New Videos to Keep you Injury Free on YouTube from Roger at Therapeutic FItness

Floor Exercises

Bosu Ball Exercises

Stability Ball Exercises

Hip openers

Windshield wipers and scorpions

Ankle flexibility

Glutes Foam Roller

Groin Foam Roller

Tennis ball calf and peroneal tendon

ITU Long Course World Championships, Las Vegas 11.6.11

By Gary Smith

The ITU Triathlon Long Distance World Championships were held this year in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday November 5. The event is a 4K (2.4 mile) swim, 120K (75 mile) bike and a 30k (18.6 mile) run. The race was held in Henderson, Nevada with the start in Lake Las Vegas and finishing in downtown Henderson. I felt ready for the event, although I picked up some bug the week before the race while staying on "The strip" in Vegas.
When we arrived on the Tuesday before the race we drove the bike course over some significant hills around Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. The gusts were in the 60mph range. I had heard about this possibility and was glad that I brought two rear wheels. I chose to not use my sub 9 disc and changed to my 1080 rear with an 880 front. In fact at the pre race meeting the ITU reps highly "recommended" not using a disc.
The weather the remainder of the week turned cold for Vegas, highs in the 50's and low 60's.
When we arrived at the race start early Saturday we were informed that the swim was cancelled! Yes, cancelled do to the Lake temperature of 60 degrees and the air temperature at 40 and windy. They stated that for our safety they had no choice. They thought about shortening the swim to 1500 meters or even 750 meters, but decided to cancel it. This was a World Championship!??
They even bent the rules about covering you country's uniform. They allowed jackets over the uniforms. The race started with a Time Trial bike with each athlete leaving in 5 second intervals.
I had a good bike, even with the hills and high winds. At one down hill the cross winds had me hanging on for dear life hitting over 45 mph. I finished the bike in 4:13:01 and had a 3:05 transition to the run. The changing tents even had heaters in them.
The run is a typical ITU Loop format. There were 4 loops so the spectators could see you on 8 different times. I didn't seem to have my legs as I think this bug I was fighting took over a bit. Each lap was 2.4 miles up and then 2.4 miles down. Lots of climbing. The format was also good in that there were many fans out on the course cheering. It is always good to hear people you don't know cheering "Go USA" or "Go Smith". it also allowed you to see you competition on many occasions throughout the run.
I finished the run in 2:50:06 for an overall time of 7:06:12. Good enough for a 13th place in my age group and 7th American in my age group.
Now time for some nice little R+R after a very long season that stretched from early March to early November.

Already planning some races for next year......Gary

70.3 World Championships, Las Vegas 9.11.11

By Joe Donahue

The following quote is from the main story in the race program. it really sums things up nicely!
“In the past, Ironman World Championship 70.3 was all about raw speed. Not any longer. The move to Lake Las Vegas promises to dish up heaping portions of heat, wind and hills. This course is designed to do one thing: separate the very good from the very best.”
Pre-Race
Liz and Myself arrived in Las Vegas on Friday around 1pm. We drove right to athlete check-in on our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Loews which was the host hotel. It is a super nice hotel with beautiful pools and right on the lake, this area is about a 30-min drive from the “Vegas Strip.” The pre race dinner, awards ceremony etc. all happen here. The hotel is about a 1 mile walk to swim start and the race transition area. If you want to stay closer Joe McMahon stayed at a place called Luna di Lusso which was literally right at the swim start and transition area. Myself, Joe, and Dana Dobbs spent race morning hanging out on Joe’s patio watching all the early swim waves go off. Awesome hanging out with these guys before the race!!!
Race Day
Swim
The swim is a non-wetsuit swim in Lake Las Vegas.The 45-49 age group was the second to last wave to go at 7:55 am which meant we would be running our half-marathon at the hottest part of the day. Bummer!! The swim is a clockwise rectangle, flat water, no chop, I made it through with not too much contact. The swim exit is on the opposite side of the lake from transition, so you have to run all the way around the edge of the lake to get to T1. I would estimate about 400meter run or so. T1 is grab your bike gear bag run through a changing tent. Nothing is allowed on the ground by your bike. You can have your bike shoes pre-clipped to pedals and your helmet can be on handle bars.
Bike
The bike course was hyped as being one of the toughest courses ever. My wheel setup was a 404 front and an 808 rear with disc cover on it. The gearing I used was a 53/39 with a 12/27 cassette. I think a 11/26 would have been better if you can find one....I spun out on the downhills with the 53/12 so a 53/11 would have been helpful and I think a 39/26 would be fine for the uphills. Either way the bike course never really lets up... you are either going up or down short semi steepish until about mile 40 or so, where the hills become more gradual upgrades and downgrades.
Temps on the bike maxed out at 95 degrees but thankfully didn’t feel that bad thanks to low humidity, I wore an aero helmet and didn’t feel any discomfort or overheating although the sun was relentless! no shade at all on the bike course and not a spectator in sight, you are literally riding through a rocky hilly desert!
Run
At T2 volunteers receive your bike and racked it for you so you can grab you run gear bag run through the changing tent and out onto the run course. The run course was a 3 loop course....make a quick left out of transition then approx 1.2 miles slightly downhill with not much shade to the turnaround then slightly uphill with some shade back past transition continuing slightly uphill for another mile or so with no shade to another turnaround then back slightly downhill to the transition area. Each loop was appox 4.4 miles for a total 13.1 miles. Crowd support was huge going past the transition area
Overall I thought the new 70.3 championship was a fair course, hard but fair, and thats the way it should be. Temps maxed out at 95 degrees, hydration and proper bike pacing are critical. The road surface conditions are good . I can’t wait to go back next year!!!

Long Course Duathlon Worlds, Zofingen, Suise August 21, 2011

By Gary Smith

Here in Zofingen Suisse for the event. We arrived on Wednesday at the Team USA Hotel. The Engel Hotel. A great boutique hotel in the village.
The race is the famous Powerman Zofingen. A 10k run/ 150k bike / 30k run.
I knew getting here that my hips continued to be locked even after massage and chiro at home. Had massage and a very expensive chiro here to see if that would help. On race morning I was warming up,running for the first time in over a week and I knew it would be a looooong day.
The start of the first run of 10k tells you why this is the most demanding course in the world. The first of 2 laps of 5k goes STRAIGHT UP! The first 2 k was up a 16% grade! What a start!
So I had to take it easy as all my hips would allow was very small steps,no real strides.
I finished toward the rear hoping the 93 mile bike would help loosen the hips up for the final 18.6 mile run. The bike course is 3 laps of unbelievable climbs 3 major climbs. So you do a total of 9 major climbs. The fans were unreal. Yelling "HOPP HOPP" meaning Go Go all day. The first climb was a warm up as to what was to come. A steep 12% grade that went for over 1 mile. Later in the middle of the course this climb was 3 miles of 18% grade. At the top there were lots of fans. They were even using helicopters to get the big shots there and they were all drinking wine in flute glasses! Then a huge down hill with lots of turns. Able to hit 55mph! The third climb was all switchbacks ,only way to get up that one. It started to rain on the third lap right after I got stung by a bee as my eye stated to close up a bit. I passed many on the bike. Wasn't sure if I would be able to do the run of 18.6 miles but said to myself let's give it a go.
There is something about wearing the race uniform with USA SMITH on it that kept me going. Doing it for my country as we needed the team points.
The final run was 2 laps of 15k(9.3miles) for a total of 30k or 18.6 miles. In the deep forest it was 3 miles of climbing on trails and the rains really picked up that you couldn't see the guy in front of you. By the end of the day it had rained over 4 inches! This created rivers of mud. At times we were in mud over our ankles the kind where your feet come out of your shoes. Lots of guys falling down. I somehow kept the same Walter Brennen (no brag just fact) hunched over small steps. EVERY STEP was painful, and I was afraid to stop for fear of falling over. At the top of the mountain as we ran there were reindeer that were fenced in.
Somehow I didn't stop and finished in 9hours 49 minutes. I was 16th in my age group and 5th American in my ag. Everything I have is still soaking wet. Have had 2 massages in the last 12 hours.
A super race,one that I would like to do again when I am fit and not hampered by the locked up hips. It is always great to be a part of the national team and to race for the USA....Auf wiedersehen.........Gary

