Thursday, March 29, 2007

MdS - Blast from the Past!

Hello Everyone,

Here are a few more photos I have come across from past years...I'm looking forward to sharing photos from this year when they become available!

Lisa




Aran and Rob!
I guess some people still find a place for calisthenics in the desert!

Hanging out together!


The Ahansal Brothers!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

MdS - Blast from the Past!

Hi Everyone!
As I wait for results from the Long Day, I have been looking through photos from past years. Thought I'd share a few I came across.
Enjoy and tomorrow - we'll have an update from the 2007 race!
Lisa
ps - Update on my own training...things are going great! I am in sunny Arizona and more than a little relieved to be away from the snow (I hear the Teton Pass was closed today - unbelievable!) The mountains are just gorgeous here in Tucson - they remind me so much of Mt Whitney. How great a place for Badwater training! Ironman Arizona is just over two weeks away and I am really happy to be getting in time on my bike outside.



Jay and I - the year we met at Marathon des Sables!





Bob Sitler - Texas Style!



Bob & Nattu - happy as ever!




Becca - Ready to Rock 'N Roll!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

MdS Update

Hello Everyone,

Sounds like the Dreamchasers are doing great out there in the Sahara! Hopefully they are all off to sleep right not, and hopefully the cold temperatures they have been reporting for the night times aren't too bad. Jay continues to lead the Americans and from looking at the results, it looks like our team from California did some great training. Lia, Nicholas, and Pierra are doing great - Team for Kids should be proud!

I also need to acknowledge Terry Madl. Every day I look at his results and am so happy for him! Terry has been training very hard for this event and his fitness has been going through the roof. His hard work is paying off!

Click here for the current results for Dreamchasers after the third stage...tomorrow's results will be very interesting, too - as they represent the LONG stage. According to www.darbaroud.com, the stage will be "70.5km, run over two days for some and during part of the night for everyone. Competitors leave in 2 groups: the first at 9H00 and the second consisting of the top fifty runners in the general plus the top five women leave at midday. Love it or hate it, it’s often the most decisive stage of the MARATHON DES SABLES."

Stay tuned!

Monday, March 26, 2007

MdS Update




Hello Everyone!

The MdS competitors are now competing in the second day of the 2007 MdS race. After reading the results last night, I am over the moon about the Dreamchasers start! Of course, Mds is a stage race and day # 1 is very early...but I do need to share a little bit of my pride about my husband, Jay. He finished day # 1 as the first American in the rankings, 3hr 51min, in place # 118. Day One covered 29.3 km.

Three of the women I coach did exceptionally well, too. Sandy McCallum was in place # 231, with a time of 4hr 35min. Elizabeth Smith was in place # 410, with a time of 5hr 19min 50sec. Patrice Clapacs was in place # 411, with a time of 5hr 19min 51sec. Great going, gals!

And the second day of the race is well in progress, with temporary results already being posted on the official race website: www.darbaroud.com It looks like the Ahansal brothers are once again giving each other a run for the money! I still remember when they came to visit Jay and I in New Jersey some years ago. They are amazing men and they loved to bowl - something they did for the first time with us!

Reading about the conditions of the race brings back a lot of memories. Hearing that it was a very cold evening before the first stage didn't surprise me. That's a big challenge at MdS - the temps swing.

I will write more tonight when the full results come in for day # 2. I know you join me when we think about our racers and the experience they are jumping into!

Happy Feet!

Lisa

Here is a link to check the results of the race:
http://www.darbaroud.com/resultats/resultats.php?epreuve_id=3&langue=en

Friday, March 23, 2007

MdS Update (Fri, Mar 23 at 11:35am mountain)

You Can Now Write to Competitors!
Remember how much I said that MdS racers love to receive messages each night? Well, now you can start sending messages to them! Click on this link:

http://www.darbaroud.com/uk/html/mds/general/uk_22mds_ecrire.php

* Please note that you may need to copy and paste this link into your Internet address bar if it does not appear when you click on the above link. You can also get to the English version of this website by visiting the main address (www.darbaroud.com) and clicking on the British/American flag icon that appears in the website header, immediately to the right of the word, ‘Contact’. On this page, there is a direct link to send e-mails to competitors. One way or another, we are going to get mail to our Dreamchaser racers, right!!!

