Tune into Ironman on NBC

Mark your calendars if you want to hold a viewing party, set your DVR and VCR timers if you already know you have to be out, Ironman airing time is just around the corner. As for when: Don't forget to tune into NBC on December 19 to watch the action and hear the stories from the 2009 Ironman World Championships at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The program is set to air from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., eastern time, but be sure to check local listings for the time near you.

The appeal may seem a little less exciting this year since Universal Sports has added Ironman to its television schedule--past World Championships and 2009 events at Coeur d'Alene, Louisville and China--and live airings online, starting with the World Championships. But really, there's far more to get excited about than the commentary by veteran commentator and narrator, Al Trautwig. Not only will we get to watch Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington repeat as World Champions, but we'll see stories from physically challenged athletes, military veterans, retired professionals and weight-loss successes who all fit the "Anything is Possible" mentality of Ironman. Some profiled athletes include Chris Lieto, Rudy Garcia-Tolson, Matt Hoover, Kyle Garlett and Mike Adamle. Lieto, a professional out of Danville, Calif., who has finished in the top 10 three times, second to Alexander in 2009, and typically leads at one point during the race. Garcia-Tolson is a double amputee who excells at triathlon and swimming as well as holding numerous world records; this is his first shot at the Ironman distance. Hoover was crowned the champion of the second season of The Biggest Loser; but after falling in love on the show and starting a family, some weight crept back on and Hoover decided the Ironman was a way to make him feel like a champion again, get lean and teach fans to achieve their dreams. Garlett survived lymphoma four times and received a heart transplant. Adamle, a former professional football player and American Gladiators announcer, often covers the sports broadcast on Chicago's NBC channel and returns to Kona for the second time.

If you ever need motivation to convince yourself you want to do an Ironman or just hear some awe-inspiring stories, this is it. For more details, check out ironman.com. Photo grabbed from espensorvik at flickr. Posted by Kate

Avoid Holiday Over-Eating and Weight Gain

Thanksgiving has already come and gone--maybe you're still recovering--Christmas is less than 25 days away and before we know it we'll be ringing in 2010 and saying sayonara to what felt like a speedy 2009. Yep, the end of the year is nearing faster than you’d like to admit and you’re watching your calendar decrease in training hours and increase in social soirees. With those parties on tap, often inevitably replacing the workouts, you’re starting to wonder have you can have your cake and eat it too, without being unable to squeeze into your pants come January. Before you find yourself setting your New Year’s Resolutions to rebound from an overeating holiday season and lose 10 pounds, check out these five tips to avoid holiday weight gain.

1. Balance your meals to avoid "glucose" overload. Eat 3 to 4 ounces of protein followed by three 10-gram servings of carbs along with a 5-gram serving of fat (zone diet) so that you stay satiated longer. This is a proper 3-3-1 balance that correlates to the Zone Diet: 20 grams of protein to 30 grams of carbs to 5 grams of fat.
2. Drink one to two glasses of water prior to gorging yourself at parties or events. Not only will it help you stay hydrated, but you’ll find yourself feeling full before helping yourself to another round of hors d’oeuvres or cocktails.
3. Add some turkey trots or holiday runs to your festivities. The temperatures might cool off but running is still hot in Chicago with runs from now until the New Year. Turkey Trots abound on Thanksgiving, rev your metabolism for the indulging and still get you home in time to put the bird in the oven. Not in the mood to race? You can still get out and run with any of the weeknight fun runs at running stores around the city and suburbs who run year-round.
4. Seeing a hotel room more than your own bed this season? Pick exercises that are doable when you are away from your gym or house. Think cardio that you can do in your hotel room like plyometrics or a workout DVD you can play on a laptop. Portable fitness can make it easier to stay committed to maintaining your routine even when your schedule makes it seem impossible.
5. Remember to eat and never skip meals. If you know you’re attending a food-filled party, that shouldn’t be your excuse to skip breakfast or lunch so you can pack in the calories later. You might think you can lose weight by skipping meals, but instead it comes back at you times two: Your metabolism can slow, causing you to store body fat because you limited your calories for too long, and you might binge-eat at night which leads to weight gain. Even in sticking to meals, you can enjoy those holiday treats, just in moderation.

And don’t forget that you can still have fun at all of this season’s activities without stressing too much about what’s going into your belly and how much you’re sweating off during exercise. For related articles, check out these links at WebMD, That's Fit, About.com, Active.com and Centralhome.com.

Originally written for the Max Multisport monthly newsletter. Photo grabbed from CarbonNYC at flickr. Posted by Kate

The Daily Feed: Sites We're Searching 11/30

Technically I should call this post the monthly feed since it's the last day of the month--talk about November flying by--and a Daily Feed hasn't appeared since October. And I've found myself looking at some of these sites more than once during the month rather than just once on any given day.

