Archive for October, 2009

With things coming to a close for 2009, it’s now time to think about the off-season and focusing on the most simple of triathlon disciplines, the run!

As long as you put one foot in front of the other at a faster pace than walking, then you’re on the right track. However, if you focus a little harder in a quest to improve your performance, you’ll find there’s more to it than meets the eye.

The off-season gives us a vast amount of time to improve run splits for next year. The following tips will give those of you that want to run faster in 2010 a focused approach to training over the darker, colder months which will hopefully stand you in good stead come race season.

Run off-road
Running off-road has many benefits. It reduces the repetitive forces of running on hard tarmac, the uneven footing will toughen you ankle ligaments and stabilizing muscles; and the uphill sections will build overall strength. If your longer endurance runs are completed off-road you’ll probably reduce the injury risk associated with increased mileage.

Know your limits
If you know that running at different paces stresses your bodies systems, you’ll be able to develop a more structured approach and a progressive training plan. One of the coaches at your local club should be able to assist with this, or if you’re very lucky the local university sports science lab may offer free lactate threshold testing.

Race Regularly
Just because triathlon races stop during the darker, colder months, doesn’t mean you also have to. Taking part in competitive fell and x-country races will keep your cardiovascular system tuned up and your racing instincts sharp. The varying distances of off-road races will take the pressure off trying to achieve PB’s like running on road but at the same time will still be of benefit, working you near your maximum capacity.

Improve your style
How good do elite runners look when they’re whipping along? That’s because they’re well drilled when it comes to technique. Good running mechanics can be developed by running lots of short repetitions (50-100m) at a fast pace, just below you full sprinting pace. Do 3 sets of 3 x 100m reps, following a warm up, before your main run session to increase your mechanical efficiency at speed.

Buy the rights shoes
Sounds simple, right? No matter how flash the latest Newton running shoes look, if they don’t suit your foot type and style, then you’re going to be in for a frustrating season mixed with injury and disruption. Seek a running shoe shop that provides gait analysis or practical advice when it comes to the biomechanics of your running style. I’ve already rambled on about ‘How to choose the right running shoe’, which will give you a bit more background when it comes to foot types and available shoe styles.

Down some pounds
Loosing an extra few pounds during the off season will have you running at a quicker pace for the same effort come next year. An extra kilo of body fat will add an approximate 5-8 seconds per mile when you’re at race pace.

Run with a club
Running with a group or club during the darker months will make your run sessions much more enjoyable. Most running clubs will have a few different run groups that run at set paces which will enable you to maximise your potential.

Remember recovery
In general, running can do more damage to your body than cycling or swimming. As you increase the intensity and duration you’ll need to be more disciplined with your recovery time between sessions. Having one easy recovery week in four will help keep you run injury free. Be sure to be aware of the first signs of injury, as there’s noting worse that running injured. Check out an article I wrote here on how to grade running injuries.

Be progressive
In order to get the most out of your off season run training you need to gradually build up the intensity or duration if you want to see improvements. If you to build endurance, then subtly increase you running time each week as well as the length of your weekly long run. Remember the golden rule to never increase the time or distance by more than 10% each week. The key to any progression is to be patient. Don’t expect results over night as progression takes time so see benefits. Planning and monitoring over months will enable you to place more focus on long term progression.

Remain injury free
Training progressively over a period of several months is the consistency that all serious runners seek and this is the only way in order to remain injury free. There are no real shortcuts to success; look at the efforts the elite athletes lay down in order to get to the top. Don’t miss the opportunity to podium due to over-training injuries or bad off-season planning. Stick to the basics and you’ll not go too far wrong.

Most of all, get out there and enjoy the benefits of off-road running.

Happy Training!!

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Since it’s launch earlier this year, Saucony’s Fastwitch 3 has been a big hit with both triathletes and road runners alike. The success of the shoe has been due to the exceptional development of the product at Saucony.

The mesh upper has been enhanced further to improve comfort, foot moisture management and airflow.

The Saucony’s Fastwitch 3 shoe is now much lighter than it’s predecessor, but still offers the required race-day medial support of the previous Fastwitch 2.

The shoe usually retails around the £60 mark, but has been significantly reduced by 28% to £42.99. This is the cheapest price on the market at the moment.

There are various sizes available in the white/green model shown above. Unfortunately the orange shoe has been discontinued. Check for shoes availability here.

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Every road triathlete should own a mountain bike. But why? Adding mountain biking to your road training regime could make you a better cyclist by improving your pedal stroke, handling skills, braking technique, seat position and cadence while helping ward off training monotony and staleness.

