Team Timex in CDA

We got to catch up with one of our great partners this past weekend in Idaho, Trista Francis with Team Timex.

She had a few athletes racing Ironman Coeur d’Alene and they posted some very solid results.  She dropped by the booth to pick up some Trigger Point Performance Kits for her athletes.  It was great to catch up and hear about all the awesome performances that Team Timex is having so far this year.

This weekend proved to be another one of thos great weekends.  One of Trista’s athletes, Denise Mitchell, placed 2nd in her age group and earned a coveted slot to the Ironman World Championships in Kona!!

Trista introduced her athletes to Trigger Point at an Ironman CDA training camp and all of them are hooked

Keep on Rolling!!

Check out the Team Timex blog at http://teamtimex.timexblogs.com/

Ironman Coeur d’Alene

Congratulations to everyone who braved the nasty weather out in Coeur d’Alene this past weekend!!  Over 2,000 athletes came out to conquer the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run along a challenging and scenic course and on this particular day, overcast and rainy.

Trigger Point was  out at the expo rolling people out and spreading the Trigger Point wisdom.

Two of our Trigger Point athletes, Hunter Reed and Erik Wegscheider, were at the event and both posted great performances!  Hunter and Erik both came by the booth on Saturday to hang out and get his “roll” on!

Congratulations to Hunter and Erik!!

Below is the race recap;

American Tyler Stewart and Spaniard Francisco Pontano took home their respective titles at Ironman Coeur d’Alene today, each winning by over nine minutes. To no one’s surprise, Stewart stormed to the lead in the women’s race during the bike leg and never looked back. Pontano also took the lead during the bike leg and then held off the charge of a few very quick runners behind him.

Stewart exited the swim six minutes back of Aussie Kate Major, who led the pro woman out of the water in 58:29. Also in the mix were Canadian Heather Wurtele and Italy’s Edith Niederfriniger; both just seconds back of Major. Onto the bike, it was all about Stewart, who quickly stormed to the front. Stewart finished the 112-mile course in 4:59:35—13 minutes faster than Wurtele, who posted the second-best split. Major rode just a few minutes back of the Canadian and entered T2 in third. As expected, Major made up a bit of time on the run but it wasn’t nearly enough. Stewart broke the tape in 9:23:21, with Major finishing second 10 minutes later. Wurtele lost a bit of time on the run, but still finished comfortably in third in 9:34:24.

In the men’s race, Hawaii’s John Flanagan led out of the water in 48:37, almost two minutes ahead of Pontano. Flanagan’s lead was short-lived, however, as Pontano and American TJ Tollakson quickly erased the gap on the bike. Tollakson rode well, but he couldn’t close the gap on Pontano, who entered T2 with a six-minute advantage. Kiwi Bryan Rhodes entered transition third, but was forced to drop out. Tollakson ran well, but he was unable to close the gap on Pontano, who crossed first in 8:32:12. Tollakson finished second in 8:42:03, with Germany’s Max Longree grabbing the final spot on the podium.

Ironman Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – June 21, 2009
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Woman
1. Tyler Stewart (USA) 9:23:21
2. Kate Major (AUS) 9:32:10
3. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 9:34:24
4. Hayley Cooper (USA) 9:51:11
5. Rachel Kiers (CAN) 9:53:43

Men
1. Francisco Pontano (ESP) 8:32:12
2. TJ Tollakson (USA) 8:42:03
3. Max Longree (GER) 8:50:19
4. Justin Henkel (USA) 8:56:08
5. Tuukka Miettinen (FIN) 9:02:49

info from xtri.com

Chris Lieto Race Report

Check out this race report from Trigger Point user Chris Lieto,

Chris has had some exciting races recently and we wish him all the best as he gets ready for Kona!!

Ironman Boise 70.3 -  another sprint finish
Every time I get to race against the Worlds best I learn so much and improve my game.  I put myself in this situation as much as possible because that is the only way I will improve and beat them.  I look forward to the many more times I will compete against the best this year as I prepare for the Ironman World Championship in October.

