Here in California, spring is in full swing, which means that weekends are filling up with big training rides, runs, and adventures in preparation for summer efforts and events. I'm sure that all of you athletes around the country can say the same! With that ramp up in training, hopefully comes a welcome hunger—for performing at your best, which requires fueling your body properly, with ingredients that taste good and work well for you!
A couple of weekends ago, I had the pleasure of riding with a team of 6 women in the second annual Rapha Women's Prestige here in San Francisco; an unsupported, unsanctioned, 123-mile tough-gals road race complete with 13,000 feet of elevation gain, off-road sections, and a myriad of weather conditions. The biggest challenge? We would need to tackle each obstacle, each element of the course as a team and cross the finish line together and without the help of all of those amazing significant others, friends, and loved ones that had gathered along the route to cheer us on.
We received the details of the course on Tuesday (previously undisclosed) and by Wednesday morning all six of my team members and I were engaged in a full-fledged conversation about what we would EAT along the ride and how we would carry it. We figured that we'd be out there for 8+ hours at our best, and that's a long time to be eating gel or other endurance products. On race morning, one teammate brought sweet potatoes, another a case full of her favorite energy bars, blocks and gels. I pulled out a batch of these power-packed "Peanut Butter Beast Bars" as I like to call them, which have quickly been receiving acclaim in my riding and training circles so that we could enjoy a little food-that-looks-like-food along the way as well. Frankly, we didn't even touch those energy bars and instead managed to house a whole pan of these instead. AND, we took third place that day. A delicious way to start the season!
This wasn't the first time I'd whipped out this recipe; a few years back, when Ironman training and its hunger were bringing me to my knees each day at 2:45 pm, I created this recipe as a quick afternoon snack, and one that I could wrap up individually and take with me wherever I was running/riding/traveling. The oats, peanut butter, and a little bit of honey prove to be well balanced, tasty fuel whether you're eating them for breakfast, on a ride, or as a recovery snack. I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did most recently!
The ingredients are simple and might already be in your pantry, and the actual preparation couldn't be easier. I like to whip up a batch on a Thursday night in preparation for weekend activities and the batch will last me through most of the week (that is, unless I invite friends to share my stash.) You could experiment with other nut butters and fruits to your liking here—make it a snack that sings to your cravings and fuels your ride. Train well, eat well out there!
**Peanut Butter Beast Bars**
- 1/4 cup unsweetened big flake coconut
- 1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
- 1/2 cup whole toasted almonds (or other toasted nuts)
- 1/2 cup raisins (or cranberries, blueberries, or cherries)
- 2 cups quick oats
- 2 cups puffed brown rice cereal
- 1 cup creamy roasted peanut butter
- 1 cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the coconut, sunflower seeds, nuts, raisins, oats, and puffed rice. Set aside.
In a microwave-proof bowl, or a small saucepan, gently warm the syrup, honey, and the peanut butter. (About 2 minutes in the microwave.) Once the honey/peanut butter mixture is warm, stir until rather smooth and homogeneous. Add the vanilla.
Pour the honey mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until all of the dry ingredients are well coated. Next, press the mixture into the prepared pan with the back of a spatula. Coat with waxed paper and let cool completely in the refrigerator. Once cool, slice, wrap individually, and eat eat eat!
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 the current conditions you are exercising in.
Your sweat rate is the starting point to developing a successful race plan. As you begin to exercise more than an hour, hydration becomes increasingly more important. Hydration has a large role in exercise performance as well as recovery. Maintaining proper hydration levels throughout the day and post exercise can help improve recovery. If you do not know your sweat rate use the below instructions and equation to determine a estimate of what your fluid loss is. This is a good test to do for athletes who also want to double check their fluid loss in any temperature. Right now, being winter, it is a good check point to understand what your needs are while exercising outdoors with multiple layers. Same for conditions where you typically may be exercising indoors on a treadmill or trainer. You can compare these test results with those of different climates to monitor fluid needs in varying conditions. This practice helps if you need to make hydration or fueling plan adjustments for your race if weather changes unexpectedly.
Calculating Your Sweat Rate
This is a simple way for you to calculate your sweat rate. To begin, record your nude body weight prior to exercise. When you are finished exercising, dry yourself off the best you can and record your nude bodyweight 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, and that will equal your sweat rate. Be sure to record the weather conditions as well. This will help you determine how your sweat rate fluctuates in different temperature ranges.
Use the list below to calculate your sweat rate.
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.
Nick Suffredin is an expert in fueling strategies for athletes, and we are proud he is a resource for D3 athletes. Nick Suffredin is a former scientists at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) where his primary responsibility was to support the GSSI physiology research program. As part of the innovation team, Nick supported research to help improve athlete recovery and performance.
He provides exceptional race day fueling strategies for D3 athletes! Learn more below.
As we all know, there are different training regimens for short course triathlon versus long course. For short course, typically people will be doing less overall volume and higher intensity bouts. And with long course triathlon, the overall volume increases while intensity may be more in the tempo range for longer periods rather than VO2 max efforts.
Our bodies use energy differently during high-intensity, shorter bouts of exercise versus longer, slower endurance zones. Shorter, harder intervals tend to burn more carbohydrate for fuel while longer, slower training days expend more fat for fuel. For this reason, it’s optimal to plan your nutrition around these facts.
**Important details:**
**Combining:**
When training longer and slower, encourage carbohydrates combined with fat and protein in your meals. This will help the fat and protein carry the carbohydrate energy longer. For shorter, more intense training, use lower amounts of fat and protein (during and around training), and higher amounts of carbohydrate.
**Timing:**
Not only is there a difference in overall training and nutrition for various triathlon distances, but nutrient timing is also something to pay attention to. For example, after doing a workout where glycogen stores are depleted (something longer than your body does on a regular basis, or something high in intensity), it’s important to follow that up with a higher glycemic carbohydrate and protein combination.
For shorter distance races, nutrition importance is emphasized more in the dinner the night before and the breakfast before the event. For longer distances, nutrition DURING the event is critical as well. As I’m sure you’ve all heard or learned, nutrition is the 4th discipline in Ironman, and learning about nutrition ‘during’ is essential to that distance success.
**Amounts:**
Setting the stage before workouts is similar in each distance; combining fat, protein, and carbohydrate will all be essential, but amounts of each may differ.
**Hydration:**
Hydration is key to any endurance sport. Just 3 percent dehydration drastically hinders performance. Drink water and/or electrolyte water throughout the day; pale yellow pee is ideal. Eat foods high in water content like fresh fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of fluids during training as well and use electrolytes when necessary.
**Examples:**
*Long training:* oats with coconut oil, nut butter, and banana, OR 2 eggs, turkey bacon, zucchini, coconut oil, avocado, and tomato, mix in leftover rice. Allow sufficient time after eating before training; everyone is different.
*Short training:* banana, with honey and nut butter mixed together, OR applesauce with protein powder mixed in and topped with a few chopped nuts. Shorter training with high intensity may not allow for as much food beforehand; either add time before training and increase servings or make sure to get enough to replenish post-workout. A sports drink may help during workouts for easy digestion.
*Post-workouts that require higher glycemic foods:* smoothie with protein powder, banana, small amount of juice, berries., OR white rice and chicken in a wrap with fresh fruit.
*Dinner before a short event:* rice, chicken, olive oil, cooked veggies (emphasize rice and do only about 2-3 ounces of chicken), OR sweet potatoes with organic butter, cooked broccoli, fish.
*Breakfast before a short event:* This all depends on YOU and how long you give yourself before race start.