Timerbman 70.3 Gilford , NH August 21, 2011

By Jesse O'Donnell

The race weekend started off Thursday when we began loading the racing, camping, and spectator gear into the Enterprise rental Suburban. Friday after work we headed up to my brother in laws house in Massachusetts and spent the night there. Before heading to New Hampshire on Saturday morning I went for a light 45 minute ride on my road bike and spent some time with my nephews. I arrived in NH around 2pm and pickup my race packet and setup my campsite at Gunstock Mountain Resort, which was also the host location for the event. After setting up camp, I went to drop off my bike in transition, where I met Reneere. We spent some time in transition together getting our gear setup for the morning and then went out for dinner. I got back to my campsite around 8:45, packed up the last of my stuff, and went to bed by 9:30. I was able to get a decent night sleep considering how anxious I was about racing. It has been a long time since I raced this distance and two weeks ago at my last race, Born to Tri, I did not have the result I was hoping for.

I awoke at 4:45; I got dress and caught the shuttle down to the race start. I was not in any rush as I was in the 13th wave and did not start until 7:55. Prior to the race start everything was going well; I had my bike, nutrition, and running shoes all setup. Then, I was putting my wetsuit on and the zipper broke. This was a bit of a problem, as it was 20 minutes until my wave started and I had no way to close my wetsuit. I had packed an extra but it was at the camp site and my wife could not get it in time. I was able to force the zipper on so that it would zipper top to bottom and my wife safety pinned the top to prevent it from splitting open. The wetsuit stayed closed during my warm up and I was ready to start.

The swim in Lake Winnepesake was beautiful…the water was a warm, 72 degrees, and clear. I started in the second row and was able to dolphin dive to almost the first buoy where I settled into a comfortable pace, I was swimming relaxed trying to find someone to draft. I finished the swim and headed into T1. I had a little issue getting my wetsuit off because of the pins but I was able to rip it off. I headed out onto the bike forgetting to clip my race belt on in transition so I had to wiggle it on while riding. The bike course is very challenging with some tough climb in the first 10 miles then rolling and climbs again in the last 10 miles. I had a goal of averaging 23mph I was not sure what my wattage goal should be but I want to stay under 270 watts. At the turn around I was feeling good and was right on pace. Riding back towards transition I was focused on nutrition and hydration constantly taking water and gatoraide. About mile 40 I got a small cramp in my left hamstring. It did not bother me too much, I was trying to hydrate at much as I could getting ready for the run.

At the completion of the bike I entered transition, was able to get my socks and shoes on grab my garmin and head out on the run course. The first 2 miles did not feel good. I was battling a side stitch as well as a leg cramp. After mile 2 I started to settle down and feel better. The run is rolling with mostly shaded but had some hot sunny sections along the highway and around transition. The run was going well I was able to hold around 7 min pace and was taking water and Gatorade at all the aid stations. About mile 10 I started to suffer a bit more as I was running out of energy. The next 2 miles were tough I had dropped to about 7:30 pace. At the last aid station with only a mile I drank some coke, that and the prospect of finishing got me to the finish line. All in all it was a great day for me. I had a goal of 4:45 min and was able to finish well under that time in 4:30:50. I was 22nd overall 12th amateur but 6th in my AG so I did not get a bid to the 70.3 world championships. With every race there are things to improve, I have 5 weeks till my next race Pocono 70.3 on October 2, 2011, where hopefully I can improve enough to earn a Vegas slot. I want to thank Colleen my wife for all her support not only on race weekend but with putting up with my training schedule and making sure I am well fed. Also thanks to everyone at BPC and JSMS crit team for all of the group training and racing opportunities.

