PracticeMan

WOW... WHAT A DAY!
You guys did awesome today! We could not have asked for better weather out at Lake Plugerville... The sun come out a few time and even the wind cooperated with the day.

I got to see a lot of the newer team members practice their transitions, race hard and wear the BLUE with pride. Can't wait to see the new recruits ready to dominate on race day! Lots of new faces so glad to see you all participate in the team events.

These events are used to help athletes fine tune their abilities in making the transitions from swim to bike to run. A smooth and fast transition can be the difference in a race.

Thanks to T3's very own OLYMPIAN, Brandan Hansen for giving a great OPEN WATER SWIM CLINIC. We all learned a lot, some cool tips and now we are ready to draft off your legs at the next triathlon.

We will be offering several open water swim clinics throughout the summer. Go to www.AustinT3.com for details.

These events are also great for team building and they are just a lot of fun. I look forward to having more of these team events and hope to see more of you out there!

















I would like to give specials thanks to Landon who helped us set up out there as there was a lot to put together for this event.


I really enjoyed today, you guys make this the best team in the world. -Coach Maurice

more photos:

http://www.backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?PID=bp%18sA&EVENTID=62827&BIB=538&S=230&PWD=

Bandera 50k Trail Race / Race report

Friday we start out to Bandera at about 12:30 p.m. It was me, Jess and Elizabeth. We were stocked an ready to go. We had food, beer camping equipment and of course the T3 mobile unit.... the pop up. We were prepared for the cold in store this weekend. We packed extra clothes and blankets plus I scored a generator from RunFar for the weekend. Add the portable space heater I acquired from the men's room at the PTC and we had the makings of a rocking camping weekend.
Shortly after take off we were sidetracked by a Travis County Sheriff's deputy who thought it would be a good idea to remind me to get my pop up registered. He reminded me by giving me a ticket. Most people would have let it get to them but we were on a mission and getting Bandera was all we wanted. Back on the road we made it to Bandera in record time. I talked the ears off of Jess and Elizabeth since I had had a Coke and I told them stories of why you can't kill a vulture in the state of TX, the noises of the Xterra and who in the hell is Kurt Egli?. It was one of those times you wish you had a video camera..... or maybe one of those times you were glad no one did.
Once in Bandera we went right to work by setting up the pop up (pic attached) and getting the heat up and running for the cold night ahead. Once the pop up was secure we jumped back in the X and headed to town. Just to give you an idea of Bandera. It's an old cowboy town with real cowboys and a real small town feel. The race was about 12 miles from town and it was in the middle of nowhere. Dirt roads, creek crossings and "sleeping" deer on the side of the road that seemed to sleep the entire weekend we were there. Oh and let's not forget the llama and the gun range location right next to the cemetery. Back to our town trip. Once in town we hit packet pick up and the pre race dinner. It was the usual pre race dinner with pasta and salad. Nothing fancy but then again, trail running isn't fancy and that's fine by me. I meet up with Linda Rust from my old RunFar days and she was handing out packets. Always a pleasure to see Linda. She's a very sweet lady. After dinner we went to the gas station for water (because I forgot to fill my water jug) and gas for the generator. While at the gas station Jess says to me, "Dude, you see that chicken on that car?" I look across the street and there a early 80's Cady with a giant chicken head on the roof and giant chicken feathers on the trunk. Now I know we are in Bandera, TX.
Back to the pop up and with the heat full bore we make our way to bed for some needed sleep that would help us through the day on Sat.

