April 2014 Xterra #Wetsuit sale - Lava Pants and Vortex Fullsuit + Mesh bag - Use code "C-STPM" #Triathlon #swimming

Our great www.Tri4aHandUp.com partner, Xterra wetsuits, is having a sale on the LAVA Pants and Vortex Fullsuit and Mesh Bag Bundle!  It's located in the Wetsuit sale section of products.

For this week only, they are running an amazing deal on LAVA Pants Standard retail pricing is $150, on sale now for just $109.

Remember to also take advantage of the Vortex Fullsuit and Mesh Bag Bundle for the Golden Price of $149. Standard retail pricing is $509.

Lucky for you they are extending this sale to April 3rd!

Check out the deals below and hit www.xterrawetsuits.com and use code "C-STPM" at checkout to get the best price!

Thanks for the support!

X2PERFORMANCE sports nutrition supplement review #teamX2 #spon

How’s a triathlete to know what’s crap and what’s reputable when taking in nutrition or supplements? Many athletes are hypersensitive to what they put in their bodies to supply it with the energy it needs for 15 hours or more of training a week. There’s a tricky balance of taking in the right amount of calories for health and recovery without being excessive to pack on extra pounds. Lets be honest, some don’t pay attention and have no problem eating whatever they want, be we’re not going there today. Don’t eat that, take that supplement, don’t take that supplement. The latest major study even states that multivitamins do nothing to improve health. What’s a triathlete to do?

Red Bull before a race? Seen it. Gulping GU shots every 30 minutes? Standard for some. Sometimes less is more. That’s why we are taking a look at X²PERFORMANCE in this review. It’s a simple solution to an age old triathlete problem. The right stuff at the right time with the right ingredients.

We tried out a 4-pack of X²PERFORMANCE on some long runs leading up the LA Marathon and used it on race day. Check out our thoughts below on X²PERFORMANCE.

Packaging / Shelf Appeal / Marketing

X2 packaging is professional, glossy and appealing. It’s obviously not produced and packaged in someone’s garage and shipped using Fred’s delivery service.

Now, you won’t find X2 on the shelves of your tri shop or local GNC. You have to buy it exclusively through their website. That direct sales model cuts out the middle man and allows lower prices to cover less overheads.

With each order you get a few inserts about the products, company and recommended directions. Pretty standard there.

Form / Construction

You know what we like? We like bottles that are sealed with plastic and have a secured lid under the cap. Nothing’s more scary than looking at supplements that looked like someone tampered with them and threw them in a box.

The red bottles are interesting. DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED!? YOU’RE DARN RIGHT I DID! It screams at you. You can’t ignore it, but they will go through TSA at the airport with no issues. Almost a little more subtleness would suit them for athletes that travel the airlines. But, you feel like you’re drinking something that’s for a double spy when you kick back the X2 red bottle. I got a few looks. Yes, I’m drinking rocket fuel, what’s it to you?

Fashion / Appearance

In line with the marketing and bottle appearance, the X2 makes a statement. We’re here and we’re going to kick butt. The lettering is stylish, the boxes are made to fit exactly the amount of bottles per order and they just appear to have it together. Nothing’s worse than getting a bag of chips with your sandwich only to open them up and find 4 chips and the rest was air. No waste here.

Fit / Function

So all the fluff about appeal and marketing is great, but what does it really do for you?

First of all, the taste is very unique. It can be bitter if not refrigerated, but tolerable if you have a sports drink handy to wash down the aftertaste. All of our testing was performed without refrigeration.

The fluid is somewhat milky in appearance, but is as fluid as water and goes down without an issue. This is in stark contrast to sports gels that ooze down your throat and sit in your gut waiting for digestion.

It wasn’t an instantaneous magical potion that instantly transformed the drinker into an invincible athlete. Honestly, it was like, “that’s it”? But, you do need to follow the directions and take 30 to 45 minutes before workouts. It’s a subtle feeling more akin to creatine. It may not make you feel superhuman, but it will allow you to do your workout with more intensity for longer periods of time. Maybe more akin to Viagra… working harder longer? Maybe not. At any rate, we half expected a rush type feeling that accompanies Red Bull or 5 Hour Energy. X2 was nothing like those sugar or B12 rush drinks. There were no jitters or increased heart rates to go along with the drink at any time. It was a steady energy output that we couldn’t really tell a start and end to. It came, it went, and we completed our workouts with vim and vigor.

