Epic Sports has been supplying the area with quality swimwear from brands like Speedo, Arena, Blueseventy, and TYR for the past few years, and we’re taking a big step — with Champsuit.com.

Champsuit.com is our step into the (big) world of ecommerce, but we’re having fun with it. It’s also a good way to get all your necessary swim gear – backpacks, pull buoys, goggles, and some cool swag all ready for the competitive swimmer… or even the recreational swimmer. Or even the “I’ll-go-for-five-laps-this-time,” casual, “just-getting-wet” swimmer – we like you, too. At any rate, these products from Champsuit.com will allow you to bring a little turbulence to the pool.

And for the competitive swimmer – seriously. Check out our technical swimwear. You’ve trained hard, you deserve everything you achieve, so don’t sell yourself short!

Free shipping to North Dakota and Minnesota.

-Epic Sports

NOT YER DAD’S CHAMPSUIT!

Looking forward to the opportunity to compete in the Amica 19.7 National Championship in Phoenix on Sunday.

It looks to be a great way to wrap up what has been an incredible racing season! I was able to fit more races in one season than ever before, and was met with some of my best results yet.

The entire summer has been a blast with training, especially getting on the US Masters team, training with amazing athletes at the BSC Aquatic Center, and obviously trying to keep up on two wheels with all the rest of ‘em on the Epic team!

Last year, I was able to compete in this race and, despite catching a bug (made for a long plane trip), did quite well. It bugged me that I could have done better, so I’m stoked for the chance to see how I do now, especially with a big of extra experience under my belt. There is a field of over 540, with a good number of pros. It would be nice to catch up to some of them, just to see what they look like!

Anyway, I’m age grouping it this year. I’ll keep in touch, but as you eat your Sunday morning waffles, say a quick prayer for me, as I will be starting my morning swallowing a lot of lake water and beating the heck out of my legs. And I’m a bit nervous.

 

-Bri!

Whatsup, everyone!

The end of cycling season is always difficult. It’s when you say a long goodbye to the mountain bike, thanking it for a successful season of ripping it, and put the road bike on the trainer, apologizing for keeping it in captivity.

It’s also usually a time when you have to admit that you just won’t be getting any more fresh air at all anymore. Until Spring.

…until now. Epic Sports has jumped into the winter sports scene, bringing us ALL NEW MARMOT AND GARNEAU APPAREL, ATOMIC NORDIC SKIS, and ATLAS SNOWSHOES. They’ve got all the gear to go with it, ensuring us that this season, we won’t have to sit on the couch and eat popcorn all day. We can continue our adventure in the great North Dakota out-of-doors, this time on a crisp, cold, untouched blanket of snow.

Epic is also doing rentals. So grab some friends, rent a cabin at Cross Ranch, and pick some duds and rentals skis at Epic, and live yourself the Epic Life.

I, for one, am ready to get my bikes in storage so I can get on with the snow.

Bring it.

Mike, the magician in our shop, shows how to fix a flat tire on your bicycle.

I want to preface this with a congratulations to Ryan along with the rest of the athletes at Ironman Boulder! It’s a well coordinated event. Tri-fever abounds in Boulder!

As Ryan said in his post, we had hot and humid weather leading up to race day. Coupled with the thunderstorm that woke us both up at about 0230, and my excitement, I got just slightly more sleep than Ryan did. He was still quadruple checking his race day kit when I turned in.

To become a volunteer for the Boulder 70.3, I logged onto the website ( http://ironmanboulder.com/ ) and signed up to volunteer for “Water Safety”. The directions were to report at 0430 and instructions were going to be given from there.

Well…I slept in! I woke up at 0430! I immediately woke up my new roommate, superstar, and buddy Ryan so we could get going to the race. I left in a haste with a cup of coffee and a large stoke factor brewing for the day. I arrived about 0500 to an already packed event site. I reported in and made the hike to my kayak. Mark, the water safety coordinator, asked for volunteers to be a lead kayaker. Until he explained it (leading the swimmers around the course), I was hesitant. He mentioned Pro Men’s and Women’s Lead and I jumped at the chance.
I could see the mass of black and brightly colored caps gathering on the beach. About 0620, I paddled to the start (men started shortly after 0630). The pro’s were warming up when I arrived. I sat in awe as I saw Andy Potts glide by me towards the beach. “Yeah! I’ve made it!” I thought.
The national anthem was played and a group of skydivers screamed over me with Old Glory fluttering gloriously. I oriented my speedy paddle boat and started Andy Potts towards his(fastest in the field) 23 minute 1.2 mile swim. Stoked! Stoked! Stoked to have Andy Potts tearing it up right behind me! I lead him to the beach and returned back to the course to help guide the 1,750 competitor field to the beach. If you’re wondering how long it takes that many people to swim a 1.2, I was in my boat for over 2 hours. I was proud to aid a few scared/appreciative swimmers finish their watery trek, by being both a rest area and a cheering section. Great morning!

