Now in its fourth year, the Long Distance Bike Camp is designed to help you prepare for big events such as L´Etape du Tour and La Marmotte which take place in Europe during the months of July and August.

It is the perfect time to get the last hard work done before you decide to challenge yourself in a race. However, if you just enjoy riding your bike without any goal, this is an opportunity to get some kilometers in your legs in the dramatic volcanic landscape of the island of Lanzarote.

Training

We will have different groups, all lead by a guide, which will go at different speeds (from 24 km/h to 30+ km/h). The landscape on Lanzarote is very rough, which give the bikers lots of challenges, and only few bikers can achieve the same speed as at home.

On Lanzarote you can find lots of very interesting climbs. Mainly Tabayesco and Femes – a climb out of category, will show how well prepared you are and will test your legs. Once we reach the top there will be time for a short break with refreshments.

Price

The price for taking part in this event is 125 €. The price includes all activities during the bike camp, sandwiches and refreshments on long rides, t-shirt, an SIS goodiebag and a dinner.

Please note that there are a limited number of places available and therefore pre-registration is necessary.

Club La Santa also reserve the right to cancel or change the event in the case of under subscription.

The Coaches

Laurent Sillon leader of this Long Distance Bike Camp, has been working at Club La Santa since 1994. From March 2006 he has been organizing the popular Club La Santa Bike Weeks in co-operation with the Event Week Coordinator. Laurent has 30 years experience of cycling and MTB including some years of A-Level/advanced amateur level cycling in both Lanzarote and his home country, France. Since 2002 he has also been a VIP guide for the sponsor of Pro Cycling team CSC during the Tour de France, the world’s most famous cycle race.

Phil Price coach at Club la Santa. Almost 30 years experience of coaching in Triathlon, Athletics, and Cycling. Welsh Triathlon Coach and Manager. Former Welsh Veteran 5 km track Champ, and many times County Champion.

Provisional Programme – Subject to alteration.

Friday:
09.00 Welcome meeting and registration
10.15 Briefing of the day’s 3 hours ride

Saturday
09.15 Briefing of the day’s 4/5 hours

Sunday
09.15 Briefing of the day’s 4/5 hours

Monday
09.15 Briefing of the day’s 3/4 hours
17.00 Lecture

Tuesday
09.15 Briefing of the day’s 2 hours

Wednesday
08.15 Briefing of the day’s 5/6 hours
19.30 Dinner

Thursday
09.15 Briefing of the day’s 3 hours

The final programme will be handed out at the welcome meeting where payment is required.

Club La Santa reserves the right to change or cancel the event if under subscribed.

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with Club La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 95 € per week or 21 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

If you are interested, please *download it as a PDF file*

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW ROAD BIKE HERE

This event has now taken place – for the latest news and offers, please sign up to our newsletter here or get in touch to find out about our next cycling events.

Details of the 2011 event

CLS invites you to try a different way of experiencing Lanzarote. This exciting MTB adventure race is one of the highlights of the 2011 winter season in the Canary Islands. The idyllic landscape of the island and the fun sporting atmosphere make this event a unique experience.

Registration

If you would like to apply to take part in the 2 Stage off Road MTB Race, please download the information leaflet with application form above. Early registration is required, the form should arrive at Club La Santa no later than January 19th 2011.

Course Description

Riders challenge themselves on varied terrain of tarmac roads, sand, lava fields and dirt track routes in the north of the island. 80% of the course is off road. Riders must have the ability to climb and descend hills at speed.

Stages and distances

The race consists of the following distances over two days:

Saturday, January 30th- short distance: approx 30 K
Sunday, January 31st- long distance: approx 60 K

Aid Station

One water station is located on the course. However, we advise participants to carry their own bike bottles or backpacks with water and other essentials. At the finish line there is an aid station which offers water, Coca-Cola, fruit and sandwiches.

Schedule of Events

Friday, January 28th
16.00-19.00 Registration and information, Sports Booking
19.00 Pre race meeting (English), Square

Saturday, January 29th Race Day: Short Course (approx 30 K)
09.00-10.00 Bike inspection at the race start, Stadium, Club La Santa
10.30 Race start
13.00 Race finish
Award ceremony shortly after the race, Stadium, Club La Santa

Sunday, January 30th Race Day – Long Course (approx 60 K)
08.00-08.45 Bike inspection at the race start, Stadium, Club La Santa
09.00 Race start, Stadium, Club La Santa
14.00 Race finish
Award ceremony, lottery and a meal of Paella for the participants shortly after the race, Club La Santa.

Categories and Awards

T-shirts to all participants

Saturday – short distance: Daily prizes for the male and female winners in the following age groups:
Cadets 15-16 30 K
Junior 17-18 30 K
Sub 23 19-22 30 K
Elite 23-29 30 K (Elite: daily prizes for top 3 male and female)
Master 30+ 30 K
Master 40+ 30 K
Master 50+ 30 K
Master 60+ 30 K

Sunday – long distance: Daily prizes for the male and female winners in the following age groups:
Sub 23 19-22 60 K
Elite 23-29 60 K (Elite: daily prizes for top 3 male and female)
Master 30+ 60 K
Master 40+ 60 K
Master 50+ 60 K
Master 60+ 60 K

2 Stages: Trophies for the overall top 5 male/female and prizes for the top 3 male/ female in each age group. Medals for all finishers.

Rules

• The Spanish Cycling Federation rules must be followed
• Only Mountain Bikes will be admitted to race
• The MTB must be in perfect workingcondition. Each participant must carry out a safety check of the bike before participating(oiled chain, perfect functioning shifters and brakes, tires in good condition, etc). The final check will be performed by the judges of the Spanish Cycling Federation
• Participants should carry spare parts
• Your race number must be placed on your back, the front of your helmet and the front of your bike.
• It is mandatory to wear a helmet
• The bikers are not allowed to receive any help from others than the organization

Timing

ChampionChip has been selected as the official timing system.

Medical Service

Full medical care will be available during the event.

For more information and Entry Form for the Two stage off road mountain bike race please download it as a PDF file.

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW BIKE HERE

Reports for Ironman Florida 2009 athletes who qualified for Ironman Hawaii 2010 have been added to triresults.com.

I got into triathlons during the summer of 2007 and it changed my life. 2010 will be, in part, the culmination of why I started. I say “in part” because I plan on doing a lot more after 2010 and hope to have many more culminating events, but 2010 will be the first of what are hopefully many culminating events, because it will mark three major milestones; 1) my first marathon, 2) my first full Ironman, and 3) getting under 200 lbs. for the first time since the last century (doesn’t that make it sound like it’s been a really, really long time?).

The first challenge is over–I was able to sign up for Ironman Florida before it sold out in a few hours. I feel like I’ve already accomplished something! I feel thinner already. I’m also signed up for the Boise half-Ironman in June, and will be doing the Salt Lake Marathon in April. Thus those three events become my “A” events for the year. I’ll probably be doing some other sprint and olympic distance triathlons, and I might even do a second half-Ironman in August, but those three events are the big ones for me.

It’s going to be an interesting 12 months between now and next November. Some might say it’s going to be a long year, but I suspect it’s going to go by pretty fast.

“2010 Ford Ironman Florida General Entry is SOLD OUT.” So reads the headline on the entry page over on the Ironman Florida website. I guess it’s a good thing I got on there within an hour of the registration link being posted and got signed up. We know that most full Ironman events sell out within a few hours of online registration opening, and in this case it was certainly well under 24 hours, although I’m not sure of the exact time it took to sell out. Does anybody else know?

Results for Ironman Florida 2009 have been added to triresults.com.

URL: Results for Ironman Florida 2009

 

Sara McLarty, the 2006 USAT U23 National Champion and 2006 Aquathlon World Champion, confirms start at inaugural Ironman 70.3 Miami. McLarty, unquestionably the fastest swimmer in the world of draft-legal racing, lives and trains at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as a USA Triathlon National Team Member and is coached by Cliff English. . . About [...]

