My Vega, A Natural Replacement

Vega training: part one of four from Vega on Vimeo.

If you are a vegan and are looking for that edge as a performance athlete than Vega could be the product for you.

The Vega Story

Told from the onset that a plant-based diet wouldn't cut it on the professional Ironman circuit, Brendan Brazier's nutritional journey began with unpromising results. Several months of chronic hunger, the need to constantly eat and a decline in energy culminated in a decline in athletic performance.

Brendan's stubborn curiosity persevered however, and after many years of research, trials and tribulations, he created a plant-based whole food diet that worked better than he had ever expected. Since then, Brendan has become one of the top professional Ironman triathletes in Canada, crediting his diet for his success competing in one of the world's most demanding sports.

For years Brendan has packed plant-based whole foods into a daily blended shake to supply his body with premium fuel in liquid form for easy digestion. It worked great at home but when he traveled it became troublesome dragging around a blender and shopping for or packing along his favourite whole foods. Brendan began searching for a convenient healthy, plant-based whole food meal replacement but was disappointed in his findings.

He found most meal replacements on the market were whey protein based "“ off limits for a vegan. Though some vegetarian options existed, they were all soy protein based, an ingredient Brendan was trying to cut back on due to concerns regarding GMO's and phytoestrogens. All meal replacements he found were deficient in essential fatty acids, especially Omega 3's and most contained large quantities of low quality carbohydrates (eg. maltodextrin), artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners.

Brendan realized there was a need for a meal replacement that did not compromise food quality for convenience. He approached several nutritional supplement manufacturers but everyone told him it wouldn't work "“ "you can't put whole foods into a commercial meal replacement" , they said, "too short a shelf life, low product demand, poor taste and texture, too high a cost" they said. There were too many negatives and not enough positives to warrant such a product. So Brendan put his idea on the back burner and continued to lug his trusty blender and cooler full of whole foods wherever he traveled

A couple of years later, Brendan was struck by a car while training on his bike and injured his leg. Told by his doctor to take 6 months off from training and competing, Brendan sought alternative options. He underwent intense physiotherapy and began taking a product his naturopath recommended called ChlorEssence, hoping the high level of growth factors in it would help heal his injury. At the same time, Brendan also began taking a supplement called MacaSure, for adrenal support, helping him deal with the physical and emotional stress of his injury.

Within 8 weeks of rehabilitation, all the while taking 10g of ChlorEssence and 10g of MacaSure a day, Brendan made a full recovery. Though he was not in his top form, remarkably, he was able to compete professionally again participating in the Ironman Canada triathlon event and finishing the gruelling race despite his recent injury. Brendan was so pleased with his rapid recovery that he contacted Sequel Naturals, makers of ChlorEssence and MacaSure, and shared his success story with Charles Chang, President of Sequel Naturals.

Brendan and Charles also discussed the concept of producing a complete whole food meal replacement that was made from 100% plant-based ingredients. Only now, Brendan wanted to have a full dose of ChlorEssence and MacaSure in every serving of this meal replacement as well. Charles was intrigued by the passion of this young athlete and he loved the idea of the whole food meal replacement. Aware of the many challenges that developing such a product would present, Charles was confident that together they would be able to overcome them.

Brendan was given the job of product formulator and Sequel Naturals would take care of the ingredient sourcing, production, packaging and marketing. They agreed that this product would be made without compromises and had to meet several key criteria, including:

1) Complete meal, meeting all Canadian meal replacement guidelines when mixed in plain water
2) Made primarily with whole foods in their freshest, least processed form possible
3) Made with all natural, plant-based ingredients (absolutely no animal products)
4) Target nutritional profile of 40% protein, 30% carbohydrates, 30% essential fats
5) Proteins must come from a diverse variety of vegetarian sources, including a minimum of one third raw protein
6) All carbohydrates must be naturally occurring, complex and low glycemic with no added sugars or simple carbohydrates
7) Essential fats must be of high quality, with the majority being Omega 3's; no trans fats or cholesterol
8) No common allergens such as dairy, gluten, soy or wheat
9) No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners and GMO & pesticide-free
10) Must taste good with pleasant texture and flavor

After a year of product formulation and testing, Vega is a replica of Brendan's favourite shake. All the ingredients in Vega were chosen by Brendan to work synergistically to nourish the body and reduce nutritional stress. And now Brendan doesn't have to lug his old blender with him when he travels anymore.