Sat.
I wake up around 6:30 ish and I start the stove. A great way to warm up any place is get your Coleman stove and just fire it up. We weren't cooking a damn thing but the heat it put off warmed up the pop up so we didn't freeze to death. Jess is the first one to step outside and about 5 minutes later she comes back in and says, "Dude, that lady just said it's 10 degrees." Ouch!!! I immediately alter my race plan to include tights and another shirt that Elizabeth so graciously lent to me. It was too cold to do a proper warm up so I sat in the pop up until 7:23. I couldn't have timed it better. I got to the starting line with about 1 minute to go. I wished good luck to Alisa who was doing the 25k, dropped my jacket and off I went. That lasted about 10 seconds when I realized I had my wool cap still on over my skull cap. I ran back to where I dropped my jacket and put my wool cap with it. It's my J&A's wool cap and I didn't want to loose it. I knew J & E were headed to the start so I was sure they would see it.
The start of the race is unique. All 3 races start at the same time but in different locations. The 50k and 25k start near the finish line in the woods and the 100k just starts in the middle of the woods. There is no horn, gun or whistle. Just someone saying, "Hey man, time to go".
So there we are, 180 50k'ers running in 10 degree weather through the woods of Bandera, TX. What the hell is wrong with us? The first 10 miles is very challenging. It's mostly hills on single track. The tracks we are running on are equestrian trails for horses. No mt bikes allowed. So you had to watch every step you took because the horse shoe prints made the ground very unstable to land your foot on. It's very easy to get caught up in the first 10 miles because you run a lot of the trail with the 25k'ers and most of them are going at a quicker pace that you are but you don't want to loose ground to someone. If you try and look back at their bib to see if the are 25k then you are taking your life into your own hands. It was soooooo easy to trip and fall on this course. Loose rock and those horse shoe prints were everywhere. By mile 2 I had a blister on my right heel because my shoes weren't tight enough towards the ankle. The was a cause for concern since I had 29 more miles to go. I stopped at about 1 hour into the race but it was too late to stop the blister. I just had to suck it up and keep going. The good part of this is that not shortly after this my feet hurt everywhere and the blister was just part of the pain package.
The hardest portion of the race for me was between 10 and 15 miles. The loose rock was just kicking my ass. The the first 10 miles I totally went too hard on. By the mile 15 aid station I just wanted to sit down for an hour and eat waffles. Yes, the mile 15 aid station had waffles, pancakes, grilled cheeze and grilled PB&J. If you have never done a trail run before let me clue you in on something. If you don't care about your time and you don't care about what you eat then you are in for a feast. Everything you shouldn't eat is on the table. Doughnuts, M&M's, Oreo's, Pringles and all sorts of other things. I say one lady eating noodles covered with potato chips. Wait a sec..... that was Vegas. Nice job girl!
While @ the mile 15 aid station I put on my doctor cap and decide to address the blister issue. I took off my shoe and it wasn't as bad as I had thought but the skin was starting to tear and I knew that was bad. So I did the best I could with water I had. Charlie the volunteer gave my some Neosporin, a band aid and some duct tape. Let me tell you that if you have something that you can't fix with duct tape it's not worth fixin'. I taped up my heal, through my shoe back on, grabbed a 1/4 of a waffle and off I went.
I finally saw J&E @ mile 20ish. They were at the aid station cheering me on. I walked right up to them and told them I wanted Ginger Ale and that they need to go back to town and get me some. They said they would. Awesome! I asked Jess if she remembered me talking about an article in Tri Mag this month about what happens if your pee is brown after a race. She tells me she remembers and I reply that it's not the end of the race yet and my pee is already brown. Dehydration is not a good friend to have. She reminds me to drink.
Miles 20 to 27ish were pure hell. I was running about an 11 minute mile and I could barely pick my feet up. I was already in shuffle mode and that's not good for trail running. The hills on this section were freaking mountains to me. I walked every single one of them because if I ran I would have either died from exhaustion or by falling because my feet weren't getting 2 inches off the ground. By about mile 23 I had 2 people running with me and that totally helped. We didn't talk but they kept right on my heels and that kept me motivated. We got to the mi 26 aid station and I have just drained about 24 ounces of water in 6 miles. Hydration is looking up! As we leave the aid station the guy introduces himself and asks my name. I tell him and he asks if I know Kurt Egli in OK? I'm like hell yeahs I do!!!! Turns out he trains with Kurt up in OK and he has actually met me before @ IMCDA last year. Small freaking world. So Al and I start running and yapping about how funny Kurt is and he tells me that his wife is just in front of us. Al needs to stop because of cramping and I keep chugging along and catch his wife Malane. The first thing I say to her is, "I hear you know Kurt Egli." She replies, "Unfortunately I do." We both laugh our asses off as we try not to fall up hill. Good times.
The final 4 miles seemed like an eternity. It was all these crazy steep hills that were no good on my legs. Each one we stopped at, the top or bottom and would look at it like it was the biggest hill in the world and we would all sigh and then do our best to navigate it. The final aid station is 800 meters from the finish line. Some people would question the location of this aid station. I think it was perfect. Al, Malane and I all grabbed some Coke and the sugar/caffeine automatically jolted us back into the good times of running and you could tell that there was an extra spring in our step.
I as I approached the finish line I could here the girls cheering and Hardberger and Val had made the trip to cheer on their T3 teammates. That was nice to see. I cross the finish line so tired I couldn't even pick up my arms to celebrate. I was truly spent. Once across my favorite volunteer Tammy came out of nowhere to take my chip and give some quesidilla as I hadn't eaten anything for the last hour and fifteen minutes. The calories were appreciated.
My final time was 6 hours 29 minutes and 42 seconds. What a way to spend a cold Saturday morning in Bandera, TX.
Once finished J&E helped me get back to the pop up where we fired up the Coleman and I tried to explain the best I could just what in the hell happened. I sat down and tried to rehydrate with some water and Endurox. I actually waited 90 minutes before I had a beer. Wow!!!! I got cleaned up and put on some much warmer clothes. We headed out back to the finish line to cheer on all the other folks still finishing. It was good to see that the entire T3 crew that raced finish the race and almost everyone had a smile on their face.
After the crew was finished we all headed over to the pop up for some beers and war stories. (pics attached) Everyone seemed to have a great time and were glad that they raced.