For the third year we welcome you to the Fun Football Academy run by Jan M. Hansen, the originator of the Football Schools organised by DBU (Danish Football Federation). We will have a Danish week in April/May and an International Week in September allowing English speaking kids the opportunity to take part in the academy as well.

The Fun Football Academy caters for footballers of all abilities, both boys and girls, between the ages 8 and 16 years who want a week of fun while playing the game. The players will experience a lot of different and fun activities such as “The Football Olympiad”, “Fast Feet”, Foot-Tennis and mini tournaments. Of course there will also be the daily training which includes techniques and skills.

The players will be divided into 3 groups (Ages and abilities). From Saturday until Wednesday there will be training twice daily for each age-group and on the last day, we will have “The Olympic game”-day, where they will compete for a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal in 5 different football events. On thelast day we will have the diploma ceremony and a competition where the parents can also show off their skills. During the week we will arrange a Parent/Siblings match, a match against the coaches and other social activities.

Jan M. Hansen
Jan is the manager of Fun Football. He is a former first division player and trainer and it was Jan who started the Football Schools in Denmark helping to expand the concept to 20 other countries, where more than 825,000 children have taken part.

In 1993 he was rewarded with “The football performance of the year” in Denmark. Jan has been a football instructor and lecturer on more than 200 seminars in 25 different countries, a Special Advisor at the UEFA Fun Football Committee, UEFA instructor, Fun
Football and football event expert and writer of the book “Mini turneringer – let at organisere” (Mini tournaments – easy to organise). Jan M. Hansen will work in a team with 2-3 qualified coaches depending on the number of participants.

Outside the programme for the Football school the coaches / Club La Santa do not take any responsibility for the children, therefore it is required that the child be accompanied by a person over the age of 18 years.

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

FOR APARTMENTS AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

After six very successful years staging the Football School with Peter Rasmussen, Club La Santa has now decided to put together 2 new Football Academies in 2009 with Jan M. Hansen, the originator of the Football Schools organised by DBU (Danish Football Federation).

We have decided to have an International Week in October to allow English speaking kids into the academy as well.

The Fun Football Academy is for footballers of all levels between the ages 8-14 years, boys and girls, who want a week of fun while playing the game. The players will experience a lot of different and fun activities such as “The Football Olympiad”, Football golf, Foot-Tennis and a mini tournament. Of course there will also be the daily training which includes techniques and skills.

The training

The players will be divided into 2 groups: ages 8-11 and ages 12-14. From Saturday until Wednesday there will be training twice daily for both age-groups and on the last day, we will have “The Olympic game”-day, where they will compete for a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal in 5 different football events. On the last day we will have the diploma ceremony and a competition where the parents can also show their skills.

In addition to Jan M. Hansen, the trainer-team will consist of 2-3 qualified coaches (depending on the number of participants).

The Coach – Jan M. Hansen

Jan is the manager of Fun Football. He is a former first division player and trainer and it was Jan who started the Football Schools in Denmark, helping to expand the the concept to 20 other countries, where more than 750,000 children have taken part.

In 1993 he was rewarded with “The football performance of the year” in Denmark. Jan has been a football instructor and lecturer on more than 200 seminars in 25 different countries, a Special Advisor at the UEFA Fun Football Committee, UEFA instructor, Fun Football and football event expert and writer of the book “Mini-turneringer – let at organisere” (Mini tournaments – easy to organise).

Outside the programme for the Football school the coaches / Club La Santa do not take any responsibility for the children, therefore it is required that the child be accompanied by a person over the age of 18 years.

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

The second Club La Santa Cycling Trophy will include a diverse selection of cycling disciplines: road race, criterium, hill climb and long ride.

Club La Santa expects a wide variety of racers to converge on the island, from professional bikers to weekend warriors and families, for a spectacular and challenging four days of cycle racing.

Challenge yourself, measure your training progress and enjoy the spectacular landscape of the Lanzarote Island, together with other sports enthusiasts.

Course description

Race 1 – Prologue – 4.5 K aprox.
The route consists of one loop, which starts and finishes in Club La Santa. Upon leaving the Stadium, you will turn right, and at the roundabout head left towards Caleta de Caballo, on to Soo and then back to Club La Santa.

Race 2 – Criterium
30-45 minutes circuit plus two more loops; each loop is approximately 2km, along a stretch of road outside Club La Santa.

Race 3 – Hill Climb – Tabayesco – 9.5 K
The course, in the beautiful North of the island, starts with a consistent slope that gradually steepens (550m vertical climbing, 6% slope). We advise you to ride to the bottom of the climb by bike, which is about 40km, as a warm up. However, there will also be transportation available should you prefer it.
On the return journey to Club La Santa, you will enjoy stunning views as a reward for your effort in the climb (there will also be the option of using the provided transport for the return
journey).

Race 4 – Long Ride – 80-100 K aprox.
The ride will start with a 3km climb up to Soo from Club La Santa, continuing over mostly flat ground to Famara and past the “El Campesino” Monument. You will then ride through the undulating lava fields of La Geria, Uga and Yaiza, around El Golfo and along the 5km stretch of road climbing up through the outstanding landscape of the Fire Mountains in Timanfaya National Park. Finally, you will enjoy stunning sea views on the road running mainly downhill from Tinajo to Club La Santa; but don’t think it’s over yet, you may have strong headwinds to face on the final leg of your journey!

Categories

Age groups (Men and Women):
20-29, 30-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+ (Women), 60-64 & 65+ (Men). Elite (Men and Women): 23-35

All age-group participants will be assigned to that age group
division which represents their actual age on the first race day of
the event.

Awards

Awards Race 1, 2, 3, 4:
The winner in each age group/ elite, male/ female will receive a
trophy. Leader jersey for each age group winner after each stage
Overall 3 days awards. The Overall winner in each age group/ elite, male/ female will receive a trophy. T-shirts to all the participants.

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with CLub La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 95 € per week or 21 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENTS AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW ROAD BIKE HERE

The Intermediate Triathlon Camp, now in its fourth year, is designed to help athletes carry on improving to the next level in their sport.

The camp will be structured in a similar way to the beginners camp but a little more intense with harder and longer sessions.

The training

We will provide training for a range of abilities, although we would ask that athletes signing up would be able to compete in the three disciplines at a level above beginners.

You will be divided according to ability into three groups for the bike rides, which will cover most of the island. The running will be in and around Club La Santa, also using the track for some of the sessions.

The swims will be in the 50 metre Olympic pool and in the Club La Santa Lagoon situated just next to the complex. This is a closed off area of water with no strong currents, so it’s perfect to practice your technique.

On some evenings we will be holding lectures on various triathlon-related subjects and we will have some open forums, where you can test the coaches’ knowledge and experience.

Athletes will have an option to be tested to find their heart rate zones for use in training and racing.

The week will begin with an introduction meeting and end with a night out to round off the week, starting with a dinner in the restaurant La Casa. Companions can participate by paying 26 € for a 3 course meal and a half bottle of wine. We are hoping for a variety of nationalities but the spoken language will be English.

The head coach is resident Club La Santa coach Philip Price but we will also have some help from the Green Team. All of the team will be familiar with the Island of Lanzarote.

The Coach

Phil Price

Coach at Club la Santa. 28 years experience of coaching in Triathlon, Athletics, Cycling and ex. Welsh Triathlon Coach and Manager. Former Welsh Veteran 5 km track Champ, and many times County Champion

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with CLub La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 95 € per week or 21 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW TRIATHLON KIT HERE

Swimming as a sport, or simply for leisure, attracts a large variety of people, especially here on Lanzarote where we are lucky to have a good climate all year round. With this in mind, we have organised a row of swim camps in 2011. These camps will help you to improve both your techniques and your fitness with the aid of personal training, which will include filming you both above and below the water.

