Overview
When you become part of Endorphin Fitness, you become part of a community of like-minded people with a hunger to achieve goals. The EF Community page is your page where we celebrate accomplishments, share pictures, and keep you connected. We encourage you to visit this page often and stay up-to-date on everything Endorphin.
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Latest News
RACE NUTRITION STRATEGIES
5.30.2013
Richmond Times Dispatch Article on Coach Michael & The Endorphin Fitness Youth Triathlon Team
4.7.2013
Great article in the Richmond Times Dispatch today on Coach Michael and The Endorphin Fitness Youth Triathlon Team. Read it at http://www.timesdispatch.com/entertainment-life/columnists-blogs/maria-howard/fitness-endorphin-fitness-founder-s-focus-is-youngsters-and-triathlons/article_7577451c-734d-53a1-a2a0-93f6fde42314.html.
Endorphin Fitness Kid's Mile Results
3.9.2013
Everyone did a fantastic job at the Hope 5k and Endorphin Fitness Kid's 1 Mile today. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a success by volunteering and congrats to all of the athletes! Below are the results based on age group:
| 2013 Endorphin Fitness Kid's Mile Results | ||||||
| Name | TIME | Bib # | Age Group | Gender | Age | |
| 1 | Woods, Willow | 0:11:40 | 7 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 4 |
| 2 | Harlow, Austin | 0:12:53 | 58 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 4 |
| 3 | Lagos, Annalise | 0:13:02 | 69 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 3 |
| 4 | McGuire, Ellie | 0:14:10 | 24 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 2 |
| 5 | Nolan, Cora | 0:14:49 | 25 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 4 |
| 6 | Pace, Abby | 0:18:31 | 87 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 3 |
| 1 | Moore, Judah | 0:10:18 | 30 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 2 | Bischoff, Justin | 0:10:30 | 50 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 3 | Gaskill, Josh | 0:11:20 | 38 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 4 | Gardner, Luca | 0:11:21 | 22 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 5 | Brooks, Colton | 0:16:13 | 55 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 6 | Quinby, Parker | 0:16:20 | 4 | 4 and under | MALE | 4 |
| 1 | Harrison, Hannah | 0:09:49 | 27 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 2 | Bischoff, Allison | 0:09:50 | 49 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 3 | Foote, Molly | 0:11:02 | 79 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 4 | Murphy, Kylie | 0:11:19 | 83 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 5 | Cook, Hannah | 0:11:48 | 20 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 |
| 6 | Adamson, Ella | 0:11:52 | 53 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 |
| 7 | Foldenauer, Lauren | 0:12:03 | 19 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 8 | McGuire, Madelyn | 0:13:30 | 23 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 |
| 9 | Rosenbaum, Caroline | 0:13:50 | 65 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 6 |
| 10 | Snopik, Emerson | 0:14:14 | 17 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 |
| 11 | Moore, Grace | 0:19:43 | 28 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 |
| 1 | Lawson, Trevor | 0:08:00 | 63 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 2 | Schmitt, John Grayson | 0:08:14 | 52 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 3 | Gardner, Caden | 0:09:04 | 21 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 4 | Harlow, Caleb | 0:09:22 | 80 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 5 | Nagle, Hunter | 0:09:34 | 48 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 6 | Gaskill, Danny | 0:09:35 | 37 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 7 | Hoffer, Taylor | 0:10:12 | 9 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 5 |
| 8 | Quinby, Mason | 0:10:14 | 3 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 9 | Beam, Brooks | 0:10:29 | 36 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 10 | Brown, Davis | 0:11:07 | 46 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 5 |
| 11 | Beam, Jackson | 0:11:22 | 35 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 12 | Brown, Griffin | 0:11:26 | 45 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 |
| 13 | Pace, Luke | 0:13:45 | 86 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 5 |
| 1 | Woods, Ella | 0:07:21 | 5 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 8 |
| 2 | Novak, Claire | 0:07:43 | 98 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 8 |
| 3 | Baham, Meredith | 0:08:08 | 72 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 9 |
| 4 | Mullins, Ann Melise | 0:08:12 | 81 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 9 |
| 5 | Mullins, Rebecca | 0:09:27 | 82 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 7 |
| 6 | Lawson, Anna | 0:09:42 | 62 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 9 |
| 7 | Karaffa, Grace | 0:11:06 | 2 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 9 |