- 90 min-2hr: applesauce with protein powder, salted nut butter, and banana.
- 3 hrs before: quick oats, banana, nut butter, some may also do additional protein via a small smoothie.
*Dinner and breakfast before a long event:* Should be similar to what you’ve done in training for long days on the bike and/or bricks. Don’t change what you’ve been doing. For longer races, it’s imperative to eat about 3 hours prior to your event. You’ll need ample calories, and in order for it to digest and assimilate before your race, you need to give it time.
*During Ironman distance:* This is a whole other article topic, but to summarize, you will need to take in anywhere between @200-350 calories per hour during the race. ELECTROLYTES become a KEY component to this as well. Knowing your sweat rate and using your knowledge from training and electrolytes used, will help you determine the amount of sodium and other electrolytes needed per hour. Most sports drinks are equipped with a good starting point, however some athletes sweat a lot more and expel a lot more sodium then the base of a typical sports drink. The range of sodium needs can be anywhere between 200mg/hour-2200mg/hour. That said, work with someone that can help you navigate this if you are running into trouble deciphering (like D3’s own Nick Suffedin!).
In conclusion, the nutritional needs of a long course athlete are going to differ quite a bit from a short course triathlete. Adjust as needed, but always keep in mind what is working for you as an individual, track your progress and how you feel so you can better determine YOUR best scenario.
Megan Forbes is a Registered Dietitian who received her degree from Colorado State University in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Her postgrad work was done in Boulder
Ironman race day arrives, and you're left reflecting on how quickly the time has passed since you registered a year ago. Yes, an entire year filled with planning, preparing, and a lot of hard work has flown by. As the cannon goes off and the day begins, you find yourself completing the 2.4-mile swim and transitioning into T1 to gear up for the ride. With positivity in mind, you embark on the 112-mile bike leg, reminding yourself of the countless hours you've spent training. The halfway point comes and goes, and before you know it, mile 100 arrives, signaling the transition to T2. Off the bike and into the changing tent, with only 26.2 miles left to conquer, you patiently tackle each mile, sticking to your race plan.
As you near the finish line, emotions surge within you. The challenges and triumphs of the day, coupled with the year of dedicated training, come pouring out in the form of tears. The elation of crossing the finish line is unlike anything you've ever experienced as an athlete. In the first week following the race, you find yourself revisiting the emotions of that momentous finish. The sense of accomplishment leaves you unable to wipe the smile off your face. However, as the initial excitement subsides, you begin to feel a sense of emptiness. Something seems to be missing. What could it be?
In the words of a close friend and training buddy who completed two Ironman races, "Amy, it's like losing your best friend." This sentiment encapsulates the feeling of loss that many experience after an Ironman. The year-long journey toward this singular goal has come to an end, leaving a void in its wake. It's a real sensation, one that warrants acknowledgment and attention.
So, how do you cope with this feeling of loss? First and foremost, recognize it as a legitimate emotion and understand that it's okay to feel this way. Reach out to fellow triathletes who have completed an Ironman and discuss your post-race emotions with them. Rather than abruptly ending your training regimen, talk to your coach about transitioning into a post-Ironman training plan. While you don't need to maintain the intensity of your previous workouts, having some structure in place can provide a sense of stability.
Consider writing a race report within the first week after your Ironman. This serves as a written account of your race day memories, allowing you to revisit and relive the experience whenever you choose. It's also a wonderful way to share your Ironman journey with others, including family, friends, and fellow triathletes.
After giving yourself some time to rest and engage in light training, start planning for the next season. Sit down with your coach to discuss your winter base training and set goals for the upcoming year. Channel the energy and motivation from your Ironman finish into preparing for future races and challenges.
Is Ironman depression a reality? Only you can answer that question. For many, including myself, it's a genuine experience. However, with self-awareness and a proactive approach to moving forward, it's a feeling that can be managed. The sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that comes from completing an Ironman far outweighs any post-race blues. As Mike Reilly, the iconic Ironman announcer, proclaims, "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"
We all say "The race is 90% mental" but what are these, quote-unquote, mental skills anyway? Athletes easily respond to the tangible (HR, cadence, etc.), yet don't really understand how to address this fluffy mental stuff. We all go to tri-chat sites where the threads go on and on about wattage and AeT. This is fabulous information ? if "(a BIG if)" you have clarity to use it when your mind feels threatened and turns on you during a killer day. What good is paying a triathlon guru all this cash for his scrupulous (and brilliantly colored) training plans if your anxiety about the swim start interferes with your focus in packing those dreaded transition bags? What good is maintaining a Zone 2 HR on the bike if your legs start listening to your-brain-turned-adversary when it screams 'this hurts too much so I have to stop' on the run? What if you could train your legs not to listen? Better yet, what if you could train your brain not to turn against your body when it is feeling threatened in the first place? Just think about how empowering all that tri-chat information would be then.Mental skills (motivation, confidence, intensity, focus, emotion & pain tolerance) are trainable.
When we work a physical drill such as a swim stroke, once the motor pattern is established, it becomes automatic. This is exactly the same for training mental skills. Regulating those anxious thoughts with specific mental drills can become automatic. We are familiar with looking up our daily physical workout. If we could take the mental fuzz and put it into a daily workout format which we are comfortable with, we would be inclined to train these mental skills along with our physical ones. SO, what are these 'mental skills'? Motivation: Not only what we expect to accomplish, but importantly, what we expect to sacrifice and gain. It is only when we appreciate the foundation of why we want to train can we take full responsibility for the work required to achieve our goals.Confidence: How strongly we believe in our ability to achieve our goals. Preparation creates confidence, and adversity instills confidence and even the smallest of successes ingrains confidence. Self-talk is essential for monitoring confidence. Your body listens to your mind: if you tell yourself you will bonk, you will. If you tell yourself you can overcome fatigue, you will. Think about how confidence affects all other mental skills (motivation, intensity, focus, etc.).Intensity: How our physiological activity is perceived. This is crucial: endurance sports are about saving energy. Physiological activity can be perceived as anxiety and tension which literally eats energy up.
Positive perception of this activity is empowering and energizing to the body. Over-intensity manifests in the body as anxiety and fear which drains energy. You choose this perception.Focus: The ability to stay focused on the process of performing your best despite internal and external distractions. Triathlon requires strict focus on race-relevant cues like breathing, pace and nutrition. Being distracted by irrelevant cues such as others, past races or future parts of the race takes you away from your present performance.Emotions: Your ability to control your emotions. Emotions are raw. All athletes feel the whole spectrum of emotions during a race. If you don? Have the ability to change them so that they become helpful, they become an obstacle. If they control you then you succumb to the vicious downward spiral of negativity. If you control them then you can use them as a gauge, and tell them to energize, not drain, your body.
Pain tolerance: The ability to differentiate pain (performance vs. warning). How you interpret the pain will determine how it affects you. Increase your tolerance and use it to indicate positive performance progress. Triathlon requires tactical, technical and physical plans, all of which need full mental strength to regulate. At the end of a race our body starts to fight with our mind, it feels threatened. Unless you have trained your mind to respond properly, your technique, tact and body give in and you deteriorate. Like any physical challenge, how could we expect our body to perform unless we've trained it to do so? How then would we expect our mind just to become mentally tough without specifically training it to do so? Given that the nature of triathlon is extremely focused on details (zones, splits), you need to give the same diligence to quantifying your mental plan as your physical regimen. It is easy to quantify physical limiters and address those skills in our daily workouts.
What athletes need is a systematic way to address those mental limiters. Training your mental skill set (along with your physical drills) is the only guarantee to racing at your true potential.