Mountain biking is fun and challenging and there are always new obstacles to overcome, whether it’s technical riding or just jumping a ditch. You may also find it easier to jump on your mountain bike during the winter months that saddle up for another road ride.

Riding your mountain bike on the road can help develop a smoother spin and a more efficient pedal stroke. Mountain bikes have higher volume tyres than our regular road bikes, so in order to stop the bike from bouncing about on the tarmac you’ll need to employ a smoother pedal stroke. Aim to pedal in perfect circles, as this will keep you steady on those larger tyres. As everyone knows, mountain bikes were designed for off road riding. According to studies mountain bikers have the smoothest spin of all cyclists. When riding bumpy, technical or soft terrain on a mountain bike, you can’t rely on leg power for speed as you can do on a road bike. Instead you have to regulate pressure on the pedals when riding over uneven terrain to keep your tyres from spinning on rocks and loose dirt. On these types of surfaces try to concentrate on feeling the traction of your tyres while you aim to pedal in complete full circles.

There’s nothing better for practising your braking technique than on a mountain bike, as the fatter wheels below you allow more feel and control of the motion. Since a bike receives 70% of its braking force from the front wheel, when braking lift your backside off the seat and extend your arms out with bent elbows and this will transfer more weight to the rear of the bike. This next statement may sound simple, but squeezing the brake levers smoothly will allow you to remain on the bike instead of flying over the bars. This is where the weight shift to the rear also helps. Think of going down hill and slowing yourself down by applying pressure on the front brake levers. You wouldn’t want to have the majority of your body weight over the front of the bike, would you?

When you ride up an incline/hill on your mountain bike and encounter obstacles such as tree roots, don’t necessarily think you have to change your path, just change your cadence. Again shifting your body weight across the bike and lifting the bike wheels will assist in clearing any low level obstacles.

Chances are as we hit the end of British summer time you’ll not be so keen to venture out on your shiny road bike and also may be a little sick of riding the same road routes. With a mountain bike you can prevent any winter training staleness by exploring new terrain while still covering a good amount of ground at the same time. Break up your ride on your mountain bike by taking in different terrain. Warm up on the road then take in some technical element and of course some hills.

When riding off-road be sure to take with you adequate supplies, such as tolls and spare tubes. If you’re venturing off further a field into unknown territory, remember to take a map (and know how to use it) some warmer clothes and some all important food with you.

By adding a weekly or bi-weekly mountain bike ride into your routine you could be a stronger more proficient road rider come 2010. Most of all, it’s great fun. So what’s stopping you?

Happy training!!

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GB athlete Chrissie Wellington has broken the Ford Ironman World Championship course record in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday 10 October. The 32 year old from Thetford in Norfolk also claimed her third consecutive victory in one of the toughest endurance challenges in sport.

Wellington covered the 2.4-miles of swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run over in a course record time 08h:54m.02s.

Despite not leading from the start, Wellington’s 54 minute swim was enough to rank her eighth going into T1. On the bike leg, Wellington turned on the style and it was only a matter of time before Paula Newby-Fraser’s course record was broken.

Wellington, who was two-time defending Champion, proceeded to ride away from the rest of the field, finishing the bike leg with a lead of over 11 minutes on her closest competitor. Incredibly she was more than 30 minutes up on some of the favourites to challenge her third consecutive win, including fellow GB athlete Leanda Cave.

During the marathon run, Wellington had to endure some tough miles, however having redefined Ironman since she first won in 2007, the Norfolk athlete cemented herself in the record books with a memorable performance.

Talking after the race, Wellington commented: “This truly was the toughest day in sport. I am so honoured and proud to now hold the course record. I was determined to race with all the fire and passion inside me and I am delighted to be able to take home the title once again.”

Director of Performance at British Triathlon, Heather Williams added: “Chrissie continues to get faster and faster, and to break new ironman ground. I congratulate her on another truly outstanding performance.”

In the men’s event, Craig Alexander from Australia retained his title. The highest placed GB athlete was Philip Graves from York. Graves, the youngest ever winner of an Ironman impressed on the bike leg where he took an early lead eventually finishing in 54th position, with a time of 09h:16m.02s.

