Outdoor Conditioning Classes: A Fun Alternative to...

I lined up in the parking lot in the dark alongside ten other students facing instructor Tom Kalka.

“Body builders, begin!” barked instructor Tom Kalka with a grin on his face.

We chanted back in unison:

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, ONE!”
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, TWO!”
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, THREE!”
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, FOUR!”

We did 25 of the eight count body builder exercises which consisted of dropping to a push up position, performing two push ups then returning to a standing position.

Over the next hour of our Outdoor Conditioning Class (AKA Boot Camp), Tom led us through a series of lower body and core conditioning exercises designed to build strength and mitigate injury. This is exactly what I needed! Each day of the week has a different focus and no day is ever the same so boredom is never a factor. What differentiated this workout from other boot camp workouts that I’ve experienced is that the atmosphere was positive and motivating. Tom was able to challenge and encourage each of us to our own unique fitness levels by offering variations to either make an exercise more or less difficult.

I first crossed paths with Tom a few years ago on the RATS (Reston Area Triathletes) message board. We share a common background in that we both served in the military - me in the Navy and Tom in the Army. Tom spent over 5 years in the Army as an Infantry Officer, graduating from Air Assault and Airborne Schools, two of the military’s toughest schools while also earning the coveted Ranger Tab and Expert Infantryman’s Badge. I experienced the toughness of the Army’s Rangers at the Special Operations Force Academy that I attended in April this year.

Tom now runs Custom Fitness Concepts, which provides residents and businesses of VA, MD and DC with a variety of fitness programs (in addition to the outdoor conditioning classes) with a special emphasis on customer service.

This type of group outdoor program is a fun alternative to going to the gym each day. I’m looking forward to attending more classes and integrating into my workout routine as a way to build strength and stay injury free.

For more information about Custom Fitness Concepts, please visit their website at: www.customfitnessconcepts.com.

Live life richly and boldly!

David

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David B. Glover
Experiential Writer, Elite Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2008 David B. Glover

How to Pack a Tri Bike for Air Travel...

One of my coaching clients, who is racing in Miami 70.3 in a few weeks, asked me about traveling with a bike:

“Should I take my bike on the plane or ship it to the race site? How do I pack it securely?”

There a few considerations, namely cost and convenience.

Although I have on one occasion shipped my bike to the hotel where I’ll be staying, I usually take my bike with me on the plane so that it travels with me. Plus, I can train with it up until the last possible moment rather than have pack up and ship ahead of time. All airlines require a fee. I’ve had to pay the airline’s bike fee about 50% of the time. I’ve found that I sometimes get away with not paying the fee when checking in at a large airport with the electronic check in terminals, as there is not usually a menu option for bicycles. This strategy worked for my friend, Brady, this weekend for travel to Phoenix. Fees vary by airline with Southwest on the low end at $50. I’ve heard that some airlines are charging up to $150 each way so shipping via UPS or FEDEX Ground might be a cheaper option depending on your airline and your luck. Also, be sure to check if there any weight restrictions so that you don’t get double charged for the case and the excessive weight.

A third option is a group like Tri Bike Transport that will pick up your bike from a local bike shop and drive it down to a larger race like a 70.3 or Ironman Triathlon. The advantage is that you don’t have to break down your bike as much. I have not used them before, but the folks that have seemed happy with the service. The downside is that you will often need to drop off your bike at least a full week in advance.

Because I’m traveling with my bike to Tempe, AZ, this weekend to do some riding and watch Krista race in the Best of the U.S. Triathlon Championship, I was able to take some pictures of how I pack my tri bike:

Photo: My QR Lucero packed for plane travel

The first step with packing a bike is to mark the position of any parts that you break down such as seat post or aerobars before you take the bike part. I like to use either finger nail polish or white out because they are permanent until removed. Tape works, too, but can be rubbed off or slide. When breaking down parts, the key is to break down as little as possible and as simple as possible. For example, I removed my seat post by loosening to bolts rather than my seat, which require a more complex adjustment to reassemble to its proper position. I also removed my aerobars at the handle bar stem, front brakes and pedals.

In order to protect the carbon fiber frame from scratching or chipping, I wrap it in pipe insulation then secure the pipe insulation with blue painter’s tape. Both items are readily available in a local hardware store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. The blue tape is nice because it does not leave a sticky residue on the frame and can be reused for the return trip. The case has four straps, which I use to secure the bike in place then I wrap with either bubble wrap or towel and secure any other loose parts like bike shoes that could potentially damage the frame. Other items that I put in my case are my helmet, empty water bottles and wheels.

Photo: Securing loose gear in bags and with straps

Thankfully, the bike arrived when I arrived. Direct flights are always preferable since your bike is more likely to arrive when you do especially if you have a short layover on non-stop flight or board a smaller plane to reach your final destination.

Safe travels!

David

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David B. Glover
Writer, Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2008 David B. Glover

Reflecting Back on 25 Ironmans: #1 Ironman Canada ...
“What do I need to know to train for and finish an Ironman?”

“What do I need to do to go faster in an Ironman?”

