D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know.

This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Wall Propulsion Kick’ from D3 Coach Dave.  It's a great way to prime for a swim kick set.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Should I try to lose weight during a workout? ’ from D3 Nutritionist Craig. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Water Loss During a Workout’ from Coach Mike. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Foam Roller and Massage for Recovery’ from Coach Jim.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Rotate your Running Shoes’ from Coach Mike Ricci. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Calf Cramps while Swimming’ from Coach Dave.

D3 Mulitsport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute” Please check out our 1 minute videos each Friday – give us feedback and let us know what type if information you are interested in learning about. Invest 1 minute each Friday and you’ll be glad you did. Follow us on twitter: d3_multisport  and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Heart Rate Monitor’ from Coach Mike.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Racing with a Power Meter’ from Coach Mike.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Power Meter’ from Coach Dave Sheanin. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Factoring Rest into your Routine’ from Coach Jim Hallberg. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Using Swim Paddles’

There are many forms of carbohydrate including liquids, semi-solids, and solids that offer some performance benefit in triathletes, and some forms are more appropriate to certain types of training sessions and race distances than others. For any racing distance, sports drinks are going to benefit a triathlete the most because not only do they empty from your stomach the quickest, but they also provide all the essentials for improved performance including carbohydrate, electrolytes, and fluids.Consuming carbohydrate during training or competition is what most athletes do to help fuel their performance, but not everyone is the same and may choose a different energy source. Almost all endurance athletes will utilize sports drinks, but there are many options now available allowing for consumption of something different. Energy gels have become very popular in endurance sports. Gels are highly concentrated doses of carbohydrates made into a gelatinous type of consistency. Many triathletes utilize gels because they typically do not have a “heavy” or “gut rot” type of feeling. They are a change in texture and flavor for the athlete who is burnt out on sports drinks and craving something different. Another reason is because gel sources are reasonably painless to take with you since most gels will conveniently fit into shorts or jersey pockets.Since energy gels are essentially concentrated carbohydrates, they provide no fluid by themselves. This is important to know because without fluid the gel will break down extremely slow and not allow you to absorb its contents fully. Therefore, roughly every 1.2 – 1.4 oz of gel, an athlete should follow gel consumption with 10 fl.oz. (295ml) to 16.9 fl.oz. (500ml) water (typical bottled water size). The amount of water you consume with the gel will determine on how fast it will be broken down in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine. If you consume the full 500ml, the gel will digest similar to a sports drink. The less water you take in the slower your absorption becomes. Basically this means if the rate of fluid and carbohydrate exceeds the absorption capacity of the intestine good chance you will develop diarrhea. If you are not utilizing the gel as a fuel source properly you may end up with a tale of nutritional disaster that includes cramps, gastrointestinal (GI) tract issues, along with a decline in your performance.

The role and understanding of the GI tract is vital to a triathlete in regards to proper nutrition and regulating the absorption of a drink or gel with fluid to allow optimal delivery of the nutrients into circulation of the body. Before the human body can actually utilize the contents of the energy gel consumed it first must be emptied from the stomach and absorbed by the small intestine so the carbohydrates can be transported to the appropriate areas in the body.

So let’s break this down from the beginning of consumption and go step by step. After consuming your favorite energy gel it will travel through the esophagus and enter the stomach, which functions as a reservoir that regulates the rate at which the ingested gel will enter the small intestine. Almost entirely all water and nutrients are absorbed in your small intestine. Knowing this, the rate of absorption is effected by how fast the contents of the gel and fluid are emptied from your stomach. Basically, any delay to the gastric emptying rate will have a negative effect when your body is in high demand for energy. This is why consuming fluids with your gel is essential. Another reason why is the volume of any liquids, gels, and solids along with what they are made of are important factors in choosing your nutrition plan in hopes to allow for regulating your gastric emptying rate. Carbohydrate has been shown to increase fluid uptake in the small intestine. What this tells us is that the components of the gel and water are strongly associated and equally important when it comes to absorption of each other.

Following ingestion of a single gel with fluid or sports drink, there is an initial fast phase of gastric emptying when the volume in the stomach (gastric) is at its maximum and as that volume decreases so does the emptying rate. But the rate of emptying in the stomach can be maintained or optimized. By refilling the stomach with sports drink or gels and fluid at timed intervals (i.e. every 20-30 minutes), the volume in the stomach can be kept high and the emptying rate can be maintained. Practice your limits with caution, if you overfill the stomach you cause yourself a great deal of GI distress while slowing your gastric emptying rate.

