CFX cross country 5k camden park milan illinois 2012

Kudos to Brad Ellis, Johnny Hawkins for setting up race.  Enjoy photos.
-Larry


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ChiroFitness Xtreme - Rock Island

Looking for a worthy series of features for this blog in the New Year, I decided to write about local businesses, trainers, gyms, and others related to fitness in the Quad Cities and surroundings. Wanted to give the emphasis on local people, independents doing something just a bit different.  The larger businesses, the for-profit, nationally known chain gyms have their own megaphone. The little guy, especially someone more focused on the craft, depends on word of mouth.

Did not intend these blog posts as a QCRunner stamp of approval or blanket endorsement.  I was hoping more towards information, and general impressions of a person encountering the business for the first time...the consumer end of fitness.

I've driven by ChiroFitness Extreme, also known as CFX many times in Rock Valley Plaza in Rock Island.  The business is located in a busy commercial corridor. A couple of enthusiastic CFX members Brad Ellis and Johnny Hawkins did Wildcat 50k, and through them I also met CFX owners Dr. Chris Molke and Shawna Nylin who also did Wildcat.

Dr. Chris Molke is a chiropractor and Shawna Nylin is a chiropractic technician and personal trainer.  CFX is their chiropractic office, gym and workout space.  Shawna tells me they have been at this location for four years,  CFX offers chiropractic care, personal training, nutrition, and fitness classes.  The fitness classes are what intrigued me on the day after New Years 2012.  I had a day off work, and decided to pay CFX a visit.

CFX offers group classes on a Warrior theme....Warrior Fit, Warrior Endurance, Warrior Strength and others.  Focus is on body weight strength, endurance, and use of more non-traditional objects....tires, sledge hammers, kegs, kettlebells, weighted backpacks.   CFX also offers other group fitness, such as Body Pump, Zumba and yoga classes.

The space is a retail store front, next to a Dollar General store. This provides a large open workout area measuring perhaps 40 ft x 100 ft, with offices and examination rooms to one side, traditional exercise equipment around the edges. As I hung up my coat on a peg, I noted a big tractor tire on the floor, and was greeted by name. A promising start.

The class I attended was Warrior Endurance, a cardio strength circuit of 10-12 stations, with 30 secs at each station and 10 secs transition between.  Repeat for as many rounds as you want in 45 mins to an hour. Some example exercises. My names and descriptions...I was sweating and not taking notes, trying to pay attention to instruction.

• Horizontal body rotation, with feet on the elevated on a tire, hands on floor. Rotate body 360 deg, supported by hands, side to side.
• Weighted ski moguls.  Jump side to side over tap mark on floor with dumbells, like a skier.
• Weight carrry.  Pickup kettlebells and walk from one end of room and back. Tape marks on carpet.

There also were a variety of box stepups, stability ball rollouts, jumping jacks, and leaps.  Basic fitness, very approachable.  A wide variety of body types, ages and genders present in the class I attended.

Folks have asked..."Isn't this like Crossfit?"  I have attended Crossfit workouts, and there are similarities.  Fitness freed of traditional machines, geared towards free weights, body weight and lifting non-traditional objects.  Encourages more balance, more real life "functional" fitness.  Crossfit tends towards more traditional barbell work, heavier weights, lots of reps. CFX seems to have a more straight forward, no-nonsense approach.  You would see more, higher box jumps at a Crossfit gym. I saw more step ups, jumps and hops at CFX, with less height and fewer reps.  Emphasis appears on controlled movement, without as much of the clock and competition aspects.

I received instruction and form correction during my workout, which is a good thing.  Attention to form is a feature sometime missed.  Each workout station had tape lines on the carpet, and a few lines of written exercise description on a piece of construction paper at each.  In case you forget what you are doing, like a I often do.

It was a good experience. Some workouts are scheduled at 10 am and 4 pm, which offers some options in addition to gyms that offer classes morning, noon and evening.  I was treated well, offered instruction and form correction.  The drop-in or punch card price of $5 per class is very competitive and reasonable compared to other options.

I'd recommend giving CFX a try. I was treated well.   

-Larry

Wildcat 50k - Final Results

Link to the final results from Wildcat 50k.  Includes everyone 26.2 miles or longer.  Why so long?  Life happens. Anyone who complains will have double their race entry fee refunded.  Don't spend it all in one spot.

UltraRunning article coming shortly....sooner rather than later.

-Larry

wildcat 50k - group photo

Courtesy Mark Stegmaier Photography.  Thanks Mark! Here is a full resolution link on Flickr.

Give Mark some thought for your next wedding or event.  He is a great friend, and has been very good to the local running community.  He also paints a mean house. 563-370-2045.

Regards-
Larry

lots and lots of pictures - wildcat 50k

Click through this link to get to Flickr for around 300 photos.  There were 150 or so participants, so I think everyone has a good chance of having a picture.

You can order prints, re-use the images....do whatever you wish.  Just give attribution to QCRunner.

Have fun and look forward to seeing everyone next year!

-Larry



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more wildcat 50k hats?

If you want additional yellow Wildcat 50k hats, please let me know!