| 8 | Rehme, Carly | 0:11:15 | 96 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 7 |
| 9 | Snopik, Cadence | 0:11:17 | 16 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 8 |
| 10 | Rackley, Anastasia | 0:11:19 | 14 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 9 |
| 11 | Beam, Avery | 0:11:21 | 34 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 8 |
| 12 | Shropshire, Taylor | 0:12:15 | 93 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 7 |
| 13 | Lindsey, Isabella | 0:15:11 | 74 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 7 |
| 1 | Rehme, Hans | 0:07:06 | 97 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 2 | Berger, Henry | 0:07:11 | 42 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 |
| 3 | Foldenauer, Ashton | 0:07:25 | 18 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 4 | Morgan, Matthew | 0:07:48 | 66 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 |
| 5 | Peterson, Landon | 0:08:04 | 26 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 |
| 6 | Woods, Shane | 0:08:05 | 6 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 |
| 7 | Mackay, Charlie | 0:08:44 | 15 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 |
| 8 | Read, Tyler | 0:09:05 | 51 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 |
| 9 | Rosenbaum, Connor | 0:09:07 | 64 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 10 | Blanchard, Ben | 0:09:09 | 90 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 11 | Piper, Joshua | 0:09:16 | 1 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 12 | Brown, Simon | 0:09:30 | 44 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 |
| 13 | Hunt, Jacob | 0:09:32 | 95 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 |
| 14 | Getter, Matthew | 0:10:27 | 61 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 |
| 15 | Lagos, Sam | 0:10:48 | 68 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 |
| 16 | Lagos, William | 0:11:57 | 67 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 17 | Brooks, Haleigh | 0:13:35 | 54 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 |
| 1 | Albright, Parker | 0:05:45 | 70 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 10 |
| 2 | Lewis, Sarah | 0:05:53 | 84 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 12 |
| 3 | Poole, Helen | 0:06:54 | 91 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 12 |
| 4 | Kvotolo Sarah | 0:07:08 | 85 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 10 |
| 5 | Lefkowitz, Ella | 0:08:58 | 89 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 11 |
| 6 | Keeler, Emily | 0:09:37 | 10 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 12 |
| 1 | Currens, Max | 0:05:40 | 43 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 13 |
| 2 | McCracken, Ryan | 0:05:44 | 40 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 12 |
| 3 | Lindsey, Coleson | 0:06:18 | 73 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 10 |
| 4 | McCracken, Sean | 0:07:19 | 41 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 11 |
| 5 | Poole, Michael | 0:08:56 | 92 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 11 |
| Johnson, Devan E. | DNS | 8 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 11 | |
| Rackley, Katya | DNS | 12 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 13 | |
| Rackley, Kira | DNS | 13 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 8 | |
| Berger, Regan | DNS | 31 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 10 | |
| Beam, Payton | DNS | 33 | 10 to 13 | FEMALE | 11 | |
| Marshall, Grace | DNS | 77 | 7 to 9 | FEMALE | 7 | |
| Spooner, Olivia | DNS | 78 | 5 to 6 | FEMALE | 5 | |
| Shropshire, Stella | DNS | 94 | 4 and under | FEMALE | 4 | |
| Keeler, Joseph | DNS | 11 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 9 | |
| Moore, Jacob | DNS | 29 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 8 | |
| Honig, Landon | DNS | 32 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 | |
| Fraser, Ethan | DNS | 39 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 10 | |
| Lewis, Jacob | DNS | 47 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 | |
| Hembree, Noah | DNS | 57 | 4 and under | MALE | 3 | |
| Pruitt, Zachary | DNS | 59 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 6 | |
| Pruitt, Clayton | DNS | 60 | 5 to 6 | MALE | 5 | |
| Albright, Cooper | DNS | 71 | 10 to 13 | MALE | 12 | |
| Marshall, Jack | DNS | 76 | 7 to 9 | MALE | 7 | |
Testing: Assessing Fitness Level and Developing a Platform for Improvement
2.15.2013
By Coach Michael Harlow
The start to a new triathlon season should begin with an honest and accurate appraisal of your fitness so that you can determine reasonable and achievable goals. The way to do this is through proven testing techniques. Through testing, you are able to determine exactly where you stand fitness-wise today and set reasonable goals for where you want to be at the end of the season. More so, through repeat testing throughout the season, you can check your progress toward your goal and make modifications to your training based on the results.