Vegetarian diets have been continuously gaining popularity due to numerous studies reporting an assortment of health benefits. Naturally, most endurance athletes are health-conscious and take notice, but they also pose the question – could this improve my performance too?
That question still remains to be known for sure and proven. Theoretically, if a vegetarian maintained proper carbohydrate intake along with meeting or surpassing recommended nutrient amounts while maintaining proper calorie (energy) intake, then it would be similar to a typical endurance athlete’s diet. It is known that most vegetarians do consume more carbohydrates compared to non-vegetarians. Typically, vegetarian diets are high in fiber, which tends to lead to low energy intake because fiber brings on satiety sooner, limiting total energy ingestion. This is why a vegetarian endurance athlete may want to incorporate some more impactful energy foods such as nuts, tofu, and other vegetable proteins that are available.
Most vegetarians meet the recommendations for total protein intake, but there are those who fall below that recommendation so vegetarian athletes need to be aware of protein’s importance. All amino acids should be consumed by endurance athletes. However, not all plant-based proteins contain all amino acids. A mix of different vegetarian/plant-based foods will allow for at least low levels of amino acids to be consumed where another food may be lacking. As a general rule of thumb, vegetarian athletes should target about 10% more protein for their intake compared to animal-based food diet athlete’s recommendations. The reason being is plant-based proteins are not digested as well as animal-based proteins.
Something to note, vegetarian endurance athletes are at an increased risk of developing anemia (iron deficiency), even more so for female athletes. This is why iron supplementation may be a good idea when choosing a vegetarian diet. Spinach is a good source of iron.
Other nutrients that may be low that endurance athletes should be conscious of when choosing a vegetarian diet are vitamin B12, zinc, calcium, and riboflavin. Typically, those vitamins and minerals are consumed in animal-based foods, but can also be found in appropriate vegetarian meat alternatives. It is critical for vegetarian athletes to look for alternatives that they are willing to and enjoy consuming to replace those nutrients that are normally provided by meat and other foods that would no longer be chosen.
When considering any supplementation for your diet, consult with a healthcare professional before consuming so you know it is needed and that it is the correct one for you.
Nick Suffredin, M.S. Food Science & Human Nutrition, is a guest writer for D3 this month. Nick 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 product formulation and sports nutrition consulting.
Every endurance event is a challenge beginning with your training and being able to make it to the starting line 100% healthy. Throughout your training you may come across constant fatigue (abnormal amounts), increased heart rates during exercise that (abnormal from typical training), and even become more irritable than usual. The immediate diagnosis is probably dehydration, under fueling or overtraining. As you make those adjustments to accommodate your self-diagnosis the problems still occur. One overlooked problem could be coming from one of the most abundant metals on earth, which oddly enough is also one of the most common disorders nutritionally iron.Iron is essential for human physiology as it is necessary for hemoglobin and myoglobin proteins, which are vital for transport of the oxygen in the blood and muscle. It also is critical for functionality for your immune system and brain. As you would imagine the facilitation of exercise and your performance will be affected by your iron levels. If too little iron is available, smaller or even fewer red blood cells will be produced which will lead to less oxygen being transported in the blood. If this is what is occurring, then the symptoms mentioned could possibly be an iron deficiency identified as anemia.
As an endurance athlete you are constantly testing your body's limit daily and rely on the delivery of oxygen to your muscles to allow for this to happen. If you are slightly anemic, you may see some detrimental effects on your training performance. Since iron is an essential nutrient, you need to get it from your diet since your body is not able to synthesize it. As mentioned previously, iron deficiency is a worldwide common deficiency and happens when your dietary intake does not meet the needs of your body. This won't occur suddenly but when you are deficient it happens in consecutive stages.
Initially in the first stage iron depletion will occur when the iron that is stored in your bone marrow becomes depleted. This is the most common stage that is seen in athletes. The next stage will happen with continued depletion of iron. During this 2nd stage, hemoglobin synthesis will become where you develop a deficiency of iron. The last stage is when you are considered to be anemic, which is what develops when your iron stores are inadequate to maintain hemoglobin production, which also results in a reduced mean cell volume.
Endurance athletes have shown they usually have a high loss of iron and will typically have large requirements. With all of the constant training and competitions you are sweating a great deal, and to cool yourself down the body produces sweat. As you sweat you are also losing some iron. Women athletes that are menstruating are at risk due to the blood loss during their menstrual cycles. Vegetarian athletes are another group that is at a higher risk for iron deficiency due to their plant based diets. Typically since you are training so much you fuel on mostly carbohydrates. That is good but carbs don't offer the best bioavailability of iron which is more abundant in protein sources. Iron in your diet will come from two possible forms being "heme" or "non-heme". The heme iron will be located in more protein based sources such as meat, fish, and poultry. The non-heme form is what you see in the carbohydrate sources such as fruits, vegetables, breads, etc. The easier of the two to be absorbed by your body is the heme version of iron. Something to consider is that consuming vitamin c rich foods or drinks may aid in absorption of iron. However, another thing to consider is that drinking teas or coffees could inhibit the absorption of iron.
If you are deficient in iron, supplements help but don‚'t really address the issue. Typically that is because it is your diet that needs some work. Work with a nutritionist/dietician when possible to help make sure you are getting enough iron in your diet. If you can prevent a deficiency from happening to you, it is obviously the best course of action. You should also consult with your physician who can see through a blood test to confirm that iron levels are the problem. The physician will see if you have a low hemoglobin level while also testing to see what your blood ferritin level is. Ferritin is the protein that will attach to iron that is in your blood. When you have a low ferritin level it is possible that it means your iron stores are low and could be leading to an iron deficiency.
Overall, with endurance activities iron deficiency risk increases as does the possibility of your performance decreasing. There have been a few studies suggesting that a male endurance runner will need 17mg per day to meet their iron needs while a female would need about 23mg per day. Remember that not just menstruating women and vegetarian athletes are at risk. The athletes that are not having an appropriate diet or that are on a calorie restricted diet can lead to anemia. Iron supplementation has been common in endurance sports and will help those who are anemic improve their performance. There is a risk of having too much iron which could damage some vital organs, so remember to consult with your physician if supplements are for you
REFERENCES
Clark, SF. Iron Deficiency Anemia. Nutr Clin Prac. 2008; 23: 128:141.
Fallon, KE. Utility of hematological and iron-related screening in elite athletes. Clin J Sport Med. 2004 May;14(3):145-52.
Suedekum NA, Dimeff RJ. Iron and the athlete. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2005; 4(4): 199-202.
Zoller H, Vogel W. Iron supplementation in athletes:first do no harm. Nutrition. 2004; 20: 615-619
I have been a fairly focused and diligent athlete for over 18 years. What I mean by this is, I am aware of what impacts my training, both positively and negatively. I have refined a skill for being in tune with my body as well as my mind, and how it all translates to my training. I am conscious about the amount of sleep I get (see Coach Leigh's Synopsis of Sleep article). I try not to eat past 7 pm especially if I have an early morning workout or race. I also drink approximately 100 ounces of water each day as this helps my body and mind, and can actually put me (and you!) in a better mood.
So, I was stumped when my usual diligence toward self-care was thwarted by a growing concern that my normal workouts were difficult to achieve and I had to extend more and more effort to get them done. I thought that perhaps I was just having a bad patch with my training, but my intuition was getting louder and louder that something wasn't right. If I tried to do any interval sessions, I literally thought I would pass out. My usual up-and-at-'em attitude was replaced with an unusual avoidance of these types of workouts, and at that point, I knew something really wasn't right. I knew I needed help, and I sought out a blood test using InsideTracker.
