Product Review- Swiftwick Aspire One compression socks.

"ASPIRE ONE are the solution for your feet's 60 joints, all 200 ligaments and 35 muscles, delivering greater support for all your sporting activities. ASPIRE ONE will be the best sport compression sock you will ever wear GUARANTEED! Swiftwick socks are proudly made in the USA."

Triathletes are gear junkies. I think we all have a closet full of "stuff" (a highly technical term for useless items we bought with the promiss them would improve performance). But one thing I never ever thought would make a difference were socks. Well after a year of struggling through a case of plantar facitisis, I know firsthand haw hard it is to train and compete when your feet hurt. But I always thought shoes or heel cups or insert were the answer. Well fortunately for me Team Rev3 and Swiftwick got together this year and I was sent a pair of Aspire One socks to try.

I gave them their first test drive on the morning of the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run. I woke up that morning with the familiar ache in my left arch and heel. I tried on the the socks and they fit my foot like a glove, and my son and I headed off to the race. Well on a cold, windy, and wet day I had a great race getting a PR, and I never even noticed a twinge of pain in my foot. When your feet feel good, you can just concentrate on running, and wow did these socks work.

Unfortunately I only had one pair, but that too helped prove to what a difference they made. I alway ran in regular old cotton socks. But right away I noticed how the Aspired craddled my feet and put pressure on my arch. Everytime I wore them my feet felt great. Without them, they ached. I gave them one that trial at Rev3 Knoxville and again they came through. They were a bit slow to get on in T1 since the fit so tight, but my feet felt great and I ran one of my fastest splits in four years.

So I would recommend this product to anyone and I I'd put my money where my mouth is as I just ordered another 7 pairs today. Buy a pair you won't regret it!

http://www.swiftwick.com/aspire-one-9639-prd1.htm

"Building on the tradition of manufacturing the best socks we can possibly make in the USA, we strive to improve our products to match your athletic demands. Using the latest machinery available, the new ASPIRE line from Swiftwick is our proudest moment. We considered smaller feet, the narrow foot and athletic activities that demand compression, but less padding in the toe box. We adjusted the formula for key fibers, more than doubled the olefin content and once again, produced the best sock you will ever wear, guaranteed. We have long aspired to create this sock, so the name was obvious. For athletes, the obvious choice is Swiftwick"

Rev 3 Knoxville Race Report

Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev
2012-05-06
Knoxville, Tennessee United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
75F / 24C Sunny

Triathlon - Olympic
Total Time = 2h 36m 22s
Overall Rank = 106/412
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 13/39



Pre-race routine:

Drove down on Friday. Got a late start as I had to change the oil and do some laundry before hitting the road. 10 hour drive got my into Knoxville at around 8 pm. Still had enough sunlight to go for a shakedown jog on the course, getting back in the dark. Spent Saturday regestring, geting my bike a pre race tune up, and then heading down to meet my teammmates for both Team Fight (Ulman Cancer Fund) and Team Rev 3. Got thre sets of uniforms, but they actually fit this year. Then we did the Tri Slide Lube pit for the practice swim. I greased up a lot of folks and got to talk to a lot of nice folks from newbies to Matty Reed and Cam Dye and a bunch of other pros (Most of them had an Austrailian accent, which was a tip off). Then I got my swim in and then headed back to the room for a nap. Got up and hit Tomato Heads for a Team get together with some of my Rev 3 teammates and then called home and turned in. Sunday got up relatively late since bike was already checked in, got dressed and headed down to Transition, set up my area, lubed up with the last of my Trislide from yesterday, got the wetsuit on (after starting to put it on backwards but I caught it after one leg.) Then got ustered out of transition. Had a power gel (strawberry bannana when I got up, before I left the room, and just before heading to the swim start to top off, and water to wash it down.



Event warmup:

Swim was point to point so we had to walk about a mile to the start. Then I stood in line for the porta potties. Had one of my teammate behind me in line so I had someone to chat with. Fortunately the Olympic waves were last so I had plenty of time. After that I got my wetsuit fully on, donned my google and cap and waited till they let our wave down to the dock. We have 10 min between the first Olympic wave an ours (only 5 for the wave after us), so I jumped in and swam a few back and forths to get some heat going and then treaded water till the start.


