Phil Castello

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

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Going the Distance – Week in Review

In Uncategorized on January 28, 2012 at 7:56 am

Here is a recap of what happened here this week!

Check out some awesome events and clinics to help you prep for the up coming race season – Endurance Sports Events

Get started with some basic info to help decide if it’s time to get a TT bike – Transition: From a road bike to a TT bike

How do you feel about relay teams being allowed in Ironman 70.3 races? – Relays in a Ironman event, will it hurt the brand?

Get some new shades and help a good cause at the same time – Oakley Charity Editions

You have a family, obligations and training, how to make it all work – Family, Life, Training, How to fit it all in

 

 

 

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Relays in an Ironman event, will it hurt the brand?

In Uncategorized on January 25, 2012 at 6:57 am

Yesterday World Triathlon Corp, owners of the Ironman, announced a relay division in some of their 70.3 events.

Really?

Ironman is the marquee name in the world of triathlon. From the World Championship in Kona Hawaii to the 70.3 or Half Ironman races in places like Muncie, IN it’s supposed to be the ultimate tests of endurance. Your body remains in constant motion from 4 to 17 hours depending on how fast you are.

In an article from Outside Magizine, the question was asked Why race an Ironman?

“Because marathon’s have been ruined by people who think it’s fine to walk.”

That was a great line! It really hammers home why people not only do triathlon, but why they choose an Ironman event. So it makes me wonder why, with that kind of following opening up some races to relay teams seemed like a good idea?

The Chicago Marathon, a World Major Marathon does not allow any relay teams (unless you’re Hope Solo). They are asked to make exceptions every year, and respond to each one the same way. 

“We do not have a relay division. Each participant must individually complete the full 26.2 mile distance.”

The Ironman website says the purpose of the relays is “For those who want to try triathlon, but don’t feel quite ready for all three disciplines.”

Well if you’re not ready for all THREE disciplines in a TRIathalon, that might be a good goal to set for yourself. Think about it… if you’re a runner and your not ready to run marathon or half marathon, you would most likely train, run shorter races and eventually build up to your goal of completing your desired race… TA-DAAAA!!!

If Ironman wants to continue to brand itself as one of the most difficult major endurance events, don’t open up races to everyone who wants an M-Dot t-shirt. If you’re just looking to get started in triathlon this coming season, find a training program or coach, some sprint or olympic distance races, and train hard to perform well!

Coach Jen just said to me yesterday when I was unmotivated to swim “Winners are made in the winter.”

Happy Training

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Endurance Sport Speaking Events

In Uncategorized on January 23, 2012 at 4:04 pm

While you’re sitting on the bike or mindlessly doing laps in the pool your mind is probably wondering. This time of year is a great opportunity to hear from some of the best and brightest in endurance sports at various speaking events around the city.

So while your mind is wandering, it might as well be thinking about something that could help you come race day. Here are a few good speaker events coming up!

Trek Store of Highland Park
Meet Mat Steinmetz on January 25th 6pm – RSVP Here 
A performance advisor to Ironman World Champ Craig Alexander, Mat will talk about his coaching and training experinces with many elite athletes like Juile Dibens and Mirinda Carfrae. He’ll also talk about the importance of a bike fit and the large role it plays into an athletes success.

Running Away Multisport
My Coach Jen Harrison and my buddy Dan “Cubicle Dad” Malinski will be guest speakers at Running Away Multisport Clybourn Store on Feb 1st, 7pm. Dan and Jen will be talking about his weightloss journey as well marathoning. You can trust me when I say there are no dumb questions to ask Jen… becuase I asked them all already! You can RSVP for this event on the RAMultisport Facebook page.  

Garmin Chicago
This isn’t a speaking event, but it can be really helpful. The Garmin Store on Michigan Ave is offering a GPS Academy. So if you got the new Forerunner for Christmas and need some assistance to utilize everything it offers Garmin is here to help. You can schedule a 1 hour one-0n-one session to learn all the tricks of your new device. There is a charge of $15 ($8 if you have your receipt), but that’s a small price to pay for a tutor! You can make an appointment here.

Fleet Feet Chicago
Hows your form? Each Tuesday Fleet Feet Lincoln Square offers a Good Form Running Clinic at 6:30pm.  Learn how to run fast and more efficiently by doing running drills while getting instruction on how to improve your form. You’ll also get a video analysis of your running form and how to improve it. Each class is limited to 20 people, so make sure to RSVP!

Runners High ‘n Tri
Runners High ‘n Tri is holding some Biomechanic and Dynamic running seminars. During the 4 week course participants will learn more effective and individually beneficial biomechanics. There are 4 sessions 2-times per week and a registration fee of $120. The current sessions are full but you can keep an eye on when new ones are starting on the Runners High ‘n Tri Facebook Page.

