Chris Leiferman - IM Florida Ready

Our guest this week is pro triathlete Chris Leiferman. He too has been on a winning streak and we wanted to catch up with him on his recent W at the Great Floridian and the Wildcard spot he has secured for Daytona.  Chris Leiferman is one of the most exciting talents on the long distance triathlon scene. Chris had an outstanding year in 2018 winning two Ironman events (Ironman Boulder and Ironman Louisville) and securing his qualification for the 2019 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Leiferman is ready to build on this successful year and his 2019 goals include but aren't limited to an Ironman distance win, a 70.3 win, and a top 10 finish at Kona. Show Sponsor: VENGA Thanks to Venga CBD for sponsoring today's show.  Venga is a premium CBD that will improve your athletic performance by helping reduce inflammation and anxiety.  Read the Venga blog - 5 WAYS TO BUST STRESS HEADING INTO THE HOLIDAYS   Venga CBD products stand above other products because they are made for endurance athletes here in Colorado with the highest quality hemp. All their products are THC free, with the highest bioavailability of any CBD.  Venga has a no-risk, 60-day, money-back guarantee.  It's easy to order online and have delivered right to your door.   Get yours at https://vengaendurance.com/303podcast/.  Get 30% off your first order with promo code - 303podcast.  Subscribe and save 15% on future orders.   In Today's Show Feature interview with Chris Leiferman What New in the 303 - Without Limits Cyclocross CX in Broomfield, Why (Jessica Whirt) likes indoor riding and tips for keeping it fun and effective Endurance News - Valencia World Cup Triathlon (Blummenfelt), Lionel Sanders takes the CA 1 hour distance record   Interview with Chris Leiferman: Chris Leiferman is one of the most exciting talents on the long distance triathlon scene. Chris had an outstanding year in 2018 winning two Ironman events (Ironman Boulder and Ironman Louisville) and securing his qualification for the 2019 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Leiferman is ready to build on this successful year and his 2019 goals include but aren't limited to an Ironman distance win, a 70.3 win, and a top 10 finish at Kona. Makes sense what Chris said about the 20 meter no draft zone giving the long distance an advantage and put ITU contenders at a disadvantage.   Our News is sponsored by Buddy Insurance. Buddy Insurance is the kind of peace of mind you need as an active outdoor enthusiast.  Buddy's mission is simple, to help people fearlessly enjoy an active and outdoor lifestyle.  You can now get on-demand accident insurance to make sure you get cash for bills fast and fill any gaps between your current coverage.  Go to buddyinsurance.com and create an account.  There's no commitment or charge to create one.  Once you have an account created, it's a snap to open your phone and in a couple clicks have coverage for the day.  Check it out!   Endurance News: Ironman Florida   Valencia gears up for final World Cup of 2020 The unpredictable 2020 World Triathlon season comes to a close on Saturday in the city of Valencia when the final sprint-distance World Cup of the year takes to Spain's east coast. This may only be the fourth World Cup able to be held in the past ten months, but the standard of racing has been incredible with world number ones, Olympic Champions and legends of the sport taking the precious opportunities to gather on the blue carpet. This weekend promises to follow suit, with World Champion Vincent Luis wearing the number one in a men's race that includes the likes of Alistair Brownlee, Henri Schoeman and Gustav Iden.  Switzerland's double Olympic medallist Nicola Spirig will be one to watch in a wide-open women's race and on a pan-flat course where Lisa Tertsch and Verena Steinhauser could challenge.  The race starts with a 750m, one lap swim of Valencia Marina, transitioning into a 4-lap, 20km bike around the edge of the harbour. The 5km run follows exactly the same route for just one circuit and you can watch all the action as it unfolds on TriathlonLIVE.tv. Women's Race Saturday 7 November, 2.15pm CET First to line up will be the elite women, led by Verena Steinhauser. The Italian has been in sparkling form with a top 10 in Karlovy Vary followed by bronze in Arzachena thanks to a lightening bike segment. Despite several third places at this level the top two podium places have eluded Steinhauser to now. This could be the race to change that. Germany's Lisa Tertsch again proved she is one of the fastest out there over 5km, scoring comfortably the fastest splits in the last two races in Sardinia and Karlovy Vary. A good swim here could see a first return to the World Cup podium since her brilliant gold in Antwerp last year. Olympic Champion in 2012, silver medallist in 2016, Nicola Spirig picks up the path towards a possible fifth Games in Tokyo with only a first World Cup appearance of the year to test where her race-readiness is before what should be a huge 2021 of racing for the Swiss star. Two Brazilians with solid races in Karlovy Vary, Luisa Baptista and Djenyfer Arnold, will be looking to close out 2020 in positive fashion, while Britain's Beth Potter was in sizzling form on both bike and run in Arzachena to seal a silver that will leave her full of confidence in Valencia. A predictably strong Spanish contingent will be spearheaded by Anna Godoy Contreras, Xisca Tous and Sara Perez Sala, with a host of local talent taking the opportunity of some World Cup start experience on home turf. Mexico's Michelle Flipo scored European Cup bronze up the coast in Barcelona at the end of October and will be raring to go, Australia's Natalie van Coevorden continues to fly the flag for Oceania and also just needs a good position off the bike to mount a serious challenge for the medals.   