugural Rev3.  My goal race for the first part of the season was Ironman Coeur d'Alene, just 2 weeks later, so I did not give myself much rest prior to this race and entered it more as a learning experience and practice race.  However, a week before Rev3 I was training pretty hard and my hip flexor began to cause me some pain while running.  I had rested it yet it was still very painful to run.  I had diagnosed myself with tendonitis of the hip flexor, but you are never supposed to diagnose yourself, so I went to a sport medicine doctor.  My diagnosis was correct and rest was really the only option.  As a result Rev3 became a swim and bike race for me and I had decided not to risk further injury by challenging myself on the run course.  At the Rev3 I definitely felt the affects if racing 5 half Ironman in just 5 weeks along with heavy training leading up to IM Coeur d'Alene and felt very flat and fatigued during the race, so I treated it as a last heavy training day before I taper for IM Coeur d'Alene.

This past friday, a little over a week before IM Coeur d'Alene I tried running again, having not done so for almost 2 weeks. After a through warm up, I began to jog lightly and immediately the pain returned.  At that point I began to worry that I might not be ready to race an Ironman a week later.  After a conversation with my massage therapist, my wife (she's a doctor also) and my coach I decided that I would not be racing.  A best case scenario would be a sub-par performance and further injury to my hip which would possibly persist for the rest of the season.  Instead I decided to focus all my energy on healing and set my sights on Ironman Lake Placid at the end of July.  Having trained and race on that course numerous time, including winning the race in 2007 I certainly have some positive memories and energy associated with Lake Placid.

Although this injury is very frustrating and has interrupted my plan for the first half of the season I know that this is the best decision which will allow me to emerge stronger and faster.  Please take a look at my website and blog for all the details www.alexmmtri.com

Lastly, I I have been asked to serve on the newly formed Timex Performance Center Advisory Board for the NY Giants new training facility in the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  As a professional triathelte, physician and ambassador for the sport this is a tremendous opportunity.  A one of the four member advisory board I will collaborate with world class orthopeadists, sport trainers and NY GIant atheltes to bring new ideas to the sports of American Football and endurance sports.  Although the board is still in it's infancy and constantly evolving we plan to meet quarterly to develop new and exciting technologies as well as training methodologies.  This is an excellent opportunity as an athlete and physician about which I am very excited.
 
Thank you again for your support and I hope to continue as a contributor to Endurance Magazine.

Alex McDonald
www.alexmmtri.com
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The winner of the first annual Uwharrie 20-Mile Mountain Run "Battle of the Beards" contest will be determined by the total score of the following 3 categories.

1.  FINISH TIME (Thys "The Terror" Wind has the advantage.)
Based on official time rounded off the nearest minute.
3:00 or faster = 10 pts
3:01-3:15 = 9 pts
3:16-3:45 = 8 pts
3:46-4:15 = 7 pts
4:16-4:45 = 6 pts
4:46 or slower = 5 pts

2. BEARD LENGTH (Certain to be a hard-fought battle between Joe "Tridaddy" Nuss and "Squonk" from the Trailheads).
Measured by Joe at the chin on race day.  Note: the average beard grows 1/2 inch per month
"pubescent" (less than 1/4 inch) = 4 pts
"manly" (1/4-1/2 inch) = 6 pts
"grizzly" (1/2-1 inch) = 8 pts
"HOLY mountain man!" (greater than 1 inch) = 10 pts

3.  BLOG COMMENTS (Steve "GQ Money" has the advantage.)
Photos will be posted right here on the Endurance Mag blog and we're counting on you to respond.  Be sure to mention a name so one of us gets credit for the points.
comments made by male readers =  1 pt/comment
comments made by female reader = 2 pts/comment

IN CASE OF A TIE:
Chances are that the margin of victory in the inaugural Battle of the Beards will be "razor thin."  After all, we are Endurance Magazine.  In the unlikely case of a tie, however, we will defer to the lovely ladies in our studio to decide who will win.  Tamara, Casey, Mandy, Lisa, Courtney, and Rachel will be asked to cast a vote.  This is perhaps where the fullness of the beard comes into play, so think twice before you go crazy with the beard groomer.

May the best man win!

 

 

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At the risk of oversimplifying things, I think you can pretty much divide endurance athletes into 2 groups: competitors and casual athletes. The former group is focused primarily on attaining PRs, podiums, trying out the latest and greatest training strategies and equipment, and always striving to go longer and/or faster. Suffering is an acceptable part of the equation. The latter group seems more interested in the more, shall we say, "organic" reasons for partaking in endurance sports.  Having fun, socializing, being healthy, and just generally enjoying their endurance sport of choice, casual athletes always seem so comfortable in their own skin. I admire that. 

I can confirm that I most definitely consider myself to be of a competitive mindset. Racing is my passion and I enjoy training hard as much as just about anyone. After a while, however, training and racing with laser focus and high intensity (while making lots of sacrifices along the way) has a way of getting me to a point where I feel flat, checked-out, and  looking for a boost of motivation.  While there are various ways to regroup, here's a quick story about a recent personal experience that drove home a very important lesson.         

With this season's big A-priority races behind me, I wanted to do something I haven't tried in a long time...running for the pure fun of it. So I signed up for a local road race and decided to run it with friends. Moreover, I left the heart rate monitor at home, checked my ego at the door, forgot about target splits, lined up at the starting line with zero expectations, goofed off with my friends throughout the race, and low and behold I ended up having a blast!  Imagine that. The casual athletes are really onto something!