Two weeks ago I raced in Kona to get another opportunity to race in the conditions I will be dealt come October and with the current World Champion, Craig Alexander.  The Honu Ironman 70.3 is a great race with the swim at the world famous Hapuna beach.  I had a good start and found myself leading the the main pack throughout the whole swim trying to limit our losses to the sole swimmer in front, who was a past Olympic Trial swimmer.  Once onto the bike I found my rhythm and headed up to Hawi solo.  I felt good and went with what my legs were going to give me on the day.  Being in the front you never really know what your advantage is, and once onto the run a couple miles I found out I had a 7 minute lead on group including Craig.  The run was mostly on the golf course winding through the cart path up and down very steep hills and switchbacks with plenty in the deep humid Hawaii grass.  The few miles we got on the road was basically a black lava field where the sun radiated and temperatures soared.  It quickly reminded me why it is important for me to acclimate to these conditions before the World Championship in October.  The heat got to me quick and I started to faultier rapidly and found myself just trying to survive.  Craig showed why he is the World Champion and ran me down and took the win.  It was a race that was frustrating to me and I left there wanting more and was disappointed with the result.
With that race behind me I was looking forward to a rematch with Craig this last weekend at Ironman Boise 70.3.  I was determined to force him to dig deep again and see if I can find a kink in his World Champion running armor.  What will it take to beat him at these events and what will it take to beat him come October.  I was really looking forward to this race knowing I had a lot more in me then what I showed in Kona 2 weeks earlier.
Two O’clock Saturday afternoon came and we were off in a chilly lake outside of downtown Boise.  I had another good start and was 3rd in line behind Brian Lavelle.  I felt good and figured it would be one long line of all the professionals coming out of the water.  Once we hit the beach I found out it ended up being a select group of 5 that lead the swim, including Brian, myself, Craig Alexander, and Joe Gambles.  Once on the bike we quickly found that it was going to be a very windy day on the bike.  Clouds were rolling in and we started to get hit with some strong rain in small pockets.  After 5 miles or so I was in the lead and pulling away on my new Trek time trial bike.  Amazing bike giving me some unfair
advantage.  Nothing in the world is as fast as this bike.  I found good rhythm and was enjoying the tailwind sections as I was riding at close to 37 mph on the flats.  At about halfway into the bike leg I knew I had a good lead because I couldn’t see anyone on the long stretches of road.  I then started to monitor my effort and make sure I didn’t use to much effort riding so I could have a good run, which I knew I would need to beat Craig.  Again, being in the front you have no idea of the lead you have, so coming off the bike I got no information  on what was going on behind me.
I knew I would need to set a good pace on the run and needed to have a solid run all the way through.  So I went for it.  A little over a mile into the run I finally got word that the group was about 5 minutes behind.  I admit that I thought I was going to have a little more and would have like more as Craig has been know to run some crazy fast half Ironmans.  I told myself that there is nothing I can do about the run the guys behind may have, but I was in control of what I could do.  So that is all I focused on.  My coach, Matt Dixon, told me to just go out and have the best run you can and that is what I set out to do.  The first time I got to see my competitors was about mile 5 of the run and I figured I still had about 3:45 – 4 minutes.  I knew I was doing well and needed to run the same the rest of the way.  The next time I was going to see them was not going to be until maybe mile 10.5 or 11.  Again, being in the front I have no idea what is happening, and I need to just focus on my run.  My competitors get time checks every couple minutes from people on the side of the run course giving them either more confidence as they are getting closer to me or less confident as they may not being put time into me.  I need to run my best to try and discourage them as much as possible.
Mile 11 came and it seemed like I was maybe 1:30 or 2 minutes up.  That was good, but Craig is one of the best runners and I know he has the ability to do amazing things.  a little over 2 miles to go and I still need to keep my head down and dig with everything I had.  My legs were getting heavy and stride shorter, calfs tightening up and energy level dropping.  the last couple aid stations all I wanted was coke in hopes that it would give me some sugar and caffeine to keep me going.  1 mile to go and no one could se Craig behind through the winding wooded greenbelt.  3/4 mile left and still no sight of him.  1/2 mile to go and final turn down a straightaway home and suddenly there he is and everyone is telling me to go.  I never looked back and ran as hard as I could, which was not that fast or pretty as I could not feel my legs any more and the lactate acid started building quickly.  Legs got heaver and heavier as I got closer to the finish.  I could see it just 50 meters in front of me.  I was giving everything and in pain wanting my legs to give me more , but they could not.  I had 20 meters to go and in the finish shoot, and then I see him come up on my shoulder.  I tried to give it that next gear, but had nothing and almost fell over.  I kept trying and just couldn’t match Craig’s speed.  Watching him cross the line first just in front of me and with nothing left I collapsed from exhaustion physically, mentally, and emotionally.
So many things swirling in my head laying there on the finish line.  Something that I think only happens when you miss the win by 2 seconds in a 4 hour race.  Replaying the whole race in my head in just seconds. Trying to scan for those 2 seconds that I may have left out there.  Non to be found and non to be expected to find as I played the best hand I had that day on my own, and he had happened to have that slightly better hand.
So in the last 2 weeks I have been testing myself against the best in the World and coming up short, but learning so much.  I will have another chance when it really counts this October in Kona at the Ironman World Championship.  This time I will be even more prepared and ready for the challenge.
Thank you for all your support and belief in me.  Every race I am closer and becoming such a better athlete, and I owe a lot of that to you.
Chris

