Craig Alexander Is Once Again King Of Kona!

Craig Alexander Is Once Again King Of Kona!

If you follow triathlon even remotely, then you know Newton Running pro triathlete, Craig Alexander. You probably also know that twice he had won the Ironman World Championship as well as the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Well, this past Saturday, on a blisteringly hot day in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, the man affectionately known as “Crowie” grabbed yet another victory from the world’s best triathletes.

The day began with the pro field (greatly reduced thanks to the new Kona qualifying system for pros) starting at 6:30 AM. With former All-American swimmer Andy Potts out of the water ahead of everyone, Craig was in the first pack behind Potts with the majority of the pros in a time of 51:56.

As expected Craig’s transition was without incident and he was soon on the bike. If there were any doubts about how fierce a competitor Craig could be on the bike, they were erased as Craig stayed at or near the point of the spear on the ride out to the town of Hawi. For his part, Crowie proved not only was he a fierce competitor but that he can also throw. down a blistering bike leg by shaving a full thirteen minutes off his previous best bike split in Kona.

Craig left T2 about 4:30 down but quickly made the pass to take the lead. The battle which was expected from Andreas Realert did come, but never in a head-to-head match-up as the triathlon world had predicted. With Craig running his usual fleet-footed and efficient marathon, his lead began to get bigger and bigger after the half marathon. The “Crowie Edition” Newton Distance S’ on his feet were a blur of bright yellow as he tore through the Energy Lab. However, fans everywhere collectively gasped as, with about 2 km to go, Craig pulled up to stretch obvious hamstring cramps. After pulling it back together and bearing what must have been excruciating pain, Craig finally hit the last stretch on Ali’i Drive.

With the crowd going crazy and Craig picking the Australian flag from a spectator, it was pretty clear that he was unaware of just how close he was to history. Those of us watching the live stream and some near the finish were well aware that Crowie was withing seconds of breaking Luc Van Lierde’s fifteen year old course record of 8:04:08. As he approached the finish line and finally got a glimpse of the clock, reality hit Craig. Sprinting the last few meters, he leaped across the finish line and into Ironman history in a course record time of 8:03:56.

With his win, Craig became only the fourth man ever to win three or more Ironman World Championships. He is also the oldest winner of the race at 38 years old and is the first person to ever win both the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and the Ironman World Championship at any time AND the only person to hold both titles in the same year!

The super bright colors of Newton Running were well well represented on the course in Kona as always. We’d like to extend a big congratulations to all the Newton runners who tore up the roads of Kailua-Kona this past weekend!

All of us at Newton Running would like to congratulate Craig on not only being an amazing person, sportsman and father, but for being the embodiment of a true gentleman and athlete. Congrats Craig! Here’s to #4!

Swim: 51:56
T1: 1:56
Bike: 4:24:05
T2: 1:58
Run: 2:44:03

Total: 8:03:56 (New course record)

Specialized Shiv

Specialized is making an amazing bike, yes I want to get sponsored by them,go faster and win more events, that aside, in the end you really can see why this is the premier bike next year to own. Yes Chrissie won on a Cannondale Slice, but look at the differences in the two models, that alone speaks worlds. 


Congratulations Craig Alexander World Champion 70.3 and Kona.

IN RECENT YEARS SPECIALIZED HAS SET THE TRI WORLD ON FIRE. NEVER BEFORE HAS ONE TEAM SO UTTERLY DOMINATED THE SPORT, WITH WORLD TITLES IN IRONMAN, OLYMPIC, SPRINT, AND XTERRA DISTANCES.

WE’RE UPPING THE ANTE AGAIN: INTRODUCING OUR ALL-NEW SHIV. THIS STEALTHY SPEED MACHINE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT UCI-LEGAL, BECAUSE IT’S SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE NEEDS OF TRIATHLETES: IT’S MORE AERO THAN THE UCI ALLOWS; THE FIT RANGE IS GREATER THAN PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE; AND OUR PATENTED FUELSELAGE INTEGRATED HYDRATION SYSTEM IS A STRAIGHT-UP GAME CHANGER.

THREE WORDS SEPARATE SHIV FROM THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY: AERO, FUEL, FIT. IT ALL STARTS WITH ITS FACT IS CARBON FRAME. WE STUDIED AIRFLOW IN EACH AREA OF THE FRAME, SPECIFICALLY CROSSWINDS SINCE THAT'S WHAT TRIATHLETES USUALLY EXPERIENCE ON THE ROAD. THEN WE OPTIMIZED TUBING AND FRAME DESIGN FOR EACH SPECIFIC AIRFLOW PATTERN, RATHER THAN RELYING ON UNIFORM AIRFOILS THROUGHOUT. SINCE WE WEREN’T RESTRICTED BY UCI RULES, WE WERE FREE TO USE ULTRA-DEEP AIRFOIL TUBING WITH ASPECT RATIOS OF UP TO 4:1 AND BEYOND-FASTER THAN THE 3:1 UCI STANDARD.