Women’s Results (unofficial)

1 08:54:02 Chrissie Wellington, GBR 54:31 swim; 4:52:07 bike; 3:03:06 run
2 09:13:59 Mirinda Carfrae, AUS 58:45 swim; 5:14:18 bike; 2:56:51 run
3 09:15:28 Virginia Berasategui, ESP 58:52 swim; 5:01:42 bike; 3:10:43 run

Men’s Results
1 08:20:21 1 Craig Alexander AUS 50:57 swim; 4:37:33 bike; 2:48:05 run
2 08:22:56 24 Chris Lieto, USA 51:07 swim; 4:25:11 bike; 3:02:35 run
3 08:24:32 54 Andreas Raelert, GER 51:00 swim; 4:38:01 bike; 2:51:05 run

For full results of all the athletes visit www.ironman.com

(Courtesy of British Triathlon)

If you were asked how hard and fast do you swim in training, what would you respond with? It is probably most productive to think about swimming in terms of easy, fast and various percentages of the ‘rate of perceived exertion’ (RPE).

In terms of effort levels and training zones in swimming, the vast majority of swimmers find that using a ‘rate of perceived exertion’ of an all out 100% effort seems to work best.

Using a device to monitor heart rate and power is not too difficult, but if you could do it, getting the information while swimming would be a massive challenge. For example, a heart rate monitor chest strap is a little difficult to keep in place; however the bigger obstacle is the fact that you can only read the values of it when you stop. This does not allow you to adjust your effort as you swim.

So considering this, it makes sense to work with your own feeling of what level of effort you are putting into the swim. Using this method will help you learn to get in touch with your body’s signals and not rely on other methods of feedback whist swimming.

The categories of your RPE could look like;
Easy (E): Anything under 65% RPE, used for warming up and recovering.
Easy aerobic (EA): 65-75% RPE
Fast Aerobic (FA): 75-85% RPE
Threshold (THR): 85-90% RPE
Anaerobic (AA): 90-100 RPE
Creatine Phosphagen, superspeed (CP): 100% + RPE

In theory there is no such thing as 100% plus RPE. The last level listed above is for very short durations, so sort that you’ll go beyond anaerobic level and activate the creatine phosphagen system and you’ll stimulate this by going flat out for very short duration of less than 10 seconds. This pace would be much faster than you could maintain for two lengths hence it could be termed as ‘100% plus’.

Most coaches will suggest that the bulk of your training should be in the aerobic zone (EA and FA) in order to achieve the most effective results.

Happy training!!

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Don’t forget that this weekend is the ‘big one’, the race that defined our sport as it came of age, and continues to be the defining race in our sport for any avid triathlete. It is of course, tomorrows Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

You can keep up to date with the results and further information here.

Good luck to all those mortals taking part!!

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If your stuck for something to do this weekend and can make it down to London, go check out ‘The Cycle Show’. It takes place at London’s Earls Court, this weekend from 9th - 11th October and is the UK’s most prestigious Cycling Event with a host of exciting highlights for you, your friends and all the family.

MEET the experts behind the brands
TRY out 2010 commuter and mountain bikes on the test tracks
PARTICIPATE in the new indoor time trial
EXPERIENCE the TfL Cycling Revolution
BUY clothing, helmets, shoes, sunglasses and new for this year cycle lighting, in the Cycle Store
WATCH spectacular aerial displays on the BMX street course and catch up with top cycling celebrities including Victoria Pendleton, Eddy Merckx, Jamie Staff, Nicole Cooke, the Atherton Family plus many more.

This cartoon sketch was on the show’s flyer I received and my favourite by far.

BOOK IN ADVANCE AND SAVE £’s
There are two easy ways to buy your tickets…
1. Book online at www.cycleshow.co.uk
2. Call the ticket hotline on 0844 848 0132
Why wait for your tickets to be posted out to you? Simply book online at
www.cycleshow.co.uk and print out your uniquely bar coded tickets at home.
Prices shown include VAT and show guide that can be collected on the day. If you’d like to order more than 45 of any type of ticket, please call the hotline.
* A £1 booking fee will apply per transaction in advance.

Group Bookings (over 10): ** Group ticket discounts are calculated on adult tickets only. Discounts do not apply to child tickets or any other discounted ticket type. Group ticket discounts are only available when booked in advance.

OPENING HOURS
Friday 9th October 10.00am - 6.00pm
Saturday 10th October 10.00am - 6.00pm
Sunday 11th October 10.00am - 5.00pm
Adult Ticket £11.50 £14.50 Adult advance ticket
OAP (Over 65’s) £9.50 £12.50 OAP’’s over 65′’s
Child Ticket £5.75 £7.25 Children under the age of 14
Under 5’s FREE FREE Children under the age of 5
Student Ticket £9.50 £12.50 Students with NUS ID number
Family Ticket £32.00 £37.00 Two adults and two children
Group 10+ £10.35 N/A 10% discount**
Group 20+ £10.35 N/A 10% discount** & 1 free organiser ticket
Group 45+ £9.50 N/A 15% discount** & 2 free organiser tickets

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Triathlon Plus magazine tested one of these Special Edition Ribble Aero TT bikes back in their July edition. Compared against a Trek, a Giant and a Scott the Ribble received the best of test Gold Award.

