Taking care of the most important piece of kit you own - Some handy tips to keep your feet in tip top condition throughout the season, useful for new comers to multi-sport and the seasoned age-groupers. Remember, the more frequent you train the more apparent some points may be.

If you are new to triathlon, socks are your best defence against blisters, but struggling to get them onto wet feet can waste valuable time. Roll your sock so they are easier to put on when you enter the first transition.

Blitz blisters as soon as possible. Blisters left too long can become infected. If you are unfortunate enough to develop a blister, wash your hands thoroughly before using a sterilised needle to puncture and drain it, before patting it dry.

Be wary of under or over pronation. The way you feet hit the ground can have an impact on you legs leading to tight muscles and problems in the ITB (illiotibial band), but can easily by corrected by choosing the right kind of running shoe to suit your running style. Overpronators should choose motion control shoes, while underpronators should choose a cushioned shoe to enhance foot motion.

Change your socks and shoes regularly. Not just every day but between training sessions. Throw away cotton socks. Synthetic is best when it comes to socks; Coolmax or Drifit socks are made of artificial fibres that will wick away sweat and prevent fungal infections like athletes foot.

Don’t overstride on the run. Running with an un-naturally long stride will stretch your calf muscles and tendons in your feet, which can lead to severe pain in the heel and foot, known as plantar fasciitis.

Have your shoes properly fitted. Your feet have the potential to swell by another fill-shoe size when competing in a triathlon. If you shoes are too tight on the bike or run, pressure can lead to blister under the toe nails and even numbness in the toes. It’s important to make sure your shoes have some room for manoeuvre.

If you cycle and run without socks, use bodyglide or a similar lubricant over your heels and toes. This will lubricate your feet and avoid chafing against your shoes that could lead to blisters.

This may sound obvious, but wear racing shoes to race. Performance shoes tend to feature softer inners than regular running shoes, so when you’re racing without socks they’re often the most comfortable option.

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As you stand there at the start of your long awaited event what goes through your mind? I very rarely make conversation with those other hopefuls around me as I like to prepare myself mentally for the race ahead regardless if it’s a triathlon, duathlon or half marathon.

Last Sunday, May 31st was no different in terms of my silence on the start line, the ‘only’ difference surrounding the event this time was the fact that I was venturing into the unknown by running my first marathon, in Edinburgh. I’d trained for the distance before up to about 18 miles or so but never had I attempted the full 26.2 miles.

My focused to succeed meant that I was following a fairly strict marathon training schedule. I only ran 3-4 times a week and cycled on my ‘cross-training’ days to keep my aerobic capacity on the up.

All my training was completed without too many hitches and I felt prepared enough to get myself round. The only variable that gets me mentally is how quickly I could get round. I managed 2hrs 41min for a 20 mile training run and my training schedule was aimed towards an average 8 min/mile pace which would get me round in 3:26.

So there I was standing among another 15,000 or so other mortals waiting for the starters orders. We were all there for a million different reasons but all our goals were the same, to finish the race.

The most difficult part of any long-distance training programme is getting to the starting line. Many obstacles have to be confronted and there are so many things that could go wrong. However, I was there with the sea of others ready to roll out of Edinburgh on the 26.2 mile journey.

The day itself was amazing, with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see and a slight early morning cool breeze. The crowds were out in there thousands around the start area and the atmosphere was electric. The announcer on the PA system kept everyone entertained with the usual countdown to start wit until the moment of waiting arrived, bang, we were off. I was in the ‘pen’ behind the elite guys so within a minute or so I was over the start line and my journey had begun.

Mile 1was really emotional, the crowds, the runners, the event and the anticipation of seeing my family in the crowds meant it was a one to keep with me for the rest of the race. A quick toilet stop in mile 1 as well as the crowds of runners meant that it was a slow opening 8:38 mile, but thoroughly enjoyable none the less. Miles 2-8 were pretty uneventful; everyone was getting into the swing of things and settling into their running. What did strike me early on in this period was the rate at which the early morning temperature was increasing. The weather forecast for the day was due for a hot one but little did we realise how hot it was going to get.

Mile 8-9 brought us to Mussleborough racecourse area where the first leg of the marathon relay folks would change over, something different to take your mind of the running for a brief second before we were out on the open road again. My pacing was spot on averaging 8 min/mile. Through 8 mile in 1:04.