What came back was a genuine surprise! My iron levels, along with a few other things, were dramatically low, and it started to drag down my overall red blood cells and hematocrit. Funny as I wouldn't have ever suspected this because I was eating red meat over the winter, and even taking iron supplements. (Floradix is my preferred iron recommendation without any GI issues.)
I have plenty of medical history to reference, and looking at my best hematocrit and my lowest hematocrit, I found a 13% difference. My FTP was also 13% lower, and I know there is a strong correlation. Without a doubt, you simply cannot perform at 100% of your ability when your blood values are off.
In doing some research, I read an article by Dr. Jeff Rocco of First Endurance, and he mentions that what is normal for an everyday individual and acceptable within medical fields, can have a large impact on an athlete seeking performance. So, please talk with your physician and draw their attention to your training and the differences between an average individual and yourself. Your iron, B, and D vitamins all have a major role to play, and if they are off, you will eventually find yourself underperforming. In addition to understanding these basic levels, a visit with your physician can also help determine if your heart can handle your training load. While we cannot see what's going on inside the body, there are tools and checkpoints, and this is just a friendly reminder to have that annual exam. I highly recommend a blood lab test and follow it up annually and perhaps even bi-annually to simply make sure you are performing at your best! Get checked, get cleared, and carry on!
Be safe.
P.S. I'm on the upswing, and look forward to seeing you on the course!
Coach Jim Hallberg believes that every one of us has the capacity to improve our efficiency, get stronger and run, bike or swim faster. Sure, it takes time, dedication, and discipline but it's possible. Working with an experienced coach can make sure that your efforts are targeted in the right areas to make sure you reach those goals!
Coach Jim notes that this recipe is great for anytime (dessert or otherwise), but is quite fond of it for his bike rides! Follow the directions carefully and you'll get a tasty nutritional change up for your rides.
Brownie and Gel Recipe:
Start by making the gel: stir the following (in the noted ordered) into a warmed pot until all ingredients are well mixed:
1.5 cups of honey (warmed)
1 cup of coconut oil (warmed)
BLEND
Then add:
1 cup of peanut or any nut butter
1/2 cup chocolate
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp of Boulder Salt
Then make the brownies: follow the directions on the brownie box, but substitute the butter with the gel you made above.
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TIPS
If your doing an Ironman, I recommend putting your brownies in your special needs bag with a frozen bottle or ice pack. You can always modify them by rolling in oats or Rice Krispies if they become to soft on hot days.
Extra gel: use in a gel flask for long rides.
Once you put this in a gel flask, the oil may tend to separate, so just shake it up. Warning, due to coconut oil healthy fats solidifying below 78 degree's this MIGHT not an ideal gel recipe for winter. It's more of a summer training recipe. But, for winter months, its very tasty to put on your waffles in the morning or into your oatmeal!
Roughly 160 calories per ounce. (60 more than typical gels)
So in this case more is less. Right? You don't have to carry as much.
Jim Hallberg is a Level I USAT Certified Coach, USA Cycling Certified Coach and Training Peaks Certified Coach. He believes that every one of us has the capacity to improve our efficiency, get stronger and run, bike or swim faster. Sure, it takes time, dedication and discipline, but it's possible. Working with an experienced coach can make sure that your efforts are targeted in the right areas to make sure you reach those goals!
For individuals looking to lose weight or lean out, and add healthy lean muscle mass, knowing and understanding one's BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) is a critical value as a starting point. In general terms, BMR is the energy expenditure associated to maintain normal/baseline bodily functions. It represents the calories we need to consume to simply exist. It differs from each individual based upon one's overall health and wellness, size, general activity levels outside of structured training or exercising and it decreases with age. For example, a 25 year-old open space and mountain parks worker who does manual labor rebuilding trails will typically have a higher BMR than a 40 year-old software engineer who works at a desk. While there are several apps to help generate a ballpark BMR, the most effective way would be a visit with a certified sports nutritionist.
appleOnce the BMR is established many people believe eating below that value is the key to shedding pounds. While this may lead to temporary weight loss it is typically unsustainable and may even lead to long-term health issues. When eating below our BMR for an extended period of time we will unknowingly enter a "danger zone" prompting the shut down of vital bodily functions with the kidneys and liver. Remember, BMR is the calories needed to sustain normal functions in our body. If we continue to eat below our BMR our bodies actually go into "survival/starvation" mode in which fat begins to be stored as the body breaks down lean muscle mass. Within this cycle our bodies do not have the necessary calories/energy to function normally prompting a slow down in metabolism and fat's primary role becomes protection. It will be used for fuel as a last resort with carbohydrate stores (glycogen) being used first, then muscle tissue. Some common symptoms in this state include feeling tired, lethargic and sloth-like. This physiological process is the exact opposite of what we want to occur with weight loss and is kind of like swimming upstream!
appleA more effective and healthier approach would be to work from one's total energy expenditure which includes the BMR, training/exercising needs and the thermic effect of foods (energy expenditure your body has when digesting food). Generally speaking eating below 1,200 calories per day can be dangerous. Even when eating below one's total energy expenditure the focus should be on nutrient dense foods versus calorie dense foods. A consistent intake of nutrient dense carbohydrates (whole grains, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, potatoes, fruits, veggies), lean protein and healthy fats with proper timing throughout the day will help regulate blood sugar levels and keep one's metabolism running efficiently as possible. Take advantage of the D3 nutrition services to ensure you are effectively fueling your body for overall health and performance!
Do's:
• Get assessed, don't guess
• Eat 200-500 calories above your BMR
• Eat every 3-4 hours throughout the day
• Avoid processed foods/refined sugars
• Stay hydrated
• Get plenty of sleep (7-8 hours/day for most adults)
Written by Coach Brad Seng. Coach Brad has coached variety of athletes for over 10 years, and he shares this: while there's no substitute for consistent training and proper nutrition, a strong fitness base is just one part of the equation!
I recently finished one of the most powerful books ever written: "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey. Any reading I do about organizing or making my life easier, I always try to understand how it relates to triathlon. All the while I was reading this book it was easy to see the correlation. Basically, as an effect person who gets as much as you can on any given day, it all starts with your 'role'. We all have different roles, whether it be an employee, a mom, dad, brother, sister, student, teacher and on down the line. As a triathlete are roles are defined as the swimmer, the biker, and the runner.
From our beginning point of defining our roles, we now need to look at our goals. What are our goals in our now defined roles? As a swimmer it may be to swim a 28:00 mile. As a biker it may be to bike 1:15 for 40k. For a runner it may mean trying to break 50:00 in a 10k. Now that we goals and roles, we need a plan. So, just how are we going to attack that 28:00 mile ? Or the 1:15 for the 40k or 50:00 for the 10k? Well we are going to create tasks to get us there. And those tasks may include getting up 3 days per week to get to the pool at 5:45 to meet your swim partner or Masters swim group.
I know that for me a rating of 1-4 on the RPE scale is equivalent to my Zone 1 HR. A 5-6 rating is my Zone 2 HR, and a 7 is definitely a Zone 3. A 8/9 is 4-5a (sub LT to LT) and a 9+ to 10 is equal to a place I don?t need to go or Zone 5+++.
