MTC / Elite Cycling Rewards Program

Midwest Triathlon Coaching- Rewards Program

Presented with Elite Cycling

Purpose:

Encourage and reward athletes for supporting MTC & EC by “showing the colors” at races and training events during the 2011 season.

Athletes will earn points to be used for prizes and will be eligible for multiple discounts.

Scope:

The Rewards Program year will begin on January 1, 2011 and will conclude on Tuesday December 6, 2011 at which time prizes will be presented.  All members of the MTC “Family” as well as customers of Elite Cycling are eligible to participate.

Registration:

All participating athletes must register.

Current MTC athletes - FREE.

For all others, there is a $65 registration fee payable to MTC.

Earning Points:

Once an athlete is registered they will earn points in the following ways:

Referrals
Provide name, email & phone of a prospect to Ken (along with a MTC recommendation to prospect)	15
Provide referral that becomes an MTC coached client or purchases a bike from Elite	100
Representation
Wear MTC or Elite top at a training event	2
Wear MTC or Elite top at a running race	5
Wear MTC or Elite top at a cycling race/event	5
Wear MTC or Elite top while doing a Sprint/Olympic triathlon	7
Wear MTC or Elite top while doing a 70.3	10
Wear MTC or Elite top while doing an Ironman	15
Wear MTC or Elite top while doing a National Championship triathlon	15
Wear MTC or Elite top while doing a World Championships (Kona, 70.3 Champs, ITU Worlds)	30
Registration
Facebook photo showing you in MTC or Elite gear	5
Facebook account linked to MTC & Elite accounts	5
Athlinks photo showing you in MTC or Elite gear	5
Athlinks.com account linked to MTC	5
Link website or blog to MTC home page	15
Results
Wear MTC or Elite top on podium picking up AG award	1.5x pts
Wear MTC or Elite top on podium picking up Overall award	2x pts
Renew with MTC
6 months continuous	20
12 months continuous	20 more

Notification & Tabulating:

Athletes are responsible for tracking their own results and notifying MTC of their activities as related to the Rewards Program.

Athletes are to upload photos to the Elite or MTC Facebook Gallery within 10 days of the event and notify Ken with a link via email.  To earn event points and podium bonuses the athlete should claim their results on Athlinks.com.

MTC will keep track of points earned and will provide a monthly update to all participants.

Rewards:

Upon reaching designated levels the participant may “cash in” their points to receive their rewards.  Deadline for choosing Rewards is 12/31/11.

Reward	Points
KC Fitness Magazine Subscription	50
MTC Headsweats Visor	50
MTC or Elite training shirt	50
Elite $25 Gift Certificate	70
MTC Fully Sublimated Tech T	70
MTC Coaching Session	100
XTERRA Transition Backpack	100
MTC or Elite S/S Bike Jersey	150
Elite Cycling or MTC Running Jacket	250

Grand Prizes:

Participants may also compete for Grand Prizes, which will be awarded to those with the most points at the end of the Program.  Prizes will be presented in a “roll-down” format i.e. - Top earner gets first pick, second gets second pick etc. at a year end party on December 6, 2011.  Current Grand Prizes include, but are not limited to:

Prize	Value
HED Stinger 9 Flamme Rouge wheelset (provided by Elite Cycling)	$2500
Powertap hub SL+ (provided by Elite Cycling)	$1000
XTERRA Vendetta Wetsuit	$750
Rudy Project Wingspan Aero Helmet	$325
MTC Gear Package	$250
Many More to Come	$???

Other benefits:

In addition to Rewards & Prizes athletes that become part of the MTC / Elite Rewards Program will be eligible for discounts and deals including (but not limited to):

1.       20% off at Garry Gribbles Running Sports

2.       10% off at Elite Cycling

3.       Up to 50% off XTERRA Wetsuits

4.       Semi-annual GU Energy discount purchase

5.       Free MTC visor or training shirt

6.       Discount on coaching plan for Kansas 70.3

7.       50% discount off individual Training, Technique or Testing session

8.       Invitation to group training & educational events

9.       Basic TrainingPeaks.com account

Registation - to register contact Ken Welsh at kwelsh1@gmail.com

MTC "Dominates the Dojo" at Jackson County Triathlon!

Results from the Jackson County Triathlon are up and MTC athletes did some serious butt kicking.  The group was led by Kelly Dippold, Michelle Arzubi & Carrie Tysdale who swept the podium going #1-2-3 in the Women's Division.  (These three also beat a lot of men going 7th, 11th and 14th overall!)  They were about 4 minutes apart, the next women was almost 11 minutes back.  Wow!