**You'll need to supply your family/friend's race # to make sure they get the message. I have supplied the race numbers for each Dreamchaser competitor in my last Blog entry.


Dreamchasers Already Making News
The race hasn't even started and Dreamchasers are already making news. Read this NY Times article about Jeremy Colgan's unfortunate flight delays.


And click here to learn about how Dreamchaser racers Piera Damonte, Lia Farley and Nicholas Wickes are dedicating their race. You know how I love charities that help kids!

ps - Here are a few quick links to help you navigate the official MdS website:

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Marathon des Sables 2007 – The Story Begins…


Hello Everyone…

As promised, I’ll be checking in with the Blog here to give updates about this year’s Marathon des Sables. I am not at the race this year, but my husband Jay and 61 Dreamchaser clients have arrived and will be competing in the 22nd edition of the MDS Race.

It’s a magical race and I will try to offer you some insight as the race progresses.

There was a great article about the race in the Albuquerque Journal, written by Jennifer Hoffman. Jay and I met Jennifer in Santa Fe and shared dinner with this great writer. We are so pleased she will be a Dreamchaser participant in the 2008 MdS race. Click here to read Jennifer’s article and learn more about the MdS race.

Here is a list of the Dreamchasers we’ll be cheering for – along with their race numbers. When the official race begins, the race website (http://www.darbaroud.com/) will have a place where you can send an e-mail to an MdS competitor that will be delivered to them in the evenings. It’s tough for competitors to send e-mails (they must wait on very long lines and can only send one e-mail at a time), but anyone who has done the race will tell you that hearing from your loved ones after finishing a tough stage is PRICELESS!

I’ll be posting more MdS updates!

Have a great day everyone,

Lisa



Competitor & Race #
ABDEL AHAD, Antoine (No.485)
ALLEN, Anita (No.486)
BACON, Shaun Mathew (No.487)
BALDOCK, Peter (No.489)
BARFIELD, Dominic Martin (No.490)
BATCHEN, Gerald (No.492)
BECK, Mary (No.493)
BENJAMIN, Elad (No.494)
BRIGGS, Laura (No.495)
CHAMBERS, Charles Andrew (No.496)
CHAVDA, Atul (No.497)
CLAPACS, Patrice (No.498)
COHEN, Andrew (No.499)
COLES, Lan (No.500)
COLGAN, Jeremy Spencer (No.501)
COVER, Jack (No.502)
CROSS, Andrew Mark (No.503)
DAMONTE, Piera (No.504)
DESHAIES, Eric (No.505)
DEVER, Thomas (No.506)
DUBE, Richard (No.507)
ELEK, Peter Anthony (No.508)
FARLEY, Lia (No.509)
FEARS, Timothy (No.510)
HEATH, Dianna Kay (No.512)
HEILMAN, James (No.513)
INMAN, Richard (No.514)
JACKSON, Malcolm (No.515)
JEWELL, Jack Lee (No.516)
KENDALL, Danny (No.517)
KRIMINS, Ethan (No.518)
KULYK, Jewel (No.519)
LARABIE, Jocelyn (No.520)
LEE, Moon JA (No.521)
LEE, Yoon Soo (No.522)
LIEBENBERG, Paul (No.523)
LUXFORD, Toby (No.525)
MADL, Terence (No.526)
MARCOUX, Ghislain (No.527)
MARTIN, Leslie Renee (No.528)
McCALL Jr, Grover Carlton (No.529)
McCALLUM, Sandy (No.530)
McKINLEY, Cliff (No.531)
McMURRAY, Lindsey (No.532)
MURRAY, Andrew (No.533)
NEWMAN, Elizabeth (No.534)
NEWMARCH, Giles (No.535)
PI, Jerry (No.536)
RICARD, Isabelle (No.537)
ROGATO, Leo (No.539)
RUBERTO, Tony (No.540)
SILCOCK, Alan Peter (No.543)
SMITH, Elizabeth (No.544)
SPISS SETZER, Ulrike (No.545)
SUTTON, Anna (No.546)
SUTTON, David (No.547)
TOMADA, Patrick (No.548)
TREPANIER, Lyzane (No.549)
WALKER, Nicholas (No.550)
WICKES, Nicholas (No.552)
WINTON, Paul (No.553)
WOOD, William (No.554)

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Olympic trials!!