Throughout my longer training runs I’d been practicing eating drills on the move, which were four jelly babies and four gulps of Lucozade sport every half hour. On race day I was wearing what I’d been wearing in training, a hydration belt which held two 10oz bottles and a little pocket to house the jelly babies.

My eating an drinking drills were going well during the race. I was even more conscious of ‘fluids on board’ during the race due to the weather, so every water stop I made sure to sufficiently rehydrate.

Miles 8-13 took us along the sea front on the out-and-back section of the course, some love it, some hate it. Personally it wasn’t very exciting for me, through some dreary villages and heavily overgrown roadsides meant that whatever sea breeze we had, just disappeared. During this period of the race you’d start to see the odd competitor by the side of the road, tucked in the shade accompanied by paramedics, all the more reason to eat and drink, I though. From mile 11 or so an annoying niggle in my left hamstring appeared, nothing serious enough to stop me from running but certainly enough to play on my mind a little.

Through 13 mile in 1:45. At this point I was now down on my schedule but not too concerned as if I was able to continue at this pace I may still break the magical 3:30.

All of a sudden miles 14 -20 seemed to become fairly demanding. The country roads narrowed and the large hedgerows blocked the sea breeze. During this phase of the race it felt as if there were nowhere to escape the heat. I noticed more runners sat by the side of the road wrapped in silver blankets with paramedics by the side of them and again thought to myself, keep hydrated and fuelled.

I started to see the elite athletes coming into view further down the road on the opposite side and these boys were flying. The winners time was around 2:18 and no wonder, the stride length on the front two boys was awesome and there was us mere mortals just trying to focus on placing one foot in front of another.

I hit mile 16 and decided I needed a little motivational support and luckily I had paced my ipod into my waist belt for this reason. The music went on and I went into a trance, the music blocked out the patter of feet on the road as well as any other distractions from the road side and I managed to tap out a steady tempo. The turning point of the out and back section took us around a large country house, some country house on the coast surrounded by overhanging trees which offering a little rest bite from the searing heat.

This didn’t last long and before we knew it we were back on the same road going in the opposite direction with the same high hedgerows and lack of breeze. Fluids were now being taken on board at an alarming rate. At each water stop I was taking two small bottles of water and a Lucozade sport drink and boy were they well received. I was through 20 mile in 2:45, down on my 20 mile training run by five minutes.

I was now down to an average pace of 8:15 per mile, however things started to deteriorate come mile 21. I read numerous articles relating to hitting the ‘wall’ but never really thought it would happen to me, but boy did it ever. In my years competing I have never experienced anything as strange a feeling as this. It felt as if I was carrying a refrigerator to the finish line. I knew I had to move my legs quicker than they were going but just couldn’t. I felt like I had the energy but they just wouldn’t move quicker. One quote I read before the marathon sums the whole race up and is apparent at this point in the race. It goes; ‘A marathon is 20 miles of hope and 6 miles of truth’.

My time for mile 21 was 9:48, yes that’s right 9:48!! Never have I run such a slow mile in my entire life. The mile markers could not come quick enough, my body felt like it was going into melt down but in my mind I knew one thing; that I would never walk at any point. I wanted to come through this experience and be able to say that I ran the entire 26.2 miles. After mile 21 my pace lifted some what but not quicker the 9 minute miles. The pace varied between 9-9:25 to mile 25.

During mile 23 I managed to tag along side a chap that was running at a similar pace. We didn’t make conversation, make eye contact at any point, or even acknowledge each others existence. The thing we did do though was to keep each other going. Our foot strike seemed to hit the ground at the exact same time which exaggerated the mental trace I was in. We took on water at the last station and passed mile marker number 25. The pace lifted for a brief period due to the thought of finishing the race but again slipped slightly. It didn’t help that my new ‘running buddy’ decided to take off, however only to suffer in the final stages. The sight of the finish at the racecourse seemed to take an eternity to reach. I was running on auto pilot and was just about finished my journey.

I ran into the racecourse area I noticed a type of floor matting underfoot that was covering the grassed area. This played havoc with the legs as I was unable to determine whether there were any uneven ground under the matting that could cause any potential problems. My legs we tired enough without any extra variables to worry about. As I continued through the finish area the crowds really were amazing, shouting and screaming words of encouragement as I made my final steps. I was conscious that my family were waiting among the crowds on the left of the finish approach, so I tried to keep left, look out for them as well a watching my footing.