How is your absorption affected at high intensity exercise? Research has shown at high levels of intensity, roughly at 75% of your maximum effort, is where you will begin to see a decrease in gastric emptying. Your emptying rate will greatly decrease as intensity increases. In order to know how exercise will effect your gastric emptying it matters how long you exercise for, and at what intensity you are performing at. Usually at such high intensities known to inhibit gastric emptying, the duration of those exercises will be too short for fluid and energy to be providing much benefit in performance aid.

To simplify this, the greater your gastric emptying rate, the higher your absorption rate will be in the small intestine. The presence of carbohydrate with fluid will promote water absorption in addition to supplying an energy source to the working muscles. Be careful, by increasing the carbohydrate contents in your stomach too much will slow gastric emptying and remember that the emptying rate of liquids are faster than that of solids. Regularly ingest carbohydrate on timed intervals throughout exercise lasting more than an hour. The quickest humans can utilize that carbohydrate is approximately 0.8-1.0 gram per hour (approximately 1 gram carbohydrate for every minute of exercise ~60g per hour) no matter how much carbohydrate you take in. Research has shown us if you take in at least .7 grams carbohydrate per kilogram body weight every hour of exercise you will be able to sustain your exercise. There are some athletes that cannot utilize carbohydrates as fast as others and then some are able to significantly take on greater amounts as been reported as high as 1.7g/min. Also, research has shown us that a 6% carbohydrate solution or less is absorbed the fastest as opposed to a solution greater in carbohydrates, something you should know when picking out what to ingest for your workouts and races.

Keep in mind that every athlete is different. You will need to experiment with your choice of gel to find your body’s optimal regimen for carbohydrate intake. Pack gels with you on several training sessions and try taking them at different time intervals with liquid to determine what system works best for you. Remember taking in too much carbohydrate can actually hinder your performance, be sure to find the correct balance that helps you, use the guidelines as a baseline to follow and tweak as needed.
Helpful guidelines and tips• When exercise is less than 45 min: no carbs are typically needed but be sure to maintain your hydration and to fuel yourself with some carbohydrates post-exercise.

• 1-2 hours: up to 30-60g/hr, of carbohydrates (~240 calories). If you are fueling with gels or solids be sure to follow consumption with appropriate amount of water.
• 2 or more hours: up to 60-90g/hr, carbohydrates (~330-360 calories). Maintaining proper nutritional balance is vital when exercising at this duration. Knowing not to overfill your stomach to find that right balance will really help you improve your performance not only in training but in races as well.

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. For coaching and nutrition inquiries Nick can be contacted at: TriSuff1@gmail.com
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D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and/or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Using Proper Hand Entry for Strong and Healthy Shoulders'

Off-season training is over and your first race of the season is coming up. How are you going to get ready? If you are like most of the country, you live in an area that doesn’t provide open water swim opportunities until the summer months.

In order to prepare, you’ll need to create an environment that’s similar to race day and gather a group of your training buddies. You’ll need a fairly good-sized group. Twenty or more athletes would be great, but you can accomplish quite a lot with a group of even 10. Have everyone bring wetsuits, thermal caps and whatever else they would wear on race day. The more you prepare like it’s race day the better you will do on race day!
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The next thing you’ll need is a pool and you should pull several of the lane lines out. Have everyone get in their normal ‘lanes’ and swim a solid warm up of about 500 yards. Then have your group swim 10 x 50 yard repeats with short rest. Swimming in the pool without lane lines should cause some rougher than normal water and your athletes will get familiar with what race day condition will be like. If you have a small group move everyone into one side of the pool to create a rougher swim.

Next, you should secure a race buoy or kids bouncy ball (www.jumpingballs.com) and tie it off to a rope and secure it to a diving brick. If you reach out to a local race director he might be willing to loan you a swim buoy for a few hours. Anchor the buoy or ball somewhere at the far end of the pool. I like to anchor the ball toward the left corner of the pool and have the group start from the right hand corner of the group. I usually anchor the buoy with a diving brick and some rope.

