Perspective

Finishing the Hawaii Ironman is HARD.

It was devised years ago by several military men in
Hawaii arguing over beers about who are the best
endurance athletes:

marathon runners? cyclists? ocean swimmers?

Of course they could not decide, so they agreed to
combine the 3 and the winner would truly earn the title of
"IRONMAN"...Anyone simply FINISHING this new event in 1978
earned serious bragging rights and respect.

Just finishing the Hawai'i Ironman is HARD.
The course sends you on a suicide mission through
scorching black lava fields, with ground temperatures
over 100 and the punishing sun melting your brain.

To finish the Hawaii Ironman in BOOTS & UTES
makes you a HARD-ASS!

Click on the link below for the photographs of USMC Major Bill Connor
completing the Kona Ironman wearing boots, pants, and kevlar helmet.
This was his way of paying tribute to his fallen brothers (he has completed
3 tours in Iraq), with a nod to the founders of Ironman Triathlon.

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32523&BIB=1775

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hawaii Ironman, several Navy
SEALs, including the freakishly strong and unbreakable David Goggins,
parachuted into the ocean right before the start. They ditched their
parachutes, were snatched up in a Zodiac, whisked to shore, and they
started-and finished-the race. Very cool.

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If you would like to make a donation to the Navy SEAL fund, which
assists the families of Navy SEALs who have died while serving our
country, click here: www.sealfund.org

Navy SEAL Warrior Fund

Navy SEAL Warrior Fund is a 501c3 non-profit organization established to raise funds in support of the families of US Navy SEALs who have died while serving our country, or who are presently serving in harm's way in trouble spots around the world. The organization is comprised of volunteers from around the country and has no employees. Funds raised, after expenses, will go solely to improve the education, health and wellness of the spouses and children of deceased and active duty SEALs. Navy SEAL Warrior Fund works in partnership with the Naval Special Warfare Foundation in its fundraising and distribution efforts. As part of this important partnership, four board members of Navy SEAL Warrior Fund are also board members of the Naval Special Warfare Foundation.

Total Quad Meltdown

This is the elevation profile for my "Bread and Butter" ride...combining the Swami's Ride (~39 miles) with an out and back from Encinitas to La Jolla's very steep Mt. Soledad (adds ~32 miles). Looking at the graph one can clearly see the climbs up Torrey Pines Scripps/LaJolla Shores, and of course the Dream-Crushing Mt. Soledad.


Each of the last 2 weekends I have used this anaerobic HammerFest to gauge my late-season fitness heading into next week's 24 Hour Adventure Racing National Championship.

Having violently sadistic and insane training partners like Slater Fletcher, "Uberbiker" Kurt Gensheimer, and Keevin Blue keeps you honest!

Slater, Keevin, Kurt and I took turns "Crushing each others' Dreams"...




Of course after the ride we crushed some Manhole-Sized Blueberry Pancakes at Potato Shack. Let me tell you: these pancakes are Tremendous.




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On Tuesday night, Slater and I did the Five Fingers of Death ride.

Held at Aliso/Wood Cyn wilderness park across the street from my house, this is my OTHER "bread and butter" ride I use to check my mountain bike climbing fitness and skills. We managed to knock out the "loop" in 2hrs23 minutes.



The ocean views of Catalina Island, Laguna Beach, and the Santa Ana and San Gabriel mountains to the east were phenomenal on this clear night.



From left to right you can see 5 Fingers of Death: Cholla, Lynx, Rock-It, Mathis/Top of the World, and Meadows. To add some perspective, these trails are used by Downhillers to practice for their races.

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After 15 years in production, Axl Rose/GunsNRoses' Chinese Democracy will FINALLY be released next month...seriously. We have heard that before...almost annually. But it is finally out.

No, really.

Lakers are BACK...

...and I hope they can bring back some of the MAGIC of the Showtime
teams of the 80s...


The Red Hot Chili Peppers, circa 1986

MAGIC JOHNSON


LA Lakers fast break makers
KINGS of the court shake and bake all takers
Back to back is a bad ass fact a claim that remains...
INTACT

M-a-g-i-c see you on the court
Buck has come to play his way and his way is to thwart
M-a-g-i-c magic of the buck
Other teams pray for dreams
But he dont give a !

Penetrating the lane like a bullet train
Comes the Magic blood a telepathic brain
Knucklehead suckers better duck
When the buck comes through like a truck

Scott stops pops and drops it in
On his way back gets a little skin
From the hand of a man named A.C. GREEN
Slam so hard break your TV screen!

Worthys hot with his tomahawk
Take it to the hole make your mamma talk

I hate to burst your bubble but triple double trouble
Is coming to your town and hes going to make rubble

LA Lakers fast break makers
Kings of the court shake and bake all takers
Back to back is a bad ass fact a claim that remains in tact

Lakers are the team that I watch on the telly
Cause they got more moves
That a bowl full of jelly

The buck stops here - pops - then cheers
A roar through the forum
That deafens my ears

The one and only know if his kind
Sits in a throne
Not for the records that he holds
But for being bald and bold
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
All time great super super star

I hate to burst your bubble but triple double trouble
Is coming to your town and hes going to make rubble

Does anybody want some Magic Johnson
LA Lakers fast break makers
Kings of the court shake and bake all takers
Back to back is a bad ass fact a claim that remains in tact!

Off to the Adventure Racing National Championships in 2 weeks!

Our next BIG race is the USARA 24 Hour Nationals in Blue Ridge, Georgia...Nov 6-7.

