Experior's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 9)

Hello, everyone. 

We got 5 inches of snow in Memphis overnight and therefore, most of the city is shut down. I decided to go with the flow and canceled my swimming session today. It was supposed to be a light week anyway, so I will wait until Wednesday to go back to the pool.
I am looking forward to read Michael's comments on nutrition. My two cents: nutrition is a very personal topic and requires a lot of experimentation. You have to try different things before, during and after training and racing until you find what works for you. There are some general guidelines about what foods to avoid and what foods you must include in your diet, but again for racing and training it is all about mixing and finally matching. 
When I was lifting weights only, I found a pre-workout mix that was great because it would give you a boost and would enhance your vascular function, therefore you were able to lift beyond your traditional max and get better and faster results. I kept using the same mix before running and the results were almost equally good. For post workouts I have stayed with whey protein and has worked well also.
Now, pre-race (5k, 10k and half marathon) ... I eat at least 2 hours before race time: orange juice, a banana, and 1 or 2 frozen waffles with honey, drink a 16oz gatorade.  And during the race: gatorade or powerade. I also have a gel 15 to 20 minutes prior to the start of the race. 

I am curious to hear what other people are drinking before race time. I have heard that accelerade is very good and I would like to try a new brand of gels ... i have only had gu so far ...  
 
I will continue posting my workout logs tomorrow ... Stay warm ...

- Manuel  

Lots of stuff to respond to here.  We lost phone service yesterday, so no internet for me!  I did work on a long-ish nutrition piece, and I'll proof-read that and post it next.  Then I have a bike workout, and then I'll pore through everybody's comments and questions.  We are snowed/iced in here.  The University and schools have been shut Monday and Tuesday so far.  Yesterday I ran downtown in the ice and slush.  Power was out in places, and the whole place looked like a ghost town!

Race Day Nutrition

It is sometimes said that nutrition is the fourth discipline in triathlon.  Especially for long-course events, there is some truth to this statement.  Indeed, although I do not have any hard figures to back up this claim, I would not be surprised if nutrition problems are one of the top few causes of DNF in longer-course events.

Many aspects of nutrition are highly individual--what works for one person can lead another down the fast road to ruin.  Practicing is therefore essential.  At the same time, there are some general facts that apply to pretty much everybody, and it is worth keeping those in mind as you work out your own nutrition plan.

[A Note for the non-Americans, just in case you were unaware:  An American fluid ounce is about 4% greater than a British (hence also Canadian) fluid ounce, so below when I talk about ounces, multiply by 1.04!]


Some Basic Facts About Nutrition

Let's start with some basic facts about human nutrition.  (If you just want to get straight to the 'how do I do this' part, then skip this section.)  Your body has essentially three sources of energy -- carbohydrates, protein, and fat.  Carbohydrates that you ingest are processed by the liver and become glucose in the blood or are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells.  (It is also stored in the brain, but the brain doesn't allow its glycogen stores to be used for other things!  You will sometimes see it said that the brain does not store glycogen, that it uses blood glucose for energy.  The latter is true.  The former isn't.)  Protein is metabolized into amino acids, which can be used for a lot of purposes, including burned for energy or converted to glucose or fat, and then burned.  Finally, fat is, well, fat, and is either broken down into other things, or burned more or less 'directly' as fuel.

The ratio of carbs to protein to fat that your body uses for fuel depends on your level of exertion, how long you have been working, and the availability of the source (carbs especially will be depleted after a while).  (It is thought by some that this ratio may change over time, depending on how you train.  Whether this claim is true is not entirely clear but there is some evidence for it.)  In short, carbohydrates provide fast energy, and so the body prefers a higher percentage of carbohydrates if it is being asked to spend a lot of energy quickly.  Fat takes longer to oxidize (burn for fuel), and so it is preferred at lower intensities.  In addition, as glycogen stores become low, your body will switch to a higher percentage of fat for fuel out of necessity.  Because fat cannot provide as much energy per second, you will be forced, at this point, to slow down.  Protein is also burned during exercise, accounting for around 5% to 15% of your total energy, the higher numbers reached during more intense exercise.  This protein is largely 'cannibalized' from your own muscle tissue, which is one more reason that it is important to replenish your body with protein after a workout or race, especially a hard one.  During longer races, it is believed by many that ingesting some protein is also beneficial.  It may help in the absorption of carbohydrates, and it may provide your body some protein to use as fuel in place of the protein it would otherwise take from your muscle tissue.

