Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Jun 06, 2011
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All the Right Moves to Stay Healthy
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Mar 16, 2011
Endurance Magazine is looking for the best and brightest volunteers to help make the Wachovia Tar Heel 10 Miler and Fleet Feet Sports 4+ Mile Run a spectacular success!
Race day is Saturday, April 9th.
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Mar 31, 2010
By Dr. Angelina V. Stevens
When I began triathlon racing in the year 2000, you could pretty much show up the morning of the race and still get in. Now, triathlon participants are growing by the thousands every season and there will be 500,000 marathon finishers in the US this year. But, despite our fitness frenzy and growing awareness about diet and nutrition, active Americans are still often stuck in a chronic weight loss struggle. So, how do you permanently exit the fat race?
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Jun 18, 2009
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
alexmmtri@gmail.com
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on May 25, 2009
By Thys Wind
Depending on your athletic background, taking up the sport of triathlon is essentially like taking up three new sports at the same time. This can be overwhelming, particularly with respect to learning the sports' best practices, getting the right gear, and making sure you don't break the bank.
When it comes to basic etiquette and safety precautions during your training, there are a few very simple things that you may want to know. Let's break it down by discipline.
Swimming
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Jan 16, 2009
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!
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Nov 25, 2008
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.
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Oct 22, 2008
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:
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Oct 10, 2008
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."
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Sep 24, 2008
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.