There will be 2 sessions each day in the 50m open air pool, but we will also offer dry land sessions to improve your overall fitness. On some of the evenings we will have meetings to discuss and view your progress.

We will also discuss other subjects which can help you improve you overall performance, for example core training.

All abilities will be catered for and we will have experienced coaches looking after you. The minimum age is 16 years.

Price

120 € for 1 week includes seminars/lectures, training and coaching, dinner in the restaurant “La Casa” and a special event t-shirt.

At the end of the week, we will have a dinner in the restaurant, La Casa, where companions can join us by paying 24 € for a 3 course meal and a half bottle of wine.

Provisional Programme for the first week – subject to alteration

Thursday
15.00-17.00 Swim – Optional for people arriving on early flights
19.00 Welcome meeting

Friday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Assessment (split into groups)
15.00-17.00 Swim – Video filming

Saturday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Technique and pace control
15.00-17.00 Swim – Aerobic
18.00 Lecture/Talk

Sunday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Determine training zones
15.00-17.00 Swim – Tumble turns plus drills

Monday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Technique
15.00-17.00 Swim – Timed swim and training aids
18.00 Lecture/Talk

Tuesday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Pace
15.00-17.00 Swim – Short set plus some land work

Wednesday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Video work
15.00-17.00 Swim – Short session in pool or lagoon
19.30 Dinner in restaurant La Casa.

Thursday
09.00-11.00 Swim – Aerobic plus drills
15.00-17.00 Swim – Technique

The final programme will be handed out at the introduction meeting, where payment is also required. It is necessary to pre-register.

Club La Santa reserves the right to cancel or change this event if under subscribed.

The Coaches

Phil Price will be the head-coach of the camp. He is the resident full time coach at Club la Santa with more than 25 years experience of coaching in running, triathlon, athletics, and cycling. Ex Welsh Triathlon Coach and Manager. He is former Welsh Veteran 5 km track Champ, and many times County Champion.

For more information please

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW SWIM KIT HERE

For yet another summer,Lydia Campbell (Director of FitCamp® & FitnFun KIDZ, Lecturer, Author & Video Producer), Antonia (Performing Arts graduate, trained at Circus Space London) & Rayne (Green Team Entertainment Manager 2003-2005) are bringing the Kickin’ Dance Zone School (K.I.D.Z) back to Club La Santa.

The K.I.D.Z School, as seen on UK’s ITV & CBBC, will keep your kids and teenagers active by bringing out their talent and creativity through theatre and dance, and provide your child with a noncompetitive element during our summer program.

Now in its 11th year, the FitCamp Team sees many of its performers come back year after year to Fit’n’Fun KIDZ. The kids and teenagers have the opportunity to join in with all the fun, get creative with music, dance, drama & singing, and get hands on experience with show production.

By joining the Fit’n’Fun K.I.D.Z Crew your child will become part of a cohesive team, producing a fantastic and professional show, in just 4 days, to perform to Club La Santa’s guests.

The Kickin’ Dance Zone School Philosophy Lydia Campbell, Director of Fit’n’Fun K.I.D.Z, believes that all children should have the opportunity to experience dance and drama together no matter what their age, ability, language or nationality.

The aim is to develop their confidence, self esteem imagination, co-ordination, rhythm, creativity and motivation, as we make them a part of an international performing team through dance, music, singing, drama and production.

The training at the Fit’n’Fun K.I.D.Z is so diverse that it encompasses various dance/drama techniques from contemporary and street dance, to acrobatics, martial arts, stage fighting and mime. Catering for all abilities aged 5-17 years of age.

The event starts Friday July 22nd and continues through to 3rd August (Please note Thursday July 28th there is no Fit’n’Fun K.I.D.Z programme.)

So hurry book your Kidz in to join the Fit’n’Fun Crew, they can get involved as much as they want, giving you the space to relax and do your own thing.

Price

The price for the event is 35 € for 1 week or 50 € for the entire 2 week period. The price includes all activities in the programme, a drink bottle and a t-shirt.

Provisional programme – subject to alteration

Friday
10.00–11.00 Welcome to KIDZ crew
17.00–18.00 Junior K.I.D.Z (5 – 8 yrs)
17.00-18.00 Senior K.I.D.Z (9 – 11 yrs)
17.00–18.00 S.P.E.E.D (12- 16 yrs)

Saturday
10.00–12.00 Junior K.I.D.Z. (5 – 8 yrs)
10.00–12.00 Senior K.I.D.Z (9 – 11 yrs)
10.00–12.00 S.P.E.E.D (12 – 16 yrs)
15.30–16.15 Aqua games
17.00-18.00 Rehearsal/Props/Costumes

Sunday
10.00–12.00 Junior K.I.D.Z. (5 – 8 yrs)
10.00–12.00 Senior K.I.D.Z (9 – 11 yrs)
10.00–12.00 S.P.E.E.D (12 – 16 yrs)
15.30–16.15 Aqua games
17.00-18.00 Rehearsal/Props/Costumes

Monday
10.00–12.00 Junior K.I.D.Z. (5 – 8 yrs)
10.00–12.00 Senior K.I.D.Z (9 – 11 yrs)
10.00–12.00 S.P.E.E.D (12- 16 yrs)

Tuesday
10.30–12.30 Dress rehearsal and technical rehearsal
17.00-18.00 Full Show rehearsal
20.00 Meet for costumes & make-up
20.30 Showtime

Wednesday
10.00-11.00 Certificate of attendance & fun award ceremony

Please note this programme is subject to alteration. You can pick up the final programme in Sports Booking upon arrival.

Pre-registration is necessary as we have a limited number of places available.

Club La Santa reserves the right to cancel or change the event in case of under subscription.

If you are interested, please *download it as a PDF file*

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

So I’m trying to figure out my race schedule for 2010. I’m doing the Florida Ironman, and want to get a half and a marathon in before. I was thinking Salt Lake Marathon in April, Boise Half Ironman in June, and then the full in November. But after doing the half marathon in SLC this year, I’m not sure I want to do the full, given the race mismanagement company running things (Devine). Ogden is a month later, and apparently is a great race and well managed, but that puts me too close to the Boise half. So I’m now thinking of doing the Ogden marathon, the Utah half in August, and then the full in November. That gives me three A races in six months, with three months in between each race. That would also allow me to do the Cache Valley and Echo triathlons in June and July.

The question is, would I rather deal with the Salt Lake marathon so that I can do the Boise half which will probably be cooler than the Utah half in August, plus it’s an official Ironman event (c’mon, it’s worth something, if only that it’s more highly attended, isn’t it?), plus I could do BAM, and then I have more time to focus on my full, or do I want to avoid the SLC marathon? I know what the SLC marathon is probably going to be like, so I can prepare for that. But I don’t have much of a clue about the Utah half other than Bob’s recommendation, plus this Utah half race review which isn’t exactly encouraging. But maybe they’ll have that boat ramp cleaned off next year…

Ok, I’m trying to plan out 2010 by working backwards. I’ll do the full Ironman in Panama City, Florida in November. In June, I’ll do the half-Ironman in Boise. But before that, I want to get a marathon in, because I’ve never done one and feel like I need to have that under my belt. But I would prefer to do the half-Ironman after the marathon, so that once the marathon is over then I can focus on all three disciplines rather than focusing on all three, then running, then back to all three.

The thing is…that gives me two options as I see it. I’ve got the Salt Lake Marathon on April 17th, or the Ogden Marathon on May 15th. But the SLC marathon is managed by Devine, who has a horrible reputation for event management. I did the SLC half marathon last April, and while it was fine for a half-marathon, I hear they ran out of drinks for the marathoners on the course, and they ran out of food at the end as well. I know I had to fight to get more than one popsicle at the end, which seems ridiculous after paying $80 for entry. C’mon, you can’t afford to give me two popsicles? But I’ve heard great things about Ogden, plus they appear to have a lot more nutrition at the aid stations in the form of Gu, Clif bars, fruit, etc.

