A popular t-shirt slogan a few years ago read “If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch”. The sad truth is, big dogs can’t run with the pack. I should know; I’m a big dog, a/k/a a Clydesdale.

Clydesdales are bigger endurance athletes. Under USTA rules, that means over 200 lbs. for men and over 150 lbs. for women. Female Clydesdales are often called Fillies, Athenas or Amazons (see sidebar, “What’s in a Name?”). For this article, I’ll refer to both men and women as Clydesdales.

I wasn’t always a Clydesdale. In high school, at 120 lbs., I was too small to play football. But I made up for it by being slow. I was always at the back of the team running laps. Once, a coach, probably trying to speed things up, kindly told me that it was shorter to run around the inside of the track. I got bigger but I didn’t get faster.

Twenty-some years ago, I discovered triathlons. At that time, I could run a steady nine-minute mile. A bout with cancer in 1994 and several years off to be a spectator for my kids raised my mile time to about twelve minutes. Even five years of training have failed to bring my time significantly under that pace. The experts tell me that with some technique improvement and additional weight loss, I can improve, but probably not to what most people would consider “normal” mile splits.

Forget about running with the pack; we’re lucky to see the pack after the first mile or so. After a race, I tell people I flew through the course, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still. In my first half marathon, I was struggling at the end and was passed about 500 yards from the finish by the marathon winners, who started an hour after the half marathon.

So what’s our problem? Are we just fat and lazy? A little more discipline, a little more effort, we’d be right up there with the so-called normal people, right? Wrong. Take Ingrid Miller, for example. Five years ago, Ingrid, 5’10” and 180 lbs., was a competitive trail runner. Knee problems forced her out of running for a couple of years, but three years ago she came back as a triathlete. Last year she completed her first half-Iron competition and now she’s training for a full Ironman in May. Fifteen pounds lighter, she has only 12% body fat. She’s obviously highly-trained, her weight and height put her body mass index (BMI) in the normal range, yet her run times are still 10-11 minutes per mile and her cycling speed is about 15 mph — not times that will put her at the front of the overall group. Like a moving van differs from a sports car, Clydesdales aren’t built like their smaller brethren.

It starts with the added weight, of course. From high school physics, you might recall the formula for kinetic energy (the energy of movement): E = 1/2mv², where m = mass (weight) and v = velocity (speed). What this says is that for a person to double his or her speed requires four times more energy. So for 250 lb. runner to drop from a twelve to a six minute mile to keep up with a 125 lb. runner, he needs EIGHT TIMES more energy than the 125 lb. runner requires to run a 12-minute mile, twice as much for the size difference and four times as much for the speed differential.

But the real problem is VO₂max. This is the rate at which the body utilizes oxygen, which is necessary to convert its stored fuel into energy. As body mass increases, relative VO₂max actually decreases. Here’s how Stephen Seiler, PhD in exercise physiology, explains it: If you take a highly trained 5’7”, 140 lb. cyclist and add 12% to his height, he will be just over 6’3’ tall. If you then configure this new, taller athlete proportionately to the original athlete, he will weigh 195 lbs. His absolute VO₂ max will increase from 5.0 liters/minute to 6.25 liters/minute due to the increased heart volume. This should make a more efficient and therefore faster athlete. But because of the increased body mass, the relative VO₂max will actually decrease 9%. So while the athlete is now bigger, has more mass and therefore requires more energy to be competitive, his ability to utilize energy has decreased. It’s as if someone took the pistons out of a couple of cylinders in the engine at the same time they loaded up the trunk.

This is why there are very few large, competitive endurance athletes. Look at professional cyclists. Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie, hardly anyone is over 150 lbs. or 5’8” tall. There are some exceptions, of course. Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain stood over six feet tall and weighed about 180 lbs., and Canadian cycling champion Dominique Rollin is also over six feet and 180 lbs. In Indurain’s case, his heart is disproportionately large even for a highly trained athlete, which explains his 28 bpm resting heart rate.

We typical Clydesdales redline at very low speeds. When we try to crank up the velocity, our muscles send a signal to the brain that they need more energy. The brain orders the heart and lungs to deliver more oxygen so glycogen can be burned. Because the body has a low relative VO₂max, the heart tries to compensate by beating faster to deliver more oxygen. In my own case, even a few minutes at a turtle-like 12 minutes per mile raises my heart rate to 85%-90% MHR. Most trained endurance athletes have an anaerobic threshold of 75%-90% MHR. As soon as you exceed your anaerobic threshold, the effects of lactic acid begin to set in and you can’t sustain the pace more than 20-30 minutes.

Clydesdales face a host of problems the Greyhounds don’t. We go through shoes quicker, due to the pounding force they have to endure. Replacing shoes every 200 miles is average. Because our energy needs are greater, we have to carry more food and water in long races. Many times we come to an aid station long after the rest of the pack has left to find empty water cups, black banana peels, and little else. Our slower speed makes long runs really, really long. I’ve concluded that a marathon is out of reach for me. I know I could do it in my own good time, but I’m not willing to devote half of every Saturday for twelve weeks doing long runs. For me it’s a matter of priorities; I just can’t fit it in with everything else I want to do.

Those of us who choose to run marathons or Ironman triathlons become creative in our training. Routes are planned to pass by convenience stores. We stash food along the way like through-hikers on the Appalachian trail. Because of overheating, we run early in the morning or late at night, wearing headlamps and carrying flashlights. Sometimes we even break up long runs over two days. For Clydesdales, every run is a marathon, every marathon is an ultra, and an ultra may be impossible.

Heat poses special problems for Clydesdales. Not only is staying cool more difficult, but due to the extra time we spend on the roads in the sun, we’re more prone to hyponatremia, low blood sodium due to excessive sweating. It’s crucial for Clydesdales to drink electrolyte replacement drinks during long training sessions, not just water.

The key to being successful (and by that I mean completing) in half or full Ironman distance races, century rides or marathons, besides the proper training that all athletes have to undertake, is fueling. Think of the glycogen in your muscles (the energy your body will draw on during a race) as a box of matches. There are only so many matches in the box; when they’re gone, you stop. You can’t will yourself to finish when the glycogen is gone any more than you can will a jet liner to stay airborne when the fuel tank is empty. Paula Newby-Fraser learned this lesson the hard way in the 1995 Hawaii Ironman. Being pushed from behind on the run, she deliberately passed up the last few aid stations. On Alii Drive within sight of the finish line, she collapsed, allowing Karen Smyers to pass her and ending Newby-Fraser’s win streak at four.

You can delay using up all the matches by fueling during the race, but you can never replace calories as quickly as you use them. The best you can do is time it so you run out of calories as you cross the finish line. A Clydesdale might burn 1,300 or more Calories per hour during a long race. Considering that glycogen stores in the muscles and liver probably can’t exceed 2,000 Calories, there is at most energy for less than two hours. Remember that it takes 30 minutes or so for whatever you eat to get to the bloodstream, so you need to start eating 60-90 minutes after you begin exercising.