I am getting very tired right now so Sunday will be short.

Sunday:
We woke up and it was still freaking cold but the heater was working like magic and the generator had gas in it. Thanks for getting us through the night W. The most unforgettable thing happen when I woke up on Sunday. It was 7:15 a.m. and I could hear cheering. I opened the door and could see the finish line. There was a woman making her way to it. What's amazing about this is that she ran the 100k (62 miles) and she had been going for 23 hours and 45 minutes. She made the cut off by 15 minutes by running all night on the hardest trail in TX and it was 15 degrees throughout the night. Wow...... now that's determination. I was proud to see her finish.

Overall:
This was the hardest thing I have ever done. Yes..... even tougher than Ironman. The conditions were brutal and the course was by far the toughest in TX. When you finish this race you know that you earned that medal. The course support was second to none and the organization of this race was superb. I really hope we can get a team to go out there next year and let you all experience the craziness of this sport. 25 or 50k. Believe it or not..... I may just be doing this again next year, the challenge was that awesome.

Coach Logan

Getting back into the ring

As some of you know I took a break from serious training this summer. It was kind of unplanned but with nagging injuries and no real goal in sight I just took my sweet time with training.Well....... it's that time to get moving again. Here is how I went about getting motivated to actually train again.The first thing is, I found a goal. For me and many other people training without a goal is very difficult. If there is no light at the end of the tunnel then why am I in the tunnel in the first place? So I found my goal. I plan on racing a 50k trial race in January. So the goal is set. Now I need a plan.

Once I figured I needed a plan I started getting a little excited about training again. With that excitement came some motivation and with the motivation came me actually writing myself a training plan for this race. I took in the factors of how long I needed, what other races would help me reach my goal and that fact that I am out of shape. I first started with writing out a weekly training program for myself. It includes plenty of running but I first have get back into shape. Just running isn't going to help me as much as I would like it to. So I scheduled 2 Corefit sessions a week, a spin class and some actual swimming. Thank goodness T3 has all of this or I would be a mess right now. Next I found a couple of races that would help me prepare for my goal race. The Dirty Du @ Rocky Hill Ranch is @ a perfect time and the Double Decker is a hilly race where I can test my overall fitness. It's like training for an IM and doing a 1/2 IM about 45 days away from the big event.