There are three major objectives with testing:
1: Identify Fitness Level – To get where you want to go, you have to start by identifying where you are. A good test should identify your limiters, those factors that are keeping you from reaching your goals. These could include technique, endurance, and/or speed.
2: Set Training Zones – Once fitness level is determined, individual training zones should be developed from this. These training zones will guide your training, ensuring you are training at the correct intensity at all times. Depending on what training aids you utilize, these zones can be set for pace, heart rate, and power.
3: Gauge Progress – As you work toward your goals, you will want to repeat your tests approximately every 4-8 weeks to reassess fitness and adjust training zones.
Testing has various forms that are valid and useful. The important thing is that you find a test that works for you and is repeatable in similar conditions (temperature, terrain, time of day, etc). Testing can be made very simple or very advanced through scientific laboratory testing. Though there are numerous test variations, I will focus on two for the purposes of this article: Time Trials and two laboratory tests, V02 Max and Lactate Testing.
Time Trials are a simple, accessible form of testing completed through a swim, bike, or run max effort over a designated distance. What better way to test your fitness than test your speed, the most pure indicator of triathlon performance? When doing a time trial, it is very important that you create a repeatable environment. You should always do these tests at the same location which is free from interferences like traffic. Often, the easiest way to do this is to use a track for the run, trainer (do based on time) or a closed loop, and a pool for the swim. I encourage you to test two limiters with regard to each field test: speed and endurance. Therefore, your time trial should consist of at least two distances: a very short distance that will measure speed as well as a longer distance that will measure endurance. The speed test should be very short in the form of 10-20 seconds with the endurance test being longer in the form of 10-20 minutes. You can also test intermediate distances as well to pinpoint additional limiters such as VO2 Max. By looking at the disparity between the various tests, you will be able to identify which areas are your greatest limiters and thus where you should focus your efforts for the upcoming season.
Laboratory Testing: There are a lot of laboratory tests used by athletes with the two most commonly used tests being V02 Max Testing and Lactate Testing. All laboratory tests require a trained individual to conduct the test.
V02 Max Testing: V02 Max testing measures how much oxygen you are able to consume at maximum intensity before becoming anaerobic. In theory, those athletes who are able to process the most oxygen should be fastest as they are getting more oxygen to the working muscles. However, this does not take in to consideration the effect of proper technique. With proper technique, which is teachable, an athlete requires less oxygen to race at the same speed as someone using all of their available oxygen. VO2 Max is your highest potential VO2, a number that can only be identified through testing at your greatest possible fitness level. VO2 Peak is where your VO2 is currently. This is the number we identify with individual tests and is trainable. Since VO2 Peak is trainable, it is a great number to identify at the start of your season and reassess throughout the season as you work toward your goals.
Lactate Testing: Lactate Testing is an additional laboratory test to establish an athlete’s Lactate Threshold. Lactate threshold is defined as the point at which there is a switch from the predominance of using oxygen as one’s primary source of fuel to using anaerobic means (lactate). With this switch comes limited capacity to maintain pace. Under lactate threshold, one can hold pace for 40-60 minutes whereas above lactate threshold one can only sustain pace for 8-10 minutes. As endurance athletes, we want to identify this point and train to increase endurance under it as well as push it upward. Lactate threshold is trainable with the goal of moving it up and should be tested often to gauge progress. This is one of the major goals of endurance training.
Testing is an essential component of any triathlete’s training program as a tool to improve performance and accomplish one’s goals. Many of us rely on racing to gauge fitness, but unlike specific testing designs, races are not 100% equal in distances, terrain, or weather. Therefore, performing test sets throughout your season is essential. Use this testing to plan your season. If you are interested in getting tested, see the VO2 & Technique Analysis Raffle that we are offering under sponsor news.
Michael Harlow is the founder and director of Endorphin Fitness and the 2012 USAT Youth Development Coach of the Year. To learn more about Endorphin Fitness and Michael, visit http://endorphinfitness.com.