Endorphin Fitness News

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Weekend Results

04.30.12

Congrats to EF strength coach Camille Ronesi and EF athlete Lauren Schiff on crushing the Wintergreen Ascent this weekend. Camille went 51:00 and Lauren 48:00 (with one pedal clipped in). Lauren's impressive results followed a win at the Walton Park Crit the day before.

Katie Brooks takes 7th in her age group at Duathlon Nationals and qualifies for Worlds. Yeahh Katie!

Nick Woods (son) and Rod Woods (dad) traveled to Florida for the St Anthony's & Meek and Mighty Triathlons this weekend. Both had super strong races and Nick claimed 3rd in his age group after crushing the bike with a 3rd overall split.

Impressive Weekend Results

04.23.12

We could not be prouder of Team Endorphin Fitness this weekend.

At The Chasing Chicken Triathlon, Endorphin Fitness took 6 of top 10 overall women and 5 of top 10 overall men!! Congrats to Coach Harlow and Lauren Schiff on their wins followed by Grace Obando (2), Ben Freed (3), Tasha Freed (4), Stone Dyson (6), Karen Wise (6), Melissa Redfearn (8), Dale Treadway (9), and Dane King (10).

Just as impressive as those overall placings at Chasing Chicken were the age group placings:

1st Age Group - Noah Poling, Grace Obando, Tasha Freed, Stone Dyson, Melissa Redfearn, Alex Murdock, Jay Markiewitz, Karen Wise, Angie Poole, Jose Obando, Penny Reynolds, Mark Bare

2nd Age Group - Matthew Piper, Greg Schott, Dale Treadway, Tracy Poling

3rd Age Group - Thomas Rose, Katie Rose, Dane King, Matt Kwarta

Also, strong races by Adam Glymph, Gabe Morgan, Isaac Mackey, Mark Depuis, Eric Glymph, John King, and David Rosenbaum.

And, on top of that, Endorphin Fitess took home the spirit award!

Also, congrats to the VCU Tri Team on their impressive finishes at the Chasing Chicken Tri. The VCU Tri Team is coached by Endorphin Fitness. Check them out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Triathlon-Club-at-VCU/231013816932842

Full results at http://rms.timing.broadleaf-inc.com/2012/Race/2012/E0240BA8-72B9-44...

This weekend we also had 3 Endorphin Fitness Collegiate Athletes race the best in the country and place very well at Collegiate Nationals: Grayson Cobb took 35th, Joseph Anderson 51st, and Parker Spencer 66th.

Emily Bashton also placed 1st in the elite women category at the Pochohontas Mountain Bike Race.

Bumpass Course Changes/Tips

04.11.12

There have been multiple changes to the Bumpass International and Sprint Triathlon Race courses, including the starting location. We will cover the new course here along with provide some tips on the course. Since this is a new course, all of the information below is what we could determine through a conversation with the race director.

Race maps can be found here:
Sprint: http://www.setupevents.com/files/Rumpus_Sprint_Maps_2012_New.pdf
International: http://www.setupevents.com/files/Rumpus_Int_Maps_2012_New.pdf

THE COURSE
The race course has been moved about 4 miles from the original location. The start is now about 6 miles into the old bike course on Kentucky Springs Rd at a farm that sits on a narrow cove on Lake Anna.

Both the sprint and international SWIM will be a U-Shaped counter-clockwise course with the start and finish a little ways apart from each other. The water should be about 3-5 degrees warmer in this cove but still wetsuit legal. Given the fact that it is protected by the cove, I suspect it will be less choppy than in previous years with the other course. My guess is that this will be a faster swim for these reasons.

KEY TIPS WITH SWIM COURSE:
1. With the colder water, get in a really good warm up with a 1-2 minutes at race pace as well as 3 x 10-15 seconds slightly faster right before the start.
2. If you want to be competitive, plan to go a little harder than goal pace at the start to set yourself up with a faster pace group. Once you are with that faster pace group, find someone to draft – the savings is tremendous. If you are uncomfortable with the distance and your goal is completion, you should ease into the pace instead.
3. Make sure you are sighting well – every 6-12 strokes depending on how good you are at swimming a straight line (err on more if not sure).
4. Over the last 2 minutes of the swim, add a little stronger kick to get blood carrying oxygen to your legs for the run to transition and bike. Swim all the way in before standing up to exit the water and get your wetsuit down to your waist. It looks like the run to transition is short so by the time you get your wetsuit to your waist, you should be entering transition so you will probably wait until you get to your spot to take your suit off the rest of the way.

The BIKE will follow the same course (but a different starting location) as Giant Acorn Sprint and International last October, which is the reverse direction of Bumpass Sprint and International from last year. This is clockwise. It is a rolling loop which the international athletes will do twice and the sprint athletes one time. Though it is rolling, it is a relatively fast course which has been made faster by doing the reverse direction. It is also a tad short (sprint 11.5 miles; international 23 miles) – international course is simply two loops of the sprint course.