Vineman 140.6: In Memory of Gus

by Jason Martin
Vineman Full-distance Triathlon (140.6)
Location: Guerneville, CA
Date: Saturday, July 30th 2011
# of Participants: 1000 (876 finishers)
Weather on Race Day:
- Swim start (6:30am) air temp was 55 degrees. Water temp 72 degrees.
- 1st half of bike (8am): Air temp 70 degrees. Winds 5mph.
- 2nd half of bike (11am): Air temp 80 degrees. Winds 10mph.
- Run (2:30pm): Air temp 85 degrees. No wind.
Volunteer support: 1000 volunteers. Excellent support throughout entire race.
Vineman 140.6 triathlon is the oldest independent (non M-dot qualifier) full-distance triathlon in the United States. There is also a Vineman 70.3 a week prior to the 140.6 every year. The 70.3 is an official M-dot Kona qualifier. The reason I chose this particular race was because it was the only race with available slots in December when I officially decided to sign up (registration begins November 1st every year). Slots to Vineman 2011 didn't sell out until the week prior to the race.
Why I did it:
My quest to complete a full-distance event began last year when I took my family on vacation to Lake Placid a few days after IMLP 2010. I met a 50 year-old guy with three young kids in one of the shops who had just completed his fourth IMLP, and he convinced me that being 35 years old with one kid wasn't a good enough excuse not to do it! So I decided to start swimming, biking, and running at the end of September. I told myself that if my body felt good by the time Christmas rolled around that I'd sign up for an Ironman and get a trainer. Even though I am extremely self-motivated, I knew that hiring a trainer/coach would hold me accountable and keep me dedicated throughout a long and grueling training schedule. I was right!
In December I was up to one hour of cardio six days a week (two swims/two bikes/two runs per week). All of the Foundation slots were taken for IMLP, so I signed up for Vineman and thought I'd reward my wife with a week in wine country following the race (if she didn't divorce me before then!) At the same time I was referred to Joe Donahue at Brielle Performance Center by a friend of mine at the hospital. Joe immediately got me signed up on Race Day, and we got to work setting up my heart rate zones. I also bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS, a bike trainer, and a Cervelo P2 tri bike at Brielle Cyclery. I highly recommend all of them!
In the meantime one of my best friends from the Navy , Commander Robert A. "Gus" Kaminski was battling brain cancer. He and I served together in the same SEAL platoon and deployed to the Middle East together. His health took a bad turn in September, and I volunteered to be an Ambassador to his family with the Navy SEAL Foundation. I also decided to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation with my race as a tribute to Gus' fighting spirit.
- Training:
For me training during the winter months wasn't too bad. We had a bad winter, but my workouts didn't get too long until the Spring. All of my Winter bikes were on the trainer or in spin classes. My favorite swim was outside in a heated saltwater pool in Park City during a snowstorm in March. My favorite run was a run I did in Coronado, CA while visiting Gus. I did run outside as much as I could. Once Spring came around I began doing my weekend workouts outside again.
My first races in preparation for Vineman were the E. Murray Todd Half Marathon and the Freehold Running Club 10-miler. I really enjoyed both races, and they were big confidence boosters for me early in my training. I then did Bassman 70.3 the first week of May in New Gretna, New Jersey. That was also a big confidence booster for me, and I completed it in 5:22. After this race I ditched the Powerbars (which felt like a brick in my stomach during the Bassman run) and switched to EFS liquid shot. I also switched from Gatorade to EFS drink mix with Carbo Pro. Brian Shea at Personal Best Nutrition was extremely helpful, and several times he personally delivered my orders to me at home so I could get my nutrition in time for a long training weekend. In June I did the 2.4 mile open water swim in Lavalette (Lava Swim) with a time of 1:12 and was humbled when Joe Donahue beat me by 16 minutes!
I did every single one of my long bike and run workouts alone. Although I would have loved to have company on the long bike rides, I could never seem to find anyone to do them with me at 5am on Saturday. In a way it mentally prepared me for the "loneliness" of a long race, but looking back it would have been better to train with a partner (in case I crashed and also to make workouts more fun). (Note: I started all of my workouts at 5am during the week and on weekends so I could minimize my time away from family).
Unfortunately my friend Gus lost his fight with brain cancer the Friday of Memorial weekend, and my race officially became a memorial race for Gus. The combination of dedicating the race to Gus and the SEALs killing bin Laden made for a big surge in donations, and I cleared $10,000 in donations by July 1st.
My first Century ride was the Bike NY Hudson Valley ride in Poughkeepsie, NY in June. It was a hilly ride, but in hindsight I was glad I did it because it had over 6500 feet of elevation gain, and Vineman had over 4000 feet of elevation gain. I did four rides over 100 miles in all, most of them around Monmouth, Ocean, and Burlington counties.
I stayed injury-free all throughout my training until the final six weeks. During some speed training runs my achilles tendon began to tighten up. I took ibuprofen, iced it, and stretched it a lot, but it stayed tight and a little sore right up to my taper (two weeks prior to race day). Then I discovered "ice massage" (freezing a dixie cup of water, peeling back cup to expose ice, and massaging up and down my calf/achilles with the ice). It worked great, and my achilles recovered just in time for my race.
During my taper I felt extremely antsy. I kept worrying that I wasn't doing enough and that I was losing all of my endurance. I didn't know what to do with all of my free time! I stretched a lot, researched my race, practiced changing flat tires, and went over my gear constantly. Joe also showed me how to take apart my bike and change a flat on a tubular tire. Joe hooked me up with a set of racing rims (808 in rear/404 in front). I packed up my bike and flew to CA on Thursday, July 28th.
- Travel:
My flight to San Francisco was a nightmare. The airlines did not know how to check in my oversized bike box. As a result, we missed our flight and had to fly standby to SF via Boston. We landed at 10pm, rented a car, and got to our hotel (Bodega Bay Lodge) at 11:30pm PT (2:30am ET). So much for staying well rested! I did spend about $70 carboloading in the airport though. Note: Make sure you always arrive a few days prior to your race in case you need to rest, acclimate to time zone, see the course, etc).
On Friday I continued to hydrate and carboload all day long. I went to the race expo and sat through the course familiarization talk. I was very impressed with the professionalism exhibited by all race coordinators and volunteers. I was very surprised that the majority of the racers in Vineman 2011 were doing their first full distance event.
After the course fam, I went to the run transition area to set up my gear. The race expo, run transition and finish line were at East Windsor High School (about 17 miles from the race start and bike transition area). Then I jumped on my bike and rode the run course loop for a half hour. After that I threw my bike on the rack on the car, and we drove the entire bike course (with my wife jumping out to staple posters with blown-up photos of family on telephone poles every three miles)!
