The Triathlon Coach

Maintain Speed During Marathon Training

2011-10-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

From Competitor.com

The message is clear: from strength comes speed. The ability to run short intervals at a given pace doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the strength to maintain that speed over the course of your goal race distance. While shorter intervals focused on specific speed certainly have their place in a post-marathon training program, it’s the marathon training itself that allows you to reap the benefits of such sessions.

Training Pain Tolerance

2011-09-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

From Competitor.com

While it is seldom talked about, one of the most important objectives of a competitive runner’s training is to increase his or her suffering tolerance. The only way to do that is through familiarization. To resist suffering more successfully, dig deeper into those reserves, and perform better in races, you must first break through limits of suffering tolerance in training. Most runners have only physical rationales behind their toughest workouts. That’s okay, because the best workouts to stimulate physical improvement are more or less the same as the best workouts to teach suffering tolerance.

Top Ten Habits of Highly Effective Coaches

2011-06-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

From Sports Coaching Brain

Great coaches realise that success is a moving target and to stay relevant they must be committed to life-long learning, honest personal and professional evaluation and continuous improvement.

Example: A swimming coach realised that two of the athletes in his team had the potential to be world record holders but that he had not coached world record holders previously. He raised some money and invited two world class coaches from other nations to come and honestly review his coaching and his program regularly to ensure his knowledge and skills were also world class. Result: One world record.

Max Heart Rate: Fitter = Lower

2011-06-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

From Joe Friel

So as you become more fit in the lead-up to your race you might expect to see lower heart rates at the high end. The reverse of this is also true. As fitness declines MHR increases. The review reported 3% to 7% shifts with training and detraining. So, for example, someone with a MHR of 200 at the start of the Base period may expect to see their MHR decline to 186 to 194 by the time of their first race.

Drop the Garmin

2011-06-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

From Running Times

"After I had got over the withdrawal symptoms of being without my monitor I noticed that I was tuning in to my body a lot more. I thought I was already very aware of what was going on, but it became apparent that I had 'delegated' oversight to the monitor. Without an external time/distance read-out I was forced to tune in to my pace, breathing, energy level, how my legs felt -- all of that -- and adjust things minute by minute to stay comfortable. Some days I found I was running very slowly, but it turned out that useful work was still getting done. Previously I would have been looking at the monitor and have been desperately trying to stay out of the so-called 'junk miles' zone."

Train Movement Not Muscles

2011-04-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

From IronMaven

"I don't think there is one best way. I guess you could say I follow a 'functional training' mantra and do what I think is best for that athlete, at that time, given her/his needs. My philosophy is based on training movement, not muscles. There are some basic movements: squat, lunge, push, pull, rotate, walk, run, jump, crawl, throw, catch, hit, kick. The goal is to create basic musculoskeletal durability, physical competency and movement literacy in the context of sport and/or life."

Why Sprints are Key to Masters

2011-03-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

From Running Times

And fast-twitch fiber isn’t just about sprint speed. It’s a primary component (along with hip and knee range of motion) of stride length. Studies over the past 20 years have all come to the same conclusion: As we age, our stride frequency remains the same, but our stride length decreases – an average of 40% by the time we reach our 70s and 80s. Slowing the decrease in stride length through speed training simultaneously slows the decline in our distance race performance. Otherwise, we’d need almost twice the stride frequency to maintain our mile pace from age 40 to age 80.

Maybe You're Already a Triathlete

2011-03-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

From Ottawa Outdoors Magazine

Editors Note: I write for magazines from time to time so I thought I'd start posting the articles up here as a way of filing them publicly.

Hammering up the legendary Mill Street climb, the break away of cyclists are hoping they still have enough in the tank to make it to the finish. Off their bikes and onto the run, heavy legs slowly find the goal pace till at last they dive into the cool water and swim towards the raft in the middle of the river. There, the endurance test is complete and these 8 year olds can now enjoy laying around in the sun counting the remaining days of summer vacation.

Many of us share memories such as this. We didn't call ourselves 'Triathletes', we called ourselves 'Kids'. In 1974, some adults in California decided to do the same thing over set distances and click a stop watch at the start. That's when the term 'Tri-athlete' was born.

If you have 3 hours a week for exercise, you can become a triathlete again and relive your childhood. I use the words 'become a triathlete' because, apparently, it holds some kind of cachet in our community or culture. At pre-race talks, tongue firmly in cheek, I always recommend that when the athlete marks their body with their race number in magic marker (part of the strange culture that is triathlon) they put it on dark and thick so that it's still visible at work the next week. When they then tell inquisitive co-workers that they were in a triathlon, their office cred skyrockets because the only association their colleagues have with triathlon is the Hawaii Ironman; they don't know about the shorter stuff. There are triathlons that feature distances as short as a 100m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km walk/run. For some, this is their Ironman, and that is the beauty of the sport. Triathlon offers a suitable challenge for a very wide range of individuals.

Finding the right race distance for you is a simple process. How much time each week do you have available for exercise while maintaining a balanced lifestyle with family, friends, work and other priorities? If you can fit in 360 minutes of exercise a week, a Super Sprint or even sprint triathlon is within your reach, depending on your starting fitness. If you have 10 hours plus available each week, an Ironman is not out of the question. Personally, I have 5 to 6 hours a week for exercise. I have done many Olympic distance triathlons but now find that the shorter Sprint distance is perfect for my balanced lifestyle with a young family, work and community involvement. Life was very different for me back in 1997 though, and my lifestyle at that time supported my Ironman year.

Everyone can enjoy triathlon as part of their balanced lifestyle. To paraphrase a friend: Get in the best shape of your life, but keep your life in good shape at the same time. We did it when we were kids so let's get out and play again this summer.

Finding the Sweet Spot

2011-03-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

From Competitor

So, rather than arbitrarily adhering to some fixed number, Lydiard tweaked the prescriptions for his runners based on their recovery abilities. All good coaches do this with their athletes. Rather than adhering to an arbitrary number of miles (from a book or a fellow coach or an excessively detailed training forecast), the intelligent coach takes into account the recovery profile of the athlete when determining how many miles to run.

An Abstract Look at Anaerobic Threshold

2011-03-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

From PubMed

During exercise, the oxygen consumption above which aerobic energy production is supplemented by anaerobic mechanisms, causing a sustained increase in lactate and metabolic acidosis, is termed the anaerobic threshold (AT). The oxygen consumption at the AT depends on factors that affect oxygen delivery to the tissues. It is increased when oxygen flow is enhanced and decreased when oxygen flow is diminished. Its value is quite low in patients with heart disease. The AT is an important functional demarcation since the physiological responses to exercise are different above the AT compared to below the AT. Above the AT, in addition to the development of metabolic acidosis, exercise endurance is reduced, VO2 kinetics are slowed so that a steady state is delayed, and VE increases disproportionately to the metabolic requirement and a progressive tachypnea develops.

Shoes Rarely Cause Injuries, Poor Training Does

2011-02-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

From Globe and Mail

In fact, numerous studies have found that training decisions – how far you run, how fast, how much recovery you allow – are far more important than shoes in predicting injuries. Those factors account for about 80 per cent of injury risk, according to one prospective study by Dr. Nigg’s group. So where does that leave runners trying to choose a shoe? “The only thing we have is comfort,” Dr. Nigg says.