Swim

Comments:

Having not done alot of swimming this winter, I vowed not to overcook it and started dockside about 3 rows back. 156 people in my wave made it quite crowded. Got a choppy start for the first 50 yeards or so then dropped into a rhythm. Other than the folks who couldn't swim straight, including one you kicked me in the jaw straying into my space. Other than that incident it wasn't a bad swim. Nice steady and unhurried rhythm, navigation was right on the buoys and other than the two folks from the previous wave doing side stroke I had to make sudden manuverss to miss running into them. OK swim especially considering the pre race swim was my second swim of the year.

What would you do differently?:

Swim more in the winter!

T1


Comments:

Long run up the dock thru the boat house, across the street down to the UT parking garage and then to the back corner to enter, made the time seem work than it was; however, I still was taking my sweet time and put my helmit on backwards and was headed to the bike mount before the announced called me out. Thanks Stu!


What would you do differently?:

Do my transitions with some purpose. That won't cut it in an Olympic. Lost 15 spots in T1


Bike

Comments:

Once I got my helmet on stright and clipped in I was ready for a good ride. There was alot of road construction in town and on Neyland Dr, so I was very careful and conservative. The hill going up the offramp was very steep and I had way too much gear but I wasn't dropping my chain shifting right there so I slogged through it. After than I got into a good cadence and rhythm and start moving. Couple sets of railroad tracks and one set on a down hill immediately followed by sharp left turn, so I took those sections very cautiously. Getting out into the country side the rollers started kicking in as well as the categorized climb. I did a much better job getting to the gears I wanted early and spinning up the hills and alternating standing on the longer hills to give my quads a short break. About 12 miles in right before the HIM/Oly split and the aid station. I recognized I was coming up on the spot where I wrecked in 2010. A nondescript section of old broken road, a grassy ditch and a farmer's field with a couple horses. I acknowleded the demons there with a point and glided past, putting those demons behind my for good. From there on I really felt energized and cranked up the effort. Did a few back and forths with 2 guys (Orler and ChucK) and the lady in the OBX top. We leapfroged the rest of the way, Orler was a fearless decender, I was climbing like a goat, and the others were steady. Dropped Chuch after my 3rd pass, but finished up right with the other two. The is a long curving uphill on the back half which seemed much longer and harder than the officially catorigized hill on the front (plus I think it is catorigized on the HIM map). Road that one well then took the down hill fairly conservatively with the fast sharp turns. Coming back to town I stood up for a few stretches as my back bothered me a bit. The pothot filled hill upto town (they have been working on this road for 3 years now) I messed up the gears again and stalled out and got passed by a bunch of folks but it did give me a front row seat to see one of those guys bunny hop the railroad track on the way in. Good solid ride. Drank a few good gulps on the flats and had a Power Gel right after the turn around on the out and back. Felt good. Rode from 20th to 14th in my AG and 201 to 110 OA. Most on the second half

What would you do differently?:

Should have gone out harder early, Wasn't really cranking until the second half.

T2

Comments:

Was very slow. Long run thru garage and around transition to my rack with the bike, changed shoes and grabbed some water and my hat before taking off. But lost 24 spots and 2 in my AG.

What would you do differently?:

Need fast transitions in an Olympic.


Run

Comments:

Legs felt great right off the bat and I got into a good pace. Had two people pass me in the first half mile (1 guy in my AG and one of my female teamamates) but that was it for the rest of the race. Tried to keep the guy in my AG in my sites and he pulled me thru the first half but then he slowly pulled away. Was greating pretty hot and my pace started to bog down a bit. Hit the turnaround and got to see a bunch of my teammates running strong. Got back in my groove for a while on the geenway and onto Neyland and saw I was catching my buddy Orlar from the bike. But I lost my rhytm and or he picked it up as I could get any closer. Passed a group of folks by the boathouse and then followed a guy up the hill in a livestrong shirt from the other wave (so I was 10 min ahead of him overall) but he too held me off and lead me up the hill and into the park where he was joined by his kids. Some I gave him some room and cruised in.

What would you do differently?:

Lost focus a number of times. Legs still felt good at the end so should have borne down more. But it was pretty hot and I was 2 min faster than 2010 on the run. Made up 3 spots in my AG and 28 spots overall on the run so it wasn't bad.