Before I went to bed I ate a light dinner and checked my gear again. We stopped at the food store to grab some breakfast food. I went to bed around 8pm with a planned 4am wakeup on race day. I actually slept great considering how anxious I was.
- Race Day:
On Saturday, July 30th (race day) I woke up at 4am. I ate some food and then pumped up my bike tires. I filled my water bottles with 2 scoops of EFS/1 scoop of Carbo Pro and packed the car. We got to the swim start/bike transition area at Guerneville beach at 5:15am. The transition area opened at 5:30am, and I quickly got everything set up. Then I made one last trip to the bathroom and put my wetsuit on.
- Swim:
The swim consisted of 2 loops (1.2mi each loop) in the Russian River. Current was very minimal as the river is dammed this time of year (you might lose 2 mins swimming upstream each loop). My age group (35-39) was the second wave to go off at 6:33am. I went out hard for the first 10 minutes to get ahead of the main pack. However, I ended up swimming into the slower swimmers from the first wave, and then the fastest swimmers from the third wave came up on me. The river was only about 100 yards wide, so it was a little crowded for a while.
There were two sections of the river where it got pretty shallow, and my hands actually scraped the bottom. I saw a lot of guys walking in these areas instead of swimming (which I believe was a mistake because it wastes more energy and you risk cutting your feet if you step on something sharp). I swam the entire time, and I passed everyone who decided to walk. Everyone I saw was wearing a wetsuit, and I did too. I completed the swim in 1:11.
- Transition 1:
Volunteers helped strip off my wetsuit and I quickly sprayed myself down with sunblock. I already had my tri shorts on, so I put on my tri shirt and bike shoes/helmet and ran out of the transition area. My overall transition time was about 5 minutes.
- Bike:
I ran my bike up the steep hill coming out of transition. I got on the bike and settled into a nice, easy pace. I looked at my Garmin, and I realized my HR was at Z-4.0. So I controlled my breathing and slowed a tad. My biggest fear was going out too hard on the bike and dying on the run. The bike course consisted of two 56 mile loops throughout wine country vineyards on mostly rural roads. Road conditions were overall pretty good. Potholes and cracks were well-marked with orange spray paint. I only saw two riders fixing flats during the race. The course was well-marked, and there were volunteers/law enforcement at every stop sign/intersection.
I kept my HR around Z-3.4 on the flats and got it up to Z-4.9 on several of the hills. There was one very steep hill on Chalk Hill Road at mile 44 (1st loop) and 101 (2nd loop). I believe it is a 350 ft climb in a relatively short distance (0.25 mi). I put my bike in the easiest gear and just kept spinning. The fastest downhill was at miles 28 and 84 where I got up to almost 40mph.
There were 4 aid stations on each loop and 7 throughout the entire course (miles 18/28/38/57/74/84/94). The bike aid stations had Gatorade G2 Perform, water, bananas, Clif bars, Clif bloks, etc. I began the bike with 4 EFS liquid shots and 2 water bottles of EFS/Carbo Pro drink mix. I also use an aero bottle of water to sip occasionally.
My game plan was to utilize every other aid station and skip the ones between. I ended up grabbing a bottle of Gatorade at aid station 2, and at aid station 4 I grabbed my special needs bag with 3 more liquid shots and 2 more bottles of EFS/Carbo Pro drink mix. I believe my nutrition was sufficient for this ride. I took in a lot of calories, but I burned a lot on the hills. The ride ended at the high school, and the crowd was great coming into the transition area.
- Transition 2:
I probably spent about 5 minutes in transition for the run. I reapplied sunblock to my bald head and stopped for a bathroom break.
- Run:
The run consisted of 3 ea. 8.73mi loops departing from the high school and heading out through a residential area into more of a rural farm setting. There were aid stations at every mile of the run. They had Gatorade, water, Coca-Cola, cookies, grapes, bananas, Clif bloks, Clif bars, etc. Most of the aid stations were blasting some kind of music, and the volunteers were very supportive with spray hoses, sunblock, etc. The run got a little warm, but it really wasn't bad.
I tried to keep my HR in mid Zone 3 as much as I could. It kept jumping into upper Zone 4 on the hills though. My goal was not to walk, and I was successful the entire first lap. (Note: I ran up every hill, and I eventually realized that I was burning a lot of energy and not gaining any speed on those walking). I fueled with a cup of Gatorade, a cup of water, and a few hits of EFS liquid shot at every other aid station. I had the EFS in my tri shirt pockets. I completed my first lap in 1:18 (2 mins ahead of my anticipated 4 hour marathon pace). At this point I realized the hills were really going to be an issue, so I didn't try to keep the same pace on lap 2.
When I hit the first hill on lap 2 (mile 10) I began to lose a lot of energy and was feeling pretty weak. I decided to begin walking the steep uphills and run everything else. I also started to develop a hot spot on my left foot from movement of my foot in the shoe on the steep downhills. I was sick of EFS, so I switched to just Gatorade and water at every aid station. My mistake was not supplementing with some high-calorie snack (Gatorade and water were not enough). I gutted it out until completion of lap 2, but I lost time. It took me 1:32.
As I headed out on lap 3 the adrenaline began to kick in. I also made a decision to walk through and fuel at EVERY aid station instead of every other one. I took a cup of Coca-Cola, 2 Clif bloks, and washed them down with a cup of water. The difference I felt was unbelievable. My pace definitely picked up and I walked a lot less on the uphills.
The final 2 miles went by fast. I began to feel all the emotions welling up which I had held back all through training and the race. I thought about all of the support I had from my wife and daughter. I thought about my family and friends and all the others who donated to the Navy SEAL Foundation in support of my race. And lastly I thought about Gus and his family and what they went through over the last three years.
As I neared the finish line I said one last quick prayer of thanks to God, pounded a closed fist over my heart, looked up to the sky and thanked Gus for pulling me through the race--and ran across the finish line and into the arms of my wife and two year-old daughter who reminded me out loud one more time that "Martin's don't quit!"
In the end, I've raised over $15,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation in memory of my friend, CDR "Gus" Kaminski. I had so much fun during the race, and I would definitely do another full-distance race again one day. Vineman was a great experience, and I think it would be a nice race for anyone to do--especially if you're having a hard time obtaining a slot to one of the M-dot races. It definitely isn't a flat course, so be prepared to be challenged by the hills. It's three days after the race, and my legs are still pretty sore! Lastly, I highly recommend getting a trainer to hold you accountable during your training. In my opinion the training is much tougher than the race. If you can get through all of the training you will have no problem getting through the race!