Our MIKE WARDIAN is going to the trials! What a great phone call this weekend with this news!!! Go Mike Go!

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=121345&ran=300033

Shamrock marathoners qualify for U.S. Olympic trials

The Virginian-Pilot(c) March 19, 2007Last updated: 9:59 PMOlympic trials, here they come.

Three runners at the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on Sunday,including two from Virginia, qualified for the United States Olympictrials.It was the second day of gusting winds pushing against elite runners andleprechauns as they raced toward the finish line near King Neptune'sstatue.Genna Tufa, men's marathon winner.
"The plan was just to go out conservatively," said first-time marathonerCheryl Anderson of Richmond, the women's overall winner. "I didn'treallyknow what to expect."A former college runner, she won in 2:42:52, well below her goal of 2:45andthe 2:47 required to qualify for the women's Olympic trials.
Coming off an excellent finish at the Colonial WilliamsburgHalf-Marathon,the William and Mary graduate was a favorite to win.Anderson, 25, ran most of the race alone after seeing her time at the8-milemark. It was just slow enough, she said, to nudge her into a faster paceanda few negative splits as she pulled away from the women.
"It was rough running into the wind, but I felt really good," saidAnderson,a student at the Medical College of Virginia.She said she will run another marathon in the fall to get ready for thetrials in April 2008 in Boston.Susan Barth, 26, of Bluffton, Ind., and Eileen Combs, 29, ofSchenectady,N.Y., rounded out the top three women. Barth finished in 2:55:48, Combsin2:56:11.
The top local finisher among the women was Jenn Shelton, 23, of VirginiaBeach, who took fifth place with a time of 3:00:21.Ethiopian Genna Tufa, 22, won the men's race, keeping a comfortable leadtoward the end, and coming in at 2:20:35.
In second and third places, Nathan Usher, 24, and Michael Wardian, 32,respectively, ran Olympic trial qualifying times of 2:21:20 and 2:21:37.
"The wind was really bad," said Usher, who chose the Shamrock because itisa fast course."With this wind, I wouldn't have been able to qualify without Neal andWardian."Usher, of Lansing, Mich., and Wardian, of Arlington, were part of agroup ofelite runners willing to share the workload in order to qualify.

"Cherish the past; Embrace the present, and Welcome the future. Celebrate Life!"



Have a wonderful day
Lisa

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Smiles!!!

Good morning. It is a beautiful sunny day here in the Tetons! My training will be to swim 1 mile, bike an easy 1:30 and then run for 45 min. easy. Not a bad day a the office:)

One of my coaching students Dr. James Simone went on one of the most amazing bike trips I have read about. He shares his story with us about his trip to "Laos" one of the last unspoiled countries left in the world! Go to the link below for photos and his story.


www.lisasmithbatchen.com/jim_simone_smiles.pdf

James has run many races and climbed many mountains:) This year I will get to see him on June 9th in Pittsfield Vermont and then again at the Desert Rats race!


On a side note I have a coaching student who is looking for a pacer for the Western States 100!
Adam Watters, this will be his first.
If you are interested please email Adam at lucrecia.watters@ge.com

Have a wonderful day
Lisa

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Congrats to Tess and Sandy!



Tess and Sandy have completed the Libyan Challenge in just over 68 hours!!

They even had to endure a 9 hour sand storm!!

In Feb. Tess ran her first 50 mile race with her back pack on so this is an amazing accomplishment.
Sandy is now in Morocco getting ready to run the Marathon des Sables..again!

You go girl's!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

World 100k Championships

Happy day to you all.

I just got back from the pool! My best swimming does not come at night but it seems to fit with our life right now. I make dinner and help gets the kids ready before I leave. The pool closes at 9pm here so most nights I go swim it is quiet and I have my own lane:)

Dinner time around our house is usually lot's of fun. I look to cook:) We always eat dinner as a family. This is how it was for me growing up as well as Jay. Meal time is such a great time to communicate about your day!

Below is information about the World 100k for both men and women 35 years and older. I am sure this will be a great event for some of you to think about!



