TriSports.com Blog

Adopt-A-Highway

TriSports.com has adopted a highway! This is a service in the Tucson area where a group of volunteers gather together and pick up trash on the side of a portion of road. Several employees gathered together on Saturday, February 20th to clean the two mile stretch of Catalina Highway between Houghton and Snyder.

The effort turned out to be a great success! We filled up a total of four trash bags, which is an amazing feat. At first glance, it seemed as though there wouldn’t be much to pick up, but when we got out there and started walking, it was amazing how much garbage there was.

Everyone who came out had a good time. It’s amazing how much fun you can have picking up other people’s litter. We think we may have enough parts to build a car.

The City of Tucson will shortly be putting up a sign to make our adoption official and we will be planning more clean-ups in the future.

Kim, Sylvia, Sarah P, Erik, Bobby, Eddie, Lauren and Mike

Warehouse 4 – Buying Department 0.

Sometimes I use this column to give credit where credit is due.  This past weekend the TriSports.com Fun Squad reunited and put together a paintball extravaganza.  Once announced, I promptly called out the warehouse crew by telling them to meet on the battlefield.  I was not sure how they would respond, but all I have to say is that they showed up and in a big way.

After they donned their brand new one-of-a-kind t-shirts provided by yours truly, they responded by pummeling us – 4 games in a row.  The beating was so bad that we had to switch teams almost immediately.  I was defeated and had the bump on my head to prove it (thanks to getting hit squarely during the first game).

Paintball was one heck of a cross training session for most of us.  Today we have employees gimping around the shop sore as can be and with welts all over their body.  Brutal, but it sure beats a weekend on the couch.  I’m off to lube up with Doctor Hoy’s Pain Relief Gel before meeting up with the Mayor tonight (exciting news to come on that subject soon).

TriSports.com Warehouse Crew

IMAZ – Aid Station…arrrrrrr.

Last weekend was a busy one for us, as Nik mentioned in his last blog.  I am the organizer for the Tucson aid station at Ironman Arizona, and I am always so thrilled with the awesome set of volunteers that we get.  The majority of them come from TriSports.com, the Tucson Tri Girls and the Tucson Triathlon Club.  The rest are usually friends and family of sponsored athletes who are racing, or people that are associated in some way with the various clubs and teams that we sponsor around the country.  It is a long day out there, but we have a ton of fun and are right in the thick of the race.  We had a pirate theme this year and the volunteers came to work decked out in pirate-wear. 

Aid Station Pirates....Arrrrr you thirsty?

We had an awesome pirate ship constructed out of cardboard by our great warehouse staff and then painted race morning by our volunteers.  We have, in our opinion, the best location for an aid station – under the intersection of two bridges, so we are protected from the unforgiving sun, rain or whatever nature decides to throw at the athletes on this November day.  Luckily the weather was great, a tad bit warm probably for folks coming from colder climates, but otherwise a beautiful day.  Watching the volunteers interact with the athletes is always so much fun, and seeing the gratitude on the athletes’ faces is what reminds us why we are there.  So a huge thanks to all who gave up their day to make someone else’s better, and good job to everyone who raced on Sunday!

Nik and Andy with the Pirate ship being painted in the background

One particular athlete who stood out was Rudy Garcia-Tolson, who was making his second attempt to become the first double above-knee amputee to complete an Ironman distance event.  In a time of 16:06:27, he achieved his goal.  I am happy to say that our aid station won the Cleanest Aid Station Award and that, together with our Community Funds that WTC offers, a donation of $1050 will be made to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the same organization that has been instrumental in helping Rudy reach for the stars.

“The Commuters Corner:” I don’t dehydrate.

One of my favorite memories with a bike comes from a time my friend Rich and I decided to mountain bike on the hottest day of the year.  It was sort of an impromptu ride and pulling up to the trail turn off Rich asks if I needed to get more than one bottle of water.  I laughed and told him, “Don’t worry about man, I don’t dehydrate.”  Two hours and one mad rattlesnake later, we are lost, out of water, and I am of course severally dehydrated.  We survived and made it back to the car well after sunset but I learned an important lesson.  I, in fact, do dehydrate. 

Ever since that day I have made sure that I always have enough water while I’m riding.  This year I went to Interbike for the first time and had the opportunity to go out early for the Outdoor Demo Days.  We left in the morning and flew to Vegas.  After landing we got in the car and grabbed a bite to eat on the way.  We all watched in amazement as Erik (our Retail Manager) put down a 20″ Cheese Steak before riding all day.  I made it a point to pack a camelbak so that I could have water, unfortunately I was not able to fill the Camelbak until later in the day .  Long story short, I do not know if it was the lack of water, the plane ride, or the different climate, but I began to slowly fade. 