Next, arrange your group in one area of the pool with the faster swimmers in the back and the medium paced swimmers toward the front. On the whistle have everyone swim to the buoy, turn around the buoy and return. Once everyone gets back to the start point, ask them how they felt getting swum over, punched kicked and knocked around. Most will tell you they didn’t like it. The reason for doing this drill is so that they understand what they are up against on race day. Next up, pair swimmers of similar ability and have them swim one behind the other, with the purpose of getting them to learn to draft. After that drill, have the same pairs swim, but this time let the lead swimmer be the drafter and vice versa. One more key drill I like to use is to have the swimmers pair up and have the drafting swimmer, close their eyes and only feel for the water – no sighting whatsoever. Once again, have the swimmers trade places so that each gets to be the drafter.

Lastly, I would put everyone in close quarters again and have them practice a few starts around the buoy and back. Take as much time as you can to allow for practicing starting positions, ‘get out speed’, and turns around the buoy. Many new swimmers will want to go wide around the buoy, while faster swimmers will hit the turn fast. Have people think about what’s important to their race success; whether it be swimming wide around the buoy or tight with a sharp turn. As we all know swimming an extra 100 yards in an ironman race, in order to avoid the melee around the turn buoys will not affect the outcome of a twelve to seventeen hour race.
A quick recap of the article:
1. Arrange a group of swimmers with all their race day swim gear: wetsuits, caps, goggles, booties, etc.
2. Use a pool that you can pull the lanes out of.
3. Use a good warm up that will make the water a bit rough, giving swimmers some idea of what open water swimming is like.
4. Set up a buoy or some type of flotation device in the far end of the pool that should be used like a turn buoy.
5. Let your swimmers practice mass starts.
6. Have your swimmers practice drafting; one time with eyes open and another time with their eyes closed in order to get a feel for the person in front of them.
7. Practice swim exits and use a handicap ramp if possible and work on removing the wetsuit with timely fashion.
8. Don’t be afraid to try these same drills in the open water once a venue is available for you.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Determining Lactate Threshold’

Now that the big day has arrived, you’ll want to pretty much stick to EXACTLY what you have been doing in training. That means not exceeding predetermined limits on the hills and keeping your watts within a certain range. Along with keeping the watts in a certain range, this means pedaling when you need to, and not pedaling when you need to. Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes you don’t need to pedal. If the IMWI course is 112 miles long with a lot of hills – too many to count when I was there – then there must be a lot of downhills as well. What goes up must come down. So, unless you are going to really gain some speed to get up the next hill, you are probably better off coasting. Why? If two guys of equal run ability get off the bike at the same time, and one has biked 112 miles, and the other has biked, let’s say 100 miles, who do you think has the fresher legs to run a marathon? My money is on the guy who pedaled less. You can see this in the Tour all the time – guys sitting in the pack soft-pedaling at 70-100 watts – those guys have fresh legs for the final sprint. They have a HUGE advantage over the guys who are working hard at the front to keep the pace line moving.

So? Unless you are not gaining any tactical advantage, there is no need to pedal on the downhills. If you are riding in the 6:00 range or faster, this means if you are going about 30-31 mph on some of the downhills, then you can stop pedaling. The amount of energy (watts) that it takes you to get over that 31 mph is enormous and certainly not worth it. So, if you see your mph display poking over 30 mph, you can most likely coast. Also, if you see the mph display NOT moving while you are pedaling, then you are probably wasting energy. So, just chill and enjoy the coasting.

**Questions: What wattage do I ride at?**

Great question! My answer, of course, is: what wattage have you been riding at in training that gives you an IF of .65-.72? I know, I am not supposed to answer a question with a question, but in reality, that’s the answer. You want to shoot for a range of watts within that .65-.72 IF – so a conservative ride would be 65%, and an aggressive ride would be more towards 72%. If you want to blow up on the run, then go ahead and ride at 75-80%. Be my guest.

If you lose power on your power meter, remember you still have your HRM so you should know about what effort that .65-.72 puts you in – right about 20 beats below your threshold, so make sure HR, power, and cadence are lined up. If you feel as though you are working hard aerobically to push a certain wattage, then back off. If you feel as though it’s easy to push a certain wattage and you can go harder, DO NOT. Just stick the cap on the watts of .72. Your run legs will thank you.

