The fall season can present a unique challenge for triathletes. With your A priority race likely behind you, but the weather still conducive to training, it's a crucial time to capitalize on opportunities for improvement. By making the most of the fall season, you can set yourself up for success in the winter and the following spring. Here are some strategies to maximize your fall training:

1. **Set a goal:** Establish a process goal focused on something within your control, such as swimming three days a week or incorporating more hill training into your workouts. Having a specific goal will provide direction and motivation, ensuring you stay committed to your training regimen even without a race on the calendar.

2. **Build base endurance:** Utilize the warm fall weather to extend your outdoor riding and running sessions, focusing on building your aerobic endurance. Long rides and runs, including mountain biking and trail running, can help strengthen your base fitness. Investing six to eight weeks in building your aerobic base now will pay dividends when you transition to winter training focused on threshold work.

3. **Address weaknesses:** With no imminent A race, concentrate on improving your weaknesses while maintaining overall fitness. Increase your running frequency or swim volume to enhance your weaknesses, while continuing to train in other areas. Additionally, consider incorporating stretching and strength training into your routine to further enhance your overall performance.

4. **Try something new:** Embrace the opportunity to explore new activities or disciplines during the fall season. Consider participating in cyclocross racing for a change of pace or exploring new running trails in your area. Trying new experiences can reignite your motivation and keep your training fresh and exciting.

5. **Mentorship:** Share your passion for triathlon by mentoring a friend who is new to the sport. Introduce them to the joys of swimming, biking, and running, and provide guidance and support as they embark on their triathlon journey. Mentoring not only benefits the beginner but also allows you to reflect on your own training and experiences.

In conclusion, the fall season offers a valuable opportunity for triathletes to continue training purposefully and make meaningful progress toward their goals. By setting specific objectives, focusing on endurance building, addressing weaknesses, exploring new activities, and mentoring others, you can make the most of the fall months and position yourself for success in the future.

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Each month in our newsletter we list some of the improvements of our athletes. This doesn't happen by magic or some special pill, but most of it is from what we do in the off-season. This time of year, right now, is when you get fast for this coming race season. The following protocol only pertains to athletes who are time limited, have been training for at least three seasons without injury, and have a sufficient aerobic base. Not to get too technical but if you are an experienced triathlete with a few seasons under your belt and take a month off from triathlon training, I am going to make a huge assumption that you have a sufficient aerobic base. Actually, my assumption isn't too huge.

Within each week, we do have our athletes execute swim drills, bike pedaling drills, and running drills. This is important in the off-season. So is the easy long swim, the easy long bike and the easy long run. The definition of long can be argued but for our purposes at D3 I like to define a long swim as somewhere around an hour. A long bike may be 90 minutes and the long run somewhere between 75 and 90 minutes.

With those two pieces of training out of the way, we get into the fluff side of training. There are no two ways about it. We hit it hard. Very. Hard. VO2 hard. In the pool, on the bike, on the run (treadmill or outside, weather permitting) and in the weight room.

Dr. Max Testa is considered one of the best cycling coaches in the world. I had the pleasure of listening to him present at my USAT Level III Coaching Certification class in 2005. What I walked away with was that in the words of Dr. Testa. "strength equals speed". The stronger you are, the faster you will race. The stronger you are, the more watts you can push on the bike, the faster you can run up a hill, and the faster you can swim. Getting stronger‚ means doing more hard work than you are currently doing, and raising your lactate threshold or MLSS (Maximum Lactate Steady State). Note, I did not say work harder, but do more hard work. There is a big difference there.

Taking this point even further, I looked into what the strength coaches think about strength and endurance. Mike Boyle is the premier strength and conditioning coach in this country and maybe the world. Alwyn Cosgrove is an Olympic level strength coach of triathletes, boxers, soccer players and others. It is Alwyn's belief that maximal strength levels should be achieved prior to endurance or energy system development. Quoting Alwyn, 'If we haven't built up appreciable levels of power, speed or strength, then what the hell are we trying to endure? A low level of power? A low level of speed? Conditioning coach Mike Boyle once pointed out that:

"It is significantly easier to get an explosive athlete in shape, than it is to make an in shape athlete explosive. The first will take weeks the second may take years."

Does that make any buzzers go off in your head? If you don't have speed and you go out to ride long, what are you learning to endure? Riding slow? Riding at a low level of power? Do you see how riding long, slow miles at 16mph is only going to make you good at riding at 16mph? For example, wouldn't you rather build your base speeds up to 20+ mph in training, so that when you add in endurance you can do your long rides at 19-20mph? Even better yet, learning to push 400 watts in training will make pushing 200 watts MUCH easier. A 200 watt average at an ironman race like Arizona or Florida will net a 160 lb. triathlete a 5:15 bike split. Being stronger means going faster.

Next month I'll talk more about specific workouts. In the meantime, take a look at our 'No Fluff Training Plan' it works. Trust me on this.

Let's look at a real life example of this: Starting in 1989 and continuing on for the next 6 years, one man dominated the Ironman World Championship. This man raced Olympic distance races all the way up until August, when he would start his endurance training for Hawaii. He did this for many years. Racing and training hard for months let him build up his strength and speed so that when he added in his endurance, the speed was already there. Like Mike Boyle says above, ‚"it is significantly easier to get an explosive athlete in shape", here was our future Ironman World Champ racing his butt (becoming explosive) off to win Olympic distance races BEFORE he started his training for the long distance racing. Boyle continues, "The first will take weeks, the second may take years". Exactly! If this athlete already has the speed, all he has to do is add in some longer distance training and then he is ready to race long and FAST. By the way, this same athlete also won the 1989 ITU World Championships after Ironman Hawaii. So, it wasn't like he was just racing Olympic distance races to race them. He was pretty darn good so I am sure he worked hard in his pre-Hawaii training.

With many of my athletes, they are given a solid four to six weeks off from any structured training. They are free to do whatever they want in this time period. When they come back onto the program, we usually give them a few easy weeks to get used to the training again, and then we'll start off with a little bit of hard stuff. This may mean a short tempo run of 10 minutes or even some short threshold efforts on the bike. When we work hard all season to peak for a race, then take a month off, then spend 4 months of "building base", what have we done besides having gone backwards with our training? For every month you take off from training, it takes about twice as long to get back those losses. So if you take a month off from training, it will take you two months to get your fitness back. Athletes work so hard to make improvements, so why let it all go to waste and let all that strength and power disappear? I am all for time away from training, and in no way am I advocating hammering your body 52 weeks a year, but what I am saying is that if you want to go fast you need to get strong, stay strong, and work on getting stronger. Riding and running long and slow for months will make you neither stronger, nor faster. Training with a plan and a purpose will get you stronger and faster. After all, if you need proof of this theory, you can look at our athlete's results, year after year. If you want to get faster, forgo the endless hours of low aerobic training and add some harder work to your early season training. Your results may surprise you!

I've been involved in endurance sports since I was six, starting with running and BMX racing. My journey led me to cross country in high school and eventually to triathlons, where I completed 13 Ironman races in six years. With such a long history in endurance sports, it's easy to think I have all the answers. However, I've found that embracing the mindset of a beginner can be incredibly beneficial for progress and motivation.

Being a beginner again means shedding the preconceived notions and routines we've become accustomed to. It means being open to learning from others and actively seeking out advice and tips. One effective way to do this is by training alongside newcomers to triathlon or joining group rides or runs with beginners. By listening to their questions and helping them, we might discover gaps or weaknesses in our own training logic.

Another approach is to try something completely new, like taking up a different class at the gym or exploring activities like yoga or kickboxing. Personally, I found that trying kickboxing made me feel like a novice again, highlighting areas where I had become complacent in my training and reigniting the excitement of learning new skills.

As the off-season approaches, it's an ideal time to step back, reflect on our goals for the upcoming season, and consider how adopting a beginner's mindset could propel us forward. Coach AJ Johnson emphasizes the individuality of each athlete he works with, recognizing them as unique puzzles with distinct abilities, motivations, and lifestyles. Helping athletes piece together their individual strengths to achieve their goals is what makes coaching so rewarding.

