kaburns1214 Mentor Group 2013 (Year 3!) - CLOSED (Page 11)

X2!

X2 I would probably pay the full $100

Have you done any seminars like this before? Were they successful, did it fill up?

Yes, bring on the snow bikes! Not sure what a snow bike it, but sounds like fun!

I just got back from a short trail run. Oh how I miss running trails. Yes, I just did a 50k trail run, but other than that I have not run trails in months. So it felt great to be out in the cold (34 degrees here) running trails with a friend.

Outside of the inflammatory response questions (like Scott, I've seen things go both ways on this).  Grains (and especially procesed grains) are essentially complex sugars and cause and blood sugar spike, which causes the body to release insulin.  When there's a lot of insulin in the blood stream, the body stores the broken down carbs (sugars) as fats.  The body's response to insulin is so strong that your body will store carbs as fat before directing carbs to other areas where they are need (e.g. organ function).   In short, eating fat doesn't make you fat, eating sugar (and carbs that turn into sugar) makes you fat.

Thus when people talk about weight loss in terms of "calories-in / calories-out" it drives me crazy.  The phrase should be "calories-in / calories-out AND blood sugar regulation."  One of the reasons Paleo / Whole30 etc. work so well for weight loss is because they allow a person to control blood sugar.

You hit the nail on the head!  This is in the book, too, but well said!

And I love the calories-in/calories-out line.  This is SO TRUE!  Carbs (no, not all carbs because veggies are carbs) ARE what's making America fat and the sedentary lifestyles.

I was posting the same question in a different way.

Carrie, I live on the north side of Chicago. I'm really close to the lake, so I run on the lake path and swim in the lake sometimes. The lake path gets too crowded during the summer for biking, so I usually go up north of me to Highland Park area. Where do you train? 

I'm probably going to join the Chicago Tri Club this year. What about you? 

I'd love to meet up for some training this year. Do you know what races you're doing? 

Let's unpack, there are a lot of questions here.

"We need carbs for energy" -- Yes.  Carbs come in lots of different forms.  Fruits and vegetables have a lot of carbs, those carbs don't affect blood sugar the way that grains and sugar do because the carbs are packaged with lots of fiber, water and nutrients.  For a person with  normal activity level, you can get more than enough carbs with fruits and vegetables. 

"carb loading before a race"  -- You're not actually loading carbs before a race, you're actually topping off glycogen stores, which is slightly different.  Glycogen is a secondary energy source for the body that is stored in the liver (fat is the primary energy source) and when competing in endurance events, the body inevitably uses some glycogen.  Training can deplete glycogen stores and the point of eating more carbs than usual prior to a race is to top off glycogen stores.

"eating a bagel or English muffin with pb before a race"  -- I really dislike peanutbutter as a pre-race food.  It has a really high fat content and it takes your body a long time to digest peanutbutter.  My pre-race breakfast of choice is unsweetened applesauce (high in water content and lots of carbs), a scoop of whey protein (the BCAAs help with fatigue), a banana and sports drink.  All things that provide water, carbs and electrolytes, no fat or fiber and are easily digestable. 

"So the energy that sustains us during a race comes from fat? Protein?" -- This is a beig IT DEPENDS.  Your body will metabolize fat during the course of a race.  The longer the race (and this the lower intensity you race out) the higher the percentage of energy from fat metabolization.  There are sports nutritionists out there (Bob Seebohar is the big one) that feel you can essentially race an Ironman on 100 calories/hour if you train your body to effectively metabolize fat.  As a total aside your body generally doesn't use protein for energy in a race situation -- except in really rare circumstances.  For most triathlons your body will metabolize fat and glycogen to provide energy.

"What about the use of gels, drinks etc during races?" -- Once again, it depends.  For a really short race (less than an hour) you don't need anything calorie wise (you made need fluids and electrolytes particularly if its really hot outside).  As the race gets longer, your body isn't super effective at metabolizing fat to provide energy so you need to supplement with additional calories, this is where sports nutrition products come in.  It should also be noted that the use of sports nutrition products during training / racing does not adversely affect blood sugar because your body is immeadiately using the sugars you consume.  I generally like a product that combines low and short chain sugars, electrolytes and fluid (so a good sports drink).  During an IM I also use PowerBars and Gels on the bike and Clif Shot Bloks on the run.  The thing to remember when using sports nutrition products is that they have a time and place.  You really don't need a gel for a 60 minute easy bike, but you probably do need something for a 4 hour bike. 

