Running Camelback with Camelbak

Camelback Mountain located in Scottsdale, AZ must be one of the most deceptively hard urban hikes in the world.  Nestled between the suburban sprawl of Phoenix and Scottsdale, it makes a spectacular landmark for both communities.  Two different trails lead to the top with promises of a phenomenal view.  I recently agreed to "run" up one trail to the top and down the other side for a distance of "only" 9 miles.  I thought this would be a perfect way to put my Camelbak Ultra LR water vest to the test.  And it was.

Camelbak viewed from ScottsdaleCamelbak designed the vest with this type of a run in mind.  In the early morning hours before the sun rose, the vest worked as a reflective vest for me.  Had it been any earlier, I could have easily fastened my butt blinker to a strap designed just for that.  I carried a phone, room key, and cash.  I had no problem finding good spots to store them on.  The pockets are tight enough to keep stuff tight to your body, but easy enough to access when you need it.  

The 1.2 mile trail we picked to go to the summit rises 1,280 feet from the valley floor.  It's incredibly steep.  Some of the trail is marked very well -- for instance one stretch is separated from a cliff by a chain link fence and has handrails drilled into the mountain.  Others are not.  Every week, authorities end up plucking over-confident hikers who have misread tracks in boulder fields and find themselves stuck on a cliff.  The Camelbak Ultra LR includes a built in whistle to get help in a situation like this.

The "well marked" section of the trail

The vest holds up to 70 ounces of water.  I loaded it with probably 30 ounces, because I new it would get hot, and it did.  Multiple fasteners along the waist, under the arms and across the chest guarantee a good fit.   The vest fit snugly for me, but the mesh structure let it breathe at the same time.

Like all the Camelbak products, the valve and tube worked exceptionally well, even when I was down to the last 5 ounces.  After getting back about 2 hours later, I put the vest out on the porch.  The vest dried in about three hours.  Great stuff!

Top 11 Takeaways from Wellington's Memoirs

I just finished reading Life without Limits - A World Champion's Journey by Chrissie Wellington.  A complete book review appears on Trijuice.com.  Here are my takeaways on a napkin that were a cut below Nick's journalistic standards:

#1) If a girl shows up to a race with a bike she had named "Calvin" give her a wide berth.

#2) Remember that girl you called "Muppet" in grade school?  Yes, you.  She can kick your ass now.

#3) If you ever find yourself sans underwear (aka "gone commando") and are about to meet the Prime Minister or President, just act like nothing is wrong.  And keep legs together.

#4) When you're in the Andes and your mountain bike chain freezes overnight, just pee on it.  It will melt.

#5) Learn to pee on your bike while riding.  You will get a better time and no one will want to draft behind you.

#6) Never give up dreams.  They might actually come true.

#7) Brothels make good triathlon training camps.  No one notices the sweat, moans, and time spent looking aimlessly at the ceiling while lying on a bed.

#8) It's a lot harder to stay at the top of the mountain than it is to get there.

#9) Find a passion and let it take you where it will.

#10) If your wet suit has a hole, don't attempt to swim a triathlon in it.

#11) Relish the sheer joy of crossing your own finish line.  That's the sweetest victory you will ever claim.

Toughman Tri Creates a Closed Bike Course

Race director and owner Dr. Richard Izzo spent a few minutes with us this weekend talking about changes this year made to the Toughman Triathlon bike course. In just 5 short years, Izzo has built one of the largest 70.3 distance races in the country held on the shores of the Hudson River in Croton-on-Hudson. Rich isn't about to rest on his laurels, though, as we learned. This year, he created a closed bike course that adds a completely new dimension to the race.

Paul: Looking back on 2011, what was the biggest improvement to the race?

Rich: I would say that every aspect of our race has improved over the last 4 years. But one of the things we are so proud of is our army of volunteers. In 2008, we had 50 volunteers whereas in 2011 there were 800 volunteers. We are on target for 1100 this year. This is a virtual army of people out there to cheer for the athletes. We added more infrastructure for the 2011 race, from a VIP tent, spectator stands and 15 foot wind wing flags that lined the last mile of the race to an information center. Also our logistics team is up there with the best in the business having several key people that have been in the race organization business for over 30 yrs. 

Paul: How many people participated?

Rich: Last year we had 1100 athletes register which made the race a sellout for the third consecutive year and mind you that was with increasing the amount of racers by 400 from the year before. For 2012 we expect a sellout again with an additional 300 racers.

Paul: Did the community appreciate the support for the 911 remembrances and memorial?

Rich: Our team debated if it was appropriate to have Toughman on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. After giving it much thought and with lots of input from the first responders who come out and race, we came to the conclusion that having the race on this date made it more special with the message being "We will persevere". This was the theme of the prayer done by Rev Anthony Stephens...who races every year.

