A Great Resource for Endurance Athletes

There are countless websites out there which claim to have information about endurance athletes.  Some of these websites are great, others not so much.  There are forums which are also loaded with helpful information, and not so helpful information. 

A resource that I like to check on a daily basis is The Endurance Corner. http://www.endurancecorner.com/

There are daily tips written by various coaches and people closely affiliated with endurance sports.  The topics range from training tips, to motivational tips, nutrition strategies, mental toughness...and the list goes on.

Chicago Triathlon Wrap Up, Ironman Wisconsin Information, Club Meetings

Congratulations to everyone who raced today at the Chicago Triathlon.  We had a great time cheering you on, and you do an amazing job on a super windy day in the windy city!

The swim looked tough today!

The One and Only Erik "Bird" Walter...check out the muscle striation on those calves.

Katie did the triple...crazy!!

Nothing like teammates running together, Randy had to drop the hammer on Dave here I guess.

Our next event will be at Ironman Wisconsin in two weeks at Ironman Wisconsin.  We will once again take the hill on the top of Old Sauk by storm to cheer on our Endure It athletes (and other people as well I suppose).  We will be out on the bike course and directions to get there are below.  Please let us know if you plan on joining us so that we can touch base just in case you get lost.  Email us at ricklapinski@hotmail.com

Directions to our location are here:

• I-88 W toward Aurora
• Take the exit onto I-39 N/US-51 N toward Rockford
• Keep right at the fork, follow signs for I-39 N/US-20 E/Wisconsin-Belvidere Rockford and merge onto I-39 N/US-20 E
• Continue to follow I-39 N
• Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Interstate 90 W/Interstate 39 N and merge onto I-39 N/I-90 W
• Take exit 142A on the left to merge onto US-12 W/US-18 W toward Madison
• Take exit 251A toward Spring Green/La Crosse
• Turn right onto US-14 W/University Ave
• Continue to follow US-14 W 
• Turn left onto Cleveland Rd
• Cleveland dead ends at the top of a monster hill. Park anywhere along that hill, there will be a lot of other people parking there as well. After you park walk to the top of the hill and take a right on Old Sauk Pass (you can only go right or left). You’ll walk to the top of the hill where the Endure It Tent will be set up.

Our next club meeting will be on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:00 p.m. at the Willowbrook Store.  We hope you come out to join us.  On the 21st we will talk about the following topics:

• Taking an "off-season" break
• Endure It at Cyclocross Races & the Chicagoland Cyclocross Series
• Scavenger Run  (September 29th, 6:30 p.m. @ Endure It Life in Naperville)
• Up Coming Monthly Challenges & Events & Club Meetings

Club Meetings through the winter and early spring have been scheduled as well as the topics which we will talk about at the meetings.  So if you're a planner...clearly I am...here are the dates.

• October 12 - 7:00 p.m. @ Naperville - Topics: Computrainer Season, Cyclocross Update, Winter Base Training Tips, Off-Season Goals, Strength Training
• November 16 - 7:00 p.m. @ Willowbrook - Topics: Nutrition for the Holiday Season, Dressing for Cold Weather Training, Naperville Turkey Trot Group; Cyclocross Update
• November 24 - Naperville Turkey Trot - Meet at Endure It before to park, and after for bagels, juice, and coffee.
• December 15 - Endure It Holiday Party (date subject to change, time and location TBD)
• January 18 - 7:00 p.m. @ Naperville - Topics: Pre-Season Training, Designing a Training Program, Strength Training Revisited, Solvang Camp
• February 15 - 7:00 p.m. @ Willowbrook - Topics: Planning a Race Season, $ saving tips, Building a Base, SWIM, Club Races (Galena Triathlon, Leon's Triathlon, Ironman Racine 70.3, Ironman Wisconsin)
• March 14 - 7:00 p.m. @ Naperville - Topics: Group Riding Etiquette, Bike Maintenance, Group Riding Opportunities

Train Hard, Race Fast, No Regrets!!

Chicago Triathlon This Weekend!!

The Chicago Triathlon takes place this weekend and we will be there in full on cheering mode!  Good luck to all of our athletes out on the course, the weather looks like it's going to be perfect for a fast day.  Make sure you stop by the tent to hang out, grab a drink or snack and to cheer on the whole Endure It crew.

We are going to have our tent set up along the swim/run course (kind of weird isn't it?) we'd love to see you come on by, and for those that do we will even have some little give aways as an incentive.