The men were led by Preston Williams who, despite a recent shoulder injury and a bike accident during the race, was 6th overall and won the 25-29 AG.  Another AG winner was Mike Malfer who led the M35-39 division; should set him up for a great race at Ironman Wisconsin in a few weeks.  The Men's Clydesdale division was won by Brian Gillespie in 2:07:34 which would have seen him place 2nd in his AG if he'd raced "non-Clydesdale".

The Short course also saw two podium performances.  Brian Dufner set a huge PR, finishing 2nd in the M30-34 and Peter Paulin won the M40-44 race.

Congratulations to all MTC athletes and other competitors at this year's Jackson County Triathlon.

Alex Franz & IM Louisville - more than just a race...

Last summer MTC athlete Trish O'Donnell asked me to help with a fundraiser she was doing.  I was happy to help and put together an "MTC Coaching Package" consisting of some schwag - hat, shirt etc. as well as some coaching services for the auction.  The highest bidder was someone I had heard about through Trish and her brother Tim but at that point hadn't met, Alex Franz.  Shortly after the auction Alex and I got together and he shared with me that he'd decided to race IM Louisville and wanted to use the package to help him prepare.  I was a bit concerned with Alex's decision because at that point he hadn't done a race longer than Sprint distance and typically I suggest doing one or two Half Irons before signing up for Ironman.  But Alex was committed so I told him I would do my best to support his goal.

As the coaching relationship continued I learned more about Alex and his story, how his young beautiful wife had recently passed away, how he travelled every week as a private airline pilot.  Now, almost a year later I am looking forward to being in Louisville this weekend to watch him race.  I am very proud of Alex and what he has achieved as an athlete and as a person, I am not so sure that if presented with the same situation I could have responded as well as it appears he has.

Alex recently sent out this message and with his permission I wanted to share it here, I believe it helps to put things in perspective for all.  Best of luck to Alex, as well as Barry Ogden, Dave Hubert, Matt Mason & Tim O'Donnell, and all the other Kansas City area athletes racing this weekend.  It is going to be a great day for everyone but in reading the message below you will see that for Alex it will mean just a bit more.

Swim, Bike, Run, Remember,

Several months after Megan passed away, a great friend of mine gave me a very powerful and meaningful book about grief.  The name of this book is “Riding with the Blue Moth”.  It was written by Bill Hancock, whose son was killed in an airplane crash in 2001. (This accident took the lives of 11 members of the OSU basketball team, and staff).  In summary the book is about a fathers’ struggle to deal with the loss of his son.  He decides to deal with the tragedy by riding his bike from the West coast to the East coast.  He began the ride with the idea that he was going to physically beat his grief into submission.  Somewhere along the way he realized that he can’t “beat” his grief, but must learn to live with it.  I read this book while training for my Ironman, and through it I learned the same lesson.

The most difficult emotional and physical challenge that Megan faced was her fight with cancer.  As you all know through her writings, she handled that challenge with an incredible amount of “guts”. She always worried more about her family, friends, and me, than herself.  Christmas 2008 comes to mind.  Megan knew that her fight was at an end.  She was in great pain, basically bed ridden, and yet, she got out of bed, opened presents, and gave every person in the room an unforgettable lesson about toughness and grace.  She had a smile on her face, and her spirits were bright the entire time.  Anytime I’m faced with a situation that seems impossible, I remember that Christmas morning.  I picture Megan that day, a picture of mental and physical toughness and grace, like nothing I have ever seen.  I was as proud of her that day as any.

Megan’s sickness and passing is by far the biggest emotional challenge I have ever faced.  August 29^th will be my biggest physical challenge.  I know a triathlon doesn’t mean anything in comparison to a physical battle with cancer, however, it is one way that I can remember how easy I have it, and how my wife handled her physical distress with such toughness, grace, and class. 

August 29 at 7:00am, in Louisville, Kentucky I will attempt to accomplish a 140.6 mile journey with my own “Blue Moth”.  A 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.  If all goes well, I will finish around 7:00 or 8:00pm.  I plan to complete this task in memory of my late wife Megan McBride Franz.  I know she will be smiling down on me every stroke, pedal, and step of the way.  If you would like to support me during my journey, I invite you to head to the race.  If you can’t make it to Louisville, I invite you to make a donation to Megan’s Endowment to help find a cure for this terrible disease. 

Please Mail Donations To:

MD Anderson Cancer Center

ATTN: Regina Wheeler

6900 Fannin Suite 6.1000

Houston, TX 77030

In the memo line, please add:

“Megan Mcbride Franz Research Endowment Fund”

If you would like to track my progress during the Ironman here is the website:

www.ironman.com

My bib number is 1601.

