Archive for July, 2008

I’ve been looking at purchasing a new set of pedals for my training bike and came across some great savings for Shimano road pedals. I’ve scoured the net in order to compare these products and they are by far the cheapest about. With savings of up to 25% on the Ultegra model alone I thought I’d share the news!

RRP £39.99 Saving 49% Now Only £19.79		Shimano R540 SPD-SL Road Pedals The R540 is Shimano’s standard, easy to use single sided road bike type SPD pedal. The low maintenance sealed cartridge bearings, strong cromo axle, wide, stable platform and large binding target make this a great general purpose pedal and also ideal as a first clipless, SPD pedal. SPD-SL road pedal for entry level use at a value for money price. • Wide pedal platform for improved foot/pedal stability • Low maintenance sealed cartridge axle unit • The low profile platform with open design allows for easy access and cleat adjustments • Easy to clip into and release but with stable fit for maximum power transfer to the pedals • Wider cleat and binding mechanism for better shoe/pedal contact than traditional SPD systems • Includes cleats • Total system weight 410g (Pedals 340g Cleats 70g)
RRP £49.98 Saving 25.95% Now Only £33.31		Shimano 105 (PD-5600) Road Pedals Shimano’s 105 (PD-5600) SPD pedals are of course aimed at cyclists running a 105 groupset in their bike, but are also a great step up from a standard, general purpose clipless pedal towards lighter weight, performance components. The 105 retains the wide, stable platform and large binding target for ease of use as found in the less expensive models, but uses upgraded bearings and lighter weight materials to create a more performance oriented pedal. Super lightweight SPD-SL road pedal for high performance road racing. • Designed to match the 105 10-speed group • Wide lightweight alloy body provides increased shoe contact area to maximize power transfer and increase support • Low profile design increases road clearance for increased confidence when slicing through corners • Large binding target allows quick engagement while wide cleats provides more efficient pedalling • Stainless steel pedal body plate for increased durability • Open design allows for easy access and cleat adjustment • Low maintenance sealed cartridge axle unit • Two types of shoe cleat are available - fixed, or 3 degrees of float in each direction • Total system weight 400g (Pedals 330g Cleats 70g)
RRP £69.95 Saving 24.25% Now Only £47.69		Shimano Ultegra PD-6620 SL Road Pedals Shimano’s PD-6620 SL road pedals are primarily designed to complete and compliment the Ultegra groupset, and are also ideal for anyone who wants a competition level road racing pedal. Ease of use and light weight materials make this a great choice for those who are used to clipless pedals and want to upgrade from a standard, run of the mill set. Wide lightweight alloy body provides increased shoe contact area to maximize power transfer and increase support. • Low profile design increases road clearance for increased confidence when slicing through corners • Large binding target allows quick engagement while wide cleats provides more efficient pedalling • Stainless steel pedal body plate for increased durability • Open design allows for easy access and cleat adjustment • Tension adjustment with visible scale • Low maintenance sealed cartridge axle unit • Uses the current SH-11 cleats .(supplied with yellow SH-11cleats) • Total system weight 387g (Pedals 317g Cleats 70g)
RRP £129.97 Saving 26.92% Now Only £85.48		Shimano Dura Ace SPD SL (PD-7810) Road Pedals Shimano’s top-end groupset would not be complete without a matching, top-end pair of pedals. The PD-7810 SPD-SL road racing pedals follow the Dura-Ace philosophy of light weight, high performance, smooth running and great looking product design. The result is a more pleasing ride on pedals that are hard to match for quality and efficient performance. • Extra-wide platform reduces lateral rocking for a solid interface • Stainless steel pedal body cover reduces lateral movement from wear • Wide bearing placement for uniform load distribution • Silky smooth 3-bearing axle system: 2 ball, 1 wide roller bearing • Large binding target for quick engagement. • Adjustable entry and release tension adjuster allows custom settings • Complete with floating cleat - SH11 version • Total system weight 348g (Pedals 278g Cleats 70g)

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Some dos and don’ts with regards to high intensity training. Something to think about when incorporating high intensity session between races during the height of the season.

DO high intensity training only after completing an endurance training phase.

DON’T do high intensity training within seven days of returning to exercise after a layoff. Take time to build in some speed-play sessions before progressing back to full-on efforts.

DO plan easy/moderate days either side of high intensity days.

DON’T add too much too soon. 1-2 reps of 5-8 minutes extra are enough of an increase each week, with a slight reduction every fourth week.

DO write down your HR and power readings, speeds, times and any other data so you can see progress happening. It may be fewer strokes per minute but faster swimming or greater relaxation and good run speed. Either way you need to know how it’s affecting you.