Highlights from Running Injury Seminar

2011-02-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

From Runblogger

1. Running is good for humans – it has been shown to significantly reduce both mortality and disability risk.
2. Running doesn’t ruin our knees, in fact it might actually benefit knee cartilage over the long term (see this NY Times article for more)
3. Lots of runners get hurt – range is 20-80% depending on the study.
4. Most running injuries are overuse injuries that can be attributed to stubborn and obsessive runners doing too much too soon. In doing this, runners exceed their body’s stress threshold and something gives. The end result is an injury. I write a post largely devoted to the topic of overuse injuries in runners a few months ago.

Maybe Carbo Loading is All in the Head

2011-02-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

From Sweat Science

.....carbo-loading makes more carbohydrate available, but it doesn’t seem to change how much carbohydrate (versus fat) is actually burned. A number of other studies have found similar anomalies, which has made some researchers question whether we really understand why carbo-loading works to improve performance:

The essence of this theory, supported by appropriate findings, is that muscle glycogen may have a signalling function that influences pacing strategy. Subjects who start exercise with elevated levels of muscle glycogen would be able to exercise at a higher pace due to signalling between muscle and the brain than when in a glycogen depleted state.

Keeping the Spring in Your Step

2011-02-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

From Running Times

Our muscles are never fully relaxed, and maintain a small degree of tension in them at all times. The exact amount of tension kept in a resting muscle can be altered, and plays a large role in running performance. If resting tension in a muscle is too low, then it can't contract as quickly or produce as much force. The end result is that sluggish feeling that impairs performance. If tension is too high, the muscle is less efficient. Fortunately, we can manipulate the resting tension in the muscle through training so that on race day or for your next hard workout, your muscles are primed and ready to go.

Ok, one more time, here it is: the secret to success

2011-02-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

From Sports Coaching Brain

We all know what the *secret* to success is - it is so obvious it has no right to be even called a *secret* - here it is for free:
Work harder, more consistently than anyone in your sport in the world ensuring that you commit everything you have physically, mentally, technically and tactically to every training, recovery and competition experience.
The best gym in the world will not make an impact on a team with a poor performance culture, who turn up late, who have poor discipline off the field and who are not totally committed to living excellence in training and preparation. Spending thousands of dollars on sports nutrition products do not make up for a poor attitude, a bad technique, a lack of skill and a sloppy recovery program. Yet, in the next 24 hours, tens of thousands of sports people around the world will spend millions of dollars on sports equipment and sports nutrition products seeking a performance advantage which in all reality does not exist -or if it does exist, is a short term solution.

Why IM'ers Shouldn't Skimp on Swim Training

2011-02-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

From Endurance Corner

Over-swimming will likely lead to decreased ability to fuel and hydrate the bike and run. Being very fit in the water affords us the opportunity to stay competitive on the swim while protecting bike performance (power), the ability to fuel and run fitness. Developing swim strength will save you more than the five minutes you drop from your swim split. Our ability to swim long and strong without generating fatigue is critical in ironman. As stated above, we don't want the swim to materially impact your bike or run splits. You want to come out of the water absent fatigue, seeing appropriate heart rates in transition.

Plyometrics Help Distance Running

2011-01-31T05:53:00.000-08:00

From Running Times

An article published just this summer in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning highlighted the importance of plyometrics for improving running economy. In this study, researchers had 35 distance runners, all running the same mileage, subscribe to either a dynamic weight training program or a plyometric exercise regimen. After eight weeks, it was found that the plyos were more effective in improving “energy cost of running,” or running economy, than the weight lifters. Another study showed that just six weeks of plymometrics led to improved running economy. Other research has identified a significant link between anaerobic power and 10K running performance and 5K running performance.

'Fat Adaptation' Doesn't Work

2011-01-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

From Peak Performance

Although fat adaptation increases fat oxidation, thereby conserving stores of carbohydrate, it also seems to reduce the activity of enzymes needed for the release of energy from carbohydrate such as PDH. In other words, yes you’re conserving muscle glycogen, but you’re also preventing your body from utilising that glycogen as efficiently as you would normally. And given that the critical importance of carbohydrate is its ability to rapidly generate large amounts of ATP for muscular contraction with or without oxygen, any theoretical benefits from fat adaptation are soon lost!

Swish, Sip, Eat, Vomit: All the Latest on Carb Absortion

2011-01-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

From The Globe and Mail

While this research is still new, brain-scanning studies by Ed Chambers, a colleague of Dr. Jeukendrup’s in Birmingham, suggest that previously undiscovered carbohydrate sensors in the mouth send signals directly to the brain announcing the impending arrival of more fuel. (The sensors work even if the subjects can’t taste the drink.) The brain then signals that you can go faster, even if the carbs never reach your muscles. At the other end of the spectrum, your muscles really do need more carbohydrate during exercise lasting longer than two hours.

How Much Carb You Can Eat vs Actually Use

2011-01-25T13:22:00.001-08:00

From Sweat Science

The ingestion rate in some of the studies was as high as 2.4 g/min, which works out to 144 g/hr — pretty much the same as what Josh was doing, and far higher than the 90-100 g/hr thought to be the max. But how much of this intake were they actually burning? The exogenous carb oxidation rate tops out at 1.70 g/min (102 g/hr), in line with expectations. And if you’re just using plain old glucose while stuffing in all those carbs, fully half of them go to waste. So the moral: if you can pack in 150g /hr of carbs while doing an Ironman, you’re blessed with a very strong stomach — but it doesn’t mean you’re using all of it.

Joe Friel on Confidence

2011-01-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

From Joe Friel

Any time you feel a bit of anxiety about the upcoming race go back and pull one of those vivid success memories out of your account. Relive it. When the little voice in your head says you can’t do it make another withdrawal immediately. When someone expresses doubt about your chances of success make a withdrawal. When you step to the starting line make a withdrawal.

Never deposit the bad things or unwelcome moments in training. Never. Let them go. They’re trash. Stay focused on the positive experiences. Deposit only them in your account. Withdraw only them.

Siri Lindley on Philosophy

2011-01-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

From Siri Lindley

We cover every base - training, race planning and strategy, strength, flexibility, mental training, recovery, stress release, injury prevention, etc… But mostly just being consistent with the hard work. Challenging them to face their fears or limiting factors and forge forward with determination and courage.

The Ultimate Guide to Recovery

2011-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

From Running Research News

Programming rest and recovery into your training schedules ensures important benefits. First, you’ll be healthier—which means you’ll have minimal interruptions to your training from illness or injury, thus your training will be more consistent. Second, by adequately recovering from the stress of training, your body’s musculo-skeletal and cardio-respiratory systems will adapt faster making you stronger and aerobically more fit.

Program Design: Art and Science

2011-01-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

From Vince Gambetta

Program design is a process that is a blend of art and science tempered with a heavy dose of practical experience. I always want to get it “right,” therefore there is always a degree of fine-tuning both in designing the microcyles and the design and implementation of each training session. Ultimately it comes down to knowing the athlete’s you are working with, how they respond to training, what hey bring to the table.

Paulo On His Coaching Style

2011-01-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

From Slowtwitch

I believe the coach should determine the path to success, and be ready to intervene whenever the process deviates from that path. In order for that intervention to be successful, the coach needs to have the “right” relationship with the athlete.