Much Love,

Alex Franz

P.S.  The training for this Ironman truly has been an emotional and physical journey.  Here are a few of the stats:

1 Flat tire

1 Broken Bike

1 Call to my brother to come pick up my coach and I during a thunderstorm

1 Swimming Lesson

1 Missed swim due to doodie in the pool (in Canada)

1 Lucky turkey that I just missed on my bike

5 Dogs that couldn’t catch me on my bike

3 20 mile runs in 95 + degree heat

4 Countries trained in (US, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico)

5 pairs of running shoes

6 Bike tune-ups

I Trained in the following cities:

 Kansas City

La Paz, Mexico

St. Louis

Washington D.C.

Las Vegas

Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil

Toronto, Canada

Teterboro, NJ

Stewart, NY

Norman, OK

Stillwater, OK

Denver

Tulsa

Palm Beach, FL

Little Rock, AR

Montreal, Canada

Queretaro, Mexico

Monterrey, Mexico

Nantucket

Dayton, OH

Pittspurgh, PA

Wichita

Ruidoso, NM

Hays, KS

Baltimore

Toluca, Mexico

Biloxi, MS

For a grand total of: 

124 Miles Swum

724 Miles Run

3031 Miles Ridden

 

Midwest Mayhem 2010

Had the opportunity to race the Midwest Mayhem at Lone Star Lake this past weekend and wanted to make some comments about the event.  As most who have been involved in the Kansas City tri-community are aware the Race Director for this event (KLM) has over the years developed a reputation for poor athlete service and races that left a lot to be desired.  Because I had seen firsthand and heard from others of the incidences, I have cautioned my coached athletes and others against doing events hosted by KLM. Therefore some eyebrows were raised when I mentioned that I was going to do Midwest Mayhem this year.

So what did I find?  This will come as a surprise to many but I found the race was actually pretty well run.  From responding to an athlete's pre-race questions to having a nice Oakley-branded t-shirt to having multiple locations for packet pickup, the pre-race routine was very appropriate.  

As for race day, though I was expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised.  Some of what I discovered was:

A well laid out, fair course - the course was well signed and there were plenty of police and volunteers on the bike and run courses.  I don't know how anyone could have gotten lost and didn't hear of any.

Enough aid stations - lots of drinks available before the start and after finishing.  No aid stations on the bike but with a 25 mile ride that isn't expected or necessary.  There were 5 well stocked and manned aid stations along the 6 mile run course.  Since it was a hot day I hit every one and found cold water and gatorade every time, along with GU at the turn around.

Volunteers to help out as required - I saw plenty of volunteers available to help with parking, body-marking, traffic control, aid stations etc.

Did the race have all the trappings of Ironman Kansas 70.3 or the KC Triathlon?  Certainly not.  Are there things that if I was the RD, I would do differently? Sure.  Couple examples include having timing mats at both the bike and run turnarounds or someone taking down race numbers as athletes go by.  I would figure out a way to make sure the distances are exactly Olympic: 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run, rather than "near Olympic" (but maybe that's just my Canadian background coming through because when I was part of the Race Committee putting together the KC Triathlon I heard from a number of people that "exact distances don't really matter").  I would also have more control of the transition area to keep non-athletes out of it.  Are those things that would make a good race better?  Absolutely.  Are they critical to having a safe, fun, well run race?  Not necessarily.

So, is Midwest Mayhem ever going to be as big and popular as it could be?  Probably not.

Will it suddenly start to sell out every year like the Shawnee Mission Tri?  Not likely.

Will I be pushing my athletes to add it to their calendars as next summer's big "A" race?  No.

Does the RD deserve the reputation he has?  Yes... but I see improvements.

Is Midwest Mayhem a viable, safe, supported race that provides a mid-summer option instead of traveling to Iowa or elsewhere?  Yes, I believe it does.

EC Camp Summary

Been a few days since I drove back from Boulder, got busy with regular life again but still wanted to post something about the last two days of the Camp.  Day 6 started very early as the crew was scheduled to meet in Idaho Springs just off I-70 by 6:45a (its an hour's drive from Boulder).  From there we began the longest, highest bike climb you can do in North America - 28 miles and nearly 7000' up to the top of Mt. Evans.  Although the climb was certainly not as steep as others we had done it presented its own challenges as the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up as we ascended.  Additionally the thin air above the tree-line made me and others feel light-headed.  The struggle was certainly worth the views once we summited though we didn't spend long at the top as it was cool and windy.  Descending back to the half-way point at Echo Lake was all about holding on and dealing with the rough roads.  From there the last 14 miles down was a blast, fast cornering and high speeds!  The evening's entertainment/meal was appropriately held at the Nepalese Sherpa Restaurant in Boulder where we had the opportunity to listen to former pro cyclist and co-founder of trainingpeaks.com Dirk Friel speak about some of what he has learned about coaching pro cyclists; very informative.