With the exception of Chicago Marathon Sunday and New York City Marathon Sunday, Sunday afternoons this fall have been consumed by tracking race results. Seriously. Yes, it could be deemed a strange hobby but my problem is there's usually at least one person I know competing so I want to see how they did. And of course, this weekend was no exception even we did just wrap up Thanksgiving. Turkey gorging or not, there were marathons to run, an Ironman to complete and calories to burn. So here's what I've been checking out:

• Just call November the month of Ironman. There was a full-distance Ironman every weekend in November with the exception of the 14th and 15th when the Ironman 70.3 World Championships took place. First it was Florida, then Arizona, and then Cozumel. Hard to believe that next year's World Championships already knows about 150 of its competitors.
  
• Sandwiched in between those Ironman races are the runs, especially the continuation of fall's marathon mania. The ING New York City Marathon kicked off the month, followed by Richmond, Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Seattle, to name a few. And before most of these even took place, the 2010 Boston Marathon had already closed registration, filling far quicker than usual--typically even January marathoners can slide in.
• I promise this is the last of the results and events I'll list...the Turkey Trots had me perusing calendars to convince myself to run one and then checking to see how friends ran.
• Get your ski on. I swore I wasn't going to get excited over the ski season as early as November since it leaves me wishing my annual ski trip came that much faster, but once again the Warren Miller movie put me in the mood and reading about resort openings and snowfalls only fueled the fire. In Colorado, Keystone and Breckenridge opened the first and second weekends of the month and by Thanksgiving they were joined by Vail, Beaver Creek and Steamboat, to name a few. That also means it's open season at Utah resorts like Park City, Alta and The Canyons with Deer Valley set to open this coming weekend. Uh oh, time to sharpen the skis and think snow. Some may say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but I'm thinking it's snow season in full swing.
  
• And all of those shopping deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? I admit...I was cruising the online stores for end-of-the-season sales and gift ideas.

I realize there's not much hear besides random race information, retailers and ski reports but by now, most of the stories have probably already been read, appeared on Twitter and Facebook feeds, or seem like old news. Maybe not much excitement going on here, which I unfortunately think was a result of the business of the month. I'll try to make December better. Photo of snowmaking at Keystone grabbed from VailResortsNEWS@Twitter. Posted by Kate

Cyber Monday Deals for the Athlete on Your List

You know the drill: shopping in the wee morning hours the day after Thanksgiving to score store specials. Or opting to skip it when the thought of crowds and fighting over the last Garmin or the only jacket left in your size and color makes you sick (that's me). Whether you get wrapped up in the post-holiday shopping fever that hits or not, these Cyber Monday deals can help you save some dough when shopping for the runners, triathletes, hikers, skiers and other active folk on your list. Or just a little shopping to stock your shelves.

• Under Armour. No matter what sport you play, or what type of activewear you need, you could probably find it in Under Armour's closets. Running shoes and gear, cold weather insulators, outerwear and underwear, compression tights and tops, and the list goes on. There's no shipping costs today regardless of the amount of gear in your cart. And if you want more savings, be sure to check out the outlet area--a great spot to stock up on warm weather wares.
  
• SkirtSports. Skirtsports might be built around the idea of running, cycling and racing in a sport friendly skirt, but they offer so much more--and with several items up to 80 percent off on Cyber Monday. Choose from tops, sports bras, tanks, tri shorts, and of course skirts in a variety of styles. Tri shorts for $11.99? You can't get much better than that.
  
• REI. Winter clearance ends today and you can save up to 30 percent on outdoor goods.
• Moosejaw. From tents to hoodies, technical packs to jackets, you'll find just about anything for active pursuits. Rolling with that theme, Moosejaw's savings run the gamut from receiving five times the rewards points on items purchase to later shop at moosejawrewards.com, to receiving a $51 gift card for free if you purchase a The North Face item more than $149. The site was down earlier and if that's still the case when you try to shop, you'll get another coupon for additional savings as a sorry-about-the-inconvenience.
  
• The North Face. You don't have to have a minimum order to qualify for free shipping today. Perfect for anyone in need of a warm jacket, a windproof running top, gloves, snow boots and more. Unfortunately, I can always find something I want--and definitely don't need as my mom and husband can attest--when I'm at the store.
  
• Garmin. Garmin.com may not be the retailer with the sale, but if you search online and check out Bing Shopping, you can find several retailers offering discounts on Forerunners--301, 201, 205, 305 and even the 405. Runners have claimed these pace, mileage and heart rate calculators have changed the way they run, and they're all-too-ideal for keeping you on top of your mileage when training for a race.
• Campmor. Campmor's Hot Deals section is on fire today with savings across the board from footwear to apparel to outerwear. But grab them before they're gone or you'll be out of luck when the cold hits (or for us in Chicago, that could be sooner rather than later).
• iPod or mp3 player. Know someone who could use some tunes while working out? It's back to Bing Shopping for deals in the music player category, specifically those that fall under $100.
• Keen. You don't need to be active per say to fall in love with these shoes that meet the eye of various consumers from urban to sporty to every criss-crossing combination in between (after all, there are definitely sporty urbanites and country fashionistas). And today, all purchases will score you a cute Keen harvest tote.
• SwimOutlet.com. Whether your swimsuits are shot from too many hours in the pool or you told yourself you'd swim more in the off-season after a summer wearing your tri suit in the lake, this site has plenty of swimsuits to choose from. Lots of brands, lots of sizes, lots of variety, you're bound to find something that works and at reasonable prices too--some suits cost as little as $19 to $20.
  