ProKine Performance
Jessie Stensland of MovementU will be coming to ProKine Performance in St Charles April 14th & 15th. Jessie will be doing day-long camps showing Stratgies for Speed & Sustainability in swimming, cycling and running. You can register here. Plus check out the ProKine website to learn more about their TRX functional strength classes and training.

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Nike’s cryptic #MakeItCount video hypes revolutionary new product.

In Uncategorized on January 17, 2012 at 1:52 pm

How will you #MakeItCount in 2012? Nike wants to know. In two days on 1-19-12, the folks at Nike say they’re releasing “a revolutionary product designed for all kinds of playmakers”

The video, though really cool doesn’t come close to giving a clear idea of what’s to come in the next 2 days. But it does look like what ever it is will appeal to more than just runners.

The video shoes Hope Solo kick boxing and Kevin Durant playing basketball as well as someone golfing, running and walking.

The “+” following the Nike Swoosh indicates it’ll be part of a Nike+ upgrade. I would guess that they’ll be offering new training plans geared towards specific sports.

I’ve always been a fan of Nike+ and it played a huge part in making me a runner, but there was definitely room for improvement. By adding a heart rate monitor and eventually GPS, Nike showed that they were dedicated to staying in the game when it came to training data.

I’m very curious to see what will be next when they unveil the new product on 1-19-12.

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Coming up on Going The Distance

In Uncategorized on January 4, 2012 at 8:27 am

Lots of exciting stuff on the brink here at GTD. It’s a new year and with that comes new goals.

When I started writing this blog I was a non-runner training for my first marathon (done), the next year I wanted to jump into triathlon and aimed to complete an Ironman 70.3 (complete). This year I have two Ironman 70.3′s on the schedule and the big goal is Ironman Wisconsin in Sept.

There are also more “Going Pro” interviews coming up. I just had a nice interview with Ironman World Champ Craig Alexander which will be up later this week. On Friday I’m chatting with Ironman Women’s Champion Chrissie Wellington on Skype. Also on deck are Matty Reed, Mirinda Carfrae and Julie Dibens.

And finally, I’m excited to announce a partnership with Felt for a series of weekly off season cycling tips and drills provided by the above mentioned Pro’s in addition to important information about transitioning from a road bike to a Tri bike. Plus you’ll get a look at the Felt DA4, which Triathlete Magazine called one of the most exciting bikes of 2012. 

It’s going to be an exciting year! Keep Training

What is a cyclist?

In Uncategorized on December 10, 2011 at 10:33 am

I saw this online today. Enjoy!

Cycling Explained
by: nofinishline

http://www.xtranormal.com/xtraplayr/12674956/cycling-explained

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Endurance athlete’s guide to Black Friday

In Uncategorized on November 23, 2011 at 4:36 pm

Here is a short list of Black Friday deals that you runners and triathlete’s might be interested in.

Speedo – 15% off your entire order (Thanksgiving Day Only) – Use code – Thanks2011

Brooks Running – 50% Off Brooks Glycerin 8 – Use code BrooksBuzz

Rudy Project North America – Over $300 in Free Gear (with purchase of a gear package) – Use code 25OffCombo

All3Sports.com – 50% off nearly EVERYTHING! – Use code Holiday10 (Some exclusions apply. *Sale runs from 12:01 am on Thursday 11/24 and ends on 12:59pm on Tuesday 11/29. In Stock Items only, no exceptions, please. Coupon includes on-sale merchandise, but DOES exclude Bikes, Framesets, Build Kits, as well as all 2XU Compression, Garmin, Oakley, PowerTap, Quarq, SRAM and Zipp Products. Cannot be combined with any other offers, such as ShipitFree, and valid only for the time period specified.)

Zym Drink Tabs – Buy 3 tubes of any formula and get 3 Free (Same Formula only) – Use Code TDAYONLY (Type the code in the comments section at checkout NOT the promo code area)

Trek Store of Highland Park – From 9am-Noon on Friday Take 20% off all regular priced and sale merchandise. Take an additional 10% off ALL SALE Bikes.

Triathlon Lab – Take 25% off all online orders – Use code TURKEY25 (excludes bikes, wheels, starter kits and clearance items)

GNC – 25% off Sitewide PLUS free shipping – Use code ThankU25

 

If you know of more, please share them in the comments!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

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Chicago’s Turkey Trot Guide

In Uncategorized on November 14, 2011 at 6:54 am

TURKEY DAY ONLY 10 DAYS AWAY!! So while your oven is pre-heating on Thanksgiving morning why not take a little time to be active before sitting down to stuff your face!

