Monday, September 8, 2008
Off to Tahoe for the Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race!
Footage from the 2007 Big Blue Adventure Race series...
Quick pre-race update:
Boys & Girls,
Right now I am packing up for this weekend's big race, the Big Blue Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race.
This is all we know about his weekend's 24 hour race...from their site:
Kit Carson 24 Venue
Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park, Spooner Lake: Carson City, Nevada
Spooner Lake is on Highway 28, nine miles south of Sand Harbor and 1/2 mile north of Highway 50. It is approximately a 30 minute drive from South Lake Tahoe and a 20 minute drive from North Lake Tahoe.
Elevation:
7003 Feet
Kit Carson 24 Disciplines
Kayaking:
• 15+ miles Lake Tahoe
• Sandy beach put-in
• Water clarity to 65+ feet
• Beautiful shoreline
• Very high probability of flat and light wind conditions. Or it could be windy with lots of waves.
Mountain Biking:
• 45+ miles
• Single Track
• Double Track
• Fire Trail
• Fast
• Pavement
• A little of everything
• 10,000 feet altitude gain
Foot Travel:
• 15+ miles
• Single Track
• Fire Trail
• Sand
• Pavement
Soooooo, a little bit of everything. We will take some pictures on the course that hopefully will be 'appropriate for posting'...
Hasta Luego,
Sean
Today's song is more than just a song...it's the freakin' MAGNUM P.I. Theme! ...in French?!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Weekend in Solvang: The Hay is in the Barn!
The heaviest weeks of endurance training for my races in Lake Tahoe and Moab are behind me now. So to kick off my Taper appropriately, this weekend Lisa and I are headed up the coast to Santa Barbara and Solvang for a weekend of long rides, naps, runs, naps and wine tasting. I am bringing my miraculous, new waffle maker so all bets are off!
Solvang offers some of the best cycling in the world, bar none. Lance Armstrong has stated that only Girona, Spain offers a better place to train. Many of the top European and domestic cycling teams hold preseason base camps in Solvang in January/February each year.
The forecast says over 100 degrees and little cloud cover...perfect preparation for Moab! I will have to bring extra nuun to handle the extreme heat!
UPDATE 9/10/2008:
Solvang was awesome! Lisa and I did a fun, mellow 50 mile spin on Saturday from Solvang through Buellton, to Lompoc, and back on Santa Rosa Road. Beautiful! On Sunday I rode alone, up and over Mt. Figueroa from the house in Solvang...past Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch...made me ride a bit faster.
The famous "Fig" climb really is a kick in the nuts. One of the more magnificent ascents I have done, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Cascade mountains, etc. 9.5 miles averaging 9%...several pitches over 20%. A couple around 25. Yes, I said Twenty. Ri-donk-ulous. The climb starts abruptly with a smack: an 18% grade. "Oh, reallly"...
Rather than shooting for a (quixotic) "fast" split time, I smiply tried to make it up...period. With scorching temperatures of 105 at the bottom of the climb, and high 80s at the top, I did not need to detonate on this day, one week out from a very important race. I did the climb in 1:10:05, going as easy as possible, coasting the few downhills, soft pedaling any flats.
I know Lance has gone low-50s on this climb in training. I am sure someone his size at 400 watts would break 40, race pace. In early november we plan on returning, and I will shoot for a good benchmark at that time, hopefully break the hour mark. Maybe we'll see Lance there! (I for one am stoked that he is coming out of retirement to the Pro ranks for 2009)...
************************************************************
Today I'm suggesting some Jerry Reed, who passed away this week of emphysema.
(If you smoke, you have a miserable death ahead of you. Your lifestyle determines your deathstyle!)
Just who the dickens is Jerry Reed, you ask? If you lived in the bayou, you would know.
But you don't live in the bayou. Do you even have a bayou by you?
All I have to say is I have 5 words for you: Smokey and the freaking Bandit!
...WE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO...AND A SHORT TIME TO GET THERE!
Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male'' and "Guitar Man'' (both in 1968).
Primus covered Jerry's song "Amos Moses", which I have included with a Jerry Reed original for good measure. After a listen you will agree that Jerry Reed is awesome.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Next Stop: Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race
The Top Secret Stealth Ninja Training is underway for the upcoming Kit Carson 24 hour adventure race!
Team DART-nuun hopes to secure the win which will earn us another 100 points in the Checkpoint Tracker Series.
The team will be Sean Clancy, Glenn Rogers, and Mari Chandler. We will fly into Reno late on September 12th, and race from the 13th to the morning of the 14th. You can follow our progress on a LIVE leaderboard at www.checkpointtracker.com
*******************
Did anyone watch the Gorge Games on Fox Sports Net? They did give our team plenty of coverage, which was broadcast to 80 million households. How many of those 80 million were tuning in?
Some of our sponsors got some serious air time!
Our bright-blue Turner Flux bikes were shown prominently, racing towards our 1st place finish. They are hard to miss!
Our blinged-out Rudy Project Helmets and Glasses were on your flatscreen, as well as our Epic carbon wing blade paddles.
Of course, nuun is our NAME and all over our clothing and gear. We did notice that other teams at the race were using nuun throughout the race. It seems to be fairly standard now, as it makes hydration worry-free and very easy to use when training or racing.
Word is still getting out about GenR8 VITARGO, and I was able to answer questions from other teams about my not-so-secret "Jet Fuel".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Song for today is actually the new VIDEO for Metallica's The Day that Never Comes. The video was directed by acclaimed Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking.