Exiting transition, you will make a right onto Kentucky Springs Rd which is rolling but a great road surface making it fast. You will start with a slight uphill followed by a downhill and then uphill to the 1.2 mile mark which will take you to the right turn on Moody Town Rd. Moody Town will be fast and predominately downhill taking you to the bridge crossing Lake Anna at mile 4.5. This bridge is followed by the steepest hill on the course which is .25 miles long at 4.75 miles. At the top of this hill, you will make a left on Eastham Rd and head downhill to a sharp 180 degree turn at mile 6.5. Be careful at this turn as it is sharp. After making the turn, the next 3.5 miles will be largely uphill though it is only a gradual climb of 100 feet over that 3.5 miles. I encourage you to stay in your aero bars through this section and will gain a big advantage over those who sit up more through this section. This gradual uphill section will start on Greens Corner Rd and then turn right on Bumpass Rd. When you make the right back on Kentucky Springs Rd, you will have a nice downhill following back to the transition area. International distance athletes will complete another loop at this time.

KEY TIPS WITH BIKE COURSE:
1. This is a fast course but to take advantage of it you have to stay in your aero bars (or drops for those on a traditional road bike). None of the hills are that significant to warrant needing to come out of your aero bars much at all. The only exception would be the hill at 4.75 miles – if you can stay aero, do it; but if you feel you need a break to stretch out and/or use different muscle groups, this is the place to do it as you will probably be going slowest through this section.
2. Be very careful on the 180 degree turn onto Greens Corner Rd – you will want to be out of your aero bars and with your hands near your brakes during this corner. With that said, you will want to slow down before the turn (which is downhill) and release the brakes in the turn as this will carry you through it better and safer than braking in the turn. Pick a good line and keep your eyes focused on where you want to go, not where you don’t – your body will follow your eyes.
3. Most of the other turns are gradual and can be pedaled through for the most part. When pedaling through a corner, lean your body but not your bike so that you minimize the risk of hitting your pedal in the turn. This should only be done if you are going a speed whereas you can safely execute the turn without needing to lean your bike significantly due to the speed.
4. Watch your intensity throughout the course, be it heart rate or power. You should seek to keep it relatively even throughout the course.

The RUN is a brand new course this year and completely separate the bike course which will be nice. It will start with a left turn out of transition which will take you 300 meters downhill to a U-turn which will take you back up 300 meters. There is about 100 feet of elevation change on this section and the only significant hill on the course. At the top, you will make a left turn which begins an out-and-back run. This begins on grass running the perimeter of the property until you make a left on a gravel driveway which begins a long out-and-back flat stretch to the water and back. You will then follow the course on the grass back to the start. Sprint distance athletes will make a left off the course to finish whereas international distance athletes will complete the entire course again, including the 300 meter downhill then uphill section.

KEY TIPS WITH RUN COURSE:
1. Coming out of transition, try your best to run that downhill section relaxed. Allow your legs to roll under you and refuse to reach out and brake your momentum – you will go faster and fatigue your quads much less by not braking.
2. On the uphill following the downhill out of transition, pace yourself. You should run this based on perceived exertion knowing that pace will be slower. Relax and focus on your form while keeping your eyes on the top of the hill. International distance athletes who must complete this section again in the middle of the run can take a little more risks on the second loop but still pace yourself, focus on technique, and run based on perceived exertion.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

RACE INTENSITY
The International should be done in high zone 3 to low zone 4 (based on the zones we use at Endorphin Fitness which I have shown below). If this is your first attempt at the distance, I would shoot for high zone 3. If you are experienced and looking for a PR, I would aim for low to mid zone 4 and take a little more risks.

The Sprint should be done in mid to high zone 4 with the goal of really pushing yourself the entire race. This should put you at your zone 4 swim pace and at or slightly faster than zone 4 run pace.

WEATHER
It is going to be a bit warm this weekend for what we are used to (high of 77 degrees Sat and high of 85 degrees on Sunday). Nutrition is key! Make sure you are getting in 20-30 ounces of sports drink per hour. Err on the higher end on the bike and lower end on the run. Also, make sure you are taking in additional electrolytes if you have practiced this – key is sodium of which you want 600-1000 mg of sodium/hour based on your sweat rate. Many of you can get this in with your sports drink if you drink well and do not sweat a lot, but those who sweat a lot, should supplement with electrolyte capsules (I prefer S-Caps).

Also, stay cool during the race by wearing a visor/hat and sunglasses as well as pouring water on your head throughout the race.

TRANSITIONS
Transitions look pretty straight forward. Practice and execute - lots of time to be had here.

HAVE FUN
Enjoy it guys! This is an opportunity to explore what your body is capable of and prove something to yourself. Enjoy it and make sure to cheer on your fellow athletes as they do the same. This is the good stuff.

Garmin/Buying Speed Lecture

04.09.12

Tonight (Monday) at 7PM at EF!

Transition Clinic On!

03.24.12

The weather appears to be holding out (for now) so we will plan to hold the transition clinic and mock race today at 8am at West Creek.

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