Ultimately, embracing the beginner's mindset can lead to breakthroughs in training and a renewed sense of enjoyment and fulfillment in our sports pursuits.

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You made it through another (or your first!) triathlon season. You've accomplished some goals, you've learned a thing or two (or twenty) about the sport, and you're starting to look to the year ahead. This is a great time to do a head-to-toe, end-to-end assessment of some different things you can improve upon, or that you should tend to, in 2017.Approach the list below the way an auto mechanic would approach a 20-point inspection: everything should be reviewed, but not everything will be fixed today. Identify those items that need to be addressed so they don't cause near-term issues and/or those items that provide the greatest opportunity for improvement in the coming year. Don't feel like you need to fix everything all at once , save some items for 2018!

Training & Racing Assessment

+ Review 2016 training and racing , what worked? What didn't? What did you achieve?

+ Outline 2017 race calendar and set race goals

+ Identify changes in training , volume and/or intensity, overall and/or for specific disciplines , that will be necessary to achieve your goals

Equipment Check

+ Is your bike due for maintenance? (Not sure? Check here: https://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Bike_Maintenance_Schedule_3877.html)

+ Are your run shoes worn out? (Rule of thumb: 250 miles for lightweight shoes, up to 400 for more durable shoes like Newton's or Hoka's.

Don't know your mileage? If it's been more than 6 months since you bought the ones you're in, you probably need a new pair.)

Physiological Assessment (especially if you are injury-prone!)

+ Consider an overall physical therapy assessment to identify muscular weakness or imbalances that can be addressed through targeted

exercises and strength training.

+ Has your progress in the pool plateaued? Consider a swim stroke analysis to improve your technique , it will provide gains where

fitness cannot.

+ Do you have consistent hip/knee/back/shoulder pain on the bike? Time for a new bike fit!

+ If you routinely find yourself sidelined by injury as you build up running miles, consider a gait assessment to identify where

you're going wrong.

Now that your inspection is complete, make the investment in your self and your season. Take the time to follow through with what you learned and set yourself up for a solid season of training and racing in 2017!

nd you still make it to the starting line of a race? THAT is a really big win.

After competing in 21 Ironman events and 12 years of racing professionally, I am often asked what my favorite race is. Without hesitation, I respond with Ironman Wisconsin. Every Ironman race has its draw of appeal and challenges. For the athlete, IMWI will deliver in both categories. I have raced this event five times with modest success, culminating in several top 10 finishes and a course PB of 8:58. Here are my course insights which I hope you find helpful.

**Weather:** This race has seen varied weather from cold and rainy in the upper 50s to hot and humid in the low 90s and everything in between.

**Swim:** This is a one-loop affair in the typically calm waters of Lake Monona. The average water temp is 70 degrees. The swim course is basically a large rectangle, and there is plenty of room at the start line for athletes to spread out and find clear water if that is more comfortable. The position of the sun may be an issue on the long back stretch of the course as you will likely be swimming into the sunrise. Dark-lensed or mirrored goggles are recommended unless it’s an overcast day. Sighting is fairly straightforward, and you can use the tree line surrounding the lake along with Monona Terrace to aid you. Water visibility is average, so don’t expect to see more than 5-8 feet in front of you. Mentally be prepared for that long back stretch as you will actually swim past the start area and then complete a long horseshoe pattern to bring you to the swim finish area.

**T1:** IMWI has perhaps one of the longest and most unique transitions being housed in Monona Terrace, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Expect a longer than normal transition time. Exiting the water, you will run up one of the famed helixes, which is the parking ramp connected to this building. Be prepared to run while going around and around until entering the building. What goes up, must come down. After navigating through transition and mounting your bike, you will cycle down one of the helixes before turning left onto the course. Be patient and navigate this safely. There are no Strava awards being given.

**Bike:** The lollipop-shaped bike course will not disappoint! With slightly over 6,100 feet of elevation gain, you can expect a lot of hills. While no single hill can take you out of the race, the cumulative effect of the rolling terrain combined with a few longer hills is like going 12 rounds in a heavyweight boxing match. Each of the hills is like body blows that start adding up after a while. If you stay true to your race and fueling plans, you will be able to effectively take on this challenging course while preserving your legs for the run. Patience needs to be the overall theme for the day, especially for the first loop.

There is a short stretch early in the bike which will take you onto the bike/jogging path that runs alongside Monona Lake. This is a section where you will be sitting up and need to be patient as it has a few twists and turns before leading you onto a main road taking you out of town. The 16-mile “stick” of the lollipop includes some flat terrain and rolling hills once you get away from Madison. Each loop is 40 miles, and this is the meat of the course.

The road surfaces will vary but are mostly smooth country roads with beautiful views. There will not be too much vehicle traffic on the course, but be alert for large farm equipment as you traverse the Wisconsin dairy land. IMWI is one of the more technical courses on the circuit so be prepared to ride within your comfort zone on the descents while sitting up for safe bike handling. There are only a few spots on the course where you can ride with extended time in the aero bars.

The crowd support will keep you going as you tackle one of the longer climbs with people cheering alongside you, similar to what we see in major tour races. As you come to the end of each loop, you will bike through the town of Verona where a carnival-like atmosphere will be awaiting you. This is a great spot for family and friends to cheer you on as you will pass through here twice. IM provides free shuttles to and from this area making it easy for spectators to see you on the course.

Spin up the hills, remain patient, stay true to your plan, and embrace the crowd support along the course to complete the bike in good order and set yourself up for a solid run. Suggested gearing for this race is 11-12/27-28. Disc wheels can be used but are not a significant advantage on this course.

**T2:** You will enter transition after riding back up the same helix you rode down to start the bike. Again, be safe, sit up, and spin the legs to the top before dismounting your bike.

**Run:** As you enter the two-loop run course, you will run around one side of the Capital building before heading towards the University of Wisconsin campus. The first couple of miles are more downhill so it’s easy to go out a little too hot. Be smart and keep things reined in as you build into your marathon. The crowd support on the run course is exceptional with only a few “quiet spots”. Use some positive self-talk and mantras to help propel you through these areas.

The majority of the run course is relatively flat with one challenging hill at approximately miles 5 and 19. There are several sections of the run that are slightly uphill and downhill. These can be more significant if you go outside of your race plan and overextend yourself. You can expect some shade along Lake Mendota and through the tree-lined neighborhoods. The run course mostly twists and turns throughout the University of Wisconsin campus and around downtown Madison.

Upon completing your first loop, you have to run towards and then turn away from the finish line which can be mentally challenging. Tap into the vociferous cheers of the crowd, especially along State Street and around the Capital building as you push yourself to the finish line.

*Brad Seng is a D3 Coach as well as the Head Coach for the University of Colorado Triathlon Team. He believes that getting to the next level in triathlon is often a matter of knowing when to push limits and when to pull back. A breakthrough can also be as simple as working on your mindset, fueling your success with sound mental strategies!*

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Protein is a vital and essential nutrient for an endurance athlete's diet that is used to help build proteins in our body we need to function. There are 20 different amino acids that if assembled into various chains will create proteins. There are eight essential amino acids that we must have come from our diet, while others are used more as a small bit of energy in training. Various types of proteins are needed to build connective tissue and muscle fibers/cells. With this nutrient being so critical, can you consume too much protein and if so what can happen? Well first we need to know how much protein a typical sedentary person should consume and then compare that to an endurance athlete. A non-active person should consume roughly .8g per kilogram of body weight (.36g per pound) of protein for their daily needs. This is much different when you apply hours of heavy training for an endurance athlete who needs to increase their protein intake to 1.2g per kilogram body weight (.55g per pound body weight). The increased amount of protein needs for athletes is primarily to provide amino acids for the repair of exercise-induced muscle damage while aiding in building new muscle from the training. Another reason for the larger amount of protein intake is to compensate for the amount of fuel and energy expenditure as well as aid in providing proper muscle recovery. Endurance athletes and strength athletes love the benefit of the amplified energy requirements that allows them to eat more than a sedentary individual and doing so allows for more protein and nutrients being taken-in.