We used it during marathon training and for the marathon. For the first 1:15 of the marathon, we had energy to spare and unfortunately did not plan ahead and only had one bottle left for race morning. Honestly, we could tell a difference around mile 12. Just a drain in energy. Before that we attacked the hills and kept pace with the goal pace group. Honestly we wish we had more. Might have to break down and buy some instead of using up the review supply!

Cost

Brace yourself, here’s where we talk about the mean green. Now, considering the competition such as GU, PowerBar, Gatorade the proliferation of hundreds of smaller supplement companies that litter the endurance world, X2 can pack a punch to the wallet. But, this is a complete system in one drink. There’s no prime, during workout, recovery or systems of multiple products to use here. You buy one product, and you use it once a day for recovery days or short workout days and possibly multiple times in longer training sessions.

X2 ranges from $3.99 to $4.99 depending on if you buy in bulk or not. Obviously they want you to buy more at a time and it’s less costly to produce and ship in bulk.

Your average GU shot or CLIF shot may run you $1.50 or maybe $2 at the most. And, some can use purely the sports gel for a race, but you need another product for recovery. With X2, it’s all there.

Final thoughts

We found the angle of X2 unique. They go after the generation and regeneration of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and increase that instead of using stimulants like caffeine to get your heart rate up and leaving you vulnerable to the crash afterwards.

The initial taste might require some getting used to or at least having a sports drink chaser on hand. It’s a great alternative to the sports gels providing an increase in stamina to work at the same rate for extended periods of time. Do keep in mind that you need more than one serving of you are going long.

The price might be prohibitive, but people drink $5 macchiatos from Starbucks on a daily basis, so it’s a good substitute to a bad vice for endurance athletes. If you are in the market for something to keep you going without the stomach bomb, check out X²PERFORMANCE.

Disclaimer

Writer’s Note – Ryan is participating in a sponsored campaign for X²PERFORMANCE. He received compensation for this post, but the opinions are his. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

March 2014 www.Tri4aHandUp.com fundraising update #IronmanTriathlon #IMTX #IMChoo #Triathlon

2 months-ish out from Ironman Texas.

There has been way too much indoor training this winter.  Due to choosing some major spring events like the LA Marathon and IM Texas Triathlon, I have spent a lot more time on treadmills and bike trainers than I ever have before.  It's been bonding time with the indoors.  Yuck.

Nice trick on March 23rd Old Man Winter, jerk.

Lets not forget about my Tri 4 a Hand Up Movement which was the major instagator for multiple Ironman Triathlons in 2014.

Pairing IM Texas with IM Choo for Mended Little Hearts and Ride to Give is all a part of my master www.Tri4aHandUp.com fundraising scheme.

I thought I'd give you an update of where we are at.

Here's a handy slide showing where we are for each event and overall.

As you can see,with 2 months to go, we have a lofty goal of $1500 with IM Texas and have $646 raised to date. Good, but we still have a long way to go!  Feel free to drop a buck or two off at http://www.active.com/donate/kickstartyourheart/T4AHUIMTX.  I know you want to.  ;)

IM Choo is doing a little better and we have until September to make that happen.  You can check out that campaign and contribute at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6b2s7/ab/61quY2.

We also have help coming on from the Xterra sales using code "C-STPM", so thank you to all that have used that code to get a discount and contribute back to T4AHU.

Also stay tuned for an AWESOME online raffle of sweet gifts that SEVERAL companies that I have reviewed products for have contributed, free of charge.  If you know of a quality method to run an online charity raffle, please drop me a comment and we can get that going!

Thanks for ready and have a good week!

You never know who you will meet traveling to races #BetterYourBest #LAMarathon @LAMarathon

So, I'm still flying high off the dream that was the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon...

I cramped at mile 22, and didn't get the time I had hoped, but it was awesome.  Still geeking out about it.

But, I wanted to write up a post about Claire Phillips.  ASICS pro athlete?  Nope.  Elite runner?  Nope.  Triathlete, not to my knowledge.

Photo from cjonline.com

At first it was a casual conversation at 6:30am on our flight to LA the Friday before the race.  She asked if I was headed to the marathon and we chatted about the excitement that awaited and her mission for the race.