A well-trained athlete's body stores in the neighborhood of 2000 calories worth of glycogen.  (A sedentary person stores considerably less, which is one reason among many that they become fatigued more quickly during exercise.)  Your body will not allow these stores to be completely depleted.  (When you get too close to depletion, you 'bonk'.  Just so we're clear, a true 'bonk' is a lot more than just feeling queasy or a little lightheaded.  When you really bonk, your brain is beginning to shut down.  You cannot think clearly, you are likely to end up somewhere and not know how you got there, and you are on the verge of passing out.  It is dangerous.  This happened to me once when I didn't know better and I will never let it happen again.  It was a scary experience.)  This means that you have around 90 minutes to 2 hours of effort (depending on intensity and fitness) before something has to give.  All of us, on the other hand, have an effectively limitless supply of fat.  Even somebody who is very lean has thousands of calories in available fat.  (Example:  A 140 pound person with 6% body fat (i.e., quite lean) still has around 8 and a half pounds of fat on board, for a whopping 30,000 or so calories.)  So as glycogen depletion gets worse, your body switches largely to fat, as mentioned above.

As for where these calories go, of course they are, we hope, moving you forward.  Running you burn around 95-150 or so calories per mile, depending on your weight.  (95 if you weigh 120 pounds.  110 if you weight 140.  150 if you weigh 200.)  This number does not depend (very much) on speed, so long as you are running.  (Walking burns somewhat fewer calories per mile.)  On the bike, generally people burn anywhere from 600 to 1000 calories per hour, the former being an easy cruise and the latter being a hammer-fest.  Swimming, typically people burn between 250 and 400 calories per mile, depending on weight and efficiency in the water.

Short Versus Long Course Nutrition

Most people do not need any nutrition at all for a sprint triathlon.  There are a few things to consider, but by and large, you don't need anything.  If it is hot, you might want to take some water.  Some people feel that they get a little boost from some carbohydrate during the race.  I am one of those people -- this is not a nutrition thing (the carbs won't get into your system until after the race is over!), but there is some evidence out there that suggests that if your body 'tastes' a little carbohydrate, it triggers faster burning of carbs for fuel (i.e., a higher ratio of carbs to fat).  Since the pacing 'strategy' in a sprint is to push as hard as possible to the end, this is a good thing.  I put a bottle on my bike with a few swallows (literally -- not much more than is needed to wet the mouth) of sports drink, and I drink it during the bike.  Other than that, I take nothing during the race.

An Olympic race is not much different for me, but some care must be taken to get something more substantial in during the bike.  The race is longer than the 90 minutes to 2 hours mentioned above, so if you want to keep going hard throughout the race, you'll need some calories.  I try to consume a bottle of sports drink during the bike, and perhaps a gel or more sports drink during the run.  Whether you should, for purposes of nutrition, think of the Olympic distance more as a sprint or more as a long-course race depends in large part on how long it is going to take you to finish.  If you are going to go around 2:30 or less, I'd consider it more like a sprint, and just be sure to get some decent calories in on the bike (around 200 or so), and possibly some (100 or so) on the run.  If you are going to go 2:30 or more, I'd think of it more as a long course race and plan accordingly.  The biggest mistake I see people making during an Olympic race is over-eating.  I've seen bikes that look like a hotel buffet.  Your glycogen stores plus a little supplement is probably all that you need.

Half-iron and full iron distance races are another kettle of fish entirely.  Even if you took in nothing during an Olympic distance race, you'd probably finish, just not as quickly as you'd like.  But DNF due to poor nutrition is a distinct possibility for the longer races.  Here you need to be considerably more careful, and you need to practice your nutrition.  Most of my comments below are therefore geared towards these longer races.

The way I think about the difference is this:  In a sprint or Olympic distance race, I just want to take in enough to be sure that I can continue to push hard all the way.  I'm not thinking 'long-term' or 'steady-state' at all.  I'm burning the candle from both ends, and the point is to take in just enough fuel to keep it burning.  When and how I get that fuel into my body is not a huge concern.  For long-course, I take more of a 'steady-state' attitude.  I have a planned number of calories per hour that I want to take in, and I begin my plan the moment I get onto the bike.

Pre-Race Meal

For a sprint race, there is good evidence that a gel 20 minutes before the start can set off an insulin reaction that encourages your body to burn a higher percentage of carbohydrates.  As mentioned above, this is a good thing -- for short hard efforts we want to rely on carbs for fuel as much as possible.  They allow us to go faster.  Other sugary food should have a similar effect, but avoid anything that will not sit well in your gut.  This is easy to practice.  Prior to your harder training efforts, just try taking something and see how it sits with you during the workout.  