There they were. The family were going berserk and it was such a welcoming sight. I was mentally and physically drained but the sight of them gave me a massive boost and I made it over the finish line. 26.2 miles in 3 hours 44 mins and 26 seconds of running. A little disappointed I wasn’t able to keep to my schedule of 3;30 but pleased with my achievement.

Everyone who crosses the finish line has earned and deserves the medal. Some complete the marathon in 3 hours, some in 6 hours. The differences between us all aren’t related to paces. The differences are related to genetics, the decisions me make and the priorities we have. The accomplishment however, is identical.

Race Stats;
Miles 26.33
Time: 3:44:26
Avg pace: 8:3/mi
Avg Hr: 86% Max
Calories Burned: 3,792

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Congratulations to ‘MartyA’ who has been randomly selected as the winner of May’s monthly draw.

Just by registering with Trispace News, ‘MartyA’ has won a Zoggs swim towel.

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Register now to have a chance of winning June’s prize, a More Mile T-shirt, like the one below. Once registered and you remain registered, you’ll be entered into the draw each month automatically. Register by midnight June 30th 2009 for a chance of winning June’s prize.

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Whether to eat high or low GI foods has always been a controversial area as many experts recommend a low GI meal based on the idea that such a meal would supply sustained energy during exercise.
Remember that you can make a low GI meal either by eating carbohydrate foods with a low glycaemic index – apples, oranges, milk or yoghurt – or by eating carbohydrate with protein and/or health fat – cereal with milk, chicken sandwich, and baked potato with cheese.

Most low GI meals produce higher blood sugar and fatty acid levels during the latter stages of exercise, which is clearly an advantage for any endurance sports. In other words, the low GI meals produce a sustained source of carbohydrate throughout exercise and recovery.

Sample Pre Workout Meals (2-4 Hrs Before Exercise)
1. Brown/wholemeal sandwich/roll/bagel/wrap filled with chicken, fish, cheese, egg, or peanut butter and salad
2. Jacket potato with beans, cheese, tuna, coleslaw or chicken
3. Pasta with tomato-based pasta sauce with cheese and vegetables
4. Chicken with rice and salad
5. Vegetable and prawn stir fry with noodles or rice
6. Chicken and vegetable casserole with potatoes
7. Porridge made with milk
8. Wholegrain cereal (bran or wheat flakes, muesli or wheetabix) with milk or yoghurt

Pre Workout Snacks (1-2 Hrs Before Exercise
1. Fresh fruit
2. Dried apricots, dates or raisins
3. Smoothie(Home or ready made)
4. Yoghurt
5. Energy or nutrition bar
6. Cereal bar or breakfast bar
7. Fruit loaf
8. Diluted fruit juice

What you should also consider is the timing of your pre-exercise meal. High GI foods are more ‘risky’ to your performance. Get the timing wrong and you may be starting exercise with mild hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). Remember they produce a rapid rise in blood sugar, and in some people, a short-lived dip afterwards. The safest strategy may be to stick with low GI foods pre-exercise.

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List price £1,349.00
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Focus Culebro Tria 2009
The Culebro Tria takes over where the Izalco Tria left off, with TT/Tri specific geometry and carefully selected components, like the FSA aero bars, aero wheels, aero seat post and frame tube profile, making this bike a fantastic ready to ride machine.

Focus’s Culebro Tria comes equipped with race level components from SRAM and FSA, with Cole Shuriken providing the wheels which are en-cased with Continental’s Grand Prix tyres. The Culebro Tria is built for speed against the clock with aerodynamic features evident in abundance, the gearing further enforces this with a front ratio of 53/42 and rear ratio of 11-28T. As well as offering a solid platform for upgrading, and a fantastically good valued bike, the Tria is an ideal starter bike for anyone entering the world of triathlon or time-trialling.

Top Features of the Focus Culebro Tria 2009
Focus Time Trial and Tria Frame
Carbon Forks with Aluminium Stem
Cole Shuriken Wheelset
FSA Aero Time Trial Aero-Bars
SRAM Force Drivetrain
Weight: 9.45 kgs

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The open water swim Triathlons in the UK will soon be with us and if you haven’t yet ventured into the water, don’t worry, as the following information may give you some ‘pre-dip’ advice to think about before you take the plunge.