An example: an unfit guy named Mike raced IM USA in 2005 & his run fitness was good, biking not so much - low mojo after IMNZ left him off the bike for a long time. So, he had a plan to swim conservatively, ride exceptionally conservative, and run as well as he could for the course (1500 feet of elevation gain). Had he tried to ride to a time, like say 5:45 instead of chilling at 180 watts (70% IF), his run would have been in the ‘toilet’, and at all costs, we want to avoid the ‘toilet’.  He actually ran a decent marathon on a tough course.

**Lesson of the story is ride to watts, not a time!**

If it’s a 25mph headwind or pouring rain, your mph will be different than what you are hoping for. But your wattage is your wattage and that won’t change no matter what the conditions. Racing for 10-17 hours is a long time, so it's important to be conservative. Get your calories down, stick to your watts, keep your cadence up and laugh at the people trying to crush the uphills. IF, in fact, you bike too slowly; which I highly doubt you will; you have 26 miles to make up for it. Seriously! I have seen people hammering away for an extra 5 minutes on a 112-mile bike course only to blow up on the run because they pushed the bike too hard. A five-minute gain on the bike could mean losing hours on the run. But backing off and losing five minutes on the bike could mean GAINING 30 minutes on the run. Something to think about folks: Ride smart; run strong.

Most importantly, get to mile 18 feeling good. Here is where you’ll pass all the people who went too fast. It's easy to swim strong, bike hard for 112 miles, and run solid for 2+ hours, but it's when the race gets into the 8, 9, 10-hour mark that it gets hard for most people. At MILE 18 is when the race begins. IF you can get to MILE 18 feeling good, that’s when you pass a LOT of people and really have a great race. The ENTIRE race is about getting to mile 18 feeling great. You have a 4k swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, followed by an 18-mile run – all WARM UP for the 8-mile race you want to RUN at the end of the race. That’s the focus on race day.

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If you’ve done an Xterra, you understand as well as all of us that there is just something different about how much the bike portion takes out of you. (If you haven’t done an Xterra, sign up for one. I promise you’ll love it.) Running off the bike is hard enough in any case, but running off the mountain bike in an Xterra is another monster altogether. Throw in the fact that you are running on dirt and usually uphill right off the bat (seriously, race directors, why is the first mile ALWAYS uphill?), and there you have the formula for one of those painful experiences that you can’t wait to do again.

So how does one prepare? The key is in the differences between road biking and mountain biking. On the road, you can head out of town, pick a pace (or a wattage, or a heart rate), and go until it’s time to stop. But on the trail, the terrain determines the difficulty of each moment. It’s much more challenging to maintain a constant heart rate on a mountain bike, because from minute to minute you are slamming the brakes, accelerating back up to speed, climbing a hill, and then hanging on for a descent. It’s all about bursts of energy spaced out between miniature recoveries. Technical sections of trail, where your skill level is the limiting factor, like an extremely narrow trail with uneven rocks or roots and lots of sharp turns, are actually physiologically easy, from a certain point of view. Your output is lower, your muscles are working less, and if you weren’t nervous about falling, your heart rate would be lower too, because you just can’t go any faster without risking bodily harm. Mountain biking is intervals. And training for Xterra is best done with intervals too. Here are 3 great workouts in 3 completely different settings that you can try to prepare for Xterra:

1) Technical Hill Repeats: Seek out a mountain bike trail with a technical climb that is at least 5 minutes long. (if the biggest hill in your area is less than this, shorten the interval and increase the reps) Get in a nice warmup of at least 10 minutes. Set your stopwatch to count down from 5 minutes, and do 4×5 minutes (you can build up to 6×5 minutes) up the hill, coasting back down. At the 5 minute mark, put a rock or a branch at the exact point to which you made it. If you beat that point on the next repeat, move it up. If you don’t make it to that point, leave it there and try for it again the next time. Note how much more difficulty you have with navigating the technical sections as you get tired – this workout will help with that too, including the descent!
2) Group Road Ride, Reverse Paceline: If you find yourself on a group road ride (with at least 4 riders total), but you have an Xterra on your schedule, talk your friends into joining you for this fantastic workout. After a nice 15 minute warmup, pick a long stretch of road with a solid 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted riding. If it can be a false flat or slightly uphill, or even steeply uphill, even better. Form a single file paceline, and then take turns sprinting from the back of the paceline up to the front. Depending on your group size, you can pick any length to continue this – keep in mind it is harder with fewer people. With 5 or fewer people, do 2 sets of 10 minutes with a break between. More than 5 people, go for 20 minutes straight.
3) Xterra Spin Bike Workout at the Gym: If you are in a class, you can suggest this set to the instructor – I am sure he/she will love it. If you are on your own, incorporate this into your 40-60 minute session. Get a solid 10 minute warmup, then at least 10 more minutes of switching between sitting and standing at low resistance. Then crank it up – at least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for resistance. Stay seated. Then every 45 seconds, do a “surge”. A “surge” is when you stand up, accelerate to a sprint for 5 counts, hold it for 5 counts, then sit back down and hold that cadence for 5 counts, then relax back to a slow controlled cadence. It’s 15 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery. Do 2 to 3 sets of 5 of these, with 60 seconds recovery with no resistance between. For a fun twist, have the class go one at a time, and as soon as the person to your left has reached their first 5 count, you go!