Having established what is the proper amount of protein to consume daily let's look at what happens if you have too little or too much. Typically for an athlete or healthy person consuming less than 2 grams per kilogram body weight will most likely not cause for any problems or side effects. But once you begin to take in more than 2 g/kg body weight, the increased risk begins. Your kidneys may become overloaded trying to filter out ketones (by-product of stored energy in the body). The more your kidneys work to flush out these ketones before they become toxic, the greater the risk of dehydration occurring. Many athletes confuse this dehydration with weight loss. But basically as you are losing this water weight you are also excreting increased amounts of calcium in your urine, which is coming from a decrease in the amount of bone calcium. So if you are an athlete who already has a weak bone structure, it can do some serious damage and possibly lead to stress fractures. This is something that may happen more frequently in Females with a low-calorie diet combined with not menstruating may find this happening at a greater rate and be more detrimental. Having your kidneys filter the high amount of protein has also helped accelerate the progression of pre-existing kidney disease in some people. Some other side effects that may occur include dizziness, weakness, and bad breath which all typically begin with dehydration.

There is always the other side of the spectrum where some athletes do not consume enough protein. Typically this happens to athletes who are trying to stay at a specific weight or percent body fat level. Usually these athletes are restricting more than just the protein, including carbohydrates, fats and general caloric intake that is sufficient to help them perform. Picky eaters can fall into this territory as well. If you are on a vegan diet, be sure it is properly created as well as those athletes that are on a strictly carbohydrate diet. Without a continuation of amino acids being supplied to the muscles, which comes from protein in your diet, your body will break down your muscle in order to fulfill its needs. Not meeting protein needs can lead to loss of power, which will lead to detrimental performance outcomes, the risk of injury increases, and any training adaptations that normally would take place won't anymore.

Since we have now established some guidelines on what the proper levels of protein intake should be, athletes need to be able to identify what are good sources of protein and the timing on consuming them. Fish, chicken, eggs, lean cuts of red meat like beef, pork, lamb, eggs, and low-fat or non-fat dairy products including yogurt and cheese, nuts, and beans are items that will have a great source of protein in them. Best times to consume protein is immediately after exercise when muscle receptors in the body are at a heightened sensitivity to help retain amino acids that will help increase muscle adaptation from training and help facilitate a quicker recovery. There is the "thirty minute window" of when your body is at this high level of alertness for nutrients, but that alertness will typically be at its peak for roughly for four hours after exercise while still partially on an increased awareness for a full twenty-four hours. Now what we have learned is that taking in protein with carbohydrate will help stimulate your insulin which will also increase the amount of amino acids that are taken in by your muscles. My favorite snack after a good workout is chocolate milk or a similar like carbohydrate-protein shake. You need the proper nutrients to help rebuild your muscles and keep your muscle glycogen stores (stored energy) high throughout training in order to reap the full amount of benefits.

Athletes will usually get a sufficient amount of protein if they already are consuming the proper amount of calories to coincide with their training. There isn't a need to consume more and put yourself at risk. The best way to know if you are taking in too much or too little of anything is to keep a dietary log and monitor what you take in for nutrients, and its caloric content. Remember that as an endurance athlete you typically will only need about .55 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. The best time to consume some of your daily intake of protein is within thirty minutes post exercise to help aid in muscle repair and recovery. Protein is great for post-exercise intake when combined with carbohydrate which will also help maintain your muscle glycogen stores to help your training and performance in the future.

References

American Dietetic Association. Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: nutrition and athletic performance. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100:1543-56.

Beals K, Houtkooper L. Disordered eating in athletes. In: Burke L, Deakin V, editors. Clinical Sports Nutrition. Sydney. Australia: McGraw-Hill; 2006. p. 201-26.

Biolo G, Maggi SP, Williams BD, Tipton KD, Wolfe RR. Increased rates of muscle protein turnover and amino acid transport after resistance exercise in humans. Am J Physiol. 1995;268:E514-20.

Burke L. Nutrition for recovery after training and competition. In: Burke L, Deakin V. Clinical Sports Nutrition. 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill. 2006;415–453.

Off season; it's a weighted word. Some are ready for it, some dread it, others anticipate it more than the actual season, a few ignore it. For most of us in the northern hemisphere, we're checking off the last couple of boxes from our race schedule and putting in the final touches of quality for our last, focused performance. Like a well designed season plan, a structured off season and pre-season can yada, yada yada, and yakity scmachity, blah-blah-blah-blah. YOU KNOW ALL OF THIS!Every year, someone writes an article about how to optimize your off-season, and with over 40 years of triathlon seasons in the books, it's been done and done and done! Let's talk instead about the 1-4 week period between the end of racing and the re-start of your structured workouts. This guilty pleasure that even the most driven athletes need to experience, and I call it unstructured fun! If a blank training log sends you into panic mode, makes you feel lazy or causes you to fret about losing your fitness, here are my top tips for using this time to transition into a great pre-season without driving yourself, your coach or the ones around you completely nuts.

Above all, know that you've earned this time, and a coach is telling you it's necessary to take it. It's required for my athletes, its non-negotiable. Everyone has to have at least one week of unstructured fun. Personally, I think 2-3 weeks is optimal, but everyone needs at least a one. Just like a primo produce plot needs to go fallow and have rotated crops, your body and brain need an extended breather.

1) Get your bike overhauled, or do it yourself. During a heavy racing and training season, having your mighty steed out of commission for a full overhaul is not an option, so this is your time.

2) Unstructured fun does not necessarily mean you're required to live on your couch (although extra rest and sleep is highly recommended). Pick a few non-triathlon things to explore. A new restaurant, local museum sight seeing or a sporting event that interests you (I am looking forward to some local minor league hockey) should do the trick. I find discount sites like Groupon or Living Social can have some ideas if you're feeling a little stuck, but need to get out of the house.

3) Pick one living space improvement project per week. Clean the patio, organize a couple of closets, whittle down the mending pile and organize your surroundings. You know, the things that you look at after you stumble out of the shower post a major threshold workout. For those panickers of the blank log, this will give you a goal to work toward.

4) Anything active you do, log it! I love seeing what my athletes choose to do when they're in complete control. For instance, I recently discovered an athlete's interest in yoga when he started attending four times a week in his unstructured fun. It's going to be a piece of his strength training this winter and next race season.

5) Take some time to look at family obligations and extra work commitments (really anything that will require an adjustment in training as usual) in comparison to your proposed race schedule. To use myself as an example, beyond my normal year to year flow, I know in 2017 I have one parental retirement and a family wedding both in June I need to attend and help organize them all the while knowing that I'll have at least 2 weeks of back burner training. So I'll want to have a focus on later season races. Which, in my case, is Age Group Nationals in mid August. I also know my course work for next fall semester is going to be severely ramped up, so after Age Group Nationals, I will need to cut back to a sprint only focused training schedule or go into a base/maintenance phase.

6) Talk to your coach! Using the aforementioned brain storming, get next season's conversation started. Whether your coach is a simmerer like me (I do my best planning when I've had time to let ideas mull in my mind for a ride or two), or prefers to discuss and plan in one shot, early communication is never a bad thing.

7) Above all, enjoy it! This is the ONLY transition where you can break the first law of transitions, so be willing to be in this moment and be in the season-to-season transition.

May the wind be at your back and the sun not in your eyes, may the road stay under your feet and not against your face and your goals be achieved for your season ending race.

Coach Leigh Dodd knows that passion and drive will take you a long way in triathlon! Put those qualities to work within the context of a structured plan and you're off to a great start. Add in relaxation on a regular basis and they'll be no stopping you! It may seem counter intuitive at first, but planning time for both quality training and quality downtime is the key to great results!

Competing in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii presents a unique challenge unlike any other Ironman event. Reflecting on my past experiences racing in Kona, I've had a mix of successes and setbacks, each providing valuable lessons for future races.