Post race

Warm down:

Got my shirt and medal and a Gatorade and Muscle milk and then sat in line for the NormaTec Booth. Did 30 min in the boots and my legs felt great. Then went to the timing tent to get an initial idea of my time (no watch today) and saw I was in PR territory. Walked down to the transition and packed up my stuff. Finally ran into Carole, right at the end of the weekend, and then walked back with Anthony and Jeff. Anthony won his AG in a 2:10:48

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not swimming all winter, slow transitions, and being overly cautious at times with pacing and on the bike. PRed by about 23 seconds but over 8 min in transitions for an Olympic is just giving away time. And giving away spots. My buddy Orler beat me by 52 seconds overall despite the fact I was faster than him on all three legs. Transitions count too!

Event comments:

Great race weekend. The Urban Challenge and Little Rev Adventure races were a hit on Saturday and the Expo was very good. Great to get up close with the pros before and after the race, very cool people especially Matty Reed. The timeing system had a few kinks to work out and things were a bit funky post race but everything was good by the time I got home Monday.

Great swag. Unique medal, Finished long sleeve tshirt, visor, power bar stuff, and everyone got a pair of Blue Seventy Element goggles. Sweet!

Swimming
00:27:43 | 1640.42 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 20/39
Overall: 186/412
Performance: Average
Suit: TYR Hurricane cat 5 full
Course: In the river. Start swimming up stream past the river boats to a red buoy and the back downstream, up a bridge, past the start, under two more bridges and to the University of Tenn Rowing dock is and out.
Start type: Deep Water - Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C
Current: Low
200M Perf: Average
Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average
Drafting: Below average
Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average

T1
Time: 06:14
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good
Helmet on/Suit off: Average
Wetsuit stuck: No
Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average

Biking
01:12:21 | 24.85 miles | 20.61 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/39
Overall: ?
Performance: Good
Split 1 39:28 12.8 miles (19.46 mph) Split 2 32.53 12.0 miles (21.9 mph)
Wind: Some
Course: Nice course out and over the river then through Knoxville and out to the country roads. Lots of rolling hills a two long hills 1 Cat 5 climb. Railroad tracks and rough roads in spots but scenic and fun ride.
Road: Rough Dry
Turns: Average
Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average
Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable
Drinks: Just right

T2
Time: 02:01
Overall: Below average
Dismount: Bad
Running with bike: Average
Racking bike: Average
Shoe and helmet removal:Below average

Running
00:48:02 | 06.21 miles | 07m 44s min/mile
Age Group: 13/39
Overall: ?
Performance: Average
Split 1 20:12 2.74 miles (7:22) Split 2 27:50 3.46 miles (8:03)
Course: Left the parking garage, up Neyland for a mile and a half, onto the 3rd street greenway. Up the greenway though the parks and across the road to the turn around, back the way we cam then over to the boathouse down and under the tunnel, then up the hills via the Greenway to World's Fair Park, past the globe and to the finish.
Keeping cool: Average
Drinking: Just right

Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]: 3
Physical exertion [1-5]: 4
Good race?: Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge: Just right
Organized?: Yes
Events on-time?: Yes
Lots of volunteers?: Yes
Plenty of drinks?: Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]:5

"Exercising" my Demons

Each of us have our personal demons. Things that chill us to the bone, things that creep into our dreams turning them into nightmares, things that can shake our confidence to the very core. We don't like to admit their presence or the power they hold over us, but we always know they are there. One of my demons, is a small stretch of pavement next to a grassy drainage ditch in front of a framers field with a couple of hourse grazing. For most that would be a fairly peaceful scene, but for me it is an image that haunts me. Why? I was healthy and in some of the best shape of my life and was about half way through a spectacular race to start of my 2010 triathlon racing season at Rev3 Knoxville. I had PRed the swim by several minutes, had a solid transition and actual got my wetsuit off in record time, and was mowing people down on the bike leg. 12 miles in and a grand total of 1 person had passed me and felt strong.

Then in an instant my race turning into something completely different. A narrow two lane country road on coming traffic, no shoulder, and a white pickup truck in the lane with the cyclists. I was annoyed by this but as I started closing in on the truck, but just then the driver comes up on a cyclist thinks about swerving out to pass but sees on coming traffic and hits the breaks hard. Suddenly I am on top of this truck with on coming traffic in the other lane and no room to the inside and I jumped out of the aerobars and jammed on the breaks and suddenly was flipping and supermanning onto the pavement. This patch of pavement. A patch of pavement I was fortunate to have been able to get up from an pedal away from. I finished the race, battered and bloody, and full of rage.