What would you say was the most important element of open water swimming? If you said navigation, then you’d be spot on.

In a pool you have the lane lines and painted lines on the bottom of the pool to keep you swimming straight. This could lull you into thinking that you swim straight in a pool. In fact no-one swims perfectly straight in a pool. When you are in a pool you do not even notice that you are constantly correcting. In open water, the wind, currents and lack of visibility make swimming without sighting impossible.

Next time you are a spectator at an open-water event take a look at some of the participants and make note of how many of them are sighting often enough. The end result of not sighting enough could mean swimming 1800M instead of a 1500M Olympic distance course and lowering your overall finish position and time.

The solution is to learn how to swim sight and simply to sight more often. The reason most swimmers do not sight is often because that they think it slows them down or disrupts their stroke. Fair comment, but what about incorporating efficient sighting into your breathing pattern?

Look at the top swimmers in any open water race and you’ll notice that most are sighting every two or four strokes, but why? They do this because they know that the more often they sight, the straighter they will swim and they’ve found a way to sight so it doesn’t slow them down.

What most swimmers do to sight is simply lift their head and shoulders and swim a few strokes of ‘water polo stroke’ (head-up swimming). While this style is quite effective for sighting, it makes your legs and lower body sink, shortens your stroke and increases you effort, effectively it slows you down.

Efficient Sighting Technique
Practice efficient sighting at each swim session in the pool and soon you’ll feel more comfortable sighting often, which will translate to straighter swimming and faster times.

While swimming normally, start to lift your head from the neck, just enough to get the goggles above water. As soon as you get sight of what’s in front of you, immediately continue to rotate and take a breath as you lay your head down on it’s side. This way you keep your body position level and keep your strokes long by rotating.

The challenge here is to time the lifting of your head at the point when you body passes through the point of your stroke when your belly is facing parallel to the pool or lake floor. Realize you’ll probably mess up this sighting technique the first couple of times, but most will get it after a few practices.

Practicing this sighting technique is best accomplished in a pool first. Until sighting is second nature add at least one 100 meter sequence of sighting practice to the drills section of your workout and before you know it you’ll be sighting like the pro’s!

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Most of us understand the importance of ice when it comes to treating injuries and we also know how difficult it can be to get hold of, especially if you’re out training or away from home.

The ‘Ice Bandage’ is the way forward for such dilemmas as it is ideal for treating sprains and strains and will usually reduce swelling and pain within 10 minutes.

‘Ice Bandage’ can be applied on all injuries that need cooling. The bandage applies a constant and equal pressure which prevents blood flow from gathering and reduces the swelling at the site of the injury. It contains no harmful ingredients and is ideal for treating sprains and strains to the ankle, wrist, elbow, hand, knee and back. The cooling effect can be expected to last up to two hours.

Using the bandage to ensure RICE (Rest, ice, compression & elevation) can speed up the healing process. Cooling an injury reduces the sensation of pain through the counter-irritant effect and can slow down the metabolism within the damaged tissue, which reduces muscle spasm and inflammation. This reduction in pain, swelling, heat and redness effectively aids recovery.

Ice bandage is small and light and can provide on the spot relief to injuries which occur when either training or racing. Without the need for refrigeration, the bandage is a convenient alternative to conventional ice in an emergency situation and can even be reused as a regular crepe bandage once the cooling properties have ended and the bandage is dry.

The ice bandage is available from independent pharmacies nationwide from around £3.90.

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There are a whole host of factors that could determine whether you swim train with a group or swim solo. I prefer swimming solo for the simple fact that I can pick and choose where and when I want to swim my sessions, as well as being led by family commitments. The downside of this for me is that sometimes I tend to lack the ‘push’ that you’d get from a group session.

A self explanatory factor that distinguishes swim training from bike and run training is that swim venues are more limited than areas for you to cycle and run in. For this reason, triathletes tend to congregate and train in groups, more often than not with their respective clubs. No matter where you are in the world, training within a formal group is far more common in swimming than the other triathlon disciplines. Next time you attend one of your weekly swim session take a look around and see how many of the faces there attend one of the club run sessions. Significantly less I would guess.