The body simply can’t convert more than 250-280 Calories of intake per hour into usable energy. The reasons are complex, but the bottom line is, anything above that amount will slop around in your stomach, eventually causing gastric distress. Most people who become ill during a race do so because of overeating, not over-exerting. For any triathlete, but especially a Clydesdale, you need to start eating as soon as you’re out of the water. If you can figure out a way to eat while swimming, do it.

I’ve learned that for runs up to an hour in length, I’m usually safe without taking any food or drink. Over an hour, I need to carry something. On the bike, I can usually go a little longer without having to eat or drink, but it varies. The first rule is KNOW THYSELF. During your training, keep track of what you eat, when, and how you feel, then plan race day accordingly.

Try out different fueling strategies before race day. Don’t ever use a new energy product from your goodie bag that you get at check-in during the race. Save it for a training run. Find out what works for you and stick with it.

Preparing for the 2005 Spudman, I had my fueling strategy all worked out — when I would start to eat and drink, how much, how often. On the swim, I swallowed about half of the Snake River and didn’t feel like eating or drinking until the turnaround on the bike. By the time I ate and drank, it was too late and I bonked on the run. My plan was fine if I had been able to stay with it. But things happen in a race. The second rule is EXPECT SOMETHING TO GO WRONG. When it happens, deal with it; don’t let it ruin your race.

How much should you carry? Plan for about 100-150 Calories every 30 minutes. That can come from energy bars, gels, sports drink or any combination. Keep two things in mind, though. First, simple carbohydrates (simple sugars) are not good. They burn fast and hot, but it’s like trying to heat your house with newspaper. You need complex carbohydrates. Secondly, you need some protein. In exercise over 90-120 minutes, up to 15% of your energy comes from protein. If the body doesn’t have protein available from food, it will scavenge it from itself in a process called catabolism, known informally as protein cannibalization. This can cause premature muscle fatigue and post-exercise soreness, and can compromise your immune system, leading to increased risk of colds, flu and other diseases.

No race day strategy can overcome a poor nutritional foundation. Here again Clydesdales face problems unknown to others. Most of us are still trying to lose weight, and we might be tempted to try various diets, especially the low-carbohydrate ones like Atkins and South Beach. That’s a big mistake. Those diets are designed for the average American who leads a sedentary lifestyle. Athletes need fuel and fuel comes mainly from carbohydrates. Fat deposits in the body provide an almost unlimited store of energy, but fat burns in a carbohydrate fire.

Many Clydesdales have health issues associated with our size. I race not to win but because triathlons give me the motivation I need to keep exercising, and I exercise because I have three of the four markers for heart disease: I’m overweight, I have elevated blood sugar (pre-Type II diabetes) and I have high cholesterol. The only marker I don’t have is high blood pressure. If I weren’t a triathlete, Atkins or South Beach would be ideal for me. But I am, I need extra carbohydrates those diets don’t provide. The problem is, how to get the fuel I need and still maintain the blood chemistry my doctor advises.

This brings me to my third and last rule: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE. Find out what’s going on inside your own body. Educate yourself. There are dozens of books about nutrition for endurance athletes. Two good ones are Nutrition for Endurance Athletes by Monique Ryan and Eat Right to Train Right by Chris Carmichael. The American Diabetes Association has some excellent recipes and meal plans if you’re facing diabetes, like millions of middle-age Americans are.

Don’t give up. Carry your Clydesdale frame with pride. If it takes you two and a half hours to finish a sprint triathlon, that’s no less an accomplishment than a 2:30 marathon for a skinny runner. If you don’t want to commit to training for Olympic or longer distance triathlons, focus on sprint triathlons. Whatever you do, Big Dog, get off the porch.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Clydesdale is the most common name given to larger athletes. Anyone familiar with a certain beer company’s holiday commercials knows what a Clydesdale looks like. They truly are the behemoths of horses. Where a typical thoroughbred race horse will weigh 1200-1500 lbs., Clydesdales tip the scales at 1900 lbs. or more and stand much taller.

Sometimes female Clydesdales are called Fillies, an obvious “me-too” to the equine world. “Filly” is misleading, because a filly is simply a female horse over one year and under five years of age, regardless of size. One of the most famous fillies was Ruffian, winner of the Filly Triple Crown and unbeaten in 10 races. In 1975 a two horse battle of the sexes was set up between Ruffian and that year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. Ruffian broke her leg during the race and had to be put down. She was the only non-human athlete named to Sports Illustrated’s list of the Top 100 Female Athletes of the 20^th Century.

Athena is another name given to female Clydesdales. Athena was a Greek warrior goddess, often attended by the goddess of victory, Nike. She was the patron goddess of Athens.

Amazon is a term frequently used for female Clydesdales. Amazons were a mythic race of warrior-women in ancient Greece, of large stature and ferocious in battle. Legend has it the name is derived from the Greek “a-mazos”, meaning “without breast”. The Amazons were said to have cut off their right breasts so it would not interfere with their ability to draw a bow or throw a spear. According to many accounts, the Amazon River in South America was named by Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana in 1541, in honor of the native female warriors he found along its banks.

In some parts of the country, other descriptive terms are used in place of “Clydesdale”. In the southwest, you might race in the Longhorn division, while in southern California there is the Shamu division.

BOOKS BY AND ABOUT CLYDESDALES

Slow, Fat Triathlete by Jayne Wilson. While Ms. Wilson is a Clydesdale, this book is for anyone interested in the sport of triathlon. She takes a rank beginner’s viewpoint and explains just what goes on in a triathlon, even down to explaining T1 and T2. A good starter book for anyone new to triathlon.

No Need for Speed by John “the Penguin” Bingham. Bingham, the self-proclaimed Patron Saint of the Back of the Pack explains the joy of running slow. Like Slow, Fat Triathlete, Bingham’s book, though written from a Clydesdale perspective, is for anyone new to running.

Swimming to Antarctica by Lynn Cox. Not a training guide, this is the autobiography of Lynn Cox, one of the world’s greatest distance swimmers. At age 14 she was training by swimming 26 miles from Catalina Island to the mainland. At 15 she set the men’s and women’s record for crossing the English Channel. In her 20s she discovered she could swim in water so cold ordinary mortals would die in less than 10 minutes. Her book describes swims across the Bering Strait; in the waters of Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America; and in the Antarctic Ocean. Standing about 5’4” tall and weighing over 160 lbs., Ms. Cox is surely an overachiever Clydesdale.