In 2001, despite not being entirely satisfied with my performance, I recognized that given my limited experience and knowledge at the time, I managed reasonably well. However, in 2005, despite having more experience under my belt, I made numerous mistakes and ended up having to walk the second half of the run. I attribute this to a lack of respect for the challenging course and harsh conditions.

My decision to target the 2009 race stemmed from a desire to find a truly challenging event in triathlon. Kona represented the ultimate puzzle for me, one I had yet to solve. Although my preparations for 2009 were going smoothly, unforeseen work commitments arose just two weeks before the race, preventing me from making it to the start line. While disappointing, this setback fueled my motivation and hunger for success in the following year.

With a full year to prepare for Kona 2010, I delved into extensive research on racing in hot conditions, sweat rates, core temperatures, and more. I discovered that my exceptionally high sweat rate, sometimes reaching 96oz per hour, had been a significant factor in my struggles during hot races.

To address this, I focused on optimizing my nutrition and hydration strategies. Knowing that an Ironman athlete's stomach can only absorb around 45oz of liquid per hour, I tailored my intake accordingly, opting for liquid calories to avoid overwhelming my digestive system. Through meticulous tracking and experimentation during key training sessions, I honed in on the optimal hydration and calorie intake for race day.

As the summer heat intensified, I continued to fine-tune my nutrition plan, gradually increasing my calorie intake while ensuring my stomach could handle it. Practicing run sessions off the bike with maximal liquid intake became a crucial part of my training regimen, ensuring my body was accustomed to the demands of race day.

In addition to managing hydration and nutrition, I recognized that acclimating to the heat would be critical. Arriving in Kona almost two weeks early allowed me to adapt to the conditions and experiment with cooling strategies. While cooling clothing didn't make a noticeable difference, I found that dousing myself with ice water during training runs helped keep my core temperature in check.

On race day, I prioritized staying hydrated and cool, regularly taking cups of ice at aid stations and opting for a vented helmet on the bike. Keeping my effort level conservative during the run proved to be crucial, as pushing too hard risked overheating and jeopardizing my performance. Ultimately, managing the day's challenges with caution and foresight proved to be more important than taking unnecessary risks.

In summary, my journey to prepare for and race in the Ironman World Championship in Kona has been filled with valuable lessons and insights. By addressing factors such as hydration, nutrition, and heat acclimation, I was able to overcome past obstacles and perform at my best on race day.

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I have always struggled with the concept of the off-season because I believe that it is not physiologically economical to take a couple of months off training and lose the hard-gained fitness. I absolutely understand the need to reboot, recharge, and restart the fire needed for hard work in the main season. However, there are more efficient and productive ways to spend the time after a big season than to let oneself turn into a couch potato.

The off-season is a perfect time to draw the line under the big races and analyze the good, the bad, and the ugly. While most athletes avoid facing the bad and the ugly, I find the off-season a perfect time to address those issues. The bad and the ugly are typically weaknesses such as poor mobility, muscle imbalance, poor strength, and coordination. Endurance athletes, in particular, also tend to lack explosiveness that is needed to surge around a buoy, attack on the hill during the bike portion, or to sprint for the finish line.

My favorite mainstream methods to correct poor mobility and muscle imbalances are yoga and Pilates. For strength and explosiveness, I would recommend CrossFit and kickboxing as well as group exercises that combine weight with cardio.

**Yoga**
There are many kinds of yoga with different emphasis. "Vinyasa" is a kind of yoga that focuses on linking poses and as such represents a functional way to open up the body in the areas that are typically restricted in triathletes. Sun salutation, for example, lengthens the posterior chain (hamstrings and calves), opens the hip joint anteriorly, and activates the scapular stabilizers throughout the movement sequence.

**Pilates**
Pilates is also a good choice in the off-season because it was developed precisely to address chronic health issues stemming from core muscle weakness and muscle imbalances. Pilates was designed to teach proper muscle sequencing and activation as well as strength and control of the body. A strong core is essential for triathletes to generate power in all three sports and to prevent injuries.

**Crossfit Type Classes**
CrossFit and similarly structured classes are beneficial in the off-season because they challenge the endurance athlete who is used to moving in one plane (forward) at 75% – 80% of capacity. These classes not only utilize their body as a whole through powerlifting movements but they also force them to get out of their comfort zone and perform at close to maximal effort through an array of short burst workout routines.

**Kickboxing**
Kickboxing is considered a hybrid martial art formed from the combination of elements of various traditional styles. Kickboxing is a great example of a sport that applies the components of a properly functioning neuromuscular system. Here is what I mean: a healthy athletic (in our case) body needs mobility, stability, strength, and power in that sequence for maximum performance. For example, a strong kick cannot be delivered without stability on the stance side, mobility on the kick side, and of course, the strength and power itself to deliver the kick.

The off-season is the time to start tackling new goals with a more flexible, stronger, and powerful body. Do not shy away from the array of fun alternatives to the swim, bike, and run routines. Other sports and programs are beneficial in developing a more rounded athlete and an unbreakable warrior in the water and on the road. With some research, find out what excites you and make it a challenge for yourself to try something new this fall.

Coach Martina is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and USAT Certified Coach. She believes that if you have specific goals that you want to reach in triathlon, a coach is a good place to start – but it’s not the answer of and by itself. Desire, Determination, and Discipline (the 3 D’s!) all play a role. When you’re ready to do the work to get to the next level, then you’re ready for a coach!

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I love this 'scheming' time of the year; a chance to look at the coming season (or seasons) and revel in the amount of possibility there is. Even if you've had a less than great year (injury, illness, personal issues), looking back with a degree of reserve and getting to play that wonderful game of "What if?" is just plain good fun. But after you finish the dreaming part, the work of planning needs to be pushed into high gear, and bringing a high midseason focus into the offseason for just a short while will be necessary.

To start:

**Goals 101: The utter basics**
Goals need to be measurable and concrete, not necessarily in time or miles, but in a definitive "yes/no" quality. Goals need to be within your control, although this does not include the weather. You never can predict when former champions or rising professionals are going to show up, so making a goal of "win X race" is not within your control. Goals need to be something you get excited about, even if you really don't want to express it. Without that little itch in the back of your mind, you won't get out of bed early enough for yoga, do that extra hill repeat, or keep your swim analysis appointment. Get it? Got it? Good!

**Goals 201: Checkmarks, dreamers, and just do-ers**
Most athletes fall into three categories: the Dreamers, the Checkmarks, and the Do-ers.

**Dreamers** are fun (being one, I have to lobby for them); they want to get to the top of the mountain, then jump off. They go big, but often are overzealous in what is really achievable in a single season. They are the "qualify for Kona" having never done an IM or "run my half marathon in less than 1:30 at Silverman 70.3" without breaking 2:00 first. While these goals are not necessarily unachievable, as a coach, I need to get these athletes to see that there are few more goals that need to be reached first, or that their particular goal needs to be pushed (gently) to two or three seasons down the line.

**Checkmarks** are the opposite; they pick out goals that have already been attained, or are below previous marks. For someone who's qualified every year for the Age Group Nationals race, "Qualify for AG Nats" is a checkmark — something easily attainable. For the guy that finishes just over 5hrs for his HIM, "Run all of the 13.1 miles at Boulder 70.3" is a checkmark. These athletes often need to be prodded into picking goals that they have not already attained in previous seasons.

There is another particular brand of athlete that is very similar to the check mark group is the no goals guy — Just Do-ers. These athletes simply enjoy triathlon and hope to gain some fitness. While I definitely applaud those looking to simply enjoy this sport, there's no real direction to take it. Even goals that start off as "be a better swimmer" or "not die on long climbs" can be moved into goals and measurable achievements.

When setting your goals, think about where do you lie. Do you stand out as an obvious type? Are you not sure? Once you've figured out what you're excited about, engage your coach on the complexity and reality of your goal (Dreamers), the steps required for your goals (Checkmarks), and how you will measure your goal (Do-ers). One of the great things about good coaches is their ability to push the Checkmarks to make goals that require some level of overreaching and dialing back the Dreamer to something both measurable and attainable, while getting the Do-er to define his/her goal.

