Blog de LeeZee

EPIC

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:03:00 +0000

This is lake was on the way up to Galibier and then the monument at the top is in honor of Henri Desgranges who founded the Tour de France! More coming!

france day one and the alpe

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:13:00 +0000

Ok so i slept in till 7:30. i was looking forward to the breakfast included in the hotel stay. a few things about european food:
-very hard to get a lot of food at once unless you make everything
-very hard/impossible to eat wheat free
-i need big food but it aint happening
so i was excited to get in some muesli. i poured in the milk but it had some lumps. it must have been that real stuff. i never drink any kind of milk so i ate my muesli with a tablespoon of the curd. not too bad actually. then a croissant and ham. i will say it is tough to get large cups of coffee here. in swissland and france they serve those tiny, espresso cutie quaint to be sipped with your pinky out things. as yo uknow i like to hold a vente cup of kick my butt joe with two fists and then order another BUT alas the owner of the hotel brought me a small pitcher of real coffee. I WAS FRICKING EXCITED!!!!! so i downed all that and went to walk around bourg a bit so i could feel like a hapless sole again without my girls here and not speaking the language. what movie was ti when the guy said to the frenchman, 'if it wasn't for us you'd all be speaking german.' heheheheheh ok so i pass a cafe with three treks leaned up on a pole and hear the 3 guys in cycling kits at the table speaking english, well british english anyway. being the introverted guy that i am i started talking ot them and they were staying at the top of ADH and just rode down and were going to ride up. they told me they would wait for me if i wanted to go change and get my ride. we spoke some more and they talked about weighing 6 stone or some crazy stuff like that. they all had hairy legs and until this past season that was a sure sign of not so serious multi sport athletes to me. i say not till this season as i have a few pupils still with hair who are doing well and on fire.
so i go and get changed and meet them back. they take one look at me and one guys says, "what the fuck is an SRM". i swear. i politely explained of course and then the trash talking began. they each had a goal of making it up ADH. one wanted 1:15, one in 1:30 and one just wanted to survive. i thought an hour or so is Ok but if it takes 1:10 so be it. 15K up at 8-10%. off we go for a warmup then a pee break and then we start. the first 2 K are the toughest. the roads are perfect and clean except for all the paint on them from the fans of the tour. the tour de france went up here last week. cool. it was cool but not cold and dewey as we climbed thru the clouds. cyclists everywhere of all ages shapes and sizes and on all different bikes. , motorcyclists roaring by. i saw a man and his young son screaming down and heard the dad call back to his son, 'if yo ufall over then you crash'. NICE DAD. i went by the numbers! i figure i can hold 270-280 watts for an hour so i would start mellow around 250-260 and then build it up. each of the 21 switchbacks are numbered so i thought i would go full gas at number 4. off i went and it is hard no doubt. just long climbing and my HR was around 151-156 until the number 4 switchback and then i did the best i could. i suffered in the last 1K as the air is a bit thinner. 56:01. avg. wattage-275 perfect. not passed by anyone!! very happy. the brtish guys came in staggered behind me and each accomplishing there goal. nice job. one guy even did this earlier this year and the next day ran the london marathon. SWEET!
we chatted for a bit and then i used my horrid descending skills to go down. i think it took me the same time as going up. i finished it off with another 30:00 of steady riding and then an interval run thru some quaint villages and trails. nice!!!
i then went and ate a whole pizza, hot choclate and toured around. great day and bourg is a cool little village. tomorrow- col du laterate and col du galibier!!

Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:54:00 +0000

today started normal enough with a 2.5K swim in the pool in leysin. it was good to have motivation by the Elites in the pool. it was a who's who of IM/70.3 champs with the last names, Granger, Bayliss, Biscay, Johns and Kristensen. really good sets that i will programme for some of my athletes when i get back. after some breakfast and work i met up with AJ's friend Yvan, a legend of a guy and the original plan was for me to ride to Geneva and meet Lisebth, Aj and Lisbeths mom and baby at the airport. they are going to race in belgium and i was going to take the car to france to hit some cool rides. the geneva ride would have taken me 4 hours and part of me did not want to do it. part did. but enter Yvan and his 17 year old Passat, which he gave me FOR THE WEEKEND. fricking awesome Yvan. you rock!! so i got wheels, a few bucks, a bike and running shoes. yes this all sounds fun but i do miss my girls. wish they were here. anyway back to the story. i have a map of a 4 hour drive to bourg doisans, at the foot of the legendary alpe dhuez (ADH). ADH is a 15 K mother of a climb known world round as one of the toughest to conquer on a bike. lance holds the record of 37:00 up so my task was to tackle it in less then an hour. ok so i get a highway i have never been on where everyone speaks a language i don't and to a place i have never been. the first part of the drive goes OK and i stop in chamonix just cause i heard so much about it and wanted to get some cool french water bottles. no luck, all they do there is rock climb. i get rained on and spend 30 bucks on a plate of pasta with red sauce. too much time in chamonix. back on the road. SO AFTER A FEW WRONG TURNS!! i get back going and it is taking forever. it is now night time, raininig and i looked up the "sightseeing" route and found myself on the col du glandon, a huge mountain road. twisty, turning, rodents running out, foggy and frightening. no cell service and it is now 10pm and i am not even sure i will find a hotel in bourg when i get there. i can always sleep in the car and i have a snickers, beef jerkey and a lot of clif shots. the road goes on forever and i must admit i am getting nervous. finally i find a little sign to where i am going. now i would want to climb glandon on the bike not in the car. it was crazy. it is now 11pm and i find my to bourg and look for a hotel. i only have about 70 euros on me and a AMEX card. quick tip: no one takes AMEX in france!!!! i found a hotel just to crash and they inlcude breakfast so it is lights out.

Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:52:00 +0000

UGH. A toughie to get out of bed. I slept for 9 hours last night and could have gone more. Legs are super stiff today. After a small breakfast AJ, Lisbeth and I headed out for a run and Lisbeth had the baby jogger. IT IS UP AND DOWN HERE!! Very little flats and just plain tough terrain to train in. Plus we're a t a bit of altitude. UGH again. Pretty poor run this morning but better then nothing. Then we came back to have a proper breakfast and I slept another 2 hours. We had planned to go ride an "easy" loop here just 1:20. OK let me spell it out for you. NOTHING IS EASY HERE OK. The easy days hurt too! We did ride easy but the descending is beautiful, horrific, thrilling and terrifying and I SUCK! Ok i can not go down hill fast. But love every minute of it! I rode to the UCI headquarters which is the main office for the world governing body for the sport of cycling. Pretty cool and the veoldrome was in there so i watched the track riders going round and round at 30 MPH. The caught the train back home. Time fofr some work, dinner and another sleep. Off to France tomorrow! PS. Mnay people here don't speak English and my gringo Spanish doens't help!

Swissland Day 1,2

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:57:00 +0000

well i got here yesterday about 27 hours ago. the flights were uneventful, boring and long. i now can say i went to italy after spending 2 hours in rome airport.
the last day here has been great. my friends AJ and Lisbeth and there baby girl Astrid are putting me up and the views of the Alps out of there flat is just breathtaking. the Alps shoot up higher and higher each time i look at them. sticking with my belief of not training too hard the day of or after a long trip i have put in 7 hours of training in the first 24 hours. all relatively easy but there is no real easy training here as the mountains make sure to hurt you. yesterday was a 1:20 ez ride and a 31:00 ez run. this was truly ez. but today was a 3K swim in the AM. nice to see Aj and Lisebth swimming well and multiple IM champ Belinda Granger hammering away. she and her husband Justin are real nice and super funny. after the swim i slept for 2:459 (needed it huh?) then an epic sessions with AJ. we did the LOOP here which is 75K over 3 mountains. fricking hard ass riding and i was trying to keep it easy but there is no easy. i was trying really and jsut holding 210-250 watts on the climbs at 110-120 HR. it took me almost 4 hours to go 75K and the ride had rain, wind and descents that you could easily go 30-60 MPH if yo uwant. i descend like a pile of poo so i chose the to go 30 MPH. must work on descending but for a beach boy what can i expect. then i did a short brick run through a lush forest. picturesque and postcard like! then back on the bikes for a 20:00 cooldown up the mountain home. so now i am just trying to relax as it was an EPIC ride. i will post pictures later.
coffe today- Double Nestle Espresso- Perfect

too long

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:59:00 +0000

ok ok ok i am so behind on updating the blog. it has been busy as ever on the work and homefront but here's a recap of whats been happening:
-the gulf coast half iron went wrong for me. i was super fit but just lost motivation and energy on the run. oh well that was second bad race of 08
-since then i have had 4 top ten overalls including a Best Bike Split at a race
-after 13 years of racing i believe i know my physical and mental limiters (finally) but i ain't telling no one
-our baby blu is the most awesome little girl in the world and everyday is just complete happiness, surprise, satisfaction and elation for erinne and i
-we went to eleuthra for a week of relaxation and it was really nice not to have any pressure to train or work, a great island with great conch fritters. i actually had a fried food day (once a year ain't bad). for those of you that don't know, erinne can live in the ocean snorkleing. seriously, she loses track of time and just stays forever. i like freediving as well but i think she is growing gills- i have to check her neck
-work is GREAT. our squad of athletes are so much fun to train and we have had some stellar results, even better then we expected after we restructured our programs in January
-i've been doing some work with 08 Olympian Matty Reed, great guy and please root for him in beijing
-i'm off to Switzerland and France at the end of the month to train for 8 days with Team TBB. we did this last year and it is the most epic pleace to train, BAR NONE!

ok more later and updates will be more timely. i hope!

Successful Racing

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:18:00 +0000

Athletes that are just getting into endurance sports now are very lucky. There is so much great information out there and many great coaches that will help the athlete succeed faster in years before. See, we as coaches also learn fromour athletes and have not only the data and research guiding us but also the real world information from our successful athletes. But not every athlete is successful at every race and I could argue that we also learn more from the athletes who have tough races than the athletes whose races go swimmingly.

I believe there is one KEY area above all others that can yield the best results, pacing! Whether it is rowing, cycling, running or any endurance event, pacing is crucial to a successful race. Many times though athletes waste years not pacing effectively enough to see the resutls they want. Some athletes do not understand that if they are running a 5K and want to go under 24:00 they do not need to run the first mile in 6:00. Finding the right pace does take time and patience. As I mature as an athlete I find this is more true but it is not harder to be more patient. I see new athletes try to rush through there progress and get injured and frustrated and sometimes even quit the sport. These athletes expect too muh too soon and do not let themselves devlop physically or emotionally enough to see great results. Our high octane, full throttle society gives us so much so quickly with immediate gratification on so many levels. Multi sport is the opposite. Take triathlon for example. Three sports requiring developing three seperate sport specific systems plus the mental side need to be worked on. I can see one interesting aspect of triahtlon in this day and age; with so many races out there the odds of doing well even as a newbie are good. So you can get someone who is in there first year of the sport placing in there age group in the race and that makes them like the sport more then if they didn't do well. SO they will stick to the sport. This is one of the cycles of the sport that has made it grow so rapidly over the years. For this type of athlete it is also important to measure the depth of the field and numbers at the race so they can truly gauge what type of athlete they are.