During this time of the year, I work out in my 5/6 effort zone, and on the hills or if I get bored, I might bring that up to a 7 or Z3 effort. The best thing about this scale is that I can use it year round. I know that I if feel like the effort is a 7 and I look down and see that my HR is only a low Zone 2, well it could mean that I am tired that day, or I didn't get enough sleep or that I drank too many Sam Adam's the night before. Whatever the case, I know that my body isn't behaving like I expect it to and I need to make adjustments. An RPE system is also critical when you are racing someone to the finish line. You can?t worry about your HR number if you are trying to lay the smack down, but you should worry about your RPE number. You know if you can hold that 8 RPE effort for one more mile and maybe even go one or two gears higher when you get within site of the finish line. Racing in the heat is another example of how RPE trumps HR. If you have raced in the heat, you know that there are times when your HRM is pretty much useless. It's telling you that your HR is way higher than you have ever seen in training. The first thing you think is, 'How can I get through this race at my goal times, if I back off the HR??' Well, the answer is to race by effort. You know that if you can bike at an 8/9 effort and you know that this is around where your Zone 4-5a is, so you go with it. Sometimes you need to push the envelope just a bit. Go ahead; run without the HRM, I dare you. Run by 'feel' or RPE or go out there and run too hard or run too easy - you will know the next day when you get up if you went to far in one direction or the other. Your body won't lie to you.
In summary, I want to say that it's important to know your HR numbers and how that correlates to RPE, for the reasons I mentioned in the above paragraph. So, I challenge you this off season and winter to go out there at least 1 per week and run by RPE, just to see what's like to break the chains and run free from that number on your wrist. I am willing to bet you will run harder than you think you can, and now when push comes to shove on hot, humid day in August, you?ll have another tool in your toolbox that you can use to race to your best, no matter what the conditions. Go get 'em!
Michael Ricci is a USAT Level III certified coach. He can be reached for personal coaching at mike@d3multisport.com. Please visit his website at www.D3multisport.com
As coaches, we have all heard the following comments somewhere along the way, either at local tri team meetings, or out on a long Sunday group run, "I just survive the run because I'm not a runner" I'm just going to ride as hard as I can and use whatever I have left for the run. The run portion of triathlon does not have to be about survival. It is tough at all the distances as it comes after we have already swam anywhere from 300yds to 2.4 miles, and biked 12-112 miles, depending on the distance we are racing. It does not have to be a "sufferfest" because someone has opted not to work on their run.
It is a common challenge to help improve our athlete's speed, keeping times for speed work and pacing relative to them, and helping them to see gains in their fitness through their speed work. Among the three sports the run is the place where the body absorbs the most stress on the joints, tendons and ligaments. This occurs because of the fatigue placed on the body as our athletes work their way from the swim, bike portion of training/ racing, and onto the run. So, in talking about key workouts we also need to mention several other keys that allow us to perform speed work and enhance our ability to tolerate the physical burden and stress placed on our fatigued bodies once we get to our final aspect of our event the run.
Core strength is not just for a good looking set of abs. Through core work the athlete increases their strength, power, stability and flexibility to help stabilize and keep the body upright through the act of running. This helps the athlete save energy and with this increased body control our running motion is more efficient. Another key element is the cadence or stride rate of our athlete. Without going into much detail, suffice it to say there is great benefit in having your athlete work on their running stride. We must consider the fact that higher stride turner-over tends to mean less landing shock, greater efficiency, and less injury potential. These factors alone ought to warrant a look at our athlete's stride rate.
When considering the different running distances of the various triathlon events, we want our athletes to maintain a high stride rate while they are working on workouts, that are listed below. These workouts are something the athlete progresses too, not starts with. They should be modified for rest and pace based on the individual athlete. They could be done on the track or set-up on a road course, but must be based on our athletes pacing from a previous workout or a recent 5k or 10k. In any case these sample workouts are ones that the athlete builds up to and has been conditioned and physically prepared to tolerate.
Sprint:
4 x(1, 5k pace, 2‚ easy). Repeat this a total of 3 times with 5‚ of easy recovery running in between sets.
Increase the time of the effort up to 4‚ and then decrease the rest between efforts down to one minute. Progression in the time of the effort and then the rest between should be based on how your athlete is responding to workouts from week to week. I like the use of a heart rate monitor (HRM) for the run, however it maybe easier for the athlete to complete the sprint workout based on RPE initially because of the time it takes to increase the heart rate in the short efforts.
Olympic:
4-8 x 800 initially starting with equal rest following each 800. As the athletes fitness improves the number of repeats increases to 8 with the goal for 1 & 2 to be at race pace, 3-6 to be 10 faster than race pace, and 7 & 8 to be max effort. The rest between the max number of repeats stage would alternate 30" and 60" between.
Half Iron Distance:
Ladder as follows 800 on 45‚ rest 1200 on 60‚ rest 1600 on 2, rest 1600 on 2 rest
1200 on 60" rest, 800. The goal is for the athletes pacing to be such that they run equal or negative splits on the backside/descending portion of the ladder.
Iron Distance:
6-8 mile repeats using the most recent 10k time to determine pacing with 2-4 recovery.
For any of these workouts the repeat and interval should be established relative to the athletes pacing and fitness. Getting faster means running faster; it simply means having to work on speed on the track or on the roads. As the coach, it means structuring the workouts so the athlete can accomplish the workout effectively, gain confidence and experience a positive change in their fitness.
There are 3 pillars to sport nutrition that will give you the best chance at success.
Apply these principles correctly and you can consistently maximize the gains from your training and compete at your best.
While you are training you will continually lose fluids and excrete electrolytes when you sweat. The most critical electrolyte is sodium that you lose. If you do not replace both the fluid and sodium lost through sweat you will become dehydrated, which is the main contributor to becoming fatigued. When you become dehydrated your body works harder, core body temperature rises, heart rate increases making exercise much more difficult. Thirst is not always the best indicator, for example in the winter you may not be as thirsty as a warm summer day doing the same exercise, but you're still sweating and losing fluids. Cold weather causes more dehydration than most perceive due to that fact. Once you lose 2% of your body weight due to fluid loss it has been proven that performance decreases.
You can also become over hydrated or consume too much fluid. This can cause hyponatremia, which is a dilution in blood sodium levels. Not only can hyponatremia be detrimental to performance, but can have sever health implications.
Your plan should be to mitigate your sweat loss and stay above 2% body weight loss due to fluid loss. Becoming well-disciplined in a hydration plan will help you from becoming dehydrated or over hydrated. Be sure to always starting your exercise hydrated and rehydrate post exercise. Consume a sports drink that contains carbohydrates and electrolytes to help replenish losses.
Fueling your body during exercise and preparing it for training is critical to overall performance and gains. Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for your muscles during triathlons or endurance training. If you spend 60-90 minutes of training or even a few hours in a weight room your carbohydrate stores in your muscles can become depleted. If you start your training with a higher level of carbohydrate stores you can delay fatigue longer due to the availability of energy. This is why it is wise to not train on a low carbohydrate diet as you won't maximize your gains or perform optimally.
There are 2 forms of carbohydrate in your body. The first being glucose which will circulate through your body via the blood stream. The other is glycogen, this is the carbohydrate or glucose that is stored in your liver and muscles. To be considered properly fueled it would equate to about 40 calories of glucose in the blood stream and between 1500-2000 calories of glycogen stored in your muscles with more stored in your liver. When you run out of glycogen stores in your muscles, you then will rely on your liver glycogen stores to keep your blood glucose levels from dropping. Once those liver glycogen stores are depleted your blood glucose levels will drop. Your body will be forced to slow down or stop completely. This is what has commonly termed as "bonking".