Heft on Wheels by Mike Magnuson. Magnuson was a 255 lb., beer-swilling, pizza-munching, chain-smoking English professor when he took up cycling. A year and 80 lbs. lighter, he discovered he had traded one set of addictions for another. This is a sometimes poignant, often humorous and always entertaining true story of one man’s journey. Not a training manual, it’s both inspirational and cautionary about the risks of overdoing a good thing.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Below is information about masters swimming in the state of Idaho. (Information courtesy of United States Masters Swimming Web site)

Boise - SAWS YMCA Sawtooth Masters

Downtown Family YMCA / West Family YMCA & Boise City Aquatics Center1050 W. State St. 83702/ 5959 N. Discovery Place 83713 Boise, Idaho

Lap Swim / Workout Times: See website

Contacts: Shannon Hamrick (208) 846-5967 SawtoothMasters@cableone.net

Web Site: http://www.YMCASawtoothMasters.org

Idaho Falls - Idaho Falls Aquatic Masters

Idaho Falls Aquatic Center

149 7th Street Idaho Falls, Idaho

Lap Swim / Workout Times: W/O’s TTh 8-9:15 pm. Lap Swim M-F 5:30-8am, TTh 8-9:30 pm, Sun 11:30-1

Contacts: Jim Smith 522-4391 (h), Aquatics 528-5519

Miscellaneous Info: $2.25 Lap swim cost.

Ketchum

Ketchum, Idaho

Lap Swim / Workout Times: Call: (208) 720-6362

Contacts: Karen Morrison

Additional info about Idaho Masters can be found HERE.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Below is information about masters swimming in the state of Nevada. (Information courtesy of United States Masters Swimming Web site)

Carson City - CARS Carson Tigersharks

Carson Aquatic Facility

841 N Roop St Carson City, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-F 5:30-7am, 5:30-6:30pm

Contacts: Jackie Boudreau jmboudreau@pyramid.net, 775-888-9138

Web Site: http://www.tigersharks.org

Henderson - HSNM Henderson Southern Nevada Masters

Multigenerational Pool

250 S Green Valley Pkwy Henderson, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: MWF - 5:30 am, M-Th - 6:30-8pm, Sat 11 am

Contacts: Frank Lowery, flowery719@earthlink.net, (702) 400-2790

Web Site: http://www.lowerysmultisport.com

Miscellaneous Info: We’re located in the suburban Green Valley area. We offer expert coaching, a dynamic and fun team. We host parties and open swims at Lake Mead, in addition to our legendary road trips to swim.

Incline Village - Incline Tahoe Aquatics

Incline Village Recreation Center

Incline Village, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-F 3:30 - 5:30 pm. Lap Swim 6-8

Contacts: Eric Petrilla 702-831-4661 or Celeste Miller 702-831-2129

Miscellaneous Info: Call to confirm times

 

Las Vegas - LVM Las Vegas Masters

Desert Breeze Aquatic Facility

8275 Spring Mountain Road (east of Durango) Las Vegas, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-F 5:30 - 7:00 am

Contacts: Victor Hecker , heckerrealestate@hotmail.com, 702-247-7788

Web Site: http://www.lvswim.com

 

 

Las Vegas - VLVM Viva Las Vegas Masters

Pavillion Center Pool at Palo Verde High School

Pavilion Center Dr at Alta Las Vegas, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-Th 7-8:30 pm; Sa 10-11:30 am

Contacts: Marie Girouard, 702-461-5354, mjvgutierrez@cox.net

Miscellaneous Info: swim and spin workouts every Wed in the spring and summer

 

 

Minden - CVM Carson Valley Manatees

Carson Valley Swim Center

1600 Hwy 88 Minden, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: Workouts - MWF 5:30-7am, Lap Swim - MWF 6am-6pm

Contacts: Claudia Bertolone-Smith 775-782-3244, claudia@pyramid.net

 

 

Reno - SNM Sierra Nevada Masters

Northwest Pool, Idlewild Pool

Northwest Pool, Idlewild Pool Reno, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-F 5:30-7 am, Sat 6:30-8 am, Laps 6:15-7:30pm

Contacts: Steve Lintz (702)334-2203

Miscellaneous Info: Indoor 25yd, 8 lanes, Pool fee $3.00, $2 seniors, and Idlewild Pool (summer 50m), UNR, (702)334-2267.

 

 

Reno - SNM Sierra Nevada Masters

Northwest Pool-SC/Idlewild Pool-LC

Reno, Nevada

Lap Swim / Workout Times: M-F 5:30-7 AM, 11:30-1 PM, SA 6:30-8 AM

Contacts: Steve Lintz, Head Coach: 334-2203/334-2267

Popularity: 61% [?]

Listen to your body.

The best thing you can do to prevent injury is listen to your body. If you can recognize signs of overuse, fatigue, tendonitis, strain, etc. and make changes before it becomes a big problem, you are way ahead of the game. I hear many triathletes talk about “running through the pain”. I would say there are times that are uncomfortable during the sport of triathlon and there is pain of giving full effort. However, true pain is a sign your body is giving you that something is wrong. Why ignore it?

I like to use an analogy of comparing people to cars when thinking of listening to your body. Some cars have temperature gauges with a red line. Other cars just have an “idiot light” that comes on when the engine is already overheated. Most people do not listen to their internal gauges, and instead wait until the “idiot light” comes on telling them they overdid it. This “idiot light” is pain. If you can listen to your internal gauge that is more subtle, you can back off before you hurt yourself. These more subtle signs might come as tightness in the muscles or joints, aching, an increase in effort to maintain the same pace, resting heart rate being elevated, etc. If you are working out you should not go full bore blindly without checking your gauges. Don’t workout through the pain to pay the price later. Don’t wait until the “idiot light” comes on, as it is probably too late. Think back to the last time you had pain during a workout. Chances are there were some signs prior to the onset of pain. It might have been achiness, soreness, stiffness, fatigue, or a change in your efficiency or form. Remember this for future workouts, as that is probably your “heat gauge” telling you to back off before you “redline” and get injured.

Do not increase any training variable by more than 10% per week.

This is a commonly broken rule among athletes, but breaking it usually comes at a price. The price might be paid as injury or breakdown weeks down the line. The more often you break this rule, and the higher percentage increase you break it by will increase your chances of injury or breakdown. For the best chances to avoid injury, do not increase more than one variable per week. For instance, do not increase the distance on your long run AND your total running distance in the same week. When you go long on one particular run, back off on other runs/workouts during the week to allow for rest/recovery before or after.

Common training variables to assess for the 10% rule:

Longest run/bike/swim

Total weekly distance

Terrain type (flats versus hills or asphalt versus dirt)

Total workout time per week including cross-training

Stretch frequently.

Stretching the muscles in the body frequently can help lower the risk of injury. Most stretches should be held with a very light sensation of stretch. I now tell my patients and athletes to change their thoughts on stretching to think more of it as “posing” in order to decrease their intensity. Contrary to some thought, stretches should not hurt! The longer you hold a stretch, the more flexibility you will gain. You don’t need to stretch vigorously, just often. Try to stretch four times per day when in intense training. Generally stretches should be held 30-60 seconds.