Providing sustaining energy, enhanced mental focus and increased aerobic and anaerobic capacity, Vega Sport Performance Optimizer beverage also replenishes electrolytes and reduces inflammation, joint and muscle pain to assist recovery. Sporting a synergistic array of organic plant-based ingredients and free of common allergens such as gluten, dairy and soy, Vega Sport will help take you to the next level, safely and naturally.

Vega Sport was formulated by Brendan Brazier, professional Ironman triathlete and bestselling author, to significantly enhance physical and mental performance for anyone seeking athletic improvement.

Vega Sport Performance Optimizer provides a complete array of key performance enhancing benefits including:

• Immediate and sustaining energy
• Increases endurance, aerobic and anaerobic capacity
• Enhances mental focus and motor performance
• Reduces stress and enhances immune system function
• Replenishes electrolytes lost during exercise
• Reduces inflammation, joint and muscle pain
• Improves body composition and reduces body fat
• Supports healthy weight management

Vega Sport Performance Optimizer is available in lemon-lime and acai-berry flavours in convenient single serving pouches and economical 30 serving bottles.

How to Survive Cold Water Swimming

Dave Erickson filed this report from Boise after he took a very frigid dip in Lucky Peak Reservoir.

The 4th Annual Ironman 70.3 Boise triathlon is Saturday, June 11th. The water temperature in the Lucky Peak Reservoir as of Thursday was 53 degrees. That’s cold by any definition for a triathlon. Now imagine swimming in it for 1.2 miles!? Not my idea of a good time but as my coach told me today, swim like your being chased by a shark and you’ll be out of there in no time.

Wetsuits are strongly recommended for this body of water, heck, booties and neoprene caps are highly encouraged too. Since the water isn’t going to swim itself, an athlete must have a plan. So, how can you survive a 1.2 mile swim in 53 degree water? Harold Frobisher is a ‘Performance Physiologist’ and ‘Triathlon Coach’ in Boise, Idaho. His own athletic career includes seven Hawaiian Ironman races. You can find him at Tri TOWN at 1517 1/2 N. 13th Street in the Hyde Park district of Boise.


Harold explains how to best acclimate to cold water swimming as quickly as possible, how the body reacts when your face hits frigid water, how your heart reacts and tips for athletes who’ve never raced in water this cold.

The barefoot running debate: Born to run, shoes & injury: the latest thinking

The barefoot running debate: Born to run, shoes & injury: the latest thinking

One of the more interesting, and certainly topical presentations at the recent meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver was a symposium on barefoot running. It was led by Irene Davis and Daniel Lieberman, both advocates for barefoot running and top scientists in this field. Lieberman in particular is something of a 'legend' in the field, and two years ago, he gave the prestigious keynote address at the ACSM meeting.

Since then, the area has moved on, thankfully. Most recently, Lieberman's group did some fascinating work on the barefoot running concept in runners accustomed to shoes or running barefoot, and that's the focus of this post, along with some thoughts on the concepts underlying barefoot running. A lot of the time, I'll play devil's advocate, because I believe in Lieberman's findings, and the theory behind barefoot running is sound. But there are some "loopholes", and I'll end with those.

Not just a fad, and certainly not only for the niche

There are more than a few people who have dismissed barefoot running as a fad. And many will have labeled it a niche concept, practiced by a very small percentage of runners. That's only partly true. If you think that barefoot running has nothing to do with you, think again. You may not have discarded your shoes, but the truth is the the shoes you are running in have already been influenced by the concepts that drive the barefoot running movement.

That is, the last decade, which has seen more and more evidence come out AGAINST shoes, has also seen a shift in the shoe industry. Gone are the heavy, bulky motion-control shoes, replaced by shoes that are now marketed to simulate barefoot running. Nike were apparently the first to do this, though I remember Adidas bringing out "feet you wear" in the 1990s. But it was the Nike Free that was the first "barefoot shoe", and Irene Davis, in her ACSM presentation, told the story that a famous college coach in the USA was responsible for this because he told a Nike rep who had come to watch his team train that his runners were more comfortable being barefoot.

The rep rushed back to HQ, reported on the athlete's preference, and it heralded the shift. Now, almost all the companies are focusing on the 'minimalist concept' of shoes. There are even new companies (Vibram, Newton). Of course, there are a few stubborn survivors, but the whole market has shifted, there is no doubt about it. Why? Because of the current thinking around running, and the role of footstrike, and our feet, in injury risk during running. So we're all affected, even if we run in shoes, and here's the theory.
MORE>>

Route 29 36KM TT(T)

Get in shape and get fast for the tri season. The Route 29 36km time trail, fast and relatively flat.