She began her marathon career in 1999 at an event held at Disney World in which she raised funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She ran in the same marathon again two years later.  She has also ran in Oklahoma City and few other local Midwest events.

After reading a December story in The Topeka Capital-Journal about Breakthrough House’s Clubhouse impending transition from operating five days a week to four days a week, she wanted to help.  She resolved to run the 2014 LA Marathon for charity to keep the Clubhouse open 5 days a week.

Per the Capital-Journal, the Breakthrough House, which provides a range of mental health recovery services to its clients, sustained $350,000 in cuts during the past three years.

Claire's goal pace was 12:30 to 13:00 minutes per mile and she finished in 6:31:11, good for a 14:56 per mile pace.  But, as my personal race recap went, a lot of people had to adjust their goals this year at the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon.  It was a hot day by the end of the race.

Last I heard, she had raised $3000 to $4000 for the Breakthrough House, and they are still taking donations.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Phillips to help fund the Clubhouse may do so by pledging an amount per mile or giving a block donation. Donations can be made by check to Breakthrough House, calling the agency at (785) 232-6807, or visiting breakthroughhouse.org and designating “LA Marathon.”

All donations made in conjunction with Phillips’ fundraising effort are being designated specifically for the Clubhouse, which offers opportunities for those recovering from mental illness to participate in support groups, job training and social activities that give them opportunities to be involved in the community.

Xterra #Wetsuit sale - Lava Pants and Vortex Fullsuit + Mesh bag - Use code "C-STPM" #Triathlon #swimming

Our great www.Tri4aHandUp.com partner, Xterra wetsuits, is having a sale on the LAVA Pants and Vortex Fullsuit and Mesh Bag Bundle!  It's located in the Wetsuit sale section of products.

For this week only, they are running an amazing deal on LAVA Pants Standard retail pricing is $150, on sale now for just $89.

Remember to also take advantage of the Vortex Fullsuit and Mesh Bag Bundle for the Golden Price of $149. Standard retail pricing is $509.

Lucky for you they are extending this sale to Sunday, March 23rd!

Check out the deals below and hit www.xterrawetsuits.com and use code "C-STPM" at checkout to get the best price!

Thanks for the support!

10 Questions with @CoachKastor at 2014 @ASICSAmerica @LAMarathon

Coach Andrew Kastor (http://www.coachkastor.com/blog/) was in LA for the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon with his runners and we got some time to sit down with him to ask him 10 lightning round questions. Coach Kastor spent 15 years as a competitive runner and has trained some of the world’s finest athletes and worked with other renowned coaches including Damon Martin (Adams State), Bob Larsen (2004 Olympic Team, UCLA & Team Running USA), Terrence Mahon (Mammoth Track Club) and Joe Vigil (2008 Olympic Team, Adams State & Team Running USA).

Coach Kastor is the consulting coach for ASICS, New York Road Runners online coach from 2008-2010, contributing coach to SHAPE Magazine, FITNESS, HEALTH, Women’s Health, New York Runner, LIVESTRONG.COM and Runner’s World. He has been involved in the daily lives of dozens of Olympic distance runners and continues to work personally with runners of all abilities, from world class marathoners to first time 5km run/walkers. Coach Kastor currently resides in Mammoth Lakes, California with his wife, Deena (Olympic Marathon medalist and American Record holder in the marathon, 2:19:36) and his daughter, Piper Bloom.

1) Who's was your Childhood inspiration?
Coach Kastor : Spud Webb (http://www.spudwebb.net/). He loved basketball when growing up and when he was 7, Spud was making a name for himself in the NBA and Coach Kastor was the same height at the time.

2) What's your favorite race?
Coach Kastor : 2001 NYC Marathon. Immediately after the WTC attack, they didn’t even know if they would run the race. It was so patriotic to be a part of.

3) What's your favorite post race treat?
Coach Kastor : Bloody Mary. Nothing better than recovering after a marathon in a hot tub with a bloody mary.

4) What do you hate about racing?
Coach Kastor : The last minute urge to pee before a race and the mad dash to find a bathroom or hold it.

5) What’s your best training tip?
Coach Kastor : Get a coach. They can see so much an athlete cannot. They know when to cancel a workout and when to test an athlete.

6) Does Training improve or sink your love life?
Coach Kastor : Since he is married to an Olympic runner in Deena Kastor, their life revolves around running and training, so it works well.

