How to descend a mountain in the Tour de France

Awesome video of Fabian Cancellara's descent during Stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France, after making a bike change and having to catch up to the peleton. This is how you descend a mountain!



Vance

Airline Customer Service

I had another terrible experience with American Airlines on my return from Spain. Thanks AA! You guys suck! Then I saw this today, and it makes me LOVE the 21st century, and social media.



Check it out, because if you've ever had any customer service issues with an airline, (who hasn't!), I think you'll really enjoy the video. Over 3 million views in 9 days is impressive, and the power of social media!

Now I have to call and complain with my credit union for the crap with my ATM card not working in Spain, EVEN AFTER CALLING THEM TO TELL THEM I WAS GOING TO SPAIN!!!

Vance

Video of Tour de France Finish in Barcelona

If you've ever wondered what it's like to see a sprint finish at the Tour de France, here's the video. Keep in mind, it goes fast, and this is an UPHILL finish, with the video taken at the 100 meters to go mark. There's a screen in the video so you can see them coming.



This is one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in sport.

Vance

Barcelona Bound

Heading to Barcelona in the AM, and looking forward t seeing the Tour for the first time. Also, the fact that it's Spain, Catalan, and Basque regions of Europe is going to be quite the cultural experience.

I ran 24 miles this past week, a record for 2009, and hoping to put in about an hour a day while in Barcelona. Had a slight Achilles ache on Saturday, so will have be careful. It's not easy when you're about 200 lbs! Hopefully I get to enjoy Barcelona and lose weight at the same time.

If you're not following my twitter account, @jimvance, I hope to do a bunch of posts and photos from the trip.

Stay tuned...

Vance

SDIT, Barcelona and running again

I was out watching the San Diego International Triathlon, enjoying spectating for a change. Always interesting to be on the other side of the equation. Had many athletes of mine racing, as well as friends and people who attend many of my workouts, so a great opportunity to support others.

In a week Orlanda and I will head to Barcelona with our friends Jim and Nancy Walsh, to enjoy the incredible country of Spain, and I will get to fulfill one of my dreams of experiencing and seeing the Tour de France, as it comes through the city of Barcelona. Thursday of that week, Barcelona is the finish line of stage 6, and the start city for stage 7. Stage 6 will likely be a sprint finish, which should be awesome to see in person, while stage 7 is the first mountaintop finish of the tour, which will be exciting and probably the first major sorting out of the GC.

It's great to get to go to the Tour, because I was never able in the past. The month of July was always right in the middle of the season for me, and training and racing was always more important. Now it makes no difference, and it's great to have this opportunity.

I have even started running again, although it's so slow I would call it jogging. I'm not used to being passed when out for a run. I'm enjoying just getting out again, and trying to begin to get my weight back down to something I'm a little happier about.

I'm also realizing that the Ironman training was overkill in so many ways, I am much happier with the shorter sessions, and not feeling like my life is devoted to Ironman training. It makes me want to go back to short-course ITU racing.

All in all, things are good, and I am very excited about the upcoming trip. I hope to have more to report from the trip, complete with pics and Twitter updates.

Vance

FREE TriJuniors Open Water Swim Clinic - Sunday, June 28th

Please help me spread the word about this great event, for youth development in triathlon! TriJuniors is hosting a FREE open water clinic to any high school aged kids and their parents! The event is on Sunday afternoon, after the San Diego International Triathlon, at Ventura Cove.

If you know a parent of a high schooler who might be interested in TriJuniors, or who want to share the fun of triathlon with their kids, please share the linked flyer and/or following information:

Who: Parents and their teens, interested in triathlon and TriJuniors, http://www.TriJuniors.com

What: A FREE open-water swim clinic for parents and their high school aged kids, as well as Q&A with Coach Jim Vance about TriJuniors, to answer questions about the team, support, race and practice schedules, etc.

When: Sunday, June 28th, 1-2:30 PM

Where: Ventura Cove, Mission Bay Drive, (http://tinyurl. com/crm5vh) Map provided on flyer.

Flyer is available at this link: http://tinyurl.com/mruk4j

Food and drinks will be provided to all attending. Please RSVP to Jim Vance at jvance@trainingbible.com.

Please help us promote and grow the sport among high school youth with this free and fun event, and pass this information on.