I saw my way to the finish and after the adreneline wore off.... The demons started finding there way into my head. "You know a few more degrees of rotation you would have broken your neck and been in a wheelchair the rest of your life." The ER nurse who said that didn't know her comment would stick with me like glue and visit me in my nightmares. You try and get back on the horse, you try to show a brave face to your friends and family, but that fear kept coming back again and again. I got back out there repaired my bike, raced again, even set an Iron Distance PR that season, but something was missing. Everytime I was in traffic, my nerves were shot. I had a flashback at Rev3 Quazzy when a van got into traffic with us and the brake lights flashed. I found myself visibly shaking and it took several minutes to get me composure back. I lost my nerve and even though I could hammer the bike safe inside n the trainer, when I went outside the demons would jump on my back and slow me down to a crawl.

But time heals all wounds or so they say. I returned to Knoxville in 2011 doing the Half Rev and survived, I built up my nerves to fly down the back side of Reicter Pass at over 50 MPH at IM Canada. I finally started to remember the thrill and joy riding and that feeling started to drown out the demons. So this year, it was finally time to send those demons on their way. I had to go back to the scene of the crime, do the same race, 2012 Rev3 Knoxville Olympic, and return those demons to where they came from. They didn't go without a fight. The sets of railroad tracks spooked me. However, about 12 miles in right before the HIM/Oly split and the aid station. I recognized where I was. I was coming up on that spot. A nondescript section of old broken road, a grassy ditch and a farmer's field with a couple horses. I acknowleded the demons there with a point and glided past, putting those demons behind me for good.

From there on I really felt energized and cranked up the effort, and finally was able to let it go. A weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I was able to ride harder outside than I had in two years and bested my Olympic distance PR from 2008 and my beat my Olympic distance time from the last two years by over 10 min.

Am I free of those demons, too soon to tell, but I am at peace with them. Enjoy the ride!

Turning a new leaf!

2012. A new year and I decided it was time to shake things up a bit and tackle a new challenge. Now yes I realize its almost March but hey better late than never.

Over the last few years I have focused on going long. Last year I did four HIMs (Rev3 Knoxville, Rev3 Quazzy, Eagleman, and Rev 3 South Carolina), one full Ironman (IM Canada) and only one Olympic (Rev3 Quazzy) as part of the Revolution (Oly and HIM on the same weekend, part of 3 races in 8 days.) While that was a great challenge and alot of fun, having done a Full Iron Distance race each of the last six years, it was time to try something new.

So this off season, I looked at my training and my races over the last few years and decided I have proven to myself I can go long, so I took a page out of Macca's book and dedicated this year to trying to go fast. I still have The Revolution on my schedule (I done every REV3 Quazzy race and I'm not letting that run end quite yet :), but just primarily my focus this year will be to try an go fast. Of course we are talking fast for me.

So far my race schedule looks like this:

1) Rev 3 Knoxville Olympic: Got some serious payback for this course had a major PR on the hook in 2010, this year I want to finish that effort!

2) Rev 3 Quazzy Olympic and HIM (The Revolution). Normally the Olympic is the race I have to reel myself back on, but this year Sunday is just going to be a catered workout and Saturday will be the race.
3) Rev 3 Wisconson-Dells Olympic: Brand new race, plus the whole family should be come with me to the water parks. Should be a blast and some added motivation.
4) Rev 3 Maine Old Orchard Beach Olympic: Another brand new race, but early reports are the bike looks fast. Potential PR race.
5) Shoreman HIM: A very flat and fast course in SE New Jersey at the same site as the Jersey Genesis tri. Good shot at qualifying for USAT Half-max and maybe even my first AG medal.
6) Half Full Tri: New REV3 race for the Ulman Cancer Fund. Closest REV3 race to me and looks like I can get alot of folks to travel for this one. Have to support this race, but think it will be another catered workout.
7) Rev3 South Carolina Olympic: Absolutely loved this race last year. Did the HIM and had a great time and a great race. With the Collegate Championships in the Olympic, might be a great chance to see if I can hang with one of those rabbits and get a PR.