But back to patience. This will come in Pt. 2.

The other side of triathlon racing

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:27:00 +0000

Ok I admit it, I am an ITU racing fan. It is funny when I talk to my friends who live in Europe and they tell me how much emphasis is put on ITU racing. Here in the US it seems all about IM. Either way I love tri's.

But, I remember when I was but a young tri buck in 1996 and I would read the British Triathlon magazine, 220 from cover to cover. They would cover all the great ITU and Short Course races around the globe. For readers who don't understand the difference, let me sum up. Professional ITU racing is always a 1.5K open water swim (typically with a two loop course where the racers get out and run about 100 meters before launching into the water again), a 40K DRAFT LEGAL bike and a 10K run. The courses are usually run on tight loops to allow great spectating. This IS THE FORMULA RACE CAR DRIVING OF triathlons. These guys are super fast, crazy quick with everything. The good one's swim 17:00 for 1500 meters and bike like crit style with breakaways and other teamates pulling and then it is off to the run race where they click off 30:00 10K's. That is sub 5:00 min/miles people. As Beijing approaches the ITU events will get more attention and I frequently check out the happenings at triathlon.org for rankings and videos. Sure, some people follow the grossly overpaid NFL but I like the grossly underpaid ITU.

Back in those days when I was reading 220 (still do) I was amazed by the feats of Brad Beven, Ben Bright and Simon Lessing. They were killing it all over the world. I also kept hearing about a guy named Andrew Johns. Fast forward 10 years and I manage him and more importantly he is a true good friend who is still podiuming at World Cup races. If you can, go check out an ITU race if your eyes can keep up with the speed!
-A Fan (LeeZee)

Inspriation and Design

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:04:00 +0000

So what do I say when people ask what I do for a living. Mostly I coach with other time spent as an agent and consultant. But coaching is what I like most and do most of. Right now I am writing this in the midst of some pretty bad turbulence 35,000 feet over Texas. I hate turbulence. Anyway I digress. The daily interactions with athletes whether it be via email or even better when looking into their eyes is a different take on the traditional coaching with the tools of a whistle and clipboard. Lately I have been viewing my job as a creator, artist, and designer of some nature. BUMP BUMP. Oh, that was a rough couple of bumps. I often say that the essence of what we do as multi sport coaches is program design. When I prepare to design a training schedule for an athlete I have to be in the right frame of mind. I find the preparation is like a painter’s preparation before putting brush to canvas. I have to be well fed for sure but this no different than anything else I do. I always have to be fed. Next is the music. My noise cancelling headphones go on to keep out extraneous sounds from distracting my concentration, which happens easily. Where was I? Oh yeah, the music. Hahahaha. I typically go with dance or trance music like Paul Oakenfold or The Crystal Method. I pump up the volume to 11 and head into programming mode. I look through race schedules, logs and emails to plan out a two week block for an athlete that will yield the highest QUALITY of fitness. Instead of having paints and brushes as tools of the trade I have workouts, information and strategy to use to yield the best results. Oy vey, I hate turbulence. The normal program design process also has me pulling from research articles and other journals we receive monthly. Once I hit upload then BOOM the athlete can pull up there new training block and get there fix. Being an athlete as well I know the importance of having the structure. It’s a grounding feeling for some and a calming feeling for others to have their schedule laid out for them. This is especially true after they start seeing great results. This is much like the satisfaction or appreciation someone has viewing a painting or sculpture.

My perspective on Age Group racing-Specifically Drafting

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:31:00 +0000

As this is my personal blog I feel it is my outlet to speak on nonsense and also on issues that effect me. Cool huh? I also use this to answer questions that people ask me during my normal work week. I am in the service business and deal with many people on a daily basis so these questions and topics arise.

Drafting has been and will always be a divisive and prickly topic in not only Professional triathlon racing but also in Age Group racing. I have been racing as an Age Grouper for 13 years and have been involved in the sport from a governing side for five years. I have taken the USAT Officials course and worked at races.

Here's the real situation:
-There are more races now so more ahtletes
-Courses are held on tight single lane roads
-Sometimes the age group waves are only seperated by 2-3 minutes
-There are many athletes who are not fast swimmers but are of more even caliber in the cycling leg

So with all these things combined YES it is tough sometimes, only sometimes to get into an individual groove. Not impossible.

Ok, I am a better then average swimmer, not the first guy out of the water, but top 3-5 in most races. So the typical way Sprint and Olympic races go for me is to have very few cyclists around me on the course but I also get a good view on the course (they are typically out and back) of where people are. I see the packs and there are many of them. I know who the honest guys are and who are the consistent drafters. It doesn't matter if you are back of the pack or trying to qualify for a championship race. Get out of the draft. This is the way it is. I am not crying here but I know who the fair guys are.

Bottom line is that drafting is cheating. An athlete is getting an unfair advantage on the bike and will be going faster then they would on there own. As well and people forget this, an athletes legs will be fresher and they will be able to run faster. These two major points are at the crux of the drafting issue.