DEEPER TUBING IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY THOUGH. SINCE TRADITIONAL WATER BOTTLE SETUPS ARE A MAJOR DRAG ON AERODYNAMICS, WE ENGINEERED OUR FUELSELAGE™ RESERVOIR TO HIDE NEATLY INSIDE THE MASSIVE DOWN/HEAD TUBES. THE BENEFITS ARE TWOFOLD: IT MEANS MUCH SAFER AND MORE CONVENIENT FUELING WHILE YOU’RE IN THE AERO BARS. PLUS THROUGH EXTENSIVE WIND TUNNEL TESTING, WE’VE PROVEN IT’S THE MOST AERODYNAMIC BIKE WE’VE EVER MADE—AND MORE AERO THAN ANY OTHER BIKE ON THE MARKET WITH A BOTTLE.

WE’VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE FIT OPTIONS FOR A WIDE ARRAY OF RIDERS. THE BIKE IS AVAILABLE IN FIVE FRAME SIZES, AND FEATURES OUR PROPRIETARY SPECIALIZED AERO BARS, CONTROL TOWER FIT SYSTEM, AND FLIPPABLE AIRFOIL SEATPOSTS FOR A HUGE RANGE OF STACK AND REACH ADJUSTMENT.

RATHER THAN MAKING JUST ONE UCI-LEGAL TIME TRIAL BIKE, THAT ALSO HAPPENS TO WORK FOR TRIATHLON—LIKE THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY—WE STEPPED OUTSIDE THE UCI BOX TO CREATE A BIKE EXCLUSIVELY FOR TRIATHLETES. WITHOUT THESE INNOVATION-LIMITING RESTRICTIONS, WE’VE REWRITTEN THE RULEBOOK ON WHAT A TRI BIKE SHOULD BE. THE NEW SHIV IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR UNPARALLELED COMMITMENT TO THE SPORT AND ITS ATHLETES.

Crowie in Great Form and Spirits

Can he do it again!

Orbea and Crowie Part Ways.

from Slow Twitch 
Orbea Bicycles, along with its sister brand Orca Wetsuits, has announced the dissolution of its endorsement agreement with Craig Alexander, effective immediately, and by mutual agreement.

Alexander began with Orca in 2001, and commenced riding Orbea's bikes in 2005. The Orbea brand in particular had become closely attached to Alexander's rise as a premier long distance athlete. Alexander won the Hawaiian Ironman twice on Orbea's timed race machines, along with a 70.3 world title as well.

“We are saddened and very disappointed that Orbea’s and Orca’s association with Craig has come to an end,” said Tony Karklins of Orbea USA. “Craig was always the consummate professional in every way, and was a valued representative for our brands. We will miss him greatly, both as a friend and spokesperson, and wish him all the best in his quest to win an Ironman World Championship this weekend.”

Getting Kids Involved In Triathlons, Early

This video show the best way to get kids involved in triathlons at an early age.

Know Where You Stand, PR

Want to know where you are, look down while ridding this should give you incentive. Put a sticker on your top tube. Plane and simple.  This was done for Vanhoenacker Smith bike ride.

Lance 5th at Ogden Xterra!

20+ years later and he is still kicking pro's butts. Lance did an impressive 5th place finish. Not AG but PRO's.
40-year-old Armstrong combined a 4th-best swim, 4th best bike and a gutsy, not-his-best 23rd-best run to take 5th place just 1:55 behind 4-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad Stoltz.


Once Lance starts to really focus, watch out. 

Lance Before The Tour

Wow seems to still have the same "I'm going to win attitude" guess you are just born with it!

Catch and Stroke

From Feel For The Water

"The Catch' is the movement you make to get a hold of the water and begin pressing it backwards at the very front of the stroke. For most swimmers the catch is a bit of a mystery, you probably know that it is important to your speed and efficiency but getting a feel the catch and improving it seems very elusive.

A good catch is about making the right movements and timing them correctly. In this post we're going to look at the timing of the catch - and as a consequence how it should feel. The feeling of a good catch may be quite different from what you expect and this is one reason why it's difficult to grasp (pardon the pun!).

