Sara Gross finally captured her first Ironman title in Brazil

First, well done, you deserve the win. Second shame on all negative post. The interview from Slow Twitch,one thing that was not pointed out in the article is the age groupers that are doing this time and time again. 

In the picture shown how many are drafting, 11 by my count, we all go to the briefing, but once on the course everyone forgets the rule. Many new comer to the sport are guilty of this, or are not sure what is legal or not, let me speak from experience, if you are thinking is this legal then it is. This is not your Sunday ride, some of us want to do well, stay to the right, if someone has caught you let them pass, they are faster than you, trust me if they caught you they are, move over. This sort of thing happens when a race course has two loops, most of the time you have no choice, you have lapped or caught the slower group, they are out just to complete, not podium, SO MOVE OVER. Sara a professional, keeps her cool, congrats, you deserve the win, stop hating and just see it for what it is a race, unless you fix the course problem and bad etiquette this will continue to be a RACE problem not a athlete problem. Get it right, train hard be one of the AG winners then through your stones, you won't.

Tips for getting out of T2 Fast!

Race sockless Sliding socks over wet feet amid the chaos of transition takes time—more than you may expect. Going sockless can help get you onto the run course faster, but if race day is your first run without socks, the outcome will be predictable. You’ll need to build a tolerance in order to run comfortably without the protection of a sock.


 Read more at Triathlon Competitor 

Flutter Kick Done Right!

GoSwim!

Other than the freestyle pull, flutter kick is the most used skill in swimming.  Some people kick well, other people kick poorly, but just about everyone kicks a little when they swim freestyle.  While it sometimes takes a lot of thought to develop a good flutter kick, it's certainly worth the time.

Here is a small collection of five videos that all focus on the same thing... narrowing the flutter kick to a more usable level that can help make you a better swimmer.

Vidal suffers heart attack

Be careful out there. Whether we are more connected or pushing ourselves to hard, heart attacks seem to becoming more common. With a sport on the rise, more high profile athletes competing the news travels faster. Be careful, try to see the signs and above all else get regular check ups.

French ITU Pro Laurent Vidal is reported to have likely suffered from a heart attack during swim practice and was airlifted to a hospital in Montpellier.

According to the french newspaper Midi Libre Vidal was training at the Fonquerne Sète pool when he felt chest pain, exited the water and then sought out help from employees at the pool. 

Firefighters were called and Vidal then experienced cardiac arrest. He was revived after a few minutes and regained consciousness. 

He then was airlifted to the hospital.

"Thank you everyone for your kind words for Laurent. Your support means so much. Shocked and so worried! I am traveling to be by his side," tweeted Andrea Hewitt, the fiancee of Laurent Vidal. 

MORE from Slow Twitch..

Mirra Doing Triathlons, Everyone's Doing It!

Great article from Slow Twitch.
Most folks know Dave Mirra because of his BMX Freestyle exploits and some people on this site might even own one of the video games that bear his name. He is also known for his Rallycross skills and a superb string of X-Games victories, but now Mirra is focused on triathlon, doing well and loving it. At last weekend's 70.3 Texas in Galveston Mirra finished in 4:23:57 with a 2:08:18 bike split and 1:33:03 run and grabbed 4th place in M40-44 and a spot for Mont Tremblant. 
FULL ARTICLE

Training Peaks, Love These Options, Three Key Workouts!

Training Peaks Best place for training

1. Short Hill Repetitions

The value in short hill repeats goes beyond just speed. You build muscular endurance, kinetic chain stability (a fancy way of saying the body is working efficiently from top to bottom which in turn leads to injury prevention) and stride efficiency. Beginner runners should start cautiously. While short, these repetitions are demanding.

The Details:

Find a hill that is at least 100 meters in length and relatively steep (approximately 6% grade). Run at a solid sprint, but not all out, up the hill for approximately 50-60 meters. Walk/light jog back to your starting point and repeat.

• Note how long it takes you to complete the 50-60 meters. You want to be sure you are fully recovered after each repeat such that your times for each repeat are consistent. If they are not, take more recovery time.
• I like to insert these repeats into the middle of an aerobic run day. For example, 20 minutes aerobic followed by hill repeats and finishing with 20 more minutes aerobic.
• Insert these repeats once every week to every other week as your training allows building up to a max of 10-12 total repetitions. Start with 2-4 reps if you are a beginner.
• For added strength, aim to also find hills that are steeper (I would not go steeper than 10% grade).

2. Lane 8 Progression Run

Progression runs certainly have tremendous physiological value but I also believe they are one of the best workouts for learning how to pace. If I had to pick one thing that is consistent across the board at races I attend it is the tendency for people to mismanage their pacing. Learning how to manage your pace will make you more aware of effort in short distance racing in addition to producing that attractive finishing time.

