Desert Sprint Triathlon RR

Race Date: April 22nd, 2007

I had a great season opener at the Desert Sprint Triathlon in La Quinta, CA this past weekend. My time was 1:08 whick put me in 3rd place in the 30-34 age group and 16th overall out of 440 participants. I’ve been training for longer distances so I haven’t really had to go “into the red” much lately. It felt great to hammer it out and watch my HR stay around 170bpm the whole time. It was a great practice race for Wildflower Long coming up in 2 weeks!

I was able to piece together this short little video recap for your viewing pleasure! hahaha

Results
http://www.y-events.com/07desspt.htm

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntUo1X7jhX4

Aaron Brougher

Competitors begin the swim portion of the Toyota Desert Triathlon held Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta, Calif. Klein and Clark Sports, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., put on the event. Nearly 1,100 athletes, ranging in age from 11 to 84, participated in the swim-bike-run challenge. The triathlon offered two distances, the sprint and the international. The sprint distance included a 500-meter swim, 14-mile bicycle ride and three-mile run. The international distance included a 3Ú4-mile swim, 24-mile bicycle ride and six-mile run.



Competitors move in and out of the transition area at the Toyota Desert Triathlon held Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta, Calif. Klein and Clark Sports, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., put on the event. Nearly 1,100 athletes, ranging in age from 11 to 84, participated in the swim-bike-run challenge. The triathlon offered two distances, the sprint and the international. The sprint distance included a 500-meter swim, 14-mile bicycle ride and three-mile run. The international distance included a 3Ú4-mile swim, 24-mile bicycle ride and six-mile run.



Athletes run along the lakeshore at the Toyota Desert Triathlon held Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta, Calif. Klein and Clark Sports, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., put on the event. Nearly 1,100 athletes, ranging in age from 11 to 84, participated in the swim-bike-run challenge. The triathlon offered two distances, the sprint and the international. The sprint distance included a 500-meter swim, 14-mile bicycle ride and three-mile run. The international distance included a 3Ú4-mile swim, 24-mile bicycle ride and six-mile run.

1st Retail Clinic for Team POLAR LA

Jeff & Vince
Held the first Retail Clinic for Team POLAR LA
in Santa Monica this Saturday at Top to Top

The store had moderate traffic throughout
the event and we even sold one RS200sd

Blood Lactate Testing SPECIAL for Team POLAR members

Has offered Blood Lactate Testing SPECIAL

for any Team POLAR members interested

They are providing the test for $165 (reg. $200)

Anyone interested should contact

Matthew at 310.5582.8212

to set up an appointment

Boston Marathon 07

I just returned from Boston and to sum up the race in a few words ...

Of the 23,800 registered participants, including defending champions Robert Cheruiyot and Rita Jeptoo, 15% did not make it to the starting line and 315 did not finish. Temperatures were in the 30s with heavy rain and steady winds of 20-25 miles per hour, gusting to 50 mph.

Needless to say I did finish but the elements caused me to throw any expectations and strategy out the window. I soaked it all in, literally and finished at 03:56:15, it was definitely not a PR day!

June 10th - Lets Do It

A big thank you to Rick for generously giving Team Polar a $10 discount on entry into the Redondo TRI. I just registered and look forward to another great race this June. I encourage all team members to enter.

I've competed in this event for the past two years and it is a fun course. Following the swim is short run in the sand, a long flight of stars, and a short run on the pavement to the transition area. The bike is relatively flat and straight. The run is flat except for a short climb right before the finish line. I hope to see everyone at the starting line.

Vince Mattera
Team Polar

Redondo Beach Triathlon Discount For POLAR Athletes

Wouldn’t it be cool to all race together … well Rick came through and is providing a Team Discount for anyone on Team POLAR to race in the Redondo Beach Triathlon on June 10^th

( http://www.rbtriathlon.com/ )

Race Features 0.5 mi Swim / 6 mi Bike / 2 mi Run

When registering, enter discount code POLAR100 to get the discount.