To avoid running out of fuel during exercise be sure to fuel up properly before a workout, 500 calories 1.5-2 hours before training should help. Post-exercise refueling is just as critical. You replenish your glycogen stores with your post workout nutrition. This will help you fuel for the next session tomorrow.
Recovery from your workouts is just as critical as your fuel and hydration. The more you train the more damage is being caused to your muscles and needing to be repaired. Your muscles are also adapting to your workload and to achieve full adaptations from training, recovery is vital. Recovery includes rehydration and refueling your body's carbohydrate stores to repair your muscles.
To help recovery, DSC_0033as soon as you're done exercising, within 30-60 minutes, you would want to consume some carbohydrates, proteins, and fluids with electrolytes. One of the best recovery beverages is chocolate milk as it contains all of the above and tastes great.
If you apply these 3 pillars together correctly you will see great training gains. After experimenting with your nutrition and you get all 3 in sync, you should be able to take your performance to another level. Only by trial and error will you figure out what works best for you. Be sure to practice your sports nutrition during training and nothing new before a race.
Nick Suffredin is a former Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) where his primary responsibility was to support the GSSI physiology research program. As part of the innovation team Nick supported research to help improve athlete recovery and performance. Nick has formulated nutritional products for companies and consulted with elite endurance athletes on their nutritional intake for training as well as fueling for races.
His philosophy: each athlete is a case study of one since everyone's needs are different.
**Begin with the end in mind!**
You don’t have to be a professional athlete to optimize your performance like one. Read on to learn how!
The bike leg of your race is done, and you’ve made great time, but your body is beat. You’re gasping for air, and your blood sugar is dropping, hovering in the “no-go zone”; you’ve bonked. Your body has all the zip of a slug and feels like a broken rubber band. Making it through the running leg of the triathlon just isn’t an option. You aren’t going to PR at the event. How do you ensure this doesn’t happen to you again?
In triathlon training, it is important to be able to access large amounts of energy and utilize it efficiently. While genetics do play a role in your ability to do both of these, proper training and nutrition will go a long way towards maximizing your abilities.
**The Nutrients You Need To Go Farther, Faster**
As most of us know, there are three important fuel sources that your body consumes: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Your body prefers the glycogen that comes from carbohydrate consumption because it requires the least amount of energy expenditure to release its energy for use. In the first stages of an event, the body will utilize the glycogen stores found in your muscles, but as time passes and these stores deplete, the body will then go to glucose stored in the blood. By the end of the event, your body is relying on both fat and glucose to power itself and will reach exhaustion when your supplies fall below a certain threshold. It then turns toward breaking down your muscle tissue. To help ensure that this doesn’t happen, many athletes consume carbohydrates, often in liquid or gel form, as it is easy to digest, while the race is still taking place.
**Top Form Tips**
Here are some nutritional tips that will help you optimize your performance while training:
1. **Drink on the go:** Drink a carb drink during the event to support glycogen stores and not risk completely losing what’s stored in your body. Fluids are easier than solid foods to absorb at this time, yet most people will find that a mix of both creates the optimal solution. Play with it and find what works best for you.
2. **Carb loading:** 5-7 days before your event, increase your carbohydrate consumption to about 60 percent of your daily calories. During this last week, your training should be very light so that the nutrients you are taking in are stored in the muscles and available to you during the race. For those on gluten-free or starch-restricted diets, be sure to add several extra servings of fruits & vegetables.
3. **Protein:** Make sure you eat enough protein to support muscle repair. If you focused on this during preseason & training, you should arrive at your race in an “optimal” state of recovery and not worry about getting in large quantities. Consuming protein with your sports drink before, during, and after the event will decrease the amount of muscle tissue breakdown as well as muscle soreness and will help you fight fatigue. One thing that may work well here, instead of worrying “how am I going to add” protein to my drink while racing, many athletes will benefit from Branch chain amino acid (BCAA) consumption here. These should be your secret weapon – they absorb rapidly (within 20 minutes) and don’t cause stomach distress – a BIG plus.
4. **Variety:** Vary the sources of protein and nutrients you ingest. While it is great to stick to the staples such as ground turkey, chicken, and tuna, you also need to consume lean beef, soy, fish, and eggs. By varying your protein source, you ensure that you get the full spectrum of amino acids.
5. **Go Natural:** Avoid food loaded with preservatives. Fresh/whole food is always better for the body and easier to digest and utilize while providing much-needed enzymes we don’t get otherwise. “Oxidative stress” has caught a lot of attention in the endurance community simply because the volume is higher than that of a person simply staying active; hence the need for greater food/nutrient utilization.
6. **Eat small meals frequently and chew slowly:** Increase your body’s chances of digestion by giving it only a little to digest at a time. This will also increase your metabolism, sustain blood sugar, and keep extra pounds from creeping up on the scale, & ultimately keep stress hormones down.
7. **Time your meals:** There are two times in particular that you need to pay attention to. The first is from when your event ends up until 30 minutes afterward. Your body is depleted at this time and you need to replenish it to avoid further muscle tissue breakdown and glycogen depletion. The second time of importance takes place about 60 to 90 minutes after the event has finished. At this time, the body is more receptive to taking in and utilizing protein and the amino acids within it.
8. **Avoid late-night eating:** High-calorie meals in the evening will impact your sleep and limit your body’s natural release of human growth hormone, which is essential for muscle repair and growth. If you are training late in the evening, drink a quality carbohydrate and protein drink to replenish your nutrient stores after your workout, but avoid the big “carb crash.” Perhaps try some cottage cheese, a handful of nuts, a small glass of milk to curb the need for putting down “junk calories.”
9. **Water:** Your muscles generate 20 times more heat while exercising than at rest. Thirst is not always a reliable measurement; by the time you feel it, you are already facing dehydration. Keep in mind, however, that while you should drink water before and after your meals. In a typical day, focus on consuming half your body weight in ounces.
**Supplements for the Triathlete**
The use of nutritional supplements is especially important for the endurance athlete, who places demands far beyond the realm of normal stress on his or her body. The risk of nutrient deficiency is greater, and they require a larger amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to keep themselves at optimal health and performance. Nutrition is 70 percent of the formula. Give your body the fuel it needs to win the race and perform optimally; you can have the best training plan, but without fuel, you make minimal gains. Here are some of the tools you can use to optimize your performance while supporting your body’s need to recover:
- **Vitamin and mineral supplements:** With today’s natural food supply nutrient-depleted, everyone can benefit from taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement; in fact, the FDA has recommended everyone do so. However, endurance athletes, in particular, need this in their arsenal to avoid deficiency and to help support the absorption of protein, amino acids, and the glycogen from carbohydrates. Remember, larger amounts of coffee may interfere with the absorption of nutrients, so take your vitamins an hour or two before or after you drink your morning java.
- **Antioxidants:** Known for neutralizing free radicals and helping detoxify the body, antioxidants protect against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is what leads to a reduction in performance and premature aging. Well-known antioxidants such as A, C, E, beta-carotene, and the mineral selenium are only the beginning of what most athletes need. Consuming an antioxidant supplement along with your post-workout recovery drink is a great way to increase the utilization of those nutrients and to fight free radical damage.
There are plenty of demands tugging on the running shoe strings of a working athlete, but regardless of how time flies, it's important to stay on top of your healthy eating patterns so you can perform well both in the office and during training. Following are 12 simple tips to keep your diet healthy when you are time strapped:
"The optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole." McLaundburgh WilsonYou have read that the title of this article is about mental toughness skills and are wondering what a doughnut has to do with mental toughness, right!?! The truth is that how we look at this doughnut everyday has a lot to do with how tough we are mentally and how well we use our skills during training and racing.Mental toughness can be something that individuals naturally have or something that we need to learn, but the one thing that is the same for each of us is that it is a skill that we need to work on just like the other three disciplines in triathlon. It is a skill that needs to be worked on in training so that we can use it when we are racing. So, where do we get these skills from?