Been having a very productive and pain free off season so far (Unlike last year's foot injury), so thing seem to be lining up. My current Olympic PR is 2:36:40 from 2007 at the Lancaster YMCA Olympic. Would like to break 2:30 this year, and my super stretch goal is sub 2:25 and my first AG medal in my 10 years of doing triathlons.

Ok now that is on paper and out there, all I have to do is back it up. Time to REVITUP !!!!

Random Thoughts stuck in traffic.

Last night I was coming back home from an inspection at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. Life can be funny sometimes, one minute you are having a discussion with the Chief Nuclear Officer of a Billion dollar corporation, the next you are stuck in a traffic jam for over 3.5 hours because someone thought it was a good idea to shut down a section of the Penn Turnpike on a Friday afternoon and evening. 20 miles or so of stop and go traffic gives you plenty of time to think.



Random thoughts:
1) For the people at Jos A Bank and Kohl's if you can have 50-70% off sales or buy 1 get 2 free sales every single week it means your regular prices are way to high.
2) Last year I sold my first wetsuit a Blue Seventy Sleeveless at very steep discount to a brand new triathlete to help her overcome a fear of OWS do her first Tri. Now she's hooked and this year Team Rev 3 is sponsored by Blue Seventy. Good karma always come back to you!
3) Guy on the radio is talking about who was the tough athletic perfromance and Wayne Simmons of the Flyers who took a puck to the grill in pregame got 25 stitches, but played the game and scored two goals. However, I'll take Chrissy Wellington's win at Kona covered in road rash and spending the day before in the hospital yet coming out and winning it by running everyone down and holding off the defending champ. I also think Lance's Armstrong's comeback after cancer and kemo to become the greatest cyclist of all time is tougher than a few stiches to the grill.

4) Speaking of Lance, I still have seen the results for IM 70.3 Panama. How come Spanish soccer scores make it in USA today but not a major Triathlon with one of America's greatest athletes not.
5) Don't understand why people are so pissed at the New Jersey Governor for honoring Whitney Houston by flying flags in NJ Saturday. Whitney's life and works brought alot of joy to people, and she already paid the ultimate price for her bad decisions. If anything it honors her memory and enforces an important message: Noone is immune to drug addition, the best cure it to never start. Noone ever dubbed her a hero
6) Several of my Rev3 Teammates got some very cool Rev3 Sparkle suits. They are willing to model them on FB/Twitter/Blogs if enough people donate to the Ulman Cancer Fund. http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=3051165870937&set=a.1734792762432.95246.1016959054&type=1&theater
7) Team Rev 3 is Running Across America. 21 days 3080 miles March 26- April 16, 2012 to raise money for the Ulman Cancer Fund. Donate or get a group together and do a vitual run with us. http://rev3tri.com/america/virtual-run/
8) A car dealer is willing to give me $10,000 off and another always seems to be giving $5,000 cash back, or $5000 for my trade. Once again if you can stay in business doing that the MSRP is way to friggin high.
9) Hey AH! Just because I let one person in doesn't mean you have the clearance to dive in behind them.
10) If I got out, put the car in neutral and just pushed it for an hour, I could at least get a workout in, and I still would stay with traffic.
11) I would absolutely love to be disrespected with a 4 yr $60 mil guarenteed contract. How are you every going to feed you family?
12) Happy birthday to Michael Jordan and Jim Brown! Two of the greatest ever in the sports.
13) I still don't know what my New Years Resolutions/goals are this year.
14) SBR's Tri Swim products rock! Wish I would swim more so I could use it for what it is designed for. Save 20% all this month.

15) How many times do events happen where someone knew something wasn't right but didn't step up and say something because the more experienced people around them didn't say anything?
16) In the words of Geddy Lee, "All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers turn and look at the stars. All of us end up in the gutter, dreamers turn to look at the cars."

Enjoy the Ride!

Successful season?

What defines a successful season? Every year I set out a series of goals and typically I define success in terms of those goals. My goals for this year were to PR in the HIM and Qualify for USAT Half Max, To break 13 hours at Ironman Canada, to Qualify for USAT Nationals in the Olympic distance, finish in the top 7 for my AG in a tri this year, and to improve my USAT ranking score.