DON’T leave interval training until race day, it’ll be a painful race if you do. The exception is Ironman racers who can do no interval work whatsoever and still be successful at completing the distance.

DO try new interval lengths, recoveries and terrains. Varying these three elements will prevent sessions from becoming boring. Drafting in the pool to stimulate racing or using aerobars uphill can be a new technique to integrate.

DO warm up for at least ten minutes, preferably 15 minutes, before a high intensity session. Forget stretching before hand, just increase your body temperature and your heart rate(from 90 bpm up to 80% HR max) before beginning your high intensity workout. 

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Hollie Avil and Will Clarke took the titles of British National Champions yesterday in Tredegar, South Wales, on the eve of the British team’s departure for the Olympic holding camp in Korea.
All five of the Beijing bound British triathletes started the second Corus Elite Series race which combined the national championships over the Olympic distance.

Avil featured strongly in a lead group of five on the bike which included Abble Thorington, Andrea Whitcombe, Jodie Swallow and Mari Rabie (South Africa). Chasing behind were Liz Blatchford, Vicky Holland and Kerry Lang.

Eighteen year old Avil looked impressive as she tore through the swim. Avil also featured strongly in a lead group of five on the bike which included Abble Thorington, Andrea Whitcombe, Jodie Swallow and Mari Rabie (South Africa). Chasing behind were Liz Blatchford, Vicky Holland and Kerry Lang. Avil accelerated away at 5km into the run to win her first British senior title ahead of Liz Blatchford and Andrea Whitcombe.

As expected Helen Tucker did not race the event although she did start and complete the first discipline, emerging first from the 1500m swim.

In the men’s race Will Clarke battled throughout the 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run with fellow Team GB members Tim Don and Alistair Brownlee and managed to hold them off to take the win. In a competitive race the athletes showed good form following a heavy training block leading into the Olympic Games.

Although Brownlee appeared off form, apparently suffering from stomach problems, the Beijing five came through this their final competition prior to the Olympics with out any major upsets. Brownlee, Clarke, Don, Avil and Tucker together with their support staff will soon fly off to the holding camp in Korea and the countdown to Beijing starts in earnest.

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Over the weekend a chap in a tri forum requested some advice regarding the benefits of carbohydrate loading. Being a rather interesting topic I give him some advice and thought I’d share it with Trispace readers. May be useful to some of you in the run-up to Ironman UK.

Carbohydrate loading is a technique originally devised in the 60’s to increase the muscles glycogen stores above normal levels. With more glycogen available, you may be able to perform longer before fatigue sets in. This is especially advantageous in endurance events lasting longer than 90 minutes which makes the technique ideal for triathlon’s and duathlon’s. It is unlikely to benefit if your event lasts less than 90 minutes as muscle glycogen depletion would not be a limiting factor to your performance.

The classic 6 day regime involves 2 bouts of glycogen depleting exercise separated by 3 days of low carbohydrate intake and followed by 3 days of carbohydrate intake and minimal exercise. The theory behind this is that the glycogen depletion stimulates the activity of glycogen synthetase, the key enzyme involved in glycogen storage, resulting in above normal levels of muscle glycogen when loading up.

This could have a number of drawbacks and could leave you feeling week, irritable or tired during the low carbohydrate phase.

The info below give’s you an example of what the classic regime looks like.

Day 1
Normal Training
Normal Diet

Day 2
Exhaustive Prolonged Exercise
Low Carbohydrate

Day 3
Taper Training
Low Carbohydrate

Day 4
Taper Training
Low Carbohydrate

Day 5
Taper Training
High Carbohydrate Diet

Day 6
Taper Training
High Carbohydrate Diet

Day 7
Taper Training
High Carbohydrate Diet

Day 8
RACE !

If you decide to try carbohydrate loading, rehearse it during training to what works best for you. Never try anything new before an important race. You may need to try the technique more than once, adjusting the types and amounts of foods you eat.

The simplest way to plan your daily food intake is to divide the day into ‘windows’; before, during, and after exercise, and between training sessions. You can then work out how much and what type of carbohydrate to consume during each ‘window’ to optimise your performance and recovery.

A typical days intake should be along the lines of;

Before exercise aim for 2.5g of carbs per Kg of body weight.
During exercise lasting longer than 1hour, aim for 30 – 60g of carbohydrate per hour.
After exercise aim for 1g carbs per Kg of body weight.
Between training sessions aim for 5-10Kg of carbs per Kg of body weight, or 60% of energy.

The glycaemic index and carbohydrate food types is another topic in itself that I intend to cover which will help you determine you meal ‘window’ food types.

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England’s longest natural lake, Windermere, will provide a watery stage for the inaugural Great North Swim, the first mass participation open water swim event of its kind in the UK.

