Austin Half Marathon Review

We cover the 3M half marathon the way only Zentri can, BY DOING IT! My beautiful triathlete wife Emily takes on the beast in near freezing temps as Kai and I wait for her at the halway point and the finish line. We also meet up with two other listeners and talk shop and then I interview some Kenyans who say their 65 minute run time is "slow". As always, check out the show notes below for details and you can also listen to the show HERE.

Show Notes -

• I'm waiting at the halfway point and comment on seeing a former coworker the night before and the simplicity of running.


• Emily is running with another female friend.

• She is using my Suunto T-6. Here's the graph of her run - with HR. Click on it to be taken to a bigger image.


• Emily calls the Gizmo 512-CRY-DELI hotline from the start.


• I talk to Triscooper Fembot while waiting for Emily at the halfway point.


• Emily stops by and she checks her blood sugar and gets juice out of the car.


• Kai and I hit Genuine Joe's for coffee and breakfast burritos.


• Triscooper Armadillo and I wait for Emily at the finish line.


• I interview some Kenyans back at the hotel.


• Emily recaps the race while sitting atop her bike on the trainer.


• I play "Beautiful Life" by the Peach Stealing Monkeys.

What fueled Endurance Radio?

Endurance Radio (Also known as Enduranceplanet.com) announced recently that it has been sold to other holders, namely Kevin Patrick and USA Triathlon. As a listener to the program, a podcaster, and as a former guest, I find the sale to be quite interesting.

If you listen closely, you'll notice that old episodes of Endurance Radio were sponsored by Gatorade. I believe Gatorade wasn't too sweet on the early numbers and didn't re-up the sponsorship. Tim, the former owner, hit up the big boys too soon. A while later, big hosters like Libsyn, GoDaddy, and Podshow join the party and people like Tim and I can produce unlimited downloadable shows for nearly nothing. With bandwidth costs next to zero, who really needs big sponsors now? Gatorade was also very short sighted and bailed too soon. They've missed out on being a head badge on a pretty swell product. But Gatorade is just a company, full of executives without the ability or will to adapt quickly, while people like us are true believers and foresaw that podcasting would be huge.

I'm uninformed of Tim's initial intentions, but he built a community and communities are what's selling hot right now. Flickr, Myspace, Youtube, even Triscoop are all communities on fire with activity. I noticed on his website that it was extremely corporate looking, even though it was really just one guy. That look makes it more appealing for takeover from corporations and I would guess that he was doing that on purpose. The fact that Tim has a bunch of other podcasts and that they are financial makes it safe to assume that he had a lot of bait out there waiting for one to be successful enough to be bought out and he has a strong interest in making money.

Of course, I have no idea what his original interest in why he started Endurance Radio. I did hear him say several times that he had never done a triathlon and you almost never hear him say that he actually was doing anything himself. He did a really good job of making that not obvious. He could be riding his bike 500 miles a week and I wouldn't know.

Was it originally created for him to sell it? I don't know. What do you think?

Trivantage Update

I secured the results from the testing. Scope these PDFs out and imagine yourself getting the same treatment.

Overall stats.

Cycling results.

Running results.

Do you think you would do better or worse right now?

Fitness Testing at Trivantage

A few months ago, Alex at Trivantage offered me blood and VO2 Max testing during my buildup to IM Wisconsin. I said sure, but let's hold a contest for a listener as well! By the time it was all said and done, we had pulled in Professor Erich as our third person and videographer. What we have for you today is the compilaton of two days of heart pounding, treadmill and velotron crushing, and sweat producing action as Alex puts us through the wringer.

Much of the audio can be very inspirational. The sounds of the treadmill winding up for increasing stages, heavy breathing through ventilation gear, heart rate monitors beeping, and alarms going off and gear shutting down abruptly when we reach our maximums is incredibly motivating. I urge you to take that motivation and get the same testing for yourself. It is fun, informative, and you can count it as a race in your workout log. What are you waiting for?

Show notes are as follows:

• I introduce the show while hanging out in the Trivantage lounge.


• Prof. Erich and I driving on our way there after eating Chipotle and getting stuck in traffic.


• Ricci said to do the run test on the first day because that's my weakest sport.


• Prof. Erich and I talk about our old BMX bikes.


• We meet Trigreyhound and Lab Director Alex as we tour the facilities.


• Alex makes us sign our lives away.


• Alex measures our body fat as I reveal that the swimmers in Trithlete Magazine are fake.


• Kendall does his submaximal test.


• Alex explains how weightlifting won't help you get faster. It'll do many things, but faster isn't one of them.


• Kendall does his maximal cycling test while listening to Heavy Metal.


• Erich hits the treadmill. Hits 186 in submaximal HR test.


• Erich hits the treadmill again. Hits 199 in the maximal HR test.


• Day two: Trigreyhound gives his max on the treadmill.


• I get my bike test up to 400 watts.


• I wrap up the show while watching www.cycling.tv


• Upcoming episodes: Austin Half Marathon, Drew commutes by bike, interview with Ultra Runner Catra Corbett and more!


• Will you get tested?

Ice Ice Baby!

Buenos Dias, Tri-studs and Studettes! I threw on a mic and went for a run in the ice storm that shut down my part of the country for several days. As I write this, I'm at home because my pool is closed and I can't go to work because my son's school is closed as well. Doesn't keep me from running, though! The show is short and sweet, so just close your eyes and listen to the sounds of running through an ice storm and check out the show notes below.

• Description of what to wear in 15 degree chill factor and still stay warm.


• Commentary on fight between Norman Stadler and Chris McCormack.


• More commentary about other items in Triathlete Magazine.


• Feeling swanky in my new Nike Pegasus TCs!