But time's a-wasting. Most of these deals are only good until midnight tonight, causing a mad rush online and pages taking longer than normal to load. But if you can find a deal on a gift, isn't it worth it? Meanwhile, I'm on the deal hunt for a Wii and Wii Fit--I'm the dork who's been wanting one for way too long. Photo grabbed from Images_of_Money at flickr. Posted by Kate

Ironman Cozumel Titles Go to Beke and Van Vlerken

In a land often reserved for cruise ship ports, Caribbean breezes, margaritas and beaches, this weekend was reserved for Ironman and those margaritas and lying on the beach were most likely waiting until after the race. Instead, the crowds flooded Cozumel to see who would be crowned champion at this endurance race. At the inaugural Ironman Cozumel, debuting November 29, in the Mexican city on the Yucatan peninsula, the men's winner was just decided with Rutger Beke crossing the finish line first in 8:18:40. And in the process of writing this report, Yvonne Van Vlerken wrapped up her final miles of the marathon and crossed first for the women in 9:06:58.

Cozumel, often referred to as a vacation destination, was announced as a new Ironman race site in August 2008, and filled to capacity shortly after. For Americans it's a destination just far enough away from home and it's date right after Thanksgiving can be viewed by some as the perfect excuse not to overeat on the holiday. And for others, the Mexican destination draws a homeland crowd, vacationers and those who want to add a new Ironman to their repertoire. According to a press release about the race, Ironman Cozumel has 50 qualifying slots for the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. And the $50,000 professional prize purse will be distributed among the top five male and female finishers. I guess you could say that Christmas came a little early for Beke and Van Vlerken.

Beke is no stranger to the podium, nor is he unfamiliar with finishing among the age-groupers rather than dropping out when his legs couldn't give anymore. The 32-year-old Belgian has won Ironman Monaco in 2005 and Ironman Arizona in 2007. And if you watch the Ironman World Championship coverage on NBC each year, you may remember Beke's struggle in 2007 where he walked the entire marathon to finish in a respectable amateur time. He then redeemed himself in 2008 with a stellar day, finishing in third place. But back to Cozumel. Beke worked his way to the lead after coming out of the water in 11th (46:38), hammering down on the bike to move up to second by the time he reached T2 (4:34:27), and then finishing up with the only sub-three-hour marathon thus far for the day. Beke also seems to have the fastest bike time, just seconds faster than Sebastian Pedraza.

Van Vlerken, on the other hand, knows how to race fast but she's unfortunately often pushed out of the limelight because of Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington. Van Vlerken finished second to Wellington at the 2008 World Championships, and she held the iron-distance record for a year before Chrissie Wellington shattered it. In July 2008, the Dutch triathlete beat Paula Newby-Fraser's 14-year-old iron-distance record at the Quelle Challenge Roth. Then Wellington came along this year and broke it. But after today's Ironman, Van Vlerken has one pretty special bragging right: She finished 10th overall, having only nine men cross the finish line before her. You could say Van Vlerken started a little behind on the swim, finishing in the second pack of females (51:06), but she tore loose on the bike and never looked back. The 31-year-old turned out the fastest bike of the day in 5:03:44 and just built her lead on the run, finishing in 3:08:04.

Congrats to these Ironman champions! So fast on land and water, especially considering Cozumel has been known to get walloped with high winds as was the case in the days leading up to the race when the swim area was closed for practice. A relatively calm day--at least sounding like it from the live feed I read--made for some fast 2.4 mile swims. And a flat bike course followed the Cozumel island main road for sightseeing while cycling.

Uh oh, I sense another Ironman urge coming on. I'm already signed up for Wisconsin, but the vacation allure has me sold on Cozumel for the future. Not to get all personal here, but I'd be scared to check out a first-time bike course mostly because that's where I have issues when I race, which is why I didn't jump at the chance last year to register (the $525 price tag didn't help either). But if you ever needed an excuse to skip a family Thanksgiving--or more reason to gorge on the turkey and trimmings knowing they'd be burned off a few days later--or check out for a Caribbean vacation with a race thrown in, this is it. Not too far from home either, little adjustment to the time zone, but give me a Computrainer practice course first.

Want some results? Check on the progress of approximately 1,900 age-groupers at ironmancozumel.com, and follow along with the live tracker here. Photo grabbed from rutgerbeke.com. Posted by Kate