Congratulations to ALL runners in this years 115th Boston Marathon!
Runners had a fantastic day out there with a bright sunny day, in the high 50s and winds blowing out of the west. This weather combination allowed for a fast marathon, with many PR's. Including our own BPC PR's, the marathon record was shattered by minutes. However, due to race regulations, the Boston Marathon course is not a world record race course. The overall men's winner, Geoffrey Mutai won the race with a time of 2:03:02, breaking both the course record and the world record time. American Ryan Hall finished in a close 4th with a time of 2:04:58.
Race Results:
Sarah Filion 4:31:05 (first marathon)
Jen Heikkinen 4:54:05 (34 min PR!)
Rachel Rubenson 4:51:14
Silas Bauer 3:30:03
Bash Zaganjori 3:17:02
Race Results 115th Boston Marathon
Ali Winslow - Sunday, May 01, 2011
1st Annual Fall Foliage Ride Set for this SUNDAY
Vic Brown - Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Boston Performance Coaching 1st Annual Fall Cycling Classic will take place this SUNDAY October 17. This will be a Metric Century ride to enjoy the foliage of autumn. With almost 30 people registered, this is sure to be a fun and scenic ride. The course will follow a challenging road route around the Quabbin Reservoir, a pristine jewel in the heart of Massachusetts. Ride will depart from the Summit Tower at Quabbin Reservoir at 9 AM.
All cyclists should have a repair kit with them; including pump &/or CO2, spare tube, & tire iron. Riders should be prepared with an adequate amount of food and begin the ride with at least 2 bottles.
When:
SUN October 17, 2010 at 9 AM
Directions:
Summit Tower at Quabbin Reservoir, Ware, MA. Parking is at the tower.
Ride Route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3958731
For more information or to reserve a spot, contact Vic at vic@bostonperformancecoaching.com.
Build Period Week #2 Swim, Bike, Run and dealing with cold winter training
Ali Winslow - Monday, January 11, 2010
Arctic and Canadian chill in the air. Crescent moon in the sky. A few cars out and a few brave souls in reflective gear running along the Charles this morning. It's week #2 in the BPC build phase and we were in full swing at 6:30am in the Case Center Pool. The theme this week is fitness. It's that time of year to build upon the technique work that you did in the fall, and rely upon your acquired skills from technique to increase and boost your fitness. The swims in this 10 week period of time have a technique and drill focus for about 40% of the workout and then 50% of the workout is focused on increasing fitness in the water. This presents a challenge to the athletes, because they have to work hard not only for the drill set, but especially for the main set. I told them this morning and this goes for athletes training everywhere- at this point they should have 3 swims per week: 1 swim is short intervals with fast paced efforts, 1 swim is mid distance intervals at tempo pace, 1 swim is long intervals with endurance focus. This is so that each swim is different, they are reminding their brains and muscles to swim efficiently as well as working on strength, fitness and endurance. Last week was 200's, this week 100's and next week will be shorter. What does this mean to our athletes? Get out of your comfort zones and pushing to work hard and get to the next level.
Swim on...
Ali
December Newsletter
Vic Brown - Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Boston Performance Coaching December Newsletter
covers a review of our base period fall classes and online coaching
program, information about wetsuit deals by our newest sponsor Xterra Wetsuits, information about our winter build season of classes and group
training, and 1 coaching article: "Capacity for Tenacity" by Assistant Coach Vic Brown.
Also included in this fall-winter
newsletter, full race reports from Ron Ulich (Duxbury Beach Triathlon)
and Brad Ewald (Austin 70.3), October-November BPC Athlete race results
and a listing of Winter Races, events and training opportunities in the
area.
Winter Build Classes and Online Group
Training Begins on Jan 4th, don't miss out on this unique program! Get
yourself ready for the demands of higher volume and intensity and the
2010 multisport season with BPC Online Coached Program and weekly group
classes. New this year - 2 strength workouts/week, 3 bike
classes/week, 2 swim classes/week. See our website for all registration information!
Weekly Review, Base Period Week #4
Ali Winslow - Thursday, November 12, 2009
We are now right in the middle of our base period and I really see some major improvements from the athletes in all our classes. I know the base period is a difficult time to commit to classes and many athletes think they don't need to do it right now. However, it's been my experience both as an athlete and a coach that year round training is necessary not only to stay motivated and focused, but also to give your body a true period of time to experience "base", "build" and "preseason" and "inseason." Athletes love to train in their comfort zone, which is usually not too hard and not too easy. Well, you will never improve if you always train the same way. This is why we have "practice." The best athletes in the world will tell you that the most important time is the off season. Your body gets a chance to recover from the hard intensity and volume, but most importantly your mind gets to recover as well.
1. Swim- in the pool right now we are focusing ONLY on drill work. It may seem tedious, but this is why our athletes come to swim practice. They get to train with other athletes of equal ability, but they also get a chance to work on their weak aspects of the sport without the fear of competition. This week we really focused on breathing and the proper way to breathe underwater. Have you tried to work on breathing out your nose and emptying your lungs while you swim? Try it next time you are in the pool. Next week, we will begin to teach flip turns-breathing properly will be crucial!