7) What’s your most embarrassing career/race moment?
Coach Kastor : In school after a track practice, Coach Kastor was a nude model for an art class so in the first session he rushed over and proceeded to pose on a stand with wheels. He stepped on with one foot, didn’t realize it had wheels and proceeded to do the splits in front of the art class, nude.

8) How do you push yourself through the pain?
Coach Kastor : Envision all of the pain going from you to the person next to you. Don’t compare your pain to theirs, actually think about taking the pain in your body and placing it in theirs.

9) Is winning everything?
Coach Kastor : Winning is a product of solid training and planning. If you train and plan to win, winning on race day will take care of itself.

10) What would you do if you were not a pro athlete?
Coach Kastor : Watch the movie Quicksilver. He would love to be a bicycle messenger running around LA like Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver.

2014 @ASICSAmerica @LAMarathon event review #BetterYourBest

If you have been living under a rock and not reading my blog, you missed out on ALL of the posts for the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon.  But, here's the event review for you to catch up!

Buckle up, this review is going to be fast and furious, unlike my finish time.  ;)

 

The Price 

If you registered early, is was a whopping $150 per person.  That's also at a savings of $10.  I looked around and wasn't sure what the final entry price was.  Here in Kansas that's a regular price entry for an Olympic distance triathlon and the Kansas City Marathon would be $130 at packet pickup.  Now, Kansas events may have 200 to 10,000 people.  The LA Marathon topped out at 26,000.  That's a lot of people and a lot of logistics to cover.  Not to mention, it probably costs a little more to shut down LA than Kansas City.  Just saying. LA is a destination race, so you get what you pay for.

 

Packet Pickup 

The expo was pretty huge and almost overwhelming.  We strolled around and checked out many booths after the streamlined bib, shirt and gear pickup.  I even found affordable sunglasses to replace the ones I left in my car in airport parking in Kansas City.

If you forgot it, they had it.  If you wanted any race clothes or goodies, they had it.  you could touch, feel and buy everything LA Marathon related.  We ventured in Friday, so it might have picked up Saturday and been more crowded.  My only wish was to have the bathrooms more accessible no matter where you were in the expo.  Minor details.

 

Web Site / Instructions / Course Info 

When you sign up, you are on the email list.  They peppered you with info and instructions, so if you were unprepared, you had no one to blame but yourself.  Plus, if you were subscribed to me over at Examiner.com, I also wrote up articles on vital race info and tips.

I followed on twitter and liked on facebook.  The problem is I follow and like too many pages.  Their posts got lost in the shuffle unless I went directly to their site.  But, as I mentioned, the email list from signing up was just right in keeping runners up-to-date.

 

Location / Parking / Access 

With being a part of the blogger challenge, they bused us to the start and had a spot for us to chill before the race.  I won't bore you with the glorious details, but there were several emails and posts regarding parking and logistics.

It makes it tough when the race is point to point.  It was a great venue, but you had options to park at the finish and ride to the start or spectators could drop you and park at the finish.  With 26,000 runners, good luck finding parking close to the finish line.  But hey, the race was a big deal so you have to deal with it.

If you got going early, you were safe.  If you like to cut it close, well, you'll be burning anxious energy.

 

Port-a-potties 

26,000 runners with spectators... you do the math.  There were hundreds of port-a-potties, but early and often was the theme for the race.  If you were in the seeded corrals, you might have to make a choice since you needed to be placed at 7 A.M time limit and a 7:25 A.M. race start.

They had a lot of potties on the course as well, so if you could make it to mile 4 or 5, you could pretty much just walk up and get a potty.

 

The Actual Course 

Running through LA, what can you say?  Yes, you did see some homeless, but you also say a lot of what LA had to offer.  Beverly Hills, Chinese theater just to name a few. You start at Dodger Stadium and end in Santa Monica at the beach front road.  Glorious.  You had so much to look at, it almost made the pain manageable.

)

The actual course was well maintained and well marked.  You had to be totally oblivious to miss a turn and get off course.

One issue was fluids.  The sun broke maybe 2:15 into the race and the back of the pack runners were suffering.  Word on the street was that they ran out of Gatorade, so runners had to live with water and other options if they were dependent on the course aid stations.

It's California, it might get hot.  Plan ahead.  Personally I depended on the course and did ok.  I should have drank more Gatorade to make up for salt loss, but that was my bad.  I had plenty of opportunities.