There are mental skills coaches, tapes, books, lectures, and there is your triathlon coach, all of which can help you work on your mental toughness for race day. What works best for each person is different and in most cases is probably a combination of things. You have a favorite quote or a triathlon buddy who mentors and encourages you. You open a triathlon magazine and find a great article on race day toughness. We all have different combinations that work for us and the key is finding what will work best for you come race morning.
Before race day comes though, you need to be willing to work on this '4th' discipline so you can fine tune it and be ready to use it at anytime during race day. One of the best places to work on this skill is when you have a tough training day scheduled. Let's say that you are using positive self talk to keep you focused and pushing hard through the bike segment of the training. Create a plan of what you will say and at what point you want to be aware of when you may start to break mentally. Right before that break point start telling yourself that you are doing great, you are tough, this workout is making you stronger for your race, etc. Whatever the phrase is that you choose, make sure it is something that you can relate to.Write these phrases down and put them in places that you will go to throughout your race morning/day. They can be written on water bottles, put on a piece of paper to be found in a special needs bag, or they can even be an object of meaning to you. My daughters have given me treasurers over the years and they can usually be found somewhere in my transition area. Again, this needs to be something of meaning to you, something that gives you strength, confidence, toughness to continue. Another thing that is often over looked, but remains a key to our mental toughness is simply, how do we approach each day.
Do we see the the sun behind the clouds; do we accept rain during a 100 mile ride as just being part of the ride to the point of not recognizing it; and do we make the choice to find something positive in every situation. When I was coaching high school track I would have the girls write down something they did well and something they wanted to improve on after each meet. It is to easy to be critical and then miss the positives in what we have accomplished in training and racing. Each tough training and race day is not going to go as we have planned, but it is how we approach those days mentally that will help us in the long run. It really is how we get up after falling that defines us as that determines how willing we are to try again. Each time we go back to the drawing board? and try again it only makes us tougher mentally and more prepared to take on.
So, ask yourself, do you see the doughnut or the hole? I know what I see!
Nutrition
• Breakfast 3 hours prior to wave send off• 1 gel prior to swim 15 minutes before• 1 bottle on bike – w/at least 200 calories – take water at aid station as you need it and 1 gel with 3 miles to go on bike•
Run:
Water or Gatorade at every aid station – take something!
Heart Rate Monitor:
Wear it so you can see the numbers later – good information for you, and information can be compared to races later in the season. Look for HR to be around LT or + during the entire race for an experienced racer and a strong Zone 3 effort for a beginner triathlete.
Power Meter:
Once again, use the numbers later, but be smart enough not to exceed your Functional Threshold for too long.
Race Strategy for a Beginner Racer:Swim: Ease into swim, get into your flow and your own rhythm. Maintain form, back off last 25-50 meters, and ease into the end of swim.
Bike:
Start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS (no bouncing in the seat), warm-up for at least 3-4 miles at an easy effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated you can start to push the pace a bit. On the EAS 5430 Sprint course, the first 4 miles are uphill – so this is a very important rule to keep in mind. Keep the heart rate down. After 4 miles, you can go harder – not all out, just enough to get your HR up. Ride hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can’t run. Once you crest the hill on US 36, you are going to be riding on a downhill or flat course for quite a ways. There are a few short hills (30 secs to 90 secs) but take them conservatively to save something for the run. As you come back into the Res there is a sharp right hand turn by the main gate, so take this with caution.
Run:
Run easy out of Transition 2 (T2), grab some water, slow down and get your HR down – ease into the run. The first 400 meters is uphill and I recommend my athletes to keep their cadence up here and lean into the uphill as you’ll have plenty of time to pick up the pace later. You want to run the second half faster, so pick up the pace ever so slightly, check your splits/effort the first mile, and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, it’s time to pick it up. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It’s only a short period of time so push for all you are worth. Once you make the turn around the course is a slight downhill until you hit the last 400 meters and then you have a steeper downhill, it’s fast and be ready to turn on the jets. You’ll take a hard right into the finish and cross the finish line. Congratulations! You’ve just finished one of the best sprint races in the country!
Race Strategy for an Experienced Racer:
Swim:
Swim flat out Time Trial speed – maintain form, but swim upper steady effort, back off last 25 meters, kick your legs a bit, and ease into the end of swim.
Bike:
Start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS, warm-up for at least 1-3 miles at a steady effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated, you can start to push the pace a bit. After 3 miles, you can drop the hammer. This should be about 90-95% of LT effort- hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can’t run.
Run:
Run easy out of T2 – grab some water, slow down and get your HR down – ease into the run. You want to run the second half faster, so pick up the pace ever so slightly, check your splits/effort the first mile, and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, time to GO! Let it fly just like you were running the last mile and a half of a 5k. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It’s only a short period of time so push for all you are worth. It’s only a short period of time so push for all you are worth. Once you make the turn around the course is a slight downhill until you hit the last 400 meters and then you have a steeper downhill, it’s fast and be ready to turn on the jets. You’ll take a hard right into the finish and cross the finish line. Congratulations! You’ve just finished one of the best sprint races in the US!
Training for an event starts months before you toe the line. Preparation, hard work, focus – these are all things that get you to race day. The logistics of race day shouldn’t be any different, and preparation is important to ensure a smooth and successful race.
I start gathering my race items one to two weeks before the event. This is even more important for events that require travel. The last thing you want to do while you are supposed to be tapering and keeping your feet up is to run around town searching for something last minute. It’s also important to allow enough time for shipping should you need to restock some of your favorite specialty supplies from online stores.
As I begin to plan my race day, I use the following checklist to help me stay focused on the things I need. It’s been tried and tested! Consider incorporating something similar into your pre-race strategy.
**Triathlon Race Checklist:**
**Race: Swim**
- Wetsuit
- Goggles
- Back-up goggles
- Back-up swim cap
- Anti-chafe lube
- Tri suit / race kit
- Sports bra (if applicable)
- Towel, the brighter the better (for transition)
**Race: Bike**
- Bike
- Helmet
- Bike shoes
- Changing top/bottoms? Make sure you have proper gear.
- Bar-end plugs (if this applies to your bike, USAT rules)
- Sunglasses
- Bike nutrition
- Socks (if applicable)
- Water bottles
- Flat kit (CO2 cartridge and dispenser, or pump, extra tube, levers)
- Floor pump (if you are racing with friends, you can coordinate who brings this)
- For athletes using a disc wheel, make sure you have your “crack pipe” adapter. You just might make some new friends with it!
- Extra water bottle with water in T1 to rinse your feet off before putting on bike shoes if you get out of the swim and have to run through sand or other dirt/grit.
**Race: Run**
- Run shoes
- Changing top/bottoms? Make sure you have proper gear.
- Baby powder (optional, used to help running shoes go on easier)
- Hat or visor
- Run nutrition
- Water bottle (for transition area or to take on the run)
- Fuel belt (if applicable)
- Include a race number belt for a speedy T2.