Finding the Right Mix

2011-01-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

From Macca

Perfecting three disciplines is difficult, especially when these disciplines work against each other in their development. The A frame of a swimmer, is not good for running. The short hamstrings of cycling and the inward knee action of the pedal stroke, kill running form and shorten hamstrings, the eccentric contractions of running and the muscle damage limit the efficiency in a pedal action. These three sports play against each other, so MIX is everything if you want to be as fast as you can be. Those athletes who come across to this sport and don’t respect this from the onset, always end up injured and humbled. It’s a puzzle of perfection and it takes time and commitment to master.

Endurance Training Slows Top End Speed

2010-12-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

From Matt Fitzgerald

The problem with this weightlifting expert’s argument is that the training required to increase your maximum sprint speed will reduce—sharply, in most cases—the percentage of maximum speed that can be sustained over long durations. So the runner who begins with a maximum speed of 18 mph and the ability to sustain 50 percent of that speed over 10K, and who then increases his or her maximum speed to 20 mph, is now able to sustain only 40 percent of his or her maximum speed over 10K and goes from a 41:20 10K runner to a 46:30 10K runner.

Coaching People Not Sports

2010-12-04T17:03:00.000-08:00

From Vernon Gambetta

I am the coach of people not sports. Coaching sports is easy, that is the X's and O's, the sets and reps, the intervals, and anyone can learn that stuff in a book. Coaching people is tough; it demands understanding of what makes each athlete tick. You must never compromise your foundational beliefs. Know why you coach. Know why your athletes participate. Make sure your management or coaching style is your means of implementing your philosophy and remember the cornerstone of any effective coaching style is communication.

Less Volume, More Rest

2010-11-29T16:17:00.000-08:00

From Healthynomics

Part of me wants to say that it has evolved tremendously, but much of the training in the United States remains dated, naive and backward. The over-reliance on volume without recovery still leads to a big problem of over training and athletes of all levels arriving to races fit, but tired. The positive is that there is a tide of change beginning to occur.

Less Thinking

2010-11-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

From The Sport Factory

George Sheehan wrote, in Running to Win (1992), “of all the lessons sport teaches us about life, perhaps none is more dramatic than the danger of focusing on the outcome.” A part of our nature, we have a tendency to focus on winning or losing, success or failure. By focusing solely on the outcome, our enjoyment and our performance may suffer. A “don’t think, just run,” mentality keeps us focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, as fast as we can, rather than just thinking about the finish line.

How Important is Lactate?

2010-10-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

From PhysFarm

So, you may now be asking yourself, “Why should we even worry about lactate?” The answer is, we shouldn’t! I encourage my athletes and students to stop thinking in terms of lactate. Everyone does it, because it is so easy to measure. However, as you can see, it is really just a very indirect market of some much more important / interesting stuff that is going on in the body, most of which is not easy to measure without expensive gear. From the perspective of the average (or even professional) athlete, it is simply important to realize that you don’t want to be crossing CP with any significant frequency or for any significant duration if you are expecting to do your best in a triathlon, particularly a long course triathlon.

Don't Overthink

2010-10-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

From Paulo Souza

The sport of triathlon is full of overthinkers. They overthink everything: nutrition, equipment and of course training. Proof of the existence of these overthinkers is the popularity of triathlon forums, with their endless pages of often pointless discussion. What makes overthinking an issue is that when athletes overthink, they lose focus. Focus on the truly important things: consistency, patience, long-term approach to development. This is a problem for many athletes, but I see it worse when coaches suffer from it. Too many coaches out there overthink their processes and “infect” their athletes with superfluous questioning of every step of the training process. The bottom line is that overthinking is synonym with underachieving.

A Look Inside Gait Analysis

2010-10-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

From Running Times

A must-see video for all running coaches out there. This is a look inside at the University of Virginia's Centre for Endurance Sport and how they treat injured runners.

http://wpblogs.runningtimes.com/blogs/performancepodcasts/?p=204

Different Athlete, Different Taper

2010-09-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

From Running Times

Coaches and runners deal with individuals, while scientists deal with averages. As our elite coaches suggest, individualizing the taper is of the utmost importance. One way to conceptualize this is by thinking in terms of what makes up our muscles. As you may already be aware, human muscles consist of several different types of muscle fibers, which are broadly classified as slow-twitch (ST) or fast-twitch (FT) fibers. In general, the runners who are good at short and fast races have more FT fibers while the ultramarathoners have predominately ST fibers. Given our different mixture in the muscles, it makes sense why so many different peaking methods are recommended and why top coaches give different athletes different workouts. Even if they are training for the same event, our ST-laden ultrarunner is going to respond differently to a peak than our FT-heavy middle-distance runner.

Defining Run Economy

2010-09-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

From My Tri Life

The point being: What we do know is that running economy tends to improve when we introduce the Progressive Overload Principle into our training. Why? Because progressive overload is what induces these adaptations.....No matter how you look at it, doing a lot of running at goal race pace, by itself, is not a factor in improving your running economy. It can only become a factor when the stimulus associated with training at goal race pace just so happens to be responsible for creating an overload and therefore eventually inducing an adaptation.

Drafting in the Swim: Feet or Hip

2010-08-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

From thewaterisopen.com

"The best position for a draft swimmer was found to be directly behind an active lead swimmer at a distance of 0.50 meters between the toes of lead swimmer and the hands of drafter, with significant reductions in both passive drag and oxygen uptake when drafting." Without having access to the entire study, we believe the conclusion is valid under the specific circumstance of swimming in a flat-water race in relatively clear conditions in a relatively straight course.

Avoiding the Overtraining Trap

2010-08-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

From Fast at Forty

There is a very tenuous relationship between fitness and success and fitness and failure. When training is going well, it is so easy to push yourself over the limit by turning easy workouts into hard ones and making the hard workouts harder. Come on, you know you have gone out for an easy ride with the group and it turned into a slug-fest.

A Look at Chris Lieto's Run

2010-08-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

From Xtri.com

Ideally, the head is neutral with the lobe of the ear aligned with the shoulder joint, mid-trunk, trochanter, and slightly anterior to a mid-line through the knee and lateral malleolus (ankle). The goal in coaching is for athletes to achieve these positions “comfortably” by improving mobility, stability, flexibility while re-learning foundational (narrow adjustments) techniques.
Each year Chris has proficiently focused on improving and is a textbook and impressive example of someone who has worked elementary form and stability at a most consummate level.

Challenging Conventional Thinking on Weight/Reps

2010-08-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

From Sweat Science

They found that the first (high weight, low reps) and third routines (low weight, high reps) were the same on most measures of protein synthesis, and the third routine was even better on some measures. Those new proteins being synthesized are what accumulate, over time, to produce bigger muscles. So as long as you’re lifting until can’t lift anymore, you’ll do as well or better with light weights as you would with heavy weights....This is some serious heresy being proposed, and it’s important to note that they didn’t actually observe bigger muscles, just cellular markers. The researchers themselves note that “a training study in which these distinctly different exercise loads are utilized is clearly warranted to confirm our speculation.”