About PA/NJ Bike Racing

After living in Indiana for a number of year’s, I decided to move to central PA to raise my family. If you drive with three kids in the car from IN to Philly to visit family, you would understand the desire to live a bit closer than 10 hours. Within a relatively short period of time, I was able to find some excellent time trial venues. I had experience putting on bike races back in IN and felt that PA needed a structured monthly TT series. The Carlisle TT and SMHC venues were easy to find as these were my old training routes when I went to school at Shippensburg University. A great place to get started bike riding btw. I met Joanne there and we biked all over Cumberland County together.

The Carlisle TT has a great flow to it and has been well received and the South Mountain Hill Climb is one of the best climbs in Central PA…Nothing too steep but the climb with its long distance takes its toll on you…The Clarks Valley venue is simply awesome. A road that goes on for 25 miles without a traffic light or stop sign is ok by me. The new proposed state tt venue is even better, hopefully I will be awarded that event.

The Route 29 35 KM TT(T) is a sweet place to ride your bike and to TT on. I originally wanted to do a tt on the PA side of the border near New Hope, PA as I typically ride around there when I get a chance. I took some bridge across to the NJ side and I stumbled across Route 29. It was like are you kidding me, shoulders that are wider than most bike roads and fairly flat terrain begged for a long TT to happen here on a monthly basis. It was a natural fit. A bit of drive from Carlisle, PA but we get a great turnout and the riders have been so supportive and nice. I also get a chance to see my family and all which has been a positive experience for me and the kids. We look forward to them each month.

10 Triathlon Training Schedule Time Savers

There are a ton of triathlon training schedules. Some are good, some are bad, and some are nice to look at when you need to fall asleep quickly and don't have any sleeping pills nearby.

But regardless of which triathlon training schedule you use, there are 10 crucial time-saving elements you need to be looking for, if you don't want to waste time training when you could be kissing up to your boss, wasting time on YouTube, or teaching your kids how to make offensive sounds with their armpits.

So in no particular order of importance (except that the first one is about food, which I find myself thinking about a lot as a self-admitted food junkie), here are your 10 triathlon training schedule time savers:

10. Eat Lunch Fast. Taking 5 minutes to eat your lunch will leave, in most cases, 55 extra minutes in your triathlon training schedule. So what takes a long time to eat? Salads, casseroles, dinner leftovers - and pretty much anything that requires cutlery. Choose these instead: wraps, sandwiches, smoothies and shakes. And yes, I am that guy riding my bicycle down the road as I finish up a turkey-avocado wrap that I've wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed down my bike jersey.

9. Quality Over Quantity. Most triathletes, especially the Ironman ones, swim 140% too much, bike 200% too much and run 170% too much - mostly because there is too little hard fast training and too much long slow training. I personally use a ton of high intensity interval training workouts (HIIT), and that means I get to watch movies with my kids at night. So what's an example of HIIT? Rather than going on a 45 minute run, I'll do 10 treadmill 30-60 second sprints on the highest incline I can possibly manage, and then do my core workout between each sprint.

8. Indoor Training. It sounds a bit blah, but if you want to free up time in your triathlon training schedule, you can save many, many minutes by hopping on an indoor trainer or treadmill rather than getting dressed for weather conditions, going outside, and fighting stop signs, stop lights, traffic and Grandma's on rollerblades with their 8 grandchildren and 2 schnozzle dogs. You'll even find me sometimes skipping my swim to do an indoor workout like the one in this video:http://www.youtube.com/bengreenfieldfitness#p/a/u/1/n6kEbDzxISc

7. Commute. Ride your bike to work. Put your clothes in a backpack, and pack babywipes or Actionwipes to wipe yourself down. If you're like me, you can even go so far as to wash your hair in the sink. If this doesn't work for your triathlon training schedule you can also: A) run to the grocery store for small items (I run hard there, and then easy back while I'm carrying stuff like bananas); B) do errands on your bike (not recommended for anything that involves your hair looking nice); or C) ride or run to social events, like parties, and then drive home with your friends or family.

6. Eat Right. If you're eating calories that don't have high nutritional value, a good part of your triathlon training schedule is going to be spent simply A) trying not to get fat and/or B) fighting against the recovery and fitness reducing effect that "empty calories" have on your body. Anything process, refined or packaged should comprise only a very small part of your diet, and everything else should come from whole, raw, real food. And yes, the local coffeeshop bakery case falls into the latter category, even the cookies with the pink frosting that say "Fat-Free". I also recommend that just about everybody take the bare minimum supplementation protocol (for reasons I discuss here:http://s3.amazonaws.com/BenGreenfieldFitness/SupplementsInterviewWithBen... ) Vitamin D, Magnesium, Fish Oil and Greens.