Ironman St. George

by Jay Gers
I chose to do Ironman St. George because I thought it would be a challenge to train through a Northeast winter for an early season Ironman race and get myself in shape fairly early in the year. Everyone warned me that it would be hard to do. They were right. But I really enjoyed the different type of training which included lots of inside workouts.
After racing the San Juan 70.3, I was able to get in some good training in March and April. Most rides during the week were on my trainer, and I made sure to do all my long rides outside on the weekend, and every ride was in cold weather gear and booties. I don’t mind riding in the cold, but the wind in Monmouth County was a killer. The extent of my hill training for the bike was Line Road and Holmdel Park, as I did not get a chance to travel somewhere to train, due to work and family constraints. I did manage to get a few 20 hour training weeks in, which included two century rides and two 20+ mile runs. I thought my bike fitness was there as my wattage numbers were the same or better as last year in July. My running had really improved, as I did all my longer runs at 7:00 min/mile pace or faster, and always tried to include nice hills around Navesink River Road, Hartshorne Woods, and the Atlantic Highlands. I did not get a chance to do any track workouts. I went self-coached this year, and based my training off prior years’ plans.
My family and I flew out on the Wednesday before the race to Las Vegas. On the flight over, I read The Alchemist - a story about a boy who travels to the pyramids of Egypt to find his own personal legend. After landing in Las Vegas, we drove to St. George. The drive on Route 15 was spectacular in areas. When we arrived in St. George, I was able to do an easy swim in the reservoir where the start of the race would be held at Sand Hollow State Park. The park was a 30 minute drive from the Hilton we stayed at in town.
The next day, I did a quick 45 minute ride on my bike to check the gears and then a short 20 minute run with some pickups to stay sharp. I was feeling pretty good at this point. Later in the day, I met up with my buddy Luther White, a.k.a. “400 watt Luther” and “The House”. I know Luther from his time he spent in Colts Neck but he now resides in Valencia, California. Luther and I drove the course to see what the talk was all about and if the hype was for real. The bike course started from Sand Hollow State Park and went back into St. George after 20 miles and then out to a two loop course that was challenging. We took note of the road hazards, the sharp turns, and the hill ascents and descents. I loved the last 12 miles of each loop of the bike, as it was a very long downhill. I planned to think of the bike as a 100 mile ride since the last 12 miles were mostly downhill. Later that night at dinner, I tried to eat as much as my stomach could possibly handle, to get the calories in.
On Friday, the day before the race, Luther and I mostly chilled while getting our bags and bikes ready. We dropped off the T2 bags in town and afterwards had to take the bikes and T1 bags out to Sand Hollow State Park, as the transitions were in different spots. We went for a quick swim and although the water was cold in the low 60’s, once we started moving around, it felt great. We had an early pasta dinner, and I hit up Dairy Queen for a quick milkshake, and I was in bed by 8:30pm ready to race the next day.
On Saturday, I was up at 3am and had plenty of sleep the night before. I had a banana nut muffin, coffee, and my usual Hammer Products concoction, which I would use the rest of the day. I jumped on the 4am bus from our hotel to town to drop off my special needs bags and get on another bus at 4:30am to Sand Hollow State Park where the swim start was. I just chilled on the bus listening to my favorite Bruce songs, including the Promised Land. “On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert…”
At transition, I got ready pretty quick and had plenty of time. I chatted up with another East Coast dude, Chris Gebhardt, right before the swim start.
The swim start went well and was 1 loop in the reservoir. I lined up a few rows back and just took it very easy. I wore new Tyr goggles that I got at the expo, and they got kicked off a few times, so I had to stop and readjust. There was a pretty nasty glare for part of the swim. I exited the water in 1:10, which was OK as I was looking to go 1:05-1:10. I quickly grabbed my gear bag and bypassed transition as I wore my Under Armour heat shirt and compression calf guards under my wetsuit.
The bike runs back into town and we had a nice tailwind going up the hills back into St. George. I used my Zipp 404 up front and 808 with Powertap for the rear. My plan was to keep the wattage at 220-230 on the flats and 250-260 up the hills. This went pretty well, but I started feeling a little tired after mile 70. It started getting hot and I tried to grab a lot of water and Perform from the aid stations and doused myself with water to keep myself cool. It was harder for me to hold the wattage on the flats at this point, and I found myself sitting up more than I wanted to. I used a 12/25 cassette, and felt I could have fared better with a 12/27, as “The Wall”, which was a ½ mile climb at miles 50 and 90, was causing my wattage to spike to 280-300. I usually try and maintain the best power I could on the downhills until I spin out, but by this time, I used the downhills to recover and stretch out my legs so that they would feel better for the run. Several times I felt nauseous from the heat and hills and attempted to throw up, but nothing came out. Miles 80-100 on an Ironman bike are always challenging, and when I got to that 100 mile mark and the downhill section, I started feeling better as I was easily hitting 40mph going back into town. I tried to enjoy the views and scenery around me. Those last 12 miles are very nice, except for a short, steep hill a few miles before T2. I kept stretching out my legs and calves during these downhills and drank as much as I could to prepare myself for the run. My average wattage was about 205, about 5-10 watts lower than I wanted it to be. I finished the bike in a respectable 5:33.
When I got off the bike, my lower back and legs hurt as usual. I quickly changed into running shorts in T2. I’ve run my best Ironman marathons in running shorts. I used my Garmin to see where I was in terms of running pace. I started the run and it was mentally hard to comprehend that I had to run one tough marathon with the temperatures in the low 90’s now. But I felt good after a few minutes and told myself that I would not stop and walk, even through the aid stations. I had salt tablets which I attempted to take at mile 2, but as I opened up my salt tablet carrier, I saw that they had all melted overnight. I tried to salvage 2 tablets, but when I swallowed and chased with water, I quickly threw them up. I had no salt caps now. The run course is challenging, even more than the bike, and, as I got to the bigger hills after mile 3, there were guys walking up the hills and I almost stopped and joined them, but I remembered what I told myself about walking. I kept repeating in my head, “You’re a tough, tough dude.” I was starting to feel good now and the run felt easy! My long sleeve heat shirt was helping to keep me cool. At every aid station, I grabbed lots of water and ice and put them down my shirt and just had the Perform, water, and gels to keep me going. On the downhills, I ran on the gravel which was off the shoulder to lessen the pounding in my legs. As I got into town after the first loop, I was feeling good and high-fived my wife. She knew I was feeling good. My first half was 1:36. The second loop was a little slower, but I pushed and felt really good. I kept thinking – no stopping and high cadence. I passed a lot of guys in my age group. On the way back into town, I was just cruising in, going from aid station to aid station. The volunteers and the spectators were great, cheering me on and encouraging me. With a half mile to go, a guy in my age group passed me, the only guy that passed me all day! I could not keep up with him and had to let him go. I still felt awesome but just did not have the leg turnover to keep up with him. I ran to the finish and heard my family cheer me on as I looked at the clock which just turned 10:07 and I had finished my run in 3:18. Mission accomplished - I did not walk a single step. I was pumped that I ran that fast on this course. As I came to the finish line, I heard Mike Reilly say. “Jason Gers, you are an Ironman.” Then he said something that I am even more proud of and what keeps me coming back to Ironman racing. Mike then announced. “Jason is a liver transplant recipient. And now he’s doing Ironman!”
Nearly 10 years ago, I was the sickest person you would have ever known. I would be about to get onto the liver transplant list due to a childhood autoimmune disease that caused end stage liver failure. Transplantation was the only option. My goal was to make a quick recovery and start living a normal life again. My mission started 4 days after my 12 hour surgery, when I was released from the hospital. I chose to walk out of the hospital, rather then leave in a wheelchair. I had no regrets as to what happened to me. What’s done is done, move forward. I never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me and wanted to be self sufficient and not live off disability or anyone else. I returned to work and a normal life a few weeks later and took up running again to stay fit, but never imagined that I would have ever completed a marathon, nevertheless be a Hawaii Ironman. I would have never guessed that things would turn out the way they have for me. It’s been a long journey that I can never forget and taking up Ironman has strengthened my confidence in everything that I do. It reminds me how healthy I am now and why I show up at the starting line. St. George was a very challenging race but I knew I could persevere through it. Nothing is impossible.
Although I missed another Hawaii Ironman slot by 41 seconds, I believed that I raced the best race I possibly could and consider this race my best Ironman performance out of the 9 races I have completed. No regrets here.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your health. Do cool races. Never give up. --JG

Xterra Jersey Devill

by Tim Chambrovich
The Jersey Devil was a great race and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to do an off road triathlon. When I picked up my packet the day before, I rode the bike course. I wanted to know where I could push the pace, and so there were no surprises on race day. I figured I could do the six mile loop at an easy pace and not be sore the following day. Swim – I took the swim out at a fast pace with a few other guys I knew were strong swimmers. On the second lap they pulled away and I held back because I knew the bike was going to be tough. I exited the swim in fifth place and about a minute back of the leader. It was about a quarter mile run to the transition so everyone left a pair of shoes at the swim exit. I found my shoes, stripped out of my wetsuit, and ran to the transition area. I had a smooth transition and it was on to the bike course. Bike – The bike course was two six mile loops with a little bit of everything along the way. The first two miles was pretty sandy so I had to ride the shoulder to maintain maximum speed. Miles three and four is where it got interesting. There was a water crossing that was about six feet across and deep enough to submerge my bottom bracket. The first time through I didn’t have enough speed to make it across so I had to dismount and run the rest of the way. On the second loop I made sure to pick up enough speed to make it without a problem. After that there was one smaller water/mud crossing, and then it was some rolling hills and few tight corners to the finish. Run – Heading into the run I was in fifth place, and about three minutes back of the leader. The first mile was the only place to push the pace and make up ground on the guys in front. I passed three guys in that time and was running hard to catch the leader. After the first mile is where the run got tough. There were a lot of roots, tight turns, and a few short steep hills. With about a half mile left the run opened up. At this point, I had nothing left and ended up being passed with less than a quarter mile to go. I crossed the finish line in third place and was very happy with my result.

LBI Time Trial

by Jesse O'Donnell
LBI individual time trial. I was planning to doing this race as part of my early season prep but with the forecast for rain I was unsure about registering. I decided at the last minute register and deal with the whatever the weather was. Woke up race morning to dry pavement and no rain. On the ride down things changed and it was raining steady when I arrived. I met up with Dave, Ryan, Mark, and Carrie in the parking lot and was able to set my trainer up under there canopy. I was able to get in a nice 30 min warmup while staying dry. The race was a 13 mile loop the first 3 miles were into the a cross head wind, then a 180 turn and a cross tail wind for 7 miles then a head wind for 3 miles. After riding the first 3 miles into the wind I knew that the last 3 were going to be tough so I decided to push hard with the tail wind. I fought to keep my cadence at 102. The cross winds on the open areas made for a white knuckled ride and there seemed to be a sewer grate every other block that I needed to navigate around. I took the next turn around nice and slow and then suffered all the way to the finish line. The return trip was really tough with the headwind and tired legs but I was to able to hold the gear I was planning on and spun a higher cadence. The race was well run; the turnarounds were easy to spot and had volunteers directing riders. The weather was miserable... it was a 32 minute cold shower. I am definitely glad that I went and raced. You can not simulate an effort like that during training and I never would have rode outside in that weather. Putting the time in this winter at the spin and plyo spin classes have put me in a good place and I hope to get stronger from here at the season moves on.