Running Tired: Mental Tools

2010-08-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

From Bobby McGee

Focusing on anything other than that which can propel you forward faster during fatigued running can be called lost focus. Focusing on fatigue, or trying to think dissociatively, i.e. of something else to get your mind off the task at hand, when racing or running hard, leads to reduced access to fitness & ability. Focusing on how you are running (the mechanical movements) is also ineffectual, as this is a cognitive process that occurs so much slower (it is chemical), than the natural (electrical) flow of a reflex (unconscious) action. Thoughts on getting limbs & body into optimal position to gain maximum benefit from power application & elastic return are excellent ways to focus. Focusing on a feeling or image is also very powerful, especially when fresh. At the start of an endurance race, focus on mood words like, easy, smooth, powerful, relaxed, will help you to not interfere cognitively with your body’s natural ability to perform. In triathlon this would be relevant mostly in the swim & on the bike if a draft legal event. However, when fatigue sets in, it becomes useful to think objectively about what to do, especially if your form has deteriorated.

Climbing on the Bike: Sit or Stand

2010-08-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

From Joe Friel

I was asked in a tweet last week if a rider should sit or stand when climbing a hill on a bike. I wish I could give a one-word answer, but that isn’t possible. As I’ve said so many times here in responding to reader questions, my answer must often start with “it depends.” This one is no difference. Here’s what this answer depends on…

Most Common Run Problem: Cadence

2010-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

From Running Times

And while there is no perfect form, there are basic elements of good form, including landing over your center of gravity, a light, rapid cadence, minimal lateral rotation and, easier to spot than quantify, relaxed body position. What deviations from this basic model do experts most often see?

Daniels says that in young and old runners alike he's worked with, "The most common form problem was stride rate --bounding over the ground too slowly, with long strides. Runners are often told to work on a long stride, but that is more a function of getting fitter rather than just doing it. I never had a runner perform worse when I felt they needed a faster rhythm and they actually did learn to use a faster cadence."

Tendon Problems and Answers

2010-07-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

From Endurance Corner

Loosely defined, a tendon injury which goes on for months (or years -- anyone?) with associated tenderness, limitation to range of motion and overall function may be determined to be a tendinosis. Tendinosis implies the tendon is no longer actively inflamed, but instead its tissue has entered a static phase characterized by fibrous tissue replacing healthy tendon. The situation may even be made worse by anti-inflammatory medications.

Big vs Small Athletes

2010-07-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

From Endurance Corner

While it may seem so, the message here is not lose weight and get small at all costs. The greatest proportion of the vast majority of IM races is made up of relatively flat cycling. As previously mentioned, the prime determinant in your performance here is power:frontal area. Your frontal area is relatively fixed by your body frame and dimensions. Therefore, you need the right size engine for your chassis in order to be an effective flat cyclist and ironman. However, if you are an athlete with a larger chassis, choosing flatter, cooler courses may prove beneficial to your relative performance.

Fueling is Different for Males and Females

2010-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

From NY Times

Why women respond differently seems obvious. Women are, after all, awash in the hormone estrogen, which, some new science suggests, has greater effects on metabolism and muscle health than was once imagined. Some studies have found that postmenopausal women who take estrogen replacement have healthier muscles than postmenopausal women who do not. Even more striking, in several experiments, researchers from McMaster University in Canada gave estrogen to male athletes and then had them complete strenuous bicycling sessions. The men seemed to have developed entirely new metabolisms. They burned more fat and a smaller percentage of protein or carbohydrates to fuel their exertions, just as women do.

Thrive in the Heat

2010-06-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

From TriFuel

Nothing will slow you down or stop you like heat and humidity. As the temperatures rise in June and July, so does the number of heat-related problems experienced by triathletes. Most experts agree that your body will acclimatize to heat and humidity - mostly in the first two to three weeks of exposure, and maximally after about two months. However there is a genetic limit on how much you can acclimatize.

We can't all have the genetic gifts and ability that Dave Scott and Mark Allen had to tolerate the scorching heat and stifling humidity in the lava fields of Kona! But there are ways to improve the ability of the body to tolerate extreme temperatures and to move the process along by cautiously increasing your exposure to heat and humidity. The payoff will be safer and more tolerable running, swimming and cycling when training and racing. (click from link for full article)

What Affects Fatigue Resistance

2010-06-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

From Educated Runner

If you tell an elite African runner to run as far as possible at an intensity of 90 percent of maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max), he/she will often be able to race a half-marathon at that level of effort. But, if you provide the same instructions for an elite American or European distance runner, he/she will be able to run for only six or seven miles before slowing down. The elite African has greater fatigue resistance - an enhanced capacity to perform at a high intensity for a sustained period of time without diminishing pace.

(Editor's Note: The article goes on to discuss glycogen capacity, heat disapation, stretch-shortening of the muscle, and neural drive.)

Finding the Sweet Spot

2010-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

From Training Peaks

So then, how do you go about creating your own optimal training formula? It is an ongoing process which requires that you pay close attention to your training and your body with a view toward connecting cause and effect so you can then discard training patterns that yield poor results and retain training patterns that yield good results. This is easier said than done, as there are myriad factors that affect how you feel and perform in training and races, but the three most important factors by far are overall volume, volume of high-intensity training and periodization system.

No Reason to Slow Down at Fifty

2010-06-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

From Globe and Mail

If it's acute injuries, not wear and tear, that lead to arthritis, you may expect running to be in the clear – and indeed that's what a series of recent studies have concluded. In a Stanford University study published last year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that followed subjects for 18 years starting in 1984, researchers found that 20 per cent of the runners developed knee arthritis, compared with 32 per cent of non-runners.

Excellent Energy Cycle Summary

2010-05-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

From Dr. Stephen Roth

Contrary to popular opinion, lactate or, as it is often called, lactic acid buildup is not responsible for the muscle soreness felt in the days following strenuous exercise. Rather, the production of lactate and other metabolites during extreme exertion results in the burning sensation often felt in active muscles, though which exact metabolites are involved remains unclear. This often painful sensation also gets us to stop overworking the body, thus forcing a recovery period in which the body clears the lactate and other metabolites.

Finding the Right Load

2010-05-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

From Alan Couzens

The more astute coaches have recognized that different athletes respond differently to the same load and rather than adhering to "what we’ve always done" have tailored their programs to the particulars of the athlete.... With the advent of dose-response modelling techniques, these differences in the individual athlete’s rate of adaptation to a given load have for the first time been able to be quantified. This is a big part of what I do as a coach. I prescribe load, see how the individual athlete responds and then "tweak" the individual athlete’s constants so that I can come up with the best combination of load that will lead to the highest performance on a given date.

Run Till It's Time to Race

2010-05-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

From Bobby McGee

In every endurance event, 1st race to your ability & fitness levels & then, when you have gone as far & as fast as your physiology & pacing have allowed, then race & beat everyone around you, knowing that these athletes will include many with greater capabilities. In this way precious few with less talent will finish ahead of you. And many with more ability will end behind you – those who have less fortitude than that which you forged in the fire of ownership & hard graft.

Why Muscles Fatigue

2010-05-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

From RunningPlanet.com

Each of the causes of running fatigue are separate, but they work together to make sure your body maintains sufficient strength and balance to insure both your safety and the successful completion of your goal.

Muscle Fatigue: During exercise your myofibrils can lose their ability to contract...because your muscles begin to accumulate phosphate ions, especially during sprinting events, which depresses both the sensitivity of the calcium and your muscles ability to produce force.

Metabolic Fatigue:High running speeds leads to a lot of potassium building up outside your cells, which depresses the ability of your cells to create that electrical charge. So your muscles begin to fatigue.

Energy Depletion: ...
Central Nervous System Fatigue: ...