Once I have my training schedule done and my training races in place I add in my personal time. Like working Longhorn and my annual trip back to Maine in November. With that done I start to feel confident that if my body holds up I can actually do this race.

The final touch is dragging my butt out of bed and doing the training. Right now it's a bit tough because I haven't been getting up all that early but when motivation is on your side the early mornings aren't so early. I am also a bit out of shape so I scheduled my actual race training to start in Oct so it would give me about 3 weeks to get my legs and lungs into working order.

So with all this said..... having a plan for any training is a smart idea. It'll pay benefits down the line and it's keeps you motivated until race day. One very cool thing about getting to race is the post race..... "what do I do now?" The answer is start a plan for another race and keep chugging along.

Hope this helps.

Coach Logan

Hits the trails....

A few weeks after I got back from CDA I started to run on the greenbelt to help with my recovery and to change things up. I quickly realized how good trail running is for my form, my fitness and my mental state. It’s defiantly a great addition to your weekly routine to add some variety to your workouts.

I start at the entrance by Taco Deli and run for about an hour, thirty minutes out and back. There are so many trees that the shade helps keep it cooler than running on the road or even town lake trail. I find that I can run at 5pm without much of a problem.

There are a lot of benefits with trail running. One is that trails are much softer than paved roads and sidewalks, your feet and legs will take less pounding. This is great if you are looking for a recovery run or if you are coming back after an injury. If you wanted too, you could do your long runs on a trail, your body won’t take the wear and tear and you are able to recovery a little more quickly.

Trails are great for improving ankle strength. Since, most trails have an uneven surface they force the tendons around your leg to “stabilize” during foot fall. This is also good with your form. You are almost forced to run on the balls of your feet. Or I should say you quickly learn to run on the balls of your feet to avoid twisting your ankle; which I have on a couple of occasions. You will also need to pay very close attention to where your foot lands to make sure you do not trip on a rock, branch, or something else on the trail.

One of the things I like is that since the trail in uneven you don’t get into a steady pace. You speed up, slow down, I even walk around boulders, which I think is great for your conditioning and it works a lot more of your muscles.

I would make sure you get a supportive shoe. Race flats are not a good ides. The rocks, holes, branches, and crawly things your feet come in contact with you need a little extra support and help protect your feet and ankles. Cross trainers are good, but you really need a trail running shoe.

I would take a couple of precautions. First, make sure you carry water; there is no place on the greenbelt to drink. Secondly, look a map and don’t get lost! Unfortunately, there are not a lot of people on the greenbelt so if you run, don’t run alone. There have been several women over the years attacked. So be careful and use common sense, i.e. no iPods, etc…

So take a break from your normal routine and enjoy the beauty of running in the woods. It’s peaceful and it’s a great benefit to you.

Coach C.