Ironman New Orleans 70.3

by Joe Donahue
First off I have to say that New Orleans is an awesome city! The city is totally walkable with tons of great restaurants and tons of cool little bars and clubs. It is a great city to spend a weekend and hang out. Anyway here is the low down on the race.

My Wife and I stayed at the Hilton which is the race hotel. The expo and athlete check in are also there. It is right in the city, about 3/4 of a mile from the finish line, Jackson Square, in the French Quarter. The day before the race I usually like to get out on my bike for a 30-60 min ride and a 20 min run. Getting the ride in was kind of hard with all the traffic and stop lights in the city. I managed to get in about 45 mins with a few short pickups while dodging crazy city traffic. The 20 min run was no problem since there is a nice path along the Mississippi River next to the hotel.

The transition area is on Lake Pontchartrain, which is about 7 miles from the hotel and about 6 miles from the finish line. This was a little bit of a pain, I decided to ride my bike there Saturday afternoon since we didn't rent a car, again back out through all the crazy city traffic for the 7 mile ride to transition. After I checked in the bike I managed to grab a ride back to the hotel with a couple athletes that were from Texas..... didn't need to catch a cab awesome!!

Race Day

There are shuttle buses that leave from the Hilton to take athletes only (no spectators) over to transition, which made things easy. When we arrived the announcer made the official call that the swim would be cancelled and it would be a 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. I could not believe the amount of cheering from the athletes in transition, athletes were happy that the 70.3 triathlon that they had trained for was now going to be a 69.1 bike/run. Keep in mind it was still dark so you could not see if the water was rough or not. Anyway after the sun came up I took a look at the lake and there was about a 1 to 2 foot surface chop with a 25-30 mph side shore wind. I didn't think it was that bad although it may have been a little sketchy if you aren't used to open water swimming or if it was your first time doing long course. In my opinion, the pro athletes and the 20-25 people per age group going after the podium and Vegas World Championship slots should have done the swim, long course is supposed to be challenging and tough!

BIKE

The time trial start, the pros went off 30 seconds apart by bib number. The age groupers lined up by age group in transition. There your stood, two people side by side, like Noah’s ARk. As you can imagine the line was super long snaking it's way through the transition area. When we reached the “Bike Out” archway the officials let the 2 people in front go, then wait 2 seconds, and me and the guy next to me went across the timing mat. You had a run of about 10 yards or so to the mounting area then onto the bike course.

The bike portion was flat and pretty straight forward. Basically we did a quick 5 mile loop near transition and then an out and back. At approximately mile 25 the road forks and you do about a 5 mile out and 5 mile back on each side of the fork. The whole way out was a steady headwind blowing 25-30 mph which was really frustrating. My wheel set up was a rear disc with powertap and a 1080 front so the winds really pushed me around!

Bike time 2:27:43

RUN

The run is flat and fast! Weather was good....sunny and temps in the low 70s. I knew I was going to have to run fast, due to the swim being cancelled the cyclists were going to have a big advantage. Heading out I felt pretty good clicked off the first few miles at 6:20, 6:18, 6:25 and after mile 3 I settled into a fast, but manageable pace. Around mile 10 is were it started to hurt so I told myself “5k left, keep pushing you've only about 20 mins to go.” I ended up running 6:31 pace for the avg.

Run time 1:25:16 fastest run in the age group

Total time 3:54:51. 5th place

Thanks for reading my race report and have a great season!!

Powerman Alabama/ USAT Duathlon Long Course National Championships

by Dave Slavinski
This is a first class event and it is no wonder why USAT chose this race and this course for a national championship. The course seperated the contenders from the pretenders early. The first 800 meters went uphill. After that the race got more interesting. Mile 3-4 featured a major hill which blew apart the competition. I was running with two other guys I had met in Edinboro while running for Team USA last summer. I knew they were working hard to run 5:40 pace so I carried the conversation. We were chasing Steven Dupree who was running 20 seconds ahead of us. I couldn't belive anyone named Dupree was running that fast! With a 10k-60k-10k I figure the 2nd run was going to be crucial, so I just stuck to my plan. I closed on Dupree on the climb but he ran downhill reall fast and had a 20 second lead going into T1. I ended up running 5:43 pace for the 10k, had a quick transition and mounted the bike 3-seconds behind.

The bike course was 3-loops with some nice little hills. You had 9 mph climbs and 40 mph descents and momentum was a key to rolling up a few of the smaller hills. After lap 1 on the bile I was up by 40 seconds so I started looking at the younger age group that started 3-minutes behind to see how I was stacking up against them. There were 4 or 5 guys who looked fast on the bike and I saw that I was up on them too. The game plan was to ride the 37 mile course at 70.3 wattage, 245, but I was feeling good and was able to maintain 272 watts. The spin classes at Therapeutic Fitness along with the plyo spin really showed their value. The classes were harder then the race! Each time I hit a turn around I checked my time against the field and the lead increased but I kept pushing the numbers to see how I would stack up in the overall standings. Actually there was a pro who was struggling and I wanted to catch him!

I climbed the final hill on the bike and transitioned. T2 was uneventful. The run started painfully uphill again for 800. At that point I reached for my Cytomax/Cytocarb/Jack3ed mixture and hoped this concoction would get the legs going. They came back during the downhill and I was able to get back to my pace and quickly passed the pro who had a 13-minute headstart. The second half of the 10k has "the hill" so I conserved for that. As I ascended the hill the pro field was on their way down. I knew where they were but after 2.5 hours of racing, there weren't too many gears left! I ran down the hill fast...the Garmin had me under 4:30-mile pace a few times as an inddication as to how steep it was. At the bottom of the hill there are three short climbs and three quick down hills to the finish so there was no coasting. By the finish of the run I had averaged 5:44, I second per mile slower then run one so I guess the plan to conserve worked. I was 5th across the finish line, won the Age Group Championship by roughly 5-minutes as well as the amateur open championship and finished 3:50 seconds behind the professional winner for 2nd overall...nearly 3-minutes ahead of the 2nd pro. The time was 2:46:48, 10k/34:50, bike /1:35 or 23+ mph, 10k/35:05.

It was a great day and I want to congradulate Gary Smith for finishing 2nd in the 55-59 ag and for all the time we spent together. It made it a special weekend. I also would have been in dire straits without Bike Link of Hoover, AL as traveling with a Trek Speed Concept is a nightmare. To add to the nightmare is Delta Airlines who now charges $200 each way for bike transport, as does USAir so book your travel plans very carefully. Team Magic put on a great event and the Birmingham area was a wonderful backdrop with all of the hotel and dining options. If you are looking for a well run multi sport event, put this race on your calendar.

I would also like to thank Therapeutic Touch massage therapy for making me fast, the Nutrition Treatment Center for my macro/micro nutrion plan, the BPC family who provide the energy and friendship needed to sustain a high level of training, especially with this tough winter we had and to CW for loaning me his bike while mine is being built up. I also would like to thank the MotionX Lab, and Meridian Life Fitness as well as Ward Wight Realty, South Jersey Running and Triathlon, Turbine Advantage and S+H industries, Reef and Dragon, Miles Ahead, Quarq, Scott and Xterra as sponsors for 2011. Thanks for the support!

SanJuan 70.3 Race Report

Joe Donahue
What a great race! San Juan was the best-organized 70.3 I’ve ever done! It was so good that I’m doing it again next year. Big props to the Race Directors, Volunteers, Police, and the People of San Juan as they put on a spectacular event!