The Details:

• Head to the track for this controlled run. Warm up well for 10-15 minutes followed by light stretching. Then run 2 laps where you stride out the straights and coast the curves.
• Run 16 laps, 12 for beginners, in lane 8 on the track where you run EASY from the start line to the number 8 and at “pace” from the number 8 back to the start line. Yes, you are getting a tiny jog recovery each lap.
• “Pace” is as follows – 4 laps at 10K pace/effort, 4 laps just a little faster (approx. 5 sec/mi), 4 laps a little faster yet (approx. 5 more sec/mi), 4 laps making each lap a little faster than the last.
• Cool down well when done, 10-15 minutes.
• This workout forces you to start moderate and build your pace. You spend a decent amount of time at each pace, giving you the opportunity to recognize what different efforts feel like.

3. Pyramid Strides

I love strides. Strides in every form do something good for your running- they require you to go fast! At the end of the day, if you have not asked your body to run paces/efforts faster than you have in the past you cannot expect your results to change. With strides you are able to create proprioceptive awareness to switch gears and tolerance to uncomfortable efforts in a manageable way.

The Details:

• A pyramid stride is exactly as it implies, an effort where you build your pace and then ease off and can be easily inserted within or after a run. They are a great way to effectively generate speed in a safe way.
• Start with pyramid strides lasting 90 seconds. The first 30 seconds you build to good speed/turnover thinking about light and quick feet. The second 30 seconds you hold this effort aiming to maintain good form. For the final 30 seconds gradually ease off from the stride effort, allowing your body to decrease speed gently. Rest is as needed.
• Start with 4-6 strides after an easy run and build up to 8-10. Insert in the middle of a run to break up a pace rut.
• As you get more comfortable with the strides try changing up the duration to either 1 minute or 2 minutes in length. 1 minute pyramids are hard due to the shorter time you have to build your pace. 2 minute pyramids are also challenging due to the length you have to hold your effort.

Learn To Adjust! Front and Back derailleur

Great Instruction for derailleur adjustment, both front and back can be found.
How to check your front derailleur a Road Cycling video by rcuk

Simulating Triathlons Swim Starts, In A Pool!

Great article by Training Peaks

1. Swim in a group, large one
2. Go Hypoxic
3. Practice Sighting 
4. Breath on both sides
5. Do form drills

Complete description of each @Training Peaks

The Dash

I love this idea, forget about the watch image just having ear plugs like, Jack from the hit series 24.

World's First Wireless Smart In Ear Headphones. 1000 Songs. Performance Tracking. Body Sensors. Secure Fit.

Electronics should be discrete enablers of delightful and magical experiences. Our aim is for you to achieve a better understanding of your skills, abilities and health while doing the things you love. We think that with your support in this campaign, The Dash could become a truly remarkable addition to our lives.  

The Dash

Shoot, Ski, Record: Biathletes Use Technology!

Great Article by Digital Trends

At first glance, biathlon looks like a sport invented by the X-Games brain trust to make two distinctly different, distinctly unexciting skill sets feel cooler. After all, cross-country skiing and target shooting boast roughly the same natural, symbiotic relationship as fishes and bicycles, and neither discipline features fast-and-furious action.

But as much as the sport might feel like a modern invention, it’s actually an old-school, no-nonsense affair. Norwegian art dating back more than 4,000 years depicts men hunting while on skis, and soldiers even skied into battle during 18th century conflicts such as the Great Scandinavian War. By the time biathlon was introduced as a medal event in the 1960 games in Squaw Valley, the sport had an established history, one decidedly low on bells and whistles.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/shoot-ski-record-biathletes-use-tech-stay-target/#ixzz2tEVp90mK

Neila Rey, Illustrated Workouts, Programs, Challenges and Nutrition Tips!

What a great site and visual representation of hundreds of workouts. Neila Rey has done an amazing job, visualizing no-weight workouts, meaning you can do this all in the comfort of you house with no gym equipment. Who ever illustrated the movements did a wonderful job and who ever came up with the names for some of the workouts did a great job.

Did I mention this is all free, you can donate and I would recommend doing so.

Enjoy..

Individual no-equipment workouts are added almost every week. To keep things fresh, you can either pick one at random or use a filter at the bottom of the page to find a workout that will suit you more, depending on whether you would like to lose weight or/and define muscle tone. These are all tested routines, some of them are harder than others, some are themed and Sci-Fi inspired and some are more to the point. You have plenty of options you can choose from. Don't forget to read the manual. 

Try not to stay with one routine for too long or your body will adjust and optimise to it and you’ll stop seeing results. I suggest you pick 3-4 different workouts per week and perhaps pick up a challenge to stay committed.