Power to Weight Ratio

2010-05-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

From Joe Friel

The typical, high-performance, male triathlete is in the range of 2.1 to 2.3 pounds per inch (0.38-0.41 kg/cm) with high-performance female triathletes generally being 1.9 to 2.1 pounds per inch (0.34-0.38 kg/cm). In road racing the best male climbers are typically 2.0 pounds per inch (0.36 kg/cm) or less. Top female climbers are under 1.8 (0.32 kg/cm). Of course, there are always exceptions such as Lance Armstrong who is about 2.1 pounds per inch (0.38 kg/cm). He overcomes his greater weight by having even greater power.

Top Up Carbs to Feed Brain

2010-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

From Canadian Running

So it seems pretty clear: you only need supplemental carbs for a one-hour exercise bout if you haven’t topped up your carb supplies beforehand. There are two ways your body stores glycogen: in your muscles (which is then used exclusively by your muscles), and in your liver (which feeds glucose into your bloodstream to fuel your heart and brain and keep blood sugar levels stable). When you sleep overnight, your muscle glycogen stays relatively stable, but your liver glycogen drops by more than 50 percent (because your brain and heart are still running all night). So the researchers believe that, if you don’t have a pre-exercise meal, the sports drink is needed to make up for your depleted liver glycogen stores.

Manage Your Training Load

2010-04-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

From TriSwimCoachOnline.com

Consider the following things when you develop your training plan:

Recognize that recovery—allowing your trained muscles/tissues time to heal—is more important than the training itself. Appropriate recovery does not necessarily mean a “day-off.”
Training less often with ambition towards competitive results REQUIRES that every single training/recovery session be thoughtfully designed and examined for efficiency.
Nutrition is key. If your training volume decreases, be aware of your caloric intake as well as the composition of those calories. Should it be the same?
Proper technique can not be over-emphasized!!! If you are training with poor technique, training less often with poor technique could be disastrous. CONSULT AN EXPERT before you decide to be a minimalist.

The Down Side of Stretching

2010-04-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

From BeginnerTriathlete.com

As people age there is a physiologic decrease in flexibility and joint range of motion. Many older people can improve their functioning and quality of life by stretching. In addition, I am reminded every time I watch my daughter’s gymnastics team practice that there are some sports one cannot do if one doesn’t have sufficient flexibility. However, in my sports medicine practice, I increasingly see many patients who are too flexible and their joints have become unstable. When the joint becomes unstable (as we often see in swimmer’s shoulder) there is an increased risk of overuse injury or dislocation because joint motion is excessively increased.

Downhill Running Technique

2010-04-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

From Bobby McGee

This week I am delving into downhill running. There’s so much to say about this topic & so many struggle to gain the full advantage of gravity in races. 1stly I used to agree that “letting go” was a good idea in short races, but now I think down hills need to be “run” to gain full advantage. It helps to push the arms out a little wider during descents for balance & stability & also to open the elbow angle somewhat, lengthening the arm lever to keep the kinetic chain intact while taking longer strides. BUT I THINK A HIGHER STRIDE RATE IS THE ANSWER – this provides more control & less fatigue. Lean off the line of gravity as the vertical, rather than off 90* being vertical on the level.

Run Training: Tempo vs Intervals

2010-04-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

From Owen Anderson

After 10 weeks, the runners from both groups ran 800-meter and 10-K races. In these competitions, the interval-trained runners fared far better than the tempo-tutored harriers. For example, the interval-based runners improved 800-meter time by an average of 11.2 seconds and bettered previous 10-K times by 2.1 minutes......As Snell pointed out in a telephone interview with Running Research News, "Perhaps the best way to train is to spend the maximum-possible amount of time running at a pace which is closely related to the demands (or pace) of the race you're shooting for, without getting overtrained."

Lacking Motivation or Rest?

2010-04-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

From USAT

(Editor's Notes: An excellent article looking at the question 'Is it fatigue or motivation?'. Here is the take home summary but I encourage you to read the whole article.)

Start warming up and see how you feel 5 to 10 minutes into the workout. If you feel better and forgot you were tired, then you probably just needed to harden up! If you feel worse and/or that you cannot maintain proper form, then take it to the house with no guilt and focus on rest and recovery.

Muscular Regeneration Review

2010-04-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

From Active.com

This process continues until the damaged muscle fibers are completely regenerated.
The benefits of this complex process are numerous. When looking at muscle-cell regrowth in sedentary muscles, the muscle fibers seem to regenerate in a random orientation and remain relatively immature.

However, if the muscle fibers are cyclically exposed to various loads of stress and tension, they become well aligned, take up greater amounts of amino acids and synthesize more proteins. Other physiological benefits to training include an increase in intracellular mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell), the number of capillaries, total blood flow and total oxygen-consumption capacity, leading to a profound rise in muscle metabolic activity. These increases yield a more well-developed and fatigue-resistant muscle.

Analyzing Run Technique

2010-04-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

From FirstOfftheBike.com

As you might guess, the primary focus is on the hip position. So depending on how the athlete ran is the first observation, we're often working on pulling their butt in / pushing hips forward and/or rotating the hips forward and/or generally straightening the athlete up into better alignment. Using a combination of skipping, hopping, bounding or similar drills can emphasize the position we're after from where we try to extrapolate that into full running motion. Start with a focus on the small aspects and build that into the full puzzle.

Active vs Passive Recovery

2010-04-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

From Dr. Gabe Mirkin

Research data comparing active and passive recovery are scant. I am amazed at how few quality studies are available to answer this question. New training methods are developed by athletes and coaches. Then when these athletes win competitions, scientists do studies to show why the new training methods are more effective. A recent report from The University of Western Australia shows that runners recover faster by taking a relaxed swimming workout 10 hours after high intensity interval running, rather than just resting (International Journal of Sports Medicine, January 2010). However, in another study, runners recovered strength and power faster aftr a marathon by resting for five days compared to those who ran slowly (Journal of Applied Physiology, December 1984).

Focus on Posture At Start of Run

2010-04-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

From Owen Anderson

(Editor's Note: It's a long article with a lot of obvious observations and some debatable recommendations. That said, still worth the read to challenge your viewpoint. Below is one worthwhile reminder.)

Perhaps the only consistent difference in running form during the bike-run transition (compared with regular running) is that athletes tend to run with a more 'stooped' posture - ie with their upper bodies inclined forwards(13). This 'death-march' style may be a sign of delayed adjustment from the forward-leaning style of cycling; alternatively it could reflect fatigue. However you explain it, the forward slump probably produces a dip in economy and may be responsible, at least in part, for the 1-12% drop in running efficiency commonly observed during the bike-run transition.

Listen to Your Body to Find the Right Balance

2010-04-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

From Sport Science

The available evidence suggests that combining large volumes of low-intensity training with careful use of high-intensity interval training throughout the annual training cycle is the best-practice model for development of endurance performance.

It may be a hard pill to swallow for some exercise physiologists, but athletes and coaches do not need to know much exercise physiology to train effectively. They do have to be sensitive to how training manipulations impact athlete health, daily training tolerance, and performance, and to make effective adjustments.

No Medals for Lab Results

2010-04-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

From Paulo Souza

The goal of training is to improve performance, not % of fat burning. And contrary to what the myth believers will tell you, improved fat burning does not translate to gains in performance. Improved fat utilization is the consequence of becoming more fit and not the other way around....Even if an athlete never trained in the “maximum fat burning zone”, as long as her fitness improved or/and her % of dietary body fat increased, she would still have improved fat burning ability at absolute intensities....This means that fitness and diet, not training, will determine how much fat you will burn.

