ZenTri Epic Camp!

Alright, all you crazy endurance freaks!  ZenTri Epic Camp is HERE!  It will be two days of Ultraman format racing in the brutal Texas heat.  Finishers will get this killer belt buckle and bragging rights forever - 

Here's what you need to know: 

• WHEN? - July 30th & 31st
• WHERE? - College Station, TX. (Front burner of Hell's Kitchen.)
• FORMAT? - Day one is three hours of swimming and three hours of cycling.  Day two is three hours of cycling and three hours of running.  Total mileage is added up and the person with the most miles wins.
• PRIZES? - Everybody who completes the full event gets a finisher's belt buckle.  The overall winner gets an extra large bottle of Ibuprofin with all the participants' signatures on it.  You can then post pictures of you with your awesome trophy all over the InterWebz for everybody to envy.
• WHY? - This is the best excuse to TRAIN with no interruptions.  All you have to do is show up and get to work.  You'll have set aside the time, so nothing can stop you!
• WHERE DO I STAY? - We have room for six guests in our house, slumber party style.  These will be given away on a first come, first serve basis.  After that, there are plenty of cheap hotels in the area.  
• HOW MUCH? - ZenTri Epic Camp costs $110, and that includes the belt buckles and access to the world class A&M olympic pool.  To register, email your hard-earned and sweaty cash to texafornia at gmail via PayPal.  Remember, first come, first serve and slots are limited!  If you have to back out, you'll get your money back.
• WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFO?  Post your questions on this thread to find out more, including race details, finding a roommate, and lots more.

What's Next - USAT Nationals and Tahoe Crossing

Just a quick update with what coming up next on our calendars:

1. I qualified for the 2011 USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals on August 20th in Burlington, Vermont.  I burned up a lot of vacation time going to Alcatraz (and money!), so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that I can make it.

2. Before Nationals, I'm heading to Lake Tahoe to attempt a swim crossing of the lake.  It's 22 miles of open water, nicely chilled at around 55 degrees.  I'm going with Jamie Patrick, who holds the record for the only person to ever swim across and back, so this should be tons of fun.

3. We also are holding ZenTri Epic Camp at the end of July.  More info soon, but what is certain is finishers will get a belt buckle. 

That's it for now, so stay tuned!

Podcast - Escape from Alcatraz 2011

Click Here to Listen to the Show!

Welcome to the ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ podcast episode!  This is a show all about one of the most amazing events in the world - Swimming from Alcatraz to shore, then biking and running all around the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
 

 We talk on the show how I pre-swam in the bay and almost threw up from the cold.  I ended up having to wear three swim caps to stay warm enough to do it!  Many thanks to the amazing Jamie Patrick for helping me out.

Escape from Alctraz was my personal Kona of Olympic distance racing, in that I had to qualify to gain entry and it was in an absolutely stunning and challenging location.  Making the swim from Alcatraz to shore was a lifelong goal come true! 

Not only was the swim challenging, but so was the bike and run.  Check out the HR graphs below and scroll down to the bottom to see the actual hill profiles.

- BIKE http://www.movescount.com/moves/move2089546

- RUN http://www.movescount.com/moves/move2089547

In the end, I did great!  I finished in the top 20%, which is awesome for a qualifier race.  I even wrecked on the run and got this sweet (not really) wetsuit burn across my neck.

The podcast is FULL of audio from before and after the race with some truly amazing people.  Listen in to get the soundscape of what it was like to be there!

At the end of the show, you will find out what is next on the radar.  You won't believe it!

Thanks a million for all you supporters and stay tuned!  :)

Click here to listen or download

Convenience Makes the Difference

The biggest factor that caused me to get overtrained last winter was setting up a workout room with a treadmill and bike trainer (rollers).  I was able to put in a lot more volume using specific tools that allowed me to focus on higher intensities than ever before.  It was great until I become burned up.  I had to take a month off to recover enough to get back to normal.  

After the trip to Alcatraz and doing IM Texas, my gear has become a bit scattered.  This weekend was the first time I had the opportunity to try to reassemble the "training cave", and it took a while to get it done.  Doing so, it made me think about how important convenience is to good training.

When I train with the equipment in that room, I leave everything so that it takes minimal effort to get started again.  This is easy when you have a dedicated space for training.  Emily doesn't get on my case about leaving stuff out or put things away where it takes forever for me to find them again, killing my workout time.  Basically, I can get on the treadmill or bike in about five minutes or less.  This is vastly different than getting together all the gear for an outdoor run or ride.

Eliminating all the fuss to get started on workouts makes the initiative to get moving a lot more effective.  Make an effort to create a dedicated space to put your equipment so you can grab it quickly and you will see huge benefits.  This is important for both indoor and outdoor workouts, not just for those who battle it out on treadmills and trainers.

Cool Trick for Workout Music

If you want music during your workout but don't want to or can't bring a music player along, there is a simple trick to carrying a tune in your head:  Right before you start, play one of your favorite songs with headphones and then turn it off during the best part.  Your brain will keep repeating the tune in the background while you train.  It works surprisingly well.

Still, you should also take care to not let a song you don't like be the last thing you hear.  This results in a very annoying tune in your head that you just can't shake.  Ungh.

In other news, I was sad to see one of my ultra-running heros, Anton Krupicka, was injured pretty badly the other day.  Heal fast, my friend!