Say 'hello' to my little friend

One of the many things that can be said about Austin, TX is that there is no short supply of great hills to run and ride. You have Wilke, Jester, Spicewood Springs, Cat Mountain, Mt Bonnell and countless others. Well, I visited one of my old workouts last week and it took me to Ladera Norte. It's not one of the more famous ones but this badboy does not disappoint.
Ladera Norte (or as I like to call it La Sacre a Norte) is located off of Far West. Just take Mopac to Far West and go as far as Far West will take you. Take a right at the very end and you'll drive up this hill that doesn't seem to end. Once at the top, park you car, say a prayer or 2 and easily make your way down the hill. You are now going down what you will be climbing back up.
Take notice that this hill really doesn't offer any recovery through it's .64 mile distance and when you think it's bad it gets worse. Much worse because the last 100 yards is a 20% plus grade uphill to the top. But don't let that scare you. Be more concerned with why it's taking you more time to go down the hill than run up! The grade at that point is so steep and long that you actually have to walk some of the downhill or you're going to end up doing a nose dive. I actually jog backwards on parts of the downhill so that I can save my quads.
Just to give you an idea of what you are getting into.
Wilke: .19 miles with about 700 feet of climbing. That's short and steep.
Ladera Norte: .62 miles with just over 1000 feet of climbing.
This hill has beaten me many times but I keep coming back because hills build power in your legs and power will build speed. Avoiding hills does nothing to help your run so go out and find some nasty hills and make yourself work. I am always glad when I do this run because I know it has beaten me many times but each time I come out a stronger runner.
btw..... The most I have ever done was 5 repeats last fall and my fastest one was 6:05.
Last Thursday I did 3 with my fastest being 6:30...... oh and it was about 103 outside. :)

Happy running!!!!!!

You are a runner! Especially, an endurance runner!

Have you ever thought about what it takes to run? I do not think most people realize how much of their body is designed just for running. We have a lot of muscles, tendons, and bones that are not needed for walking but are essential for running. Some of those are leg and foot tendons and ligaments that act like springs, foot and toe structure that allows efficient use of the feet to push off, shoulders that rotate independently of the head and neck to allow better balance, and skeletal and muscle features that make the human body stronger, more stable and able to run more efficiently without overheating. It was not until about two or three million years ago before we started developing those muscles, ligaments, bones and the body structure that makes us one of the best endurance species on the planet.

We have some key features that help us in running. We have a ligament that runs from the back of the skull and neck down to the thoracic vertebrae; this ligament acts as a shock absorber and helps the arms and shoulders counterbalance the head during running. The low and wide shoulders of modern humans are almost disconnected from our skulls. This allows us to run more efficiently, but has nothing to do with walking. Our short forearms make it easier for the upper body to counterbalance the lower body during running. They also reduce the amount of muscle power needed to keep the arms flexed when running.

Our vertebrae and disks are larger in diameter relative to body mass than those in other animals. So are the surfaces areas of our hips, knee and ankle joints. These larger bones allow for improved shock absorption during running by spreading out the force of when a runner makes contact with the ground.

The Achilles tendon acts like springs that stores and releases mechanical energy during running. These tough, strong bands of tissue anchor our calf muscles to the heel bone. We also have an enlarged heel bone for better shock absorption, as well as shorter toes and a big toe that is fully drawn in toward the other toes. This arrangement of bones in the foot creates a stable or stiff arch that makes the whole foot more rigid, so the runner can push off the ground more efficiently. During a run, all of these tendons and bones work together to contract then uncoil to help push a runner ahead.

When it comes to sprinting, compared to other species on the planet, we are horrible. So if we stretch out that distance a little bit then we do a lot better. Horses, for example, are a lot faster than humans in short distances, but in foot-to-hoof competitions, humans usually catch horses between the 20 and 25 mile mark, particularly in warm weather. Dogs are excellent distance runners when it’s cold, but run with Fido in July and he doesn’t do that well. Evan a chimp can out sprint us for a very short distance.

Our skull has features that help prevent overheating during running. As sweat evaporates from the scalp, forehead and face, the evaporation cools blood draining from the head. Veins carrying that cooled blood pass near the carotid arteries, thus helping cool blood flowing through the carotids to the brain. Our lengthy human body—with a narrow trunk, waist and pelvis—creates more skin surface for our size, permitting greater cooling during running. The fact we are not covered with a fur coat also helps in the summer heat.

All of these characteristics make it so when you shift from a modest walk to a modest run; you can double your speed with only a 40 percent increase in energy output. Even our brains release endorphins that make us feel good when we run, ‘runner’s high’. All this is just to remind you that you can run, you should run, millions of years of evolution has made that way.

Coach C