Drafting/cheating is no different then using a banned substance. If the rules said we could draft than great, let's get the pack rolling. But, they don't and we shouldn't. It is an individual sport to see who is the fastest all by themselves. The rules in the USAT sanctioned Age Group races say there must be three bike lengths between you and the rider ahead. Ok so let's say there are a lot of people in a wave and they all come out relatively close. What does an athlete do? Simple, just let the group or individual pass you and ride it all by yourself, face the wind yourself, climb the hill yourself, race yourself. Now, the rules state if an athlete passes you then you must fall back three bike lengths out of the slipstream. It is up to the athlete to fall back out of the box before they can repass (if necessary) the rider.
Get this, I have actually had an athlete say to me after a race, "Were you with us on the bike?" Jeezzzz. There is no US in our racing and there should never be an US. If you are in the situation and are drafting will you be able to hold your head high after the race and know you did your best? Will you be able to face your friends or family and know that you competed fairly and honestly?

Now there is pacing that is allowed. Meaning that if you stay more then three bike lengths behind a rider you are legal. I see some of this going on and good on the athletes for using the rules. Nothing wrong with that.

I love racing and will just continue to race hard when I can and ignore the other cheaters. But I see and hear a lot and if you are cheating then MAN up, race fair and let the chips fall where they may. If a rider comes up on me and passes me then AWESOME you are doing good work and you should keep on trucking. I ain't the best, never said I was but just love the racing! Till next time.
Coffee of the Day: Starbucks Mocha Java

Travel, TriFest, triathlon successes and meltdowns but it's all good!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:04:00 +0000

Well I have been in three different cities in the las three weeks. We started with our Annual Clermont training camp which was a blast with eight fantastic athletes. I wrote about this in a previous post I just remebered. Four days later I was at the Inaugural TriFest in Tucson with TriSports which will be a huge event in years to come. This years event was a great series of training sessions, lectures and manufacturer displays. I gave two seminars which I hear were recieved quite well and enjoyed some tough training like the climb up Mt. Lemmon and the killer short but steep climb up Gates Pass. I did the river run for over an hour which was just lovely. I got a chance to hang with some great people from Rotor Bike, QR and TriSports.
Aftere Tucson Erinne, Kaia Blu and I went to Vero Beach for a few days of R and R but I had to do one of my favorite races. Floridas Great Escape. I love the course and the RD puts on a perfectevent. in Lake Louisa and it was a good race but freezing cold so my legs didnt wake up till the run. I swam :20 faster then last year but bike 1:30 slower and ran over :30 faster so a wash but a fun race none the less and I highly recommend it.
I came home and had a good few days of work.
I tapered down for about 3 days for this new MIT Triathlon that was here in Miami. It was a first time race by first time race director so I new it was going to be a crapshoot but they sure tries to get all the ducks in a row and make a polished event. I felt great going to the race with Erinne racing the Sprint and me the OD. Our friend Matty Reed was racing the Pro event. The swim started really early and it was still almost dark so I had probably the best swim start of my life. Nice and clean with two great fly strokes to kick it off. I ended up swimming hard right next to two of my fave athletes I coach, Jeremy and Gustavo. They rocked and oushed me hard so we came out all together in 15:00, OK issue 1 was the swim was 300-400 meters short but OK I mounted my new Lucero Lite (great bike and it rocks), I went out and had tight legs as usual. After about 4 miles i looked down and had no fluids. I had a cocktail of electrolytes and calories I need and it was gone. UGHHHHHHH. I got to the first aid station and missed the fluids. I stayed postive and kept going and stayed at 240 or so watts and 23 MPH so I ned i had to get fluids on the 2nd loop, which I did but it was only water and I needed my cocktial. I still stayed positive. I looked down at my SRM as the bike finished and it said 42.2K so the bike was long and swim short- a wash but how hard it is it to get distances correct with GPS and Google Earth. Off on the trot I went leaving the issues behind and feeling happy to run. Pretty trail, lots of roots and I saw a guy wipe out bad running. OUCH. i got in some fluids and energy drink on the first loop but the second they ran out of energy drink and cups. OOOOFFFAAHHHH I hurt bad the last 1.5 miles and it showed. Mnay friends passed me but TO ALL THOSE THAT YELLED FORME. THANKS- YOU ROCK AND I HEARD YOU BUT WAS IN A WORLD OF HURT!! I will say hi next time but thought I was going to end up in the Med tent. The last mile brutally sucked with no fluids and my ITB flaring up. So I finished and will get them better next time. Just another race. Erinne did well and is happy to be getting fit again. MATTY WON THE WHOLE THING. Very happy for him and we went to KFC to celebrate.
Now we are home for a while beofre going out to IMAZ and then to our NC Camp. Are you coming?
Coffe today: Murrays Market Mocha Java

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:32:00 +0000

Erinne and Lisbeth Kristenten posing in one of the best training locales in the US- Beech Mountain, North Carolina