I have a few interested.  If we get more, we will make some.

Thanks for all for supporting the event!

We will do it again next year.

-Larry Sandhaas

Race Director

draft results - Wildcat 50k 2011

Here is a link to the un-official, draft, I am tired and they haven't been checked results from the Wildcat 50k 2011.  Please let me know of the mis-spellings of your name.  Not everyone has the best handwriting at the end of more than 30 miles of running.

Thanks to all who came out.  Weather cooperated for the second year.
We had around 150 runners, and raised $2000 to benefit a playground project at Wildcat Den State Park.  Giving back to our home-base of trail running.

Lots of photos to come in the next few days. At left in the Augustana singlet is Tommy Ries of Iowa City, who was our over-all winner at a time of 3:53:04.  He beat last year's course record performance by more than one hour.

Another first time 50k finisher is 14 year old Eli Modreska of the Quad Cities.  Great job, Eli.  You looked strong out there every loop!

While Erin Mahr watches, first time 50k finisher Brad Ellis takes a sip of the un-official finisher's award brewed by the race director.  A little hard cider at around 11% alcohol.

Meanwhile, Johnny Hawkins takes a careful, cautious sniff.

Not the official race photo...stay tuned.

-Larry

wildcat 50k - photos by Phil Pancrazio

Volunteers come out from all over to help.  Thanks Phil!

Phil got photos of many of the runners on the course today...about 80 pictures in total. Enjoy.

Link here.

video from governor's

Courtesy of Marvin Fussell...

pictures - governors cross country - 11/6/11

Not a bad day in Scott County Park.  Much thanks for Corn Belt Running Club, and in particular Coach Russ Hart for the course set up.  Weekends and weekends go into this event, both set up and take down.  Thanks Russ!

-Larry


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semi regular - long haul gear I believe in

Stuff that just works. For the endurance savage.

Injinji smart wool socks.  Add body glide. No blisters. Wet/dry for up to 100 miles. Case closed.

Melanzana base layers and loose tights.  Women owned business in Leadville, Colorado.  Polar fleece material.  All made in USA.








Zensah compression calf sleeves. They feel good and keep the sticker bushes as bay. Sleeves as opposed to socks. Socks wear out.  Sleeves - not so fast.

Moeben arm sleeves. UV protection.  Up/down. Warm/cold. Gloves in a pinch.  Recommended.

Saucony Peregrine.  Minimal enough, but still a shoe.  Enough grip to climb a 1:1 slope like a GD mountain goat.  Light, feel the trail.

-Larry

forest glen 30 mile trail run

Signed up for this race many months ago, back in the spring after the Clinton Lake 30 mile. Same Race Director Bob O'Brien from Champaign area and the Second Wind Running Club.

I really wasn't thinking too much about this event too much in advance.  Got busy in work, family activities. Build for Tahoe Rim 100 was in the first half of the year. Quad Cities Marathon was in September....volunteer and participant.  Then there is that little race at Wildcat Den on November 13th.

Drove over on Friday night, and found a nice Italian restaurant in Peoria area. This is eastern Illinois.  I went to school in this neck of the woods.  No need for hotel reservations.  Nothing happening in Danville.  Except for the Illinois/Ohio State football game.  And the Covered Bridge Festival.  I truly was looking forward to Karaoke at the Day's Inn with all the AARP folks, but there was no room.  I think we got the last hotel rooms in town except for the shady looking place on the south end of town.

At the starting line, we started to get a hint at small size of the event. My friend looked around and asked "Where are all the girls?" In a field of ten, she was all the girls....

A beautiful fall days, if a bit windy.  The temps started in the high 40's, edging up into the mid 60's with sunny skies.  Tree cover and leaf cover kept the wind and sun at bay, and after the first few 5 mile loops, we shed outer layers and ran in short sleeves and shorts.

The difficulty of the course started to dawn on me during the first loop. Very little level ground, very little run-able for any length of time.  Lots of up and down.  How much? Around 13,500 ft of climb and 13,500 feet of drop for a 30 mile race. The race website claims on the order of 12,000 feet of "elevation change." I wasn't truly appreciative until I dumped the data from my GPS.

Instead of a typical 5-6 hour finish for a modest trail run 30 miles or 50k, I was looking at an 8 hour plus finish.  Was not planning on racing, but was certainly planning on finishing quicker.  GPS elevation plot showed elevations as high as 800 ft and as low as 400 ft.  Not huge, but constantly varying elevation. Some slopes hand over hand ascent.  In mud, it would have been much worse. See GPS data at left.

Race was well supported. Plenty of food and drink. Another shot or two of brandy from Bill, a fellow I met at Clinton Lake and other central Illinois races.  He promises to come up to Wildcat 50k, and I hope to see him and others in November.

Race finishers got some nice hand fired ceramic mugs, plus some Karl Meltzer's "SpeedGoat Karl's 100 mile blend" coffee.  Can't wait to try....coffee is from Jameson Coffee, a small batch roaster from Indiana.  And a ceramic pendant on a string, all hand made.

I think we will be back, hopefully to bring some friends from Muscatine and Quad Cities.  Recommended.

-Larry