A Beautiful Change of Pace: Ironman Western Australia

endurance athletes Ironman triathlon

Refuge For the Endurance Athlete

When the winter doldrums have you got down and you need a refreshing place to continue training, consider entering the Ironman Western Australia. This competition is held in December in Busselton, when the northern hemisphere is plagued by cold and snow but Australia is enjoying the height of summer. A great destination for the triathlete who is tired of the snow.

This is a relatively new Ironman Triathlon event, having only been added to the circuit in 2004. Early weather problems plagued the competition but record-breaking course speeds achieved in 2006 ensured it would quickly become a popular host site and it was then dubbed the “Fastest Ironman in the West”.

What can you expect from Australia in December? How about beautiful weather, fantastic food and wine, and an ocean that begs to be surfed? There are lots of things to see and do, including a ferry ride to a nearby island inhabited by unique wildlife, a tour of the wine-growing region, a visit to the underwater observatory, and a ride through Tuart Forest National Park. Then again, after days of hard training and racing, sunbathing on one of the area’s pristine beaches might be just what the doctor ordered.

Plan on arriving a few days early and leaving several days after the Triathlon whether you are going as an observer, a race volunteer, or a participant. According to some who have experienced it firsthand, the after-party is the best part of the event!

With a challenging course that has finally produced some truly fantastic times, it is certain that the Ironman Western Australia  Thriathlon will only continue to gain in popularity.  Check out the 2010 competition yourself and be treated to a tantalizing reminder of summer to stave off those winter blues.

Endruance Athletes can take an opportunity to train and compete in an Ironman Triathlon 12 months of the year. It takes dedication, but the extended endurance and muscle training will improve your performance.

Steve Donaldson's comments after 15 days on EE

I have been taking the Xendurance since Jan 15th.  I can really notice the difference now.  It has been 2 full weeks and the best way to describe how I feel is amazing.  I did my first crit of the year on Sunday in Avondale and took 7th in the  first and top 10 in the second.  I have to be honest, it felt like i was not trying.  I went off the front a few times with some  major attacks but was able to recover within 45sec.  My heart rate average was 77%of my max in the first race and 94% of  my max on the second.  It seems the longer I race the more benefit I get from Xendurance.

Steve Donaldson
Founder/Executive Director
Team CARD Cycling
Arizona

Is Extreme Endurance tested for all banned substances?

How can an athlete be certain that Extreme Endurance is a drug-free supplement?

Extreme Endurance has been certified and tested for banned substances by HFL, the world’s largest and most experienced sports testing laboratory. HFL has recently introduced its new program called INFORMED CHOICE. INFORMED CHOICE IS A BANNED SUBSTANCE SCREEING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO TEST SUPPLEMENTS AND THEIR INGREDIENTS FOR INADVERTENT CONTAMINATION WITH SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED BY WADA (THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY), NFL,MLB AND NCAA.

The INFORMED CHOICE program was formed with the support of a World Class doping control lab with many years of anti-doping expertise. This lab ( HFL laboratory) is ISO Certified and accredited for forensic testing and meets or exceeds world anti-doping agency standards and requirements. Tests performed on Extreme Endurance used state-of-the-art gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometric detection. Biomarkers are added to the test samples to ensure the procedures are performing correctly. These test results can detect substances down to ten parts per billion for steroids and 100 parts per billion for stimulants. These ongoing tests are very expensive, but with high profile athletes and doping a concern for everyone, we wanted to do more than others to make certain we supply the best drug-free products made.

2010 Vancouver Olympic Events: the Biathlon

Don’t Forget the Endurance Athletes

One of the most popular Olympic events is the biathlon, particularly with European viewers. This is one of the prime competitions for the world’s premier endurance athletes. At this year’s Olympics, expect to see some fierce competition in this event. Although traditionally EU athletes have dominated the sport, Tim Burke of the U.S. is expected to make some big waves and is favored among those who believe the team has truly become world-class competitors.

The biathlon is always composed of two events. The term literally means “two tests” in Greek. In the winter Olympics, a biathlon consists of cross-country skiing followed by rifle marksmanship and then back to additional skiing and shooting legs on the course. The event was first introduced to the Olympics in 1924 but did not become a regular part of the games until 1960 due to rules disputes. Contrary to the earliest competitions, targets with computerized sensors and rimfire cartridges make the sport more standardized.

Interestingly enough, the winter biathlon is based on the military training for real-life endurance athletes: Norwegian soldiers. Back in mid 19^th century, Norway’s military defense soldiers were put through a rigorous training regimen that combined skiing and rifle shooting. It is no less difficult today; the ability to expend enormous amounts of energy quickly covering snow-covered ground on skis and then steadying the muscles enough to accurately shoot a rifle from a standing or prone position requires a great deal of discipline and strength.