“The Ribble offers wheels and componentry that smashes others tested”
The Verdict: “The surprise, though, is the Ribble. You just can’t ignore its incredible value. The frame stands up to comparison with the others here and it boasts wheels and componentry that drops the others off the pace.
But make sure you can live with the aggressive ride position. If you can, you’ll get yourself a sparkling, super-quick bike that keeps on giving.

You may still be scratching your head, looking for the catch. But there isn’t one.”

12K Carbon monocoque frame and forks with high quality components from Ultegra, Dura Ace and Dedacciai. The Ultimate in design, aerodynamics, stiffness and performance.

- Carbon 12K monocoque frame and forks
- Shimano Ultegra 10 speed Double groupset
- Cane Creek carbon time trial/triathlon brake levers
- Dura Ace 7900 bar end shifting levers
- Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR Wheelset
- Ribble headset 1 1/8″ Hidden (ITS) 45×45
- Aero TT carbon seatpillar
- Selle Italia SLR T1 saddle in white
- Deda Crononero handlebars and Deda Parabolica Uno extensions
- Deda Quattro Stem
- Continental GP4000 Tyres

All this for a unbelivable £2,199.99. Which in comparison to the Trek TTX at £4000+, is not that bad a deal!

Another great contender for my bike of the year 2009!

Let’s take a look at one of my favourite topics, relating to muscle growth and adaptation. As a personal trainer the basis of this topic is something I try to get across to all of my clients in order to understand why they train in a certain way. This is only a brief skip though a few relevant elements of benefit to you as multi-sport athletes, however discussions relating to this could be endless!

When you work a muscle the stimulus or force acting on it causes a breaking down of muscle proteins and forms tiny tears in the muscle fibre and connective tissue. During the rest period between workouts new proteins are built up and the connective tissues repaired. This causes the muscle fibres to grow back thicker and stronger. This increase in size is a result in an increase in the number of filaments within the muscle fibre bundle and an increase of muscle proteins. This increase of cross sectional muscle size is called hypertrophy.

Hypertrophy depends on many factors including the type of training, diet, rest periods and the genetics of the person in question.

When training a muscle or muscle group you should do so with the desired outcome in mind. There’s no point having huge biceps, lats, shoulders and chest if you’re attempting to be a competitive triathlete. As triathletes we should be looking to enhance the muscular endurance of our muscles rather than pure muscular strength. Muscular endurance is the ability or capacity of a muscle to repeat a movement continuously before it tires, whereas muscular strength is the force required by the muscle to overcome a resistance.

In order for a muscle to respond successfully, whether to achieve endurance benefits or gains in strength and/or size, the overload or resistance placed upon it has to continually challenge the muscle. As the muscle responds, it gets stronger and/or has better endurance, so if the overload remains the same the muscle will not be stimulated optimally. This is why the amount of resistance used or the duration of the exercise needs to be continually increased in order to provide a suitable overload for the muscle. This form of continual intensity change is classed as progressive overload.

With my personal training clients I always encourage change and alter exercise and/or duration they are completing every 10-12 week period. This means the muscles and body have to adapt and respond to a fresh set of requests and challenges.

When the brain has to learn a new task or skill, such as a new exercise, the nerve pathways that tell the muscle to contract need to be developed. Depending on the complexity of the movement, this motor unit development might require some practice. This is known as neuro-muscular adaptation.

When introducing new exercises into your workout routine, the number of exercises to incorporate, together with the frequency with which they are to be performed, will vary from person to person as we all have different goals, time restraints and fitness levels. As with any form of training, the most important thing is to blend new exercises into your current workout when you are ready, remember not to introduce too many too soon or increase the intensity of any drill before you are fully able to progress.

Happy Training!!

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Congratulations to ‘jamesmu46’ who has been randomly selected as the winner of September’s bi-monthly draw.

Just by registering with Trispace News, ‘jamesmu46′ has won a Joe Beer book titled, ‘Triathlon. Need To Know?’ .

Register with Trispace to be automatically entered into our bi-monthly draw.

Register now to have a chance of winning December’s special prize, a pair of ASICS Gel-Noosa TRI Unisex Running Shoes courtesy of asisctrainers.net. Once registered and you remain registered, you’ll be entered into the draw automatically. Register by midnight 30th November 2009 for a chance of winning.

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