I arrived to T1/2 just in time to see  2nd place Andy Potts making his way out for lap 1 of his run. He had a pretty comfortable gap on 3rd place.

I soon found out that my “Ironteam” t-shirt was a VIP pass to the entire event. I was able to access the finish corral and Transitions area. We volunteers were treated as well as the athletes. Food, drink, and schwag were readily available to me throughout the day. After cheering Ryan out of T2, I quickly made my way to the finish corral where I volunteered to help douse the racers with ice water and give aid.
There was a rise of excitement in the crowd as Andy Potts made his way the final 1/4 mile to the finish. I had goosebumps! It was a photo op as Andy triumphantly grabbed the winners tape. He was congratulated by friends, fellow pro’s(Chrissie Wellington/Craig Alexander) and family as he made his way by a totally starstruck volunteer. ME!
Even though it was in passing for most of the pros, I was able to meet and talk to all of them as a volunteer.
The Mens field included: Andy Potts, Tyler Butterfield, Stephen Hackett, and Richie Cunningham on the men’s side.
The Womens field included: Julie Dibens, Angela Naeth, and Ulie Bromme.
Richie and Ulie succumbed to the heat. I was there to quickly gave them aid with water and icy sponges. Even pro’s are human.

After the pro’s field finished, the rest of the morning was a blur. I quickly handed out refreshment and spongy care to the athletes as they passed. I doused a delirious Ryan with an icy sponge. Only when I congratulated him did he actually “see” me. What a toll this race takes on a person!

I stayed until I couldn’t stand my hunger pangs any longer. The after race digs were wonderous! The athletes and volunteers were given food, drink, and massages. Yes! Massages! What a way to finish a race!

After scoping the digs, I tracked Ryan down to point him towards the oasis. He got a much needed massage while I enjoyed free beers from Left Hand brewery. I chewed the fat with a fun group of Boulder rowers and their coach. What a great event!

For those of us not lucky enough to have gotten to race, volunteering is a great way to experience an Ironman. We volunteers were absolutely essential to the race. It was a very emotional day. I gave a lot of high fives and hugs to the athletes as they crossed the finish line. Way to go athletes!

I am only going to write the volunteer POV once! The entire experience was one of the most motivating experience of my triathlon career. I am competing next year.

RACER PERSPECTIVE: (by Ryan Levander)

It had been two years since I last did a triathlon, and over 2 months since I last did a halfway decent swim workout in the pool.  Was I ready for Ironman Boulder, no, not in the full triathlon sense.  I turned it into as much of a Duathlon as a tri can be turned into.  But that’s the story of a triathlete “I could have trained harder”.  So in knowing that basically every triathlete (even the winner) probably says that, I’m not going to.  I’m just going to say I could have raced smarter.

3 hours tops, is how much sleep I got the night before Ironman.  A night plagued with bad storms and incredibly humid air kept me up on Jesse Erhardt’s couch.  I heard two storm fronts move over us at night and last for what had to be at least 3 hours.  Then the rain started to really pour and I was wondering if it would ever stop.  I remember looking at the clock at 2:30 and it still coming down and wondering if it was going to ruin race day.  When Jesse woke me up at 4:45 it had stopped.  Jesse was about to report for volunteering, so he had to be there before I did.  The transition open from 5-6:20.  I left at 5:15, the race venue being 6 miles away (doesn’t get much closer than that!) and got there at around 5:45, it seemed like all 1750 participants were leaving the same time I was.

Finally I got there, and got to the transition area around 6.  With a quick unload of gear, set up, and trip to the bathroom, I was out of there JUST before it closed at 6:20.  I was in the 4th waive at 6:45.  As I was getting my wetsuit on (not to self: don’t put on trislide first, will make wetsuit process MUCH more difficult) which took basically up until the third wave, they played the national anthem, had some parachuters come down with an American flag, and white doves topped off the big time race feel.  Great music before the race (stronger, Kayne West right before I went out) got me pumped up for the swim.