For long-course racing, we do not want this effect.  We aren't going to be going at an effort that would benefit from added glycogen availability.  In fact, we want to keep our glycogen stores in decent shape for as long as possible.  For this reason, you should eat a final meal around 3 hours prior to the race.  This gives you time to digest and store the carbs as glycogen, and the insulin response will have gone away.  The purpose of this meal is to top up liver glycogen.  Your muscle glycogen stores are not depleted over night (contrary to what you might hear).  While you are sleeping, your body uses blood glucose and liver glycogen (and fat) for fuel, not muscle glycogen.  You want to consume complex carbohydrates such as a bagel, baked potato, low fat yoghurt, or a banana.  Fat is probably a bad idea, and especially avoid saturated fat.  Also try to get in a small amount of protein.  Avoid fiber unless you like Port-a-Potties.

This pre-race meal is NOT essential.  It is a top-up.  If you have to choose between getting enough sleep and food, choose sleep.  You may be a little hungry on the starting-line.  That's perfectly OK.  It isn't going to affect your race badly.  In fact, the feeling of hunger will go away as soon as you start racing.  If the hunger is killing you, eat something small (like a gel or some other easily digested complex carb) just a few minutes before the start.  Timing here can be important -- you don't want that insulin spike we mentioned earlier.  If your effort has begun very shortly after taking the food, it won't. Once your body starts exerting a significant effort, the pancreas stops secreting insulin and you no longer have to worry abut the insulin reaction.

By the way, as long as we are talking about pre-race nutrition, let's get one myth out of the way.  'Carbo-loading' is not a matter of eating a bunch of pasta the night before.  There are some protocols out there that purport to increase the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles.  They involve depletion via training and maintaining a suppressed state by eating a very low-carb diet several days before the race, then eating a high-carb diet for a few days prior to the race.  The whole processes is said to be quite unpleasant, and at best moderately effective at increasing glycogen stores.  The overall effect may well be negative.  It puts your body through some pretty extreme changes in a short time.  Bottom line:  don't bother with 'carbo-loading'.  If you want to eat pasta the night before, go for it.  There's nothing wrong with it.  Don't overeat, however.  You aren't getting more glycogen into your system by eating a massive pasta meal the night before.   A normal meal is plenty.

Hydration

There are a lot of myths about hydration out there, many of them perpetuated by sports drink companies.  (For a long discourse on this, see the Science of Sport blog entries on hydration.)  The most pernicious are the recommendations to 'measure your sweat rate' and then try to replenish what you sweat.  That's a good way to end up in the medical tent, or dead.  There are two reasons not to drink that much.  First, your gut cannot handle that much water.  Your body cannot absorb it that quickly.  So it sits in your gut, sloshing around, making you feel nauseous.  Not fun.  Second, when you get too much water in your system, your electrolytes are effectively depleted.  The problem is that what your body needs is not a certain amount of electrolyte (on which, more below), but a certain concentration of them.  If you dilute them with too much water, they cannot do their job, and ugliness ensues.  In the worst cases, people suffer from 'water intoxication' (hyponatremia).  Every year people running marathons die from this condition, due solely to drinking too much.

You lose around 34oz of water per hour to sweat.  This number varies from person to person, largely based on weight, and can also vary by conditions (temperature and humidity), but it is remarkably stable across the population.  And don't think that just because it is cold, you aren't sweating.  You are.  Maybe not as much, but you are.  Don't forget to drink even when it is cold.  On the other hand, our bodies are able to absorb only around 20-25oz of water per hour, slightly more when it is very hot.  Don't try to drink more than this.  It will not help one bit, and could hurt.  Some people, especially smaller people, may need to go even lower.

So yes, you will become 'dehydrated' during the race.  Your body can handle that.  Up to around 2% loss of body weight due to dehydration is generally considered normal for an endurance event, and unlikely to affect performances strongly.  By the time you get over 2% you will start to see a noticeable decline in performance.  By around 4% performance suffers considerably, and by 5% you will begin feeling lightheaded or worse.  Beyond that and you are headed for the medical tent.  Don't let it come to that.  Drink your 20 or so ounces per hour and you'll be fine.  If you feel sloshing in your stomach, slow down on the drinking.

Calories

Depending on how hard you are going, you could be burning anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories per hour during a race, in addition to your basic metabolic needs (which probably adds another 100 or so).  In a longer distance race, this means that you will burn through your glycogen stores before the race is over.  You need to replace some of that to keep going.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make with nutrition is trying to replace all or most of what they burn.  This just is not possible.  During exercise, most people can process no more than around 250 calories per hour.  Anything more than that just sits in our gut and rots.  The reason is (among other things) that blood is required for digestion -- it carries the nutrients away from the gut -- but during exercise, the blood is busy doing other things, so little of it is spared for digestion.  The calorie deficit is not a problem.  Your body has plenty of fat to make up the difference.  (No offense intended!)