However, what about the dates? Between the Ogden marathon and the Boise half I’ll have less than a month to recover from the marathon and get back in shape for the half…is that just cutting it too close? I have a feeling my coach is going to say “yes”, but we’ll see. After all, I’m not trying to do anything amazing on the half. On the other hand, I’ve already finished one so I want to do more than “just finish”. But is there any reason do a good job on both?

Brian’s Profile: . Brian William Fleischmann… Born Aug. 8, 1978 in Jacksonville, FL (USA). Elite Triathlon Career: Competed at the 2001-2004 ITU Triathlon World Championship teams representing the USA. In his first year as an elite competitor in 2001, Brian placed second at elite nationals behind 2000 Olympian and U.S. No. 1 Hunter Kemper… Had [...]

FOR APARTMENTS AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

For the first time you can register online for the race, just follow this link…..

The Volcano Triathlon in Lanzarote has been growing over the past years and is now established as a top quality event. The scenic course around Club La Santa the spirited people and the fantastic atmosphere have made it a favourite event with hundreds of elite and amateur triathletes. For the second time this year there is a new course and the opportunity to participate in a Relay Competition.

Course description

1,5K Swim
The swim goes around the sea water lagoon at Club La Santa on a
clearly marked course. The water temperature is approx 21º C and wetsuits are allowed. Water conditions are good and very safe.

40K Bike Course (No drafting)
The bike course consists of two loops starting and finishing at Club La Santa. Upon leaving the Stadium at Club La Santa you will turn right and at the roundabout head left towards Caleta de Caballo, then onto Soo, Famara, the surfers paradise, and back to Club La Santa round about. You will make two loops of the bike course. The aim is to improve the safety on the cycle route with the support of the police and the town hall.

10K Run
The run starts and finishes at the Stadium and is a two loop course. Leaving the Stadium you turn left, you pass the Hotel Reception and head towards the lagoon; you keep on until reaching the turn point on the road to La Santa village. After the turn point you will return to the Stadium and then repeat the same course to complete the 10K.

Timing – The ChampionChip is selected as the official timing system and mandatory for all competitors to wear; it must be attached to the left ankle and must be worn throughout the race. The ChampionChip can be rented at the time of registration for a
deposit of 25 € which is refundable after the race. If athletes
wish to use their own ChampionChip it is essential they bring it
with them when registering.

Medical Service – Full medical care is available during the race. Our race doctor will be at the start/finish line and Red Cross will ensure first aid on the course.

The Event organization reserves the right to make changes to the Volcano

Schedule of Events

Friday, April 30th
15.00-19.00: Registration and information, Sports Booking, Club La Santa
18.30-22.00: Pasta Party, Restaurant Atlántico, Club La Santa (participants are invited)
19.00: Pre-race briefing, Square, Club La Santa

Saturday, May 01st – Race day*
08.00-09.30: Check-in: bike, cycle and running gear, Stadium, Club La Santa.
10.00: Race start
10.05: Volcano Relay start
21.00: Award ceremony, Live Music and Dance, Square, Club La
Santa

*No registration on race day

General Rules
• The ETU (European Triathlon Union) Competition Rules must be followed
• You must wear a clearly visible start number on the front and back of your racing kit
• Normal traffic rules must be obeyed
• Drafting is not allowed
Age Groups for the individuals triathlon
U/20, 20-24-, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65+
Awards for the individuals triathlon
Finisher T-shirt and medal
Prize money* is awarded in Euros to the overall top 10 finishers,
male/female:
1. 1100€ 6.90€
2. 600€ 7.60€
3. 480€ 8.60€
4. 330€ 9.60€
5. 210€ 10.60€ *Local tax and bank commissions will be deducted from the prizes.

Top 10 male/ female and all age group winners will receive a trophy. Overall winners not eligible for an age group award.

The Volcano Relay Triathlon

The Volcano Relay swim start will be at 10.05 am, 5 minutes after the individual start.

Relay Team – The team must be composed of 3 members, one for each discipline: Swim – Bike – Run

Relay Team categories
Females – Males – Mixed 2+1

Relay Exchange Rules – The team Championchip will act as the race baton and be exchanged between each team member in the Transition Zone. The ChampionChip must be worn on the left ankle in all 3 disciplines. Each stage member must attach the timing chip to his left ankle before the start of his discipline within the Transition Zone. The next designated stage member may assist the incoming stage member with removing the chip and reattaching it to his own ankle only when the first one has passed the timing mats in the Transition Zone.

Registration for the Relay teams – Team Captains are responsible for picking up their team numbers and Championchip during Registration (3 start numbers & one Championchip per Team). The Relay entry form must be fully completed and signed by the 3 Team members and sent to Club La Santa Lanzarote by April 30th 2009 (please see the entry form over the page).

General Rules for the Relay Triathlon

The Volcano Relay Team must follow the same rules as the individual participants.
Awards for the Relay Triathlon:
• Finisher T-Shirt per each runner of the team
• Finisher Medal per each runner of the team
• Trophies to the winning team in each category

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with CLub La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 85 € per week or 18 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

Accommodation and flights have to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW TRIATHLON KIT HERE

This morning I went to the gym. Maybe it’s that I just did an Olympic distance triathlon on Saturday. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy. Maybe I’m burned out. I just could not get the motivation to swim for more than 10 minutes. I was going to lift weight too but…meh, I just didn’t feel like it.

The thing is, there have been plenty of other times during my training when I didn’t feel like it, but that didn’t stop me. I still did my workouts and felt good about it. Today, I just feel like sleeping. And at the back of my mind I find myself thinking “What does it matter? I’m not signed up for anything.” And that scares me. It scares me because I wonder if I’ll feel any different tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. Maybe I’m just having a single down day, but what if it isn’t just for one day?

The trouble with it all is that it’s the beginning of winter, and that means the end of the triathlon season. Well, it means the end of every season except skiing and snowboarding season, but I don’t ski, and snowboarding won’t keep me in shape for triathlon, even if my back and hipflexor could handle it. My tentative plan is to sign up for the SLC full marathon in April, the Boise half-Ironman in June, and then the full Ironman in Panama City, Florida next November. Perhaps the marathon in April is enough to keep me running, but what about biking and swimming? If I don’t have an event until June, then I feel like I’m going to slack off on those two.

My coach says there’s a duathlon early next year in St. George, so maybe that’s something I can train for, but I need more ideas, even if it means traveling out of state.

Most of this text is taken from the write-up I did for TriHive Magazine, although I’ve included more detail here, since I didn’t want to make the TriHive version too personal.

I won’t say it went off without a hitch. There were a few things that went wrong, and some things that could have been better, but I’ve never been to a triathlon where there wasn’t room for improvement. Given that this is the first year for Gold Medal Racing under new ownership, I’d say the Lake Powell Triathlon went pretty well, and I look forward to a better race in the future.

The Drive

The first thing anyone notices about the event is that it’s not anywhere close to where most of us live. In my case, the drive from Draper, Utah was slightly over six hours. For those in the St. George area it’s a bit more palatable two hours. But for those who want to get in one more event before the end of the season, this is it, and somehow that makes the drive seem like a minor issue.

And it’s not as thought it’s an unpleasant drive. From northern Utah the drive takes you through Panguitch and Kanab and a few small towns in between with beautiful rock formations, mountains, rivers, farms, and at this time of year many of the leaves on the trees are bright yellow and at about 5 p.m. are lit up wonderfully by the setting sun.