Matching The Water Speed

Let's take a look at elite swimmer Mel Benson, swimming here at around 65 seconds per 100m pace. Like all elite swimmers, Mel's got a fantastic catch which is one of the secrets of her speed and endurance.  This is the catch phase of her stroke on her left arm, see how her elbow starts to bend straight away and how she begins to press the water back behind her:

You might have read or been told by a coach that you should 'keep your elbows high' underwater and we can see that Mel's doing that nicely, keeping her elbow higher than her wrist and her wrist higher than her fingertips at all times.

This is an interesting image sequence as Mel's taken a few bubbles with her into the water. See how the bubbles don't move much at all relative to her hand and forearm, this is because Mel's merely matching the water speed as it travels past her. This means she's feeling a relatively light force on her hand and forearm.

The important point here is that you can feel powerful during the catch but it's not about brute force or high effort, it 's just about engaging with the water. The lack of force required is one reason why your 11 year old daughter can zoom past you so easily. Her arm action is far superior to yours under the water and she doesn't need much strength to complete the movements.

The Pull Phase

Moving on a little and Mel's arm starts to accelerate as it passes under her body. We can now see her arm start to leave those bubbles behind as it does so:

Pressing backward through the water, the pressure on the hand and forearm now builds. This is where most of the propulsion is created in the stroke but that couldn't happen without the catch phase immediately before, where Mel matched the water's speed so that it stabilised around her hand and forearm.

How The Catch Should Feel

Many swimmers are searching for a really strong feeling during the catch, thinking that when they get it right they will suddenly feel their muscles working hard in a kind of "eureka moment". Unfortunately searching for such a feeling may lead you to press down on the water or even try and push it forwards. Both of these stroke faults increase the load placed on the shoulder and so increase your perceived effort:

Pushing down or forwards will create a pressure on your palm but don't let this fool you into thinking you're developing a nice catch. The movement should feel smooth, rhythmic and relatively easy. We say rhythmic because a good catch take less time as you're not changing the water's direction, you're simply helping it on its way. A good catch lifts your stroke rate (cadence) and so increases your sense of stroke rhythm.

The next time you're swimmi ng try a lighter feeling to the catch and focus on engaging with the water and pressing it backwards to the wall behind you. Drills such as Sculling and Doggy Paddle from our DVDs will help you refine this movement, you should immediately see your times improve on the pace clock and notice the extra rhythm in your stroke.

Cyclocross Flying!

So I am not sure this is the way to clear the hurdle. I was sure fast though.

Kuat Vegabond, Roof Rack

Seeing a new company (Kuat - Pronounced Koo-At) come out with a roof rack at a great price is good, one that builds a bike rack into the Rack itself is genius. 
The Vegabond is just that a prefect rack for cars/SUV.
Kuat Racks was founded in 2007 by Luke KUschmeader and Brian ATkinson, riding partners from way back. The guys had a passion for all things bike and wanted to become a larger part of the bike community. In 2008 KUAT launched their first line of aluminum hanging style hitch racks, the ALPHA and the BETA, creating a tsunami of positive vibes throughout the industry. Due to the consumer response Luke pressed on as the company visionary but with a new partner, Guy Mace; engineering genius, manufacturing guru, and an avid outdoor enthusiast who owns more cars than the average car lot. With the new partnership Kuat released more goodness to the public for 2009-10 (see NV and SHERPA). In short from day one it has been our mission to make a better rack for our fellow riders and scratch out a living while doing it. See you on the trails. 

Truly Amazing 12 Year Old!

Seeing a 12 year old winning not one Championship but two Hy-Vee Ironkids National Championships, is truly amazing. First to be able to train and attend school, do talks, hold down sponsors and GO TO SCHOOL. 


From the Running Front
A cold front turned the triathlon championships into a duathlon. The traditional 300 yard swim portion of the triathlon was substituted with a 1200 meter run in the senior division. Winter Vinecki, age 12, (racing  age 13 y/o female division based on USAT age-up rules) was able to strategically adjust her race strategy to help her achieve her second consecutive IronKids National Championship Title.

Winter used the opening 1200 yard run to quickly open up an early lead coming into the first transition. Though the rain held off during the race, an early morning rain shower just minutes before the start was enough to create hazardous conditions on the bike course. Turns proved to be extremely slippery, as many riders lost control and fell off their bikes. Despite a slick road surface, Winter was able to maintain an 18.7 mph average on the bike, which turned out to be the fastest bike split in her age division and the second fastest female bike split of the day.