Day 7 - "the Big Finish" started with meeting at the Boulder Reservoir for another OWS though this time it was a larger public event, the Boulder Bare Bones Swim.  Had a chance to run into Chrissie W (again) as well as see Dave Scott.  Options for the race were 1 and 2 miles, most of the EC crew chose the 2 while I wisely decided 1 mile would be plenty.  After that we loaded up and hit the road for the last ride of the week, the same loop we had done Monday only in reverse order - to Lyons, up through Raymond onto the Peak to Peak, down through Ward (stopped for a taste of the world-famous Ward Spring Water) then back to the Reservoir.  Some campers chose to keep the day a bit flatter with an straight out and back to Lyons.  We ran into  the first rain of the week during the descent but nothing to dampen the enjoyment of the ride.  Getting back most campers set off on a short transition run.  After a couple hours to pack up and get changed we all met at the Rio Grande Restaurant to try their margaritas and have dinner.  In my case I didn't stay too long as Arch had a flight to catch and I was anxious to start the long drive home to Kansas City.  Made it home Sunday morning around 7:30a after an uneventful drive.

In summary, although it took a lot to organize things beforehand and placed a heavy burden on my wife and family while I was away for a whole week, I have to say the Camp was totally worth it.  I rode more miles and climbed more feet that I have in a long time, I met some great new people and got to reconnect with others.  I also learned so many things that will make me a better athlete and coach.  Huge thank-you to Gordo, Justin, Alan, Chuckie, Marilyn and their support crew and spouses for making the Camp such a wonderful experience once again.  I highly recommend any athlete (and especially USAT coaches) consider attending next summer's Camp starting June 19th.

Endurance Corner Camp Update

Things are going strong with the Boulder Camp.  Day 3 started with a beautiful open water swim session with the Boulder Masters Club at the Boulder Reservoir.  From there is was onto the bike for a ride up to Jamestown and beyond to what the locals refer to as "Super James."  Although not as long as the Ward loop we did the day before it was steeper, especially the "super" part.  We had an interesting presentation by Marilyn MacDonald on descending skills then it was time to put them into practice as we rode back down to the "Rez" for an OTB run, by which time the temperature was reaching 90*.  The rest of the day was a time to recover, my Compex machine was put to very good use.

Wednesday - Day 4 was a day to learn and do a bit of recovery.  We started the day meeting Greg and Laura Bennett who showed us the finer points of capturing free speed by improving our transition skills.  I picked up some points I am looking forward to trying soon.  After that we migrated to a local running track for a very informative session with running coach Bobby McGee.  I am a big fan of Bobby's and really enjoyed spending time learning more from him about running form and technique.  The final formal learning session explored the basics and benefits of bike training with a power meter presented by Coach Gordo and Alan Couzens; took a lot of notes.  We ended the day with a talk by Craig "Crowie" Alexander (Champion #6 we have had a chance to meet)

Thursday - Day 5 started with a swim session at the Flatirons Athletic Club led by Monica Byrn, Gordo's very talented wife.  I definitely noticed the thin air during the workout.  After that we had the pleasure of listening to American Olympian and 70.3 World Champion (#7) Matty Reed discuss his career and training.  After that is was off for another challenging ride, this time up Flagstaff Mountain with its steep climbs and gorgeous views of Boulder below.

Endurance Corner Boulder Camp - Day 1 & 2

Days 1&2 of the Endurance Corner Boulder Camp are in the books.  After driving to Boulder on Sunday and meeting up with Arch Fuston, my good friend and training partner for the week it was off to Gordo's house to meet up with the other campers.  Couple of familar faces from last summer's camp as well as many others.  Real mix of ages, abilities and experience levels though I am certainly pushing the experience level and age averages higher.  We all had the opportunity to listen to a wonderful presentation by IM World Champion Chrissie Wellington.  I thought I liked her before but after listening to her speak and then sitting near her at the dining room table I like her even more!

Monday's main event was a ride from Boulder up to Ward then down to Lyons and back to Boulder.  This is a very common local ride here but for the athletes coming from the coast (Arch) or the flat (me) it presented plenty of challenges and great views.  Very glad I changed to a larger rear cassette during the last mile of the climb and really enjoyed riding the Cervelo.  One of the highlights was descending down Hwy 7 at the back of a 12 rider pace line at 45 mph - big fun!  Total ride was 58 miles with 5967' of elevation gain topping out at 9303'.

In the evening we again gathered at Gordo's for another great presentation, this time by running coach Bobby McGee.  Bobby was one of the highlights for me from last year and he was awesome again.  His discussion of good running form (as well as a lot of other topics) was very enlightening and I took lots of notes.