Alisha Lion made her professional multisport debut at the Desert Classic Duathlon in Phoenix, Arizona with a victory. The short course Duathlon, a 3.5mi run/21 mile bike/2.7 mile run, drew stiff competition as many seasoned professional athletes toed the line. Several top ITU racers and the Canadian National Team were present.

The Elite wave set off to tackle the Duathlon in cool desert air. Alisha clocked the fastest splits of the race in both of the runs and the bike. Despite her lack of finesse in the transitions, Alisha won the event in 1:34:46, the second fastest time recorded since the race’s inception in 2000. It was a great start to the racing season. “The first race of the year always creates more anxiety than usual” Lion said. “My transitions were the worst part of my day, and I know I can get better in that area by my next event”.

Alisha would like to thank her sponsors who made it possible for her great performance.

Blackwell Research Wheels
Conscious Fitness Nutrition and Premier Strength Training
Studio 7 Multisport Multisport Coaching
Orbea Bicycles
Oval Concepts Handlebars

Special thanks to the gang at Domenics’s Bike Shop for their help in the days leading up to the race.

Alisha’s next race is the California 70.3 Half Ironman in Oceanside, California on March 31st.

Photo Credits: Phoenix Triathlon Club

In February, through a mutual association with Lal Chand, Alisha’s massage therapist and the owner of Athletic Edge Massage in Cary, NC, Alisha Lion began working with John Cowell, the owner and head coach at Conscious Fitness in Raleigh, NC.

John is a former USCF Elite cyclist and has been in the fitness community for fifteen years. He has coached National Champions, State Champions, Olympians and All-Americans in a variety of sports. (read testimonials from John’s athletes)

After meeting Alisha and consulting with her other coaches, John knew that Alisha was something special. “I’ve said this a couple of times now but given the quality of athletes I’ve been fortunate enough to have coached, it’s pretty rare that I get to experience anyone who pushes that envelope; and although I haven’t been with Alisha for very long, the rate of her improvement has led me to believe that she is of very unique talent.”

The focus of Alisha’s current program is predominantly identifying and correcting her structural (muscular and postural) imbalances. Her current strength and conditioning program is addressing efficiency of movement by improving the hip, knee and ankle stability in her lower body as well as improving thoracic mobility and shoulder stability in her upper body.

“Alisha is doing a ton of mobility and stability exercises to improve her efficiency of movement and to offset the damage done by the repetitive nature of her sport. During a competitive season, with all the volume of training Alisha is subjected to, that’s the best we can do. I still aim to have her stronger by the end of the season. Next year, we’ll be addressing pure strength and power to a much greater extent.”

For more information about John Cowell’s training and nutrition programs, visit www.cowellfit.com.

Charity Mix launched their new website February 19th, 2007. What is Charity Mix??

From the CharityMix.com site:

CharityMix provides you with interesting information about your favorite athletes, including the music they listen to when they are getting in the zone before competition, working out, traveling or just kicking back. When you make purchases from our e-commerce partners, you are benefiting charity. The site is completely free and you pay nothing extra when you buy a song, CD, book or pair of sunglasses from one of our partners. That iTunes song is still just 99 cents, so go crazy.

Go check it out and see what your favorite athletes are into! See Alisha’s Profile

The Lady Cherry Berries were featured on Cycling News Feburary 15th.

>> See the full story here < <

The team has already sucessfully opened the season with podium finishes in early races in Northern California and will be sending a strong squad to Australia and New Zealand for the opening UCI events.

Press Release about Cheerwine Down Under