It matters what kind of calories they are.  Up to 1.5 to 2 hours or so, it can be pure carbohydrates.  After that, your body will start cannibalizing protein from your muscles, and it is believed that you are better off providing a small amount of protein (10-15% of total calories taken in).  There is some evidence to suggest that soy protein is superior here, one reason being that it is easily digestible.  Another claimed benefit is that its metabolism produces less ammonia, which is believed to be a cause of muscular fatigue.  (On the other hand, it is widely believed that for purposes of recovery, whey protein is superior to soy.)

What kind of carbohydrates is thought to matter a well.  Many argue, somewhat persuasively, that they should be complex carbs.  Basically this means to avoid carbs whose name ends in '-ose' (sucrose, dextrose, fructose, etc.).  The reason here is that they are digestible at much higher concentration than simple sugars.  The simple sugars need to be diluted to the point that you would either have to drink too much water to digest them, or you would not be able to get in enough calories per hour.  (There is a famous study purporting to show that one can get in more calories per hour using a mix of simple and complex carbs.  The problem, however, is that the subjects in the study were working at only 50% of VO2max.  That is Sunday stroll pace -- not remotely close even to an Ironman effort.  What we can digest at that effort is pretty irrelevant to race situations.)

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are important -- well, essential, really -- to muscular function.  Among other things, they help carry the electrical signals required for muscle contraction and nerve impulses.  Without the correct concentration of electrolytes in your system, you will experience lower performance.  In extreme cases, it will force you to quit.

Most of us think 'salt' when we hear 'electrolytes', but in fact salt provides just two of the necessary electrolytes, the other major ones being calcium, magnesium, and potassium.  Moreover, your body stores a lot of sodium in reserve, and is capable of releasing that sodium as needed into your system.  Replacing the sodium that you lose through sweat with large amounts of salt is probably a bad idea.

However, 'probably' is an important word, here.  The thing is, unlike caloric needs and hydration needs, electrolyte needs seem to vary quite a lot from individual to individual, and those needs are not necessarily related to body size.  This is one area where practice is definitely important.  Some people seem to be able to regulate electrolytes through nothing more than a little food and sports drink or gels.  Others seem to need a stronger 'dose' of electrolytes during longer events and training sessions.  The issue is tricky because, just as for calories and water, we are not trying to replace everything lost (in this case, through sweat).  Instead, we are trying to maintain the correct concentration.  And the further complicating factor is that your body stores some electrolytes and releases them as needed, further reducing the need to replace what is lost, at least immediately.  Your best option here is to experiment, conservatively at first.

One note about everyday diet:  most North Americans and Western Europeans have a diet that is too high in sodium.  Studies seem to show that a high-sodium diet encourages faster loss of electrolytes during exercise.  So one favor that you can do, here, is to try to eat a lower-sodium diet.  (Current RDA for sodium is around 250mg for non-athletes, up to around 500mg for athletes.  The average American is closer to 7000mg a day!  No, I did not accidentally add an extra zero.)

Having a Plan.  Sticking To It?

You should go into a race with a nutrition plan, one that you have practiced, preferably many times, including in a race rehearsal.  Keep the plan as simple as possible, and involve food and drink that will be served on the course if possible.  Here's an example of my plan.  I mix a strong bottle of sports drink (Heed is my drink of choice, largely because it is what they serve at most of the local races around here) -- 4-6 scoops in a bike bottle.  That goes on my downtube.  A bottle of water goes in a bottle cage attached to my aero bars.  I keep a gel flask (it holds 5 servings) and one or two Cliff bars in a bento box on my top tube.  I aim to get in one scoop's worth of Heed (~100 calories), one serving of gel (~100 calories) and a quarter of a Cliff bar (~50 calories) every hour.  I drink water to thirst and replace my water bottle on the course.  Unless race circumstances prevent it, I make sure to drink sports drink on the :15 ad :45 of each hour, and eat on the :00 and :30 of each hour (or vice versa -- the point is that something is going into my mouth every 15 minutes).  I drink, as I said, to thirst (typically, though, I just drink right after eating, or drinking sports drink, which needs to be diluted in any case).  For the run, I take one gel every 45 minutes, and drink water and sports drink at the aid stations, for around 150-200 calories per hour.  (I know from experience that I I do better on the run if I limit calories to around 200 per hour.)  If they have my preferred type of gels on course, I'll use those.  Otherwise, I carry them on my race belt.  (It has elastic loops for holding gels.)

It is important to have a reasonable, and simple, plan.  (Remember, you have to be able to stick to this plan even in the late hours of a long race, when your head may not be 100% in the game!)  At the same time, it is important to be able to make adjustments on the fly, and that is why a little bit of theoretical knowledge (which I was trying to provide above!) is helpful.  If things are going badly, you can sometimes use that knowledge to help figure out what is going wrong, and adjust on the fly.  Be committed to your plan -- after all, you've practiced it and know it works, right?! -- but don't be a slave to it.  If things start going badly, re-evaluate and adjust.