The basic goal is to develop your anaerobic system while doing an overall aerobic workout. Road bikers and triathletes can afford to be fully aerobic, but Xterra athletes do not have that luxury. At Xterra you will go anaerobic at times. But you will get to recover (eventually) when the trail changes directions. These workouts are just some examples of how you can train your body to push the limits for a short period of time, but also to recover quickly so that you are ready for the next tough spot. The faster your heart rate drops back down below Anaerobic Threshold, the faster your bike split will be in the results of your Xterra. And the quicker you can push through that first mile-long climb of the run while you are wishing that you would get struck by lightning to save you from the pain in your legs and gut. (First timers, don’t worry! For some odd reason, we all have forgotten about this pain by the time we are signing up for our next Xterra. It’s like magic!)

Time for your Spring Bike Tune-Up! But What does your Bike really need?

Daylight savings just flipped to “exercising-after-work-mode”, and spring is right around the corner. Depending upon where you live, you may be looking forward to regular outdoor bicycle rides again for the first time in a while. But before you buckle up that helmet, now is the time of year to ask yourself a question: what has your bike been doing all winter?

With a few exceptions, the answer is usually one of three things, or a combination:
1) Hibernating
2) Being ridden like normal
3) Sitting on a trainer

And each has it’s own unique set of springtime steps to take in order to keep your trusty steed running like new.

Every bicycle needs routine maintenance. A spring tune-up is never a bad idea. But your bike’s specific needs are determined by the answer to the above question. How has winter been treating you? Here are some great tips for each scenario – they may not cover everything, but generally speaking, they’ll get you back on the road (or trail) in good shape.

Scenario 1: Hibernating
Maybe you’re not a “die-hard”. Maybe the weather around you just plain stinks in the wintertime. Whatever the reason, your saddle hasn’t seen a butt in a few months. Contrary to many cyclists’ intuition, this is actually the least troubling scenario. Off the bat, your bike will need 3 main things:
1) A cleaning (or dusting) especially of any “soft” parts like saddles, cable housing, and anything else plastic or rubber. These tend to dry out, and a protective product like “Armor-All” is a good trade secret.
2) You will need to clean and lube your chain. Apply a healthier than typical amount of a lubricant appropriate to your climate and riding type. The trade secret here: pretend that was a HUGE mistake. Do everything you can to wipe it all off. The rag you use should be filthy. Then, repeat the process.
3) Air up your tires. This seems like a silly recommendation. Most of us do this weekly. But as a mechanic, I can’t tell you how many cyclists have come to me for their Spring Tune-ups having already bought new tubes to fix their “flats”. Tubes lose air over time, but there is nothing wrong with them. Just air them back up.

Scenario 2:
Being ridden like normalLucky you. Or possibly “Persistent you.” Either way, if your bicycle doesn’t take the winter off, then everything about its maintenance is routine. However, the conditions in which you have been riding may have been less than ideal. If you live in Hawaii, get a spring tune-up and enjoy some P.O.G. juice. If you live anywhere else and were still riding all winter, your bike has had to withstand some slightly tougher conditions. Here are some tips:
1) In addition to your standard tune-up, you will want to pay some special attention to the lower parts of your bike. Hubs, bottom brackets, and derailleurs are much more prone to getting splashed and covered in winter road grime during the colder months.
2) If you live somewhere that uses chemicals or gravel on the roads to melt snow, you or your mechanic should take a very close look at your tires. Inspect them for cuts or gashes in the tread. Also look for sidewalls that may appear dry or cracked. It might be time for new tires, or you might be able to rotate the front and the back to maximize their life.
3) Cables and housing deserve a spotlight here – make sure your shifting is still smooth and that your brakes (especially the rear brake) retract quickly and smoothly when you release the lever. If the small piece of housing curling down into your rear derailleur has had magnesium chloride splashed on it for 3 months, you can count on much better shifting after replacing it.

