Ironman Pro Series Takes the Stage

Swim the Chicago River, Marathoners to Start Paying Bridge Tolls, and more endurance news

👋 Good morning and happy race week, friends. Welcome to the Front Pack newsletter, your source for all things endurance. We bring you the top stories, headlines, deals and highlights from the week. Click here for the web edition.

For a lot of triathletes across the country, Ironman 70.3 Oceanside and 70.3 Texas represent the start of their season. Set for Saturday and Sunday, more than 6,000 amateur athletes will compete, all getting a glimpse into how months of training and preparation turned out. I’m one of those athletes. Excited (and stressed) to hit my stretch goal time in Texas. Good luck to everyone racing!

Stay moving…✌🏼 – Scott

Headlines

🏊🚴🏃 A Loaded Oceanside: After a successful T100 Miami last month, the new Ironman Pro Series gets it’s shot to wow competitors and spectators alike this Saturday (4/6). With a prize purse of $50,000 on the line, more than 40 professional woman, and 80 pro men are set to hit the starting line. The race in its entirety can be streamed live and free on OutsideTV beginning at 6 a.m. PT/ 9 a.m. ET [Ironman]

🚴 King amongst Mortals: Mathieu van der Poel crushed his rivals to claim a third Tour of Flanders title last week. With 28 miles left, the Dutchman kicked off a brutal solo assault that left everyone more than a minute behind him when all was said and done. Van der Poel now has five Monument titles to his name. [The Guardian]

🚴 Broken: It’s been a rough go for pro cycling as we’ve seen multiple crashes resulting in broken bones and lost riders. The latest is brutal. On Thursday, Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard was stretchered from the roadside after a big crash during Tour of Basque, resulting in a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. [BBC]

Meanwhile

🏃 Marathoners to Pay…Tolls?: If it’s up to New York City, they want the organizers of New York City’s marathon to pay $750,000 a year, citing the steep loss of bridge toll revenues for closing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Staten Island-Brooklyn connection that has served as the starting point for the race for decades. [CNN]

🏊 Swim the Chicago: For the first time in 100 years, 500 participants will swim the Chicago River this September. Focused on raising funds for ALS research and swim programs for at-risk youth, the planning took more than 12 years and just recently was approved by the US Coast Guard. Awesome event if you can get an invite. [Chicago Sun-Times]

🏃 Barkley to get Harder: Gary “Laz” Cantrell, the founder and race director of the famously difficult Barkley Marathons 100 mile ultramarathon promises a harder course in 2025 after five participants crossed the finish line this year. [Letsrun]

🏃 Race Szn Super Shoes: There’s no better feeling than slipping into some carbon race shoes and hitting a PR. Check out what the experts are calling the 17 best carbon-plated super shoes on the market this season. [FootwearNews]

Fueling Plan

My 2024 Ironman season kicks off Sunday at IM 70.3 Galveston. Locked in and aiming for a time of 4:45 after going 4:54 in 2023, wind is always an issue on this course but because it is an out and back, I’m likely to get half with a tail wind and half with a head wind. So that means 28 miles of flying, and 28 miles of grinding. The forecast is showing 18mph gusts but with weather, it’s always anyone’s guess. Regarding my fueling, I’ll go with RAW endurance (sbaldwin for a discount) as it’s been great on my stomach and will take in SIS Go gels on the bike. For the run, it’s a hand bottle for the first 4 miles, aid stations, and CAF Maurten for added boost.

Will keep everyone posted on my race and recap next week.

Deals and Steals

💸💸💸 Oakley ARO5 MIPS helmet: It’s not often you see Oakley products on sale and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any MIPS helmet as cheap as this. At $74.95, this is a huge deal for a great looking helmet.

💸 Garmin Edge 540: At $299, that’s $50 off your everyday price. When compared to the larger and more expensive 1000 series, this Garmin compact GPS cycling computer offers targeted adaptive coaching when used with your compatible power meter and heart rate monitor.

Training Tips

🏊 Why Am I Exhausted After Swimming 50 meters: Get answers as to why your swimming may be so hard, and how you can improve it.

🏃 How To Run Your First Ultra Marathon– Training Plan and Long Runs: Running an ultramarathon is no joke and requires lots of training or else it’s going to be a bad, bad time. Find out how to train.

🏃6 Running Tips To Get You Started: GTN takes viewers through pacing, if walking is ever ok, setting goals, getting comfortable, technique, and why comparisons are ill-advised.

The Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

🚴 The Underdog Story: An inside look at Project Echelon, a pro US cycling team during the Tour de la Provence. Get unique insights with team members as they make the transition from American to European cycling.

🚴 A Couple Screws Loose – Tennessee Mountain Biking: A light-hearted look at two friends who take on 3 of the hardest gravel trails over 3 consecutive days, amounting to 360 miles.