Alternate hard/easy workouts and feel free to skip some workouts.

Too often I hear of athletes trying to squeeze in missed workouts either due to time constraints or after taking a break due to injury. This is one of the easiest ways to over-train – by adding workload in a short amount of time. If you are doing a majority of your workouts, it is OK to skip a workout. That is so important I need to repeat it. It is OK to skip a workout. Chances are, after skipping a workout, or making a hard workout into an easy workout, you will feel better prepared for your next hard workout. Your body adapts to stress and will become stronger, but it needs time. Each body is different also, and we all tend to need more time to recover as we age. So feel OK about skipping or lightening a workout. You will be better off in the long run. I often aim for hitting 75% of my scheduled workouts in a program and feel really good about the results on race day.

Seek early intervention if you are having a body ache or pain.

Getting early help from a healthcare professional for your aches and pains will allow them to be treated with less expensive and less invasive interventions. We want you to meet your goals for getting fit, and the first step is getting to the starting line of your event injury-free. You won’t be likely to meet your goals if an injury is holding you back. The longer you wait to get treated, the longer you are likely to need to reduce or stop your workouts.

Do not skip your “core” exercises.

Core exercises are designed to target muscles that are not isolated with traditional exercises. Your “core” is made up of the muscles in your abdominals, lower back, pelvic floor, and diaphragm (breathing muscle). Contrary to popular belief, just doing sit-ups and crunches is not the best way to emphasize the core. The best core muscles are the deepest, most subtle, and hardest to isolate. I tell my patients that if they feel like they are doing nothing, they have it right. If they feel like they are getting a good “burn”, they are working too hard and missing the best layers of the core.

The core muscles help you absorb shock and transmit power from upper to lower body appropriately. These muscles are the foundation of your athletic body. Don’t neglect them. I feel the best methods to isolate the deepest and most important part of the core are Pilates, Tai Chi, and Yoga. More aggressive core exercises do not translate into better results for beginner and intermediate athletes and should be reserved for elite athletes only.

Matt Booth is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Orthopedic Certified Specialist with a clinical practice in Boise, Idaho. He started in triathlon at the Olympic distance in the late 80’s with recent significant finishes at Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2005 as well as the Age Group National Championships in Portland in 2007. He is currently training for Ironman Boise 70.3 with Performance High.

Matt Booth, DPT, OCS

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Orthopedic Certified Specialist

Clinic Director – Therapeutic Associates Boise Physical Therapy

(208)433-9211

mbooth@taiweb.com

www.therapeuticassociates.com/Boise

Popularity: 55% [?]

As I meet potential clients, one of the questions on my intake form is “how many hours per week are you able to dedicate to training for the sport of triathlon?” Some say 5 hours, some say 10 hours while some even say 15-20 hours. This is always one of my main concerns regarding the sport. How many hours does it really take? Well, it is my goal to have my athletes train “smart” and avoid “over-training.” The sport should be enjoyable not only to the athlete, but by family of the athlete as well.

So how does one balance a complicated sport like triathlon while working full-time, or being a full-time student, or being a stay at home mom, etc? It is all about priorities. First and foremost, family should always come first….right? Sure, the job is important, but there are no “do-overs” at being a good parent or spouse. I like to schedule most of my training in the early morning hours, meaning, before anyone else even wakes up. That way I have trained and am ready to take on the day without taking away any “kid-time” from my little ankle biters. Others might train later in the evening when their kids have gone to bed….whatever works.

Now, how long should you train for each race distance? I will give you a quick break down for each race distance starting with Sprints. For Sprint training, you are looking at about 5-7 hours per week. That is it. If you train much more than that then you are over-training. For Olympic distance, 8-10 hours per week should suffice. Half Ironman will require you to train for about 10-13 hours per week.

However, Ironman is a completely different beast, and this is really where the tri-time versus family-time gets tricky. For the most part, you begin your Ironman training about six months out. But the good news is that the first three months is base training and it does not consume your life until about the last three months before the race. For the first three months, you can plan about 10+/- hours per week. But the last three months will consume about 15-20 hours per week of training. Ouch…that really does cut into family-time! But there are ways of making it work, not only physically, but emotionally.

Here is how. “Before” you sign up for an Ironman, have a family meeting. Discuss how you will be taking on the toughest endurance race in the world and how you can only succeed if you have everyone’s love and support. It is about sacrifice, and your family needs to know that there are going to be days and weekends that you could be training for up to 8-hours straight. Now the good news is that a lot of your training is done in the early weekday morning hours, say 2+/- hours per morning. The weekends are where you will do your long training sessions. So that means a Saturday and even Sunday will be consumed with a long bike and/or run. Depending on the season, you can get an early start and be done by around noon’ish or 1 p.m., leaving the rest of the day for an ice bath (burr) and time with your family. For those of you racing an early season race like Ironman Arizona, a lot of your training will be indoors. Take advantage of a stationary trainer on Saturday morning and watch cartoons with your midgets while spinning for a few hours….it actually is not all that bad since they can fetch you some fresh Gatorade and PBJ’s.

What I will advise some of you on is biting off more than you can chew. Don’t take advantage of your family’s kindness for too long. Meaning, while Ironman is awesome, don’t go all crazy and sign up for consecutive Ironman races. You can only push the envelope so far when your spouse finally snaps…seriously, I’ve seen it. I have triathlete friends that race one or two Ironman races a year, for several years straight, with small kids at home. It can be a selfish act on the athlete’s part. As wrapped up as we can get in the sport, do not sacrifice your marriage or neglect your kids because of it. It is just not worth it in the long run!

Happy (and smart) Training,

David Pruetz, C.F.T.

USA Triathlon Certified Coach

Owner/Coach, In Training LLC

www.intraining.biz

Popularity: 27% [?]

Ah, the triathlon racing season is over – at least for most of us. Regardless of how you placed at the races, I hope the season has been personally rewarding for everyone.

At some level, I’m certain all of you already have some goals for next season. Perhaps you noticed one of your skills is significantly less developed than the other two and you’ve decided you are going to do something about it next season. Maybe you’ve made it a goal of yours to get some help improving your swimming, or getting more comfortable and more confident on your bike or working on your running technique so you you’ll be able to get off the bike and really run rather than just survive. However, a lot of you are probably thinking of tying these goals into your New Year’s Resolutions, right?

You may feel a little tired, a little burned out right now. It’s darker longer, it’s getting cold outside, your body has regeneration on its mind – it’s hibernation time! You might be thinking “Hey, I worked hard all season, I’m looking forward to November and December and the holidays – they are my reward. I finally get to take some time off, enjoy the holidays and eat lots of good food.” Well, many people tend to acquire some, ah, “energy reserves” during this time of year from the decrease in training and the increase in the availability of tasty food. Instead, why not acquire a reserve of efficiency that will become your armor for the next racing season?