Plus the race raised over $270,000 for 50 charities with the 9/11 Memorial at Croton Landing made from a piece of steel from the World Trade Center receiving a portion of every entry. This year we will be doubling the amount of charity money raised. We will also directly contribute funds to the 9/11 Memorial as well as the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption through the Toughkid's triathlon series Championship on Sept 8th. Our race allows racers as well as volunteers to fundraise for whatever charity they choose through the Toughman Community Fund.

Paul: What are your goals this year?

Rich: Our goals for 2012 are threefold: first and foremost to give the age groupers a safe, great race experience. In that regard we have a CLOSED BIKE COURSE for 5 hrs. This is unprecedented in half iron circles. In fact we are one of the ONLY half iron race in the U.S. that will have this feature. This will enable all racers - especially first timers - to race hard without worrying about car traffic. Plus the new bike course will be faster with only 4 left turns and a lot less climbing. This will reduce climbing by 50% from the older course.

Next our goals are to grow an additional 20% which has been our annual growth rate since inception while at the same time giving the racers a big race feel.

Lastly, it is to get the public more involved in viewing the race. With this in mind, we will be doubling the amount of shuttles on race day with a dedicated shuttle that will take spectators into the town area during the event. As an added feature of our half trail run, we will be detouring the beginning of the run course through the Historic Van Cortlandt Manor trails so that runners can experience more of the natural beauty of Westchester.

Paul: Tell us more about the bike course?

Rich: This year's bike course will be closed to traffic with a scenic view of the Hudson River for more than 28 miles. This is safer, more scenic and will be much faster than in years past. With the dramatic growth of Toughman over the last 4 years it was necessary to make this change in order to make sure that racers were safe and to accommodate our present and future growth. This way racers will ride directly onto and off of the new bike course with no interactions with any cars. Our primary focus is first and always the safety of our age group athletes.

Paul: What will happen to the average bike speed on the course?

Rich: It will be much faster than last year as the amount of climbing will drop from 3800 to 1900 feet. Plus it is only 4 left hand turns.

Paul: How should people train differently this year? Fewer hills, more intervals?

Rich: We have a training clinic on Aug 18th that will take you on the old bike course. If you can ride that, the new one will be a piece of cake.

Paul: Do you have any other surprises in store for us this year?

Rich: First, expect all the same things that have made our race the "MUST DO NY Half Iron" the last 4 years: the 35 foot sailboat at the swim turn around, the 18 aid stations on the run, a volunteer crew that includes: cheerleaders, angels, cross country running groups, community groups, marching band, bagpipers, and "The Devil and Superman", a post race BBQ with chicken, beans, corn on the cob, post race massage by 50 therapists and over $25,000 worth of age group awards.

We have several other new additions this year that will add depth to our team as well. This allows us to give the racers a "big race feel" at an event that is only 30 minutes from NYC, NJ, CT, LI being the largest half iron within 3hrs of NYC.

But one thing you can bank on is that we have many new "surprises" for you racers on the run!

Paul: Thanks for your time, Rich. We're sure this year will be an even bigger success than last year.

Pressure is not nice

I'm in the middle of reading  A Life Without Limits - A World Champion's Journey by Chrissie Wellington.  I'll write a full review for our friends at Trijuice.  Sitting out in the Arizona desert after a brief, but very hot run, one passage jumped out:

"Pressure is not nice.  It is a necessary evil if you want to achieve, but you're not supposed to enjoy it.  It brings with it great stress, but you deal with it, and the redemption comes when you achieve things because of it.  The trick is to understand which pressures are necessary and which ones are the dangerous decoys..."

When should you push that hard tempo run?  When should really push for that charitble cause that is close to you?  When should you demand excellence of yourself at work?  Maybe these questions are always one and the same.

Dialing in the Buzz with CLIF

We recently scored a stash of new CLIF Shot Energy Gel that - best of all - comes in three "doses" of caffeine.  We passed it off in a gesture of remarkable generousity to our MTB friend Siobhan to test for us.  Even before taking the food on an epic ride, she had a lot to gush about:

"I’ve been using Clif Shot Bloks since they hit the market a few years ago.  I really like what I see and am eager to try out in the next few weeks. As a mountain biker, I like the packaging.  It looks much less messy than traditional gels and easier to eat because no water is needed to digest the bite-sized portion.  

"For longer endurance events – especially those that begin at dawn, the caffeine-enhanced Turbo shots will serve as a fantastic boost first thing in the morning along with a cup of coffee. Typically around the +3-hour mark, I like the idea of having another caffeine-infused packet helped get me through the early afternoon slump. 

"I found that I can’t eat an entire packet of anything at once during the afternoon because the jitters tend to set in, so I typically tuck the uneaten ½ packet in my bike shorts and then eat about 30-45 minutes later.  

"The heavy texture should be an added bonus because it will feel like ‘real’ food coming in whereas more liquid-textured gels don’t last as long.”

We'll get the field test results back soon!