Apr 1, 2023
Welcome to Episode #381 of the 303 Endurance Podcast. We're your hosts Coach Rich Soares and 303 Chief Editor, Bill Plock. Thanks for joining us for another week of endurance interviews and discussion.
Oceanside 70.3 is well-known as the place to watch the top pros show off their early-season fitness, and this year is no exception. Even with last-minute drops from the likes of Jan Frodeno, Lionel Sanders and Jackie Hering, there’s still an impressive start list for both the women’s and men’s pro races.
Show Sponsor: UCAN
Generation UCAN has a full line of nutrition products powered by LIVESTEADY to fuel your sport.
LIVSTEADY was purposefully designed to work with your body, delivering long-lasting energy you can feel. LIVSTEADY's unique time-release profile allows your body to access energy consistently throughout the day, unlocking your natural ability to stay focused and calm while providing the fuel you need to meet your daily challenges.
Use UCAN in your training and racing to fuel the healthy way, finish stronger and recover more quickly! Use the code 303UCAN for 20% off at ucan.co/discount/303UCAN/ or ucan.co
In Today's Show
Endurance News:
Oceanside start list is out: full of big names, but no Jan Frodeno
March 20, 2022
Oceanside is well-known as the place to watch the top pros show off their early-season fitness, and this year is no exception. Even with last-minute drops from the likes of Jan Frodeno, Lionel Sanders and Jackie Hering, there’s still an impressive start list for both the women’s and men’s pro races, featuring some of the top names in long-course racing (plus a few surprises from the short-course side of the sport). We’ve broken down the top contenders, plus a few wild cards who could be major players on Saturday.
Want to watch it all play out? Ironman 70.3 Oceanside will be streamed live for free on Outside Watch, beginning at 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET Saturday, April 1. The broadcast will be available on-demand after the finish to all Outside+ members. Become an Outside+ member today and get access to the full streaming library of 70.3 racing any time, on any device.
Both the men’s and women’s races in Oceanside promise to be incredibly competitive. In addition to Sanders, the men’s list includes defending men’s champion Ben Kanute, his countryman Sam Long, who is fresh off a couple of victories at Clash Miami and Challenge Puerto Varas (which could mean he’ll take a pass on Oceanside), two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Australian Sam Appleton, along with Americans Rudolph Von Berg and Matt Hanson (USA). (To name just a few – there are a number of Ironman and 70.3 champions in the field.)
The women’s field is every bit as stacked. Defending champion Paula Findlay (CAN) is back, but she’ll face a really tough field that includes five-time 70.3 world champion (and four-time Kona champ) Daniela Ryf, 2016 70.3 world champ Holly Lawrence (GBR), Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, who is fresh off a big win at Clash Miami and American Taylor Knibb, who excelled at both World Triathlon and long-distance races last year – her incredible season included a silver medal in the mixed relay, the fastest time of the day at the Collins Cup and a bronze medal at the 70.3 worlds. Chelsea Sodaro is the defending IM World Champ who has been struggling with depression is also planning to race.
As we get closer to the race, which takes place on April 2, we should have a clearer idea of who will actually end up at the race – even if a few athletes pull out, though, it should be an incredibly competitive day.
https://www.tri247.com/triathlon-news/elite/ironman-70-3-oceanside-start-list-bib-numbers-pro-men
Jonny Brownlee and Gustav Iden confirmed for Arena Games London
By Jonathan Turner
22 Mar 2023
Four star names have been added to the line-up for the Arena Games finale in London on April 8.
Three-time Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee, IRONMAN World Champion Gustav Iden, the 2022 Arena Games Triathlon champion Beth Potter and last year’s London winner Cassandre Beaugrand have all been confirmed as intended starters.
They can’t compete for the overall World Championship title as they haven’t raced in either of the first two events in Montreal and Switzerland, but they are sure to add intrigue to the finals which will feature 18 of the top 20 ranked women and men in the series.
Brownlee will be back in Arena Games action
Norwegian star Iden won the IMWC title at his first attempt in record-breaking style in Kona last year to add to his two Ironman 70.3 World Championships and is also aiming for the Paris Olympics as he switches his focus back to short-course racing.
On the women’s side last year’s overall winner Potter could head into London in better form following the Scot’s maiden WTCS victory in Abu Dhabi.
And she’ll be joined France’s Beaugrand, who had a perfect record in England last season – winning both Arena Games and Super League in London as well as the WTCS event in Leeds.
The favourites to become the official triathlon esports World Champions are the respective winners from Montreal and Sursee – Chase McQueen and Henri Schoeman in the men’s field and Gina Sereno and Zsanett Bragmayer in the women’s.
There is also plenty of British interest aside from Brownlee and Potter for home fans with Olivia Mathias – second in Sursee – Kate Waugh, Dan Dixon and Jack Stanton-Stock all racing.
Mental Mastery with Mark Allen Week 5: A Brain-Boosting Workout for a Stronger Bike Leg
This week’s Mental Mastery workout from six-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen will improve your mind’s ability to tell your legs how to get those bigger watts and how to sustain them.
MARCH 27, 2023
MARK ALLEN
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Of all three sports, cycling is the one that usually evokes an image of strength equating to faster performances. Think of your glutes and quads: If those are toned and able to push, you are going to be a faster cyclist. But if you’ve also got a strong brain, you can take those strong legs to the next level.