Scenario 3: Sitting on a trainer
It can be painful to admit it, but this is the most common answer to the question, and it is also the worst for your bicycle. When you approach your mechanic this spring, you may want to use the word “overhaul” in place of “tune-up.” Human sweat is more corrosive than any of us would like to know. It’s worth the effort to open up, clean, and re-grease everything. Here are some tips:
1) Your headset is the primary target for sweat. It makes sense – it’s been right below your nose all winter long. It will need some new grease.
2) Your bottom bracket is the next to take a hit – the reasons are a little gross. Sweat runs down your seatpost – literally right through the “perineum relief cutout” that you may have in your saddle, and it pools at your bottom bracket. It will need to be removed and re-greased.
3) It is a good idea to remove many of the bolts on your bike and lube the threads. This is extra important for your stem bolts (again, always getting sweaty), your seatpost clamp bolt, and the bolts holding your water bottle cages. Have you ever removed a bolt to have it squeak when you turn it, and then find a white powder coating the bolt? That’s sweat corrosion. Trade secret: do not smell the bolt. It won’t be pleasant.
4) Take a VERY close look at your rear tire. An unfortunate reality is that trainers and rollers are horrible for your rear tire. There are tires specifically made for trainers, and if you have one, you’ll want to put your normal tire back on. If you don’t, it’s highly likely that your rear tire lived 8 of its 9 lives over the winter. Don’t subject yourself to the rash of flats to come – get a new tire if your bike has been on the trainer.

Regardless of what your bike has been doing this winter, it’s worth it to give it a little T.L.C. this spring so that you can get the most out of training now that better weather is upon us. Talk it over with your mechanic – it won’t cost you any extra to say, “Would you mind lubing the threads on my stem and seatpost clamp bolts? My bike’s been on the trainer all winter.”
Now is the time when we get our money’s worth out of our bicycles, so enjoy a well-tuned bike, and enjoy the better weather! Happy training.

Supplements and Endurance SportsThis is the start of a series of articles to cover the ever evolving world of supplements in endurance sports. There are so many supplements in the marketplace each claiming to provide a benefit. I hope I can provide some insight on different supplements and how they may work for you. With some of the claims, you never know if you are truly getting a benefit from what you are currently taking or if you could just be getting taken for a ride by false claims and marketing.

BCAA
Supplementation of the three Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) during exercise has been evaluated as a means to counter peripheral fatigue or central fatigue that impairs physical performance. The possible mechanism is that when consuming BCAA it will reduce the uptake of the amino acid tryptophan from the blood into the brain, which is where the tryptophan is converted to serotonin.

So by lowering the level of serotonin in the blood there helping aid in a reduction in central fatigue. But results showing a performance benefit have been in studies that were flawed either for methodology or not good control. More recently there has been studies that are very well controlled have not shown an exercise performance benefit in humans with BCAA supplementation. For the most part, the jury is really still out on BCAA performance benefits, but there has been some evidence that in conditions such as high altitude they may work.

IronIf you have a shortage of iron in your diet and are an endurance athlete you can be impairing your performance. Iron is an important element in transporting oxygen in the blood and muscles. Having an iron deficiency such as anemia, or a low amount in your diet can weaken your aerobic metabolism by diminishing the amount of oxygen that gets transported to your muscles as well as reducing the capacity at which the muscles can use oxygen for production of energy. It also contributes to you maintaining a healthy immune system, and is required to produce red blood cells.

Endurance athletes have shown they usually have a high loss of iron and will typically have high requirements. Some studies have shown that a male endurance runner may need ~17mg per day and a female ~23mg per day. Females are also at risk to low iron levels due to their menstrual blood loss. Vegetarians could be at risk as well. Consuming Vitamin C rich foods such as fruits or fruit juice will help aid in absorption of iron. Tea and coffee can inhibit absorption of iron. Typically athletes will see an anemic state when they begin training due to the increase of plasma volume in the blood, thus diluting the hemoglobin levels. But this should not affect performance as the body adjusts. If you do not get enough iron in your diet, you may need to take supplementation. Iron supplementation should be taken under medical direction from your physician or a registered dietician.

