Endurance Blogs

As if I wasn't excited enough about participating in the world's hardest mountain bike race later on this year, I just learned via a press release that Chris Carmichael is getting behind the La Ruta as well. Best known for being Lance Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael is seeking 10 qualified athletes to race 2010 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica. All of the buzz, of course, is where Lance himself will be during that time. Could it be that he'll make an appearance?! That's what I'm betting on!

Here's the press release in its entirety:
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2010
Contact: Jim Rutberg
719-635-0645, ext. 118
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Chris Carmichael Launches 10@50, Seeks 10 Qualified Athletes to Race 2010 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica.

(Colorado Springs, CO) Chris Carmichael, personal coach to Lance Armstrong and founder of Carmichael Training Systems, today officially launched Chris Carmichael's 10@50. To celebrate Carmichael Training Systems' 10th Anniversary and Chris's 50th birthday, he has decided to compete in La Ruta de los Conquistadores and offer a $10,000 package of race entry, 7 months of CTS coaching, 3 training camps, and full race support at La Ruta to 10 qualified athletes. To qualify, athletes must submit applications and commit to attending all three training camps, including one recon camp in Costa Rica.

La Ruta has earned a reputation for being the world's toughest mountain bike race. Held November 17-20, 2010, the 4-day race travels from Costa Rica's Pacific coast, through the mountains, to the Caribbean Sea. But the beauty of Costa Rica's rain forest belies the danger and adversity riders must face. Steep terrain, deep mud, deteriorated train trestles, and sweltering heat and humidity are just some of what riders need to conquer. Only about half who start reach the finish line.

Asked why he chose La Ruta, Chris commented, The 10th Anniversary of CTS and my 50th birthday are significant milestones in my life. Some people buy cars or boats to celebrate; I choose to go complete the biggest physical and mental challenge I've faced since preparing to race the Tour de France 24 years ago. When it comes to finding an authentic challenge, La Ruta is the real deal.

Chris's familiarity with La Ruta developed through long talks with 2009 La Ruta champion Manuel Prado, a CTS Athlete who works with coach Adam Pulford. Prado will play an instrumental role in the reconnaissance training camp in Costa Rica. When asked about his rationale for including 10 everyday athletes in his 10@50 challenge, Chris said, In the lives many of us lead, we face stress from work, family, and even fitness goals, but we have few opportunities to truly discover how deep we can dig. La Ruta offers that, and the 10 people who come with me to Costa Rica will return with a new perspective on stress, adversity, and accomplishment.

The application process will have two phases. The initial phase is an online questionnaire available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T6WNZQG. In the second phase, video submissions will be required from selected athletes. The application deadline for Phase 1 will be February 28, 2010. Finalists will be notified March 5, and will need to submit a video application by March 26. Final selection of the 10 athletes will take place by March 29. The 10@50 coaching program will commence on April 1.

Full details available at http://www.trainright.com/info.asp?uid=4765.

About CTS:
Founded by Olympian, US Olympic Committee Coach of the Year, and bestselling author, Chris Carmichael in 2000, Carmichael Training Systems (CTS offers personal coaching, training camps, and performance testing services to athletes of all ability levels. CTS is the coaching choice for some of the world's greatest athletes, including seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and Ironman World Champions Craig Alexander (2008-2009) and Normann Stadler (2004, 2006). For more information on CTS, visit www.trainright.com.

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Our 2010 Event Guide is your road map for the upcoming season.  From walks to ultramarathons to iron-distance triathlons and open water swims, we have packed more than 800 events into the current 2010 Endurance Magazine event guide.  We thank all of those race directors who were able to submit their events to SPORToften.com to be listed in this guide.  Not all events for 2010 are listed, as many race dates were still to be determined when we went to press with the print issue.  Remember to watch for newly added events as well as possible date or location changes in upcoming issues of Endurance Magazine and at our event registration site SPORToften.com - the premiere regional event community resource.

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By Joe Nuss

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BY STEVE LACKEY

Like every year, 2009 has delivered so many awesome moments for so many people.  But more than any other in memory I am ready to let it go and leap freely into the new year. 

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How Radio Host Sheri  Lynch Became a Triathlete -

Nationally syndicated radio show host Sheri Lynch, the on-air partner of Bob Lacey on the Bob & Sheri show, can take the darkest of situations and relate it back with a unique blend of empathy and side-splitting humor.  Undoubtedly developed during her own turbulent childhood, her deadpan humor has become drive-time therapy for a nationwide following of Bob & Sheri show listeners.  Sheri's ability and willingness to find the humor in the mundane gives her show a coffee-shop atmosphere and makes you feel like you're laughing over lattes with your best friend after a particularly difficult morning getting the kids off to school.

Last year, during the wake of the break-up of her marriage, Sheri decided to tackle her first triathlon, Endurance Magazine's Ramblin' Rose.  During our interview, Sheri described that difficult period of her life and how choosing to do the Ramblin' Rose helped change it. 

ENDURANCE: Tell us why you chose to do a triathlon.

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By Jay Crooker, PhD

It's still not too late to sign up for that big race in 2009 or set a goal to set a new PR at your favorite distance. Here are some general guidelines for creating a successful workout plan that will see you through an exciting year of training and racing.

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By Richard Jones

Ashley Milano is a planner. She always knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life.

"Three years ago, I was planning my wedding. I was a bride," she said. "Two years ago, I was planning my husband's funeral. I was a widow. A year ago, I was angry and depressed and felt betrayed by my god and my universe. I was a victim."

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Gu and Gatorade and PowerBars have long been quick energy fixes for endurance athletes.  For a couple bucks a pop, you can energize yourself with some maltodextrin in it's various forms for a good 45 minutes until the calories are burned and you pop another gel or sip some more drink or take another chewy bite of a vanilla crisp energy bar.  All of those energy sources are great products for endurance sports, but they hold little water  to a much more cost-effective source of energy: WORDS. 

Words are free and when used in the right way, can energize someone much better than maltodextrin.  You don't even have to re-say them every 45 minutes to an hour. 

When you are at the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon in Wilmington this weekend, or the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, remember to not just cheer for those athletes during the race, but speak words of encouragement before their difficult endeavor and speak words of recognition after the amazing feat of athleticism they have just accomplished. 

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Endurance Magazine's Ramblin' Rose Women Only Triathlon Series wrapped up in October and capped off an amazing first year of our "green" initiative, "Race Without A Trace".  All of the athletes who participated in the series, as well as the Carroboro Classic Endurance Festival, The Tarheel 10-Miler and Franklin 5000 helped contribute to a cleaner environment with respect to the amount of event-related waste they reduced and recycled. 

Rather than hand out throw-away plastic bottles at the finish, the Endurance Magazine/Sport Often team hands out re-useable plastic bike bottles participants can use to fill up at one of our many water stations.  In addition, race packets including flyers and coupons are all distributed digitally via e-mail.  Shirts, bags, and other items are handed out at packet pick-up without plastic bags as well.

Earlier in the year, it wasn't unusual to find our team sorting compost, recycling, and trash in the few bags of waste generated at our events.  As the year wore on and more people became aware of our different recycling, trash and compost bins, our job became easier and the environment a little bit cleaner! 

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