2014 Sponsors

'Tis the season...to wrap up all of the sponsorship opportunities for the 2014 season and I have to say that I'm pumped to be working with an incredible group of companies, most of whom I've worked with in the past, and even a new one!  I'm going to share a bit about each one, but if you have questions please let me know as I'm more than happy to share information with you about the various companies.  I pride myself in working with companies that I truly believe in and am fortunate to be working with such an awesome group of sponsors.

Zoot
For the past 3 years I've raced for the Zoot Ultra Team.  The team has taken a bit of a different direction this year and is now called Team Zoot, and will have a much larger presence at races across the country.  I'm beyond excited to be working with Zoot once again and will be racing in the best triathlon gear in the industry.  From training to racing I'll be decked out in Zoot shoes, apparel, wetsuits, and with Zoot bags as well!  Additional partners for Team Zoot are: Ceepo Bikes, Lake Cycling Shoes, Bonk Breaker, Garmin, Fuelbelt, Smith Optics and Tri Bike Transport.  Thanks Zoot!!

Ceepo
Last year was my first year on the Ceepo Viper...and I'm excited to say I'll be riding the new 2014 Ceepo Viper this year.  Marc-Andre, Gilles, Tanaka, Sachi and Megan has all been awesome to work with and I can't say enough about the way they treat me as an athlete.  If you're in the market for a new tri-bike...or even if you're not...I would definitely recommend checking out the line of Ceepo bikes!! If you're interested in what it looks like...here is what it is before being built up.

GU
Luckily for me I've worked with GU for the past 6 seasons.  There is no other energy gel that I know, and I would love to keep it that way.  GU has been vital in my training and racing as I have yet to have any GI issues racing.  I know there are not many athletes who can make that claim.  GU is always evolving and their new flavors are incredible.  Need a recommendation on what to take?  Let me know.

CycleOps/Powertap
I've been fortunate enough to work with the great folks up at Saris Cycling Group for the past 3 seasons and I'm excited to be working with them once again for the 2014 season.  Training in Chicago through the winter months is tough...but with the awesome trainers from CycleOps and a PowerTap I can make sure that I make the most out of my training.  The customer service is top notch and another great company to work with!

Myothon
This is a new sponsor for me this coming season.  Are you looking for an edge?  Let's be serious, who isn't?  I'm pumped to be using an awesome new product, Myothon.  What I've encountered thus far with its use are some great results.  The typical soreness that I would experience after long and/or intense training sessions is far less than it has been in the past.  I can then return to training sooner and at a higher level than I have ever have.  I'm sure this will help my 2014 race preparation and the entire season.

L3 Endurance
As you know though triathlon may be an individual sport it takes much more than just an individual effort.  It takes a team, and I'm pumped to be working with such awesome people who are behind L3 Endurance.  Yes I am in charge of L3 Endurance, but the support of our athletes is unrivaled!  Here's to making 2014 the best yet!

 

2014 Ceepo Viper - Pre-Build

Yesterday as I was doing something productive I heard the doorbell ring...it could only be one thing.  My new whip for the 2014 season had arrived.  Thanks to Marc-Andre, Gilles, Tanaka, Megan, and Sachi over at Ceepo I'll be aboard the new 2014 Ceepo Viper.  I can't tell you enough what an awesome company Ceepo is and the support that I've received from them is absolutely incredible!!  I don't have the bike built up yet, as I'm waiting for a couple of parts to get here (bottom bracket, front brake, and something secret to add some speed).  I love my 2013 Viper and I was more than happy with how it performed all season long...now onto a new model year, and a new bike.  Maybe I'll get to keep the old Ceepo as a training bike as I still do love that ride!!  I did want to get some pictures posted of this awesome new ride in though and not wait until it was fully built.  I'm sure another post will have to be dedicated to it when it's built up. 

It's like an early Christmas present for me!

Non-Drive Side

Drive Side

Looks super slick!!

Front View

Upgrade for 2014, new fork, new stem which will help stiffen up the front end.

Another view...

The new Viper is disc-brake compatible, though I won't ride disc brakes...yet.

 

Topping Off the Tank...Myothon

Before I left to go to Kona I was approached by a company asking if I would give their supplement a try.  I told them that I would, however I did not want to do anything new right before Kona (yep typically triathletes are dumb enough to do that...so I was actually thinking with my head for once).  I said that I would give it a try when I started training up again in November.  What is the product?  It's called Myothon.

Vitality Science shipped me a bottle with 100 pills and come November I was going to give it a try.  They claimed that I would be able to train harder, and that I would be able to recover faster.  I was a bit skeptical as many places make these types of claims.  But I figured I'd give it a try.  It is the off season, and I knew getting back into the swing of things would be a bit tough on my body and I was anticipating some definite soreness after some of my initial workouts.  Well much to my surprise the soreness was rather limited.  Two particular sessions come to mind...the first one a "long run" (only 10 miles...it is the off-season) at Waterfall Glen, and the 100 x 100 swim set that we did last week.  I anticipated some serious soreness after these workouts and thanks to Myothon I had minimal soreness and was able to continue on my off-season training plan without as much as a hiccup.  I definitely have to say that this helped out...and it's legal too!  If you want more information check out their website:

http://vitalitysci.com/products/myothon/

Back Into the Swing of Things...

Life has been rolling right along, and I've been back on the training wagon as of recently.  Right now I'm on a fairly long streak of consecutive days swimming...I'm at 24 days.  I guess that's a good place to start this post.  This past Friday (Black Friday) instead of taking to the stores I took to the pool with Keating, Barb and Jason to make an attempt at my first 100 x 100 swim set.  I always said it was stupid...and here I find myself actually doing it?  What gives?  Well I'm up for a challenge so why not right?

We ended up knocking off all 100 on a 1:30 interval (it was a yards pool...so probably pretty close to the 1:40 pace that you would do them on in a meters pool).  Here is how our set went:

10 x 100 swim 1' break
10 x 100 pull 1' break
10 x 100 kick 1' break
20 x 100 swim
5' break
10 x 100 swim 1' break
10 x 100 pull 1' break
10 x 100 kick 1' break
20 x 100 swim

I did do the first 20 in a row as pull with a buoy and some with paddles on the last set of 20...but I survived!  It was kind of fun too, so we'll have to do it again...maybe in February some time?

Other than swimming I've been able to get some solid runs in at Waterfall Glen, and I even made it around the loop twice on my cross bike without flatting.  Amazing I know...really Chad is the only one who understands that, as in the last 3 years we haven't been able to do that.

Here are a few shots of what things have been like the past week or so.  Looking forward to more work ahead!

Maybe Ceepo will make a cyclocross bike soon?  That would be awesome.

Some sweet new L3 Endurance Trucker Hats came in

Yep this is a familiar site...the pool...before 5:00 in the morning...on a pretty much daily basis.