Goals don't necessarily need to be about times or distance, or going longer every season. Unhappy with your HIM results? Going for shorter races could allow you to gain speed that with the right steps, may very well translate into longer distances at better speeds. Spending a season working on the mechanics of form and speed also allows for more recovery (shorter sessions means more rest) and a better season after the next with fewer niggles and more energy. A shift to shorter races could also mean a happier S.O. (significant other), which is something one could possibly cash in on to do several high-end or long-distance races in seasons beyond.

**Goals 202: The nuts and bullet points**
When defining goals, start with your crown jewel, your A+ objective and work down from there — building in the supportive goals. The weekly training goals and benchmarks will come from your conversations with your coach, their knowledge base, and their knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a strong runner with tentative abilities in open water looking to improve their Olympic race time will spend more time in the pool and in open water sessions versus extra time on the track (but will still have running speed sessions to keep at minimum their current fitness and speed).

Goals and steps should be phrased in the positive. Someone looking to make more early morning masters swim sessions could avoid using the phrase "Don't sleep in" to "Pack bag and set timer on coffee pot the night before". Too often the brain ignores the negative words, making "Don't sleep in" to "Sleep in".

Whatever your goals are for 2015; digging in for a repetition of a demanding race or a first-time plunge into something that may not even be swim-bike-run, hopefully, you'll be able to see where you need to tap on the gas pedal or hit the brakes, redefine, or even just reword your goals for more success this season.

Enjoy the offseason and get busy with your own scheming!

Coach Leigh Dodd understands that passion and drive will take you a long way in triathlon! Put those qualities to work within the context of a structured plan and you're off to a great start. Add in relaxation on a regular basis and there'll be no stopping you! It may seem counterintuitive at first, but planning time for both quality training and quality downtime is the key to great results!

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Well, you're probably thinking it's been a long, hard season. Whether you've just completed your big Ironman race or conquered several tough races, the major event is now behind you. You've had time to reflect on your season, identified next year's goals, but maybe you're not quite ready to dive back into intense training. So, what's next?

As both an athlete and a coach, I understand this phase well, and I'm here to offer you a few recommendations for a post-season plan.

Firstly, consider reducing volume, intensity, and perhaps even focus on being a single-sport athlete for a while. Fall is an excellent time to embrace running. With the changing leaves and cooler weather, running becomes more enjoyable. The cooler temperatures also help regulate your core body temperature, leading to better performances if you choose to push yourself.

Initially, I suggest scaling back significantly, almost to a remedial level, in terms of total running volume. Many of my athletes, even after completing an Ironman, find joy in starting a simple run program with 10-minute runs, maybe five days a week. During these runs, focus solely on time. Don't worry about pace, distance, or heart rate; just go by feel and enjoyment. The goal is to finish your run before any hint of fatigue sets in. Pay attention to your posture, fostering good habits regardless of the run's duration.

Incorporate some strides or 20-second accelerations within or after your runs twice a week to promote good leg turnover. These shouldn't be too taxing; rather, they should add a bit of zest to your runs. Additionally, consider adding fun trail runs and social runs with friends back into your routine, activities you may have neglected during focused training periods. Gradually increase your run duration by adding 5 minutes to your run every week until you're running approximately 30 minutes, five days a week.

Once you're comfortably running for 30 minutes each session, you'll face a decision. You can continue running for enjoyment, or perhaps you'll feel the urge to test your limits.

At this point, there are two paths you can take:
1. Remain comfortable and focus on building endurance, opting for a 5k or 10k race.
2. Utilize your summer strength to achieve fast times in cooler temperatures and pursue your goals aggressively.

For those considering the latter option, fall temperatures are ideal for achieving peak performances. Runner's World recently published an article detailing the optimal outdoor temperature for fast times, suggesting it to be in the 40-degree range. Regardless, fall temperatures are certainly more favorable than the scorching summer heat.

If you're looking to reignite your competitive spirit or simply want to become a stronger runner without the worry of biking and swimming, keep it fun and maintain a positive attitude. Remember, running is an extension of being a triathlete for many of us, so these events should be stress-free and enjoyable. You may even surprise yourself with a fast time when the pressure is off. Embrace the joy of running, and let go of expectations that come with prescribed workouts and races.

Here are some fun ways to maintain your speed:
- Engage in a pick-up game of soccer or ultimate Frisbee, or join local high school kids for speed runs.
- Incorporate non-traditional speed work once a week or opt for entertaining speed workouts.
- Try trail races for a new adventure and a chance to meet new people.

By stepping away from your usual routines and annual races, you'll likely become mentally and physically stronger. Running requires minimal prep time and equipment, making it an accessible activity anytime, anywhere.

So, go out there and have fun running!

Jim Hallberg believes that each of us has the potential to improve our efficiency, strength, and speed in running, biking, or swimming. While it takes time, dedication, and discipline, it's entirely possible. Working with an experienced coach can ensure that your efforts are targeted in the right areas to help you achieve your goals!

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I think about my nutrition a lot. My philosophy is that sometimes you have to eat for nutrition and not just for taste. My goal is to make something taste good and keep its nutritional integrity. However, sometimes I will add an ingredient solely based on the vitamin and mineral content even when I know it won't taste incredible. This recipe for oatmeal is one that I have adapted over time, and I mix up the ingredients often. This recipe has a lot going on for something so simple, but it's actually easy and quick to make once you get it down. Parts of this recipe come from talking with other athletes, looking online, and reading Bob Seebohar's nutritional blog. So, try this out and adapt it to your preferences.

**Ingredients:**
- 1 cup Oatmeal
- 1 egg white
- 1 Tbsp. dark cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp. roasted flax seeds
- ½ cup of nuts, walnuts or almonds are good
- ½ cup of fruit, blueberries, raspberries, or bananas work well
- 2-3 Tbsp. protein powder, non-flavored
- Honey, Agave Nectar, or Maple Syrup to taste

**Instructions:**
1. Start by bringing 1 ½ cups of water to a boil.
2. Then reduce the heat to medium and add the oatmeal. Let this cook approximately 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. When the oatmeal is just about done, stir in the egg white and cook for 1 more minute.
4. Turn off the heat and add in the remaining ingredients. Keep the sweetener to a minimum if possible.

Honestly, it won't look too appealing. The cocoa turns the mixture a dark brown, and it may look odd, but it tastes pretty good. The egg white adds protein but also helps to emulsify the oatmeal and make it thicker. The flax seeds provide a good dose of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, as do the nuts. The addition of fruit kicks in more vitamins and minerals as well.

It takes a bit more time and preparation, but starting your day with something packed with a full range of macro and micronutrients is a great way to increase your energy levels.

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The glycemic index (GI) provides a way to rank carbohydrate-rich foods according to the blood glucose response following their intake. The GI is calculated by measuring the incremental area under the blood glucose curve following ingestion of a test food (glucose or white bread) providing 50 g of carbohydrate, compared with the area under the blood glucose curve following an equal carbohydrate intake from the reference food. All tests are conducted after an overnight fast (1).

The GI reflects the rate of digestion and absorption of a carbohydrate-rich food. Thus, the GI is influenced by: the food form (including particle size, presence of intact grains, texture, and viscosity); the degree of food processing and cooking; the presence of fructose or lactose (both have a low GI); the ratio of amylopectin and amylose in starch (amylose has a slower rate of digestion); starch-protein or starch-fat interactions; and the presence of antinutrients such as phytates and lectins (1).

Generally, foods are divided into those that have a high GI (glucose, bread, potatoes, breakfast cereal, sports drinks), a moderate GI (sucrose, soft drinks, oats, tropical fruits such as bananas and mangos), or a low GI (fructose, milk, yogurt, lentils, pasta, cold climate fruits such as apples and oranges). Tables of the GI of a large number of foods have been published internationally (2).

Some practitioners have recommended manipulating the GI of foods and meals to enhance carbohydrate availability and improve athletic performance. For example, low GI foods are often recommended before exercise to promote sustained carbohydrate availability. Moderate to high GI foods are recommended during exercise to promote carbohydrate oxidation and following exercise to promote glycogen repletion.