Pre-Workout Stretching Hurts Endurance Performance

2010-04-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

From NSCA

Performance was significantly greater in the nonstretching (6.0 +/- 1.1 km) vs. the stretching (5.8 +/- 1.0 km) condition (p < 0.05), with significantly greater energy expenditure during the stretching compared with the nonstretching condition (425 +/- 50 vs. 405 +/- 50 kcals). Our findings suggest that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running.

Muscular Strength Exercise Increases Fatigue Resistance

2010-04-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

From Running Research News

...there is good reason to believe that resistance training might give muscle cells a hand with their hydrogen problems. One key is that vigorous, high-rep strength training has been shown to produce a large drop in intramuscular pH and a significant rise in blood-lactate concentration - similar to the changes which occur during high-intensity running (5). These "signals" associated with resistance training may act as they do after top-quality running, producing appropriate muscular adaptations and upgrades in hydrogen-handling capacity.

It's the Terrible Too's More than the Shoes

2010-03-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

From The Science of Sport

"Shoes, running technique and so forth are factors in injuries, yes, but the only factor that is KNOWN to cause injury is training too long, too hard, too soon (or combinations of the three)....training is key and any runner who trains at the right level for their history and circumstances (this is where strength, flexibility, stability come into it), will not get injured."

More Support for Non-Linear Periodization

2010-03-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

From ScienceDaily.com

To achieve the study's equivalent results by endurance training you'd need to complete over 10 hours of continuous moderate bicycling exercise over a two-week period. The "secret" to why HIT (high-intensity interval training) is so effective is unclear. However, the study by Gibala and co-workers also provides insight into the molecular signals that regulate muscle adaptation to interval training. It appears that HIT stimulates many of the same cellular pathways that are responsible for the beneficial effects we associate with endurance training.

Obey the Signs of Overtraining

2010-03-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

From Human Kinetics

No device can measure your recovery status and readiness to train hard any better than your own body can. When your body is poorly recovered from recent hard training, you can always feel it. And when factors outside of your training, such as lack of sleep or job stress, compromise your capacity to perform, you can always feel that. Before you even lace up your shoes, you know that you’re not going to have a good day because of the heaviness, sluggishness, soreness, or low motivation you feel. Your body itself is an exquisitely crafted piece of technology whose primary function is self-preservation....It’s important that you learn to recognize these symptoms and get in the habit of obeying them.

Strike One for Objectivity

2010-03-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

The Educated Runner

(Editor: This, from Owen Anderson, is simply the best summary of the barefoot running issue I've seen. As always, click the link above to read the full article.)

...it’s important to remember that most injuries in running are caused by an imbalance between the strain and micro-damage experienced by a muscle or connective tissue during training and the tissue’s ability to recover from such stress. This imbalance can occur when training is conducted shod – or barefooted! A weak or overly tight hamstring muscle which has been undone by excessive mileage won’t care if its owner was running barefooted or wearing shoes – it will still feel the pain.

Approaching the New Season

2010-02-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

From USAT

Know why you do what you do and what satisfaction you get out of it. Realistically plan how much effort you can expend and stick to it. Don't expect instant success - you've got to work on your weaknesses, while not ignoring your strengths. Draw satisfaction from the fact that you did your best honestly and with respect for others. Follow these tips and you can definitely make the most out of your training and racing this year.

Where Does the Lactic Acid Go?

2010-02-06T03:59:00.000-08:00

From RunningResearchNews.com

What really happens to lactic acid after you hang up your running shorts to dry? Pure and
simple, most of the stuff is simply oxidized, i. e., broken down to water and carbon dioxide, with a consequent vast release of fuel for cellular processes. Your heart loves to see you do your lactate stackers, because it snacks on the resulting lactic acid at a feverish pitch after the workout is over. Your muscles, too, get into the act, using lactic acid at high rates, at least partially to kick-start the post-workout recovery process. It is now believed that 70 percent of the lactic acid which floods your blood after a spiky workout is oxidized; 20 percent is probably converted to glucose (which can then be used for glycogen formation), and-somewhat surprisingly to many-about 10 percent is utilized to make protein.

Cautious With Results of New Running Study

2010-01-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

From The Science of Sport

...changing how you run, whether by technique training or a change in shoes (like running barefoot) will load muscles that may be very weak, and joints and tendons well beyond their means. If however, you are a habitually barefoot runner, then you can do this, because your body has been prepared for it. For everyone else, I think we may be underestimating the time it will take to transition successfully to barefoot running (or forefoot striking, if you're going to force that change 'unnaturally').

And there is my point - taking this kind of interesting study, and dispensing advice, is a risky business. As a friend pointed out yesterday - the media's interpretation of this study will be a "stimulus plan for physical therapists and podiatrists".

Balancing Run Volume and Intensity

2010-01-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

From MarathonPerformance.com

Since the only way to truly maximize running mileage is to forgo high-intensity training, I believe that overemphasizing mileage is a mistake. Most runners will get the best results by finding a balance between quality (intensity) and quantity (volume). So the adaptive running approach is to do as much running at various faster speeds as you can do without seriously limiting the total running volume you can absorb, and to do as much total running as you can do without seriously limiting the amount of high-intensity running you can absorb. Naturally, the precise formula is different for each runner, and finding it requires experimentation.

Science Needs to Step Up

2010-01-24T04:31:00.000-08:00

From EducatedRunner.com

...it is clear that the differing effects of the mid-foot strike and rear-foot strike on ground-reaction forces, rotational forces, and muscle and tendon strain in various parts of the leg during running are not yet well-understood....this is one area in which scientific investigating has been rather deficient.

(Editor's Note: We all know that a mid-foot strike is faster and more efficient. Considering the size of the running market, it's interesting that science has yet to come up with concise proof. The fact remains as well that anyone transitioning from a rear strike to mid foot, must do so with great care.)

Muscle Mass is Never a Bad Thing

2010-01-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

From EnduranceCorner.com

.....there is some research support that shows that total muscle mass in endurance athletes is correlated with VO2max, and performance in weight supported aerobic events (e.g. Kerr et al., 2007, Mikulic, 2008).... the lighter runners with an appropriate muscle mass for their small frame will be the fastest runners but this isn’t your choice. When it comes to frame, you’re born with what you’re born with. An athlete with a larger frame who attempts to hit the same weight as an athlete with a small frame puts himself in exactly the same position as an athlete who puts on 10lb of fat during the off-season, i.e. a higher proportion of his weight (in this case bone) is not movement producing.

In conclusion, aerobic muscle mass is never a bad thing and for many athletes, the absence of sufficient muscle mass for their frame may be limiting. For this reason, appropriate strength training (with a focus on ‘aerobic strength development’ is an integral part of high performance endurance training.