Flash forward to the end of the day, and things go from bad to bloody.  We grabbed a few demo road bikes for a quick ride and I got off to a late start so was pushing to try to catch up with rest of the group.  I had barely caught up with them when my face exploded.  My nose began gushing blood and I had to pull over and try to stop the bleeding.  That took a while.  Eventually I took off my base layer (an old white cotton t-shirt, not the smartest) and ripped a piece off and plugged the nose.  With the remainder of the shirt I began to franticly try to scrub the quickly drying blood off the $7,000 demo bike.  After the bike was clean and the bleeding stopped, I began the ride back to the tents to return the bike.  Luckily we weren’t very far out but it was a bit of a climb and I am not a great cyclist.  Oh, and I had just lost a pint of blood.  If it wasn’t for Mark giving me a push at the end, I do not think I would have made it without walking. 

So what did I take away from all this?  First, always know your limits.  I knew that I should not be riding any more but I couldn’t resist.  Second, water isn’t enough.  I had always been from the school that water is all you need and everything else is just marketing and capitalism.  I was wrong, probably not as wrong as the time I said I don’t dehydrate but fairly close.  When you’re on the bike for longer than an hour you are going to lose performance without something extra to help refuel your body.  So look into some different nutrition options and see what is right for you.  Everyone is different but for me I am finding that I do well with Hammer Nutrition Heed.  If you have any other suggestions let me know.

Forgotten race gear = creative solutions?

A couple weekends ago a few of us from TriSports.com  travelled out to Elephant Butte, New Mexico to race one of our sponsored races, Elephant Man.  We have a sponsored athlete who welcomed us to stay at his home and share his campsite with his family for the weekend – yet another joy of having such a wonderful TriSports.com Team!!  By the way, if you’d like to be part of the team, our 2010 Team TriSports.com sponsorship application is online!! 

The evening before the race, as we finished dinner and began to relax for race day, I realized I had forgotten my bike shoes in the TriSports.com trailer that was passing through from its breakdown experience in Albuquerque (see previous post for this story). This was a first for me to forget such an important piece of equipment.  We started making phone calls to see if anyone had any extra shoes with them….um, sure, we’re out in the middle of a recreation area in New Mexico at 8:30pm.  I had eventually settled on the option of duct taping my run shoes to the pedals and then cutting them free in T2 to do the run.  I really think that could work…

I was lucky enough to find someone who had an extra pair of mountain bike shoes and pedals for me to borrow – they were a couple sizes too big, but I wasn’t complaining at this point.  I struggled to get into the shoes at T1 (especially since there was about a 1/4mile climb out of transition), but I was able to make it out with one foot partially in the shoe and the other one out.  I was lucky I didn’t ride out of the shoes with all the climbing on the bike course! I was extremely grateful for the borrowed shoes, but very relieved to get into my own run shoes at T2!! 

Any lessons learned from this one?  Well, first of all, be sure to double check ALL your gear before you leave for a race (or before the gigantic TriSports.com trailer pulls out of town) and second, take some time to dream up (and practice) some creative ways to rig your equipment when all else fails!!  I will be practicing the duct tape option, as well as some others…anyone have any creative alternatives they have had to use that worked for them?

It was great to be able to meet some of our awesome TriSports.com Sponsored Athletes at the race!!  Oh yeah, did I mention that TriSports.com women swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd OA in the race??

Annual Polar Power Throwdown.

For most companies, Interbike is a time to look at new product and meet with potential and existing vendors.  For TriSports.com, Interbike is time for the Annual Polar Power Throwdown (among other things – including meeting with potential and existing vendors).  Every year, the employees of TriSports.com that attend Interbike spend the entire summer NOT preparing for this event which makes it even more special.  This year our rag-tag crew just finished up a brutal day of talking and walking before we met to see who could produce the best power-to-weight ratio in a one minute test.  Zachary came away the grand champion this year and deserves special props for also lugging around a heavy video camera all day prior to the event.  He comes home a most honorable and deserving Champion.  Here are the numbers:

• 1.59 – Webster
• 1.93 – Sarah
• 1.97 – Seton
• 1.98 – Alison
• 2.09 – Billy
• 2.32 – Erik
• 2.67 – Mark
• 2.78 – Nik
• 2.81 – Zachary

Special thanks to Polar.  Here is a pic of our third-to-last place contestant warming up for the event.

Children, don’t try this at home…or in your car…

July 29, 2009  Goal: Decide for the first time on this day I’d like to race TriSports.com Halfmax USAT Long Course National Championship to attempt to qualify for Worlds (sure, why not?).   Setback:  Realizing I have to qualify before I get to Halfmax and I have only a few races available to do so.  Plan of action:  Race UltraMax Kansas 50 to qualify.  Another setback:  race is only a week and a half away and there is no way I’m paying that much for airfare at this point!  Plan of action:  Channel my inner trucker and drive there!!