Racing world 100K championships are a thrilling and proud opportunity in an ultrarunning career. If you want to participate in a ultra world championship, you can join the US Masters Team competing in the 2007 World Masters Athletics 100K in Holland on September 8th. At the WMA 100K championship men and women age 35+ compete in 5-year age groups. The 2007 championship is held in conjunction with the IAU 100K World Cup, the Dutch National Championship 100K, and the European Championship 100K providing masters team members the opportunity to race with contenders for titles in all of those events. WMA 100K championships are not scheduled every year so if you are interested, take advantage of this 2007 opportunity since the venue in Holland is well organized and an easier and more economical race to travel to than some distant world championships.

USA Track and Field designates the team and encourages masters participation through a US presence at the championship. USATF uniforms are available to WMA 100K team members. There are no qualifying standards for US team members other than masters status, US citizenship, and USATF membership. For information about team membership, a funding option, and the world championship, contact: Lorraine Gersitz, USATF MUT Running Council, Masters LDR Representative or go to http://www.cerritos.edu/lgersitz/IMAF/Events.htm.

If you are running Badwater 135 or have any desire to learn a great deal about crewing the book below that my friends Theresa and Denise wrote is a must read!

Theresa Daus-Weber
Death Valley Ultras: The Complete Crewing Guide
By Theresa Daus-Weber and Denise Jones
www.lulu.com/DVultraguide

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Good information

Good morning!

Spring is in the air:) The winter months have been very hard for me to be honest..the cold is just not good for depression. But..I am feeling really good. My cross training is starting to pay off and I feel strong in many ways.
Sunday I was able to ride my bike outside for over 3 hours, today I will be able to get out again.
April 15th I will take part in Ironman AZ and at this point I know I can go the distance in all 3 sports.

Those of you who know Colleen who works for us here at Dreamchaser's is also doing the Ironman. I think it is time for me to brag a bit about Colleen:)
Colleen has lost over 30 pounds since I started coaching her and she now work's for us.
She has gone through many stages in her training but the one thing I can say is watching her have a best time in the NYC marathon, run the RR 50 mile race, about to toe the line at IM AZ and then one week after this run Desert Springs Ultra.
Determination don't you think:)
It has not been easy to train for an Ironman living in the snow, we are on spin bikes most of the time but I can tell you this..the lean mean Colleen Woods is going to knock the socks off the Ironman course.

She has gone from an ok swimmer in the pool to one who glides through the water. She has gone from an ok on the bike to a push it Colleen your not working hard enough to on the run she can keep up with me!!! Needless to say..we are very proud of Colleen.

Below is great information. It is writen about deciding to compete in rowing but it also says much about what I try to tell all my students..!!!


Deciding to Compete

Marlene Royle, OTR

Racing is hard work. It requires discipline, dedication, risk-taking, and mental toughness. There are many reasons why scullers race or train for performance. Knowing why you race is part of setting goals and better prepares you for achieving the goals you set. Here are a few reasons to consider if you are making a decision whether or not to start competing:

Racing can be very satisfying. The more effort you have put into preparing for an event, the greater rewards you receive for sculling a well-executed race.

Effort equals achievement. In sculling, if you apply yourself, train wisely, and stay healthy you will improve and get faster.

Racing is fun. Being part of the racing scene is an ideal way to enjoy camaraderie with other scullers your age. Although competition is often fierce, scullers share great respect for one another.

Testing the unknown. Unless you enter a race and go down the course you won't know your potential. When you sit at the starting line, you never know exactly what's going to happen between the start and the finish. You have to row the race to find out and gain the experience.

Finding your personal limits and striving to do your absolute best.

Setting Goals

You must have an overall plan and an idea how you are going to achieve what you want to do this season. Your goals and visions are what fuel you during those tough moments in training or a race when you have to push your limits. Take some time to evaluate your goals and write them down. Goals can be stated in simple language and be based on your past performances, rate of improvement, competition dates and priority of training factors (physical, technical, tactical, or psychological components). Set subjective goals and objective goals.

Subjective goals are more open by nature such as:

Improve bladework.
Develop better sense of rhythm at higher stroke rates.
Learn to focus on one stroke at a time-better concentration.
Objective goals are distinctly measurable such as:
Improve 2k erg score from 8:00 to 7:50 by April 01.
Decrease body fat percentage from 17 to 15% in 4 months.
Write your goals down in your logbook. Define three subjective goals and three objective goals for the upcoming season. Always begin your goal with a verb such as: improve, develop, decrease, or learn.