Over 1000 swimmers of all abilities are expected to grace its stunning shores at Low Wood on Saturday 13th September, to take up the challenge of a specially designed one-mile course – wetsuit optional!

The event has already caught the attention of some of the biggest names in swimming, with Great Britain’s Kerry-Anne Payne and the UK’s most decorated male swimmer and eight times World Record Holder, Mark Foster, signing up for their places in the open water swim.

Mark said: “Being a sprint swimmer, it has been a while since I have actually swam a mile, so when I heard about the Great North Swim, I thought it’s about time I gave it a go!

“The real beauty of this event is that I will be hitting the shore line at the same time as people who are taking to the open water for the first time. This is going to make for a fantastic atmosphere and something I am proud to support.”

Inspired by the BUPA Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon, the team behind it have translated the formula to the water. The Great North Swim is designed to suit people of all abilities, from club or competitive participants, to fun and charity swimmers.

The Great North Swim is the latest event to be launched as part of the Great Activity Campaign – a national activity programme designed to fight spiralling inactivity and obesity rates and raise huge amounts of money for charity in the process.

Entry for the event is open to people aged 15 and over. All swimmers must have completed a one-mile swim in training before the event to qualify. Wetsuits are optional but are recommended.

Click here to enter the event and find out more information.

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Think of all the training and race preparation you’ve done before you get to the start of your first, or favourite Triathlon on the race calendar. Months of training have passed and many sacrifices made only for you to turn up on race day without having breakfast. Excuses don’t even come into the equation as arriving on the start line empty is likely to seriously dent your performance. Even on sprint races you should be eating a breakfast, but as the race distance increases, missing breakfast will definitely have a negative impact on your performance.

The night before race day try and eat a carbohydrate rich meal, containing plenty of rice, pasta or potatoes (brown rice or pasta is preferable) to top up glycogen (energy) stores in those all important muscles. Also avoid any diuretic drinks like strong coffee or even beer and aim to rehydrate with water throughout the evening.

Aim to eat breakfast two hours or so before your race start time (any closer to the start may increase your chances of stomach problems) and have a couple of slices of brown bread or a bowl of fibre cereal. Again try to stay as hydrated as possible with water, the jury’s out as to the benefits of caffeine before a race so I’ll leave that for another day!!

An energy gel 30 minutes before the start will ensure that your glycogen stores are topped up. Ensure drinks bottles on your bike contain some form of carb drink or have an energy gel once you’ve settled on the bike. The length of the event will dictate how much you should eat and drink but you should aim for at least 30g to 60g of carbs every hour.

Also remember that you shouldn’t be practising race day nutrition on the day of your race. Practice with the food’s or gel’s you intend to eat on race day during prior training sessions, this way you’ll have a plan about what you’re going to eat and drink and this alone will give you extra confidence for a successful race.

Happy eating!

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Parc Bryn Bach in Tredegar, Wales, will host this Saturday’s National Elite Championships which will feature four of Britain’s five triathletes selected for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The National Elite Championships form the second fixture of the Corus Elite Series and fourth race in the British Triathlon Grand Prix.

Tim Don will be looking to retain his national championship for the fifth successive year having remained undefeated since 2004. Don cruised through the run at Bryn Bach last year to hold off Andrew Johns and Stuart Hayes for the win whilst Will Clarke suffered with a crash and a puncture. Alistair Brownlee will make his debut on the course, which includes a tough hill climb on the 40km cycle leg.

Hollie Avil will also make her first appearance in Wales, and indeed, her first senior national championship, which will only be her fifth Olympic distance race. Helen Tucker, Britain’s other Beijing bound female has elected not to compete having raced at the Porthcawl Triathlon last weekend. Following the race

International competitors include Portugal’s rising under 23 athlete, Joao Silva and former junior world champion, Anais Moniz. Mari Rabie from South Africa’s Olympic team will challenge, as will Bermuda’s Flora Duffy who graduated from Kelly College in Devon last month.

The day will kick off at 08:45am with Youth and Junior Aquathlon (swim-run) races before the elite women’s championship starts at 10:45am. The men take to the water at 1:45pm with presentations held at 4:00pm.

Should be worth a visit if you’re in the area, with a few of the big names in the UK racing.

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As we all know practising technique is crucial for efficient swimming. If you’re wasting energy by swimming incorrectly, the chances are you’re loosing speed. Drill work, focusing on specific elements of your stroke for short periods of your time, pays dividends by boosting performance and giving you something to think about as you swim. Aim to practice all three drills in rotation, switching drill every 50m or two lengths. Rest when you need to, but no more than 45 secs.