Thomas and colleagues initially raised interest in the use of GI in sport by manipulating the glycemic response to pre-exercise meals (3). They reported that the consumption of 1 g of carbohydrate/kg from a low GI food (lentils) one hour prior to cycling at 67% of VO2max increased endurance compared to an equal amount of carbohydrate from a high GI food (potatoes). The low GI lentils promoted lower postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses and more stable blood glucose levels during exercise compared with the high GI potatoes (3).

In a second study, Thomas and associates provided 1 g of carbohydrate/kg from two low GI meals and two high GI meals (powdered foods and breakfast cereals) one hour prior to cycling to exhaustion at 70% of VO2max (4). The low GI meals were associated with higher blood glucose levels after 90 minutes of exercise compared to the high GI meals and appeared to provide a sustained source of carbohydrate throughout exercise. However, there were no differences in time to exhaustion between the low GI meals and high GI meals and no correlation between exercise time and meal GI.

Sparks and colleagues provided 1 g of carbohydrate/kg from a low GI food (lentils) and a high GI food (potatoes) 45 minutes prior to exercise (5). The subjects cycled for 50 minutes at 67% of VO2max and then underwent a 15 minute performance trial. The high GI meal caused an increase in blood glucose before exercise and a decline in blood glucose at the onset of exercise compared to the low GI meal. Despite these alterations in exercise metabolism, there were no differences in work output during the performance trial.

DeMarco and associates provided 1.5 g of carbohydrate/kg from a low GI food and a high GI food 30 minutes prior to exercise (6). The subjects cycled for two hours at 70% of VO2max and then rode to exhaustion at 100% of VO2max. Plasma insulin levels were lower for the low GI meal through 20 minutes of cycling and the exercise time to exhaustion was longer for the low GI meal compared to the high GI meal. The low GI meal also maintained higher blood glucose levels at the end of two hours of exercise, which may have improved subsequent maximal effort.

Sherman et al (7) compared the ingestion of 1.1 g/kg and 2.2 g/kg of a high glycemic carbohydrate beverage 1 hour prior to exercise. The subjects cycled at 70% of VO2max for 90 minutes and then underwent a performance trial. Serum insulin was initially elevated at the start of and during exercise and blood glucose initially decreased. However, time-trial performance was significantly increased 12.5% by the carbohydrate feedings, presumably via increased carbohydrate oxidation.

There is insufficient evidence to support the recommendation that all athletes consume low GI index foods before exercise. The hypoglycemia and hyperinsulinemia following pre-exercise carbohydrate feedings are transient and will not harm performance unless the athlete reacts negatively to high glycemic foods. A low glycemic index pre-exercise meal may be beneficial for athletes when consuming carbohydrate during exercise is not practical or possible. Athletes should evaluate their responses to high-carbohydrate foods with both low and high glycemic indexes in training to find what works the best (1).

Athletes who react negatively to high glycemic foods can choose from several strategies: consume a low glycemic index carbohydrate before exercise; take in carbohydrate a few minutes before exercise; or wait until exercising to consume carbohydrate. The exercise-induced rise in the hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and growth hormone inhibit the release of insulin and thus counter insulin?s effect in lowering blood glucose.

Consuming carbohydrate during prolonged exercise enhances carbohydrate availability and improves performance. Although it makes sense that athletes should consume carbohydrate sources that are rapidly digested and absorbed to promote carbohydrate oxidation, the glycemic response to carbohydrate feedings during exercise has not been systematically studied. However, most athletes choose carbohydrate-rich foods (sports bars and gels) and fluids (sports drinks) that would be classified as having a moderate to high GI (1).

Consuming adequate carbohydrate following exercise helps to replenish glycogen stores between daily exercise sessions. Burke and associates investigated the effect of GI on muscle glycogen repletion following two hours of cycling at 75% of V02max (7). The subjects consumed 10 g of carbohydrate/kg/day from high GI or a low GI meals. The high GI diet promoted greater muscle glycogen storage (106 mmol/kg) than the low GI diet (71.5 mmol/kg) after 24 hours.

The most rapid increase in muscle glycogen during the first 24 hours of recovery may be achieved by consuming foods with a high GI. However, Burke and colleagues note that the total amount of carbohydrate consumed is the most important consideration for glycogen repletion. They recommend an intake of 7 to 10 g of carbohydrate per kg for maximum daily glycogen restoration (1).

The GI concept has limitations. The GI is based on equal grams of carbohydrate (50 g), not average serving sizes. The numbers that are available are also largely based on tests using single foods. The blood glucose response to high GI foods may be blunted when combined with low GI foods in the meal. However, the GI can be applied to mixed meals by taking a weighted mean of the GI of the carbohydrate-rich foods that make up the meal (1).

The GI may be useful in sport by helping to fine tune food choices. However, the GI should not be used exclusively to provide guidelines for carbohydrate and food intake before, during, and after exercise. There are other features of foods that are important to the athlete, such as the food?s nutritional content and the practical issues of palatability, portability, cost, gastric comfort, and ease of preparation. Since food choices are specific to the individual athlete and exercise situation, athletes should choose foods according to their nutritional goals (1).

References

1. Burke LM, Collier GR, Hargreaves M. The glycemic index ? a new tool in sport nutrition? Int J Sport Nutr. 1998; 8:401-415.

2. Foster-Powell K, Brand Miller J. International tables of glycemic index. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995; 62(Suppl): S871-S893.

3. Thomas, DE, Brotherhood JR, Brand JC. Carbohydrate feeding before exercise: effect of glycemic index. Int J Sport Med. 1991; 12:180-186.

4. Thomas DE, Brotherhood JR, Brand Miller, J. Plasma glucose levels after prolonged strenuous exercise correlate inversely with glycemic response to food consumed before exercise. Int J Sport Nutr. 1994; 4:361-373.

5. Sparks MJ, Selig SS, Febbraio MA. Pre-exercise carbohydrate ingestion: effect of the glycemic index on endurance exercise performance. Med Sci Sport Exerc. 1998; 30:844-849.

6. DeMarco HM, Sucher KP, Cisar CJ, GE Butterfield. Pre-exercise carbohydrate meals: application of glycemic index. Med Sci Sport Exerc. 1999; 31:164-170.

7. Sherman WM, Peden MC, Wright DA. Carbohydrate feedings 1 hour before exercise improves cycling performance. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991;54:866-870.

8. Burke LM, Collier GR, Hargreaves M. Muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercsie: effect of glycemic index. J. Appl. Physiol. 1993; 75:1019-1023.

Miles of smiles,

Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

In one bowl mix: 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup flour (I have experimented with white and wheat, but you must use AT LEAST 1/2 white), 1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

In a separate bowl, mash up 2 bananas with a fork, add 1 cup milk (soy works fine) and 1 egg. Mix this up and add it to the dry ingredients.

From there you can cook it like a regular pancake. If you are trying to make a bar to use on a ride or run I would suggest adding some honey or syrup and then you just put the mix in a pan and bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. Then just cut them up into bars after they cool. This batch amount will make about 6-8 pancakes or 10-12 bars.

If you have any other questions just send them on.

Proper meal timing, portion control, and nutrient balance play crucial roles in maintaining stable blood glucose levels throughout the day, essential for both training and work performance. Additionally, distributing calories evenly across meals is vital for effective weight management. Many triathletes may experience increased hunger later in the day due to inadequate calorie and protein intake earlier in the day, leading to overeating during evening meals. This phenomenon, known as "back-loading" calories, can hinder weight control efforts.

To prevent overeating and maintain stable energy levels, I recommend consuming a balanced meal or snack containing both protein and carbohydrates approximately every three hours. Carbohydrates elevate blood sugar levels, while protein helps sustain them. An ideal meal/snack schedule might look like this: 6 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM.

Keeping a food diary can assist in refining meal timing, content, and portion sizes. The goal is to front-load calories earlier in the day to avoid excessive hunger and overeating at dinner. By spreading calorie intake evenly throughout the day, one can consume fewer calories, gradually reduce body fat, and sustain energy levels for work and training.