Glenn, Mari & RVG are just getting back from South Carolina, where they just WON the Upstate 24 hour adventure race this past weekend. With that win, we have ensured that we have swept the Checkpoint Tracker national series and have the 2008 CheckpointTracker.com National Series title wrapped up! We have survived the gauntlet of a very challenging season undefeated!

Hopefully we learned enough along the way to bring home the Stars & Stripes jerseys at the National Championships in 2 weeks.

Training has been going well. The body feels ready for ONE MORE beatdown at Nationals before calling it a season. I have felt very spunky on the Swami's ride down in Encinitas. I finally feel on form following a transition period after winning the 70 hour long Moab Expedition Adventure Race last month.

Non-Sequitar of The Day:

Lisa and I went to Julian over the weekend! We picked apples at an orchard, picked out some pumpkins for Halloween, and even found ourselves in a ridiculously intricate corn maze. It was a blast. Nice balance to a morning of hammering my legs
into oblivion on the Swami's ride AND immediate hammerfest to and from Mt. Soledad with Slater Fletcher.

Photos will be posted soon. None of them very serious.

Consecutive Non-Sequitars?!

Last night I went to Whole Foods in Tustin. Maynard James Keenan was there signing bottles of his Caduceus and Arizona Stronghold wines. I am planning a trip to his vineyard and winery near Sedona around the time of my birthday weekend, December 2nd. A weekend of wine, mountain biking, and Rock and Roll baby! Then we'll come back in time to catch Camp Freddy playing in LA.

NO Talking Man, ALL Action.

VICTORY at Expedition XStream Moab!

Wow. WHAT A RIDE!!!

...Literally...

After starting the Expedition XStream adventure race in Moab at noon on Thursday, Team DART-nuun (Glenn Rogers, Sean Clancy, Mari Chandler, and Matt Hayes) crossed the finish line at after 70 hours of racing at 10:20am on Sunday in 1st place!

This was a truly epic adventure race that saw nearly every other "elite" team drop out or lose teammates due to injury (mountain biking was very technical) or exposure (heat exhaustion/hyperthermia in the desert) or "cold exhaustion/hypothermia".

Yes, withinn hours on the same day we faced 95 degree temps on the slickrock near Moab and 40 degree temperatures-and hail-in the La Sal mountains.

We managed to win this race with flawless navigation, constant teamwork, completely dialed nutrition/hydration (the usual, nuun and Vitargo S2), and our unbelievable support crew who flew into Salt Lake City from Seattle and made the 4 hour drive to Moab with us: Tom and Jill Purcell.

Handlling adversity is always a factor in an adventure race. We had a frozen disk brake, a broken spoke, and a flat...all in the first hour of the first bike section! To give you an idea of how hot it was on the slickrock, on one 8 hour run/hike/ropes section I personally left with 272 ounces of water. It was not nearly enough. Luckily we found a random natural spring leaking water in one of the canyons!

To see how spectacular and challenging this racecourse was, check out this gallery on the link below...it captures much of the spectacular setting of this 280+ mile
course.

http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=147 M

Mari also took dozens of great shots while we were out on the course. I will try to post those on my racing blog when I get home. That's 7 wins in 7 races this year. I'm going to grab a beer and take a nap!

Thanks for tuning in!

Sean Clancy
Team DART-nuun Adventure Racing

www.nuun.com
www.clancymultisport.blogspot.com


http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=147

More to follow! Thanks for the shoutouts during the race!

1st Place at Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race!

Sean, Mari and Glenn at the finish line near Lake Tahoe

Team DART-nuun did it again!

Almost 19 hours after starting with a paddle across Lake Tahoe, Team DART-nuun pulled off another sweet victory at the Big Blue Kit Carson 24 Hour Adventure Race. We fought hard for this victory, and Glenn's perfect navigation in the mountains in the middle of the night made all the difference.

Here's the Report:
http://www.checkpointzero.com/dartnuun/

That's 6 wins in a row so far for me this season with Team DART-nuun...

...and 7 wins in a row going back to last season...Knock on wood!

Competing at this level would be exponentially more difficult without incredibly generous sponsors and unwavering support of loved ones...so thanks to our sponsors and thanks for reading.

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On Wednesday we are off to Moab for the nasty Adventure X-Stream Expedition Adventure Race!

We will race across the world-renowned mountain bike trails of Moab, through the 12,000' elevation of the La Sal mountains, and the surrounding deserts and canyons.

To add insult to injury, an inline skating section has been added. Hopefully not at the END of the race, when my feet are swollen up from size 11 to 12+.

The race begins Thursday morning around 11, and all top teams are due to finish on Sunday. Awards and celebration is Sunday night at the host hotel in Moab.

If we win, we will have won the 2008 CheckpointTracker Series, and some serious prize money (for adventure racing, at least!).

Although the Checkpoint Tracker website is a month late on the series standings, we are going into this race essentially tied for 1st place with the freakishly strong Colorado team, Boulder Performance Network.

At the Adventure X-Stream, Team DART-nuun will see the most competitive field we have faced this season since the impossibly gnarly Baja Travesia (link) expedition adventure race (North American Championship) we won in March.

We need everything to go right to beat a very strong team from Boulder, not to mention many other very strong teams in the field who are capable of winning.

Your thoughts and prayers would be GREATLY appreciated and are quite necessary for us to pull out a victory.

Live coverage!!! (blog updates and live "Spot" GPS) will be at

http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showTeamProfile&teamID=3520&eventID=147

If you have a second, before or during the race send me a shout-out! There is a 'shout-out' section on the race coverage page:

http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showShoutBox&eventID=147

Thank you!

Sean