If you are using gels while training / racing, the training/racing should control the blood sugar spikes.  Sugar is sugar whether its organic, from honey, from figs, etc.  If the Honey Stingers and Ignites work for you, go with them.  Part of the reason why I like Clif Shot Bloks so much on the run is because they are about 30 calories / blok so I can ake one blok every other mile and control, which helps with digestion and contorlling the sugar tap (its an even stream as compared to a bigger calorie bomb less frequently). 

The other big thing to look at with gels / drinks is the electrolyte content.  Most triathletes are loosing about 600mg of sodium per hour and that needs to be replaced (this is one reason I don't like Hammer products -- because the electrolyte profile is pretty poor and because they contain sorbitol, which is a diuretic). 

I really only did running this year since that was my focus, so didn't really have the chance to meet up with my tri group for rides.  I usually run by my house is short enough or at Busse Woods or Poplar Creek for runs and sometimes rides, and I used Harper College for mile repeats on the track.

I usually do my swimming at Lake in the Hills or an outdoor pool in the summer.

As for races, Muncie 70.3 and mulling over a few others, but possibly Leon's and/or Pleasant Prairie.  not sure what else yet.  I might do the Wisconsin 1/2 marathon, maybe the March Madness 1/2 in March is my running is back. 

Kelly, thank you for the information. That's a lot to digest (pun intended - may not translate that well in text but it was funny in my head).

I have now found that I know less about nutrition than training. So I would appreciate input from any and all about some good training/nutrition books to read. I have heard others recommend Fitzgerald. Any others?

OMG....14 pages already...   How does everyone keep up with the posts on here?  I'm drowning.....LOL   J/K

Carrie, I'm really looking forward to doing some virtual training together for Muncie 70.3.   I'm just gonna put this out there...   I have only done one complete triathlon.  I have always roped someone into doing the swim portion for me.  So yesterday when I was in the pool, I was thinking.....CRAP....   On to virtual training.... 

http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/posts/2012/12/27/vegan-vs-paleo-diets-for-athletes-my-experience.html

This is a great read, so I thought I'd share....

If all races are important, then no races are important, that's why there are A, B and C races. 

In a year, a triathlete can only peak (or hold form) so many times.  For an age grouper this is usually about 2-3 times.  If you try to peak more than 2-3 times in a year, you're never going to reach 100% in any race.  As an aside in order to peak you need the time to essentially go through all the phases of training -- base, strength endurance, speed endurance, race specific and taper -- and it usually takes at least 8- 12 weeks to get in a "full" program.  By going through a "full" program you load yourself up with the appropriate training stresses to address your weakness* and ensure you have the base to finish the race then taper to allow the body to full adapt, thus making sure your body is in its peak form on race day.  So in planning a year its best to pick "A" races that are at least 12 weeks apart (or less than 3 weeks apart so you can ride the fitness wave).

If you want to race more than 2 or 3 times a years that where B and C races come in.  For me B races are usually races at the end of a rest week.  You're going to be rested but you're likely not going to have fully adapted to the training (or gone through all the phases -- for example you may have done a lot of base but no speed work yet so finishing the distance will be easy but you're not going to have any extra gears).  C races are races in the middle of a training block where there's no additional rest.

With A, B and C races the difference is not effort - you want to give your best effort in any race - the difference is in expected results.  Its fine to have goals for an "A" race, for B and especially C races, your expectations should be lower. 

As another aside, when you first start racing, the goal is just to finish the distance and every race is a PR.  Then as you get better conditioned, you usually find that you make progress really quickly and get faster every race.  Once you've reached a general level of conditioning, you have to work smarter for improvements and focus on your limiters while maintaining your strengths. Sometimes its tough mentally to accept that every race may not be a PR -- that's why there are A, B and C races.  I really like the sayings there are no bad races, there are only good races and races we learn from. 

*This is a whole conversation unto itself

Let's note I lived in Decatur for 3 years as well while I was going to Emory Law.

I find Fitzgerald to be a little overly simplistic (but I haven't read the updated version of racing weight).  Other reads include:

Bob Seebohar - Nutrition Periodization for Athletes

Monique Ryan - Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes

Gary Taubes - Good Calories, Bad Calories

Biju Thomas - The Feed Zone Cookbook