Camping with BodyZen

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:21:00 +0000

2008 brings another round of training camps for us and after over 10 years of camps and clinics they never get old or boring. New athletes, new roads and new adventures keep us excited and getting fitter each day.
This current camp, which i am at currently, is in Clermont, Florida and we have a fun gregarious and rambunctious group with us. Clermont has hosted BZ camps many times before and unfortunately we will probably be choosing other locales in the Florida hills. Urban sprawl is the main culprit as the growth here is ridiculous to say the least. I am happy we have better restaurants and support stores to choose from but too many cars are on our old quiet roads. Not too mention any places in particular but our main training ground here has become too difficult to work with so we have some great alternate places to choose from next time. The good news is that the athletes are having a ball and in the last 24 hours have put in over 8 hours of training and tomorrow is the big day. Training groups and camps are a great way to see the effect of external motivation on an athlete. They are all here ready to fire and the smallest amount of pushing gets them to change into a bigger gear and put the hammer down. The girls are laying down the law here to and I think it is just AWESOME to watch female athletes hammer hard in the water, on two wheels and then on two feet. We intend to put the nail in the coffin tomorrow and then recover from this great dose of training.
We are looking forward to our next two big camps:
Fifth Annual Blue Ridge Mountain Camp April 16-20, Beech Mountain, NC
Villa Gaia Triathlon and Culinary Camp October 25-31, Villa Gaia Italy

Coffee today: Hampton Inn Robust Blend

Initial Impressions- SRM Professional Dura Ace Power Meter

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:46:00 +0000

CompuTrainer, PowerTap, Ergomo and SRM are all fine power meters each with their own strengths and weakness’. I have used them all for myself and for Coach Erinne’s training and also have used them in conjunction with many athletes training and racing programs. Recently I started using the SRM system, which is considered to be the gold standard in power meters. Through research and testing the SRM systems have been found to be the most accurate and reliable power meters in the world. They have strain gauges and circuitry built into the chainrings that measure torque and other info and relay the info to a small computer head unit.

I have been a long time reader of Pro Cycling and Cycle Sport magazines and anytime there was a good picture of a pro cycling team that had the unmistakable head unit that reads, ‘www.SRM.de’ I cringed with excitement. SRM is the power meter of choice for the pros and I just had to have one. After a few years with PowerTap and Ergomos I was excited to see what all the hype was about. So after I had my trusty mechanic Javier at Bike Tech Miami do a seamless, clean and beautiful installation I was ready to go ride, I thought. Then I remembered that power meters aren’t that simple to get up and going. So I did my hours of worth of reading and approached my unit!

I did all the torque settings and also the other calibration and set my time and date. The instructions were easy and actually quite funny to read and I set off on my first ride. I did an hour at easy pace and while I was riding I noted the following:
I liked that the elapsed ride time and the distance rotated on the top bar.
The HR, power and speed were easy to read even with a zero degree angle of the head unit.
It was easy to scroll thru the avg. and max screens

So I came home and plugged it into the laptop and started up my Cyclingpeaks WKO software. I changed the settings to SRM and the USB port and boom it was downloading. That was easier then the Ergomo and PowerTap set ups. They took hours to find the right ports. The ride was flawless in terms of no interruptions and all the info was there that I needed. SO, I am a happy cyclist with an accurate power meter. Final conclusions:
I like knowing that my data is the most accurate available
I like the size of the head unit and that it fits clean between my bars

Pretty easy and I am easy to please. I go out and ride with power on every ride, download the info and analyze it. The SRM is the way to go!

So if you want some pictures please visit the gallery here: http://www.bodyzen.com/htmlsite/qr.html

Coffee of the day: French Roast by Murrays Blend in Summerland Key, Florida

IT HAS ARRIVED!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:12:00 +0000

i am so excited. my new SRM power meter arrived today and finally i have the best most accurate power meter on the planet.

i got a sweet dura ace equipped unit and am just sweating with anticiaption on jamming on it. SRM has long been known to be the most accurate and the gold standard in power measuring devices. almost every Pro Tour team uses them and i love training with power and also racing with it. for me (yes i am not the fastest) it was a big part of my personal success last year. 2007 was my best racing season ever so this year i hope to build on that. i will be doing some Presentation on the SRM unit this season so stay tuned and check out http://www.srm.de/ or our site for more info.

i also got the rotor stem which is the lightest and stiffest stem made.
i did a power test yesterday with the ergomo unit on the caliente and am 10 watts stronger then i was last year at this time so that is good. the squad is training well and everyone seems to be gelling nicely. we will have a great season.

Fresh as a daisy...

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:43:00 +0000

i thought that would capture your vivid imaginations. what were you all thinking was going to be the next line? let me know..post below. hey that reminds. i'm a pet and didnt even know it. i could write this whole blog as a rhyme but who the heck has the time. ok i'll stop it right now as take my final bow. doh!!!!

seriously, i guess i am in a fun mood. all is well here in Z/BodyZen world so if you don't want to be happy, healthy, successful or elated then quit reading now!!

we have started some new training groups and have some great new athletes in the pipeline which is very rewarding. last year at this time i was doing so much travelling but now it is pretty stable and we are in miami for a while. we are looking forward to our Florida, Arizona and North Carolina camps though. we have restructured our age group coaching biz a bit to include more group workouts and the athletes really seem to dig it and they are so much fun. it is great to see the atheltes push themselves more and even the coaches jump in there every now and then.

the baby is growing up so much and is such a riot. 20 months old, can yo ubelive it. jeez time flies. i will have some articles coming up in the future so please chck back soon!

2008

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:36:00 +0000

ok so another year is down and we are off and kicking for another 365 days.

Erinne, Blu and I have been away for the last 10 days and are currently in the cold, snowy and peaceful mountains in western north carolina. this area is very tought to train in as it is cold (yes real cold) and very mountainous. yet, we have been able to stay fit thru the holiday foods and have worked on just going out for fun workouts with a not so serious edge.

hours and hours running and riding alone in the mountains or whereever help to create strategies and programs for our athletes and ourselves. i find that during these labored jaunts i think of my athletes plans and workouts and how to improve them and ge them to reach their potential. this year we have many new programs and ideas that we know will help us make this our best season yet. we are now into our 11th season coaching and it is still as gratifying and rewarding as the first season. NO, it is actually better, yes way better. the feelings i get when an athletes rocks across that line is just awesome. so if you're one of our athletes then hang on tight as we will be pushing you in new and old ways this year.