**Race: Misc.**
- Multi-tool for bike
- Extra pair of shoes for walking around after transition closes
- Black electric tape (optional, but good for sticking race numbers to bike frames)
- Swimsuit for day-before swim
- Warm clothes for race morning
- Clean clothes for post-race
- Sunscreen
- Watch/bike computer
- Heart rate monitor and strap (if applicable)
- Race wheels (optional)
- Headlamp (for dark mornings)
- USAT membership card or print-out
- Garbage bag (good for covering transition items if it is raining)
- Directions to race location
- Transition bag
- Wet wipes to freshen up after the finish
- Flip flops (the more comfortable, the better)
- Extra gels, chewies, etc. in case there is a race delay and you need to top off your glycogen stores.
- Scissors are great for trimming timing chip straps. (I usually make a few friends in pre-race transition with those scissors.)
Race day brings a fair amount of butterflies and nerves. Making sure you have all the items you will need is one way to tame at least some of those pre-race jitters.
One of the immutable laws of triathlon training is that you can't cram. Let's face it, cramming for academic tests isn't a great strategy for long term success anyhow. If you didn't learn that lesson in school, your hobby (triathlon) will teach it to you again and again.D3 stands for "Desire, Determination, Discipline." Let's spend a little time talking about that third D. For most of us, it's now the offseason. This is a great time to relax and recharge. Eat a little more than you should and take some days off from training, go for a hike or a walk. Leave your Garmin at home. Clear your brain and get ready for the mental and physical aspects of training again. For a lot of athletes, taking it easy takes discipline for sure! Treat your offseason seriously so you're ready when it's time to start up your training again.
During the day, I work for Jim Collins. Jim has written several best-selling books that are typically regarded as business books. But there are plenty of take-aways that translate to personal success. In "Great by Choice" Jim recounts the story of two explorers (Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott) who, in 1911, set out independently within days of each other with their teams to be the first people in modern history to reach the south pole. This was a 1,400 mile journey across a very challenging landscape with harsh weather.
Amundsen led his team on their trek by making some progress every day. Even when the conditions were good and his team could go longer, he would stop them once they reached their daily travel goal to make sure they were rested for the next day's effort. When the weather was bad, his well-prepared team would still travel. Alternatively, Scott's strategy was to take his team to its limits on the good days and hunker down and wait, often exhausted, in uncomfortable conditions.
Guess who arrived first? It shouldn't be a surprise that Amundson and his team arrived at the pole a full month before Scott's team. Amundson's team made the return trip home safely and exactly on schedule. The frozen bodies of Scott and his team were found eight months later. There was more to Amundson's success and Scott's failure than their daily movement strategies, but the consistency of Amundson's approach was a major factor in his success.
We call this concept of consistent and smart movement‚ covering the right amount of ground each day the, 20-mile march. Every day‚ day after day‚ you march‚ 20 miles‚ rather than marching to exhaustion one day and nothing the next. This is where we'll turn to triathlon training.
What is your 20-mile march?
Some triathletes 20-mile march to their goal race. Others are inconsistent with their training or are weekend warriors‚ doing very little on weekdays and cramming long training days into the weekends. Who do you think gets to the finish line faster on race day? Who do you think is more likely to stay injury-free through the season? Who do you think is more likely to be happy with the results of his or her season?
This is where coaching is a critical factor for sure. (I'll admit that I'm a big fan of coaching!) But, each athlete has to take responsibility for his or her own 20-mile march. Your coach can lead you, but you have to take the steps. Paying for coaching points you in the right direction but, it doesn't get the work done.
There will always be days that you don't want to train. It's too windy. It's too cold. You don't feel 100 percent. Guess what? On race day, it might be windy or cold or you don't feel perfect. If you've never or rarely trained when conditions aren't ideal, how do you plan to race in those conditions?
Commit to your 20-mile march next season. It takes discipline to go for a nighttime run when you're exhausted from your work day and the kids put up a fight at bedtime. It takes discipline to squeeze in a little training by commuting to work by bike rather than driving your car. It takes discipline to go to bed at 9:00pm so you're rested for your 5:00am alarm that gets you to your early masters swim workout on time. These are the little things that make a difference between you and that rival in your age group who always gets to the finish line first.
So take a little time during your off-season to reflect and project. How will you 20-mile march during your 2015 season? What specifically can you do to carve out the time you need to reach your goals? Are you more likely to train consistently and effectively alone or with a partner? What do you want to work on during the off-season (and does your coach know)? What's your plan for improvement? How much time will you have each week for training in the spring? How about during the summer? Have you selected a race schedule that allows you to march successfully? Don't just think about these questions, write down answers and make a plan. Talk to your coach about your plan. Make 2015 your best season yet commit to marching with discipline!
Coach Dave Sheanin approaches coaching from a holistic perspective. Adult age-group triathletes typically have substantial demands in their lives outside of training and racing. Looking at any individual component of an athlete's training (or life) is a data point, but it rarely tells the full story. I make it a priority to understand what's going on in an athlete's life beyond triathlon in order to build a plan that is smart, fits their lifestyle, and builds toward appropriate goals.
Setting goals for your triathlon season is crucial if you want to enhance your performance compared to previous years. Let's explore some straightforward ideas for effective goal setting.
One of the fundamental aspects of goal setting is ensuring that your goals are specific. It's easy to se the goal of "I want to train more". But in reality, you should say, "I want to train 2 more hours per week". There's a big difference between the two and knowing the specifics gives you a big advantage.
Secondly, your goals need to be measurable. While it's common to aim for improvement, such as getting faster, it's essential to specify measurable targets. For instance, rather than aiming to "get faster," set a goal like "run a 28:00 minute 5k." Step 2 to your goal setting gives you another key attribute - making the specific goal, measurable.
Additionally, your goals should be challenging yet realistic. While it's important to push your limits, setting unattainable goals can lead to frustration and demotivation. Consider your current fitness level and set targets that are challenging but achievable within a reasonable timeframe. For example, if you currently run a 40:00 10k off the bike, aiming to run a 33:00 10k in a single season may not be realistic. Let's make your goals achievable!
When setting goals, it's crucial to focus on factors within your control. External variables like course difficulty or competitors' performances can impact your results. Instead, set objectives that you can influence directly, such as achieving specific time goals or improving certain aspects of your performance.
Another key factor in setting goals is having a goal that is relevant. For example, using our examples above, we have said that we want to run a 28:00, 5k. That's much better than saying I want to beat my best friend in a 5k.
One more key factor is setting your goal to be time based. As we've shown above, it's easy to say, "I want to train more" or, "I want to beat my friend" vs saying, "I want to train 2 hours more per week" or "I want to run a 28:00 5k" - putting a number on the goal gives you accountability to make it happen.
Writing down your goals can significantly increase your likelihood of achieving them. When you put your goals on paper, you commit to them more concretely. Additionally, sharing your goals with close friends or training partners can provide accountability and support, further increasing your chances of success.
Lastly, frame your goals in a positive light. Focus on what you aim to accomplish rather than what you want to avoid. Positive goals are more motivating and inspiring, driving you toward success with a proactive mindset.
Here's an example set of season swim goals for an athlete:
1. Swim 14:00 for 1k by November 1st (1:24 per 100 yds)
2. Swim 13:30 for 1k by January 1st (1:21 per 100 yds)
3. Swim 13:00 for 1k by March 1st (1:18 per 100 yds)
4. Swim 12:30 for 1k by May 1st (1:15 per 100 yds)
In summary, effective goal setting in triathlon involves creating specific, measurable, challenging yet achievable goals that are relevant, time based and within your control. Write down your goals, focus on positivity, and consider external factors when setting targets. With careful planning and dedication, you can work towards achieving your triathlon goals and improving your performance.
Michael Ricci, a USAT certified coach, offers personal coaching services and can be contacted at mike@d3multisport.com.