Stay tuned to the blog and facebook as we will have information in the coming weeks about the following topics:

• Ironman Wisconsin "Where Old Sauk Road becomes Endure It Hill"
• Upcoming meeting dates and topics
• Upcoming events through the fall/winter/spring months
• Upcoming Challenges
• Locations for free high fives from Bird

Something new that we are trying to get started is to get a better team presence at races.  So if you're racing at the Chicago Triathlon, or at Ironman Wisconsin please let us know by sending Rick an email (ricklapinski@hotmail.com) bib numbers are a bonus too!!  We would like to set up some team dinners before races and have some team pictures taken for us to post on the blog as well.  Also keep the ideas coming.

Train hard, race fast, have fun!

Some Upcomimg Event Details & A Training Tip

Congratulations again to everyone who raced this weekend, way to represent for Endure It!! we have some events on the horizon and want to make sure everyone is informed and we would really love to have you out as well. So here are some details:

8/17/2011 - Endure It Group Ride / BBQ @ 6:00 p.m. Endure It Naperville

We will be rolling out of the Naperville shop at 6:00 p.m. for a no drop group ride of around 20-25 miles. The ride will be followed by a BBQ at the store. Of course we want you on the ride, but if you can't make it stop by after for a burger, beer and to share those race stories with your fellow club members. Rumor has it Bird is going to be wearing bibs and giving out high fives!

9/11/2011 - Ironman Wisconsin

We always have some amazing club members who take on the challenge of Ironman Wisconsin, and if you've never experienced an Ironman come join us as we stake our claim on the top of the hill on Old Sauk Pass, one of the largest hills on the IMWI course. It's always a great time and this is the best place to watch the bike portion of the race. More details will follow, along with directions to where we will be set up. We will be grilling out up on the hill so if you plan on coming please let us know (Ricklapinski@hotmail.com) so we can make sure to have enough food.

Fall 2011 - Chicago Cyclocross Series

Let's make a statement at the races this fall. I'm thinking crazy hand ups and rowdy fans!

Endure It Training Tip - Consistency is Key

As the season starts to come to a close shortly something to keep in mind for future success is the idea of consistency. When we are done with our seasons it's always nice to take a little break. That's something which is very important for the mind and the body. The key is to make sure the break isn't too long. Stay active, cross train, go for a run without your Garmin, ride a new route, play dodgeball...do something different! The best way to set up a good 2012 season though is to keep a base. Set some goal times/distances that you would like to maintain each week through the off season. It's nice to work towards a goal (more on goal setting in an upcoming post) and a small attainable goal now will pay off next race season. Consistency is the key, day in and day out, week in and week out, ect...

Train hard, race harder!

Why Not Get Involved?

The Endure It Club has been busy training and racing all summer. We really want to make a better "team" effort to support everyone racing and training from here on out. So with that said there are a few ideas we have to get things rolling, but the ideas only work with your help! How can you help? It's really pretty simple, share with us your racing plans, support our "team" events, not only racing and training, but social events too, and pose your questions.

This blog is about to get more active, some things to look forward to are:

The Endure It Group Ride/BBQ - August 17 @ 6:00 pm - Endure It Naperville
The Scavenger Run (date coming shortly)
Ironman Wisconsin on course spectating - September 11
An Endure It presence at the Chicago Cyclocross Series
Weekly Training Tips on Swim/Bike/Run/Nutrition/Cross-training/Strength/Mental Training

We are always open to ideas and suggestions, if you have any (or would like the training tips to cover a certain topic) please email Rick at ricklapinski@hotmail.com

Scavenger Run - Monday August 8 @ 6:00 p.m.

Introducing Endure It's Scavenger Run on Monday August 8th at 6:00 p.m. leaving from Endure It Life in Downtown Naperville. Bring a friend or two and a camera phone, don't have a friend (we feel sorry for you) come and we'll make sure you have a team to join. Teams can include anywhere from 2-4 people (or more if you really want to). The scavenger run will include several clues of locations you have to run to and use your camera phone (or digital camera) to prove you were at the locations. The run will be in the 4-5 mile range and the entire team must stay together for the duration of the run, as will be evidenced by the photo's. This will surely be a great way to start the week, and will be a nice change to your training.

Prizes will be available for the winning team, as well as various raffle prizes to be picked randomly.  We really hope you join us for this new fun event!

To RSVP or if you have questions email Rick (ricklapinski@hotmail.com)