Gear For Multisport

From the Florida Today newspaper..

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090531/BREAKINGNEWS/90531019/1086/Branigan++Reback+win+Pineapple+titles

Edward Stephen Branigan IV didn’t exactly get caught up in the mo­ment when his mother crossed the finish line to win the women’s portion of the 24th annual Pineapple Man Triathlon Sunday. He was still asleep in his stroller.

But that’s OK. Lotte Branigan will have plenty of time to tell her four-month old son that looking into his sweet little face was the best reward she could ask for after winning the event for the ninth time with a time of 1:11.33.

“One of the guys cheering for me said, ‘You should be home with your son,’” the 35-year-old from Vero Beach grinned. “I said, He’s waiting for me at the finish (line).
“That was my biggest motiva­tion. To get back to him.”

Sunday also marked a return for John Reback — to the winner’s cir­cle. The 39-year-old from Jupiter
was first across the finish line for the second consecutive year, winning with a time of 1:04.14. Sec­
ond-place Kevin Grogan of Min­neola was two seconds behind.

Reback, who was second out of the water following a .3-mile swim in the Indian River Lagoon, pushed hard on the 15-mile bike portion of the race on State Route A1A to try to open up a lead.

But it wasn’t until the closing moments of the 3.3-mile run through Melbourne Beach that Reback felt he would be able to hold off Grogan. But that still didn’t stop him from taking a quick look over his shoulder just
before crossing the line.

“Probably at the two-mile mark, I could hear Kevin breathing heavy, so I thought (I could) pull
away from him,” Reback said. “I didn’t get a lot, as you could see, but I got enough to stay ahead of
him at the finish. .¤.¤. I didn’t know how close he was and nobody would say anything. I thought I
had lost him, (but) he’s like a virus. I couldn’t get rid of him.”

Reback couldn’t take credit for the virus joke. That went to third-pllace finisher Eddie Branigan,
Lotte’s husband, who finished in 1:06.10. Sunday’s race, which fin­ished at Ryckman Park in Mel­
bourne Beach, drew a record 562 entrants competing in different age groups and even as relay
teams.

Melbourne’s Pamela Maxwell finished second overall in the women’s race (1:15.19) followed by 18-year-old Ashley Shiver of Satellite Beach in 1:15.54.

Jackie Clifton, 48, of Palm Bay won the women’s Master’s Division­
in 1:20.00, while 43-year-old Joel Kinnunen of Melbourne won
the men’s Master’s Division in 1:07.51.

It was also a big day for Brevard County’s youth as 13-year-olds Ja­son Howick of Cocoa (1:39.19)
and Sara Tennant of Melbourne Beach (2:09.57) each took first in the Male and Female 10-14 age
category.

While it may be a while before Edward Branigan IV is old enough to start running in events like this
one, it didn’t take his mom long to get back to her training after giv­
ing birth.

Lotte Branigan said she began using an elliptical trainer two weeks after she had her son and
ran a 10K race four weeks later. She may be no stranger to winning the event, but this one felt extra
special.

“It does,” she said. “It’s a privi­lege to go and work out. It’s a privi­
ege to race. You race with enjoy­ment, not because that’s what you
used to do.” Reback, who won the event for the third time, felt he
might have been in a little trouble at the start of the race when he dis­
covered competitors were able to wear wet suits into the water —
and he didn’t bring one. Grogan did. Coming out of the water sec­
ond, though, and heading for his bike, Reback decided he needed to
push it.

“I figured if I could come off the bike with the leaders, I could prob­
ably win the race — and I did,” Re­back said. “It was a hard bike,
though. I pushed the bike harder than I normally do.

“When I got on the bike, I looked back and thought I had a little bit
of a lead, so I figured rather than wait for everyone, I’ll try and ham­
mer the bike and get rid of some of the guys so I’ll have fewer guys to
run with. It paid off on the run.”