For those aiming to lose weight, incorporating more fruits and vegetables into the diet can be beneficial. These foods are nutrient-rich and low in calories, promoting satiety while consuming fewer calories. The concept of volumetrics, an entire weight loss plan, revolves around this principle.

It's essential to avoid overly restrictive calorie reduction, as it can compromise training intensity and duration, increasing the risk of illness or injury. Instead, focus on gradual, sustainable weight loss.

Below is a sample meal plan providing approximately 2,300 calories:

**Breakfast (500 calories):**
- 1 egg
- 2 slices whole grain toast (use spreads sparingly)
- 1 serving of fruit
- 1/2 cup fruit juice

**Mid-morning snack (250 calories):**
- 1 ounce string cheese
- 1 1/2 ounces pretzels

**Lunch (600 calories):**
- 3 ounces lean protein (meat, fish, or poultry)
- 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables
- 1 serving of fruit
- 1 serving of grains (1 cup rice/pasta or 1 slice bread with 1/2 cup rice/pasta)

**Mid-afternoon snack (250 calories):**
- Liquid meal replacement (e.g., Boost)

**Dinner (600 calories):**
- 3 ounces lean protein (meat, fish, or poultry)
- 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables
- 1 serving of fruit
- 1 serving of grains (1 cup rice/pasta or 1 slice bread with 1/2 cup rice/pasta)

Remember, balanced nutrition and consistent meal timing are key components of overall health and fitness.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

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Are you looking for that "something" to help take your health and athletic performance to the next level? Below, I provide you with the latest in nutrition & exercise science to help optimize health and achieve peak run performance.

**#10: Implement Carbo-Loading Protocols Before Long Races**

Carbo-loading protocols are appropriate when gearing up for races lasting 2+ hours. These entail coordinating a high carbohydrate training diet (55-60% of daily intake) with a taper in training volume about 2-3 weeks out from race day. Increase carbohydrate concentration by 25% while maintaining calorie balance in the final three days leading up to race day. Popular carbo-loading menu items include pasta, potato, bagels, cereal, energy bars, fruit juice, bananas, rice, pretzels, and low-fat yogurt. By following carbo-loading protocols, muscle glycogen stores will increase 30-40%, lowering the likelihood of hitting the wall mid-race.

**#9: Practice Fueling Before Racing**

Regardless of race distance or carbo-loading protocols, a pre-race meal is essential to protect against low blood sugars and mental drain known as "bonking". Stick to lower-fiber, "gut-friendly" pre-race options such as plain toast, bananas, rice or corn-based cereal, pasta, and potato. Including up to 25 grams of protein and up to 20 grams of fat is encouraged to mute hunger and stabilize blood sugars. Aim to consume 400-600 carbohydrate-focused calories in the two hours leading up to race start to optimize blood sugars and protect against early onset of muscle fatigue.

**#8: Include Salt on Race Mornings**

Salt loading before a race can help increase blood volume, allowing athletes to maintain a lower core body temperature and a lower level of perceived effort. Athletes naturally exposed to sodium-rich foods may not need to add extra salt to their normal pre-race routine. Runners with pre-existing elevated blood pressure should check with their physician before practicing salt loading.

**#7: Learn Your Sweat Rate**

Understanding sweat rate is crucial for developing a race day nutrition plan. To determine hourly fluid needs, subtract post-workout weight from pre-workout weight and multiply by 15.2 ounces. Add this number to volume of fluid ingested during the workout to determine total fluid needs. Divide total fluid needs by total duration of workout to determine hourly fluid replacement needs. As the heat index rises and/or workout intensity increases, sweat rate also increases.

**#6: Be Aware of Your Body's Ability to Absorb Fluids**

Determining actual uptake rate (how much fluid you can absorb) is essential. Monitoring urine color and frequency can help assess fluid absorption efficiency. Overdrinking can lead to hyponatremia (low blood sodium), characterized by symptoms like a sloshy gut, bloating, headaches, clear urine, weight gain, and vomiting.

**#5: Use Multiple Carbohydrate Sources During Training and Racing**

A combination or blend of two or more types of simple sugars and a complex carbohydrate can increase carbohydrate uptake rate, positively impacting endurance performance. Athletes engaging in back-to-back long run efforts or workouts twice a day can benefit from this approach.

**#4: Add Protein for the Long Haul**

Including up to 6 grams of protein during training or racing lasting greater than three hours may help enhance endurance performance by sparing muscle glycogen and increasing fluid uptake. Be cautious about overdoing protein to avoid stomach distress and muscle fatigue/cramping.

**#3: Go Longer with Less Effort with Caffeine**

Caffeine intake during prolonged exercise helps maintain blood glucose concentration and reduce strength loss. Experiment with personal tolerance to caffeine and choose caffeinated energy gels based on individual response.

**#2: Focus on Low Glycemic Carbohydrates Between Workouts**

Consuming low glycemic carbohydrates between workouts may optimize performance when back-to-back workouts are planned. Low glycemic foods have been shown to result in more efficient fatty acid oxidation and longer endurance.

**#1: Fill Your Meal Plate with Foods that Reduce Inflammation**

Consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially those with deep color hues, provides anti-inflammatory benefits. Incorporate these foods into 50% of each meal plate to combat inflammation and enhance recovery.

These strategies can help optimize your nutrition and exercise routine to achieve peak run performance and overall health.

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Nutrition research generally focuses on the effect of individual nutrients or food components on health and disease. To understand mechanisms, it’s necessary to use single nutrients or dietary constituents so that complex interactions don’t make the interpretation of experimental results impossible. However, foods contain a large number of biologically active ingredients, and athletes eat foods, not nutrients or dietary components. Trying to understand the full impact of diet on health when considering only isolated food components is comparable to missing the forest for the trees.

The influence of diet on health occurs not only from the subtle effects of numerous individual food components, but from whole foods and the associated interactions that occur among these components. Mark Messina, PhD, and colleagues refer to this concept as ‘food synergy’ and recommend emphasizing dietary patterns, rather than individual foods or nutrients (see Messina and colleagues, 2001).

There are three basic principles athletes can follow to obtain a healthy diet (see ADA, 2002):

1. **Moderation** refers to eating a wide selection of foods within and among the five major food groups daily. No one major food group is more or less important than any other food group. Moderation should also include appropriate portion size.

2. **Balance** refers to eating relatively more servings from the larger food groups at the bottom of the Food Guide Pyramid and fewer servings from the smaller food groups at the top of the pyramid.

3. **Dietary adequacy** can be obtained by including a variety of nutrient-dense foods such as grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Athletes should try to obtain their nutrients from foods rather than relying on supplements. Although supplements are suggested when food intake is not adequate to meet specific needs, a balanced diet remains the ideal source of nutrients. In addition to having a variety of nutrients, foods contain bioactive compounds such as phytochemicals and dietary fiber that have health benefits (see ADA, 2002). Supplements don’t contain these compounds in the same chemical form or proportion as found in food. By taking a vitamin C pill, athletes miss out on the dietary fiber, limonene (an anticancer phytochemical), potassium, and energy they would obtain from eating an orange.

Nutrients in food are also often ‘packaged’ more effectively than they are in supplements. Milk contains both calcium and lactose; and lactose increases the absorption of calcium. Most calcium supplements do not contain lactose.

Protein-rich foods serve as ‘timed-release’ sources of amino acids and other nutrients necessary for muscle protein synthesis. Compare a tasteless 500-milligram arginine supplement to one cup of low-fat fruited yogurt that contains 10 grams of high-quality protein, 18 different amino acids (including 300 milligrams of arginine), carbohydrate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Nutrition is a relatively young science. Foods may contain other nutritional substances that have not yet been identified. Diet, not supplements, is the preferred vehicle to achieve nutritional adequacy (see ADA, 2002). Taking supplements as an alternative to appropriate food choices may have a negative effect on performance because the athlete does not address dietary composition (carbohydrate, protein, fat, and calories). Athletes also get more nutritional bang for their buck with foods than supplements.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial illustrated the importance of food synergy and the complex relationship between diet and disease. The DASH trial established that:

1. a dietary pattern rich in fruits and vegetables reduced blood pressure;
2. a dietary pattern also rich in low-fat dairy products and reduced in fat further lowered blood pressure; and
3. a reduced sodium intake produced even greater reductions in blood pressure (see Appel et al., 1997; Sacks et al., 2001).