Well at the end of the year I only managed to do one of those as somehow I improved my USAT score for the year (really have no clue how that score is calculated.) Based on that I wouldn't consider this to be a very successful year. However, sometimes you have to look at things a bit differently based on the way the season actually played out.


2011 started out great, I was feeling great training well over the winter and feeling very optimistic, then I started to feel some pain in my left foot/heel which steadily got worse and worse. Turns out it was Plantar factias. Never had anything like it. Took 3 weeks off with no running, bought a PF boot to sleep in, bought heel cups, but nothing seems to work. FInally I learned how to massage it by rolling a can on the arch of my foot and it helped. But that just helped my manage the pain.

Started the season with a local race 5K for the 25 for the Metropolitan Veternatery Associates (the folks who operated on Cairo and fixed his knees) and Main Line Animal Rescue and actually won my age group. The next day I did the Revolutionary Run at Valley FOrge and I was in agony for the first 2 miles till in seemed to fix itself for a while but it was about 6 min slower than last year.


So I babied it as well as I could and then started to shift my goals and schedule around and my running really was cut back. So I thought, if I couldn't go fast maybe I could do some different. So I ended up doing 3 HIMs in 5 weeks(Rev3 Knoxville, Rev3 Quazzy, and Eagleman) and the OLY/HIM weekend double at Quazzy and 3 races in 8 days (Double at Quazzy and Eagleman). None of the times were spectacular, but using the Recovery Pump and First Endurance UltraGen I found that even my 41 year old legs could spring back. I even ripped of a 2:38 bike split at Eagleman (21.21 MPH ave) for my first 20+ ave split in any race longer than a sprint. All in all I had to call my little experiment a success and it was a great testamonial for Recovery Pump and Ultragen, both of which really worked for me.


Next was Ironman Canada. The race was without a doubt the hardest IM bike and run course I had ever completed. But I ended up making it even rougher for myself by shipping my EFS in my gear bag and sitting out in my transition bag in 90+ degree temps and guess what it went bad at the bottom of the first flask. As soon as I took it, my body rejected it and every other bit of nutrition I tried for the next 60 miles. Of course this happen right at the bottom of Reicter Pass, so I had to battle 2 1000 + ft climbs and the seven sisters unable to keep anything but water down. That was so friggin hard and I never wanted to quit more then I did. But something inside just wouldn't let me throw in the towel. I managed some amazing mental and physical damage control and found my way to T2. The volunteer at T2 will never know how much he helped me. I neer would have gotten out of that chair without his help and encouragement. So I waddled out to the marathon and an amazing thing happened, I got through it. I ran aid station to aid station, but I ran and kept running. Coming down Lakeshore Dr having overcome so much on that day, I never ever felt so proud. My second slowest Ironman ever 14:14 but I never had to work so hard in my life. Was that a success...absolutely!


Finally I did the Rev3 South Carolina HIM in October. First ever race post Ironman and a nice hilly course. So noone including myself saw a 5:35 coming, my second fastest HIM out of 16 tries and a 1:54 HM spilt in my best run of the season (and my foot was pain free for the first time all year). Didn't qualify for Half Max but my 2nd fastest HIM out of 16 attempts was very rewarding and unexpected.

After the Tri season was over, I did another 5K (5K for HOPE) in memory of Dawn Leach, a friend of my wife who passed from Breast Cancer this summer. Again I surprised myself by finishing 8th OA, winning my AG and getting a 5K PR by 1 second. That was definitely a success.


So was 2011 a success? In the end, I'd have to say yes!

Revolution 3 Triathlon - Come join the Revolution!

What make a great race? A challenging course, an exotic location, a top flight professional field, a race venue which rewards the family for coming to cheer you on, an outstanding staff and volunteers. Each person has their own specific criteria for what makes a great race, but very few Race Series have done better than Revolution 3 and succeeding in all fronts. Revolution 3' s philosophy is pretty simple, create a fun caring, family friendly atmosphere and create an event, not just a race, that satisfies the athlete and their entire family. That and attract some of the best professional athletes to come a compete side by side with you. I think they have succeeded ten times over.


