Specialized Stumpjumper Now Epic!

OLD

NEW

For over 35 years, the Stumpjumper has been Specialized best selling go to bike. I had one and loved it, Fast, light and one of the best bikes I have ever owned. Now it has been upgraded and those are fantastic. I have not been able to ride one, waiting for Specialized to send one over (Hint, Hint), so that I can compare to the Cannondale that I am ridding. Since the design has moved over to Specialized, this could be huge for Specialized, if the bike is what I remember, the switch could come. Check out a great article from someone who tested the Epic!

Zwift, INDOOR CYCLING AND TREADMILL RUNNING. OUTDONE.

Zwift has revolutionized the way cyclists train indoors with its multiplayer interactive platform, and triathletes will be excited to hear that they’re working to carry that same concept into the running space. In the week leading up to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, athletes were able to test a very early prototype of the running tools. Here we chat with Zwift’s Mike McCarthy about the early stages of this project and find out what else is new from the company
Read more at Triathlon Competitor 

Relax, Try SUP!

With the growing amount of people that have picked up paddle boarding, if you haven’t SUPed yet, you’re missing out. It’s a great way to taxi yourself across a bay and through lagoons, or to really push it and catch a wave and get a full body workout. But to do any of those things, at any pace, you’ll need the gear. First and most importantly, you’ll need a paddle, but to have a truly great time out on the water you’ll need a few things to fend of the sun and keep you out of the water and on your board.
Get all the info and gear links here..

Racing Mountain Bikes, How to Train.

So you want to take your cross country riding to the next level, maybe you want to race! We caught up with common wealth gold medalist Liam Kileen to get some advice on how to train for XC.

Dry Land Swimming Part 1 and 2.

http://blog.voltathletics.com/home/2016/2/10/dryland-training-for-swimmers-part-1
http://blog.voltathletics.com/home/2016/3/23/dryland-training-for-swimmers-part-2?utm_source=social_media&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=fb_post_dryland_swimming_part_2

Two great articles about dry land swimming, no need to rewrite, please visit the site.

Time To Get Out and Ride: NightRider SENTINEL™ 40

So the NR Sentinel 40 is an amazing safety solution.

The Sentinel™ 40 has a powerful 2 watt LED, 5 modes, is USB rechargeable and has a brand new safety feature, Laser Lanes! The Laser Lanes mode is designed to project ultra bright laser lines on the ground, giving the rider their own virtual lane.

• The Sentinel 40 complies with FDA standard for lasers, notice No. 50, 2007
• Highly visible laser lanes
• Ultra bright 40 lumen output
• All in one, Laser and tail light!
• USB rechargeable
• Group Ride Mode – be seen without annoying fellow cyclists
• The new standard in tail light safety
• FL 1 Standard IP64, water resistant

Transition: Indoor to Outdoor Training

This has to be one of the best articles about transitioning from indoor to outdoor training. The running section is something I have never read before: See the whole article from Training Peaks.

Run Considerations
Surface and Temperature
When switching from running on a treadmill to outdoors, head for hard packed trails and stay off the pavement if possible, particularly for extended downhills. Your body is used to the shock absorbing belt of the treadmill so it’s wise to minimize the impact of the ground. Wear softer, stable training shoes with good tread and grip for potentially slick or mucky trails.

Keep warm to remain injury free and stay healthy. Running is a high impact sport and cold muscles are less supple to absorb pounding. If the weather is below 52F (12C) avoid shorts. Keep your legs covered on windy days as well. Gloves and windproof gear are recommended, and don’t forget to dress in layers. A low core temperature stresses your  immune system so keeping warm will help ward off illness.

Training
Trim down your distance/time run on the treadmill by 10 to 20 percent initially. The motor of a treadmill is doing some of the work, with the belt pulling your stride though and it can take one to two weeks for the body to adapt to the change in forces acting on your ligaments and muscles. The speed or pace settings on a treadmill are not always 100 percent accurate so when you head outdoors, focus on your effort, such as heart rate, until you are comfortable it has settled down into familiar territory. This will also allow you to complete a prescribed workout in the appropriate heart rate zones. Use this time to consistently remind yourself of proper form– running tall and not over striding. Counting your cadence is a way to program yourself to hold that economical 90rpm. Aim for 22 steps in 15 seconds.