5. Family Training Tools. As soon as my wife and I found out we were pregnant with twins (actually she was, I just helped, which was the fun part), we equipped our garage with a double bike trailer and a double jogger. The bike trailer always has two little bike helmets and a bunch of books and toys inside (you'd be surprised at how long a Batman action figure will keep a little boy entertained on a long bike ride). My wife uses the jogger to take the kids on little nature field-trips, or to soccer, swimming, and even the gym (speaking of the gym, try to join one that has free kid care, like the YMCA, so you and your spouse can exercise together). Some triathlon training schedule advice is to do "Invisible Training", which is done early in the morning or late at night when your training is "invisible" to your family, but I encourage you, at least once a week, to set a good example and make family a part of your training.

4. Communication. You, your spouse, your family, your friends, your co-workers and your boss should be aware of your triathlon training schedule when you have a 5 hour bike ride planned for the weekend, or you decide to disappear to the gym for an extra hour on Wednesday morning. We keep a big calendar by our front door where we write down workouts, family events, races, and sometimes the ever-present reminder for me to "mow the lawn already". If you and your spouse are geeks, you could certainly use something Google calendar or the "Remember The Milk" phone app - but we go old-school paper calendar at the Greenfield house. I'm also very open to friends and co-workers when I can't hang out. Don't be embarrassed to wear your triathlon training schedule on your sleeve - most people will respect you for being committed to fitness.

3. Friday Night Fuddy-Duddy. Speaking of friends, I don't recommend you engage in heavy drinking or late night social activities on Friday night - primarily because Saturday is such valuable time for getting in your triathlon training scheduled workouts. Save the tom-foolery for Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons, when you've gotten your high quality training out of the way. My wife and I will often stay in on Friday night, grab a movie (the last good one was "Due Date", but I digress), have a date night, hit the sack by 10pm, and be fresh and ready to get started into workouts or training on Saturday.

2. Cross-Train. Lately, many of my social relationships are now formed from playing tennis with a group of guys. For me, that's my social outlet that keeps me from being an isolated triathlon geek who has lost the skill to communicate with the general population and mostly just stares off into space and utters phrases like "Oily Cassette Blurby Blah-Blah". You're not "wasting time" when you cross-train in your triathlon training schedule - instead, there is often a very good training effect upon your triathlon fitness. While the social sports of golf, softball and baseball may not be the best cardiovascular cross-training activities, look into group activities like soccer, basketball, tennis, or if you are an international reader, cricket (I know nothing about cricket, but I threw that in there to make this a globally relevant article and to appease any Eastern hemisphere
readers).

1. Non-Triathlon Post-Race Festivities. If you've got a family, the last thing you want is your family to regret you taking them to the big race in your triathlon training schedule. By all means, do not arrive at your race 5-7 days before the race with your family for a "vacation", spend the entire vacation fretting about racing and tweaking your bicycle, and then fly home the night of the race or the morning after. Instead, go to the race later in the week, like 3 or 4 days early (you're not a professional athlete, for crying out loud, so why skip out on life just to acclimate?) and then stay 2-3 days after the race to engage in non-triathlon post-race festivities with your family, like theme parks, scenic attractions, wine tasting, or if you'll really up for an adventure, wine tasting at theme parks. I take no responsibility for injuries incurred during that last activity.

If you're trying to prepare for a triathlon without neglecting your friends, family or career, then these time-saving tips should be good additions to your triathlon training schedule. If you want more advice just like this, then you'll want to visit http://www.triathlondominator.com, where I've got more techniques for Half-Ironman and Ironman triathletes to get maximum results with minimum training time. See you there!

TriFind.com

BEST SITE EVER, what to find a race, TriFind.com. Every state, every months, if there is a race they should have it.

Dark and Dense, Perfect Ice Cream!

Looking for a break, indulge after a great race, treat yourself to this recipe.

Dark, dense, and oh-so-delicious: Chocolate Decadence - From King Author Flour (best).

Chocolate Decadence is an overworked recipe name; it seems every restaurant dessert featuring even a hint of chocolate has been given the over-the-top "decadence" label. But this ultra-smooth, dense ice cream truly is decadent, meeting at least one of the word's definitions: "downfall." If you're dieting — this ice cream will surely be your downfall!

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• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla; or 1 tablespoon espresso powder; or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, all optional
• 2 cups (1 pint) whole milk
• 1 cup chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur (e.g., Kahlua) or the liqueur of your choice, optional

Directions

1) In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, ClearJel or cornstarch, and salt.

