TriSports.com Blog

Almost Done – Solar

Local Arizona steel workers begin erecting the large steel structure.

A steel worker working on a support beam.

One of the partially completed structures that will provide shade and hold many solar panels.

The completed steel structures anxiously awaiting the installation of 308 SunPower solar panels.

One of the first solar panels on the steel ground structure.

An electrician is busy putting some sweat into the install.

Almost done! Just a few more panels and some electrical to finish up.

Not So “Sweet” Sweeteners

Walk down the drink aisle at any grocery store and you will notice basically two types of items, Drinks and Diet Drinks. Let’s face it; in today’s society there is a growing concern of becoming overweight and trying to watch your weight. Every corner you turn there is an advertisement for some sort of new diet pill, drug, book or drink. With the thousands of new diet products hitting the market I have little confidence that it is doing anything. It’s easy to see this proof year after year as more diet products come out and the amount of overweight people keeps going up; there is no end in sight. This brings me to my initial point I want to discuss on artificial sweeteners. Diet coke is the second highest selling drink in America, and its sweetener is aspartame. The two biggest artificial sweeteners used in manufacturing today are Aspartame (200 times sweeter than table sugar) and Sucralose (600 times sweeter than table sugar); both products cannot be broken down by our bodies so they do not yield any calories.

You are what you eat!

If you eat protein rich foods, they will allow your body to grow, heal and repair. If you eat carbohydrate rich foods, they will give you energy for just about any activity you encounter. Eating fats provides energy for low intensity activities and basal metabolic systems, as well as many vital bodily systems such as blood pressure regulation. Eating or drinking foods with artificial sweeteners will give no benefit. So why eat or drink foods with artificial sweeteners? We do this in hope to curve that craving for sweet foods so we can consume as much as we want and not gain a pound (I made that last statement laughing). In fact, consuming diet drinks that contain artificial sweeteners trick our bodies into eating more food. There are a number of reasons why; one of them is that by consuming an artificial sweetener you trick your body into thinking you have had something with sugar. When you eat or drink something with real sugar, your body is expecting that sweetness to pass into your blood and give a calorie and insulin boost. Because you have consumed a non-nutritive sweetener, however, your bloodstream does not receive that boost of calories and your body desires more calories throughout the day. This is a negative feedback loop. There are several more reasons why artificial sweeteners do not prevent weight gain and instead promote weight gain, but in the interest of time, I will leave it at this one reason.

What can I do?

Read food labels; this past weekend I picked up a can of sparkling water or fizzy water I like to call it. I took a drink and I noticed that this was the sweetest water I have ever tasted. I did not read the label and the drink contained Sucralose along with 25 other chemicals that were not H₂O. I didn’t die but I also did not finish that drink. Be careful when you pick up products; read the label and pay attention to the ingredients. Don’t drink or eat foods that do not give any nutritional value. I stand by my belief that “there is no need to consume foods or drinks that don’t provide any benefit.” Do this and your body will thank you.  If you desire something sweet, eat something sweet but don’t over consume.

What you need to know.

At TriSports.com I have tried my best to select nutrition products that only benefit your body. There are no products in our store that contain Aspartame or Sucralose. The products that we sell contain powerful ingredients that help you Swim, Bike, Run or whatever else you are doing. I promise.

Charity

Challenged Athletes Foundation

Community. Family. Home. TriSports.com was built from a foundation of family and community contribution. It is part of who we are- and where we came from. We continue that legacy of giving back to our community and sport. From our involvement in the Challenged Athletes Foundation to volunteering at the Ronald McDonald house and even cleaning up our roadways with our Adopt A Road project.

TriSports.com also supports the local Junior El Tour Program to get kids on bikes, teach them good exercise and lifestyle habits and enable them to participate in events that reinforce goal setting and an active lifestyle.

Jr. El Tour

Each year our TriSports.com Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival donates 100% of its proceeds to a host of charities that include local organizations and the Challenged Athletes’ Foundation.

TriSports.com employees volunteer throughout the year in support of charity events and projects that continuously give back to our local- and national- community.

Being a part of our community is a part of who we are at TriSports.com, and that means giving back is a natural part of our business.

Races

Youth Deucathlon at Dueces Wild Triathlon Festival

In our hearts, we are racers- athletes. Our culture was born from racing and competing and has grown from a commitment to racing and participation at all levels- from beginner to world class.

