Samantha Moske at a recent triathlon ...

T Minus 7 Days and getting excited

Just 7 days till I depart for Greenland and I'm getting excited ... my team, Team POLAR/Feed The Machine, is the only one representing America. We will be racing the SIKU EXTREME ARCTIC CHALLENGE.

The SIKU EXTREME ARCTIC CHALLENGE is 5-day combined stage and expedition race takes teams through a distance of about 250 km and climbs 9,000+ vertical metres in the magnificent and wild beauty of Ammassalik Island, Greenland. The race is always held in July, as this month unfolds, the Arctic summer reaches its very height with long sunny days and just a few hours of twilight. The average temperature during daytime is between 10 - 15 degrees celsius.

The SIKU EXTREME ARCTIC CHALLENGE consists of the following stages:

Mountain Biking

The bike sections have received the best reviews from very prominent mountain bikers. Very demanding routes both physically and technically. The routes are laid out on a mixture of gravel roads, paved roads, dirt tracks and "no tracks at all".

Mountain Trekking

Navigating through mountainous terrain, with very few - if any - defined tracks. Cols, culoirs, peaks and rivers need to be crossed with a lot of loose rocks and some easy scrambling. On one of the stages we might incorporate actual climbing, but this will be done with the timing on hold, to make this experience accessible for all racers, including those without any previous climbing experience.

Glacier Trekking

Several glaciers will be travelled. This requires full glacier gear (crampons, harnesses, ropes, ice axes) and the requisite knowledge to use this equipment. There will be crevasses on the glaciers, but generally the crevasses are easy to navigate - though in bad visibility difficulties can arise.

Ice Fjord Paddling

The Canoe venue is a unique experience on the ice-filled waters of the Sermilik Icefjord. Paddling among the huge icebergs is an awesome experience and not to be found anywhere else. Our Grabner Adventure inflatable canoes have proved their value - they are stable (very safe) and carry the whole team. Safety on this venue is a main issue and security boats are at all times close to the racers.

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Below are a few pictures from previous years races. You can watch a short clip from last year's race here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agdpq2y1oM0

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Team Saab Salomon on the Mittivakkat Glacier


Part of the base camp


Race start


Team Tscherning, canoe sprint


Stunning Arctic vista


Team Inu:IT on the Mittivakkat Glacier


MTB route in the streets of Tasiilaq


Team Peak Performance


Polhems Fjeld

Jeff Vicario

Cool Breeze Century Anyone ???

Cool Breeze Century

Saturday, August 18

Are there any other Polar members riding in Cool Breeze? It's a great course with plenty of rest stops providing fresh fruit, cookies, bagels, sandwich fixins' and they even pass out popsicles at the last rest stop in Carpinteria at the Rincon Point Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The Cool Breeze route follows the coast from Ventura to Santa Barbara. The weather is generally in the low 70's - perfect summer cycling weather. The route is fairly flat to rolling terrain. You can sign up at Active or for more information go to http://www.cibike.org/

Vince Mattera

Ironman CdA 07

Sunday June 24th, Race Day and the strong trade winds from the south and cool temperatures returned. 30 minutes prior to the start Ironman announced that the swim, due to the conditions on Lake Coeur d’Alene, would be optional. Those opting not to swim could compete as duathletes and would start after all of the triathletes exited T1 and were already biking (estimated 930am). The swells were big considering it was a lake. The water had warmed to a pleasant 64 deg, warmer than the 42 deg air temperature on race morning. 7am and the cannon fires; 2400 athletes head in unison into the unforgiving water. Many would not make the swim cutoff. The swells and unusual current spread everyone apart so there was much less hand to hand combat than I was expecting. Of course the swim times were affected and mine was 9 mins off from where I had hoped I’d be.

Out of the water in & out of T1 and I was on the bike. The wind made it difficult to warm after swimming for an hour plus. The new bike course was beautiful though challenging. There were a few dangerous turns, near 180’s, but they were well marked. In comparison to the old course, this one was by far hillier. After analyzing the data from my POLAR CS400 I am still amazed at all the data it captures. I was able to take XXX off my bike split and there is no other reasons other than I was able to train more intelligently with my POLAR computer. I didn’t train more, just smarter.

Ok, so as I pull into T2 I quickly throw on my running gear and head out. Shortly into the run the battery dies on my RS400sd foot POD. I should have known better and replaced the battery but still it would be great to have a low battery indicator on the watch. I ended up running the marathon using Heart Rate and perceived ex ertion and felt great. I am lucky I have my nutrition nailed down. The only deviation was after mile 19. I became addicted to oranges on cola and walked each time I saw them. Still I pulled out a 4 hr marathon and shaved over an hour off my previous Ironman time.

After the race I was not terribly sore and friends tell me I didn’t push hard enough. I know they are right and I am already looking to set a new PR next year and shatter my current time.

-- Jeff

Ventura Breath of Life Triathlon

Theses are a few pics from the Ventura Breath of Life Triathlon June 24th. The water was a lovely brown color and very choppy. Not good for the stomach on the ride. It was a nice flat 25 mile bike ride and 10K run.
- Samantha Moske