Rethinking LSD Base Training

2009-12-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

From TriathlonCoach.com

The primary reasons to reconsider the effectiveness of LSD training are:

1. Fails to recognize that athletes are generally active throughout the year and prepossess a stable muscle structure and base level of conditioning
2. Exaggerates the period of time necessary to build base before moving on to more focused and productive training intensities
3. Fails to consider that there may be other more effective methods for building base

....When training is reduced, such as during off-season, speed and strength are the first things that one loses, and endurance the last. Why then does one do exhaustive training for a system that is the last to go, quickest to build, and prepares you for little else other than riding slowly? During the cold and dark winter months, how practical is it to build base with the traditional just keep adding hours method, particularly for multi-sport athletes who train other sports as well? What will yet another year of LSD prep do to improve previous seasons’ results? My experience is that the same process has an uncanny knack for producing the same old results. In both my own training, and that of coaching hundreds of athletes over the years, I have found that a steady diet of strength work and threshold training is a far more effective way to build base than the traditional LSD for several months approach.

Hold Back the Newbie

2009-12-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

From The New York Times

The theory is that the three sports work different muscles, ideally minimizing the strain on any single muscle set. For runners in particular, adding biking and swimming to their repertory means less pounding against pavement.

But in practice, people who take up triathlons tend to train harder, adding rigors to their workouts without necessarily subtracting anything. Thus, the idea that people can reduce their chance of injury by competing in triathlons may be a fallacy.

5 Keys to Recovery

2009-12-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Video from RunningTimes.com

Peter McGill: "There are no good workouts; there are only good training programs. Workouts are just links in a chain......you must leave the chain strong."

Coach Pete McGill covers his five keys to recovery:
Glycogen Replacement and Rehydration
Static Stretching
Injury Prevention Exercises
Core Work
Icing

Click here to watch the video.

Chuckie's Swim Cheat Sheet

2009-12-13T03:53:00.000-08:00

From Xtri.com

Skills/Form (e.g., 25s and always!)
(The goal: develop optimal technique/rhythm)

Endurance (e.g., 500s; pyramids; anything here on short rest)
(The goal: build engine low-end/aerobic base)

Steady State (e.g., T1000; T2000; T5000)
(The goal: test/compare; build engine economy)

Strength (e.g., tube; paddles; cords; Vasa; fly)
(The goal: develop strength/force)

Power (e.g., 100x25s; 50x50s; butterfly; deep-H2O starts)
(The goal: fast force on enough rest)

Anaerobic (e.g., 75s; broken 250s; broken 150s; T400>)
(The goal: simulate race starts; build engine top-end)

Speed (e.g., 25s on full rest)
(The goal: fast muscular movement; no resistance)

Fun (e.g., open-water swims, Masters meets, races, relays)
(The goal: break up the monotony of swimming!)

...Obviously form development/technique is critical and must always be a consideration.... Beyond that comes basic endurance (or the ability to endure...as in NOT slow down, also known as stamina) and then strength, or the ability to generate more force. Power, in my mind, is next on the list. Power is basically just fast force but what I typically see when athletes try to apply more power is that rather than speed up, they simply flail faster, so it always seems to come back to form/technique. Without perfecting your form the water gets thicker yet. Don't be just as thick and expect to muscle through it.

The Amazing Earl Fee

2009-12-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

From Earl Fee (81yr old who runs 66 second 400s!)

My main training secret which has resulted in 53 master’s world records in running and hurdling in the past 24 years__ is to age slower than my rivals. My main competitor in the 100m at these recent World Games, was also the same age. He had it right when he said to me, “You are much younger than me”__meaning in body. So I urge you to adopt this goal also of aging slower than your rivals. My latest book, 100 Years Young the Natural Way - Body, Mind, Spirit Training, to be published late next year, would assist in this goal. This goal requires physical activity and mental activity most days of the week, but it is necessary to have physical intensity on some days above about 85% maximum heart rate. Intensity produces growth hormone, and prevents loss of fast twitch muscle fibers: hence slows down aging. Unfortunately only about 6% of those over 75 are doing regular physical exercise of any kind and no stretching or weight training to compensate for loss of muscle and flexibility with age.

The Long Run - A Great Summary

2009-12-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

From RunCoachJason.com

The purpose of easy and long runs is to stimulate the physiological, biochemical, and molecular adaptations needed for endurance, including the storage of more fuel (glycogen) in your muscles, an increased use of intramuscular fat at the same speed to spare glycogen, an increased number of red blood cells and hemoglobin, a greater capillary network for a more rapid diffusion of oxygen into the muscles, and an increased mitochondrial density and number of aerobic enzymes to enhance your aerobic metabolic capacity. Since many of these adaptations are volume-dependent, not intensity-dependent, the speed of easy runs is not as important as their duration. The single biggest mistake competitive runners make is running too fast on their easy days. By doing so, they add unnecessary stress to their legs without any extra benefit and they won’t be able to run as much quality on their harder days.

Heart Rate vs Power in Training

2009-12-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

From Competitor.com

Skeptical coaches and exercise scientists pointed to the limitations of heart rate monitoring and the dangers of over-relying on it. With the advent of power meters for cycling, some coaches and experts began to argue that proper use of a power meter makes heart rate monitoring pointless. And with the advent of run speed and distance devices, the same argument is now being made to runners.

My position is not quite so extreme. I believe that there is potential value in heart rate monitoring, but that heart rate should be used as an intensity metric secondary to power or pace. First let me make the case against heart rate monitoring, then the case for it, and then let you decide what to do.

Sprints to Build Endurance

2009-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

From Dr. Mirkin

Two years ago, Dr. Bangsbo did ground-breaking research supporting the leading theory that exhaustion of the sodium- potassium pump is the major cause of muscle fatigue during exercise (Acta Physiologica, November 2007). In this new study, he shows how sprint training improves a muscle's capacity to pump potassium back inside muscle cells during exercise, which helps all athletes run or cycle faster in competition, even in endurance events such as marathons and multi-day bicycle races.

No Such Thing as Caloric Afterburn

2009-11-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

From the NY Times

To their surprise, the researchers found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced “afterburn.” They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not.

“The message of our work is really simple,” although not agreeable to hear, Melanson said. “It all comes down to energy balance,” or, as you might have guessed, calories in and calories out. People “are only burning 200 or 300 calories” in a typical 30-minute exercise session, Melanson points out. “You replace that with one bottle of Gatorade.”

Ironman is Simple, but Hard

2009-10-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

From Xtri.com

Though I pride myself on being a knowledgeable coach I must also admit that there's little complicated about training. But most multisport coaches, it seems, want you to believe that training is strictly a science---a precision---so they can sell you their services.

In truth, of course, training is only as complicated as we choose to make it (much like life). And this is especially so when it comes to Ironman events. Ironmans are obviously very demanding events; so much so that a few things stand absolutely clear when watching them. While the ideal Ironman performance is hard to nail, it is, nevertheless, quite straightforward. (Remember: simple does not mean easy! For example, the ol' one foot in front of the other routine seems simple enough, but after tens of thousands {or millions} of them, there's nothing easy about it.)

Coaches: You are the Model

2009-10-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

From Swim Smooth

The people you allow into your life and who you spend the most time with, are the greatest external factors to the direction your life will take. Yes, external influences are that powerful.
It is known that you will be the combined average of the 5 people you spend the most time with; you will have the combined lifestyle, health practices, thinking processes, expectations and income.
Think about it. Whatever is consistently entering your experience ends up becoming your reality. Similarly, whoever is consistently in your experience is bringing dominate thoughts, attitudes and actions to your reality.

LT Training Key to Beating Fatigue

2009-10-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

From Running Times

While the lactate threshold is the fastest running speed above which lactate accumulates and acidosis occurs, what it really represents, in simple terms, is your ability to withstand fatigue and run hard for long periods of time. Research has shown that people with less fatigueable muscles produce less lactate during exercise, have a higher lactate threshold, and are able to perform at higher relative exercise intensities for prolonged periods.