Post-Race Nutrition

This piece is mainly about nutrition for racing, but a quick note about post-race (and post-workout) nutrition is in order.  Well, two quick notes.  First, you need to get carbohydrates into your body, quickly.  The sooner you manage a good dose of carbohydrates, the better off you'll be, recovering.  Your body is most receptive to the metabolism and storage of carbohydrate in the first 30 minutes or so after exercise.

In addition, tissue repair is an important post-exercise 'activity' for your body, and you want to give it the materials it needs to do that -- protein.  Unlike during exercise, whey protein is thought by some to be better for this task, in large part because, apparently, a higher percentage of whey protein is 'biologically active', i.e., can be used by the body to do muscle and tissue repair.  The usual ratio of protein to carbs cited in the literature is 4:1.

Finally, don't forget to drink water!  If you have drunk appropriately during the race, you will be up to 2% dehydrated afterward.  Now is the time to get re-hydrated.

The Take-Home:

• For short races, take a small sugary snack (gel is ideal for many) about 20 minutes before the race.  A few sips of water is all you need for a sprint.  A bottle of sports drink and maybe a gel or sports drink on the run is all you should need for an Olympic distance race.
• For long-course races, eat a small meal consisting of complex carbohydrates,a little bit of protein, minimal fat, and minimal fiber, around 3 hours before the race.
• Try to take in around 250 calories per hour during the race, mostly complex carbs, but a little protein (soy if possible) especially during longer races is helpful.
• Drink around 20-25oz of water per hour.
• Experiment with electrolyte replacement during training, and plan your race accordingly.
• Practice, practice, practice!  Don't let race day be your experiment.
• Based on what you learn in practice, formulate a plan and follow it.  Deviate from the plan only if things are going very badly.
• After the race, eat complex carbs and protein (whey if possible) in a ratio of around 4:1 within 30 minutes of the finish.

Well now they are finally calling for the snow to hit PA where snow is a normal occurrence, unlike the freak snowfall our Southern members received!  Sounds like we should get around the same amount - 4-8 inches.

Jan - yes, Infinit is sold online at http://www.infinitnutrition.us/. (once there, it is possible to change your country of origin including Canada and Great Britain, and others).  I found out about it from a friend who really likes it (and often has tummy issues during races depending what she drinks and eats) and I ordered a custom bag while at a multisports expo, and have since continued to order online.  They keep record of your custom mixes, and allow you to have multiple custom mixes, say one for short course and another for long course (more calories, etc.).  Users fill out a questionaire which helps them tailor the drink for your personal needs/use.

Michael, again, another great, informative post!  You do a great job of covering so many areas I often question.  Thanks!  

Jan,

You need more than just water for an Oly.  You might also be diluting the contents of your stomach too much.  Just as you can get the nutrients too concentrated for absorption, you can also get them too dilute for optimal absorption.  Either way you can end up with stuff just hanging out in your gut instead of being absorbed.

In your situation, the first thing I'd try is to switch to a sports drink (mixed normal strength) during the bike, preferably one containing complex carbs (i.e., their name does NOT end in 'ose').  I'd aim to take in no more than 20oz.  Then on the run try to take a gel after a mile or so (with some water), and drink from the aid stations to thirst.  Try this in training and see how it goes there.  Let us know!

Yes, it is possible to work so hard that you vomit, but this is rare, and is associated with more like 5K effort than Oly distance effort.  If you vomit or get nauseous at the Oly distance then it is something else, more than likely related to nutrition.

I'll take it in reverse order, as post workout is the most complicated.

Post workout

Post workout, you should aim to eat as soon as possible after, and in any case within 30 minutes.  That's when your body is most receptive to the nutrients you are trying to re-introduce.  Aim for a mix of roughly 1:4 protein to carbs.  Avoid large amounts of saturated fats as it is believed they inhibit the absorption of carbs.  Small amounts should be OK.