I have been fortunate enough to have raced in 9 Revolution 3 events, so you could say I am a bit of an authority on the subject. I was there when Rev 3 burst upon the scene in their first event Revolution 3 Half Rev at Quazzy (CT) in 2009, Did the 2010 Rev 3 Series with an Olympic Rev in Knoxville, Half and Olympic at Quazzy, and the Full Rev at Cedar Point (OH). This year I tried the Half Rev at Knoxville, the Revolution at Quazzy (both the Olympic and HIM again), and did the inaugural Rev 3 Anderson,South Carolina Half. In nine tries Rev 3 hit the mark every time.



Why you ask? Well lets go down the list.
Challenging courses: The Revolution 3 Series course were designed by triathletes who know how much we love a challenge. The result in a flat state like Conn. the Race director created 2400 feet of climbing and 8 categorized climbs on the bike, and a hilly run to follow around the lake including a timed uphill mile; Knoxville with 4 categorized climbs, followed by a rolling run thru the green way, neighborhoods, and finishing at World's Fair park; Anderson with 1400 feet of constant rolling hills on the bike and a solid run, and a great full iron distance challenge at Cedar Point.

Exotic Locations: Rev 3 Costa Rica anyone. February in a tropical paradise anyone?


Top flight Professional Field: Craig Alexander and Terenzo Bozzone battling toe to toe at Quazzy in 2010, Miranda Carefree running down Julie Dibbens in 2010, and Julie holding off Miranda in 2011 at Quazzy, Matty Reed chasing down Cameron Dye at Knoxville in 2011, and Leanda Cave winning on the women's side. Bjorn Anderson rocketing out to a 20 min advantage on the bike at Cedar Point only to have James Cunnima run him down in 2010. Just some of the spectacular racing this series has seen. Plus no where else do the regular athletes get up close and get to meet and talk to the stars of the sport. I've posed for pictures with Miranda, Julie, and Craig at Quazzy, had Natascha Badmann sit down at a table with me, met Michal and Ammanda Lavoto, got asked about my race by Richie Cunningham, gone for a jog with Bree Wee, Heather and Trevor Wurtele, and got to quiz Matty Reed and Cameron Dye on their strategy for racing in the rain.


Family Friendly Race Venues: Triathlon is not the best spectator sport mankind has ever invented. Having two young boys, I know it is hard to keep them entertained at most races. Rev 3 took care of that. Races at Cedar Point a Six Flags type amusement park, the Dells in Wisconsin, one of the country's best water parks; Quazzy another amusement park give the kids (and wife/husband/posse) something to do while you are enjoying a 3-7 hour ride in the country side. Plus races at great beaches like Sarasota, and Maine, and the opportunity for a balloon ride at Anderson give your family lots of options. Plus events like movie night under the stars (free movie on the huge screen), concerts, the Little Rev adventure races, the whole family will enjoy the race.

Great staff and volunteers: This is another thing that makes Rev 3 stand out. The volunteers and staff are outstanding and are there to help make your experience first rate. People to pump up your tire race morning, the Tri Slide Lubrication Stations to get you set for the race, the aid stations are a party (the Disney themed aid station at Anderson, the Trakkers water experience at Quazzy) the Recovery Lounge folks and ART massage folks making before and after the race feel so much better. Race directors that want you to bring your entire cheering staff/family done the finishing chute with you.

Other extras: Rev 3 tends to have great race
swag too. Park admission tickets for Cedar Point and Quazzy, Hot Air Balloon rides at Anderson, TYR bags, event shirts, and long sleeve tech finshers shirts, great medals, Tri Swim products, GU, Jack Black Products, visors, and hats, and the medals are unique and original each year. Plus they take your picture before the race and show it on the big screen as you finish to give you the rock star feeling, your name is on your race number so the crowd can cheer you on, you get a personalized bike rack tag, wheel mount racks. Plus the race timing with lots of splits and family and friends can get real time updates, and the amazing web coverage and commentary of the race. The Quazzy 2010 webcast was better than some of the NBC Kona specials.

Bottom line: I have done close to 70 races in my 9years doing triathlon and the Revolution 3 series is the best. I have done plenty of subpar Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events but never a subpar Rev 3 event and that include the race I had a major bike wreck (Yes I can even tell you first hand the medical staff was great) and the race director hunted me down in my hotel room that night to find out how I was doing, what happened, and how he could make things even safer. That meant a hell of alot to me. Revolution 3 rocks so come join the Revolution, you won't regret it!