Checking In

My wife, 20-month old daughter, and I arrived at the Stateline Marina, where the event would be held the next day, just before the sun went down. The weather was cool, but not cold, and the skies were entirely clear. I had already done this race the first year in 2007, so I didn’t feel a need to drive the course but I wanted to see the new location for the transition area made necessary by the larger number of participants. I was glad to see that the run from the swim to the transition area would be 100 yards or so on cement and asphalt this year, rather than a half mile on sand and rocks.

As we were walking down the boat ramp there was a large group of very fit youngsters walking up. They all had Air Force outfits on, many were carrying wetsuits, and it appeared they had all just finished a swim. I looked at the cut bodies with 4% body fat and thought “I hope these guys are just here for some sort of training that has nothing to do with the triathlon.”

We left the event site and drove a few miles farther into Page, Arizona. The Italian joint we had eaten at two years ago had been turned into a completely different restaurant, so we tried out another place instead, which turned out to be acceptable but nothing special, which is probably why the name of it escapes me. I wasn’t terribly hungry anyway, having had a large lunch, so I wasn’t too concerned about what I ate as long as it didn’t make me sick.

We stayed at the Rodeway Inn, which was the cheapest motel we could find when we had made our reservations a month earlier. There was a large contingent of bikers (of the Harley Davidson type) in front, but they appeared to be German tourists and didn’t give us any trouble, lucky for them.

Race Morning

I like to be early enough to be able to rack my bike anywhere I want, so we woke up while it was completely dark, packed up, and got to the transition area just as the staff was getting set up. I racked my bike and was the second person in body marking. Of course the other side of being early is that then you end up waiting around with nothing to do. At least that’s what generally happens, but I struck up a conversation with a fellow named Chris who racked his bike next to mine and we had a good chat for a while.

As opposed to the night before, it was not merely cool but a bit chilly, so instead of posting race updates to Facebook I kept my numb fingers in my pockets and walked around trying to keep warm.

As for those Air Force guys I had seen the evening before, they were all there. A bunch of 19-20 year-olds from the Air Force Academy who were in a triathlon club there. I’m glad our young men and women who are serving in the armed forces are so fit and trim, but I couldn’t help thinking that maybe it would be even more of a service to our country if they didn’t make us old geezers who pay taxes feel so fat and out of shape.

The Swim

I remember the water being colder the first year I participated, but maybe that’s just because I wore a sleeveless wetsuit that years, vs. a full wetsuit this year. Either way, there were a few people who opted to swim without wetsuits, and I don’t think they were too uncomfortable. There was no shock of cold to the water as I’ve experienced before.

I was in the first wave of Olympic racers, and although I was expecting to have a few minutes in the water to warm up, I suddenly heard the race director shouting through the megaphone that we would be starting the race in one minute. It was all I could do to make my way towards the front of the pack in time for the start.

This was the first time I had ever started a swim at the front of the group. The first two triathlons I was in I held back and didn’t even start swimming until everyone was out of my way. On the third, it was a wave start so my group was quite small, and we were all lined up shoulder to shoulder for the most part, so there wasn’t much of a front. On the fourth the swim was canceled, and so this was the first time I was ever in a large group, with a lot of guys behind me, and me in front acting like I was going to be in front the whole way.

Although I really thought I was prepared, as seems to always happen at the beginning of every swim portion, I thought I was going to die. I was getting pounded by everyone around me and I couldn’t catch my breath. It was all I could do to keep moving and hope that nobody piled right on top of me. Somehow my confidence in my swimming abilities seemed to have no connection to the reality I was experiencing as I swallowed a mouthful of water accidentally, tried to keep water out of my lungs, and struggled to stay on top of things. It appeared I was completely out of my league. In fact, it appeared I didn’t really know how to swim.

I struggled to the first buoy, and then all of a sudden as I turned that first corner it was as though someone opened my lungs and I could breathe. I was able to get into a rhythm that felt more like a normal training swim in a pool, and then I was fine the rest of the way. I found one of those thin Air Force guys and swam alongside him for a while, and then eventually passed him. I have to admit that made me feel pretty good. It felt pretty good later on when I found out I had beat another AF guy by five minutes on the swim. C’mon, I gotta be able to take some pride in something, somewhere. If I can’t look as good as those guys, at least I can take some consolation in being faster than they were on the swim portion of the event.

This was also the first event where I was trying to breathe on both sides. Normally, when I’m training, I breathe once every three strokes, which means I breathe bilaterally. But this never worked for me in events, so I always ended up breathing on one side, but struggling against it the whole time and trying to breathe on both sides. This time, I had gotten the tip from Heath Thurston that I shouldn’t be trying to breathe on both sides, so I didn’t fight it, and man, what a difference that made. I swam a lot faster than in training, despite that bad first part, and despite the fact I went way off course a few times and had to correct.

Before I knew it, I had gone around the loop twice and was on the home stretch. At this point there was a bit of confusion because I wasn’t sure whether we were supposed to exit onto the sandy beach where we had started, or to the right of the boat dock where the cement ramp was that we would run up to the transition area. But everyone seemed to be getting out on the beach, so I went that way as well.

In retrospect, I think I should have made sure to get a good warm-up in before the race started. It was obvious to me that it was just a matter of time for me to be able to swim right, and if I had swam 100-200 meters before the event started, I think I could have started off strong.

T1

I stomped out of my wetsuit, put on my old shoes which I had left at the bottom of the boat ramp so that I didn’t have to run all the way up in bare feet or flip flops, and started the run up. I quickly realized if I ran all the way up the steep grade I’d probably pass out before I got on my bike, so I settled for a quick walk.

The Bike

After a slight issue getting a strap on my right shoe all the way on so that it wasn’t hitting my bike as it went around, I was able to put some real speed into the bike. The course starts out mostly flat with some slight uphill portions that wind through the state park where most of the event is held. After a few miles on the slightly bumpy park road (it’s not bad but it would be a dream if they would resurface that road), we exited the south entrance to the park, turned right for 100 feet, and then turned right again onto the highway, which is where The Hill begins.

“The Hill” is not that bad. It can’t be much more than a quarter mile, if that, and it’s nothing compared to the hills around the Salt Lake valley. Still, if you haven’t been training on hills and are used to flat then I can see how it could be a bit of a workout.

After that first hill it was mostly flat again with some slight uphill portions until we came to the north entrance of the park where we left the highway. At this point the course is mostly downhill where you can really pick up some speed other than for the two or three sharp turns and one set of speed bumps.

We looped around past the transition area where the last Sprint distance racers were just coming out on their bikes for their first and only loop on the bike course while we were starting our second loop.

I had held back on the first loop because I couldn’t remember well enough what it was like from my first year. But realizing it was quite a bit shorter than I thought it would be, I picked up the pace on the second loop, cutting my time the second time around by a few minutes.

Everything is clear in hindsight, and I’m just glad it was a double loop so that I knew I could push it harder the second time around. If I had it to do over again, I would have pushed it harder the first and second times and I think I could have cut 5-6 minutes or more off my bike time.

T2

Having gotten some tips on transitions from David Warden’s Tri-Talk.com podcast (check out episode #48), my transitions in this race went a lot better than in previous events, although I did have a little struggle getting my Zoot shoes on, which I’ve only run in four or five times and should have practiced getting into a few more times just to get used to them.

The Run

One of the aspects of this course that I really enjoy is that coming off the bike and into the run it’s all downhill, so that your legs are feeling pretty good as you start out on the run and you don’t have that “brick” feeling of lifting legs made out of lead. I started the run feeling great, but with my 205 lb. frame and lack of running history I knew the run was where I would really feel it.

My conversational companion Chris, whom I had met that morning, caught up with me (he was in the second wave of Olympic racers) and we started chatting again. The course which had seemed relatively flat while on the bike turned out to be more of an uphill climb when running. Not too steep, but a 1% grade is all it takes on the run to make it challenging. Whereas on the bike course I had been passed by other racers slowly, here I was being passed quickly by all sorts of thin, fit people who seemed to glide by while my thick legs pounded heavily into the asphalt.

