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Coach Ian Cruz and Chris "The Warrior" Washington at Dreamland Boxing

Why I Coach Boxing For Free

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  • December 27, 2021December 29, 2021

“In an age of instrumentalization, the hobbyist is a subversive: he insists that some things are worth doing for themselves alone, despite offering no payoffs in terms of productivity or profit. The derision we heap upon the avid stamp collector or train spotter might really be a kind of defense mechanism, to spare us from confronting the possibility that they’re truly happy in a way that the rest of us—pursuing our telic lives, ceaselessly in search of future fulfillment—are not. This also helps explain why it’s far less embarrassing (indeed, positively fashionable) to have a “side hustle,” a hobby-like activity explicitly pursued with profit in mind.”
-Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Quicksilver 50K - Coach Ian 31 Miles for 31 Years Birthday Run

Race Report: Quicksilver 50K (31 Miles for 31 Years!)

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  • November 15, 2021December 28, 2021

Over my birthday weekend, I continued my annual tradition of celebrating my birthday running a race. This year, I ran the Quicksilver 50K to celebrate my 31st birthday. In my race recap, I write about the following:
• A conversation with the 100K overall winner, Ryan Ung, who also worked for Supersapiens and wears a continuous glucose monitor during races
• My insights running with the Supersapiens CGM app
• The 100K 1st place finishers glucose strategy for racing (i.e. his minimum baseline for glucose)
• Why most food supplied at races are junk (i.e. M&Ms, Cinnamon rolls, Snickers, Cookies, etc.), and what food sources I chose at the aid station (Sweet Potato, Banana, That’s It! Bar, Nuts, Seeds, etc.)
• Why I chose Spring Sports Nutrition Gels to power my race, in addition to HVMN ketone esters
• How a late-night game two nights prior impacted performance
• How long I plan to continue to running my age in years
• The camaraderie of running
Congrats to Jenn, Christine, and Jaymin for completing their 100K!

East Canyon Marathon Finish

Race Report: East Canyon Marathon

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  • September 12, 2021December 28, 2021

Each marathon that you run is an entirely different experience. I’m always experimenting and learning more about myself, my limits, and my body during races. I dive into my experience running the East Canyon Marathon, and a few other topics below in my blog post:
• How fueling both with UCAN gels and HVMN Ketone Esters helped me feel strong for the race
• Why training miles matter, and why they don’t
• Running in poor air: My decision to run wearing a KN95 mask
• PurpleAir vs AirNow and my AQI threshold for not running outside
• Why I carbo-loaded for this race
• The diminishing returns of fueling
• Muscle imbalances, possibly due to boxing
• The fluid nature of goal setting during marathons
The ideal cadence for running

Inside Mark’s Training Camp: How Mark Salgado Prepared for His Pro Debut

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  • August 16, 2021January 5, 2022

Congrats to Mark Salgado for winning his pro debut against the very tough C’maje Ramseur. C’maje Ramseur was a 1-0 boxer with a strong amateur pedigree, fighting in his hometown Sacramento. We had seen him in the amateurs as he beat one of our fighters in 2017 and again at the Golden Gloves. Mark made a statement tonight beating him decisively, with a 1st round knockdown en route to a 4th round knockout.

Mark’s training camp was an entire team effort, all organized by Jesse Huerta with several team members stepping in and working together. I’ll dive into how we organized our training camp and the following topics below:
• How an entire community came together to support Mark: his coach, his S&C coach, running coach, photographer, chiropractor, sponsors, Dreamland Boxing, and our extended boxing community
• Mark’s Sparring Approach: Quality Over Quantity
• How we structured Mark’s training over 6 weeks to peak at the right time
• Mark’s weight cut and how he comfortably weighed in at 133lbs, 2lbs under the 135lb weight limit
• Mark’s grueling track workouts and how his HR monitor helped pace him both for his sprints and recovery runs
•How Mark’s training, both S&C and running, were designed to mimic his fight

Big Chief 50K - Coach Ian Cruz

Race Report: Big Chief 50K

I dive into my overall experience of the Big Chief 50K, and:
• Why athletes like Eliud Kipchoge are using glucose monitors to prepare for races
• The best time to fuel during your race (hint: it’s not pre-race as that and the onset of exercise causes a blood sugar crash immediately)
• How my glucose monitor impacted my fueling and race strategy
• Two startups (Levels Health and Supersapiens) and their differing philosophies for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels
• Why I stay away from most gels and how the steady glucose impact of UCAN gels helped my performance
• How the elevation impacted me and how I used my (surprising) heart-rate data to determine my pacing [cont.]

Conditioning for Boxing - Dreamland Boxing team running Mission Peak

Conditioning for Boxing

  • by
  • February 23, 2021February 17, 2022

A fighter’s worst fear is gassing out in the ring. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and you have an opponent who will show you no mercy as he or she tries to knock you out.
Everyone knows you’re supposed to run. But how much? How far? Read more to learn how to optimize your conditioning for your next boxing match.

Running Mistakes: Lessons From My First Marathon by Coach Ian Cruz

Running Mistakes: Lessons From My First Marathon

  • by
  • December 22, 2020September 10, 2021

Running Mistakes – Everyone makes them training for their first marathon. From not knowing how to fuel, to wearing improper running shoes, a poor stride, or not tapering, nobody gets everything “perfect”.

The biggest issues I had in training for my first marathon were my expectations. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t know how hard it is to BQ. I didn’t realize how much harder the trails are than road races. I didn’t know how to structure the mileage of my run and what burnout is. I didn’t know how to fuel, how to fix my stride, and how to breathe. And I made a few other funny mistakes along the way.