SWIM - The swim was in a protected salt-water lagoon. The starting area was a 10 min. walk from the swim exit area and about a 15-20 min walk from the transition area. You will need to wear sandals or sneakers for the walk, they supply you with a morning clothes bag that you can load all your morning stuff into and they will truck it back to the transition area so you can pick it up after the race.

I started in wave seven and put myself closest to the buoys. The gun went off and I went out hard with two other guys. I jumped onto their feet for the first 200yds before settling into my own pace, as they started to pull away I took a quick look to the left and right and saw nobody else around. I decided that was fine and I’ll take it.....3rd place…. now just swim steady the rest of the way. I wanted to keep track of my place as I knew I would lose a few spots on my bike (more on that later). Anyway on the way to the swim finish you swim under a bridge and the water depth drops to about 3 feet, but still plenty deep to swim. Once you swim under the bridge the water is more open to the ocean swells so you start to feel much more chop and some surges from the ocean waves. The run to transition is long! I would say about 400-600 meters on the road, sidewalks, and brick pavers. I decided to leave an extra pair of sneakers on the curb by the swim exit along with a lot of other athletes....as I came out of the water there were a few hundred spectators in front of the area where all the sneakers were left, oh well lost 45 seconds or so getting through the spectators and finding my sneakers. 30:26 - 3rd

BIKE - The bike course is generally flat and fast with a few short bridges and overpasses on your way in and out of San Juan. Once out of San Juan, the course opens up to a 2 lane highway and eventually to a 4 lane highway. The bike course is completely closed to traffic so it is really safe. My wheel set up was a rear disc with Powertap and a front 1080. The front wheel was a little deep for the wind next year I would use an 808 or 404. I signed up for this race back in November my training plan was to do my longer rides outside anytime it was over 40 degrees and do the rest of my workouts inside on the trainer. My first long outside ride was in mid-February due to all the snow and cold temps. I only ended up getting a dozen or so rides outside in the 40-45 mile range and only 2 rides over 70 miles. All my other bike training was at Dave’s spin classes, these were super important!! They got me in really good shape. All the BPC guys were there working their butts off so it made hitting the trainer easy!! Big Thanks to Roger Faulkenbury from Therapeutic Fitness for his advice and help in getting me ready!! Anyway, my race strategy was to ride even, steady and not screw up my run split. I spoke with Brian Shea from PBN nutrition about race nutrition and a strategy to deal with the heat, especially coming out of the winter we had. We decided on EFS drink for the extra electrolytes and some extra salt caps on the bike and EFS gel flask for the run. 2:32:21 - 5th

RUN - The run course is beautiful!! You run through Old San Juan past 2 forts that were built in the 1500’s you have to see it, there’s tons of history that you’re running through.

Anyway, the course itself a 2 loop out and back, it is very hilly and tough with 2 extremely steep up hills and down hills that you hit twice. As I ran out of transition I happened to hook up with Kate Major (one of the woman pros 2nd overall) who was just starting her 2nd loop of the run, it was great we ran together for about 2 miles at 6:30 pace. I started to feel the pace was a little too fast considering the heat, humidity, hills and no shade. I settled into a manageable pace for the conditions and ran the rest of the first loop solo. The 2nd loop got a little more crowded as more athletes started their 1st loop but still plenty of room on the course. 1:31:45 - 3rd

Total time was 4:40:47 ended up in 3rd place 45-49. I managed to qualify for 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas. Also super happy that my buddy Jason Gers qualified as well!! Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the 2011 race season. I hope everyone has a great season!! Thanks for reading my race report!!

Slavinski wins duathlon championship

Feb 16, 2011 | Comments Twitter Facebook Share Email Print A A A Written by CHRIS CHRISTOPHER
FILED UNDER Sports

Dave Slavinski enjoys competing.

"I love pushing myself," the Point Pleasant resident said. "I have always enjoyed competing, whether it's Tiddlywinks, football, baseball or darts."

Slavinski is a pretty fair competitor.

Slavinski was recently named the Men's Overall Duathlete of the Year in 2010 after winning the men's 35-39 title at the Duathlon Nationals in Richmond, Va., and placing fourth at the ITU Duathlon World Championship in Edinburgh, Scotland.

"I happen to be pretty good at this," Slavinski said, "and I work hard, too. I don't pay much attention to awards and stuff like that. I just enjoy the racing. I put more emphasis on going to each race and doing my thing than on winning awards.

"Competing is my release. It keeps me mentally sane."

Slavinski competed in a 5k run, a 40k bike ride and a 5k run in Richmond. He competed in a 10k run, a 40k bike ride and a 5k run in Scotland.

"The nationals were great," he said. "It was the first time I did a duathlon, and to win my age category was special. I ended up representing Team USA in Scotland."

Slavinski has completed 10 triathlons in 10 tries. He won the world championship in the 35-39 age group in the triathlon. He and his wife, Carrie, won USA Triathlon All-American honors.

"The duathlon and the triathlon are a lot of fun," he said. "The duathlon in a lot of respects is harder as you never get a break from being on your feet. In the triathlon, the swim is kind of a warmup."

Dave Slavinski, 39, graduated from Livingston High School where he competed in track, football and baseball. He attended Slippery Rock University where he was an All-American in the steeplechase.

Slavinski, a 5-foot-9, 140-pounder, and his wife are members of the Jersey Shore Triathlon Club.

They juggle their careers and training and racing schedules around their children, Ivy, 3, and Blaik, 5. Dave Slavinski is an English teacher at the Bayshore Middle School in Middletown. Carrie Slavinski is a special education teacher at Toms River Intermediate School East.

"We have good friends to train with and we have the ocean and the river," Slavinski said. "In the winter, we mountain bike at Allaire State Park. I also teach spin classes. There is never any snow on the beach, so we can still run on the beach in the winter."

Slavinski's Duathlete of the Year honor is awarded annually by USA Triathlon's Age Group Committee and Duathlon Committee. Garmin presented the award.

"Our screening process this year for the Athletes of the Year Awards was quite lengthy because we had such a high quality field to select from in virtually every division," said Chuck Graziano, chair of the USA Triathlon Athlete of the Year Committee. "We want to congratulate those who ultimately have been selected for these awards. You have demonstrated an inspired performance over and over again throughout the 2010 season."

Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon is the National Governing Body for the sport — one of the fastest growing sports in the world — as well as duathlon, aquathon, aquabike, winter triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. USA Triathlon sanctions 3,500 races and connects with more than 135,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world.

In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors at the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including the ITU World Championships, Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games.

USA Triathlon is a member of the International Triathlon Union and the United States Olympic Committee.

Chris Christopher: 732-643-4249; cchristopher@

njpressmedia.com

Article #3 Top 15 Road Blocks to Weight Loss

Tom Bilella Nutrition Treatment Center

Part 1 of 3

1. Poor relationship with food. It does not matter what you are eating or when you eat it, if you have a poor relationship with food, you are not likely to be able to lose those extra pounds. Get in touch with your self and your food. Develop a healthy relationship with food first, then worry about the rest of this list!

