Thank you for being part of the bambū werx family! We trust your holidays were good and that the 2024 season is shaping up well for you all.

The cover photo for this month's article is of "Uncle Chen," a 50-year old Chinese athlete who reportedly smokes an entire pack of cigarettes while running marathons. Uncle Chen (or "Smoking Brother" in the Chinese running community) has built a cult following on Weibo (China's equivalent to Twitter/X) and to the chagrin of many, was only recently disqualified from a race for breaking a "no smoking while racing rule." Uncle Chen has completed a number of marathons since 2017 and touts a personal best of 3:28 (quite respectable... charred lungs aside).

We as athletes certainly don't endorse smoking while running (or at any point, mind you...), but what we DO advocate for is living your best life. In our opinion, too often we athletes get so focused on training, statistics, PR's, and results that we lose sight of what really matters most: enjoying sports and sucking the very marrow out of this short, precious thing we call life. So, as we head into the 2024 season, we at bambū werx encourage you to not only dig deep to figure out your "why," but after doing so, to live every day as if it were your last. In the end, today is all that really matters... right?

Cynthia and I hope you enjoy these monthly updates. Please don't hesitate to reach out with suggestions on topics you'd like us to cover. And if for whatever reason you prefer not to receive our newsletters, just let us know. We hate junk mail too!

Yours in good health,

Larry & Cyn

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Biogas is a renewable fuel that's produced when organic matter, such as food or animal waste, is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. This process is called anaerobic digestion. For this to take place, the waste material needs to be enclosed in an environment where there is no oxygen.

Technically, biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion when combining anaerobic organisms (or methanogens) inside an anaerobic digester, bio-digester or a bioreactor. The gas composition is primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes. 

Over the course of the last eight weeks, we've published a number of articles (titled #TheWerx) wherein a variety of subject matter experts (running, cycling, swimming, nutrition, recovery, etc.) have weighed in with their opinions on how athletes can train, fuel, and recover more effectively. In case you missed one of these informative articles, check 'em out by clicking on the links below:

How to Set S.M.A.R.T Running Goals (Mwangi Gitahi)
Developing Your Swim (John Woods)
Triathlon Cycling - Invest Into Your Bike Handling Skills (Marni Sumbal)
The Keys to Effective Recovery (Jennifer Vollmann)
Hydration to Maximize Performance, Recovery, and Health (Lynette Nygard)
Five Key Bike Power Metrics (Jason Lentzke)

If you find yourself enjoying some of the training content, we encourage you to follow the author(s) and reach out for additional information!

Meet our Athlete of the Month, Matt Miller!

In many respects, Matt represents the "total" athlete: he's a former elite triathlete (sub-11 hour IRONMAN, ), dedicated husband/father, highly successful entrepreneur, and one who continually "gives back"... advocating for special needs athletes like few others we know.

Known as the "Salt Cowboy" for his perpetual presence on IRONMAN courses handing out BASE salt to struggling athletes, Matt has been a fixture in the triathlon industry since 1988. Then over the course of the last 21 years, Matt has built one of the largest triathlon teams (~1,400 members) in the sport and guided blind/disabled athletes in IRONMAN races, marathons, and swim competitions. Despite his industry accolades, Matt is most proud of his family, where he resides outside Orlando, FL with his wife Lauralee and children Finn and Scout.

We at bambū werx are incredibly proud to call Matt (and Lauralee) our friends... so give him a follow on @imattmiller and check out his company's industry-leading nutrition products at BASE Performance. 

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If you've made it this far... thank you! 

In closing each month, we give our little mascot, Annie, a place to offer up some final encouragement to you as a friends, family, and supporters. For February 2024, Annie says (from Muhammad Ali):

Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step!