Friday, August 7, 2009, 3:00pm:  Car is all packed up (I love my little Honda Fit – it fits everything!) and I’ve finished my to do list as TriSports.com’s Sponsorship Coordinator.  Head on out of town for some pure asphalt love on the 17.5 hour drive to Kansas City!!  Ahh, nothing like the beginning of a  road trip; there is so much hope and promise in the air… My goal is to get to Amarillo, TX to sleep for a few hours before moving on.  Reality – I only made about an hour outside of Albuquerque before I couldn’t go on.  The gale force winds that started blowing from the southwest helped me to get 40mpg – awesome!  A few hours sleep in the back of the car – yes, the Fit can hold a twin sized air mattress in the back – with a bike tucked neatly on the side.  Nothing like spooning with your Zipps before a race…

Continue the drive to Kansas City…is that a really pretty sunrise, or am I just seeing colors at this point?  I cannot stress how important my CEP compression socks were to me the entire trip – not a sign of cankles yet and I get all the attention with my knee high socks at the gas stops!!  Remember all that hope and promise as the trip began?  It’s gone now.  I’m starting to get bored with my ipod  and my voice is getting hoarse from singing to all the songs.  The trip gets quiet as I now begin to realize I haven’t bathed in almost a day and I need to be hydrating for a race the next morning AND I still am not sure where I will sleep tonight.  Minor details, I guess.

I start to get closer to the race site and it’s getting close to dinner time.  There are prerace rituals I won’t give up, and thanks to my iphone, I find an Italian restaurant on the way, call in my order, and swing by to pick it up on my way to Hillsdale Lake, where the race is the next morning.  Oh please, I hope the campsite doesn’t close at 6pm – it’s 6:05 now and if I’ve missed a campsite by 5 minutes after this long of driving, it could get ugly!  Whew, I made it.  Got my camping map, starving from the smell of garlic bread and pasta in my car, I drive along to find a place to “camp” for the night.  Compression socks on, still no cankles – a miracle. 

I pull into an area (I’m lost at this point), and ask a friendly family where I am.  They’re not sure either and they offer me a spare parking spot they don’t need – SCORE!!  I look to my right and there’s the showers, to my left, the tents from the start/finish line!!!  I couldn’t have found a better spot.  I shower up, break out the pasta, air up the mattress, open up the hatch to the car, sit back, relax and watch the sunset…perfect!!  Get the bike set up for tomorrow morning, set alarm and spoon the Zipps again for another night – awww, how sweet.

I’m wondering why in the world I’m doing this and what kind of toll it will have on my body for the race the next morning.  Then I’m realizing I only have a short time after the race tomorrow before I get to pack up the car and head back to TriSports.com by Monday morning!!!  Nevermind that for now – tomorrow’s race day.  Remember that sweet tailwind blowing the car up to the race?  Not going away for race day.  Next thing?  I’m too stubborn to abandon my 1080 Zipp front wheel because, well, it just looks too cool paired with the Zipp 900 disc.  All in all, the bike ride wasn’t too bad, but my shoulders were way more sore than they should have been from trying to hold the bike steady… 

Add to that wind the 95 degree temps and the classic Midwestern humidity and you have an eventful race day!!  I managed to finish, despite the questions I asked myself during the run – thinking I was going to pass out, I slowed the pace to something manageable, took as many waters at the aid stations as I could, and stopped at the aid station with ice to stuff ice into every imaginable piece of clothing to cool me down.  I’m glad I wore socks for the 10 mile run, with the tiny gravel pieces on the trail, and my Zoot Ultra Race 2.0’s held up quite well, although I may argue they are best suited for distances only up to 10k. 

All in all, I raced well – well enough to claim a spot as a “qualifying entrant” to the TriSports.com Halfmax USAT Long Course National Championship!  Just enough time to pick up race schwag, throw on my Zoot Recovery Tights – priceless – and hit the road for home.  Would I do a crazy trip like this again?  I don’t think so.  But man, does it make for a good, long story…

100 rides. One destination. A world free of MS

In 1993 at the age of 43 my brother-in-law was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The only thing I knew about MS was that a lady who lived in the nursing home I worked in, back in1974, had been diagnosed with MS. She was only 41 years old, married with an eight year old son and was bed ridden as a result of this disease. I don’t know what happened to her since most jobs that we have when we are in high school are only temporary.