Group Workouts Allow Greater Intensity

2009-09-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

From The Economist

The researchers got 12 members of Oxford ’s heavyweight squad to row on machines in four 45-minute sessions over two weeks. In two sessions they rowed in complete isolation and in the others in groups of six, perfectly synchronised. Immediately following each session their endorphin levels were tested. Because endorphin levels can only be measured directly through an invasive lumbar puncture—unfeasible, even for notoriously pain-hungry oarsmen—the researchers used a readily accepted proxy: they deduced pain tolerance, and hence endorphin levels, by gradually tightening a cuff around each rower’s arm. When he said “now” they stopped squeezing and noted the pressure. As expected, the rowers’ pain thresholds were significantly higher following the group sessions. This was despite nearly identical power outputs in all four tests and efforts to control for possible confounding variables, such as the time of day.

Low Carb Training

2009-07-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

From TriFuel.com

For years, well intentioned coaches and exercise physiologists have given endurance athletes very strong recommendations to ensure high carbohydrate intake during training and racing to optimize performance. Some recent experimental evidence and the actual practice of some very successful athletes has many of us rethinking our previous advice especially in regard to training. As a coach, I sometimes encourage my athletes to purposefully deplete glycogen stores during training or to limit the intake of carbohydrate during certain endurance training sessions.

The Dangers of Intensity

2009-07-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

From Xtri.com

Alan provided me with a great way to define Red Zone training – it’s anything that you can’t repeat tomorrow. Given that fitness is built from the capacity to repeat relevant sessions – the bulk of our training will need to be 1/2 effort most of the time AND, most importantly, the session that you can handle has no impact on the session that I can handle

Joe Says Whoa on Sodium

2009-07-15T18:50:00.001-07:00

From Joe Friel

I’ve been doing a lot of reading in the literature and talking with informed people regarding, especially, sodium. I’m coming to the conclusion that sodium is not necessary during exercise for all of the reasons we have previously been told were so critical - cramping, coping with heat, and maintaining pace/power. I can find no good evidence to support any of these. Just a lot of opinions and sports drink marketing stuff (which most athletes have come to accept as factual).

Drink to Thirst

2009-06-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

(Editor's Note: For the longest time I practiced and preached a philosophy that one needed to drink more than thirst. Mark Allen first taught me that you can train your fluid requirements to some extent and soon require less. My initial work on this was very successful. Then Tim Noakes' experiments, mentioned in the article below, further confirmed it. A week ago I went for an easy 4 hour ride in admittedly moderate temperatures (~20C), drank to thirst and only consumed 750ml of water. I checked my pee after the ride and there were no signs of dehydration. This is not an experiement I recommend to others because of the many variables but it should lead you to perhaps reconsider and further analyse your hydration practices)

From Active.com

How much should you drink? Studies such as the one above suggest that you should simply drink according to your thirst. Drinking more will neither keep you cooler nor improve your performance; but it will increase your chances of suffering from GI distress.

Minimizing the Importance of VO2Max

2009-06-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

From Matt Fitzgerald

Ross Tucker, PhD, a South African exercise physiologist and coauthor of The Runner’s Body (Rodale, 2009), points to two reasons. “The attraction of finding a single value that determines your performance ability is too great to resist,” he says, “so the notion that VO2max is the physiological stand-in for performance potential has become something of a dogma among runners and within exercise physiology, despite the abundant evidence that performance is far more complex than a single number.”

“Another reason for the exaggerated importance of VO2max to performance is that it is so easy to measure and quantify,” Tucker continues. “Some of the other factors that are recognized for running success, such as muscle-tendon elasticity, the ability to use fat as fuel and the capacity to generate ATP at rapid rates are a lot more difficult to measure, and often impossible to quantify or compare from one runner to the next.”

Intensity vs Volume

2009-06-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last winter I did a little n=1 experiment. I had not done a run of longer than 30 minutes for 3 months. Then, I proceded in this manner: I restricted myself to 2 to 3 30 minute interval-based (Zone 4/5) treadmill workouts per week for 6 weeks. I then did a 90 minute continuous Zone 2/3 run on the treadmill. The result was that I felt fine - no excess muscular or metabolic fatigue. Interestingly, the only 'new fatigue' was was found in my respiratory muscles of the ribs.

Here's a study recently released on the same subject:

From Xtri.com or PubMed

The major novel finding from the present study was that six sessions of either low volume SIT (short interval training) or traditional high volume ET (longer endurance training) induced similar improvements in muscle oxidative capacity, muscle buffering capacity and exercise performance. To our knowledge this is the first study to directly compare interval versus continuous training using a research design that matched groups with respect to exercise mode (cycling), training frequency (3 × per week) and training duration (2 weeks), but differed in terms of total training volume and time commitment. Several previous studies have examined muscle metabolic and/or performance adaptations to interval versus continuous training (Henriksson & Reitman, 1976; Saltin et al. 1976; Eddy et al. 1977; Fournier et al. 1982; Gorostiaga et al. 1991; Edge et al. 2006), but the data are equivocal and in all cases the total volume of work was similar between groups. The present study was unique because, by design, the total training volume for the SIT group was only ∼10% that of the ET group (i.e. 630 versus 6500 kJ). In addition, the total training time commitment over 2 weeks was ∼2.5 h for the SIT group (including the work intervals and the recovery periods between intervals), whereas the ET group performed continuous exercise each training day for a total of ∼10.5 h. Thus, while previously speculated by others (Coyle, 2005), to our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate that SIT is indeed a very ‘time efficient’ training strategy.

Sleep and Get Fitter

2009-06-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

From Sweat Science

Anew study from Stanford University asked five members of the women’s tennis team to extend their sleep times to 10 hours a night, and monitored the changes in athletic performance:

Results of the study indicated that sleep extension in athletes was associated with a faster sprinting drill (approximately 19.12 seconds at baseline versus 17.56 seconds at end of sleep extension), increased hitting accuracy including valid serves (12.6 serves compared to 15.61 serves), and hitting depth drill (10.85 hits versus 15.45 hits).

This is not earth-shattering news. Cheri Mah, the researcher involved, presented similar results on swimmers in 2008, and on basketball players in 2007.

Recovery Post-Race Before Hammering Forward

2009-06-17T09:26:00.001-07:00

I remind my athletes all the time to allow their bodies to recovery after a race in order to absorb the fitness gained and avoid injuries. Often, triathletes finish and then, riding a post-race high (or perhaps even post-race blues), they want to get right back to work. Here's something from Mark Allen on the subject:

From Xtri.com

There is no formula for the amount of time this will take. It depends on the race distance, the number of years you have raced, your age, and the overall accumulation of stress on your body from all areas of life. But general rules of thumb are as follows:
• For a sprint or Olympic key goal race usually at least one week of easy recovery training that is not structured will do the trick.
• For a half IM distance people tend to need up to two weeks if not a little more before they are really charged up and ready to go forward with a new big schedule.

A Good Overview of Run Technique

2009-06-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

From Active.com

The combination of a light, wheeling turnover, minimized bouncing, and greater quadriceps flexibility and knee flexion can help you achieve the right stride length and cadence for improved speeds at reduced injury risk, whether you're on an easy recovery run or in the midst of an intense track workout.