Wall Street Journal article on CVAC Systems

Posted on August 29, 2011 by REV Cycling Directeur Sportif

I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal last week about my personal experiences with CVAC sessions and the POD. I have noticed that my exercise-induced asthma has gone away and some performance gains. I have documented them in previous posts. Just use the “CVAC Sessions” label to filter those posts out. I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article that came out today in both the online and in print versions. It was very brief but hey how many of you can say you have been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal 😉 Here is the link to the article.

Cycling News on Park City Point to Point

Posted on August 25, 2011 by REV Cycling Directeur Sportif

Here is a write-up from Cycling News about the Park City Point to Point MTB race that I will be doing on September 3, 2011.

The Park City Point 2 Point (PCP2P) race is shaping up to be a Leadville 100 rematch among the women. The Utah round of the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series on Saturday, September 3, will feature a battle of three of the top four female finishers at this year’s Leadville 100.

Leadville winner Rebecca Rusch, PCP2P defending champion Pua Mata and Jenny Smith are signed up for the event, but they will face a stiff challenge for NUE series queen Amanda Carey, who withdrew from Leadville after mechanical issues early in the race.

The PCP2P is known among racers as a challenging and true point-to-point race. The 2011 course travels 78 miles and climbs roughly 14,000 feet through the Wasatch Mountains without crossing, or using, the same trail twice. It cuts through the area’s three ski resorts, including Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort, and will finish in the Forum at Canyons Resort. Featuring more than 90 percent singletrack and very few sections for resting, the PCP2P requires athletes to maintain their endurance and focus.

“Park City has over 400 miles of trail, which provides us with some incredible options for choosing our course,” said Jay Burke, race director of the PCP2P. “The P2P is merciless. Ups and downs, big miles and technical lines. The course is not for the faint of heart, and that’s exactly why the P2P has attracted some of the most prestigious endurance cyclists from around the country.”

Two-time defending PCP2P champion and Cyclingnews blogger Alex Grant of the Cannondale Factory Team called the 2010 PCP2P “harder than Leadville” and described the course as “25 miles shorter [than Leadville] but with the same amount of vertical gain and 75 miles more singletrack. There were no road sections for resting, drafting or eating or drinking. [It’s] a pure mountain bike course.”

Joining Grant in the 2011 PCP2P are male pro endurance racers Tinker Juarez, Travis Brown, Josh Tostado, two-time Leadville 100 winner Bryson Perry and Olympic Nordic gold medallist Billy Demong.

The 2011 edition of the Park City Point 2 Point race sold out its 350 spots in just six minutes after registration went live. Because of the overwhelming interest in the solo category over the past three years, the PCP2P duo category has been eliminated indefinitely.

The top seven men and women will share a $10,000 cash payout with the winners taking home $1,750 each.

For more information on the Park City Point 2 Point, visit http://www.thepcpp.com.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/top-leadville-finishers-to-get-rematch-at-park-city-point-2-point

Product Review- Aminopure Newfield Nutrition

Posted on August 18, 2011 by REV Cycling Directeur Sportif

In the early part of my season I was suffering from colds every time I increased my mileage over 300 miles for the week. I was so frustrated because each cold meant at least a week off the bike. I even missed an early season event, the Hell’s Gate Hundred. Here is a post I made in between the Hell’s Gate Hundred and the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic. I had heard of using L-Glutamine as an immune booster but as you know from reading my blog I’m a skeptic 😉

In late May, I began using Aminopure, which is 100% USP Grade (United States Pharmacopeia) L-Glutamine. I began with the prescribed amount of 5g after a hard ride. I increased the dosage to 10g after a 3-4 hour hard ride. On my longer rides 6-10 hours, I would take 10g when I first got off the bike and then another 10g before I went to sleep.

I find it interesting that people outside of the cycling world are aware of the benefits of L-Glutamine supplementation. The other day I had a gentlemen say to me, “Oh you guys carry L-Glutamine? Hmm…I give that to my patients in the ICU.” I responded, “Really?” He then said, “Yes I give my patients 30 grams a day.”