Challenges are designed to keep you accountable and help you stay motivated. Some of them have targets like getting to 50 push-ups in a month and others are there to help you supplement your training. If you don’t know where to start or you have never tried working out at home before, taking up a challenge is a good way to help your body adjust for daily exercise. 

There are no rest days in my challenges, but some days are easier than others to compensate for that. I believe it is more important to stick to something continuously rather than take a break and then give up on the whole thing. Stay committed and just do what you can, rest times are guidelines only - you don’t have to kill yourself if you can’t go on any further, just keep on showing up every day. Unless specified otherwise, the amount of reps is per day and is a total, you don’t have to do everything in one go. That way you can work at your fitness level. 

Programs are complete sets of daily routines. Currently I have 30 Days of Change [30DOC] and 90 Days of Action [90DOA] available for a free download. The main difference between the two is that the 30 Days of Change requires you do a lot of walking, jogging and running outside and the 90 Days of Action has all at-home cardio routines and challenges. So it depends on what kind of program you are looking for and what fits your lifestyle better, both will help you get in better shape and tone up, both come with cardio, strength and ab routines and have been thoroughly tested by me personally and by a group of volunteers. I also have a few running programs if it’s something you would like to try. 

Tips & Motivation is a collection of practical posts to help you begin your journey and then stay on track. Since I am not looking for clicks and I am not selling ads on this website, I only post material I myself find useful and worth reading. 

Nutrition is the edible extension of the tips and motivation section. That’s where I post all of the nutrition and healthy eating tips. 

Recipes section is the newest addition to the website. When you train you don’t have the time or the energy to cook and you end up with all the wrong things on your plate. So my goal is to test and come up with the best healthy, quick and easy, but affordable recipes that anyone can do. I only post recipes I myself make on a regular basis and I would recommend to my friends. 

Zipi: magnetic earbud strap

Now most still wear ear buds while training, not sure why but if you are going to get a Zipi! it helps you take the buds out of your ears and have them dangle around your neck, reach down and there they are. Zipi makes your earbuds simply disappear into the background when they are not needed. Zipi is an earbud strap that connects behind your neck using magnets.
Zipi uses neodymium magnets, the strongest magnets on the market.  Zipi comes in translucent white, yellow, aqua, hot pink and black. Zipi KickStarter Campaign

16 Supposedly Healthy Foods With More Sugar Than A Snickers Bar

We try and try, looking for healthy food, or food that we think is healthy, only to find out it is not, to a point. Check this list out! Really, the problem with sugar is that it just makes you crave more sugar. When sugar enters your body, it causes the chemical serotonin to be released, which triggers your brain’s reward center and makes you feel more relaxed. That’s fine; the problem is that constantly eating too much sugar dulls this feel-good response so it takes larger amounts of sugar to get there — meaning the more you eat, the more you need. Full List

 Chobani Black Cherry Blended Yogurt: 28 grams sugar

chobani.com

Where the sugar comes from: black cherries, evaporated cane juice, cherry juice concentrate

Turns out, fruit-flavored yogurts are sweetened with more than just fruit. Shapiro’s thoughts: “I’m not a fan of the fruit-flavored yogurts, because they do have a ton of added sugar. Yogurt has naturally occurring sugar from the lactose, so that added sugar is just extra.” A better bet is eating unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit on top. Stephanie Middleberg, M.S., R.D., C.D.N. of Middleberg Nutrition, agrees: “If you’re adding sugar, you really only should be having a teaspoon at a time.” That’s far more than the 7 teaspoons of sugar in Chobani’s Black Cherry Blended yogurt.

Bikestock, Vending Machine!

Being shocked is rare today, but having this type of machine out and about is again, simply Brilliant! What else can you say, set up these around any small town and I am sure it would be a big hit.

Bikestock seeks to empower people to ride their bikes. When we ride we feel alive, fulfilled and engaged in our communities and know others feel the same way. To that end we are dedicated to addressing the obstacles of riding and making it easy to solve minor emergencies any time of day. Bikestock provides support for urban cyclists through a network of vending machines, toolkits, and branded cycling products. By making self-service bike repair available around the clock, Bikestock aims to encourage more people to ride their bicycles. Bikestock locations fill in critical gaps in traditional bike shops business hours, while enhancing existing infrastructure. Cyclists have become a permanent and prominent feature of New York City roads. 200,000 people now ride daily on over 250 miles of bike lanes. Don’t let complications like flat tires or unanticipated rainstorms keep you from riding. Bikestock’s network of conveniently placed machines and toolkits will put essential products and tools within reach of cyclists.
BikeStock

Zozi and Bear Team Up! Go Get Your Bear On!

Get points, get gear and a ridiculous low rate. This is similar to the Marlboro promotion in the late 80's.
Here is my link: http://zozi.me/1bIFEmZ