But why wait until January to begin tackling your 2008 goals? Why not start now? I’m not suggesting you jump back into your structured training with the intense intervals, the long workouts, the difficult strength sessions. I’m asking, why not just put an hour or so a week toward improving one facet of your triathlon “game?” You’ll still be able to take time off from training, enjoy the holidays and eat tasty food. So, why now, you ask? Well, I’ll gladly explain.

Your body is fatigued to some degree after a season of training and racing. It wants and needs to regenerate for a while before you ask it to start up again with a structured, intense, workout regimen. Your mind needs a bit of a break from the many hours of training and the discomfort some of the tougher training created. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a tremendous improvement in any of the skills over the next two months. In fact, this is the PERFECT time of year to create the efficient technique you’ve always wanted! When, during your in-season training, do you actually take the time or have the patience to devote your effort solely to improving your efficiency? Probably never. That’s why now, precisely when you aren’t doing any structured training, is the best time of all. There is no pressure to go out and do any tough workouts. You aren’t at the mercy of the clock and the second hand - which always moves more quickly than you want it to. Now is the time to keep the body moving gently so you are still active but actively recovering.

So, what would be more gentle than a quick dip in the pool to do some drills and hone or even re-create your swimming technique? How about a gentle 25 minute jog including some really short, focused drills to work on perfect form? Why not go out with a few friends on an easy spin, stop off at the soccer fields and do a couple biking drills to really sharpen your skills and gain some confidence?

Efficient technique is the foundation of success in every sport there is! Why do we ignore this in workouts and won’t take a few minutes to work on our technique? We should all be spending more time creating and developing better technique and spending less time on miles and workouts that don’t, in some way, contribute to improving our efficiency.

If you spend just 20-30 minutes a few times a week over the next two months, you’ll be amazed by what you can achieve. Focusing on technique drills for just those few minutes, over the course of two months, can carve more minutes off your triathlon time than an entire season of training and racing!!!

Let’s talk about some specific things you can do to put this time of the year to great use.

If your Achilles heel is the swim, ask your masters swim coach, your current triathlon coach or a friend who is a good swimmer to critique your swimming form and give you just three aspects of your swimming to work on - the entry, the catch, the kick, breathing, the recovery phase, the pull phase, your body position – whatever! (Of course, the best scenario would be for them to video you and show you exactly what they see so you can see it as well!) Ask them to show you a few drills you can practice for each of the things they mention. Then, a few times a week, work it into your schedule to stop by the pool either before work, on your lunch break, on your way home, between weekend errands or chores. You aren’t going there to do a workout – you are simply going to swim a couple minutes to loosen up and then practice, with great focus, a few of the drills you were shown. You also don’t need to work on all three things every time – mix it up a little. Alternate doing a drill or two for each aspect of your swimming you wish to improve with doing several drills for just one aspect of your swimming. When you’re done with your few minutes of drills, just swim an easy few minutes (or 50s) with a keen emphasis on just one of the things you were working on.

I guarantee, if you practice consistently for just a few minutes a few times a week for two months, you will see a very nice improvement in your technique – something you can carry into your next season of training. And won’t it feel great to put in all those thousands of yards of swimming next year practicing your improved technique rather than ingraining your old, in-efficient technique?

If your biking lacks confidence, if you don’t feel comfortable on the bike, this would be the perfect time to seek some assistance improving any aspect of your cycling. The foundation for cycling is a really comfortable position. If you aren’t comfortable on the bike, you aren’t going to be producing the power output you are potentially capable of. You’ll be too distracted by the discomfort of the position. So, go to your local bike shop and ask around for a bike fitting expert – someone who works with triathletes or time-trialists. They’ll surely be able to recommend someone. Or, if you want to pull out all the stops, go see Dr. Massimo Testa at TOSH in Salt Lake City. He probably has more experience fitting people to their trusty racing bikes than anyone in Utah (or the United States, for that matter).

One way or the other, have the expert tinker with your position while you are riding your bike on a trainer and work at it until you are comfortable – not until they say you look good but until YOU feel comfortable. The aerodynamics of your position on the bike are irrelevant if you aren’t comfortable. When you’re pleased with the fit, it is time to learn how to trust your new position and gain some confidence in your ability to handle the bike properly.

Go out for a short, easy ride with at least one other person. Ride around for about 10-15 minutes and finish at a park or a soccer field – anywhere you can ride on a flat length of grass. Start by riding side by side as slowly as you can in a straight line on the grass – slowest person wins. Then, ride up and back a few times and each time ride a little closer to the person or people you are with – until you are almost touching. Then, still riding slowly on the grass in a straight line, while riding in your drops, bullhorns or hoods, gently flare your elbow so you touch the elbow of the person riding next to you. After a few lengths of this, try touching shoulders together – not bumping, touching. When you’ve tried that for a few lengths, still on the grass with your hands on your bars, try leaning on each other. Last but not least, as you ride side by side, take turns trying to “herd” each other off the straight line with as much arm and shoulder contact as possible – remember, no tackling. It is no fun to fall on a bike even if it is on grass.

When you are finished with these drills you can end the session by riding slowly behind each other and bumping your front wheel into their back wheel – both side on and straight on so you can feel what happens to your control wheel when you touch wheels with the person in front of you. This will teach you how to react without over-reacting – potentially saving you from a bad fall. The entire drill session only takes 15-20 minutes and you can always add or substitute different drills. You will be astounded by the boost in your biking confidence after just one session. Imagine how you’ll feel if you do this even once a week for a couple months?

Last but certainly not least, if your running is holding you back from a solid race performance, this is the best time of the season to tweak or even re-create your running technique. You will benefit a great deal from spending just thirty minutes with a running expert who can take a look at your form (or, better yet, video it so you can see it too!). A running coach, bio-mechanist or exercise physiologist with some background in kinesiology will do nicely. TOSH (in SLC or up in Park City) has the skilled staff and the equipment to get all of this done in a matter of minutes. The running expert will give you several aspects of your running technique to work on to gain greater efficiency and give you a few drills to achieve greater efficiency in these areas. Things as subtle as the way you hold your hands, the way you swing your arms, the curve of your lower back, how you hold your head, the angle of your chin, how your foot impacts the ground – can all have a dramatic effect on the way you run.

Armed with the drills and the knowledge of what you can work on to improve your efficiency, it would only take about 15 minutes a few times a week (outdoors or on a treadmill any time of day or night) to warm up and gently practice a few of these drills with a high degree of focus for a very short period of time. This consistent, focused, repetitious practice will ingrain a more effective, more relaxed, more efficient neuromuscular firing pattern which will result in faster speeds at a lower energy cost. Any time you can go faster while expending less energy than you did in the past, you are becoming more efficient!

