Louisville Countdown!

With less than a week to go until the 2008 Louisville Ironman, NORSA racers Alan Stewart and Adam are at the peak of their taper and are focusing on being as strong as they can for race day.

In Louisville?
There are many places to watch the athletes. Either from downtown to view the swim, run, and bike transitions, or LaGrange to watch the bike loop.

Where do the athletes plan to be during their day? Here's a projected breakdown (with some time allowances):

Sunday August 31st, 2008:
7:00 AM ~ 10:30 AM - Swim and swim-bike transition
10:00 AM ~ 6:00 PM - Bike and bike-run transition
5:00 PM ~ 10:00 PM - Run

Both Alan and Adam are shooting for a finish time between 13 and 15 hours.

Not in Louisville?
Follow Team NORSA live online! Right here at teamnorsa.blogspot.com!

Olympic Triathlon Coverage

Credit: the following information was obtained from coachjoeenglish.wordpress.com

The Olympic Distance races feature a 1,500M swim, 40KM bike race, and 10KM run. The men’s and women’s triathlons will be held as separate events on Sunday, August 17th (Women) and Tuesday, August 19th (Men).

US TV Coverage:

Women’s Olympic Triathlon:

NBC Prime-time, Sunday, August 17th, 2008 10:00PM-Midnight*
Second broadcast: NBC Prime-time Replay, Monday, August 18th, 2008 2:00AM-5:00AM

Men’s Olympic Triathlon:

MSNBC, Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 12:00PM-5:00PM*

On-line Coverage:

Women’s Olympic Triathlon: On-line, Sunday, August 17th, 2008 10:00PM-12:45AM*

Men’s Olympic Triathlon: On-line, Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 10:00PM-12:35AM*

* Check your local listing for NBC Prime-Time Olympic Coverage or visit their extensive web-site at http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv_and_online_listings/index.html.

The NORSA Guide to the Olympic Games

As the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing get underway, here are a few events outdoor enthusiasts might enjoy:

Whitewater Kayaking/Canoeing
These events feature a race down a whitewater course where athletes zig zag through a set of gates (both up and down current) and hope finish with the best time. The US team used to train in the DC area until the opening of the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC.

US Athletes to watch:
Heather Corrie and Bethesda resident Scott Parsons, both in the K1.

Cycling
There are many cycling events, and although all on a bicycle, each event is fundamentally different in its tactics and athletes. Track cycling features high speeds on stripped down bicycles. Road races require endurance levels typical of several of the grand tour events; both in road and time-trial formats. Mountain biking is a timed race through a long and treacherous course. BMX is a timed mass-start event on a short course featuring jumps and turns.

US Athletes to watch:
Tour de France celebrities David Zabriskie (now sporting a sweet 'stache), George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, and Levi Leipheimer.


Sailing
There are many different classes of boats in the Olympics, each of which are sailed in slightly different style and by different types of athletes. There is the dinghy (470), the skiff (49er), the singlehanders (Finn and Laser), the windsurfer (RS:X), the sloops (Star and Yngling) and the cat (Tornado). Sailing is not the most spectator-friendly sport, as competetors work their way around a multi-buoy course and it is often difficult to tell who is winning; however if there happen to be some high wind days in Qingdao, any event will be a thrill to watch.

US Athletes to watch:
ODU and MAISA superstar Anna Tunnicliffe in the Laser, Zach Railey in the Finn, and Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler in the 470.


Shooting
A sport which stresses focus and mental endurance, shooting (like the other NORSA sports) has a number of categories. There are rifle (target), pistol (target and rapid-fire), and shotgun (trap) events. [Tom]: Though not as interesting as the Winter Olympics' biathlon event, summer shooting sports primarily favors the more disciplined technical shooters able to limit their bodies' heartrate and use bone-structure to support their firearms, rather than muscle strength. Since this differs so greatly from the faster-paced endurance sporting events, you'll be lucky to catch it on TV. The good thing is that, though the US is not one of the best countries when it comes to competitive shooting, we are poised for gold in the skeet and trap events.