According to James Hetfield, "The main [theme of the video] is the human element of forgiveness and someone doing you wrong, you feeling resentment and you being able to see through that in the next situation that might be similar and not take your rage or resentment out on the next person and basically keep spreading the disease of that through life."
Team DART-nuun hopes to secure the win which will earn us another 100 points in the Checkpoint Tracker Series.
The team will be Sean Clancy, Glenn Rogers, and Mari Chandler. We will fly into Reno late on September 12th, and race from the 13th to the morning of the 14th. You can follow our progress on a LIVE leaderboard at www.checkpointtracker.com
*******************
Did anyone watch the Gorge Games on Fox Sports Net? They did give our team plenty of coverage, which was broadcast to 80 million households. How many of those 80 million were tuning in?
Some of our sponsors got some serious air time!
Our bright-blue Turner Flux bikes were shown prominently, racing towards our 1st place finish. They are hard to miss!
Our blinged-out Rudy Project Helmets and Glasses were on your flatscreen, as well as our Epic carbon wing blade paddles.
Of course, nuun is our NAME and all over our clothing and gear. We did notice that other teams at the race were using nuun throughout the race. It seems to be fairly standard now, as it makes hydration worry-free and very easy to use when training or racing.
Word is still getting out about GenR8 VITARGO, and I was able to answer questions from other teams about my not-so-secret "Jet Fuel".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Song for today is actually the new VIDEO for Metallica's The Day that Never Comes. The video was directed by acclaimed Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking.
According to James Hetfield, "The main [theme of the video] is the human element of forgiveness and someone doing you wrong, you feeling resentment and you being able to see through that in the next situation that might be similar and not take your rage or resentment out on the next person and basically keep spreading the disease of that through life."
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Jamie Whitmore needs your prayers
Jamie Whitmore is a TOUGH woman.
Jamie has dominated Xterra triathlon over the last several years. 37 Xterra wins, internationally. 3 world championships! Her toughness has never been in doubt.
She is now in a nasty battle with cancer and needs our prayers.
Right now.
Click on her blog for updates on her condition, and send your prayers and thoughts her way.
http://jamiewhitmore.com/
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
TOTAL DOMINATION!
Can he, will he get 8?
Click HERE and scroll down a few inches. Make sure you aren't eating or drinking anything, because you will spit it all over your computer.
NBCOlympics.com has the best coverage. Check it out!
On the Olympic cycling front, the Men's TT is tomorrow. This should be interesting since it has quite a bit of climbing for a Time Trial. Will the Cervelo P4C finally be unveiled under Fabian Cancellara? The nailbiting continues...I am willing to bet the P4C will be released at Interbike and show up in Cervelo dealer shops by late October.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
August and everything after...
Howzabout an update?
After the Gorge Games DART-nuun victory, I took 10 days mostly off with very light unstructured training. I attended my cousin Conrad's wedding in Chicago with Miss HotWheels, slept more, swam more, gained 4lbs. Good times!
Over the last 10 days, I have recovered from Gorge Games and in fact rebounded very well. I am setting year-best times in my Maximum Aerobic Function running tests, and my climbing on the bike is near year/lifetime bests.
That said, I have to be careful not to peak too soon, as I need to be ready to rock with Team DART-nuun on September 14th at the Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race (near Tahoe). After Kit Carson we're off to Moab, Utah for the Adventure Xstream Expedition Adventure Race. I have never been to Moab, so riding the legendary Mountain Bike tracks and running and trekking in the LaSalle mountains will be perhaps the highlight of the year (since I can't remember too much of what happened at the Baja Travesia...really).
After recovering from Moab, I will do a few Half Ironman races and PERHAPS a fall Ironman. I am signed up for Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in the spring, and will do a full triathlon season in 2009, in addition to raising the roof with DART-nuun. All signs point towards lifetime-best fitness over the next year so I would like to achieve my lifetime goal of competing in the Hawai'i Ironman.
I am the last kid on the block to train with a Power meter, and am getting mine set up soon. When I do so, I will post all my data on my workout LOG. No secrets, just hard/smart/periodized/structured work!
Stay tuned, you naughty little monkeys!
Another Song Methinks You Should Download:
Sequestered in Memphis, by The Hold Steady
After the Gorge Games DART-nuun victory, I took 10 days mostly off with very light unstructured training. I attended my cousin Conrad's wedding in Chicago with Miss HotWheels, slept more, swam more, gained 4lbs. Good times!
Over the last 10 days, I have recovered from Gorge Games and in fact rebounded very well. I am setting year-best times in my Maximum Aerobic Function running tests, and my climbing on the bike is near year/lifetime bests.
That said, I have to be careful not to peak too soon, as I need to be ready to rock with Team DART-nuun on September 14th at the Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race (near Tahoe). After Kit Carson we're off to Moab, Utah for the Adventure Xstream Expedition Adventure Race. I have never been to Moab, so riding the legendary Mountain Bike tracks and running and trekking in the LaSalle mountains will be perhaps the highlight of the year (since I can't remember too much of what happened at the Baja Travesia...really).
After recovering from Moab, I will do a few Half Ironman races and PERHAPS a fall Ironman. I am signed up for Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in the spring, and will do a full triathlon season in 2009, in addition to raising the roof with DART-nuun. All signs point towards lifetime-best fitness over the next year so I would like to achieve my lifetime goal of competing in the Hawai'i Ironman.
I am the last kid on the block to train with a Power meter, and am getting mine set up soon. When I do so, I will post all my data on my workout LOG. No secrets, just hard/smart/periodized/structured work!
Stay tuned, you naughty little monkeys!
Another Song Methinks You Should Download:
Sequestered in Memphis, by The Hold Steady
Monday, August 4, 2008
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