In addition to promoting food synergy, an emphasis on dietary patterns rather than on individual foods or nutrients is easier for athletes to translate into dietary behavior.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

Learn more about the nutrition and hydration services offered by D3 Multisport [here](link).

References:
- Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzenek E, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. New England Journal of Medicine. 1997;336:1117-1124.
- Messina M, Lampe JW, Birt DF, et al. Reductionism and the narrowing nutrition perspective: time for reevaluation and emphasis on food synergy. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2001;101:1416-1419.
- Position of the American Dietetic Association: total diet approach to communicating food and nutrition information. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2002;102:100-108.
- Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM et al. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group. New England Journal of Medicine. 2001; 344:3-10.

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Cold weather is upon us, and as you begin to bundle up for your outdoor exercise, please make sure you don't become dehydrated! You might think, "Dehydration in cold weather, really?" Yes, really. Basically, you do not feel as thirsty as the temperatures drop. So when you don't feel thirsty, you won't consume as much fluids, which will then cause dehydration.

With every breath in the cold air, you lose a great deal of fluid. Then when you add on the amount of extra clothing you are exercising in, you are still perspiring, and typically your body will work much harder than it normally would due to the extra weight. Don't forget that sweat evaporates quicker in the cold, dry air.

Your body is comprised of 60-65% water, and as that percentage drops by ~2%, you will become dehydrated. Once dehydration sets in, you can see a decrease in your performance. This will slow down your recovery rate and minimize some of your training adaptations as well.

Something that needs to be taken into consideration is how your thirst response reacts in cold weather versus warm weather. During lower temperatures, our thirst response doesn't activate as much, leaving us not feeling thirsty. This can become a very big problem during prolonged exercise in cold weather.

I've had an athlete compete at the 2010 Ironman Florida who has experienced this lesson firsthand. He figured since it was cold, he needed to adjust his nutrition and did not need to consume as much fluids. Let's say that led to a very unhappy ending. You need to be aware of your sweat rate and how it is affected by different temperatures. Your ability to adapt will help you maintain a higher level of performance.

Every athlete's sweat rate is different. Your sweat rate depends on your body size, exercise intensity, climate (temperature, wind, etc.), physical fitness, clothing, gender, and how you acclimated to your current conditions you are exercising in. If you know your current sweat rate, make sure you monitor it during your training sessions in the cold weather. If you do not know it, use the below equation and instructions to determine it. This would be good for those wanting to double-check theirs in any temperature.

**CALCULATE YOUR SWEAT RATE:** To begin, record your nude body weight prior to exercising. When you are finished exercising, dry yourself off the best you can and record your nude body weight again. Record what and how much you consumed of fluids during your exercise. Subtract your pre-exercise weight from your post-exercise weight and add the amount of fluid you consumed to that number. This will give you the amount of fluid you lost while exercising. Then you need to divide that number by the amount of hours you exercised for, and that will equal your sweat rate. Be sure to record the weather conditions as well, as to see how this may fluctuate.

1. Record your nude body weight prior to exercise.
2. Record your nude body weight (dry off best you can before recording weight) after exercise (convert weights to ounces; 1 lb = 16 oz).
3. Record how much fluid you consumed during exercise (use ounces).
4. Subtract lines 1 & 2 from above for total weight loss and add line 3. This is the amount of fluid your body lost while exercising.
5. Take the number from line 4 and divide it by how many hours you exercised for. This will give you an idea of what your sweat rate is.

Moral of the story is dehydration is not just something to worry about in the heat, but at all temperatures. Be sure to monitor your fluid levels, know your sweat rate, and pay attention to your rate of perceived exertion during your workouts. Be safe and happy holidays!

Nick Suffredin previously was a Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute where he worked on testing elite professional athletes to enhance their hydration practices and nutrition intake to improve their performance. He has been part of human performance advisory boards as well as currently provides endurance and nutrition coaching.

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Have you ever found yourself away from home, feeling hungry and settling for greasy, fatty foods? Reaching for sugary sweets and fast food options from chains can disrupt your diet, affect your mood, and reduce productivity. While we've all been there, it doesn't have to be that way anymore. By traveling prepared and making smart choices, you can easily change your eating habits for the better. And it's simpler than you might imagine. Here are some tips and tricks to add to your nutritional toolkit while traveling, keeping you both happy and healthy:

A. **Nuts and Nut Butters:** If you don't have any nut allergies, nuts and nut butters are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can have on hand. Packed with heart-healthy fats, essential minerals, and quality proteins, nuts like almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or peanuts are excellent options while on the go. Pack some nuts in a bag, carry individual packets of nut butters, or grab some at the airport. Pair a nut butter (such as peanut, almond, or cashew) with a piece of fruit or a whole-grain bagel for a satisfying snack.

B. **Fruits:** Bananas, oranges, or apples are convenient choices full of energy-boosting carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, all wrapped in their natural packaging. Dried fruits like raisins are also excellent options as they have a longer shelf life than fresh fruits but offer the same nutritional benefits. Plus, they'll satisfy your sweet cravings!

C. **Granola:** While most store-bought granolas are high in sugar, you can find healthier options by reading labels carefully or making your own. This beloved snack can serve as a nourishing mini-meal, providing essential nutrients and fiber. Despite its calorie content, granola's high fiber content makes it a great, lower glycemic snack option.

By incorporating these travel-friendly snacks into your routine, you can maintain a nutritious diet even while on the go, ensuring you stay fueled and ready for your adventures.

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"I train as a means to an objective, and that objective is to race faster the next time than I did the last time."  Karen Smyers

When we look at developing a plan for our racing season, we often start by determining our A race(s) and then plugging in additional races that help lead into the big A race(s). We follow phases and/or the plan developed by our coach, but do we have goals for these phases and races to help us achieve our ultimate finish at our big race?

I am thinking that Karen Smyers did not reach her objective of 'racing faster the next time'; better yet, winning Ironman Hawaii, without having goals for her racing season. We need to train with goals as goals give our season purpose. These goals motivate us to train each day. They help get us out of bed at 5:30 AM to go to our masters swim group, they get us out the door for a six-hour ride with a 45-minute runoff; they help us make the best nutritional choices, etc. Simply stated, GOALS MOTIVATE US!

Establishing goals does not have to be complicated and can be made easier with the help and guidance of your coach. Second, start by determining how much time you will have to train. Be honest with yourself and thus eliminate unnecessary frustrations as your season gets underway. Remember-balance is key. Make your goals realistic and don't confuse them with dreams. There is nothing wrong with dreams as long as we distinguish what is realistic for this season and what is really long-term and will take more than one season to achieve. To quote Joe Friel, "If you reasonably can achieve it this season, no matter how big it may seem, it is no longer a dream, but a goal." Make your goals measurable, within your power, and make them stretch you. State your goals in a positive way.

Third, establish training objectives. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What type of training camps, etc‚ can you set up to help you reach these objectives? Set timelines to meet the objectives and determine what races you want to do. Prioritize them into A, B, or C races. Only pick two or three A races so you allow yourself a chance to reach your peak fitness for each of these race days. B races are not as important but they have a purpose in preparing you for A races. You may have four to six of these B races and everything else would be a C race. C races can be used for hard workouts, as a tune-up for A races, or as a great testing opportunity. Most of us get more out of our self in racing situations, making these C races great 'testing labs'.

Once you've established how much time you have available for training, what your goals, training objectives are, and your race priorities, your coach will be ready to establish the various phases of your season. As your coach establishes your annual training plan (ATP) based on these stated criteria, you will be able to understand and know what to expect in these training phases; which will include hours of training and specific workouts.

So‚ why season goals? As I stated before; they simply are a source of motivation for us throughout the season. They drive us to reach the ultimate prize‚ the completion of our number one race!