Photo by Larry Rosa

“Ooh child, things are gonna get easier. Things will get brighter. some day day, yeah, we will put it together and get it done, when you head is much lighter. Some day we will walk in the rays of a beautiful sun, some day when the world is much brighter than right now.”

Yesterday we did the first ride in this area I ever did: the Puerta Del Sol, or the door to the sun. It didn’t disappoint as the sun was out the clouds vanished and the views from the high local passes showed the snow capped mountains and warm sea in different directions. I only road my bike a handful of times in the last 13 months and I feel myself getting stronger here daily.

We train here in two different ways. We have intervals, carefully calculated power outputs and constructed plans designed by coaches crunching numbers with algorithms and biofeedback.

We also just have “high adventures in the great outdoors.” (A book by Henry Rollins has that title) With brutal and awesome landscapes we simply design rides and try to survive them, pushing to keep up with the rider ahead. And like that we find our heart and mind find new numbers we didn’t know we could reach. We do more (way more) than we ever thought we could and the training becomes the test, event, and reward. People come here to train for races later on, and people come here because this is the event. Personally I love training this way because it makes it so much more fun. Way more fun than indoor rides in cold winters darkness.

I think it’s good to ask:do you want a finisher metal or really do you want and epic memory? I think the metal just codifies the memories. SLB is an epic memory factory that you carry with you in your legs for the rest of the season and in your mind (and social media) for the rest of your life.

The ride we did was 87 miles and 6700 feet of climbing (I added 13 miles and another 1000 feet to get in the century) and at the end of that you smile because you know you did something amazing. You love the experience and if you want you can go on to race your best later in the year.

I am accepting athletes for 2018. I only have 1 type of coaching: with limitless access to me, 100% custom, 100% individual training plan, interactive training log, and discounts on product sponsors.

I don’t have 1 size fits no-one plans. My coaching philosophy is that athletes are individuals who need individual plans, to help them get the most out of themselves. I believe that the best coaches need to listen more than talk. I believe that we need to build a partnership and relationship as athlete-coach to craft the best plan, workouts and strategies for making you the best you can be, while addressing all the issues that we all face (limited amount of time and energy.) You are a person, you have a full life, your training plan needs to reflect that.

For over a decade I have worked with hundreds of athletes and because of my two way communication I not only provided the best type of coaching but have learned and amassed a huge amount of feedback about what works and what doesn’t. I have read the science, read the training books, gone to the lectures, read the online information, but beyond that I have tested all of the science against the real world training: my coaching is based on where the lab meets the street (or pool), where the rubber meets the road. I also work closely with with heath counselor on diet, nutrition and other aspects of the plan along with strength and conditioning coaches and bring them on to help build and contribute to your plan so you plan is often the reflection of several people working together.

Lastly, I am a serious pro, with 10+ years on the pro rack. I am filled with passion, excitement, and love of the sport. Being the squad means not only getting a custom training plan, objective feed back, but also as much emotional, and motivational support as well; its a holistic, mind and body to approach to kicking ass. (You think you do race with just your legs and arms?)

I have taken athletes to world champioships (kona, ITU, USAT Nationals, 70.3 World Championships) and have gotten people that never thought they would finish ironman to the finish. I coach other pro triathlete elite runners, pro cyclists and ultra marathon champions but am just as excited to work with first timers looking to reach a goal. I want to work with anyone that wants to work, talent isn’t what I look for first. You bring a good attitude, I will bring knowledge, passion, and experience. You want to do this email me: evilracingcult [at] gmail [ dot] com ( don’t use the comment section here)

Oh and I am also the cheapest around, at only 115 dollars a month with no start up fees or other fees. I also have team deals saving over 50% off shoes, wetsuits, sunglasses and helmets. Moreover I use free software so you need not pay for any soft wear such as trainingpeaks.com or other sites.

RUNNERS:

I am also an ultra runner world champion and have coached others to ultra marathon wins and finishes. I have also worked with elite runners and marathon champions and countless runners to marathon finishes. So runners, PLEASE know I am here to coach you.

Email: evilracingcult@gmail.com to get started! 

“Let’s fly away into the light of a brand new sun.” – Bad Brains

We are, for better and worse, social creatures. We romanticize the lone wolf archetype but the reality is, we need each other to be our best, or to even be at all (in my other life as a part time public defender I have seen clients become intensely mentally ill when our in solitary confinement).