Full women's start list here. Men's Race Saturday 7 November, 4.45pm CET It is hard to look beyond France's Vincent Luis as the favourite to land a fourth successive 2020 gold in Valencia, but the men's start list continues to pack in big names that will be ready to pounce if the Frenchman shows any - however unlikely - signs of end-of-year weariness. Luis has been able to hit the front from the first strokes of the swim since the return to racing and whether flat or hilly, sprint or standard distance, nothing has stood in his way. It was Kristian Blummenfelt who pushed him closest in Italy a month ago, where a tough bike climb played to the Norwegians strengths. Teammate Gustav Iden would also be more at home in the hills but will be looking for an explosive showing on the flat roads of Valencia. South Africa's Henri Schoeman made his return to the blue carpet in Sardinia, and continues to gradually test his early Olympic preparations, while Jelle Geens will have his eye on another trademark rapid 5km finale to put himself into contention and could be one of the few who can stretch Luis over the closing stages of the run if still in touch. Alistair Brownlee's continues along the path to a second defence of his Olympic title and knows that more displays like October's in Arzachena will put him in prime contention for a spot on the GB team alongside his brother. Antonio Serrat Seoane and Genis Grau will be looking to put together big races in their native Spain, USA's Tony Smoragiewicz and Brazilian Manoel Messias among the talents who could be pushing for a podium spot at the pointy end of the race. Full men's start list here. Ironman triathlete Lionel Sanders sets Canadian record for distance cycled in an hour Lionel Sanders struck a blow for triathletes in the elite cycling ranks by breaking the Canadian hour record. The Ironman triathlete from Windsor, Ont., rode 51.304 kilometres in 60 minutes Friday at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre velodrome in Milton, Ont. Track cyclist Ed Veal held the previous record of 48.587 km set in the same velodrome in 2017. "My glutes are fried," Sanders told The Canadian Press from his car en route back to Windsor. "They don't work anymore." Despite horrific bike crash, Para-cyclist Kate O'Brien refuses to quit chasing her dreams The world record of 55.089 km was set in 2019 by Belgian pro cyclist Victor Campenaerts, who is currently competing in the Giro d'Italia stage race. "I know my position in the hierarchy, but I hope that the cyclists appreciate that triathlon cycling has come a long way," Sanders said. "We're not completely at the level that the single-sport athletes are, but we're not that far off." The 32-year-old averaged 17.194 seconds per lap over 205 on a solo ride in a nearly empty building. The event was streamed live on YouTube.   What's New in the 303: New Broomfield Cyclocross Venue Rousing Success Colorado has more racing per capita than most any other state and the quality of the racing here is hard to beat. There is top talent like national champions Katie Compton and Eric Brunner who won the women's and mens open respectfully. Carlos Casali made the trip from Wisconsin and took the men's 40+ open victory. (check out this podcast 303 recorded with Carlos this week to learn about his life, his training regiment—he has ridden over 20,000 miles this year).   When Lance Panigutti found out the Sienna Lake venue was not going to be available in 2020, the city of Broomfield presented another option tucked in a business park just north of highway 36  and east of Highway 287.  "I like this area, it has good parking and amenities and room to expand. Its in an industrial park area with little impact on the city or public recreation areas. I'm quite pleased with how this turned out, I only wish the big run up challenge was a little closer," said Lance. "The city was great to work with and I'm excited for this venue in the future."   Why You Might Love Zwifting Too Winter's coming.  Which means it's time to pull out the cold riding gear and put away summer gear. Or is it? Well, if you race on Zwift or ride indoors, you don't have to switch out your riding clothes. And that's one of the many reasons why I'm a proponent of Zwift.   Why I Like Riding Indoors Let me first start off by saying I love riding outside and I like riding indoors. I also wouldn't propose riding inside if I didn't use an app like Zwift. Here's why I enjoy riding indoors on Zwift:   I get to work on my weaknesses My two biggest weaknesses are climbing and sprinting. And you need to do both if you want to do well in a Zwift race. You also need to be a good time trialist to win on Zwift too if we're being honest. All three weaknesses put me mid-pack in an A category Zwift race. With Zwift, I can pick a climbing course and focus on climbing up Alpe du Zwift. My smart trainer responds to the increase in gradient and adjusts accordingly. It feels like I'm climbing up an 8% grade for 60 minutes. It's more efficient than trying to hunt down a 60-minute climb outdoors. For sprinting, I can either build a workout that focuses on sprints or I can join a race where I must sprint to attack, catch up, or win. Because of the racing, I've increased by FTP by 7% this year. I still haven't mastered climbing or sprinting against other Zwifters, but it's coming slowly…..   Video of the Week: Into the Wild: Training with Chris Leiferman   Upcoming Interviews: Pro triathlete and Boulder-based Rudy von Berg.  He's won back to back races in France and is on his way to Daytona.  Triathlon runs in the family as Rudy has followed in his dad's footsteps.  He's been crushing 70.3 and ready to hit IRONMAN in 2021. Josh Clemente - Founder of Levels Health has are really amazing story.  He has been an engineer for the life support systems in the SpaceX program.  Wait until you hear how research they were doing with how the science of keeping humans alive in space ties to CGM systems and what Levels Health is doing to help people learn how to control our blood glucose to avoid disease and inflammation. Closing: Thanks again for listening in this week.  Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment.  We'd really appreciate it! Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!