Heading out onto the two mile run course, Winter followed tightly behind her main rival, Gina Johnson, matching her stride-for-stride. A time-trial start gave Winter a 12-second advantage despite being a few steps behind her friend and fellow competitor. Fighting side cramps half-way through the race, Winter summoned her inner strength, reflecting on the fact that no pain she was encountering could match that of which her dad endured during his losing battle with prostate cancer.  The cramps subsided and it was a sprint to the finish. Gina tried to open the gap with 100 yards to go but Winter quickly responded with the speed and determination she has shown all season. Winter narrowed the gap enough to take an 8-second victory over Johnson and secure a repeat performance as the 2011 Ironkids National Champion.

More..

VITAband has a leg up on RoadID

You see this time and time again, RIM with Blackberries, missing the boat, iPhone taking over, Palm lost it grip in the handheld devices. Not to say that these products are bad, they were the best, plain and simple, they just failed to adapt.
RoadID, a great product has kept many safe and informed, they just failed to adapt. That being said the one thing the VITAband is missing is printed information that EMT can quickly read (RoadID) without having to make multiple calls.  Still they will capture a market the weekend social biking group, that jumps on their bike all fancy gear just to ride from one Cafe to another. Nothing wrong, but if one does not have to carry anything but a phone, well they just might pull ahead. Great product.

Lance Doing Xterra, First Tri After 20+ Years

Lance back on the triathlon circuit, ok one Xterra race, after 20+ years. 

"It seemed like a fun time and the training has been going very well," Armstrong told The Associated Press Thursday. "I'll go out there and have a good time and see how it goes."

He said it has been 23 years since he's done any type of triathlon, and he has no expectations of winning, though he has been training hard the past eight months.

"I have no doubt (Stoltz is a great athlete). I go in with no grand expectations," Armstrong said.

The top XTERRA athletes in the world will compete next week at Snowbasin, including South Africa's Stoltz, five-time national champion Josiah Middaugh and two-time Ironman world champion Tim DeBoom.

Stoltz said the course is a good fit for Armstrong as it involves a lot of climbing but is not very technical on the descents.

Asked whether the run or swim will be harder, Armstrong wasn't sure.

"That's one of the questions I have for myself," he said, noting he has had some issues with plantar fasciitis in his left heel. "We'll have to see how my swim comes back. When I was a kid, it was one of my strengths, but again that was a long time ago."

Adventures in Ogden & Snowbasin Resort | September 24-25

Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross 2011

Ok so the Tri season is coming to a close, what to do... how about something a little different, Cyclocross. It is fast, muddy and a cross between road biking, mountain biking and full on heart pounding adrenaline. 
The Mid-Atlantic season is underway, MAC for short. 
Check it out, I am sure you can find at least one race to jump into:

The 2011/2012 MAC Series will not include UCI Elite Men/U23/Juniors or UCI Elite Women. The MAC Series will include the following USAC Categories (please note that all races will be counted in the overall MAC series points):U19 Junior Men - Amateur U19 Junior Women - Amateur Elite U19 Men Cat 1/2/3/4 Master Men 35+ Cat 1/2/3/4 Master Men 45+ Cat 2/3/4 Men Cat 4 Men Cat 3/4 Women Cat 1/2/3/4 Master Women 45+ Cat 1/2/3/4 Master Men 55+ Cat 1/2/3/4 Master Men 60+ Elite Men Elite Women Elite Master Women 35+ The MAC series is comprised of individual races including those races that have UCI categories as part of their event.
2011	Date	Race	Location	Results
Round 1	September 10th	Nittany Cross Day 1	Trexlertown, PA	Results
Round 2	September 11	Nittany Cross Day 2	Trexlertown, PA	Results
Round 3	September 17th	Charm City Day 1	Baltimore, MD	Results
Round 4	September 18th	Charm City Day 2	Baltimore, MD	Results
Round 5	September 25th	Whirlybird Cyclocross	Bryn Athyn, PA	Results
Round 6	October 15th	Granogue Cross Day 1	Granogue, DE	Results
Round 7	October 16th	Granogue Cross Day 2	Granogue, DE	Results
Round 8	October 29th	Beacon Cyclocross	Bridgeton, NJ	Results
Round 9	October 30st	HPCX	Jamesburg, NJ	Results
Round 10	November 12th	FSVS XCross at Fair Hill	Elkton, MD	Results
Round 11	November 19th	Super Cross Cup Day 1	East Meadow, NY	Results
Round 12	November 20st	Super Cross Cup Day 2	East Meadow, NY	Results
Round 13	December 10th	Geler Votre Cul Cyclocross	DE / MD /TBD	Results
Round 14	December 11th	Limestone Cross at the Kiln	PA	Results