How and Why People Choose a Coach pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:13:00 +0000

In addition the Russian Method is a bit excessive without any reason. Depending on who you ask some people will say BodyZen is too conservative and some will say that they work the athletes very hard. Like I said it depends on who you ask. We aim to be SPECIFIC with each athlete according to the following:

What load they can handle physically and mentally
How much time they have to devote to training
What phase of training they are in

Outside Influence

I have been coached by some very good coaches who I have trusted totally. Now, as a coach I believe it speaks volumes when I say that I have had a coach, followed a program and would do so again in the future. I will add to this how much I believe in coaching for an athlete that can be honest with him or herself about what strengths and weakensses they have. Figure it this way, Olympians have coaches so why shouldn't you. An open mind leaves the door open to endless success. And that is what is required of the athlete, to have an open mind.

Too often this mind is cluttered with outside influence or interference. It is OK to have questions but if yo utrust your coach then let them do the job they you are hiring them for. What I believe here is for the athlete just to give me their body and mind and let me shape it. There are too many couch coaches out there and other so called "coaches" who are cluttering the minds of athletes with inaccurate information that also could be holding the athlete back from reaching their potential.

So to wrap up I believe that when looking for a coach don't just take the cheapest coach or even the one your closest friends use. Look for the most experienced, most educated and ost knowledgable coach you can to get you to your best. Do your homework as there are many fine coaches out there. Get a plan, get someone that LISTENS to you, listen to them and realize your dream.

COFFEE TODAY: FAIR TRADE ORGANIC FRENCH ROAST- A++

Pt. 2 on How and why people choose a coach.

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:24:00 +0000

well let's say not an athlete for now but I really wanted to get into golf. I would ask around about local golf pros and I would search the internet for information about golf pros. I would find the most educated, exerpienced golf pro I could and get some references as well. I would want my golf pro to be doing his teaching full time and not as a side job or hobby to his real job. I would also want to make sure he has plenty of success stories I could call on.

Now here's the thing with tri coaching most people don't know. In a way it is kind of like personal training. I tread lightly here as the two are not very similar at all but in this way you can draw a parallel. For the most part if you take an average or below average athlete and give them enough training they are going to get better just by the mere fact they are on some type of plan. So of course if a person who calls themself a coach and has some understanding of planning workouts and also has some exerpience as a triathlete gives a out plan then there athelte will improve. BUT, there is a lot more to successful tri coaching then meets the eye or by just throwing workouts to the athlete. What can a quailified and competent tri coach do:

Create an individual periodized training program to peak the athlete for a certain race
Use the latest in endurance sport research to help the athlete acheive there goals
Create the training plan with the athletes strengths, weakness's and life schedules in mind
Train the athletes mind as well as body
Coach the athlete in the subjects or flexibility, sport specific strength training, effective and safe supplementation, equipment selection
Listen to the athlete and be willing to change the plan and the overall approach
Support the athlete in there life not just in there sport
Care- the coach must care about the sport, the athlete and the process of working with the athlete
When a coach takes all these things into mind and inputs them into the athletes plan the results will be a successful and happy individual

He's a Great Athlete He Must be a Great Coach

That age old question comes back. Does a good athlete make a good coach? Rarely in my book. I appreciate an athlete who wins and is very fast but that doesn't mean that they know how to coach or plan a schedule. What works for them most likely will not work for the athlete. It is just too easy sometimes take peoples money if you are a really good athlete and have people requesting coaching.

TRUE CASE: I know of a very good athlete who also coaches. His athlete stated that he would get his training schedule with unrealistic hours of training planned on the days he works. Why would a coach do this? The reason is that the coach felt that the athlete needed to do this amount of training to succeed. Well, in my opinion that is in effective coaching. If your athlete does not have the time to train the hours you recommend then don't him. This is would not happen with us as we ask each individual athlete how many hours they can train on a specific day. Then we build the plan into there schedules not the other way around.

The Russian Method

This is what Erinne and I call a coach who throws arbitrary and obscene amounts of intensity and volume at the athletes. If the athlete gets injured, oh well, but if they win then fantastic for the coach. We are not big on throwing random workouts at athletes but rather there is a reason for EACH workout prescribed. It is the Law of Specificity

Pt. 3 coming soon

Digging down and getting dirty

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:00:00 +0000

Thanks to all of you who commented on the past posts. Really great to hear from you guys. To answer the question of why no swimming till January. Basically, I swam so much growing up I only do it our of shear necessity for the sport in the main training months. Lord knows I need that time on my run!!! So I will pick it back up in January, well mid January. Or maybe late! hahahaha

Anyway today I will use this blog to delve into some subject matter that might be a bit controversial but oh well. I play it safe too much anyway.

The subject- How and why people choose a coach.
Pt.1
I believe I can speak with some authority on this (trust me it's the only thing I can speak on-don't know much else in life) and to give some back ground I was one of the first batch of 30 or so USAT certified coaches in 98. Since 2000 I have been helping USAT by presenting various subjects to new and aspring coaches. After the Level 3 certification almost 2 years ago I really began thinking about this subject and the various moving parts. MY DEFINITION of a coach is someone who has a certification from USAT or another governing body in the sport that also runs an ethical and smart program. I also believe the coach should have insurance, CPR certification and some type of science background. SO THERE yo uhave my critiria for a coach and they don't make bad wives either. Going forward with this topic when you I use the word coach I speak of this group. Our business is extrmemly unregulated and ANYONE can call themselves a coach. I mean anyone! from bike shop employees to butchers.