Sponsors: K-Swiss, Trek, Base Performance, Sram, EarthFx, BlueSeventy, Fuel Belt, Oakley, PurplePatch, PowerBar, fizik, TP Therapy

Big Weekend for 70.3!!

It was a busy weekend for Ironman 70.3!

Boise 70.3, Kansas 70.3 and Eagleman 70.3 had some exciting finishes and we had quite a few Trigger Point users in the top 10 in all 3 races!

Boise 70.3-

Craig Alexander and Magali Tisseyre claimed big victories at the 2009 Ironman 70.3 Boise Triathlon, presented by Ford. Alexander, the current Ironman World Champion, claimed the title with an exciting sprint to the finish alongside second place finisher, Chris Lieto. The winning time of 3:51:46, was just two seconds ahead of Lieto, who finished with a time of 3:51:48. Tisseyre, with top placements at this year’s Ironman 70.3 Florida and Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, came through the finish in first-place with a time of 4:12:29.  Both Alexander and Lieto are Trigger Point users and 2nd place finisher Linsey Corbin also likes to get her roll on!!  Corbin is having a solid season so far, keep up with Linsey at www.linseycorbin.com.

Kansas 70.3-

Luke Bell and Chrissy Wellington posted great times yesterday in Lawrence.  The top 10 was full of Trigger Point users including husband and wife duo Brandon and Amy Marsh from Austin, TX!  Luke Bell had a dominating peformance and finished with a solid 1:13 run split for a finishing time of 3:49:35 with Timothy O’Donnell crossing the line in second almost a minute back. Even with a flat tire that had to be changed Chrissy Wellington had the fastest bike split of the day and finished the race almost 5 minutes ahead of 2nd place finisher Pip Taylor.

Eagleman 70.3-

Perfect weather in Cambridge paved the way for a fantastic day of racing at Eagleman 70.3 this past weekend.  After riding away from the rest of the men’s field, defending Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 world champion Terenzo Bozzone found himself holding on as Richie Cunningham made a huge charge over the closing miles of the run to win today’s prestigious Eagleman Ironman 70.3 by just 16 seconds.  Bozzone finished in 3:51:11 with Cunningham at 3:51:27 and Michael Lovato finished third in 3:56:50. In the women’s race, Natascha Badmann led off the bike, but couldn’t hold off Mirinda Carfrae, who ran to the women’s title.  Carfrae came out of the water almost 4 minutes ahead of Badmann, lost her lead on the bike and then caught back up and finished with a solid 1:19 half-marathon split to take the win in 4:13:27.  Desiree Ficker from Austin, TX finished third with a time of 4:24:49.  Ficker and Lovato are happy and healthy Trigger Point users!

Congrats to everyone who raced this past weekend and keep on rolling!!

Info and pictures from ironman.com

Rev 3 Tri

CEP athlete Matty Reed delivered a dominating performance this past weekend at the Rev3 Tri.  We’ve spotted him rolling with Trigger Point!!