2. Bike Classes- this was definitely a week of stepping it up. The challenge in class this week was the focus of cadence, pedaling efficiency and strength. I taught the morning class (which was a great group!) and we really focused hard on staying below the hard efforts on the heart rate zones, and instead played with different cadence drills, spin ups, and most importantly, muscle tension drills. In the past 4 weeks these athletes have learned a new way to pedal and we look forward to 4 more weeks of technique work!
3. Strength Class- the athletes really are learning about core conditioning, overall strength and endurance. Coach Vic has written a well rounded program to touch on all the tight areas, weak areas and help athletes learn more about how to strength train.
4. Run Class- Coach Vic is working closely with the small group of athletes on form, body positioning and pace. It is difficult to force yourself to truly work on technique when you run alone. Vic spends time with each athlete watching them run and guiding them towards better running efficiency.
In all, the first 4 weeks have been really fun and a test of patience, endurance, overall strength and technique. The next 4 weeks of base will continue to build upon what we have done thus far and start to truly challenge the athletes!
Review of Week #3 Group Training Program
Ali Winslow - Friday, November 06, 2009
Week #3 of the BPC Base Period Skills and Technique Focus
1. Swim: This week we worked with fins as well as trying to learn how to kick on our backs. The most common problem I see as a coach with triathletes who are weak swimmers is that they don't know how to kick. By using fins we are helping these athletes learn to use their legs properly-from the hips and not from the knees. I saw a HUGE improvement this week from all the athletes, which is always very encouraging! Next week we will begin to work on flip turns!
2. Bike Class: Can we say single leg drill? Alot of them? Yes, this was the week of the single leg drills for the class. In fact, 16 minutes of single leg work. Why is this so important? Well, mainly, we are looking to teach athletes the importance of a smooth pedal stroke, the importance of evenness between the two legs as well as overall strength and coordination. We also had over 20 minutes of muscle tension work, to focus on building hamstring strength and the "pull" part of the stroke. Next week we will continue to focus on the technique of cadence, single leg work and muscle tension drills. It's great to see so many new people this year and I hope that we can continue to build upon a new (and old) community of cyclists and triathletes in the Boston area. I also have to say, Landry's has been over the top fantastic in helping us set up and break down the classes each week-so a big thankyou to Mark, Grady, Bob, Scott and Sean!
3. Running and Strength Workouts: Vic has been leading these workouts and I am looking forward to hearing more about how the athletes are progressing at the gym and out on the road. It's nice to see some new faces at these training events as well. Look for some great information about strength training in our next newsletter!
Ali
Review of first 2 weeks of classes
Ali Winslow - Friday, October 30, 2009
It's been great to see so many new faces at our classes this fall. What is also unique about our fall class sessions is that the smaller class size allows for a closer interaction between the athletes and the coaches. I love to see our experienced clients assisting the newer athletes-not only does this create a closer community amongst our athletes, but also helps the new athletes get a different perspective. So far we have had 2 cycling classes, 2 running class, 1 swim class and 2 strength classes. The response from the athletes has been fantastic and we are still getting new athletes coming in each week. We look forward to the next 6 weeks, continuing to improve our athletes fitness and technique as we focus on specific technique and form in this base period.
Welcome to our New Website!
Ali Winslow - Thursday, October 15, 2009
So, triathlon racing season has ended. The spring was tough and it was followed by a cold and wet summer. Our athletes started the season with the Hopkinton Season Opener, and finished with the Duxbury Beach Triathlon. This was a great season, many of our athletes completed their first triathlon or road race, some completed their first century ride, many had PR's in their races. Personally, it was my first season back after the birth of my second child (Tanner), and I was happy with my results. I still have a lot of work to do, but hey, it's the fall and time to start working on those limiters!
I have to say, it was pretty exciting watching Ironman World Championships in Hawaii online this weekend. Chrissie Wellington is amazing. It was also fantastic to watch so many athletes from the Boston area challenge themselves on the world's toughest course in triathlon. Congratulations to all!
We are now in the final stages of our new website. It's been a long haul, many revisions but we are finally done! I am really excited about the changes to the navigation system, and the ability to create a community online for the triathlete community in Boston. We have a unique coaching and training program in the center of Boston. It is our hope to create a centralized boston training community for all triathletes in the area. This year we are partnering up with Lululemon, Greater Boston Running Company, Landry's, Fluid, and the facilities at Boston University to allow triathletes a variety of training in swim, strength, running, cycling and nutrition support. We have also created a true performance team with 2 massage therapists, physical therapy, chiropractic care, nutrition, and a medical adviser (specialist in sports medicine). This way, athletes from all areas, and all levels have an opportunity to train together in a coached environment. Vic and I have worked to put together a top notch online training plan, as well as 4 different classes for a structured year long training program. So far we have about 20+ athletes signed up for the various classes and we hope to build that to 50 or more.
I am looking forward to a year of change for BPC and our athletes. Welcome to our new website!
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