Thanks!

Coach Vance

Introducing, TriJuniors

On June 21st, 2009, TriJuniors will be born. TriJuniors is committed to promoting and developing the sport of triathlon among high school age youth, (13-18), in a team atmosphere, from beginner to elite ability levels, based in San Diego.

Athletes in the TriJuniors program will build skills and learn goal setting and pursuing goals. With hard work and fun, young triathletes will build a healthy lifestyle from their experiences in this positive environment for personal growth both in the sport, and in life.

TriJuniors will also support certain athletes displaying a desire and potential ability to compete at the highest level of the sport for their age, with a more focused and determined training regimen and development protocol toward ITU draft-legal triathlon.


Yesterday, I spoke about my desires and passions to grow the sport, and there are few ways better to help grow the sport than bringing it to our youth. San Diego is the birthplace and mecca of the sport of triathlon, but bolsters not a single youth team or program in its area. In my opinion, that’s embarrassing and a shame. I have decided to change that.

This team is not just going to be a team of young athletes which trains and races though. This team will set the standard and raise the bar when it comes to utilizing and leveraging social media to bring about sponsors, promote current sponsors, and promote the sport. After all, the team will be made of teenagers, and they always seem to be ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and social media.

I am happy and proud to lead this charge, but I won’t be able to do it alone. I’m asking for your help in getting this team going, and making it happen. Here are ways you can help:

• Tell people you know about us! If you want to expose youth in San Diego to our sport, then tell them about us! Tell their parents too!
• Follow our Twitter account, @TriJuniors or http://twitter.com/TriJuniors
• Promote our Twitter account, especially on Follow Fridays
• Become a fan our Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/mdsce9
• Promote our Facebook page to others


So why the big social media push? Because this team will be directed at youth, giving them amazing experiences in the sport, and the more presence we have, the better the benefits and experiences we can deliver the kids involved in our program.

Our website development is a little behind schedule, (not surprising), but by next week you can see and follow us at www.TriJuniors.com. You can always follow us at the above mentioned social media pages. Registration for the team will be available on the website by next week, but in the meantime, parents interested in registering their kids will be able to do so by contacting me directly, at jvance@trainingbible.com.

Why does the season for the team only last 3 months? This is because the team is just getting started, and the summer months coincide with kids having the free time available to participate in the sport. It also helps to grow the team without as many conflicts with school sports programs. Eventually, I would like to see the team grow to a year-round program, but at this point I must start small. Also, there is no model for me to follow. I am creating the model for youth programs here in Southern California.

I also have no idea how well received this will be. I could have no kids at all, or just one. But if I have one, I will make it a great experience for that one! I could have 20. I am hopeful to get 10 kids for the season, but however many we get, we get.

Our race schedule will try to expose the kids to many different events, distances, and styles of racing, from non-drafting to draft-legal, Aquathlons to triathlons.

TriJuniors 2009 Race Schedule (Subject to change)

- Strawberry Fields Triathlon, July 19th, 2009 (Junior Elite Cup)
- TCSD Monthly Club Races
- TCSD Monthly Aquathlons
- Solana Beach Triathlon, July 26th, 2009
- Imperial Beach Triathlon, August 23rd, 2009
- Nautica Malibu Triathlon, September 19th & 20th, 2009


Membership for the season is $600. The season runs from June 21st to September 20th.

What do young triathletes get for $600?
- Coached workouts (minimum 2 per week, 4 max, depending on race schedule)
- FREE TrainingPeaks.com account, for training log and training plan
- Training plans built specific to their needs and race goals
- T-Shirts, apparel, and other TriJuniors specific items, (based on availability)
- Triathlon Club of San Diego Membership
- Potential sponsor products, (based on availability,)
- Sponsor discounts for young triathlete and their families
- Team environment for growing socially and physically
- Discounted race entry fees, (based on negotiated amounts)
- More to be announced as sponsorship deals are finalized

Due to the athlete numbers not being known at this point, sponsorships and the depth of sponsorships are still being negotiated. Stay tuned for more, because they will be announced as they get finalized.

So that’s the big announcement. More to come on this topic, and I am happy to answer questions here, or via Twitter and Facebook. So please help me spread the word!

Thanks for your support with this endeavor!

Coach Vance