So, I know that if you live in a small city and are looking for a coach you will ask around first, maybe hop on a forum and check them out there or go to the USAT (usatriathlon.org) website to find one in your area. With technology these days it is quite effective to coach over the internet as long as both parties commit to the relationship. I have seen great success with athletes with long distnace coaching but it does really take a lot of time focusing on fostering that relationship. If I had my way I would see my athletes every day and look into there eyes as you can really tell the disposition of the athlete that way and if they are ready to perform that days tasks.

But this is not the case as it is not how I have developed my business, good bad or indifferent.
Now there are many fine coaches. out there. But if I were an aspiring athlete of any level I would....

PT. 2 COMING

just the two of us

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:17:00 +0000

so erinne went out of town for 2.5 days for the first time since kaia was born so i had her all to myself. we went out on the bike and to the park and to a fair. very fun and had a ball. its just the best. not much training this weekend except over 2 hours of running in the last 24 hours. no swimming till late december of course. this week is another crazy one with a fast 30 hour trip to alabama to give two seminars on saturday. is anyone reading this? leave a comment if you are.
coffee today: s4/7 organic- not strong enough

I got this from an athlete recently and thought I would share:

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:34:00 +0000

The reason we coach:

"In May 2007, I applied for the BodyZen coaching scholarship with Coach Lee Zohlman. At the time, I neither understood nor appreciated the importance of structure and planning in the sport. I had been racing sparsely for the past year, with some decent results, my best a third place finish at a local half. I had heard that coaching was the key to becoming more serious as a triathlete, so I decided to take a chance. Thankfully, I received the scholarship and began training under Coach Lee in May and continued to do so into the summer. At first, the training seemed either too easy or too hard. I was using the heart rate monitor and staying primarily in Zones 1 and 2 for most of my workouts, while in other â��testâ�� workouts designed to determine threshold pace per 100 yards in the water or lactate threshold on the bike and the run, I was going full out. Previously, I had been mostly a Zone 3 â��time-wasterâ��. I would spend most of my time in Zone 3 because it felt like I was working hard. But I didnâ��t get faster until I started doing those long, two hour runs in Zone 1 that were â��embarrassingly slowâ��. Sure, they started out at 7:30 or 8:00 pace, but as time went by, I dropped my run split at the 70.3 distance from a 1:26 (6:30/mile) to a 1:16 (5:49/mile). And as far as biking goes, I saw improvements under Coach Lee as my lactate threshold, originally 168 bpm, shot up to 180 bpm by the end of the season. The season progressed with a race at Buffalo Springs in Lubbock, Texas, my first in the 70.3 series, where I went 4:30 and took 15th overall. I also qualified for Clearwater there, but barely missed Kona by a little less than a minute. I returned to train over the summer in Arlington, Virginia, and competed locally, taking podium finishes (one first at Colonial Beach and one first at the Patriot Half Ironman in 4:20:03). It was after these races that Lee set me to prep for the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida, which took place on 11/10/2007. His program of tough 4:00:00 bricks on Saturday and Sunday challenged me, along with track workouts and bike time trials, while preparing me to race hard. We worked hard, we tapered, and we peaked at the right time. Florida went smashingly. I flew down with my mother, Lori Bartlett, who helped me keep my sanity as we undertook hours and hours of race preparation activity. I had never been among such a hubbub, but I was happy that my mother was there to ease my anxiety. By the time race morning came, I was completely relaxed. Coach Lee had told me to just enjoy and work hard, and thatâ��s what I set out to do. The swim went okay (28:23), despite being punched in the face and having my goggles knocked off, and the bike went smashingly despite a number of crashes and some drafting that I could not shake from my tail (2:10:00). Having lost my electrolyte capsules on the bike, I had a run that was not as good as it could have been, but on the whole wasnâ��t bad (1:18:03). So there I was, 4:02:06, and I finished as the top American in my AG (18-24) and took third in the 18-24 AG at Worlds. In conclusion, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Coach Lee and BodyZen Management Systems, for this opportunity that paid great dividends for me this year. Coach Lee has revolutionized my understanding of training, nutrition, and rest by conveying the importance of consistency and adherence to a system that truly works. I look forward to working with Coach Lee in the future and would recommend that anyone who wants to improve in triathlon, or take their skills to a higher level, or who wishes to live life to the fullest, do so. Life is short, and itâ��s always time to make the best of it. Happy training, Ben Bartlett PS- If anyone should wish to ask me any questions about my experience, you can reach me at: bobart@wm.edu "

Toooooooooo long

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:22:00 +0000

oh man it has been too long since i posted and so much has happened.
first on the homefront all is very cool with kaia blu and E. we have been preparing for the holidays and wrapping up the season all the while planning for next year. kaia is running and talking and it is great to watch her grow up.

on the biz front-jeez where do i start. first i had an AMAZING time with all my Ironman Floirda peeps on Nov.3 in PCB. we have all been working together for 9 months and the big day came and they executed very wewll. i hit them with some of the hardest training i could come up with and they rocked. all in all there were 7 of them doing there first IM and leading was my main man Jason Timmons, a new father like me with a big bank job and the guy made almost all of his workouts and never stopped smiling. jason told me he was going under 11 hours and he did by going 10:50. NICE!
all the other srolled in within the times they wanted and are now full fledged IM. i waited at the finish for all of them and as they came in i felt so happy for them and the job we all did. they all become a real tight unit and we are on for many journeys in the future.

then i came back to Miami and my friend AJ came ino town from Switzerland and we got to hand out for a few days. he left and raced an ITU race in Cancun and then came back and we went over to Clearwater for the 70.3 world champs. he is hilarious and we have a great time hanging out and training and he tells me old racing stories from back in the day. he ended up 3rd at the race so it was a pretty good weekend. had the race been 1/4 mile longer he would have won. i think his face peeled back from the speed on the run.

well more later and i am off for a ride!