At this point I was thankful for my Garmin, which helped me keep on pace, and for Chris, whose conversation made the time pass faster. The run started out feeling slow, but it wasn’t long before we reached the turnaround and started back, which happily meant that it was almost all downhill.

I was aiming to maintain a 9:00 per mile pace, but was at 9:17 at the halfway point. Chris and I picked up our pace to about 8:30 on the way back, but walking through those aid stations really adds the seconds back on that you just worked hard to take off. By the time we reached the Sprint turnaround point, which let us know that we were 75% of the way to the finish, we were down to about 9:07. We picked it up some more and held a pace that was under 8:00 for most of the rest of the way, which meant our pleasant conversation came to a halt, since neither of us had the breathing capacity for speaking anymore.

Chris and I crossed the finish line together, and for the first time in all my triathlons, including a half-Ironman, I felt like I was about to pass out and wake up in a med-tent. I had never pushed my run that hard. In retrospect, I probably should have eaten the Gu that I ended up carrying the entire way but which I hadn’t opened for fear of getting a side-ache. I was very exhausted, so much so that I didn’t feel too well for at least 20 minutes after I finished. I think I was more worn out than I was after my half-Ironman, and I think that’s primarily due to not taking in enough nutrition during the bike, and none during the run.

Fat Boy, one of the sponsors, had come through once again with a cooler full of ice cream sandwiches, which were like heaven. There was a table full of Myoplex, and I was exhausted enough that even that tasted good. But mostly I stuck to downing as much water, Heed, and orange slices as I could.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Let’s start with the bad and ugly. It wasn’t until the event was all over that I found out about some other glitches. I had noticed on the bike ride that the aid stations were giving out Heed and water, which I hadn’t taken since it would have required slowing down, plus I was carrying more than enough drink with me. But apparently there was a miscommunication and the aid stations weren’t supposed to hand anything out to bikers, and this resulted in at least one of the aid stations running out of drink for the later runners (there had been plenty of liquids left while I was running). While this didn’t effect me, I see how this could have been a major problem for some of the slower runners who probably needed the liquids the most.

There were also the problems of people having taken all the raffle prizes, some of the medals having disappeared under mysterious circumstances, people walking off with boxes of Myoplex before all the racers had come in and had a chance to get even one, and some general disorganization that manifested itself here and there.

But I think the good things far outweigh any of the negatives, which could easily be overcome with some relatively minor changes.

The weather both years I’ve participated has been perfect. People often think of Lake Powell as a hot place, but at this time of year it’s in the 60s and 70s during the time of the race and only starts getting up towards 80 degrees after the race is over. There was also a nice breeze to keep you cool and dry, but not so much of a breeze to constitute actual wind resistance.

The scenery is beautiful. You’d be hard pressed to find another event with a backdrop like that of the huge cliffs and rocks rising out of the waters of Lake Powell.

Other than the portion of the bike course that runs on the highway, the course is virtually devoid of auto traffic.

One little known secret—there is an area just a 30-second drive from the transition area that has private showers you can use for $2 in quarters. My wife wishes we had known about that the first year.

I felt like it was a great event, the minor issues notwithstanding. I’m sure it will be a bit more polished and even better next year. I’d be there, but seeing as how I’ll be in the final stages of training for my Ironman in early November, I don’ t think I’ll be doing any events in October.

My Results

Photos

You know, just when I start thinking “Yeah, I’m really losing weight and getting fit” then I see some photos of myself and think “Man, I’ve got a ways to go.”

I have added a new way to sort the available events on triresults.com.  Now you can either view All Events or Full Ironman or Ironman 70.3 or Member Added events.  Just click the tab at the top to only show the events that you are interested in:

Well over a year ago I canceled my membership with 24-Hour Fitness, had a nightmare of a time getting the cancellation processed (you would think it would be a fairly straight-forward process), and ended up swearing I’d never sign up with them again, nor refer anyone I knew to them.

Between yesterday and today, I had an entirely different experience with Lifetime Fitness, where I currently work out. No, I wasn’t canceling, and given the phone call I got this morning I might never cancel, not to mention that I’m much more likely to refer people to them.

Yesterday, I wrote a small, tongue-in-cheek, post about how I kept getting Lifetime Fitness sales calls, even though I was already a member. I only got 5 such calls, rather than the 47 I alluded to in the post, but 5 calls in a week was enough for me to find it interesting. After all, I’m a business owner, I know something about business processes, and I couldn’t figure out how Lifetime Fitness had gotten their system/data into such a state that I was getting these repeat sales calls asking me to sign up for something I had already bought. I regarded it as a curious phenomena, the same way a scientist might observe the previously-unknown behavior of some species of animal.

This morning, I received the following voicemail message from Lynn Paul, the Senior Director of Member Relations at the corporation offices of Lifetime Fitness in Minnesota. By the way, her tone was very pleasant and she evidently found my post humorous, as it was intended to be:

Good morning Joshua, this is Lynn Paul calling from Lifetime Fitness, I am the Senior Director of Member Relations, and I am not calling to ask you to join the club, or if anyone in your household would want to join. I see you have a 1-year old and would imagine she probably doesn’t have a lot of friends hanging out who would be good prospects for us to ask to join. I am calling to apologize, we located your blog yesterday and you had a dozen people running around here at the corporate office saying “What the heck is going on?!” including me. I wanted to just call and apologize very much for calling you nearly 47 times and asking you the same silly questions. We have gotten to the root cause of why you were on so many various lists and what has happened. I assure you we have taken you off of all of those lists, and we will not bother you again. I see you’re a very active member, that you’re going into the club quite regularly, hope you’re having a good time and that we’re meeting your needs. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. Again, I’m the Senior Director of Member Relations at our corporate office in Minnesota, my name is Lynn Paul and I can be reached at [she leaves her phone number here]. I also am planning to send you a gift card, just for your funny email and for letting us know that there’s a real serious issue going on. I hope you’re doing well, the gift card that I send you will indeed buy you several smoothies and hopefully a dinner and lunch or two. Thanks for being a member and thanks for sharing with us. As I said, you have us acting and we will be a better company for it. Again, Lynn Paul, if you would like to talk feel free to call me [phone number again].

So what did Lynn, and Lifetime Fitness, do right?

1. They had an alert system. I have no idea how they found my blog. Maybe they have a Google Alert set up (as all companies should have for their name). This isn’t the first time I’ve posted a “complaint” on a blog of mine before, but it’s the first time I recall getting a response.

2. They responded quickly. I posted yesterday afternoon, and I got this voicemail this morning. That’s fast. In fact, I’ve previously contacted other companies whose services I use via email and phone and haven’t gotten any response at all (I’m looking at you, Zions Bank).

3. Win-win…win. Lynn could have asked me to take down the post. She could have negotiated to get me to take down the post. But instead, she took advantage of an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive. Getting me to remove the post would have ended with negative consequences, since I probably would not have removed the post, and then I would have blogged about them trying to get me to take down the post. But by seeing the humor in the situation, not taking offense, and then going the extra mile to make me happy (not only by getting my name off the call list, but sending me a gift card with apparently more than a token amount on it), Lynn has turned a major PR debacle (assuming anyone reads this blog) into a PR benefit because others reading this series of posts will see second-hand, as I’m seeing first-hand, that Lifetime Fitness cares about doing things right and they’re treating me like a human being, not just a problem to be resolved.

Lynn’s attitude benefits Lifetime Fitness because not only has the original call list been solved (which was probably affecting other people other than myself), but I’m likely to remain a member for some time, and I’m more likely than I was previously to send my friends to Lifetime Fitness. And all it cost was a two-minute phone call and a $1,000 gift card…err, well, maybe $50.