100 Mile Mountain Bike Race, You Can Do It!

Great article from TrainingPeaks on how to accomplish a 100 mile mountain bike race.

or many endurance athletes, a 100-mile mountain bike race is either a bucket list event or the capstone of their season. This distance takes both mental and physical training to properly prepare. The appropriate balance of endurance training and specific race preparation is important to ensure success.

You’ll want to start at least 28 weeks out from your race so as to have plenty of time to effectively integrate the three key periods of training. Using the base, build, and specialty phases will allow you to gradually build your endurance, threshold, and anaerobic capacity so that you’ve prepared all of your body’s systems for the event.

The Base Phase

The start of your race preparation will be the base training phase. Depending on your current level of fitness, this period should last approximately 12 weeks. During the base period the focus should be on building a strong aerobic base. Having solid endurance to build upon is critical for a successful 100-mile race. It’s during the base period that you’ll want to perform longer sub-threshold efforts to push your aerobic capacity.

This is also a good time to integrate strength workouts into your training to help prevent injury as you begin to gradually increase your volume and intensity. Remember that this is not the time to do hard anaerobic efforts- that time will come. Think of the base period as the foundation on which your successful season is being built. A couple of key workouts during your base period are:

Sweet Spot Intervals

20 minute warm up in zones 1 and 2. Then perform 30 to 45 minutes in your sweet spot (90 to 95 percent of threshold). Finish the ride in zone 2.

Aerobic Threshold

20 minute warm up in zones 1 and 2. Then perform 30 to 45 minutes at the top end of your zone 2 range. Finish the remainder of the ride at endurance pace.

More

Tri this, Red Bull 400, it Going to Hurt!

Running 400m doesn't sound like much of a challenge, does it? But what if you were to run those 400m at an altitude close to 200m and as a pure uphill sprint? That's a race guaranteed to put your calves, quads and endurance to the ultimate test.

Red Bull 400 is set to conquer the ski jumps of Europe and the US this year, putting sprinters all over the world to one of the toughest tests they will ever face.

Warm up your leg muscles and sign up for the hardest 400m of your life.

Dave Mirra, Unexpected Loss!

Dave Mirra, an unexpected loss. Bikes, he loved them, could ride them all and was instrumental in bringing the X-Games to where it is today. He got into Triathlon late and was outstanding at them as well. You will be missed.
Great Article at SlowTwitch.com

Top 100 Running Blogs!

In case you missed this from blog.feedspot.com
http://blog.feedspot.com/2016/01/25/running-blogs/

UK's First Indoor Mt. Bike Park. Dirt Factory

In light of how successful Ray's Indoor MTB Parks have been stateside, it's perhaps a little surprising that a similar concept has not yet popped up in the UK. With thousands of serious riders and fairly inclement weather conditions most of the year, you would have to think such a project would be met with instant success. Well, that is exactly what the team behind the "Dirt Factory" is betting on.

Regular participation in cycling can benefit people of all ages. The positive impacts on health and wellbeing are well documented. The social impact we aim to achieve through Dirt Factory is much more far reaching. Dirt Factory will be a community hub of riders, families and friends. We want to inspire people to have fun, be more confident on their bike and adopt cycling as part of their everyday life. Using the skills and experience gained at Dirt Factory, we believe riders will be enthused to ride more often. We have already established a number of partnerships with schools, universities, charities and community organisations keen to use Dirt Factory as a way to engage and develop their beneficiaries. Our plan is to house dedicated learning spaces and business incubator units within the infrastructure of Dirt Factory. We aim to provide learning, volunteering and employment opportunities to young people from communities across Greater Manchester.

Dirt Factory