My experience with Aminopure has been positive and rewarding. It’s very rewarding to not miss training days because you’re sick. My good health has been a constant I can count on even when I’ve been training hard, stressed from work, or short on the proper amount of sleep. I haven’t had a cold since I began using Aminopure regularly in spite of the harder and longer training rides I’ve done compared to those in the early season. I recommend taking Aminopure as part of your recovery process. I think you will find you will recover better and be able to train just as hard if not harder on consecutive days.

More information on Glutamine:

Review of Glutamine
Let’s start with a brief review of glutamine. All body protein is made up of amino acids and glutamine is the most plentiful free amino acid in the body. Its unique structure and ready availability makes it a vital nutrient for optimal functioning of all organs and organ systems in the body. Glutamine works by providing extra carbon and nitrogen to organs in need.

The specific systems that depend on glutamine include the:

Blood system including the immune cells and the red blood cells
Digestive system including the intestines
Liver
Kidney
Brain
Musculoskeletal
Endocrine glands

Production and Decline of Glutamine in the Body
Although all cells have the potential to make glutamine, it is made primarily in skeletal muscle, followed by the lungs and brain. With most illnesses and under conditions of stress, such as over-training in athletes, glutamine levels in the blood decrease. This decline could be due to an increase in the need for glutamine by organs or it could be that skeletal muscle cannot manufacture it rapidly enough to fulfill the demand. Whatever the reason, there is a deficiency of glutamine in the body and that is the reason for supplementation with glutamine.

Below is a partial list of health conditions or illnesses where glutamine supplementation has been shown to have benefit:

Reduced side effects of chemotherapy including lessening of nerve damage to the hands and feet and decreases of mouth sores and diarrhea
Improved regulation of the immune system
Decreased infection rates
Restored muscle mass
Improved outcome following surgery, including fewer infections and deaths
Prevented HIV wasting
Reduced diarrhea
Increased nutrient absorption with short bowel
Enhanced recovery following athletic over-training
Improved blood sugar control in critically ill patients

Recent studies also suggest that glutamine may be useful for people who have heart conditions and individuals who are overweight. In follow-up issues of this column, I will discuss all of these topics in more detail

Source

Newfield Nutrition Corporation is a new and innovative company that was started and is operated by a group of physician scientists who believe that rational nutritional supplementation can play a vital role in preventive and restorative medicine

Back to Back Centuries

Posted on August 6, 2011 by REV Cycling Directeur Sportif

Thursday 130 miles with 9,500 feet of climbing (9,000 in the first 50 miles) and Friday another 100 miles on the coast. On Thursday, I hitched a ride to Glendora with some friends. I climbed Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) descended and topped off my bottles at Camp Williams. I then cut across on East Fork and climbed from below 2,000 feet elevation to Dawson Saddle (7901 Elevation) on Hwy 39. My friends didn’t want to climb to Dawson Saddle so I “stranded” myself and I rode home from 84 miles away. I told my friends that they did not have to wait for me while I kept climbing and that they could go home.

A training note: This was a 400 mile week. One of the greatest challenges of riding that many miles is RECOVERY. Eating enough calories and protein to rebuild your muscles overnight is very important. Proper hydration during my ride on Thursday was very challenging because of the remote nature of the course (refer to this post on Dawson Saddle). I spent the rest of the day on Thursday re-hydrating so that I could be ready for Friday’s century. After Friday’s century I was still dehydrated because I only stopped once to fill my bottles and rode for six hours on four bottles.

Today- another 100 miles with sore legs.

and now for some fun…

Swiftwick Socks

From L to R: Heidi, George Vargas, Johnny, Geno and Chris

Camp Williams General Store- water spigot located at the base of tree to the right backside of Glendora Mountain Road or Little GMR as some call it.

Dawson Saddle- the summit of a 35 mile climb from Duarte

George “Red-Eyed Vireo” Vargas summits Dawson Saddle

George “Red-Eyed Vireo” Vargas view from Crystal Lake (5200 feet) looking up.

Long Endurance Ride Follow Me

Posted on August 4, 2011 by REV Cycling Directeur Sportif

I will be on a long endurance climbing ride. Follow me on my SPOT GPS Messenger. Here is the link to the page. In the short term I am a training for Park City Point to Point September 3 and then the Furnace Creek 508 Oct 7-8.

You can get your SPOT GPS Messenger at Bike Religion.

George's Epic Adventures

it's about suffering and getting it done!

Monthly Archives: August 2011