This week’s Mental Mastery workout is all about improving muscle recruitment. Some athletes try to accomplish this by doing extended periods in a big gear and low cadence rates. But that mostly just teaches you how to ride in a big gear at a low cadence rate without increasing your ability to push and sustain higher watts. Instead, I’ve shared a workout to improve both of those things for you. The secret? Staying focused. The Mental Mastery components of this workout will improve your mind’s ability to tell your legs how to get those bigger watts and how to sustain them!
I often did this type of workout (but in a much less structured way) during group rides. There would be constant points where I had to suddenly accelerate or get dropped, and often the accelerations were accompanied with a jump up in gearing to be able to go fast enough. These accelerations were so much faster than I would ever go in a triathlon, which reset the gauge of how fast I was able to ride making race pace much more tolerable mentally as well as doable physically.
For one year early in my career, I committed to doing single-leg drills twice a week for almost every single week. That was also the season where I made the largest gains ever in my cycling. At the Ironman that year (1984) I came off the bike with a 12-minute lead on all other contenders. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the marathon yet to back up the cycling, but the message was clear: This drill works.
Week 5: Key Strength Bike Workout and Mental Mastery Drills
The workout this week has two parts, just like last week’s session in swimming. The first is going to be done on a stationary trainer, and the second can be done on a trainer or on the road. Along with each of these two short workouts will be your Mental Mastery drills that will help you not only gain mastery over the physical workout, but will strengthen your ability to integrate mind and body into one cohesive unit.
What's New in the 303:
South Table Mountain, Unending Trails, Unending mystery
By Bill Plock
Golden, March 2023–The small one-engine plane droned loudly overhead under filtered sun. It would rise and almost stall. Then it quietly glided, nose slightly down, for a few seconds before the engine sputtered alive as it leveled off. I supposed that is some sort of emergency training.
I stood in the middle of South Table Mountain. Curious if the pilot chose this area to practice with its wide open flat top formed about 65 million years ago during a lava flow. It might look flat but there are plenty of undulations of rock that would make for a bumpy landing.
The plane kept climbing and stalling, the sputtering engine drone was annoying in this otherwise peaceful and majestic place. The plane’s peculiar behavior mirrored the history of this mountain. I reflected on the 50 years or so I have been exploring it as it continues to unveil questions about what has transpired here for decades, centuries, millennia really. It’s the ultimate historical striptease.
Every time I’m there I see or experience something that makes the journey memorable. It’s got a vibe, a little like the forbidden zone in Planet of the Apes, a little like an old Western movie sprinkled with a smidgeon of mystery from a true crime show. But with overarching nature and beauty.
Long before the area was invaded by gold seekers, native Ute’s conducted ceremonies and burials on top. Grapeshot thought to be from early Spanish explorers was found in 1895 and In 1869 a trail was cut to the top of Castle Rock.
Mysterious structures and piles of rubble, quarries, a shooting range, and utility poles poke out of the lunar landscape crisscrossed with 16 miles of trails. Bikers roll on gravel and mountain bikes. The smooth trails are also perfect for exploring on foot. Skyscrapers in Denver dot the Eastern horizon while the front range of the Rocky Mountains cascades to the West with the town of Golden nestled in the valley between South Table Mountain and Lookout Mountain.
The prominent Castle Rock on the western edge welcomes explorers to perch on top and view Golden and beyond. Castle Rock once housed a cafe built in 1906 and in 1913 visitors could ride a funicular to the top where a casino had been built. The scar from the rails is easy to see making a straight line on the north side of the rock formation.
By the 1920s the casino had turned into the Lava Lane, a whites-only dance hall offering jazz music and a place to congregate during Prohibition. Business faded and the building was taken over by Ku Klux Klan members as a meeting place. In 1923, almost a thousand white-robed members of the Ku Klux Klan met at the summit of South Table Mountain. According to the Colorado Transcript, “A large fiery cross had been erected on the highest point of Castle Rock and it burned throughout the ceremonies, visible for several miles.” In 1927 the building burned to the ground.
In 1905 Camp George West was built on the south side of South Table Mountain and military maneuvers took place on top. In 1969 the Colorado State Patrol moved to Camp George West eventually building a testing track on top which is also used for bike racing in the summer. In the 1990s Nike attempted to purchase the land and wanted to build a 5,000-person office building, but they pulled out. Rumor has it they were just threatening to receive better tax advantages to stay in Oregon.
As a kid growing up on the eastern face of the mountain, most of it was off-limits to visitors. But thanks to Jeffco Open Space acquiring land over the years, most of it is now accessible. There are seasonal closures in areas to protect raptor populations. Trailheads are found on the East, South and West sides of the mountain in neighborhoods and just east of the National Renewable Energy Lab. The north side is home to Rolling Hills Country Club with very limited access.
The approaches from the west and south sides rise gently from the parking areas and are more doable for gravel bikes than the steeper trail from Golden accessing Castle Rock. Once on top, trails make loops and circumnavigate most of the top edges with trails cutting through the middle. They are a combo of crushed rock and hardened dirt. With so many loops and fun, quick-hit hills to navigate you can piece together all kinds of routes that never get stale.
You will see some mysterious things and in the summer be aware of the large population of rattlesnakes.
The plane finally left and flew east towards Denver. The songs of birds filled the air and a couple of deer emerged from the brush as my feet crunched the small pebbly path curiously looking at graffiti on the gun range I had never seen.
Anatomy of a Run Gait Analysis
Video of the Week:
WILDEST thing I’ve EVER seen on a bike
Closing:
Thanks again for listening in this week. Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment. We'd really appreciate it!
Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!