This year’s winter Olympics biathlon competition should be very exciting to watch as American endurance athletes pull for the first biathlete to have a solid chance of placing in the event. However, there is tough competition. Endurance athletes from countries like Canada and Switzerland train year round. It will be an exciting event.

Triathlete Magazine For Endurance Athletes

There’s a brand new resource publication coming onto the market soon – a third magazine from H3 Publishing (which also owns ROAD and DECLINE) that will be named TRI and specifically aimed at the aspiring and professional endurance triathlete.

Featuring “compelling art” and graphics, the new endurance athlete magazine is purported to look as good as it reads. Professional photography provided by John Segesta will elevate it above other periodicals that center more on text content. Articles will focus on training specifics for the endurance athlete. TRI will be available as a standard print edition that can be purchased at newsstands or with an online subscription.

You can get your first glimpse of the new TRI magazine at this year’s Wildflower Triathlon held near Paso Robles, California at the end of April as the event’s official publication. There will be a total of four issues rolled out in 2010 then the magazine will go its regular schedule of 10 issues per year along with a buying guide.

Endurance athletes only need determination and training tips to help them reach the peak of their careers.

It is exciting to know that in this day and age when print publications are closing down across the globe, a new magazine is emerging from the rubble. First-time competitors in triathlons are emerging all the time, so there is definitely a need for further publications that help them get started in this exciting sport. We certainly hope that TRI will be an excellent new resource for endurance athletes as well as featuring wonderful photographs of triathletes in competition.

Mark McGwire Finally Admits Drug Use

Nearly a decade after the story first broke that home run Hall-of-Famer Mark McGwire was rumored to have used performance-enhancing drugs to achieve his success, the former Major Leaguer has finally set the record straight.

Although he insists that his ability to hit home runs comes from God-given talent and skills he honed by carefully watching history’s baseball greats, McGwire does admit that he took both steroids and human growth hormone during the course of his career “for health purposes”. This is sad, as it is unnecessary with today’s drug free sports supplements. Performance supplements are not any  more unethical than deep heat rub, or vitamines. Endurance athletes use these drug free sports supplements to prevent the effects of lactic acid buildup and damange.

Mark McGwire – Endurance Athlete

After confessing and making numerous apologies to everyone involved in his career – including fellow players, family members, and the baseball commissioner – McGwire also stated that he is afraid that human growth hormone might have actually made a negative contribution to his health, causing injuries that forced his retirement from baseball. He now states that his decision was “foolish”.

Regret and apologies aside, it is still understandable to think that a modern athlete in the public eye, revered by millions of sports fans, would actually resort to dangerous drugs in order to enhance performance. There has never been an instance that we can think of where the use of illegal “performance enhancers” resulted in anything positive.

Drug Free Sports supplements are necessary for athletes. They prevent muscle fatigue and damage. They do not enhance performance beyond the natural limits. Their purpose is to help the body of an endurance athlete endure the continual damage and stress.

Drug Free Performance Supplements For Endurance Athletes

Misconceptions about the negative effects of illegal drugs are what make all-natural drug-free supplements like Extreme Endurance particularly important. We will never come to an answer ‘should endurance athletes’ take supplements to protect their bodies. However, today, when athletes are performing in their 40s, we enjoy the benefits of performance supplements.

We want to be sure that aspiring and professional athletes alike have a better option when it comes to improving their aerobic threshold performance. Not only is it legal and better for your health, it proves that an athlete can do anything he or she sets their mind to and become a great role model for impressionable youngsters.

Extreme Endurance Sponsors Yvonne van Vlerken

Endurance Athlete Yvonne Van Vlerken

Yvonne van Vlerken, Ironman competitor and one of the leading EU female athletes, is the newest endurance athlete to be added to the sponsorships proudly offered by Extreme Endurance.

Van Vlerken, a 31 year-old Dutchwoman, has earned a long list of credits over the course of her career thus far. Here are just some of her very impressive endurance statistics:

• One of only four women to ever finish an Ironman competition in less than nine hours three or more times. She achieved a time less than nine hours in her very first Ironman race (2007).

• Set a new world record the following year at the same Quelle Challenge Roth Ironman competition, setting a new world distance record.
• Earned first place in both Roth Ironman races (2007 & 2008)
• Took the 2^nd place prize in the Ironman World Championship 2008
• Achieved first place in the Ironman 70.3 Wiesbaden, the Ironman 70.3 Austria, and the Almere Iron Distance Race
• Won the inaugural Ironman Cozumel event November, 2009

Van Vlerken is dominant in the biking leg of the triathlon, her riding skills honed by the sometimes fierce winds blowing in her native Holland. Swimming is her weakest sport, but something she has been paying particular attention to strengthening. After her last winning performance in Cozumel, it is evident that she has made great strides. She could be unstoppable in upcoming triathlon competitions!

Extreme Endurance is proud to sponsor endurance athletes likeVan Vlerken’s. We are certain she will continue to benefit greatly from using our drug-free supplement and can’t wait to see what records she will break next!