The inaugural Revolution3 Triathlon, held Sunday under warm, sunny skies, was touted as one of the toughest new half Iron-distance events in the country. And it didn’t disappoint, with the relentless hills on the bike and run breaking some athletes and dashing their hopes. Speed would not be the sole ally—at Rev3, you have to have power. It’s this difficulty that earned the race the unofficial title of the “Wildflower of the East” even before its first run. Pretty lofty expectations—but the race didn’t disappoint.

Reed blasted out of the water in 21:58 with former short-course specialist Tim O’Donnell and immediately went to work, riding the rolling course solo and building upwards of a two-minute lead. Knowing Reed’s run speed, many had conceded the race before anyone had rolled their bike into T2. It would be a battle all day on the bike for the remaining spots.

And that action was swirling. While O’Donnell tried to stay close to Reed, it was Aussies Joe Gambles and Richie Cunningham and American bike powerhouse David Thompson who were trying without success to cut into Reed’s lead. Behind, Leon Griffin, Michael Lovato and Jordan Rapp were trying to nip away at an even larger deficit.

Reed entered the run transition with a nearly two-minute lead thanks to an astounding 2:15:49 bike (averaging 24.7 mph), and used that big frame to work the hilly course fourth-fastest half-marathon (1:19) to win in 3:59:25—the only sub-four-hour race of the day.

The women’s race was a close affair throughout. Early on the bike, it was Great Britain’s Cave, Americans Rebekah Wassner, swim prime winner Joanna Zeiger, and Carfrae leading the charge. But with a solid 27:47 swim (especially considering she is just two years removed from the bike crash at the Hawaii Ironman that doctors told her would preclude her from racing triathlon ever again), Switzerland’s Natascha Badmann would soon make her presence known.

Badmann assumed the lead late in the bike and rolled into T2 with a day-fastest 2:29 bike split. Yet Zeiger, Wassner and a hard charging Carfrae were less than two minutes behind. “I was happy with my bike, but this was a very challenging bike course, and the rest of the girls were motivated as well,” Badmann said.

And so the battle began—Badmann, followed by a dogged Zeiger, a solid Wassner and a hard-charging Carfrae. From nearly three minutes back, Carfrae was seemingly out of contention. Yet as she clicked off 6:20 minute miles, she was running about 20 seconds per mile faster than the three ahead. A capture was inevitable.

By the midway point of the run, it was now a four-woman run race, with Badmann, Zeiger, Carfrae and Wassner all running a few seconds behind the other, testing their legs against one another and the rolling course. It was at mile six when Carfrae rolled past Zeiger and Badmann, then strode away to build a few-second gap to a one-minute buffer. It was all she would need.

2009 Revolution3 Triathlon
June 7, 2009 – Middlebury, Conn.
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Matt Reed (USA) 3:59:25
2. Joe Gambles (AUS) 4:01:00
3. Tim O’Donnell (USA) 4:03:04
4. David Thompson (USA) 4:03:34
5. Richie Cunningham (AUS) 4:07:06
6. Michael Lovato (USA) 4:08:50
7. Paul Amey (GBR) 4:11:13
8. Jordan Rapp (USA) 4:11:40
9. Mike Caiazzo (USA) 4:15:00
10. Leon Griffin (AUS) 4:18:55

Women
1. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:27:26
2. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) 4:28:18
3. Natascha Badmann (SWI) 4:29:06
4. Joanna Zeiger (USA) 4:30:41
5. Amanda Lovato (USA) 4:33:19
6. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:33:57
7. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:36:23
8. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 4:36:49
9. Caitlin Snow (USA) 4:39:48
10. Belinda Granger (AUS) 4:41:50

Information from www.xtri.com

Gearing up for Ironman Coeur d’ Alene

-From the Team Timex Blog-

Trista’s Training Camp; Timex, Trek, Trigger Point and TIM!

This camp for my Ironman Coeur d’ Alene athletes had been 11 months in the making after my athlete Bob McRae proposed the idea to me. It was a 10 day camp located in Boulder, Colorado. The camp included two days with Gordo Byrn, Mental Skills from Bobby McGee and OURS Truly… Timex Team Member Tim Hola. We had 8 training days, 30 hours and endless fun. I broke away occasionally for my own training and rode with Brian Schaning and ran into Dennis Meeker at the pool.