2) Slowly whisk in the water, then the flavor of your choice and the milk or cream.

3) Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently as the mixture warms, then almost constantly as it becomes hot; you don't want the mixture to stick to the bottom of the pan.

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, whisking until chocolate melts.

5) Pour into a bowl, and stir occasionally as it cools, to prevent a skin from forming.

6) Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the chocolate, again to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until it's well chilled; overnight is good. Make sure the canister for your ice cream maker is in the freezer, too; it needs to be as cold as it can be.

7) Next day, pour the chocolate into the ice cream maker, and freeze for 20 to 25 minutes, until it's quite stiff.

8) Scoop the ice cream into a bowl. For best texture, stir in 1/4 cup coffee liqueur (e.g., Kahlua), or the liqueur of your choice. This will keep the ice cream soft and scoopable indefinitely in the freezer.

9) Serve the ice cream immediately, if desired; it will be very soft. For harder ice cream, store in the freezer. Ice cream without liqueur will become nicely hard in 3 hours. With the addition of liqueur, it will take 6 hours or more to become quite solid. Ice cream without liqueur will become unpleasantly hard within 5 hours or so; to soften, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Yield: 3 3/4 cups, a scant 1 quart.

Trail Running

From Triathlon Competitor

Trail Running Tips for Triathletes

Updated: May 26th 2011 2:20 PM UTC by Jennifer Purdie

The sun is shining. The weather is heating up. The thought of running on a “dreadmill” sounds…dreadful. This is the time of year when athletes take to the trails to mix up their workouts and enjoy Mother Nature.

We asked Dr. Victor Runco of the San Diego Running Institute to provide tips to triathletes looking to add trail running to their workout repertoire.

Trail Running Shoes—Are they necessary?

It depends on the trail. Trails are specific—trails with lots of sharp rocks may require a trail shoe with a forefoot rockplate like the Saucony Peregrine. Soft dirt fire roads may not require trail shoes at all or a hybrid shoe like the Mizuno Ascend will work well. Trails that are very wet and muddy can be run better with trail shoes that have superior grip and sticky rubber bottoms for better traction and grip. Trail shoes like the innov-8 talon work awesome for that.

Trail Running Complements Road Running

Trail running will make your legs stronger due to the fact that most trails (at least in Calif.) require running hills. Many trails are in the mountains so running at altitude can make you more efficient as well. Trail running also causes a runner to modify their running form thus changing the impact zones. This is different from road running and in a way is “cross-training” from traditional road running.

Interval Training on Trails

You can do interval training on trails with flatter trails being better suited for that purpose. If you are doing Xterra races, you need to train on the type of surface you are going to race on. If you are going to do a hilly course at altitude—interval training and hill work on hilly trails at altitude is a great option, although your speed will suffer. Speed work should be looked at as its own training tool and can be done in addition to hill and trail training.

Nutritional Needs Differ

If you are going to be running over one hour, it is important to bring hydration. Trail running is more strenuous than road running and in the southwestern U.S., trails can offer little cover from the sun. Couple that with any altitude and dehydration can set in quickly. Hand bottle carriers and backpacks are the favorites of most trail and ultra runners. Backpacks by Ultimate Direction and Nathan are the most popular allowing the runner to carry two liters of fluid for longer runs with many storage pockets for gels and food. Hand bottles from Nathan and Amphipod are great for shorter runs and carry up to 16-24 ounces with a storage pocket for keys and a gel packet. The recommendations by the gel companies are actually pretty accurate to replace blood sugar. You can try a gel every 30-45 minutes.

Strength Training for Trail Running

Strength training comes in many varieties and strength has many definitions. Most triathletes want endurance strength not absolute strength like a power lifter. There are many ways to achieve this like traditional weight training, cross-fit, Pilates, yoga, etc. None of these replace running though.

In addition to being a doctor I am a CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist). My personal preference for getting my muscles stronger and conditioned is coupling my running with weight lifting focusing on higher repetitions.

Dr. Victor Runco is a chiropractor, certified strength and conditioning specialist and the clinical director for the San Diego Running Institute. He has run marathons in 12 states, and has run six 50-mile ultramarathons and one 100-mile ultramarathon. He recently completed his fifth Pacific Crest trail 50-mile endurance run. He has been treating and fixing endurance athletes in San Diego for 12 years specializing in fixing running injuries quickly without drugs or surgery.

Please visit the San Diego Running Institute at www.sdri.net or the San Diego Dirt Devil Trail Series atwww.dirtdevilracing.com. For more info on running injuries, home remedies or treatment go towww.sandiegorunninginjuries.