TriSports.com Sponsored Athlete

TriSports.com supports athletes and events around the country- and around the world. From our top professionals like Leanda Cave, Ford Ironman Arizona Champion and 3^rd pro at the Ford Ironman World Triathlon Championships in Kona, Hawaii in 2011 to our grass-roots triathlon team that provides coaching and support for local athletes of all levels.

Our commitment to racing goes beyond just generating results. It includes supporting events around the United States with sponsorship and logistical support. We even host our TriSports.com Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival here in Arizona, the largest multisport festival in Arizona including a 70.3 distance triathlon, an X-TERRA off-road triathlon and children’s races.

Racing and supporting the sport is a part of our foundation at TriSports.com- and a part of our future.

Solar

Solar Panels on the roof at TriSports.com

Solar Parking lot panels near completion

Water

Water Harvesting Tank in front of TriSports.com

Raising the Bar, or Seat

We are once again raising the bar on what we feel a true triathlon store should offer in the way of amenities.  You must have an indoor pool (check), you must have a dedicated bike fit studio (check), and you must have a treadmill to do foot strike analysis (check).  Our newest addition – Port ‘o Potties.

Only at TriSports!

Seriously, how many of us practice using these things?  You really need to know the ins and outs of these giant plastic stink tanks. Sit or squat?  Use TP or run it a bit dirty?  Share or wait in line? These are all decisions we have to make when racing and we think it is important to practice every aspect of racing.  So, next time you are at a store that says they are a triathlon store you know what to ask them – Where is the pool, fit studio, treadmill AND Port o’ Pottie.  See you in line at the races!

Race Report: Leanda Cave @ Ironman Arizona

My first Ironman victory!

This past weekend I had a very emotional and rewarding victory at Ironman Arizona – my final race of 2011!  Here is a summary of my 2011 season: 13 races, 3 of which were World Championship events.  Two Ironman races, two long distance triathlons, six half-ironman, two Olympic distance and one duathlon.  I managed five wins, four 2^nd places, two 3^rd places, and two random off the podium finishes of 6^th place.   Pat on the back me!   I’m exhausted!

My main goal for Ironman Arizona was to break 3-hours for the marathon.  I also really wanted to win because I hadn’t won an Ironman yet.  At the back of my mind I wasn’t so confident about achieving either goal.  It was a big ask from my body and very ambitious after racing so much since the Ironman World Championship in Kona 6-weeks earlier.  But I had nothing to lose because it was the last race of the season for me.  I had a bloody good reason if I sucked and it was a bonus if I could pull it off.  But in terms of racing itself, I just wanted to be done.  I was looking forward to getting to the finish line more than the process for this race.

On race morning I woke up with one thought in my head: “oh crap, I’m racing an Ironman today”.  The whole idea started to dawn on me.  But it was too late to back out now.  My sister, Melissa, and her boyfriend Tim, had come all the way over from London to watch me race.  I was committed!

Photo by: Hai-Ping Hwang-Twigg

I pumped my tires up, went for a little jog and headed over to the swim start.  The water in the Tempe Lake is a pretty cold 60 degrees this time of year, and we have to swim a bit of a way to the start line, which means hanging out a little too long in the cold water.  I froze.  I’m not good in the cold at the best of times.  I tried to warm up but just felt tight and lethargic.  When the gun went off, I was slow off the mark.  Any hope of hanging on to the feet of the male pros quickly vanished.  I did have a couple of other pro woman around me (we had yellow swim caps, and the males had grey), and they would be my company for the swim.  I come from a swimming background and normally the swim is just getting from A to B and I don’t think much of it.  But it seemed to be taking forever, and just before the last turn buoy my left calf completely cramped and I had to stop.  Then the most sportsmanlike thing happened.  Meredith Kessler, who was swimming on my feet, stopped and asked if I was ok!  Couldn’t believe someone would be so kind to do that.  I waved Meredith on and just thought to myself as I waited for my cramp to ease how amazing and generous some athletes really are.

I exited the water in 4^th place, about 3 minutes down on the leader, Amanda Stevens and a minute down on Meredith Kessler and Kelly Williamson.  The gap wasn’t huge, and I thought I could reel them in over the course of the bike.  But that idea was sidelined when I discovered I had a flat tire right out of the gate.  I ran back into transition to get a spare wheel from the mechanics tent, but they told me all their spares were out on the course about a mile up the road.  So to get me by, they put air in my tire and discovered the valve was loose and I didn’t have a flat after all.  With the valve tightened and air in my tire, I thought I was good to go and started to wind up the gears to get back into the race.  But then my chain started slipping and I couldn’t get into any of the harder gears.  At this point I had gone about half a mile past the spare wheels on the course, but I knew I had to go back as I had no other option.