The advantages of training with a club or team are however significant. Firstly you should get a knowledgeable coach who can design and lead sensibly constructed workouts and also scrutinize, monitor and correct your technique. Additionally you get the motivational boost that comes with structure, camaraderie and the mild inter-club competitiveness. In most cases you’ll get all this for very little money. Triathletes who train regularly within a structure group environment tend to train more consistently and harder than those of us who choose not.

The average club session can cover up to 3000 meters taking up to 1hr 30 minutes, which is a fairly meaty training session , so if you’re a comparatively weak swimmer you’ll want to spend some time developing a good base of swim fitness before being thrown in at the deep end.

If and when you feel ready to plunge into group sessions make sure you know basic workout structure, as well as how to read a pace clock, pool etiquette and how to perform the most common swim drills(some of which I have already discussed).

At your first workout introduce yourself to the coach, describe your ability and goals and ask him/her to appoint an appropriate lane. Swim the session to the best of your ability and seek stroke advice from the coach in the event that none is volunteered. If for any reason you cannot complete the entire session, just climb out of the pool and prepare yourself for your next attempt of a full session.

One thing to avoid with group workouts is allowing them to become your entire source of swim training. As a triathlete you’ll need to deviate from your team sessions in certain ways in order to stick to your own. For example, most club sessions never do long steady paced endurance sessions, as you should do once a week.

When you do attend group sessions, be prepared to do what the group does and don’t try to modify the session for your own benefit. However you can customize your workout to some degree by choosing a slower or faster lane than usual. Failing all of this there’s nothing to stop you following set swim session programmes on your own. Simple purchase a ready made plan, or create one yourself, then off you go.

Group swim training versus solo will always raise for’s and against from an individuals perspective and regardless of what’s been written above there’s nothing to stop you training on your own and still become an age group champion!!
 

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Congratulations to ‘Pilky’ who has been randomly selected as the winner of March’s monthly draw.

Just by registering with Trispace News, ‘Pilky’ has won a pair of Aqua Sphere Kaiman Goggles

Register with Trispace to receive our monthly newsletter as well as being automatically entered into our monthly draw.

Register now to have a chance of winning April’s prize, a Zoggs towel, like the one below. Once registered and you remain registered, you’ll be entered into the draw each month automatically. Register by midnight April 30th 2009 for a chance of winning Aprils’s prize.

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You can’t beat a sports massage for injury prevention that you can ‘feel’. Whilst not as pleasurable as your typical ‘spa massage’, a good sports massage certainly has it’s moments and it will leave you feeling revived and ready to go again. For this reason, almost every elite endurance athlete now includes regular massage as part of their recovery and from my own experience a growing number of you guys are following suit.

Sports massage enhances recovery and helps prevent injuries in several ways. The most important effect of massage with respect to recovery is that it substantially increases blood circulation to the muscles and keeps it elevated for as long as an hour afterwards. This extra blood flow flushes metabolic wastes from the muscles, hurries in nutrients that repair muscle damage, and controls inflammation and the pain associated with it.

Massage also alleviates muscular trigger points (areas of sensitivity), mobilizes adhesions and breaks up scar tissue in the muscles, restoring normal function.

Yet another use for massage is identifying incipient injuries before they become painful during exercise, as well as muscle imbalances that could lead to injury and are probably compromising your technique, efficiency and end result. For this you should search for a massage therapist with an interest in endurance sports and even better, with experience of working with multi-sport athletes!

Sports massage may cost you anything between £25-£50+ depending on the therapists practice as well as their own experience. If money’s no object and you’re serious about performance (or you have a friend who works as a sports massage therapist), schedule one session per week during the build and peak phases of your training cycles as this is where the higher intensity sessions may start to play havoc with your bodies muscles. Some therapists may do half hour sessions, which will not cost you as much but would still allow a competent therapist to target specific muscles groups within your allotted time.

There are various other self massage techniques that you could and should practice, which you can learn from a whole host of various books and videos on the subject. If used properly, devices like the foam rollers used by physical therapists can yield some of the same benefits as sports massage, however in my own opinion you cannot beat a hands on sports massage from a therapist to fully enhance the benefits from the points mentioned above.

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