But as long as I’ve got the folks at Lifetime Fitness reading my blog, maybe I should ask if they can build a new gym closer to me down in Draper. C’mon guys, trust me, there’s a great spot right off the freeway, and tons of people would use it. And can you put a 50-meter pool in it? Awesome, thanks.

A week ago I got sick. The more I think about it, the more I think it was my body telling me I wasn’t getting enough rest, nor was I getting very good rest. I’ve known for over a decade now what constitutes a “good night’s rest” for me, but it was based on anecdotal evidence which I have more or less ignored all these years, but which now I’m committed to carrying out for the rest of my life.

Back in 1998 I was starting my second year of college. I was fresh off a two-year stint as a missionary for the LDS Church in Brazil, and had been following a strict schedule of waking up at 6:30 am and getting into bed at 10:30 pm. I probably couldn’t point to more than five occasions on which I violated this schedule, and during those two years I felt great. I carried this lifestyle into my post-mission life at college where it served me quite well, although I adjusted my schedule so that I went to bed at 8 pm and got up at 4 am. I couldn’t have done this without the cooperation of my roommate, who had a custodial job and had to be up at 3 am in order to go mop hallways. I have never felt more healthy in my life than those 8-9 months I was able to keep this up. Then I discovered girls, and it all went downhill from there.

I started dating a girl and instead of going to bed at 8 pm, I was online chatting until 4 am, and then I would sleep until 9 am. I stopped working out consistently. I stopped eating consistently. And when that girl dumped me three weeks later I felt like I had been run over by a semi-truck, not only emotionally but physically as well. I shaped up some after that, but never fully regained my sleeping regimen, despite repeated attempts.

Last weekend, I was listening to a show on NPR (which I have searched high and low for in vain) profiling a filmmaker with a sleeping disorder. The guy is unable to go to sleep until he crashes, which means he goes days at a time without sleep until he finally passes out, sleeps for two hours, and then wakes up, still wanting to sleep, but unable to because his mind is racing. That was interesting in and of itself, but what was really interesting to me was when he spoke about all the different treatments he had tried.

He mentioned that the #1 rule of good sleep is to get up at the same time every day, regardless of when you went to bed. The #2 rule of good sleep is to go to sleep at the same time every day. Finally, I had a “scientific” source for what I learned over ten years ago on my own. Coming on the heels of my breakdown due to a lack of sleep, I decided to get on a strict schedule of sleeping from 9 pm to 5 am, and I have noticed an immediate improvement. Not only do I feel better rested throughout the day, but I find it easier to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. I’m already at the point where I instinctively wake up at 5 am even if my alarm clock doesn’t go off, and I’m not tired. I feel ready to take on the day. They say it takes three weeks for your body/brain to adjust to a new sleep schedule, but for me it took three days.

It is a challenge to get to bed by 9 pm every night. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve pulled it off more than once or twice since I started. But I have gotten to sleep before 10 pm almost every night, which is a great improvement over my previous schedule wherein I got to sleep between 11 and midnight, but was still getting up at 5 am. I’m still shooting for 9 pm every night, which means I have to start getting ready at about 8 pm right after we put my daughter down to bed, but it’s certainly worth it, and if I’m going to make it to Ironman I don’t see how I’ll be able to succeed without doing it.

I’m amazed how I can go from not knowing something exists to knowing I can’t exist without that something within a few weeks. Such is the case as I’ve talked with friends and read articles surrounding the concept of barefoot running. Actually, the first time I heard of this was a few years ago, before I was interested in running, and therefore was incapable of desiring anything that would make me run faster. The only time I was interested in getting anywhere faster under my own locomotion was when I was moving from the frozen treat aisle of the grocery store towards the checkout lane. But sometime during my fat years I stumbled onto something about Nike Free, a shoe that simulated running with bare feet, purportedly invented because running in bare feet was better for you. Nike didn’t go so far as to actually recommend running in bare feet, since that would be anathema to their business model, plus it makes it hard to stop in at McDonalds for a Big Mac and shake if you’re out on a training run and get the hankerin’.

My interest in running in bare feet was piqued more recently when my coach recommended, or commanded, that I start running on my toes. Then my friend posted about the Vibram Five Fingers “shoes” he had gotten, and at a later day he told me he loved them. Then Te Koi told me how much he loves Newtons and sent me this link reviewing Newton shoes. And finally today I read this LA Times article on the merits of running, not with any special shoe that simulates barefoot running, but actually running in bare feet.

Te Koi has loaned me a pair of his old Newton’s, which I’m very excited to try on, although my excitement lacks follow through seeing as how they’ve been in my house for over a week and I haven’t done anything with them. I think that will probably be a good starting point for me. I’m definitely not sold on running barefoot, mostly because I’m afraid of glass, rocks, twigs, nails, roadkill, dog poo, etc. I’m also not sure if I’m ready to jump into the Vibram Five Fingers yet (although if they want to send me a pair to review, I’d love to try them out, but I doubt they need my help as apparently they’re selling like hotcakes already, and you know how hotcakes sell). So trying out the Newtons and the Nike Free will probably be the first step for me (no pun intended, but feel free to enjoy it if you like…or not, whatever).

Sally Walker, together with Club La Santa, will focus on some of the elements of a good life in these special theme weeks. We are all unique with individual needs, and therefore our goal and perception of a good life is very different. During these weeks, Sally Walker will open your eyes to the broader picture and work with your on your own individual perspective, giving you valuable and individual advice about how to reach a healthy lifestyle and – a goodlife. The themes are built up according to your individual requirements, allowing you to take part at various levels. Whether you have already worked with similar principles or if you are not yet conscious of your values, Sally will give you the input and the tools to work with, which are the most important factors to turn knowledge into action.

Use this opportunity to combine an active holiday at Club La Santa with input from Sally Walker’s goodlife week. Club La Santa offers over 25 different sports facilities, many of which you can use free of charge. You can play tennis, squash, badminton, golf, swim, take part in aerobics, spin classes,football, yoga, fitness and much more. You can also relax in the leisure pool area or visit the Wellness centre with its spa, saunas, jacuzzis, hot and cold water pools and a variety of massages available.

Sally Walker
Sally is English and has lived in Denmark for more than 25 years. Originally educated as a physiotherapist with more than 30 years experience, she has since studied nutrition, acupuncture, kinesiology, natural medicine both in England and USA – and is today a specialist in stress/goodlife coaching. Since 1997, Sally has managed her company ”team goodlife”, where she and her team of therapists work with physical, mental and emotional health – ’everything you need to know to feel good’ ”I am wild about knowledge and eager to communicate” says Sally who is a much sought after speaker within the fields of nutrition, personal development and stress.

She visits Club La Santa several times a year both for work and pleasure, and is responsible for ’goodlife’ weeks, ‘cooking school’ weeks and ‘stress free’ weeks. Sally has also written several books and articles such as; ”The Goodlife Manual – tools to understand and relieve stress”, “The Sweet Life – understanding the sugar family and how to live with them” and is co-author to the book “Your body is the mirror image of your thoughts”.

Everything you need to know to feel good – lecture, free of charge

An exciting, provocative and informative lecture about how our daily diet and physical and mental habits determine our ability to have a ‘goodlife’.

The Sweet life- Sugar truths, misunderstanings and addicion-workshop
What is sugar and in which foods do we find it? Are you a sugar addict and how much are you addicted? But most important, how do you get out of your sugar prison and get control of your sugar
monster?

Nutrition for optimal physical, mental and emotional health and your perfect weight – workshop
The purpose of this workshop is that you have knowledge of the factors that determine which nutrients
are best for you, together with a review of the nutrients. The way the body digests and uses food and
nutrients is different and individual, and is genetically controlled. The workshop includes the energy
type test, food barometer and food overview, sheets – and then you will be equipped to create your
own diet plan.