Last February after attending Frostbike at QBP in Bloomington, MN I visited my sister and brother-in-law. After finishing dinner my brother-in-law pulled from his pocket a key chain and attached to it were several little cylinders for holding medication. With his hands shaking he managed to get each one open and take his medication. After that we retired to the family room to watch TV and my brother-in-law leaned over and removed a brace from is lower leg made of Kevlar. One of the side effects of MS is drop foot. Understanding, medicine and treatment of MS has come along way since 1974 when I was a nursing assistant. My brother-in-law is fortunate that with medication he has been able to curb some of the debilitating symptoms of MS. MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more. These problems may be permanent or may come and go. Worldwide there are about 2.5 million people living with MS and an estimated 200 new cases each week.

While visiting my sister, I decided to help work towards a World Free of MS by entering to ride in the Hoffman-Larkin MS150 ride in Minnesota. Signing up online was easy! The only requirement was to raise a minimum of $300.00 so that is where I started. I have never been very good about asking people for money. The nice thing about technology is being able to fundraise over email and allowing people to simply log onto my MS pledge page and donate. Without much effort I raised $2950.00.

In June I packed up my Felt ZW road bike and headed to Minnesota for the event. Not too hard since I was leaving 100 degree temperatures! I rode mostly by myself which gave me a chance to meet lots of really nice people over the course of 150 miles. Most people that I spoke to on the ride either had a family member with MS or knew someone with the disease. It just demonstrates how many people are affected by MS.

So next time you are looking for a ride check out one of the MS rides near you. They truly are some of the most beautiful, well supported rides that you will ever find.

My Ironman Journey: Final Chapter?

While searching for some peace and quiet the night before my first Ironman race in Coeur d’Alene, the following words spilled onto my page.

T’was the night before Ironman
And all through the room
I had all my stuff out
And it was all strewn.

I packed it all up
In five separate bags
Each of them marked
With my own special tags.

I have eaten and showered
And taken some time
To ponder this Ironman
And make it all mine.

My family is here
To cheer me along
And in my thoughts and my heart
Are my Dad and my Mom.

I will wake up early
And head down to the lake
I’ll put on my wetsuit
And make my own wake.

I’ll come out of the water
And put on dry clothes
I’ll get out on my bike
And pedal with my toes.

I’ll ride and I’ll ride
Up hills and down
Through trees and green meadows
For two trips around.

I’ll come back to the lake
And change once again
I’ll head out and run
As steady as I can.

I’ll loop around twice
and back to the Man
To hear Mike Reilly
Shout You’re an IRONMAN!

While I’m in Coeur d’Alene
My sister’s in Kuwait
She is doing her first tri
On this very same date.

Many miles may separate us
We may be apart
But on this special day
We’ll beat heart to heart.

We’ll swim, bike and run
We’ll strive for our best
We’ll have challenge and fun
And then we will rest

We will have accomplished our goals
Something bigger than each
With God, Family and Friends
There’s no goal we can’t reach!

…Post Race…

Without drowning in details
I think you should know
We finished those races
And look forward to mo’

Betty Rolling through the hills

That's right, I AM an Ironman!

The “track”

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to San Diego to ride the velodrome.  Nevermind the fact I have not ridden a fixed gear bike since I was, say, about 10 years old (and there were a couple little guys around that age out there racing – quite well I must say) and I have never even seen a velodrome in real life.  But, there I went.  Not knowing what events to register for, I just signed up for everything they offered – and I quickly found out what a “flying 200″ was and why my gearing is super, super important.  I was able to rent a track bike for $10 (a chrome plated Bianchi) and participate in any events I wanted for $15.  Not a bad deal. 

My mantra for the entire week leading up to the trip was, “don’t stop pedaling, don’t stop pedaling”, and I did much better with this aspect of track riding than I thought I would.  I have to say that the only similarity between track racing and road racing is that you are sitting on a piece of equipment that has a seat, two wheels, and some type of handlebars.  Brakes? Nope.  Gears? Nope.  I have to say it is the purest, most simplistic form of cycling you can experience.  Just you, the track and whatever gear you choose to ride (I won’t go into the details of the gearing here, maybe for the next post). 

I tried the 500, 2000, 3000, flying 200, and match sprint.  My favorite was the 3000, mostly because I’m a TT’ing ”diesel engine” (my friends claim) who just likes to ride as fast as I can for as long as possible.  But do have to say that the tactics involved in the match sprint is a good way to tap into that part of the brain that actually has to think a little while riding – and it does remind me of being a kid again.  I’ll go into match sprints later too, and in the meantime will be searching through YouTube to watch past races to see how they’re done. 

I do have to say that after the uncomfortable, “fish out of water” feeling wore off, and I got out there to ride, I will definitely go back to see how I can better my times and techniques.  And I do think that some regular track bike riding will help my pedal stroke on the road bike in the long run.  I highly recommend everyone should give it a go at some point!  Hope to see you out there!