Whey Protein Protein is definitely an essential nutrient in your diet, especially for an endurance athlete. Protein is needed to help build tissue, cells, and structural proteins in your body. Various sequences of amino acids make up proteins, and some amino acids are used as energy during physical activity. Whey Protein is a by-product of cheese, and is abundant of BCAA. Typically, you will consume enough protein in a proper diet.

However endurance athletes typically have a higher need due to energy loss and recovery. This extra amount will also assist in repair of your muscles and stimulate protein synthesis after exercise. Recovery after each workout or race includes refueling, replenishing, and rehydrating. During exercise you will have protein breakdown, but during recovery it is the opposite, it is protein building (protein synthesis). If you consume protein immediately after exercise you increase your uptake and will help keep you in a positive protein balance. This window of opportunity is usually open for 24 hours post-exercise. Research has shown us that if you consume protein such as whey, combined with carbohydrate it will stimulate more protein uptake and absorption of amino acids. This will help muscle repaid and aid in replenishing your muscle glycogen stores (carbohydrate).

References:1. Biolo, G., S. P. Maggi, B. D. Williams, K. D. Tipton, and R. R. Wolfe (1995). Increased rates of muscle protein turnover and amino acid transport after resistance exercise in humans. Am. J. Physiol. 268: E514-E520.2. Biolo, G., K. D. Tipton, S. Klein, and R. R. Wolfe (1997). An abundant supply of amino acids enhances the metabolic effect of exercise on muscle protein. Am. J. Physiol. 273: E122-E129.3. Davis, J.M., and S.P. Bailey (1997). Possible mechanisms of central nervous system fatigue during exercise. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 29: 45-57.4. Gibala, M.J. (2000). Nutritional supplementation and resistance exercise: What is the evidence for enhanced skeletal muscle hypertrophy? Can. J. Appl. Physiol. 25: 524-536.Gibala, M.J., D.A. MacLean, T.E. Graham, and B. Saltin (1998). Tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate pool size and estimated cycle flux in human muscle during exercise. Am. J. Physiol. 275: E235-E242. 1998.5. Hargreaves, M. (1997). Interactions between muscle glycogen and blood glucose during exercise. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 25: 21-39.Hargreaves, M. (2000). Skeletal muscle metabolism during exercise in humans. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 27: 225-228.6. Hargreaves, M., M.J. McKenna, D.G. Jenkins, S.A. Warmington, J.L. Li, R.J. Snow, and M.A. Febbraio (1998). Muscle metabolites and performance during high-intensity, intermittent exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 84: 1687-1691.7. MacLean, D.A., T.E. Graham, and B. Saltin (1996). Stimulation of muscle ammonia production during exercise following branched-chain amino acid supplementation in humans. J. Physiol. 493: 909-922.8. Meredith, C.N., M.J. Zackin, W.J. Frontera, and W.J. Evans (1989). Dietary protein requirements and body protein metabolism in endurance-trained men. J. Appl. Physiol. 66: 2850-2856.9. Rasmussen, B.B., K.D. Tipton, S.L. Miller, S.E. Wolf, and R.R. Wolfe (2000). An oral essential amino acid-carbohydrate supplement enhances muscle protein anabolism after resistance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 88: 386-392.10. Rennie, M.J., and K.D. Tipton (2000). Protein and amino acid metabolism during and after resistance exercise and the effects of nutrition. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 20: 457-483.11. Tarnopolsky, M.A. (1999). Protein metabolism in strength and endurance activities. In: D.R. Lamb and R. Murray (eds). Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, The Metabolic Basis of Performance in Exercise and Sport. Carmel, IN: Cooper Publishing Group, pp. 125-157.12. Tarnopolsky, M.A., J.D. MacDougall, and S.A. Atkinson (1988). Influence of protein intake and training status on nitrogen balance and lean body mass. J. Appl. Physiol. 64: 187-193.13. Tipton, K. D., A. A. Ferrando, S. M. Phillips, D. Doyle, Jr., and R. R. Wolfe (1999). Postexercise net protein synthesis in human muscle from orally administered amino acids. Am. J. Physiol. 276: E628-E634.14. Tipton, K. D., A. A. Ferrando, B. D. Williams, and R. R. Wolfe (1996). Muscle protein metabolism in female swimmers after a combination of resistance and endurance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 81: 2034-2038.15. Tipton, K. D., B. E. Gurkin, S. Matin, and R. R. Wolfe (1999). Nonessential amino acids are not necessary to stimulate net muscle protein synthesis in healthy volunteers. J. Nutr. Biochem. 10: 89-95.16. Van Hall, G., J.S.H. Raaymakers, W.H.M. Saris, and A.J.M. Wagenmakers (1995). Ingestion of branched-chain amino acids and tryptophan during sustained exercise in man: failure to affect performance. J. Physiol. 486: 789-794, 1995.17. Wagenmakers, A.J.M. (1999). Nutritional supplements: Effects on exercise performance and metabolism. In: D. R. Lamb and R. Murray (eds.) Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, The Metabolic Basis of Performance in Exercise and Sport. Carmel, IN: Cooper Publishing Group, pp. 207-260.
About Nick Suffredin:Professional:Previously I was an Associate Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI).