I personally don't get too hung up about precise ratios, but a little bit of research on your favorite post-workout foods will make it easy to get it close.  A little bit of research on the USDA web site (here) makes it easy to figure out a few easy post-workout meals or snacks that can be your 'go to' meals.  For example, one thing I like to eat after a workout is yoghurt and fruit.  So I look on the yoghurt package that I eat and see this:

YOGHURT, 1 CUP
carbs: 34
protein: 12

And then I look up various fruits on the USDA site and get this:

BANANA, 1  MEDIUM
carbs:  27g
protein: 1.3g

Strawberries, 100g
carbs: 17g
protein: .6g

So putting that all together, we get a ratio of about 5.5 to 1.  This tells me that I need a little more protein.  Well, I like walnuts, so I check on that:

WALNUTS, 2TB (Chopped)
carbs: 1.5
protein: 4

So if I add 2TB of walnuts I end up with around 80 grams of carbs and 18g of protein.  Not ideal, but pretty close, and I can always throw in a little more yoghurt or another few nuts and I'm there.  So now I have one nice post-workout snack worked out.  I've got a few 'standard' snacks like this, and that's about as much effort as I'm willing to put into it.  It isn't an exact science, IMO.

The other thing to watch out for is calories.  It is surprisingly easy to overeat after a workout.  I've seen lots of people GAIN weight as they increase their training volume.  Have a rough idea how much you burned in your workout, subtract anything that you took in during the workout, and try not to exceed that in a post-workout snack, unless it is one of your main meals of the day (in which case you are also taking care of basic metabolic needs and not just replenishing what you spent in the workout).  Look at the first part of my long post on nutrition for some estimates of how many calories you burn in workouts.  Don't trust the machines in the gym, and don't trust your Garmin.  They both tend to overestimate.

It is easy to go overboard.  That innocent-looking snack that I devised above (1C yoghurt, a banana, a few strawberries, and a few nuts) has over 600 calories.  If I eat that snack after a 3 mile run I will have eaten almost double what I need to replenish.  On the other hand, after a 6 mile run it is about right.

During Workout

For workouts lasting 90 minutes or less, you don't need anything.  Unless you are practicing nutrition, it is easiest not to take in any nutrition during these workouts.  Drink water if you are thirsty, but you won't get dehydrated in 90 minutes except in extreme conditions (very high humidity, very high temp). 

Any time I'm going to work out longer than 90 minutes, I view it as a chance to practice nutrition, and I go onto 'the plan'. (I described my own plan in that long post on nutrition.)  Here is something very important:  don't wait to start taking in nutrition.  If you are going to eat during a workout, do it from the beginning, as you would in a race.  As for 'what', this is highly individual.  Try to follow the basic guidelines that I laid out in that longer post, but experiment (within those guidelines at first, and beyond them if you can't make it work) to see what works for you.

Pre Workout

I try not to eat anything 2 hours prior to any workout.  This isn't always practical, and I can get away with one hour on the swim and bike, but I often have trouble on the run if I've eaten closer than 2 hours before.  In order to cause the insulin spike that I mentioned in the longer post, I will sometimes take something small 20-30 minutes before a very hard session (intervals on the bike or run).  I think it gives me a little boost, but that could just be a placebo effect...

As for eating patterns having to change, you are absolutely spot on there.  I love to eat, and I have not given up my love of food, but I am always, at the same time, very much aware of how any meal or snack that I eat is going to affect my training for the day, and I try to plan accordingly.

Yep. we're 'snowed in' as well.  (I grew up in Wisconsin, where we had a slightly different definition of 'snowed in'!)

Second time this year???!!!  I thought I left this behind when we moved down here.

Fantastic!  I'm jealous.

Sounds like a great workout, and an impressive run pace. Don't hurt yourself!

This is really very individual.  If your schedule forces two-a-days, and your body can handle it, then there's no reason not to.  It's better to start, as you suggest, with swimming and biking, as these are lower impact.  As Neil suggested, if it feels like you aren't able to hit your targets in your workouts then you might want to reassess.  But if you are able to complete the workouts and recover OK for the next, there's no reason not to do this.

At some point, it becomes hard to avoid.  I personally find that I don't make improvements running on fewer than 4 runs per week, biking 3, and swimming 4.  So two-a-days are unavoidable.  (Of course, if this winter storm doesn't go away and the pool stays closed then, well, problem 'solved'...)

You're very welcome.  I learn a lot by forcing myself to write this stuff down as well.

I've heard good things about Infinit.  I've never actually tried it myself -- I seem to have found a plan that more or less works for me -- but from what I've heard it is worth a try.  One thing that I like about it is that you can, if I recall correctly, specify the strength of flavor.  This is very helpful if you are going to mix a strong bottle designed to last several hours.  Try putting 4 scoops of powdered Gatorade into a single bottle and then drinking it and you'll see what I mean.  (It is basically undrinkable because it is so strong.)

Hi Manuel.  I used to use Accelerade, and liked it.  I probably would have stuck with it, but the races around here almost always serve Heed, and I prefer to use what will be served on the course, so I switched to that.  I hated it the first time I tried it, but now I like it.

Temps here are dropping again after a day of some melting.  The roads are going to be an icy mess tomorrow morning...  Be safe everyone.