I hope you’ll invest a few hours in yourself over the next couple months and give efficiency a chance to happen. Remember, it only takes a very small improvement in efficiency to drastically improve your triathlon performance. Have a great, productive autumn! - Marcel (www.MarcelVifian.com)

Thanks to Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition for the use of this artcle.

(www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com )

Popularity: 38% [?]

Achilles tendonitis, plantar fascitis, patellar tendonitis, IT Band syndrome, p-femoral syndrome, SI Joint dislocation, stress fractures, torn Meniscus, and Piriformis pain. No, this is not a list of poorly made horror films in the last decade. Instead, it’s a list of common maladies that plague runners everywhere. Any of them sound familiar? For me, there were some items on this list that I can personally attest to after completing ACL reconstruction in 00’. Thanks to Paula and Lloyd Eldredge’s referral to Dr. Nicholas Romanov, I was led onto the POSE Method© in early 2001. I had a choice. I could either run with extreme pain compounded with extremely slow running or opening my mind to new ideas with regards to this sport. Well, this swimmer cracked open her mind and let the principles of the POSE Method flow in.

Thanks to Dr. Eisenman’s approval at of the University of Utah, I was able to complete my coaching certification through Dr. Romanov. The principles were relatively simple. They involve increasing efficiency through improving muscle elasticity, decreasing ground reaction time (not to be confused with ground reaction force), involving core strength, and decreasing vertical oscillation (up and down movement common in some runners). These ideas seemed foreign to most “running experts” I had spoken to previously. Most coaches would take one look at my six foot frame and repeatedly suggest that improving stride length would be my ticket to faster running. Unfortunately, increasing my stride length only seemed to further aggravate my already existing pains and didn’t improve my speed. From what little I remembered from my early college Physics class, I remembered one equation; SPEED = STRIDE LENGTH X STRIDE FREQUENCY. Since changing the stride length didn’t improve much of anything, the main focus was stride frequency. Once frequency was introduced, it was necessary to also involve technique work that would minimize and even eliminate pains and injuries. It is logical to conclude that if someone were to improve technique and eliminate pain that they would also run faster. For me and many clients since then, this was indeed the case.

In a society that seems to crave “quick fixes”, the POSE Method© showed me huge improvements in speed immediately. Sound enticing? Read on. One must first adopt strong posture. This means finding a somewhat neutral spine when running. This will enable you to more efficiently recruit your hip flexors and hamstrings when in motion. From that point, the runner is asked to change their strike zone from ahead of their general center of mass (GCM) to under it. This somewhat mimics a swinging gate. By doing this, one minimizes both vertical oscillation and stopping force (the result of the foot landing in front of your GCM). Once you have tried this, you may notice that your foot strike zone has also changed. This is where runners need to be careful. It has often been a criticism of some people who have not looked into the POSE Method© thoroughly that Dr. Romanov was suggesting that people run on their toes. This is a misrepresentation. Dr. Romanov suggests a mid-foot strike zone. Running on one’s toes begins to cause various problems relative to the Achilles tendon as well as the tendons on the bottom of the foot. The mid-foot refers to the base of the ball of the foot (BOF).

Now, the next thing to remember is that old habits die hard. One must remember that changing one’s running form may result in fatigue of underused muscle groups. By implementing just a few drills into your running program each day you exercise, you can make the transition a bit smoother. Each day you grow stronger, muscle elasticity will improve. Before long, your times will be dropping and your pains diminishing.

Shannon Mulder is a level 1 USAT triathlon coach. Shannon can be contacted at 801-865-6269.

Popularity: 24% [?]

In Part 1 of this article, I focused on the primary “time points” related to sports nutrition – those being what to eat Before, During, and After exercise. In Part 2, I’d like to look at another useful way to categorize sports nutrition products – by their primary effect or mode of action. Using this method, sports nutrition products fall primarily into 3 categories (but there is some overlap between categories):

• Muscle strength and Mass

• Endurance and Energy

• Post-exercise Recovery

As the “off-season” approaches for most triathletes and other endurance athletes, it is often helpful to employ specific nutrition regimens to help you build strength, base endurance, and injury protection for next season.

Muscle Strength and Mass

Although bodybuilders may be tempted to experiment with prohormones, steroid precursors, and related enhancers of muscle mass, endurance athletes will be most interested in developing muscular strength without a lot of added bulk. A strategic use of creatine, protein, and specific amino acids can help to enhance your body’s adaptation to off-season strength training.

Creatine is stored primarily in skeletal muscle as creatine phosphate (CP), where its main role is to restore adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which can then be used as an energy source to support muscle contractions and possibly to help reduce lactic acid accumulation. Creatine can also cause muscle cells to “swell” due to an influx of fluid. This “swelling” effect of creatine leads to a muscle cell with an increased cell volume and cross-sectional area, as well as higher glycogen content – each of which may stimulate protein synthesis and lead to increased muscle size and strength.

Much speculation has associated creatine use with several adverse side effects such as muscle cramping and strained muscles – effects which are now thought to be less due to creatine itself than to athletes exceeding their capabilities and trying to do more work than their muscles are ready to do (”too much too soon”). A real concern may be the possibility of dehydration (due to retained fluid inside the muscle cell) – but an increased intake of fluids easily remedies this situation.

Protein powders are available from virtually every supplement manufacturer – with claims for everything from increasing muscle mass and strength and to losing or gaining weight. The most common sources of protein come from milk (casein and whey), egg, and soy.

Aside from their use in weight loss and muscle building applications, protein supplements are also being used in some of the newer “recovery” formulations. Because the body’s protein needs increase dramatically (and disproportionately to caloric needs) during physical trauma and injury, supplemental amounts of protein added to the diet can not only enhance recovery from exercise, but may also boost immunity and help prevent injuries from repeated training (and overtraining).

Protein sources are often classed based on their “biological value” (BV) – a term that refers to the amount of protein deposited in tissues per gram of protein absorbed. In general, the higher the BV, the more effective the protein will be its utilization in the body. Whey protein is often considered to be the protein source with the highest BV (100), but using a more precise calculation of protein “quality” (the PDCAAS), other concentrated sources of protein such as egg, casein (milk) and soy now rival whey proteins. Depending on how soy protein is processed, it may also retain various antioxidant compounds, known as isoflavones (genistein and daidzein).

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein – so most protein supplements provide a full complement of amino acids. In some cases, however, the use of higher levels of specific amino acids may provide an additional benefit. For example, the three “branched-chain amino acids” (BCAA = leucine, isoleucine and valine) are “essential” amino acids, meaning the body is not able to synthesize them and they need to be supplied in the diet. The BCAAs are believed to be important in delaying “central” fatigue during exercise, which originates in the central nervous system (as opposed to “peripheral” fatigue that results from biochemical events within the muscles). BCAA supplementation can help delay the production of serotonin in the brain and result in a longer duration of exercise before fatigue sets in. BCAA supplementation may also decrease protein breakdown and maintain immune function during strenuous exercise.