Heading out for a ride..then run

It was such a great opportunity to spend some quality one on one time with some of my athletes. I was able to show them the benefits of the Trigger Point System vs. the traditional foam roller and each athlete is excited to purchase their own TP (http://www.tptherapy.com). I also had my handy dandy Nathan Speed R3 hydration belt for our long runs as it has now become my running buddy. My athletes were also very impressed with the up close and personal views of the Orange Trek TTX SSL…. in fact, they were trying to negotiate with me all week as to if I didn’t run a certain pace, or clean my plate… the bike was theirs. NOT A FAT CHANCE so instead we took a slight detour and I drove them past the new Trek store in Boulder.  My TIMEX RACE Trainer didn’t go unnoticed either as it is the sleekist HR monitor on the market… it definately has the cute factor going on! http://www.timexironman.com/Products/Timex_Ironman_Fitness_Measurement.htm

Teaching athlete proper use of the foot baller…

It was great having Tim with us for a couple of days, to not only spread some more of the Timex love… but he also rode, ran, and ice bathed in the river with the athletes while he shared his experience and tips in the sport of triathlon… www.tristafrancis.com

TP Athletes in Action!!

As you all know, Trigger Point loves to see our athletes out getting it done.  Linsey Corbin has been hard at working this season training up there in Big Sky Country.  Look for some big results from her this month at the Boise and Buffalo Springs Ironman 70.3 races!  Good luck Linsey!!

Here’s what she’s been up to;

Over the weekend I participated in Montana’s Cow Country Classic bike race.
Dubbed the “hardest road race” in Montana. I just finished up a big block of
cycling-focused training, so I knew the opportunity to do a hard and hilly
race would be right up my alley.

I woke up an hour before my alarm clock went off on Sunday like a kid on
Christmas morning. I could not wait to race!! It has been since April 6th
since my last competitive event, and let me tell you — I had some pent up
energy ready to burst at the seams!! It is good to know that my passion for
racing is still there. In a big way. I just love it.

Since I don’t do too many cycling races, I raced for myself -
linseycorbin.com. I had 3 goals for the race: first was not to wreck, second
was to get in a great workout and make the other girls hurt, and third was
to get a decent result.

I donned my race number –  747 and was ready to work hard like an airplane
for all 56 miles of the hilly and challenging race. I did more than my fair
share of work at the front of the race and had a lot of fun putting in a few
too many attacks and watching the field get smaller and smaller with each
climb. Headed into the final climb with 6 miles to go, it was down to just
three of us.

I made a tactical error at the top of the climb as I had made about a 30
second break on the other two women, but one of which was one of my training
partners from Missoula. We had talked about my being her “domestique Corbin”
so I slowed at the top for her to catch back up. I should have known that as
a triathlete I can TT with the best of them, but I for sure can’t sprint
with the best of them. With an uphill finish I ended up 3rd in a painful
sprint finish. My big prize purse was a $20 bill. I think I better stick to
triathlon.

Follow Linsey at www.linseycorbin.com

Big results from TP users at Hawaii 70.3

Not sure if any of you caught the action from Hawaii this past weekend but some big results were turned in from some big names. What you might not know is that the Top 3 men and Top 2 women from the 70.3 race this past weekend have all been sighted with Trigger Point gear!!  Not too shabby!!

Craig Alexander led the men’s field with an impressive come from behind win.  Out of the water, Chris Lieto led the field throughout the bike, giving himself a sweet 8 minute cushion coming out of T2, and held onto his lead for the first few miles of the run.  Alexander, Luke Mckenzie and Tim Marr came out of T2 together in hot pursuit of Lieto.  No one could match Alexander’s 1:17 run split though and he cruised to victory ahead of Lieto in 2nd and McKenzie in 3rd (who had the second fastest run split of the day in 1:26).

The women’s race was all domination from the start.  Belinda Granger came out of the water in 2nd place but didn’t stay there for long.  She hammered the bike course to roll into T2 well ahead of the next competitor and cruised through the run with little to no competition.  Granger finished the day with a 4:33 and not too far behind her was defending champion Samantha McGlone in 4:38.

Another great race from the big Island and another great day for Trigger Point!!

Information provided by www.ironman.com