I was wearing a bracelet on race day in honor of a local triathlete, Sally Meyerhoff, who lost her life earlier this year after a truck hit her on a training ride.  It read: “Be Relentlessly Positive”.  I looked down at it through all this commotion a number of times, and it really flushed away all the doubts and negative thoughts about the situation and it gave me the energy to forge ahead.

Eventually I changed my rear wheel and essentially lost about 6 minutes in doing so!  But I was good to go now and that’s what I did.  Linsey Corbin had caught me and encouraged me to make an effort with her to chase down the girls ahead.  We kept gaining time bringing the initial 8-minute deficit down to 5 minutes after the first lap, then 4 minutes by the start of the 3^rd lap.   By the time I reached transition, Meredith Kessler, Michelle Vesterby and I were 3:30 down on Stevens.  Lindsey was a further 2 minutes back after suffering in the last lap of the bike.

I went out on the run in 4^th.  I set out feeling pretty average.  I’m not sure anyone feels amazing when they get off a 112-mile bike ride!  My transition was pretty slow and I found myself chasing down Versterby in the first 2 miles.  I then had my sights on Kessler, who I caught at about 4 miles.  Meredith hung with me for a few miles, but had to slow a bit to find her own pace.  So now it was just me chasing down Stevens.  By 6 miles the gap had closed to 1 minute and by 7 miles I was in the lead!

I forged ahead and kept my sub 3-hour marathon goal in mind.  I was feeling pretty good on the 2^nd lap.  But I knew the worst part of the race for me is yet to come.  This was my 4^th time racing Ironman Arizona, and in the past, I have fallen to bits in the final lap.  I tried to put that in the back of my mind and concentrate on the goal ahead.  My coach Siri was screaming at me about some really fast overall time.  She was saying I was on target to go under 8hrs50min for the race.  I was just thinking there was no way!  I’m just going for my run goal and now to win my first Ironman.  But she was right.   I came down the finish chute in 8:49!!  I also ran a 2:58 marathon!! Wow.  My body amazes me.  After I crossed the finish line, I ran back down the chute to slap hands with the crowd.  I’ve always wanted to do this!  Then of course I did the Blazeman Roll.

My support team is what made this season possible.  A HUGE thank you to the crew at K-Swiss, Accelerade/Endurox R4 (my secret recovery formula), Sandy at Gita Sports and the boys at Pinarello, Blue Seventy, Nuun, my team back home at TriSports, Tri Bike Transport, NOVA Light, Chuck and Jim at Easton/Bell/Giro, SKINS, Oakley, TorHans Aero and Computrainer.

Thanks to my family and friends for all you support throughout 2011.  2012 is going to be even greater!!

Yours in sport,

Leanda Cave

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for :

Our wetsuits that keep us warm.

Our super aero bikes.

Our running shoes that help us go fast.

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook on Monday for Cyber Monday deals!

A Visit from the Voice

If you have ever done an Ironman, or ever been to see one, there are two things that are most certainly consistent – the M-dot logo and the voice of Mike Reilly. Mike has announced over 100 Ironman races over the years and has said the words, “You are an Ironman,” tens of thousands of times. His voice is the welcome home committee for many of us that cross the line. I have been racing Ironman races for over 12 years and am about to do my 8^th race; in all but one of them Mike has been there to welcome me across the finish line. Mike and I are on the board of Triathlon America together and have gotten to know each other a bit better over the last year. On his way to Ironman Arizona I persuaded him to make a right hand turn off of I-8 onto I-10 (he lives in southern CA) to come and visit our operation.

Mike Reilly with some of the TriSports.com retail staff!

I have to say it was a pleasure to have him in the building, as I think almost everyone one had a life story that involved him. He is pretty much like Kevin Bacon, except in triathlon you are only 2 degrees or less away from him. If you haven’t met Mike Reilly, I will tell you that he is the real deal; he cares about this sport and more importantly cares about the people that are fortunate enough to have found this sport as part of their lives.

Seton Claggett, Mike Reilly, and Pam Kallio