Endurance and Energy

I see a lot of “energy” drink these days, which are little more than different combinations of sugar and caffeine (often listed as Kola nut, Guarana, Yerba Mate, or other “natural” source of caffeine). Undoubtedly, these drinks will give you a short-term “charge” but they’ll fail to give you, as an endurance athlete, the particular kind of sustained energy that you’re looking for. Some people can use caffeine-based energy drinks with no side effects, while others experience elevated heart rate and blood pressure, as well as insomnia, anxiety, irritability, and heart palpitations.

I have written about some effective herbal options for improving stamina and endurance (cordyceps, rhodiola, eurycoma, eleuthero, ashwagandha) in previous editions of TriHive and at SupplementWatch (www.supplementwatch.com). Many other supplement ingredients promoted as “energy” products overlap with popular weight loss or “thermogenic” products, including B-complex vitamins, Bee pollen, Blue-green algae, and numerous others – BUT, it is important to choose your energy product based on available research evidence rather than on its marketing hype or athlete endorsements.

Post-Exercise Recovery

In previous articles for TriHive and at SupplementWatch (www.supplementwatch.com), I have written about effective strategies for enhancing post-exercise recovery – including the timing of carbohydrate and protein intake, the inclusion of BCAAs and glutamine for tissue repair and immune system maintenance, the tissue-repairing benefits of proteolytic enzymes, and the protective effects of antioxidants. One additional area of significant interest to endurance athletes, particularly triathletes, is joint protection and the rebuilding to joint cartilage.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements are used with outstanding benefit by arthritis sufferers – and biochemical evidence suggests that endurance athletes may also derive joint protecting effects from these supplements. Glucosamine, whether used alone, or in combination with chondroitin, appears to be quite effective in alleviating the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis – while also leading to enhanced rebuilding of damaged cartilage in large joints such as the knee. As such, many sports supplements are beginning to include these ingredients in recovery formulas designed to help repair and prevent damage to muscles, joints and other connective tissue structures.

Summary

Endurance athletes, and triathletes in particular, can strategically use sports nutrition supplements to promote improvements in muscle mass & strength, energy & endurance, and recovery after exercise. Using these products the right way, in the right amounts, and in the right situations can help improve exercise performance, bolster adaptations to training and promote optimal recovery from exercise training.

About the author: Shawn Talbott, PhD is a Nutritional Biochemist, author of 7 books about nutrition and health, and a 10-time Ironman finisher. He is Research Director at SupplementWatch (www.supplementwatch.com) and Chief Scientific Officer of Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition (www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com). Dr. Talbott is continually tweaking his own nutrition regimen in Draper, Utah where he lives with his wife and 2 kids.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Popularity: 21% [?]

Almost everywhere you look these days, you see advertisements for sports nutrition products – from Powerbars and Clif bars to Gatorade and Accelerade to all sorts of Gu-type gels products and myriad powders and capsules. The US market for sports supplements is about $5 billion annually – that’s a LOT of Powerbars! The main problem with selecting a sports supplement, however, is that most people simply have no idea how to use them the right way. There are certainly some very useful products on the market – but using correctly means that you’ll have to do more than scarf down an energy bar while watching the Ironman on TV.

When it comes to sports nutrition, it’s quite helpful to break things down into 3 distinct periods of time – BEFORE exercise, DURING exercise and AFTER exercise. Another way is to categorize products by their main mode of action – such as General Nutrition, Muscle Building, Endurance or Recovery. Part 1 of this article will consider the before/during/after approach, while Part 2 will focus on the different benefits within each category.

For a lot of people, especially triathletes, sports nutrition may seem like a “no-brainer” – eat some carbs before your work out, drink some water during exercise and get a good night’s sleep to help your body recover – Right? WRONG! What to consume before, during and after an exercise bout is FAR from being an easy question to answer. As we dig into the complexity of sports nutrition, we see that there are many variables which affect what our bodies need. Is this a maximal effort exercise, a long endurance run, or a series of repetitive maximal bouts? Is our goal to sustain our speed/performance, or to reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery? Have we been training using a specific drink or food prior to the exercise bout? For each athletic event, training session and individual athlete, there will be unique nutrition needs which have to be satisfied in order to promote optimal performance. What follows is a breakdown of physiology, nutrient needs and “real world” recommendations to satisfy nutrient needs Before, During and After exercise.

Before Exercise

Your Body Physiology: If you’ve been training for awhile for a specific race, your body has gone through some adaptations which affect you both physiologically and nutritionally. With endurance training, your body now has increased mitochondria, myoglobin, vascularization and oxygen transport mechanisms among a long list of physiological changes. Due to these changes, your muscle cells are capable of holding more water and more glycogen than when you were untrained. Think about it, your body now has a larger fuel tank for its endurance workout – but realize that a larger fuel tank does you no good, unless you fill it to the top with premium fuel!

What your body needs: Starting 48 hours prior to your exercise bout, be sure to increase both your water intake and your carbohydrate ratio. Your body is capable of holding a lot of water, which is ultimately necessary for maximum performance. Your muscle cells also crave fuel! Carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for intense activity (protein is not, no matter what you read in the ads), whether aerobic or anaerobic, so an increase in the amount of carbs that you consume prior to an intense effort will give your muscles the fuel that they need. Note: You do not want to increase your total calories above what you are normally used to, or you will simply gain weight.

Recommendation: Starting 48 hours prior to your event, minimize the amount of fat and protein in your diet. In the same ratio, substitute carbohydrates for protein and fat into each meal. Be sure not to consume any carbohydrates or supplements which you are not used to digesting (stick to things that you’ve already had experience with in training) as this will only increase the risk of gastric distress. Your daily caloric intake should consist of at least 60% carbohydrates and more preferably up to 70-75% during these 48 hours). It is very hard to drink too much water! The more water you drink (up to 64-128 ounces daily for these 2 days) will also maximize your ability to store glycogen in your muscles. Minimize, or even better, eliminate any diuretics including caffeine.

Example: Let’s say your “standard” dinner includes a chicken breast with rice, salad, and a glass of wine. Before your big race, try adding a cup of pasta and 2 large glasses of water (keep the chicken, salad and rice, and feel free to salt your meals liberally for these 2 days).

During Exercise (and 2 hours prior)

Your Body Physiology: As you begin a long, low-intensity exercise bout, your heart rate increases and your body starts burning both carbohydrates and fat. As long as the intensity is low, you can expect your body to burn primarily fat as it conserves carbohydrates. When intensity increases (as in a race situation), the body looks for a more efficient fuel to keep up with demand, and begins burning more carbohydrates. If you go “too long,” your body will run out of stored carbohydrates (glycogen) and you’ll need to supply additional carbs orally in order to keep your “machine” running. Without ingesting carbohydrates, at the right time and in the right amounts, you can expect a drastic decrease in performance – a nasty situation referred to as “hitting the wall” (when you run out of muscle glycogen) or “bonking” (when you run out of liver glycogen) – certainly NOT a situation in which your want to be.