Micheal, where did you pick up all of this information/knowledge?  It would have been very good for me about 7 months ago. 

You said it was important to have a nutrition plan, and I couldn't agree more, almost completely.  It is even more important to have a "plan b" and even a "plan c".  I was using infinit for my iron distance race and all was going well, until the aid stations ran out of water.  This was important considering I planned on using the water to mix my infinit on the bike leg.  I ended up using the sport drink off the course and paid the price for the next 11 hours, cramps, and just plain pissy attitude due to poor nutrition.

Again, thanks for the great post and the wealth of information.  I am proposing we change your screen name to "oh my gosh, how smart is this guy"!

Michael:

Thanks a lot for a great column on nutrition. Very helpful.

I have a question for you about the swimming leg of a race. In a OWS have you ever swum non-stop the whole distance? From what I have read, you have to stop for a number of reasons: sighting, turning around at the buoys, crowds, etc. What has been your experience at different distances? could you tell us about how you have built up swimming endurance? How long it took you to go from 0 - 400m, 500m, 800m ... etc .. 

My question is geared toward this: During training, should you aim at swimming the entire distance you are targeting (sprint, Olympic, etc. non-stop? 

Thanks a lot in advance ... 
- Manuel

Manuel,
from my limited experiance, I would say you most definatley want to do the whole distance before you race, for all distances. And I would say do the distance a few times so its very comfortable to do. I have done sprints, oly's and an Ironaman and training to do the whole distance will certainly make you fee lmore confident in the water. Open water is a different animal all together than a the pool. No black lines to follow, no walls to rest at if you get tired. Out in the middle of the lake,ocean is a little unnerving if you are not confident. When I first started Tri's 4 years ago I could swim 1 lap of a 25 meter pool and have to rest, so different from bike and run fitness.
Just build up your endurance each week with longer sets, speed work, and drills. You will be amazed at how quickly you improve, going from 25m to 100m to 500m. It took me about 3 months to get to 500m non stop, it was awesome when I got there. It's almost like a light goes on where you realize and feel the sensation that, Wow I can do this, I feel like I am actually swimming not plowing thru the water like a guy dragging a deep freeze. Then it's just about keeping at it and becoming more efficaint, when you get there it  is really cool. Still not fast by any means but I am very confident in the water even in crowds which takes some getting used to in it's self. 
As for stopping in the middle of a race, you should not have to ever stop unles you run into a crowd or slow swimmers. Just keep moving around them, same goes for a bouy, jus tswim around them. Sometimes you have to get out of the water and run up the beach around a flag or something before doing the second lap in the water. But for sure practice bilateral breathing, and sighting in the pool to make you a confident swimmer for all unexpected occurances. Get to open water if you can before the race.
Good luck and hope this helps
Dave

Edited by DaveBIM2010 2011-01-12 9:40 AM

Dave, couldn't agree more, I have been through the same experience up to Olympic distance, I too recall my light bulb moment in the pool when I suddenly went from 3 x 25 metre lengths to 20 a great feeling. Manuel, as Dave says OWS is a whole new experience, I would consider swimming beyond 1500m a few times to get your confidence. For my 70.3 I need to swim  1900m, I have started building up and aim to get to 2500 - 3000m so I have it in my head I can do it and also have the levels of endurance so I exit the water in a comfortable state. Keep building it up and firing the questions to us all.

Back in the pool today, my least favourite discipline, have to force myself somewhat. 1000 metres at lunch time felt ok. Did a spin class at the gym tonight when my daughter was at her junior session. Horrible spin, my legs felt like lead and I struggled, cruised at level 12 last week, this week struggled at 6, only to be told afterwards that the bike was faulty and about 8 levels above the reading, cheers thanks for that. Good news from the hospital Doreen ate a small amount of solid food for the 1st time in 3 weeks, a small step forward.

Well the UK 70.3 feels a bit more real tonight, booked the campsite for the weekend, 3 of us in a tent together, hmmm that will be a giggle. I'm with a couple of great guys from the club. Steve is doing his first 70.3 like me. Aaron did it last year but was hit by a car on the ride which damaged his bike without 4 miles left, so he put it on his shouder and ran with it and completed the whole course!

Blimey, your friend finished too, wow! respect !

I am not thinking about UK 70.3 at the moment, i think i am doubting myself getting through it ok, so i am mentally and physically just enjoying training at the moment with no targets or goals other than just building up the milage i do each month.  come mar/april i should be happier with myself getting through and looking forward to it, but not yet.

Actually the truth is probably that i am excited about our baby due in april and thats what makes is on my mind.