SLB seems to really support this idea: together we push ourselves more. We stop limiting ourselves and start reaching our potential and redefine what we thought was even possible. We go faster, rather and higher daily. Encouraged and even dared to reset our own expectations.

We do that here on purpose. We want you to leave here a different athlete. For the rest of your year and season and even career as an athlete you will forever know that you can do more than you thought you could. SLB is the landscape, the sun, the coaches and chef, but it’s first and foremost the squad, the people that come here and give to each other as much as they get. That was always our goal and I feel gratitude to everyone that helped us reach it.

Paz y amor.

Being a professional photographer has its perks. Meet interesting subjects, traveling to far out places and it’s always a new adventure.

Last week I found myself in southern Spain at the Strong Like Bull Training Camp, Andalusia, Spain

Since 2006, Strong Like Bull Training Camps (www.stronglikebulltraining.com) has brought together athletes from all over the world to share in the experience of training on challenging mountains while being encouraged by the awesomeness of this place. With a community spirit, a health food chef, pro athletes and other supportive athletes, you have a one-of-a-kind community of people who are mixing getting fit with a grand adventure. Add sunshine and warmth, while most of the Northern Hemisphere is frozen and cold, and you have the best trip with a bike you can find.

Andalusia, Spain is steeped in myth and magic. 5000-year-old Iberian temples, 1200-year-old Roman arches, the 600-year-old Moorish Alhambra Palace, 300-year-old Catholic cathedrals; Spain’s rich history and culture make pushing pedals here part-training and part-ride through living history. Equal to all of that is the natural wonder and breathtaking landscape of the area, from dramatic mountains to endless green fields. This is one of the most sublime places on earth.

Amazing photos by Larry Rosa here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/UltimateSportsGuide/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1745020262226359

“Yo he estado aqui muchas veces antes y regreso” – AFI (I have been here many times before and I return)

I finally am swimming for real, after a long break to focus on OCR racing. It feels great. I never thought I would missing swimming as it’s a bit of the more mind numbing of the three sports. But with a masters style workout the meters pass easier, and are more fun.

I am also just enjoying doing different things. Sports was always more about an adventure than a vocation for me. I like that SLB feels that way too. We train, but we also explore. We mix hard work with a sense of adventure and excitement to see cool things and experience a new place. If your the kind of athlete that misses seeing a rainbow over an ancient volcano because you are looking at your power meter, maybe your missing part of the fun?

But here is the thing: the more fun you make training the more you train. The more you train the better you are. So in the end, fun is very serious.

As I pack up my things for the 2018 trip to kick off training for the year, I don’t know where to start this post because I spent most of last year writing for the Warrior Pak blog ( I will still proudly be using there gear for OCR!). I am gonna skip a whole bunch, because all of 2017 was insane. I got divorced, I won a third Spartan Race Ultra Beast world title. I felt great going into the ironman in Israel but had bike problems (my fault because I built my bike and didn’t do the headset right and had death wobble) and wasted a great swim and good run. I did well at some other OCR races too. But as the year ended I knew I wanted to return to tri in 2018 so here I am back on the bike and will be in the pool again. With the re-boot of tri, I figured it was time for a re-boot of the blog!

Training this year got off to a slow start as I had to heal a broken ankle (and heart) and torn ligament that I raced through most of 2017. But the break was mentally good for me too, I was tired from the Israman winters and OCR summers so starting 2018 off with rest was good.

What wasn’t good was the amount of break n bake cookies I ate! And dollar pizza. So in the 10 weeks I was off, I put on 10 lbs plus I had 5 pounds of muscle from OCR that I need to drop for tri. I got about 1/2 that weight off now before heading to SLB because I knew the mountains of Spain aren’t getting any smaller.

I picked up some new sponsors: check out Energy Bust Gels, MYN Choice Cycling stuff and Boston Common Coffee!

Spartan World Title

Join a great team!

Want to support kids with cancer? Want free entry into some of the best races and camps? Want free coaching from me? Join www.teamcontinuum.net and get all of that!

We have Races for the Sold out NYC Marathon, Berlin Marathon, and NYC Triathlon. We also have spots for the Chicago half marathon and Boston Half Marathon. Lastly we now have spots for www.stronglikebulltraining.com My famed winter Spanish training camps! Join us!