This will be third season representing Skechers Performance Division's footwear and apparel at my races and in training. One of the many reasons that I like Skechers Performance so much is that they really listen to athlete feedback, and are constantly improving their footwear to make it better and better. Even in the short 3 year period that I have been with the company shoes had become lighter but more durable, the uppers have become much more form-fitting to your foot, the midsole has become more responsive, and they have even added and are now in the second iteration of a stability shoe called the Forza. Throughout this winter so far, I have been training back and fourth between the GoRun Ultra Road, and the GoTrail Ultra 3 for days where it is especially icy or snowy. The Ultra Road is truly one of my favourite shoes. It is incredibly light given how much cushioning it provides, and even with all the cushioning it still is super responsive. I find it one of the most versatile shoes I've ever had, having run in the shoe for anything from long runs, fast tempo runs, interval workouts, runs on cross country grass loops, and muddy trail runs. For the season I will be continuing to utilize these two shoes, but will be adding the GoMeb Razor (a hybrid trainer/flat) to the mix, and will be doing running road races in the new GoMeb Speed 4, and triathlons of every distance in the GoRun5 which are super quick for going through transition with the Quick Fit system. Thank you so much Skechers for the support this year.
I started working with Infinit last September, and I'm so excited to be with the company again this season. It really is one of the best company's I've ever worked with in that they really do an amazing job working with and supporting their athletes, staying up-to-date with their athletes endeavours, and making sure they are providing you with the tools to be ready to train and race at your highest level. With Infinit you get to customize your own blend of race-day and training fuel, and Darcy Haggith is incredibly helpful providing a one-on-one consultation to help you tailor your fuel to your needs. Every athlete is different so I just doesn't make sense that every other nutrition company has every athlete fuel the same period, but then also to fuel with the same formula in all conditions and no matter what the distance is crazy. With Infinit you can customize every thing from the amount of carbohydrates, the electrolyte blend, the amount of protein (for long-long distance stuff my formula just has about 2.5g of protein to help kick-start recovery and help provide some satiation), the amount of caffeine, the blend of amino acids, and the osmalarity to help optimize gastric emptying (avoid GI issues). You can even customize how strong you want the flavour to be, and of course what flavour (I went off the standard Orange, Lemon-Lime, and Fruit Punch they normally make and picked my own flavour for my mix Citrus Blast). In addition to fuel during your training and racing, their recovery blends are without question the highest quality and best recovery drinks out there. The Repair mix is always my go to for post-workout nutrition with the scientifically proven optimal 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio with carbohydrates from three different sources to improve absorption and replenish muscle glycogen faster, high quality New Zealand Whey Protein with the highest available proportion of branched chain amino acids to kickstart protein synthesis and repair muscles, and optimal electrolyte level to maximize rehydration. In addition to the custom fuel and the repair mix, there really is something for every athlete no matter what there sport or personal needs.
Handmade in the UK, these are the fastest race wheels available. Last year, I competed on the Kronostok 240 model (the 240 indicates the high quality DT Swiss 240 hub) 6/9 combo - 60 mm front wheel and 88m rear wheel. Not only are the wheels proven in the wind tunnel and on the road to be incredible aerodynamic, lightweight, stiff, and fast, but their design helps the wheels feel stable in crosswinds and not "twitchy" at all. For me when I first put the wheels on I was absolutely amazing how it literally transformed the bike into a speed demon. But for me the real amazement was on a hilly ride up north when I got to the first big hill. I was up the hill before I even knew it, and with less effort I destroyed all my previous KOMs. The stiffness and lightness makes the wheel eat hills for breakfast, and then you can bomb down the other side of the hill with confidence in the superior braking. To be completely honest before I got these wheels, I had heard horror stories from others about carbon wheels in general not being very good at braking, especially in the wet, however, these wheels were no question better than even the aluminum rims I had previously and never felt nervous or scared whenever it started to rain. This year, for my rear wheel, I will have the option between what I have been using the Kronostok 240 88m wheel, and now Revolver will be providing me with a brand new Asymm FWS 240 disc. Revolver's Asymm disc, used by some of Great Britain's cyclists in the Rio Olympics as well as numerous pro-teams, has been the fastest disc on the market the last couple years with faster times and better aerodynamics proven in the wind-tunnel than even the Zipp Super-9. But now this year Revolver has taken the Asymm and made it even lighter, stiffer, and with better braking, and I can't wait to put the disc on Elektra. Aside from remarkable products proven on every level, a major reason why I'm absolutely ecstatic to work with Revolver is the service and support provided by Harry Walker (the company CEO/founder). Every step of the way Harry has been so supportive, and helpful working with me to figure out what setup that would be best to use that will help me achieve my potential. I am so proud to ride the wheels he has made and worked so hard on to make them the highest quality and the fastest wheels on the market, and so happy to respond with pride every time somebody asks at a race what are those amazing looking wheels, "They are Revolver Wheels, and they were handmade with care in the UK, designed to go fast and look good doing it."
Happy to announce that this year Zone3 will be providing me with all my swim needs in training and on race day. For racing, I will be using the Vanquish Wetsuit which has pretty much won every single award there is to win in triathlon, and is regarded as the best wetsuit in the sport. Once the water warms up a bit I will be sure to update this section of how incredible the wetsuit is once I've used it a bit. With all the technology and research that has gone into designing this suit, I really am so pumped to see how fast this suit is going to help me swim. I will also be using the Gold polarized Vapour goggles which will help optimize my visibility, and really look so cool. No more mid-race looking up to see where I'm going and being blinded by the sun, and just saying to myself well I feel like I'm going straight, just keep it going I guess. In training I will also be using a range of Zone3's products including fast jammer swimsuits, high-quality silicone caps, kickboard, paddles to build strength, and then for post-race some sweet apparel to show-off on top of the podium.
This year I will also be proudly representing Compressport for my apparel during training, and racing. For all my racing and training I will be wearing either their high-quality R2V2 compression socks, or their Race and Recovery sleeves. Wearing compression socks as I train and race helps me to recover faster, and I really just feel that much quicker while I'm going along. Compressport has so many options for high-quality compression for whatever your needs. In addition to the sleeves, or full compression socks, compressport will be providing me with super comfortable Pro Racing Socks to keep my feet blister free, and well supported. I will also be wearing the super aerodynamic trisuit which has incredibly breathable material to keep me cool, compression in all the right places, and lots of cleverly located pockets for storage.
No comments:
Post a Comment