I have a fairly hard-line view on Crossfit as I explained in my dissertation HERE. The reason being, I get no fewer than 2-3 e-mails every week, asking me whether or not an athlete should replace some of their SBorR workouts w/ CFE.

Is it a fantastic workout? Yes.
Is it an appropriate replacement for an athlete looking to maximize his/her potential in endurance sports? Hardly.

With regards the article in Triathlete, I took particular interest as one of the subjects of it was a local triathlete/coach, whom I consider a friend (although we disagree on certain training principles, CFE being one of them). Something I found 'interesting':

Keep in mind, this athlete has an 11:33 IM LP personal best:

....At Ironman Lake Placid, she finished in less than 12 hours and PR'd her run.....

Without being an a##hole, anyone care to translate that without the CFE spin?

From the same perspective as the Triathlete article, lets create a scenario, using a similar angle:

Joe has a NYC Marathon PR of 2:55. This year, under the guidance of CrossFit coaches, he cuts his training volume in 1/2 and starts using CrossFit Endurance. He laughs at his friends who spend hours every weekend logging 20 mile runs as he's replaced these workouts, with high intensity training.
Fast forward to that Fall's NYC Marathon and Joe finishes in a remarkable 3:10, running the final 10K faster than he ever has!!!

:)
---

---

Brian Shea
http://www.PersonalBestNutrition.com
Open-Water/Masters Swimming at the Jersey Shore:
Monmouth County NJ Ocean Swim/Masters Workouts