The wetsuit definitely helped, and hurt me.  I’m sure it helped more than hurt, but it was definitely tough to breathe for me in such a tight suit.  Don’t get me wrong, it was the right size, just tough to get used to it.  And after a leak in my goggles a quarter of a way into the swim, I was ready to be out of the water!  39 minutes and I was back on dry land where I felt comfortable again…

…4 minutes later, and still forgetting my sunglasses for the bike ride, I was out for the ride!  The ride was a two loop course on rolling hills (mtns to North Dakota!) around the Boulder Reservoir.  I stayed pretty consistent on the bike, I averaged 21.5 mph and felt a lot more in my element.  I was passed by very few people, and it seemed like everyone I saw (which was a ton) had a TT bike or aero wheels.  It really just shows what kind of people this tri attracted, and what kind of people live in Boulder.

After I was done completely drying my eyes out on the bike, I was eagerly ready to torture my legs on the run, which was supposed to be “saving the best for the last”…

…it started out like the best!  I averaged 6:30-6:45 for my first 4 miles.  Then my achilles started chafing on the back of my shoe, I was sockless.  Shortly after my hamstring really started cramping up and hurting.  So from miles 5 on to the end I was stopping about every miles and stretching out my hamstrings to make sure they stayed loose.

The run was really on a nice course.  It was 90% nicely packed dirt, around the reservoir and other streams nearby.  It was a two loop run as well.  There were tons of mountain bikers riding next to use cheering us on, along with just plain fans that lined a good bit of the run, which was impressive because it was sort of desolate in some areas.

I dug deep the last mile and finished it out in sub 7 for my last mile.  The last 400 meters there was fans going crazy, cowbells, and all the event sponsors in the expo area just before we ran down the gated finish line.

5:17:53 and I was back to being stationary, better yet horizontal again, very horizontal!  Jesse was my water boy at the finish line and I didn’t even realize he handed me the water until 5 seconds after he gave it to me, haha, I was pretty finished!

After taking my gear to my car I was about to jump in the water to cool off.  I made it halfway and turned around to head to the bathrooms to throw up, haha.  Whether it was the altitude or my first half IM tri, or both, it had got to me.  But all was well after a few minutes of getting some uneeded stuff back up, and I felt normal again.

While I was getting a much needed post race massage, I was thinking about the whole experience, and how lucky I was to be able to participate in something like this.  The inagural 70.3 for Boulder, Colorado.  Wow, it sure was a blast…see you next year Ironman Boulder!

If you haven’t seen this video over (and over) again on YouTube, check it out:

(The crash happens early).

So, Schleck? Contador?

I’ve managed to fit in a few more races this season, and I’ve managed to re-learn a few important lessons.

Namely this: Don’t change a thing on race day. I’ve heard it said again and again, but nerves get the best of me before a race, I guess, and I’m out trying new things that could potentially land me on the side of the road walking my bike back.

This weekend, at the Pipestem XTERRA, it was my goggles. These TYR goggles have treated me well, but they’re definitely getting up there in age. But, I train with them, so I should race with them. Saturday, when I put them on, I noticed a peculiar crease down the middle of the plastic nose piece. These goggles were about to break, and if something’s going to go wrong, it’s going to go wrong in a race. So I switched to my spare pair – same model, different color.

About 300 meters into the swim, visibility was going down. These puppies were fogging up in a bad way… and even though I always put just a little bit of water in my goggles to swish around and prevent fog, nothing seemed to be stopping the inevitable: I was going blind in this swim. Undoubtedly, I slowed my pace as I thought through the situation. A swimmer came beside me, and I stuck to him, trusting (hoping) he would be going the right direction, and not lead us too far from the buoys.
Fortunately, this swim had some surprises. There were two rows of buoys – athletes swam down the left row to the other side of the lake, got out of the lake and barefoot ran down the muddy shoreline, and came back on the other side of the second row of buoys. I’d never seen this in a swim leg before, but if it weren’t there, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to lower my goggles and lick ‘em good while I was on my feet, before snapping them back on my face and jumping back in the water. What a lifesaver. If that wasn’t the case, I might still be out there (Actually, the race was really well-run and well staffed… I’ll bet they would have picked me up after awhile, had I navigated too far from the course). In the end, I had a good swim, getting to the transition third out of the water.

Just another close call, that’s all. Don’t change stuff on race day.

-B

A big thanks to all those who participated or helped out at this year’s Bismarck Triathlon! We hope everyone achieved their goals and had a good time!

Pickle Events has posted the times online. They can be seen HERE.

Happy training – and hope to see you all out for the Prairie Rose State Games:

Duathlon

http://www.prairierose.org/EnterEvent.aspx?CategoryID=54

Triathlon

http://www.prairierose.org/EnterEvent.aspx?CategoryID=85

-Epic