As a triathlon coach and a sub-nine Ironman-distance athlete, I hear these question a lot.

With the completion of my 25th Ironman-distance triathlon at ChesapeakeMan last month, I thought it might be interesting and helpful to others for me to reflect back on mistakes made, what I learned along the way and tips for success.

With my next door neighbor and training partner, Phil Young, I signed up for the 1997 Ironman Canada in October 2006. At this point in time, the race filled up only 9 months in advance, not the day after the current year’s race. Phil had done an Ironman in New Hampshire (no longer in existence) several years prior so he had some experience with training for the distance. Phil purchased a 24-week training plan from a triathlon coach that we shared and in early March 2007, our training began.

Lesson Learned: Follow a structured training plan from a trusted source. Training for an Ironman takes substantial time, energy and commitment. Following a structured training plan helps take away the anxiety of “What am I supposed doing?” Using a trusted source will give you the confidence to know that you’re doing the right thing and not wasting your time. Because we had a custom plan crafted by an experienced Ironman-distance athlete, I felt good about my training and my fitness going into the event - money well spent!

Reality Check: You Don’t Need a $5,000 Bike to Finish an Ironman. I raced my first two Ironman races on a $600 Cannondale road bike with clip-on aerobars and no race wheels.

Lesson Learned: Don’t start the run too fast. I felt good to be off the bike. My strength at the time was running so I started running fast. I heard a few comments from spectators like, “Slow it down,” but I ignored them. I ran my first 10km averaging under 7:00 min miles with a big smile on my face then the smile slowly inverted as my pace slowly spiraled downward from there as I went from “passer” to “passe” and as I moved from being in the top 50 overall to 169th place overall. Reality check.

Still, I crossed the line in 10:14, only 2 minutes away from a coveted Ironman Hawaii slot. I was now an Ironman.

This article series will be continued with race #2: Great Floridian Triathlon in October 1997.

You can read more about my experiences at Ironman Canada in my book, Full Time and Sub-Nine

Live life richly and boldly!

David

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David B. Glover
Writer, Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2008 David B. Glover

VentureQuest: A Triathlete’s Intro to Advent...

David “Monkey Butt” Glover wrote:

Hey Jean and Ken, Are you either or both of you interested in doing this as a 2-person or 3-person team? It’s local!

Website: http://www.ex2adventures.com/venturequest-ar.php

• Long Sprint Adventure Race (Sport Level), 28-35 miles, 5-9 hours
• Segments: trekking, paddling, mountain biking, navigation
• Teams of Two (new for 2008), Three and Solo Racers
• Solo Divisions: Solo Female and Solo Male
• 2 Person Divisions: Duo Co-Ed, Duo Female, and Duo Male
• 3 Person Divisions: Co-Ed, Female, Male, Masters (combined team age of 120+)

KenBob responded:

Dude, that looks awesome.

JeanBean responded:

The adventure race sounds great. Ken and I are interested. My only hang up is I don’t have a MTB.

Thus, Team “Bean and Her Boys” was formed. Bean also manged to convince another friend, Rob Bell, to give a try. Rob raced solo.

Every team needs a theme of course. Our theme was pirates - ARRRHHH!

Like Jean, I also didn’t have a mountain bike, but both Jean and I managed to secure bikes the week of the event. Unfortunately, neither of us had a chance to ride beforehand - which became painfully obvious during the mountain biking portion of the race. In addition, none of the three of us had done an adventure race either although I had recently attended the Pura Vida Adventure Racing Camp near Brevard, NC so had somewhat of an idea of what to expect. This race would be a fun, new experience for all of us.

Adventure racing, like triathlon, is a multi-discipline endurance sport. This “sprint distance” race took us 7.5 hours to complete and consisted of trekking, orienteering [with a compass], paddling a canoe and mountain biking. In my mind, the biggest difference between triathlon and adventure racing is that a triathlon follows a known and marked course while an adventure races don’t tell you the course beforehand and require you to go to a number of checkpoints - sometimes in order, sometimes not - without telling you how to get there. In other words, you have to be able to read a map and choose the best way to get from Point A to Point B without getting lost.

The race started at 8 AM on Sunday, October 5 with a prologue run to one of three check points. We chose the longest route but it was mostly on road so we thought it would be the fastest. After returning to the transition area (TA), we headed out on our mountain bikes then proceeded to trek, paddle, mountain bike, trek and finally mountain bike back to the finish line 7.5 hours later to finish second place in the co-ed 3-person team division. Note: Top winning times were around 5.5 hours.

The navigation skills I learned from a week at the Special Operations Force Academy and later reinforced at the the Pura Vida Adventure Racing Camp proved to be adequate as successfully navigated to all the checkpoints.

So yes, I’m definitely hooked on adventure racing. I’m looking forward to doing some more races to gain experience and work my way up to the multi-day events with the eventual goal to do Primal Quest.

More photos courtesy of JeanBean’s camera.

Live life richly and boldly!

David

—-

David B. Glover
Experiential Writer, Elite Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2008 David B. Glover