What your body needs: Hopefully you have taken the “BEFORE exercise” recommendations above and fueled your body properly with carbohydrates and water. If you did not, you can minimize your losses with the following recommendations, but realize that it is too late to optimize your fuel stores.

Prior to exercise your body is capable of storing, within the muscle cell, high levels of glycogen and water. Two hours prior to exercise you may want to ‘top off’ those levels to assure maximum performance (at this point be sure to only use carbohydrates with a Low Glycemic Index (LGI) - see definition of Glycemic Index below). Consuming LGI carbohydrates immediately before exercise will help stabilize blood sugar, so that your body burns

fat instead of glucose or glycogen. This allows your body to spare its carbohydrates so you can exercise longer before you bonk or hit the wall! Note: Antioxidants prior to exercise can also reduce delayed onset muscle soreness from exhaustive exercise (See the previous issue of TriHive for a discussion of antioxidants).

Recommendation: Two hours prior to exercise consume about 1 gram of LGI carbs per kilogram of body weight (1kg = 2.2 lbs., so about 0.45 grams are needed per pound of body weight). In addition consume 8oz water for every 50 pounds body weight. About 30 minutes prior to exercise, again consume LGI carbs and water – but only at about 1 gram of carbs and 1oz of water per 10 pounds of body weight. Some athletes like to snack on LGI foods and water for the entire 2 hours before the race.

For the first hour into the race be sure to consume at least 4oz of water every 15 minutes or so (a standard 20-ounce water bottle should last you for about an hour). If you can stomach it, and have been training like this, you can go ahead and use your carbohydrate drink (such as Cytomax, Gatorade, etc…) instead of plain water. After about an hour into the race, be sure to switch exclusively to a carbohydrate-based drink. At this point you are trying to spare your stored muscle glycogen, by offering your body some oral carbohydrates. A combination of high glycemic and low glycemic carbohydrates (50/50 split) works best at a concentration of less than 7%. Concentrations higher than 7% can delay gastric emptying. In other words, you cannot digest the carbohydrates and water quick enough, and it becomes a detriment to your performance – sitting in your stomach and leading to the dreaded “swish gut” where the fluid will not empty. Be sure that the sports drink that you consume contains adequate levels of sodium, calcium, potassium and chloride which help to replace electrolyte losses and provide energy, but they’ll also help your gut to absorb the fluid and carbs faster.

Example: 2 hours prior: Eat ½ cup blueberries, 1 cup of low fat yogurt, and ½ cup of granola or oatmeal with 24oz of water.

During your race, use the carb-drink that you have been training with! There are dozens of suitable drinks out there and the only way to find out which one is for you is to give them a try. See which one tastes best to you and which one you tolerate best in the late stages of your hardest workouts. There is no “best” sports nutrition product – but you can find the “best one for you” – and when you do, then stick with it.

After Exercise

Your Body Physiology: Congratulations! You have now depleted your body of glycogen, electrolytes, and water. In order to “survive,” your body has a built-in defense mechanism – a high affinity for each these nutrients. Your body also needs to repair all the torn muscle fibers and is seeking protein to do so. The good news is that your body is very sensitive to these nutrients for about 30 minutes following exercise and has a relatively high sensitivity for two hours after. As such, it is vitally important to feed your body’s needs as soon as possible after crossing the finish line or rolling up your driveway.

What your body needs: Upon completion of your exercise, you can expect your body to be depleted of glycogen, sodium, chloride, potassium, water and a whole lot more. As the body hungers for these nutrients, insulin sensitivity is increased and water and glycogen resynthesis is in demand! It could take 48 to 72 hours to replenish these stores optimally (if not done properly) so do what it takes to optimize nutrients after exercise. Adding protein to this mix also helps with the repair of muscle fibers and helps reduce muscle soreness.

Recommendation: Immediately following exercise, consume a drink containing High Glycemic Carbohydrates (HGI carbs rush sugar into the blood) with a little bit of added protein. It really does not matter much if you’re adhering to the popular “4:1 ratio” of carbs to protein – the important part is that a bit of protein added to your carbs will maximize glycogen re-synthesis more so than carbohydrates or protein alone. Make sure the drink contains high levels of sodium, chloride, and potassium. Added levels of specific amino acids such as, glutamine, leucine, valine, and isoleucine can work synergistically with the protein and glucose to improve recovery time even more.

Example: Within 20 minutes after exercise, consume a small meal comprised of HGI carbs and protein. A fast option might be some instant rice with a baked potato and some tuna fish (2 HGI carbs plus some protein) of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread (2 HGI carbs plus some protein and fat) – but many athletes prefer a “recovery-focused” post-exercise beverage which are formulated specifically with these recovery criteria in mind (there are many to choose from).

Factors to consider

There are a number of factors to keep in mind when choosing the specific nutrients to fuel your body and develop your BEFORE, DURING and AFTER exercise nutrition regimen, including:

• How long is my race or exercise bout? Races under an hour may not need any oral glucose or much water. This is also dependent on your training state.

• Will I be doing repeated bouts or only one? Repeated bouts of exercise throughout the day have entirely different needs than a long aerobic exercise bout. Consider a “mini-recovery regimen” between each workout if you’re doubling up.

• At what intensity will I be working out? Lower intensity burns a higher percentage of calories from fat and conserves carbohydrates, while high intensity exercise burns more calories from carbs and will necessitate a refueling strategy during exercise to avoid bonking.

• What is the purpose of the drink I am about to consume? Am I trying to increase carb intake or fluid/electrolyte intake or reduce muscle soreness?

• How well trained am I? A highly-trained athlete has more physiological adaptations to training than a poorly-trained individual and may be able to race for nearly two hours without ingesting glucose.

• Have I used any specific nutrients during my training? Do not attempt to use something foreign to your digestive system on the day of the race. Practice all these recommendations during training.

Summary

Trying to wade through all of the many sports nutrition choices can be a daunting task – but if you keep in mind that your objective should be a trial-and-error search to find out what works best for YOU, then

it can actually be a fun journey. Don’t worry too much about which product your favorite Tour rider or Kona finisher is supposedly using – but use the guidelines above to narrow down the choices that make the most sense for you and your unique physiology. When you are able to “dial in” the nutrition regimen that works best for you, your performance and enjoyment of triathlon will soar.

About the author: Shawn Talbott, PhD is a Nutritional Biochemist, author of 7 books about nutrition and health, and a 10-time Ironman finisher. He is Research Director at SupplementWatch (www.supplementwatch.com) and Chief Scientific Officer of Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition (www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com). Dr. Talbott is continually tweaking his own nutrition regimen in Draper, Utah where he lives with his wife and 2 kids

Popularity: 21% [?]