So for my fellow competitors out there wondering how to recharge during these next few weeks, try slowing down.  It's a great way to dig your way out of what, at this point, may be a persistent state of fatigue, perhaps even bordering on overtraining syndrome. Don't worry, you can ramp up again at a later date and return to full steam ahead.  Just remember that the body and mind perform best when stressed in cycles. Besides, wellness is what we should all be after and fitness is only one spoke of the wellness wheel. 

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The other day I was running through the quiet forest in Umstead State Park.  With the leaves falling to the ground around me and the oxygen-rich air feeding my brain, I started thinking about the Bailout Plan.  Not the one that we've all heard so much about on the news lately, but the one that you actually have some degree of control over, and one that has been shown to be absolutely 100% effective.  Having a training plan before the weather gets cold and wet is highly recommended if you want to come out of the other end of winter in reasonable shape - ready for a breakthrough year of racing.

So as you train during the next few months, save yourself from a physical recession by employing the following (bullish) Bailout Plan:

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Our "green" initiative, Race Without A Trace, has been a huge success this year.  Stay tuned for some hard data on just how effective it really was with respect to the amount of event-related waste we saved/recycled and the extent to which we minimized our carbon footprint across the 5 events that we produced this year.  As we set our sights on 2009, we felt it was appropriate to update the Race Without A Trace logo.  As Steve would say, it's  definitely "the new hotness."  Or, as I like to say, it's "off the chain."

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There is not a single training methodology that endurance athletes should embrace more than the concept of cross-training.  Most endurance athletes are aware of the importance of varying their training intensity and duration over the course of any training cycle.  Many, however, do not vary their mode of training often enough, if at all.  Some runners, for example, train for their races by only running - sometimes as often as 6 times a week!  While this sort of consistent training is great for the cardiovascular system, it's destructive to your joints and a guaranteed way to shorten your career as a runner or triathlete.  The most effective long-term way of training is one that consists of variety and thus utilizes the benefits of cross-training.  Cross-training is a broad term that includes, but is not limited to, all forms of continuous cardiovascular exercise, strength and flexibility training, as well as the various disciplines that improve the mind-body connection.  The bottom line is that cross-training allows the body to recover and become stronger, and it is perhaps THE best way to a higher level of physical performance and mental endurance!

If you're interested in training for an upcoming race such as a fall marathon utilizing a cross-training approach, try a Turnkey Training Program offered exclusively by WindSpeed Endurance Training. 

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Getting new running shoes is always exciting, especially if you have an interest in the constantly-emerging shoe technologies available on the market.  At the top of my most recent wish list was a pair of Newton Running shoes.  Fortunately, they were kind enough to send us a pair to review.  The shoes came in a cool mesh bag along with a free pair of socks and a DVD.  Good first impression: check. 

Here's the story behind this eco-friendly and innovative company based in Boulder, Colorado.  Founded by a group of lifelong runners, Newton Running decided to develop a shoe specifically made to reinforce proper running technique - that is running with a forefoot/midfoot strike while maintaining a quick cadence and a slight forward lean.  As the name implies, this company has embraced Isaac Newton's Third Law which states that every action has an equal reaction.  After 15 years of research, Newton decided to put this Law to the test via its Active Membrane Technology.  By placing three highly flexible red lugs, also known as actuators, on the midfoot region of the sole, the efficiency with which a runner can now move forward has been dramatically improved.  Suffice it to say, Newton's Third Law still stands.

After several months of training and racing in my pair of Cushioned Racers, I dare say that I have found my running shoes for life!  After converting over to a midfoot strike a few years back, I became increasingly frustrated by the lack of running shoes available that actually reinforce what industry experts and coaches alike proclaim to be correct running form.  The door was wide open for Newton Running to meet this demand and they have delivered!  The ride in these feather-light shoes is truly something to experience and I assure you that the action-reaction concept is no marketing ploy.  Newtons require almost no break-in period, they're well-ventilated, and don't necessarily require one to wear socks.  That should be good new for you triathletes out there.  

Newton Running shoes come in a variety of bold and attractive colors, which is all the more reason to focus on running with proper form as admirers look on.  For more information about Newton Running shoes, check out their very slick website at www.newtonrunning.com.

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Working a "traditional" job is so over-rated!  Take it from me.  I've been on both sides of the fence, and now that I'm fortunate enough to work at Endurance Magazine I'm certain that the grass is NOT greener on the other side.  Why, you ask.  Well, here's just a sampler of some of the perks & benefits (bennies) that life at EM HQ affords us: flexible work schedule, open exchange of great ideas, free race entries, coffee breaks at Starbucks just a few yards away from my desk, mid-day group runs/rides, Joe's music, Steve's extroverted nature, Mandy's calm nature, Justin's jokes, open-door policy to kids and dogs, awesome Endurance Mag race kits (see Joe's latest blog), networking with local celebs (elite athletes, coaches, business owners, and just overall amazing people), etc. 

Speaking of perks & bennies, the latest case in point is a free pair of Newton Running shoes that I just scored in exchange for a product review that we'll run in the magazine.  I've heard a lot of great things about these kicks and I can't wait to take them out for a spin. 

Have you heard Endurance Magazine is looking for a superstar sales person? 

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