US Athletes to watch:
Matt Emmons and Stephen Scherer

Triathlon
A NORSA favorite, this event features the traditional swim-bike-run format. The course covers a 1500 m open water swim, a 40 km bike, and a 10 k run. One significant difference between this olympic event and all USAT events is that drafting is allowed on the bike portion. In most USAT races cyclists are not permitted within two bike lengths of another competitor unless passing. This rule eliminates much of the strategy associated with traditional road racing and makes it more of a time-trial event. The Olympics, however, allows drafting which makes the event fundamentally different but also much more spectator friendly. Watch for athletes strategizing over the course and making moves.

US Athletes to watch:
Jarrod Shoemaker, Julie Ertel, and Sarah Haskins.

Trampoline
... still trying to figure this one out ...

Culpeper Sprint

Steven finished the Culpeper Sprint in 1:42:26 with over 500 other racers. Although the website indicated this race was identical to the Little Pepper Sprint, the bike course was actually reversed and a mile longer (almost 17 miles by computer vs. 15 on website). The weather was awesome that day, however, Steven was feeling slightly under the weather with a minor chest cold. Steven continued to dominate the 2nd transition area, placing 23rd of 338 men. Here is a video of the scene after the race:

The West Coast!

Congrats to NORSA member Mike Rhodes, who this past weekend, reached Portland, Oregon in his trans-American cycling adventure!

Mike and two friends left from various points on the east coast (Richmond, VA and Raleigh, NC) on May 27th and thus began an epic journey across the Appalachian Mountains, through America's heartland, over the Rockies, and into history.

View Larger Map

The entire journey was chronicled with professional pizazz by his girlfriend Alice on http://clockworko.blogspot.com/. Check it out and read about their encounters with subduction, hot springs, flaming cars, and the thousands of miles of pavement. The blog is very educational too (Thanks Alice!).




Mike is actually the second NORSA member to have completed a cross-country cycling trip, the first being NORSA veteran Manuel Dominguez who completed an easterly route in the summer of 2004.

Final Race Before Louisville: Team NORSA at the Lake Logan Triathlon

On Saturday, August 2nd, 2008, team NORSA members Alan Stewart and Adam (accompanied by Brian Stynes and newcomer Julie Griffin) participated in the third running of the Lake Logan Triathlon near Canton, NC.

This relatively new race proved to be an excellent one for the racers and spectators alike. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina south of Asheville, the course featured spectacular scenery, cool temperatures, and a surprisingly fast course.

The 1500 meter swim began in the in the warm (75 degree) Lake Logan at the foot of Cold Mountain. Unfortunately, due to drought conditions, the course had to be moved approximately half a mile from the transition area requiring a post-swim shoe transition and run before even reaching the bikes. The bike course left the lake area and dropped approximately 400 ft to the valley below, where the rest of the course passed through small towns and scattered farmland. Despite being in the mountains of North Carolina, the bike course was surprisingly flat (save for the speedy descent at the start and the monster climb at the finish).

The run was an out and back, gradual up and down to the finish. Temperatures throughout the day stayed cool and the course was well staffed, helping the racers hold a blisteringly fast pace throughout (both NORSA members held a +20 MPH average on the bike and sub 8 minute miles on the run).

NAME        SWIM  T1   BIKE    T2   RUN    TIME
A. STEWART  30:45 7:30 1:09:58 1:12 49:39  2:39:01
A. 32:10 7:05 1:10:32 1:16 49:08  2:40:09

Full results are available here.

This will be the last race for Adam and Alan before the Louisville Ironman. With just four weeks to go, they are now entering their peak training phase before beginning their two week taper.

Luckily however, there's still plenty of time for things other then training. After the race Alan, Adam, Brian, and Julie traveled further west to catch some whitewater on the Nantahala river along with some hiking off the Blue Ridge parkway on the way home. Check out Alan's blog sailnaway.blogspot.com for a full trip-report (complete with pictures and videos).