High Elbow Drill
Some swimmers make the mistake of allowing their whole arm to rotate fully in a ‘windmill’ motion. Another mistake is to bend the elbow but let your arms go too wide. To avoid this try swimming with an ‘exaggerated’ high elbow position, when your arm is above and under the water. As you swim keep your elbows bent, imagine you are lifting your arm out of your pocket with each recovery and aim to enter the water with your hand in line with your shoulder. Ensure your hands are always lower than your elbows in the water.

Catch-Up
The best swimmers tend to take less strokes per length than most of us. This drill encourages you to ‘glide’ for as long as possible with each stroke and although you wouldn’t do it in a race, helps develop longer strokes.
As you swim keep your non-stroking arm out in front (in a superman position) until the other arm completes a full stroke cycle. Glide before you start the next stroke. You should touch hands each time. Be sure to pull under the centre line of your body and all the way past your hips so your thumb brushes past your thigh as it recovers out of the water.

Bilateral Breathing
Most swimmers (like me) are stronger on one side than the other and prefer to breathe on that side, with the result being that the stroke can become unbalanced. In a race chose a breathing pattern that feels natural, but practice breathing on both sides in training to discipline yourself and balance your stroke.
Breathe every three or five strokes so you are breathing on alternate sides. I found it un-natural at first, but it does become much easier. Now even when I’m racing I’m able to breathe bilaterally. Finally make sure you breathe out while your face is under the water and breathe in when you turn your head.

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To celebrate the launch of the new Evans Cycles website they have the ultimate giveaway for you to win!

One lucky winner will win £1,500 worth of Evans Cycles vouchers

To win this amazing price, simply place an order on their new website here and you’ll be automatically entered into the draw to win £1,500 of gift vouchers.

Conditions: All registered customers that place an online order up until the end of Friday 15th August will be automatically entered into the draw to win £1,500 of Evans Cycles gift vouchers. Please note, everyone is a winner in that they get to experience our glorious new website, but unfortunately there can only be one competition winner.

The Evans Cycles website has been around in one incarnation or another since 1999, serving us well and helping entrench Evans Cycles as one of the leading cycling websites. In fact, their site has consistently ranked in the Hitwise Top 10 Website in the ‘Shopping & Classifieds - Sports & Fitness’ category for the past two years.

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With all 110 athletes confirmed for Beijing, the ITU has announced the start numbers and transition area positions for the triathlon at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The draw took place in Kitzbühel, Austria, site of the final world cup before the Beijing Olympics. It was conducted by Olympic Technical Delegates Gergely Markus and Enrique Quesada and Beijing race referee Thanos Nikopoulos.

All countries were in sealed envelopes and randomly drawn one by one. The draw determined the allocation of the race numbers and the position of the athletes in transition. As each nation was drawn, the numbers were assigned to all athletes from that nation. The athletes from the same nation will be next to each other in the transition area.

The process was separate for both the women’s and men’s fields. The number 13 was not assigned so number 56 is the final start number.

In the women’s draw, Italy was the first country pulled which means Charlotte Bonin will wear the number one start number. Germany was pulled second, followed by Switzerland. Defending Olympic gold medalist Kate Allen will wear #11 as Austria was the fifth country pulled. New Zealand’s was the tenth country drawn as Andrea Hewitt, Debbie Tanner and Sam Warriner will wear numbers 25, 26, and 27 respectively. The reigning world champion going into Beijing Helen Tucker will suit up with number 31 as Great Britain was the 13th country drawn. Immediately after Australia was pulled, meaning Erin Densham, Emma Moffatt and Emma Snowsill will wear numbers 32, 33, and 34 respectively. The Americans Laura Bennett, Julie Ertel and Sarah Haskins will occupy numbers 40, 41, and 42. Portugal was among the final countries drawn so Vanessa Fernandes will wear number 54.

Click here for the final women’s Olympic start list

For the men, South Africa was drawn first, which gives Hendrik De Villiers the number one start number. Then the Netherlands’ Sander Berk will wear number two as the second country drawn. Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee wears number 36, with Will Clarke number 36 and Tim Don number 37. Australia was the eighth country pulled meaning Courtney Atkinson and Brad Kahlefeldt will wear numbers 11 and 12 respectively. The Aussie pair will be close to the Canadian team that was drawn next with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield assigned number 16. The U.S. was the 13th country randomly selected as the country’s representatives in Beijing, Hunter Kemper, Matt Reed and Jarrod Shoemaker will occupy numbers 21 to 23. New Zealand was the 15th country drawn as Bevan Docherty, Kris Gemmell and Shane Reed will wear numbers 27, 28 and 29 respectively. Newly crowned world champion Javier Gomez will suit up in his first Olympics wearing number 30. A trio of big countries followed after Spain, including Germany & France.

Click here for the final men’s Olympic start list.

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