2. Poor nutrition. You will never out-train bad nutrition! Stop cutting calories, stop skipping meals, stop eating processed foods, and seek the services of someone, like yours truly, who can coach you on how to determine how you should be eating. Basically, stop eating C.R.A.P. Yes, that is actually an acronym (courtesy of Dr. Sherri Rogers) which stands for C = caffeine, cola, and corn. I actually added corn to the C list. In my experience, a large percentage of people are intolerant to corn when tested accurately with blood tests. Corn is universally contaminated in the U.S. and is almost completely genetically modified at this point and is nutritionally bankrupt. It is also the most highly subsidized crop in the world. R = Refined food and white rice; A = additives and alcohol; and P = processed foods and pasteurized dairy. All of these foods will serve to make you fatter and I do not care how much exercise or cardio you do, you cannot out train bad nutrition.

3. Wrong exercise. Many people are over exposing themselves to cardiovascular exercise and are simply overtraining. Working out means you have to expend energy to get the job done. If you are already running on empty, working out will only serve as an additional energy drain on the system.

4. You are doing way too much cardio. An over reliance on traditional cardiovascular exercise will actually create a hormonal environment that is not conducive to building muscle and/or losing fat.

5. You are cutting calories or skipping meals. Consider this when using calorie cutting to achieve your weight loss goals: Within 24 hours of going on a low calorie diet, which is defined as eating less than 2000 calories per day (according to the World Health Organization), you immediately deplete your brain chemistry and have been shown to increase fat storing (lipogenic) enzymes in the body. This is particularly important for females who already have 3 times the amount of fat storing (lipolytic) enzymes as fat burning ones. Any changes in brain chemistry will lead to cravings, usually for sugary food items.

Low calorie dieting is especially damaging for anyone with a history of depression, anxiety, eating disorders or alcoholism. Remember, all of this occurs after a single day. In many cases I can run Functional Lab assessments to determine how nutritionally depleted my clients are. Anyone with a history of chronic yo-yo dieting, calorie restriction, or long-term use of most medications is likely to have severe nutritional deficiencies.

Article #2 70.3 World Championships....The Big One

By Dave Slavinski

Having the opportunity to compete in a World Championship event is an amazing feeling and having competed in 5 over the past 3 years can make a person get lost in the magnitude of the accomplishment. Competing is one thing, but having your friends and family there, or even competing on the same course is even more special. This is meant to be a narrative about that very special day for me, November 13, 2010.

The trip to Clearwater: Qualifying for Clearwater at Eagleman in June was actually the low point of my triathlon season. I really did not have the race I was hoping for with a non-wetsuit swim and then the humidity killing my run. The expectations were high after winning the USAT Duathlon National Championship 6 weeks earlier and racing well at the JS Multi Sport Kick Off. After a good summer of racing and training there was the disappointing 4th place finish in Scotland at ITU Worlds. This was followed by a good 70.3 at Augusta, GA where Carrie, my wife, qualified for Clearwater. You can only imagine how happy and excited we both were to be headed to Florida….but that doesn’t discount how busy we were training and raising two kids!

Things changed two weeks before the race when Skeeter told me he would be unable to travel to Florida and transport the 8 bikes we were taking and I conned my father into driving with me. That was a fairly easy part of the trip even though I was nursing a bad calf for the prior month, I put on my best face knowing there was nothing I could do about it except shut up and race.

Joe D. had shown me around in 2008 and made me comfortable before the race. He answered all of my questions and gave me helpful hints about the course. It was through this same leadership that we took Carrie, Heather J., Michelle L., Joe M, and Ambrose S., around the venue to get the “skinny” on what they were going to face on race day. This helped both Joe and me by keeping us from getting nervous. It is hard to get nervous when you are doing everything to keep the first-timers clam.

Race Day: The swim is a beach start and I was focused and ready. My goal for the race was to win…but it is hard to tell people that. I know that you can only do what you are capable of doing and if someone is faster on that day….oh well. I had a great running entry into the water but I didn’t want to get carried away and swim too hard. Although you can’t win the race in the swim, you sure can lose it either by going too slow or too fast. I tried to settle in behind two guys and hang on to their feet. This was good until the turn around when we began overtaking the slower swimmers from the earlier age groups. Yes, this even happens at the World Championships! I lost them, found them, lost them….Getting out of the water I knew I settled into a pace that was a little too slow and I was only hoping I didn’t lose the race already.

The bike course got crowded because of my slow swim. I was 60-90 seconds slower on the swim and this put me in the middle of a huge number of solid riders instead in front of them. I did learn something important from Gary Smith and I employed it on this ride. If you really don’t like drafting do something about it. I yelled like a mad-man for 25 miles as I would get away from the pack, get passed, and then get stuck in the middle of them. Many of these riders were strong enough to get in the group but not to pass them or lead it. I single a few “cheaters” out by name and made my point very clear. I also singled a few strong riders out and made some moves with them to get away from the pack. It finally worked and I broke free for good at mile 40 putting 45-90 seconds on remainder of the pack.

The run was fast. Riding with power is the key to running well off the bike. This was the second 70.3 I raced with power and the second 1:14 run split. I took the first lap conservatively knowing that the causeway bridge is the key to the race. The first lap, two times over the bridge is OK, but the second lap it could be really bad. I got through the first lap where I saw Chris Wilcox who was on the phone with Skeeter. I was 70-seconds behind the leader. Doing some quick math I could only hope that if I ran 5:40 pace for the 2nd lap I would catch anyone who was running slower then 5:51 pace. I passed my dad ½ a mile later who told me I was in 7th…..I decided to believe Chris and began to race. There was no letting up, even when I passed the women’s pro race leader and the camera crew, this was my chance to win! Coming off the causeway with about 2-miles remaining I knew I was going to be close to breaking 4-hours, again. I ran the last two so hard that I ran through the Ford Inspiration Booth and was past the “Good Luck” sign before my message even came up. I sprinted the final 200 and got to the finish line in 4:00:17 seconds. I knew this time was the 3rd fastest time for the 35-39 age group in the 5-year history of the race. If someone else was faster, so be it, but I had ridden and run as fast as I could.

The terrible part of big races with wave starts is that you don’t know where you finished until someone on the computer or smart phone gives you the update. It was both a relief as well as agonizing waiting for the word. The only thing I can say it that I am glad I was in the second wave of the 35-39 because it would be awful to get your hopes up about winning and then have someone, like me, finish behind you and winning. It seemed like it was minutes after I finished, but really it was probably only a minute before Chris came running around the VIP ten t screaming. He was so excited that I had to specifically ask him “how did I do?”

Winning was something I will always remember and something no one will ever be able to take away from me. It was even more special getting to share the experience with Carrie and my father, as well as the rest of the BPC team and CW. Having some time to reflect on the accomplishment has only made me appreciate it even more. Every time I run through the streets where I have put hundreds of miles over the past three years I think “it all paid off, all that training and all of the sacrifices I made were truly worth it.”

A Note About Heart Rate

Using the latest findings and working with RaceDay, athletes train exclusively using Critical Power Zones and not Heart Rate (HR) Zones. While HR is variable, CP is testable and predictable. To find your CP Zones check out the RaceDay Trial version and download it for your own personal use. It is easily syncronized to any of the BPC coaching staff members if you are a BPC athlete.

Swim Video #1 Head Down, Hand Entry, Front End Arm Position

Swim Video #2 Slow Arm Recovery, Quick Catch, High Swinger

Swim Video #3 Open Water Tips to Remember

Arm Rec overy Drills