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My primary responsibility was to support the GSSI physiology research program. I assisted with laboratory-based research projects focused on product efficacy and innovation to stay up to date on the emerging science in sports nutrition as it relates to physiological and performance responses. I primarily worked in the Human Performance Laboratory incorporating components such as sports nutrition, sport psychology, exercise physiology, motor behavior, biomechanics, and strength and conditioning. I also worked on testing elite professional athletes to enhance their hydration practices and nutrition intake to improve their performance. I was involved with research where I helped lead and design projects involving exercise/muscle recovery, exercise/athletic performance, carbohydrate metabolism, rehydration and dehydration, stress testing, body composition, gastric emptying, sensory perception, along with aerobic and anaerobic performance testing. I have been on human performance advisory boards to ensure and improve quality exercise programs and nutritional assessments with clear communication involving proper training and education.
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Education:Originally I am from the suburbs of Chicago. I received his undergraduate degree in Movement Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduation I began an internship at GSSI where he helped assess the physiological and metabolic responses to fluid and nutrient intake before, during, and after exercise. I am currently working to earn my M.S. in human nutrition and food science with concentrations in sports nutrition and metabolism and then an M.S. in Applied Exercise Physiology with a concentration in thermoregulation.

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Personal:I am married to my beautiful wife Melanie who also shares my passion with endurance sports and coaching. I was a collegiate athlete playing men’s varsity soccer. In my leisure time I am a competitive runner while also enjoying weightlifting, and playing soccer. I have coached elite endurance athletes along with providing them nutrition guidelines to follow.

Flat tires happen and sooner or later, you'll get one. Here are a few easy tips to get your tire changed and get you back on the road.

1. Get off the road, or off the trail, out of traffic. Find a safe place.
2. Release the brake.
3. If it is rear wheel, shift to smallest cog on back. (Makes it easier to put wheel back on.)
4. Remove the wheel from the bike.
5. Check tire for obvious foreign articles, nails, tacks, thorns, etc. Remove as necessary.
6. Remove tire from rim. Can use tire levers to remove ½ of tire, or remove entire tire.
7. Remove tube from tire.
8. Carefully run fingers around inside of tire to find foreign objects. Remove any that are found.
9. If hole in tire is larger than about 1mm, place a glue-less patch over the hole on the inside of the tire to help seal the hole. This will prevent the new tube from pushing through the small hole when the tire is inflated to high pressure. (Probably should replace the tire when you get home.)
10. Put a little air in the new tube. Just enough so it will hold its shape.
11. Put the new tube in the tire (or in the ½ of the tire still on the rim).
12. Carefully put the tire back on the rim, being ESPECIALLY CAREFUL NOT TO PINCH the new tube between the rim and the side of the tire.
13. Once the tire is on, push the valve stem into the tire, make sure the tire is seated on the rim at this spot, and then pull the valve stem back out.
14. Inspect both sides of the tire and make sure it is seated fully into the rim all the way around.
15. Inflate the tire a little. Make sure the tire looks seated all the way around on both sides, then fully inflate the tire.
16. Put the wheel back on the bike. Make sure it is centered and straight with the frame of the bike
17. Close the brake or re-attach as needed.
18. Pick up old tube, any tools, trash, etc and securely stow them.

Enjoy the rest of your ride and when you get home look at your tire to see if it needs to be replaced. Be safe out there!