Grogan, who has not only spent time training with Reback but calls
him his unofficial coach, felt the wet suit helped him get through
the swimming portion in good shape and contributed mightily to
putting him in a position to finish second.

But once he knew Reback was ahead of him, he knew getting past
him would be quite a chore.

“I know John very well and I know what he’s capable of,” Gro­
gan said. “Let’s put it this way — He’s faster than the guy right be­
hind him. You know no matter what you do, he’s going to stay one
step ahead of you.”

Melbourne’s Pamela Maxwell finished second overall in the
women’s race (1:15.19) followed by 18-year-old Ashley Shiver of
Satellite Beach in 1:15.54.

Jackie Clifton, 48, of Palm Bay won the women’s Master’s Divi­
sion in 1:20.00, while 43-year-old Joel Kinnunen of Melbourne won
the men’s Master’s Division in 1:07.51.

It was also a big day for Brevard County’s youth as 13-year-olds Ja­
son Howick of Cocoa (1:39.19) and Sara Tennant of Melbourne
Beach (2:09.57) each took first in the Male and Female 10-14 age
category.

While it may be a while before Edward Branigan IV is old enough
to start running in events like this one, it didn’t take his mom long to
get back to her training after giv­ing birth.

Lotte Branigan said she began using an elliptical trainer two
weeks after she had her son and ran a 10K race four weeks later.
She may be no stranger to winning the event, but this one felt extra
special.

“It does,” she said. “It’s a privi­lege to go and work out. It’s a privi­
lege to race. You race with enjoy­ment, not because that’s what you
used to do.” Reback, who won the event for the third time, felt he
might have been in a little trouble at the start of the race when he dis­
covered competitors were able to wear wet suits into the water —
and he didn’t bring one. Grogan did. Coming out of the water sec­
ond, though, and heading for his bike, Reback decided he needed to
push it.

“I figured if I could come off the bike with the leaders, I could prob­
ably win the race — and I did,” Re­back said. “It was a hard bike,
though. I pushed the bike harder than I normally do.

“When I got on the bike, I looked back and thought I had a little bit
of a lead, so I figured rather than wait for everyone, I’ll try and ham­
mer the bike and get rid of some of the guys so I’ll have fewer guys to
run with. It paid off on the run.”

Grogan, who has not only spent time training with Reback but calls
him his unofficial coach, felt the wet suit helped him get through
the swimming portion in good shape and contributed mightily to
putting him in a position to finish second.

But once he knew Reback was ahead of him, he knew getting past
him would be quite a chore.

“I know John very well and I know what he’s capable of,” Gro­
gan said. “Let’s put it this way — He’s faster than the guy right be­
hind him. You know no matter what you do, he’s going to stay one
step ahead of you.”

 The Florida summer is upon us and as athletes its time to face the facts about training and racing in the scorching heat.  There is plenty you can do to prepare your body for the conditions we deal with each summer. While the process needs to be gradual in nature, it is important to our success as Floridians that we acclimate our bodies for these same conditions that we will expect our bodies to perform in.  Follow Zilla’s (that’s me by the way) H.A.R.D. facts to performing well in the Florida heat. 

Hydrate
The most obvious way to deal with exercising in the heat is to hydrate. When you have a big day of training ahead of you, start the night before by taking a couple Thermolyte electrolyte pills before you hit the sack.  The next morning, about an hour or so before you head out to workout, I recommend drinking a full serving of a sports drink, like Cytomax or E-Load Endurance.  You don’t want to drink too much sports drink as that might throw your system all out of wack; one bottle.  Also take two more Thermolyte tabs.  After eating an average breakfast (3-400 cal), I also recommend you weigh yourself (more on that later). I also don’t recommend too much water either because your body has a way peeing out excess salt in your body.  It can’t help you if its flushed down the commode.   It’s always better to stay topped off than too much with your hydration and salt levels.  During the workout you should have no less than 24 oz of fluid, 600 mg of sodium and 250-350 cal per each hour. You should practice the same nutrition each time you go out and tweak as needed. 