Quick words

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:54:00 +0000

all is well and i have spent the last week sick as a dog and catching up since being back from Kona. the girsl are doing well and Blu was the one who got me sick but is better now. so E and I have not been training too much and we got forced out of the last 2 tri's we were going to do becuse of being sick. i am really bummed about this as i wanted to race bad. so now it is running season and road racing is where it is at. running running and more running with no swimming and just 3 days not 6 of cycling. this run season i will be doing different things then last: more track, more plyo's and more miles!!!!! gotta go out now for an hour easy run.
coffeee of the day= organic guatemalan

KONA-THE RACE

noreply@blogger.com (Lee) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:08:00 +0000

ok so another IM Hawaii wrapped up yesterday and i have now had 24 hours to reflect on the race. i also had 4 hours of great training here on the island and that gave me time to collect my thoughts on what is the worlds toughest one day event.
the day began before sunrise with a full battery and 1 gig card in the Nikon strapped to my back. after some quick oats, a call to erinne and of course 2 cups of IM brew i went out. i had my media credentials with me to photo and report in our next newsletter for october. i jumped on my ghisallo and pedaled to the race start.

i went right to the swim start and started shooting friends and other athletes. i got right up to Dede Griesbauer and clicked away. she is very sweet and Dede you did great and hung tough!
i then had to stae our the sweet spot for the swim start. the bronze sun rose over the mountains and shed light on the big blue pacific with swimmers scattered around the beach like ants. i have to admit: i've been here four times and never really desired to race this animal but this year is different. i have the twisting urge deep in my gut and and in my head that i want the suffering that the island brings to each athlete. in due time, all in due time!
i quickly heard that Faris was a no show. c'mon man, you come here, check your bike the day before and then no show. i'm pretty sure he was sick as my concensus with him is that he is afraid of no one and my limited conversations lead me to believe he isn't the type to wimp out.
i got some good shots of the swim start and the pro's exiting. the navy Seals landing in the water was cool but i think they missed there mark as they were supposed to come closer in. not that i told them this!

after the swim i ran like the wind to make it to the press truck. now i have reported about the press truck in the past and this year there were not so many people, nor europeans. this is a good thing as last year they didn't quite get the deoderant memo. UGH! this is a four deal where yo uare in a cage ont he back of a pickup truck. the truck heaves and sways side to side and speeds up and slows down to catch the Pro riders. as soon as we got out to the highway- BAM Natasha Badmann goes down right in front of us and i don't recall seeing a moto in the way. she just hit a cone a flipped. she laid on the groud for many minutes. the medical guys got her. Second FAVE to win out. then we stormed up to get to the front guys. normann was in the rear of the line of riders holding his stomach and taking some pills from the med van. i knew right there that he was going to be out. if he didn't blast passed them then he was non player in a sport where he has to be THE player.
chris lieto was in the front now by 2:30 and i hung out with his brother and other family as his lead grew. for the women dede had a god lead followed by MJ, Belinda Granger, Kate Major and the like. we were now standing at mile 40/80 and the sun was blazing worse then any florida day. there was little wind and no clouds so we were roasting like a pig on Christmas. the lietos were very cool and look for Matt to mix it up at IMFL. the men made there way back and Lieto was int he lead by 4:30 with Torbjorn right behind him. Macca, Deboom, Alexander were all in a pack behind (editors note: when i say pack i do not mean draft pack as they were all riding legal within the 10 meter rule).
on the way back we got shots of the women like Crissie Wellington (Team TBB), MJ (she would drop out right after we left her), Granger, Major,McGlone, Keat(very tough girl).
we made our way back to town and i went back to the media center in the host hotel for updates and then back to Alii drive to shoot more on the run. it was severly hot to say the least. listen, those high compression socks work. i got a pair and they do keep you cooler. they are also supposed to help with more circulation. the science seems sound so look for more of them in your long course races.
the run was brutul and for the racers too. there was a mix up in the players and then macca was in front and wellington as well. now i knew about wellington and what she could do as she races on Team TBB with Lisbeth and AJ. i didn't know she could win but could do well. she just turned Pro in February. THIS IS A HUGE STORY. she beat so mnay grils here that have been fighting for the win for many many years. i thought Sam McGlone did great as well in her first race here. GO FIGURE: all the faves faded and these girls come out of nowhere to take it. I am also very proud Team TBB Rebecca Preston for her 5th place here. GO BECK!

shouts out to to all my AG tri buds. Tough Tara way to hang in there. Ramsey, Marni, CG Brian way to have a great race. you all are very tough.

the day ended around 9pm with a collapse on the bed and many thoughts to fill my head. hey that rhymes. i'm a poet and didn't even know it.

check out the pictures on the bodyzen photos page in a week or so!
aloha till 2008!