Thanks Rick …

Mandatory On-Site Team POLAR Clinic

We had our Mandatory On-Site Team POLAR Clinic this past weekend where Robin went over all the ins and outs of our POLAR gear as well as the retail & training club clinics. Once Robin wrapped things up several of us headed out for a 5 mile run along the chip path in Manhattan Beach. Unfortunately, my camera battery died before we could take a team picture.

It was great to meet everyone.

HRM Prep.

Rick moistens his HRM before heading out on his training run.

The Great Race of Agoura Hills half marathon - Leah Hoyer

The Great Race of Agoura Hills half marathon -

So much of a race day is in the preparation. Here's a quick summary of what you DON'T want to do the day and night before your race: Early in the afternoon, look out your office window at the hills behind the Hollywood sign and realize they are on fire. Not a fake Hollywood fire, but a rapidly progressing blaze with fifty foot high flames. As people gather in your office to stare in awe and comment about how the amount of water the helicopters are able to drop on the fire seems so insignificant, the thought dawns on you that you live on the other side of that burning hill and you should probably get home to save your dog and a few things. Drive home where you and your husband put the "what would you save in case of a fire" discussion into practice, discovering that our list comes down to our computer CPUs, some family pictures, that thing that reminds me of my grandma, and one bike each that will fit on our cars (mountain or road...the outdoor enthusiast's Sophie's Choice). Within a few hours, we hear that the fine folks of the LA area fire departments have got it under control, but they'll be watching for flare ups throughout the night. Just to be safe, we take our dog and our one packed car and leave them at a friend's place that night. Returning home around 11 pm, we try to gather our race wear and settle in for a good night's sleep in our own bed. But, the smell of smoke in the air and the frequent helicopter fly-overs have us waking up every twenty minutes and wondering if we should check the news for any updates. After getting up a couple of times only to find a TV full of infomercials (why do you taunt me, Chuck Norris?), we finally drift off for one and a half hours of sleep, before our 4:30 alarm.

With all of that fresh in mind, we head off to our favorite race of the year with not much expectation. Luckily, the night before is such a small part of preparation. Those months of steady workouts, trying to eat right, pre-running the course and, of course, training smart with my heartrate monitor don't go to waste in one bad night. I love this race and was reminded why as soon as I approached the start line. It is a great community race that benefits a local school district, the whole neighborhood supports it and the course is amazing. Of the 13.1 miles, roughly 8 of them are on trails, and there are a couple of great climbs right in the middle. I also started a running group at work about six months ago and we had a contingent of about 15 people doing either the half marathon or 10K, so it was motivating to see other friendly faces out there. I even ran into my Polar teammate Vince right before the race and saw him a few times on the course.

When I finally reached the finish line, I was four minutes under my anticipated time and made my top five age group goal by placing 4th. My friends from work also had a great day and we celebrated at THE BEST after party of any race. Eventually we had to leave to reclaim our dog and our car full of stuff and begin the tedious process of putting everything back where it belonged. But, all in all, it was a great weekend.

Recent Race Results

Some results from Team POLAR LA teammate Vince Mattra...

Pasadena Reverse Triathlon

March 10, 2007
Second Place (28 age group competitors)
Overall placed (13 out of 400 competitors)
(this event occurred prior to our apparel arrival)
Note: This was a fun event. We ran first, then biked, and ended with a 150 meter pool swim.

Lake Havasu Sprint Triathlon

March 26, 2007
Second Place (8 age group competitors)
Overall placed (16 out of 203 competitors)
Note: A challenging bike course with lots of steep hills, rollers and sharp turns.

The Great Race of Agoura Half Marathon

March 31, 2007
Sixth Place (61 age group competitors)
Overall Placed 79 out of 1001 competitors
Note: Without any prior trail running or hill training, this course was a challenge.