Here is a guide to Turkey Trot’s in the city and suburbs. (Registration info for all the races mentioned can be found at cararuns.org)

Addison Turkey Trot Fun Run:

  • Half Mile Kids Run – 1 Mile – 2 Mile – 3 Mile – 4 Mile – 5 Mile
  • Walkers and Runners can win a turkey by accurately predicting their finishing time for the 1/2 Mile and 1-5 Mile Course.
    The walker or runner who finishes closest to his or her predicted time in each mile category wins a frozen Turkey.

Joliet Poultry Predictor

  • Come join us Thanksgiving morning for our 30th annual Poultry Predictor at the Pilcher Park Nature Center. This is an inexpensive family oriented event where you predict your time in advance-run without a watch and win a frozen turkey if you have one of the 24 closest time predictions. There is also a one mile run for the kids. The one miler starts at 8:40 AM and the 4 mile at 9:00 AM. We hope to see you there!!

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Start the off-season right with a FREE Core Workshop!

In Uncategorized on October 17, 2011 at 9:50 am

For most of us in Chicago out racing calendar is coming to an end. With the exception of a Turkey Trot or Rudolph race, we’re all going to slip in to this horrible winter maintenance season.

But with the help for ProKine Performance it won’t be so bad!

I got a chance to workout with ProKine trainers/owners Kate and Drew a few months back and it was AWESOME! They’ve moved their high energy sweat show to a new facility and they are opening it up to ChicagoNow readers for a FREE camp on October 22!
This is a great way to get some hands on experience learning core function and getting a professional to help identify your kinetic imbalances, which in turn will improve your overall performance come race season!

All the info you need is below! Hope to see you out there!

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Marathon Recap, Injury Update, 2012 Goals

In Uncategorized on October 15, 2011 at 9:54 am

I felt pretty prepared for the 2011 Chicago Marathon last Sunday. I felt relaxed as I waited to start with the crowd for 45,000 runners.

Right before the start I took 4 Motrin and 2 tylenol to ease the pain in my knee from the Plica that I learned I had a few days before the race. I got across the start line about 7:10 am and felt great.

My goal for the race was to finish in under 5 hours. Jen wanted me to run the first 3 miles as a warm up, so I ran those between 11:00 and 10:30 a mile. I felt AWESOME through 15k.

Right around mile 13 the pain killers started to wear off and the knee issue started to kick in. My pace slowed to about 11:30 at mile 14… Yikes. At mile 15 the Nike 4:45 pace group caught up to me. My first thought was that they were off pace. I asked the leader and she said they were running about a minute AHEAD of pace!

EXCELLENT! I’m not doing so bad! I felt a glimmer of hope that I could finish sub 5:00.

I saw Lauren (Forward is a Pace) at mile 17. Some cheering and high fives gave me a boost, which was awesome!

About the 3ok mark I was hurting… BAD. I walked about a half mile, looked at my Garmin and quickly realized I wasn’t going to hit my goal. My pace was bouncing between 12:30 and 13:30.

Though I wasn’t going to meet my goal, I knew I could still PR as long as I didn’t walk anymore. I started to trot and it hurt A LOT!!! Nothing about my body felt coordinated. There is a pretty awful picture of me running at that point, I’ll post it later.

I struggled to keep motivated through miles 20-24, but I kept “running”. I saw some co-workers at 16th and Michigan, got some more high fives and fought my way around the turn on to Roosevelt (and that bastard hill) and then to Columbus where I sprinted to a 5:24 finish for a 12:00 PR!

My knee and now my right foot were throbbing. My knee gave out as I crossed the finish line. I was saved from falling by 2 volunteers who wanted to take me to the med tent. After explaining that it was my knee/foot and that I wasn’t passing out they reluctantly let me go.

After a few days most of my soreness was gone… except for my foot. We’re thinking it’s a stres fracture. I went to the doctor Wednesday and got an X-Ray which came back normal. Friday I got a 2nd opinion and a 2nd normal X-Ray. The next step is an MRI on Wednesday and then back to the Sports Medicine doc to figure out what we do from here.

so I’m limping around like an idiot for another week. But this “downtime” is giving me time to think about what I want to do for my 2012 racing schedule.

I’m already registered for Ironman Wisconsin, so that will be my focus for the year. I’m also planning on doing Ironman Orlando 70.3 in May. I don’t THINK I want to do the Chicago Marathon again.

Assuming that this IS a stress fracture in my foot, at least it’s happeing now. I’m treating the next 10 or 12 weeks as a maitinance period. I really want to work on my swimming cause I still feel like that’s my triathlon weak spot (even though I usually fall apart on the run).

So there it is. I’ll update on my knee/foot next week.

Have a good weekend!

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