What is stress? – workshop
Stress is very often the root of many people’s health problems, whether they recognise it or not. Is it the cause of your lack of energy, your bad mood, your lack of libido, even the fat around your middle can be caused by stress. In this workshop you will understand how the programmed actions of your stress hormones are affecting all of your body’s functions. Sally will introduce you to the different stressors and help you identify yours. Then explain how you can turn off or turn down the stressors you choose to have.

Success Puzzle – Workshop
The purpose of this workshop is to give you an overview of the mechanisms and biochemistry behind success. Success is a result – are your results successes or failures? Do you desire other results than those you get today? Come and understand
the principles behind these 2 formulas – thoughts = feelings = actions and visualizing + feelings x repetition = success.

Group Coaching and The Secret (movie)
The film and group coaching is a must for you who would like to work with personal development and for you who would like to achieve new and better results in your life. You will come to understand that your present results are the direct result of your past thoughts and feelings, which propelled you into action. You will learn how you can control your thoughts and feelings and
thereby change your results.

Sally’s lectures are updated all the time. She’s always learning and growing. So even though you have attended one of her lectures earlier, there are still plenty of reasons to come again.

Health Profile-30 min
Get a picture of your health and thereby an indication of how effective your body is to adapt. A health profile takes 30 min., and includes blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and oxidative stress values, fat %, muscle %, water %, BMI and metabolic age. Advice based on the above results and an action plan. Tests, available daily, are taken while FASTING at 07.00 – 08.00.

Goodlife consultation
Manifest via the goodlife wheel which of your lifestyle habits prevent you from reaching a ”goodlife”. Nutritional plan based on your food type – the ratio of carbohydrate, fat and protein in every meal, which is best for you.

Exercise advice – which form for exercise is best for you.

Example programme for a goodlife day:

Monday
07.00 – 08.00 Health Profile
A.M. Group Coaching
A.M. Goodlife consultation (90 min. per person)
P.M. Workshop

The final programme with the times and venues can be collected in Sports Booking upon arrival, where you can also book and pay. There are also posters around the complex with extra information.

Please note that there are a limited number places available.

Prices
Group coaching :20 €
Individual goodlife consultations: 80 €
Acupuncture treatment: 30 €
Workshops: 10 €
Health profile: 40 €
Film:The Secret (movie): 10 €

Sally Walker also offers special health packages:
Gold: 140 € (Goodlife consultation, health profile, “the secret” movie, coaching with the secret workshop and a goodlife t-shirt.)
Silver: 100 € (Goodlife consultation, health profile and “the secret” movie)
Bronze: 25 € (“The secret” movie and coaching with the secret workshop)

For more information please download it as a PDF file

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

Aimed specifically at athletes who are training for Ironman events – in Particular Iroman Lanzarote 2011.

Cards on the table! This week is just as much about me getting into shape for Ironman as it will be for the participants on the camp! Not many people know this but I have registered for Lanzarote IM 2011. It is over 11 years ago since I last raced an Ironman but I do remember what it takes.

So this is a chance to join me on what I know is going to be a painful but hopefully successful and rewarding journey. This week will not be just about what I need to do, it will be about what everyone needs to do.

It is an Ironman specific training camp and little emphasis will be placed onto technique and no time spent in the lecture room. However every session will be planned out and explained well in advance so that everyone goes into every session with clear goals and expectations. There will also be plenty of time for informal chat over coffee!

180km is much further than 40km!!!

The aims of the camp will be:

•For a high volume week of training
•An extra emphasis on the cycling (as this is the hardest one to train for in the Uk winter)
•To include key race specific Ironman conditioning sessions
•To work on the Mental toughness required for Ironman
•To consider good recovery

The course is aimed at anyone who realises the need for quality winter training to be able to complete an Ironman. Levels or abilities are not a factor as much of the training will be at individuals paces.

Limit of between 15 and 20 athletes – (5 places reserved for TriLiving Athletes)

The Coach

Richard Hobson:
o 10 years as a full time triathlete
o 5 x British Champion
o 12 years as a full time coach
o Coach to 2 Olympic athletes (Athens 2004)
o Head coach Bath High Performance centre (1998 – 2006)
o Numerous age group champions
o Works with athletes who are complete beginners through to Elite
o Going to Club La Santa for over 20 years and Running training camps at Club la Santa for over 10 years

Richard with the rest of the coaching team knows what it takes to succeed; the knowledge and experience to help will be there.

The programme

To see a draft programme for the week click here.

Camp fee is £195.00

Please send an Email to Richard Hobson at Triliving if you are interested in joining this camp to know whether places are still available or to get further information richardhobson@triliving.co.uk

Do not book your flights and accommodation until you are sure you have a space on the camp.

For more information on Richard Hobson then please visit his website.

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with Club La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 95 € per week or 21 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

See you there if you think you are tough enough!!

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

FOR APARTMENT PRICES AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW TRIATHLON KIT HERE

A rare opportunity to hear gifted jazz musicians in the incredible setting of Penticton’s SS Sicamous ballroom, Tuesday, September 8th at 8pm: Gillian Russel, her brother Brian, Stefan Bienz, Curtis Parry and Bill McAvoy will perform. Last year this concert was completely sold out. Tickets from the SS Sicamous box office, 250 492-0405, open 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday. $20 regular admission/$17 students & seniors.

A rare opportunity to hear gifted jazz musicians in the incredible setting of Penticton’s SS Sicamous ballroom, Tuesday, September 8th at 8pm: Gillian Russel, her brother Brian, Stefan Bienz, Curtis Parry and Bill McAvoy will perform. Last year this concert was completely sold out. Tickets from the SS Sicamous box office, 250 492-0405, open 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday. $20 regular admission/$17 students & seniors.

FOR APARTMENTS AT CLUB LA SANTA. Please refer to the pricing tab.

This is the 12th year of the Volcano Training Camp organised by Richard Hobson and it’s supported by top coaches and sponsors. The aim is to produce an unparalleled training, racing and life experience.

Famous for its sporting facilities in a holiday environment, Club La Santa has long been recognised by triathletes as a top training and racing venue. This resort and camp are designed for individuals, groups and families. All are catered for and all are welcome.

Richard Hobson, 10 years as a pro, 5 times National Champion, Olympic Coach to 2 athletes, Performance Coach for the British Triathlon Association, Head Coach Bath Triathlon Performance Centre, Age Group Coach to European and World Age Group Qualifiers. He and the rest of the coaching team know what it takes to succeed, whether you are a beginner, an elite performer, doing it for fun, or you want to be the next Olympic Champion; their knowledge and experience to help will be there.

• The training:
There will be plenty of opportunity to train, but every session will have method behind the madness(!).

• Technical aspects:
Throughout the course an emphasis will be placed on technique and skills. This will be backed up by individual assessment and video work.

• Lectures:
To cover all aspects of triathlon. Training methods, techniques, and programmes. Swim Bike & Run technique. Equipment. Diet & fluid replacement plus others.

• Practical feedback:
It is our aim to provide each course member with as much individual feedback as possible to help establish strengths and weaknesses, heart rate zones (dependant on having own monitor) and other useful data.

• Don’t forget it is a holiday: Nothing is compulsory and there will be time to enjoy all the fantastic facilities at Club La Santa. We also make it a priority to make all training as fun as possible and include a number of non triathlon activities.

• Why not join in the 26th Volcano Triathlon – 08th May 2011.

Please note that it is possible to join the camp for 1 week (28th April – 05 May 2011)

Please note that if you want to rent a Club La Santa bike rather than taking your own, you will have to arrange this separately with Club La Santa UK prior to departure. The price for a bike is around 95 € per week or 21 € a day. It is advisable to book these bikes at time of booking and will be subject to availabilty

Accommodation has to be booked separately with Club La Santa UK on +44 (0) 161-790-9890

Event weeks are restricted to guests staying at Club La Santa.

BUY YOUR NEW TRIATHLON KIT HERE