Draw up a plan. You need to make a road map, generally and specifically, how you will get from where you are today to where you want to be.

Setting short-term weekly or monthly goals will help you break your goals down into achievable steps. Review your goals and determine what you need to do for each. Set yourself up for success at each stage to build confidence and reach your long-term goal. To row a 2k erg in 7:15 you need to accomplish 7:19, 7:18, or 7:16 first. Put one foot in front of the other at every stage.
Collaborate with a coach or come to sculling camp.

A good coach can give you valuable objective advice combined with a more informed perspective. Helping you determine realistic goals and outlining a plan together are other benefits of coaching. Written materials and the Internet provide good training information but may not be specifically tailored to meet your needs. Try to talk to an advisor that can review your personal situation.

Be flexible. Once you outline a plan realize that it is simply that-an outline. At times outside stresses may interfere with your plan or your response to the volume of training may be different that you anticipate then you'll need to make modifications. You may need to incorporate more rest or more work depending on whether you are making positive adaptations to your training.

Make wise daily decisions based on your goals if you have limited training time and must prioritize your training elements. Spend time on the elements that will improve your sculling the most.

Marlene Royle, OTR is the co-author of Skillful Rowing



**You need to check out this photo of one of my students feet at her last race!!

http://www.mcrrc.org/photos/20070303_gwtm_muddy_shoes_dl-1018.jpg


Have a great day
Lisa

Thursday, March 08, 2007

New Blog

Good morning!

The past 2 day's in the Tetons were amazing..sunny and warm enough to get outside on my road bike:) You know this makes me smile.

Winter months seem to be harder as I get older with depression so I welcome the sun and the warmth!

Training is going great this week thanks to being able to meet friends...Barb Linquist is already back to working out just 2 months after having twins, she is my inspiration as well as my friend Ray who listens to my heart about my own training!
Mike and Colleen are also kicking my butt:)

I love the bike..it feels good to work hard.

Here is a new blog of one of my coaching students Larry. I think he has some wonderful things to say. http://farmboyrunning.blogspot.com

Great quote:

“It is not death or dying that is tragic, but rather to have existed without fully participating in life – that is the deepest personal tragedy.”
-Ed Abbey, Confessions of a Barbarian


Jay will be leaving on the 19th for Marathon Des Sables. I will be doing daily updates on my blog and web site about how Jay and the other 60 runner's he is taking to the race this year..It is going to be thrilling! I will not be going this year and will sure miss it, this is one of my favorite races.
Our 17 month old has had so many health issues and she is not able to fly or travel right now so I will be right here or somewhere warm with my kids rooting for Jay and the rest of the runner's. Gabby our 17 month old is going to be just fine but she has had a rough start in life..the Doctors have finally fiqured out her health issues and she is on the mend, Thank you God for this!
MDS is one of my most favorite events!!

Have a wonderful day
Lisa

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Ironman

Good morning!

Ironman training in the winter is not that easy:) Many day's I tell myself it's ok to not to the race and the other day's I tell myself it's just an Ironman!!
I know many of us go back and forth and over and over our goals wondering if we are in good enough shape.
At this point in my life I am not out to compete in the races I am going to participate.

On Monday I got an email from my friend Ray who has raced IM AZ twice and then from another friend of his.
I was telling them about my lack of miles on the bike as he was telling me that he just did a 110 mile ride outdoors with some athletes going to IM AZ!! My bike has seen the road twice and it won't see 110 miles before this IM event but hey I know I can run,,,right!

Below is a short email they sent to me on Monday and I sat here at my computer laughing so hard!!


***I'll keep and eye on you via Ironman Live come race-day to make sure you don't just toss that bike aside as "unnecessary baggage" and run the damn thing :)

You know, I never thought about it like that..run the thing:) Ha..My bike won't get lost because I will drive to AZ, so looks like I better get to the gym and make the 5 am spin class!! I am motivated now:) Thanks Ray and Joe!


Next I want to share a new web site with you. This web site is my wonderful and long time friend sister Marybeth Lloyds whom I have raised money for over the years and will continue to do so.
Take a look at the site and if you want to read about the things Dreamchasers has done go to the special thanks.
http://www.aidsorphansrising.org/flashindex.html

Have a great day
Lisa