Acclimate
Now that summer is here, we need to actually get out there and feel the heat/humidity if we expect to perform well on race day.  Do a couple of short moderate efforts in the heat but save the intense stuff for the cool early morning or nighttime.  The key here is to acclimate the body to the heat, not to overdue it.  Slowly build up duration but not intensity based on the distance for which you are training.  Staying at a comfortable effort level does the body more good than going too hard during this acclimatization process. 

Recovery
After you complete your workout is a good time to re-weigh yourself.  You will need to compare this figure to see how much fluid you have lost.  Pay close attention to the outdoor temperature & humidity and log it somewhere to reflect on it prior to race day.  Obviously if it’s hotter on race day, drink more and take in more electrolytes. After the weigh-in, within 30 min of the end of the workout start drinking and re-hydrate your body with at least one full bottle of sports drink and some protein.  Everyone is going to be a bit different (re: body weight and size) so obviously keep that in mind.       

Dress
I taught elementary physical education for 7 years in South Florida.  I use to preach to my kids to try to remember which days they were going to have my P.E. class.  That way they could dress appropriately.  The obvious issue for them would be wearing tennis shoes, but I think even more importantly was the color of the kid’s outfits.  I would tell them the whiter clothes you can wear, the better.  Sometimes we would even make it a contest in class to see who would be named “whiteboy” (or girl) for the day. A perfect example of this is Torbjorn Sindballe’s dress in Ironman Kona every year.  All white.  Keep that in mind when you choose which outfit your going to wear out there in the oven. 

Good luck this summer and race hard. 

If you want to learn more about what you should be doing for nutrition come to the Nutrition Clinic Saturday, July 18th at 10 AM. Please RSVP to multisportgear@aol.com to reserve your seat.

Kevin

Lots has happened in the last few weeks.  I had a solid race at Disney half ironman earning another Ironman World Championship 70.3 slot.  My time was right on schedule (4:33) with years past & I felt like I had a nice run.  It was good to spend time with my good friend Brian Keno & his family who stayed at the fam’s condo out here in Clermont that weekend.  Gavin enjoyed having a pal here in Brians daughter Ashleigh; poor girl is probably still sick of Thomas trains.

In prep for St. Ants/Disney, I gave up my nightly beer habit & the weight has just shed off in the summer heat.  I am also eating a whole lot smarter with apples & bananas as my main food of choice.  Kimmie gives me a hard time about getting skinny again but its good for my run I feel.  With Pineappleman on the horizon, at the very least, I am prepared & fit.  Whether I crack the top 4 might be another story though (i.e. Reback, Branigan, Blow, Donner).

Also this last weekend, I am happy to say I landed a gig as the WXW Professional Wrestling Announcer.  I started off a bit nervous but got the hang of it throughout the night I felt.  I appreciate Pops Anoai & the whole WXW family for taking a chance on me for something I have a passion for.

Till next time,

KJG

I have been doing some open water swim practice Tuesday & Thursday morning down at the Minneola Tiki Bar at 7:30 am.   I appreciate Todd & his family tolerating us getting in and out at the Minneola Inn.  I have buoys now that I set up & have been able to talk Chris Seymour on occasion into getting up early & meeting me there. If anyone reading this ever wants to swim on a Tues/Thurs. morning..email me at KJGrog@aol.com Hope to make it a tradition thru the rest of the season.

Should be ready for a good swim at Disney 70.3 this weekend.  Looks like our age group is stacked.

The M35-39 Field…
Gregg Blow, Authur Mathisen, Daniel Domingo (Former Pro), Anton Van Zyl (Former Pro)
John Reback (Should of been a Pro), Rick Copley, Rudolpho Gonzalez (South Florida),
Chris Huff, Ramsey Small, Andres Munera, Lee Boyer, Jan Sturma (Team Czech), JD Strickland, Pete Newsome, & C-Sad.