A few guys i know are doing the race this year for the 1st time with 1 who did it last year, were gonna go ride the bike course in february, i will let you know how it goes

Bit of an epic day today, in the office by 9, swam 1000m at lunchtime, in office till 6pm then ran 10 miles, then went to rugby training, kept my garmin on at training and i ran over 2 miles in an hour and most of that was sprinting.

Getting on top of my daily routine and planning my training has been the key and i am getting loads of sleep too ! wooo !

Dave and Neil made some great points here.  I agree with all of them.   You should aim to do the full distance swim at least a couple of times prior to the event.  If one or more can be OWS, so much the better (but this is not necessary).

This is different from run or bike, where you can get away with your longest bike or run being shorter than race distance.  Ideally, for Oly, your long run and bike will be equal to or greater than race distance, but this isn't essential for finishing.  For HIM, your long bike should be close to or greater than race distance and your long run should be 10 miles or so, for finishing.  (If you want to be competitive in your AG, then they should probably be longer, especially the run)  For IM, your long bike should be at least in the vicinity of 100, and your long run is probably best around 18-20, though there are exceptions.

As far as building swimming, here was my experience.  I was initially unable to go more than 25m without being completely winded.  After a while (a few months, but your experience may vary, of course), I was able to do a set like 10x100 with some rest between 100s, but longer continuous distances were still very difficult.  200s were difficult and 400s were downright intimidating.  (I couldn't, or a least wouldn't, for example, swim 800m straight.)   One day, I got in the pool and just swam continuously for 1600m.  I didn't intend to do that.  It just happened.  I set out to swim 600, then kept going, and kept going.  I have since learned that this is a very common experience.  I believe that after a base of swimming ability is built -- and it does not have to be particularly impressive ability! -- the difference between being able to swim 400m and 1600m is purely psychological.  (Convert meter to yards if you want -- it makes little difference,)  You just have to convince yourself that nothing awful is going to happen if you keep on swimming.   As someone who was initially scared to death of being physically exhausted in the water, I can acknowledge that convincing yourself to just keep swimming is not easy.  But once you have a basic swimming competence (for example, you can swim 10x100 on 45s rest between 100s) the hurdle to overcome is mainly a psychological one, not a physical one.

As for actually stopping during a race, I have done this exactly twice.  (Ive been slowed down for various reasons a number of times, but stopped only twice).  One was in IMKY, when I swam into a tree.  Yes, a tree was growing in the middle of the course, and I ran right into it.  The other was in B2B, when I got kicked in the stomach, swallowed a load of salt water, and had to pause to, um, 'get rid' of it.  The point I'm trying to make here is that in general, there is no need to stop for sighting or buoys or crowds.  But it could happen, and you should practice enough to be comfortable so that if you do have to stop for something unexpected, it doesn't ruin your day.


Edited by Experior 2011-01-12 9:48 PM

It's funny how we can feel great one moment (or day, or week) and sluggish or worse the next.  I had a bike test the other day and just had to give up at one point.  I just couldn't do it any more.   Then, today, with no 'warning', a relatively fast pace (for me) on the run for felt like a stroll in the park.  The view I've adopted is to listen to what our body says it wants to do.  Most of the time, when my body says "slow down", I slow down, and most of the time, when my body says "lay it on the line" I do that.  Sometimes I ignore my body in order to make today's -- or tomorrow's -- workout happen as planned, but sometimes I just wonder whether it wouldn't be better to listen to my body all the time, the 'plan' be damned!

Loads of quality training and loads of sleep -- hard to go wrong there! 

Team:

Great feedback on my swimming questions. I really appreciate the feedback. I am not a very patient person, but with swimming I have had to swallow my pride and just go slow and paying a lot of attention to form rather than just accumulating mileage. 

My first race is a duathlon in April (run-bike-run) and May 21st is my first tri (sprint) with an OWS. I still have time to build endurance so I can (as recommended) swim 1000m non-stop at least a couple of times. Today I am able to swim 200m continuously with a good effort (300m if I really push myself). All things considered, I think I am in a good position to reach my goal. 

Thank you so much again ... 

- Manuel 
 

Spot on Billy.  It is definitely worthwhile thinking about what you'll do if plan A starts to go down the tubes (so to speak).

Michael, I really enjoyed the nutrition info.  I hope to be able to put it to good use this year.

I've got a question for you that is not quite tri specific, but I would be interested to get your opinion.  I noticed in your logs that you run with your kids a lot, and my question relates to your 5 year old daughter.  I have a 5 year old son who has recently expressed interest in running with me.  I'm curious how long it took for your daughter to build up to a measurable distance that you are comfortable letting her run?  I figure for his first 'run' I am just going to get out there with him and let him go until he gets tired.  I'm looking to make it fun for him, not any structure or organization.

By the way, your description of the gorilla sighting made me laugh!