 

Race Day Instructions 

The speakers were loud and someone was always talking.  You could not help but hear instructions at the race start.  Maybe if you were in the port-a-potties, but from arriving and getting off the bus to running through the start arch, you had plenty of chances to get informed about what's going on.

 

Finish Line 

After the death march, I mean 26.2 miles you got your medal, water and if you looked questionable, someone walked with you to make sure you were ok.

Now, I got to hang at the ASICS VIP area, so I didn't get too much of a taste of finish line amenities, but I'm sure there were plenty of fluids, food and medical assistance if needed. It was a celebration with a HUGE arch, finisher chute and hundreds if not thousands of spectators lining the last half mile cheering you in.  The cheering was the only thing that kept me limping to the finish and not walking.

Running in the sunshine with the ocean to your right, you don't get that in many places.

 

Overall Impressions 

ASICS and the LA Marathon put on a show.  There's a reason why this is year 29 and they have 26,000 runners.  Sure, the famous course landmarks attracts a percentage, but if it sucked, word would get out and it would be over.

As a triathlete and longer distance endurance athlete, it gets harder and harder to justify traveling to a destination event.  Not to mention money is not just growing on trees in my back yard, I know, I just checked.  Would I pick the LA Marathon to travel and race?  Maybe.  If they had good deals on flights and hotels.  It's definitely a destination event.  Cal in March, oh ya.

But, my wife has family near LA and running a marathon is a lot less of a hassle and stressor on the family than triathlons.  No bike, no swim gear.  bring your running gear and you're good to go.  As time goes on, it's more realistic to incorporate an event like the LA marathon into travel.  It's located in an awesome weather location and it's a bucket list type of race./

If you have the means, do it.  If they invite you to run and write about it, do it.  It was worth it even with a little suffering.

2014 @AsicsAmerica @LAMarathon blogger challenge team in depth #BetterYourBest

In all of the ASICS LA Marathon posts, you probably noticed a lot of mentions of the Blogger Challenge Team.

ASICS had the awesome idea to get some grass roots involvement from the blogger community and rounded up a team from all parts of the country to run the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon.

There was no standout qualification of marathon performance required.  We had BQ runners, triathletes, trail runners and marathon maniacs.  We had a wide variety and the common theme was our obsession with sharing the passion on the internet.  Afterall, it was the BLOGGER challenge, not RUNNER challenge.  ;)

This will probably be as close to I come to being a sponsored athlete.  I mean, we basically were.  They covered every detail from registration to travel to lodging.  We were bussed around to the expo and various events rubbing shoulders with elites like Ryan Hall and Andy Potts.  We were given access to Olympic coaches like Andrew Kastor and his wife, Deena (world record holder, Olympic marathoner... no big deal right).

But, in addition to the experience, I met 10 other passionate endurance athletes each with their own unique experiences and makeup.  Everyone was genuine and a great person to meet.  At times, I felt out of my league in the realm of twitter, facebook and instagram etiquette.  We all bonded with geeking out over elite athlete meetups and war stories of a hot rugged 2014 LA Marathon.  You couldn't have asked for a better and more diverse group of runners.

I just wanted to dedicate a post to the crew and give them a shout out.

Anne Mauney Blog: www.fANNEtasticfood.com Twitter: @fANNEtasticfood	Beth Risdon Blog: www.shutupandrun.net Twitter: @ShutUpRun
Jess Underhill Blog: www.racepacejess.com Twitter: @RacePaceJess	Mark Newman Blog: www.marathonomy.blogspot.com Twitter: @marathoner Tumblr: finisher.tumblr.com
Michele Gonzalez Blog: www.NYCRunningMama.com Twitter: @nycrunningmama	Monica Olivas Blog: www.runeatrepeat.com Twitter: @RunEatRepeat
Rachel Steffan Blog: www.runningrachel.com Twitter: @RunningRachel	Brian Kelley Blog: www.pavementrunner.com Twitter: @PavementRunner
Kristin Stehly Blog: www.stuftmama.com Twitter: @stuftmama Instagram: @stuftmama Facebook: facebook.com/stuftmama	Jamie Walker Blog: www.fitapproach.com | about.sweatguru.com Twitter: @FitApproach | @jamiewalker19

Mark in the back this time, Beth running off to give her camera for a picture... it was like herding cats.  ;)