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The Aqua Sphere Zip Fin eliminates ankle fatigue for fitness swimmers, allowing for a full-leg workout that can be sustained over longer periods of time for maximum and efficient aerobic benefit. They are also ideal to complement your swim drill sessions as they provide a little extra propulsion so you can completely concentrate on your drill technique.

The unique blade features specially engineered side rails, strategically aligned flex channels, and hydrodynamic stiffening battons that combine to make the Zip Fin the most comfortable and efficient fitness fin on the market.

The split blades, which act like propellers, twist independently during each stroke to a precise angle of attack that creates lift and thrust. The Zip Fin features an open heel adjustable ankle strap.

Go on grab a bargin, I have!!

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The idea of base training is founded around the traditional theory of periodisation, where a considerable amount of steady endurance is completed before moving onto add speed, pre-season.

By definition base training has to be almost aerobic which means being disciplined and keeping the intensity low. Fail to do this and you start to go anaerobic. If you find yourself straying into the red, trying to keep up with faster training partners or just because you feel keen, then you’re playing a risky game and are more likely to suffer from tiredness and injury.

As with any form of training it needs to be progressive and the best form of progression at this point of the year is in volume. Increasing the amount of running you’re doing while maintaining a comfortable pace is the best way to maximise aerobic gains rather than just turning up the pace. You may find (especially if you are new to training) that your pace increases almost naturally, but this is of secondary importance to upping the time on you feet.

Give base training enough time to take effect. Base training needs an absolute bare minimum of around six consistent weeks to have long term noticeable effects. Where possible try to keep as much as your base running off-road, as this will work far more muscle groups than plodding on the tarmac, will be kinder to your joints and will also build strength when the going gets hilly or muddy.

The following couple of sample base training sessions form the skeleton of a base-run training plan. You need to take into account your current ability, susceptibility to injury and aspirations before deciding if any of them are for you, or whether they need adapting to suit your circumstances.

The sessions are designed to give you some inspiration on how to make your base-run training through the winter both enjoyable and effective. If you can manage to cover an increasing volume of steady mileage you’ll see vast improvements next year.

I’ve started some prep work towards my run base training for next season as one of my main goals is to race a marathon in May, as well as the regional Duathlon Grand Prix series late March/April and I’m already chomping at the bit to get on with some base-running. Can’t wait.

Session 1 - The long weekend run

I blogged about this here in September and regard this as one of the most important elements of triathlon/run training in the base phase as it trains our bodies to have the most efficient and economical aerobic system possible.

Session 2 – Running twice a day

For many of us multi-sport people the concept of training twice a day is not unusual. However, repeating sessions of the same sport may not seem like an obvious choice. Running twice a day can be very beneficial for all sorts of reasons especially as part of an endurance-building programme.

Running twice a day allows you to make use of small time gaps during the day, for example before work and at lunchtime. When you’re trying to increase your overall run mileage in weekly terms but cannot fit in many long individual sessions this also provides a solution.

It can help to break your legs in more gently to bigger running mileages. 2 x 30 minutes in a day is much easier on you legs than 1 x 60 minutes if you have never done it before.

It enables you to complete two totally different sessions, for example a fartlek session and an easy run, within an allotted amount of training time for the day.

Finally running twice a day increases the activation of your metabolism through the day and is therefore a great strategy if you’re trying to control your weight.

Next week I’ll introduce a couple more base-run sample sessions to keep you going.

Happy training!!

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sheactive’ is a new concept in retailing sportswear. By concentrating just on women and their specific needs they are able to bring to you the very best in female sportswear whether you are small and lovely or big and beautiful. Whether you are just starting out or an expert at what you do, ‘sheactive’ aims to bring you a carefully selected range of products for your activities.

The ‘sheactive’ website has been designed with the user in mind, with simple yet effective navigation and a select range of products on offer. There’s everything from swim wear to ski wear, as well as a specific triathlon section, featuring manufacturers such as; Sugoi, Craft, Speedo Nike, Asics and many more. With a great selection of sale items and free standard UK delivery, this online store is a must visit for any aspiring female.

Don’t feel like there’s nothing for you men out there, as ‘sheactive’ also has some great Christmas gift ideas for that sporty female in your life!!!

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Congratulations to ‘Heidi-Jane’ who has been randomly selected as the winner of Octobers monthly draw.

Just by registering with Trispace News, ‘Heidi-Jane’ has won £20 worth of Wiggle vouchers.

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 November’s prize, a set of Look KEO pedals RRP £49.99. 

Once registered and you remain registered, you’ll be entered into the draw each month automatically. Register by midnight November 30th 2008 for a chance of winning Novembers prize.

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I remember not that long ago starting out swim training for triathlon. A colleague of mine at a gym offered me some swim coaching. Seeing as she was a qualified ASA coach and a very good swimmer herself I jumped at the chance. One of the first things I commented on from my previous experience was that I was unable to swim two lengths without being absolutely wiped out. She was not surprised by my comment at all, as this is a common issue for both new comers to freestyle swimming and to a certain degree those who would class themselves as experienced freestyle swimmers.

Before you start to look at executing perfect swim drills, you really need to look at freestyle breathing. One of the most important things in freestyle swimming is to make sure you fully exhale (breathe out) while your face is in the water so that when you roll to the side to take a breathe, you get maximum intake of oxygen.

Many beginning swimmers because of being tense in the water, completely hold there breathes, then when they roll they have to breathe out fully before they can breathe in again. Swimmers adopting this breathing style get less oxygen in than they other wise could since the time that the mouth is out the water is expelling air rather than taking it in. Usually these swimmers need to breathe every stroke and usually feel wiped out after a short swim, not necessarily from the effort of the swim, but more so because of the lack of oxygen. This becomes a vicious cycle of never really getting maximum oxygen intake before rushing for another. Sound familiar to anyone?

Breathing technique is one of the most important first steps in swimming efficiently and for many swimmers could be more beneficial than swim drill techniques, because without oxygen we cannot perform.

Intensity
It’s a simple fact, that the harder you swim the more oxygen you utilise. While your stroke rate goes up as your intensity and speed increases, it does not increase quite as much as your oxygen consumption. The important point to understand here is that for easy swimming you have no trouble breathing every third, fourth or fifth stroke. However increase the intensity and this is when you need to breathe every two or three strokes to meet the oxygen demand from your body.

Practice Drill
Do a set of five 100 meter swims and alternate between fast and slow throughout the entire 100. Take 20 seconds rest after each 100. Try and experiment with the different breathing patterns to establish what works best.

Bilateral Breathing (Alternate Sides)
Almost each and every one of us has a preferred side to breathe on. Until I was able to master a regular breathing pattern I would always breathe every stroke to my right. The rotation of my body was always better on that side because that’s the side I was rotating on all the time to breathe. However, for efficient swimming we should be comfortable breathing on both sides. Next time you swim imagine a long axis running through your spine that your body rotates around as you rotate to breathe on alternate sides.

By developing the skill of bilateral breathing your stroke will be more balanced by rotating equally to both sides. It will allow you to have a greater range of visibility on each side, which is especially important for open water swimming. Finally, bilateral breathing may also go along way to maximising your oxygen utilisation.

All drills that work on rotation assist in developing a naturally balanced stroke and should therefore be part of every practice.

What breathing pattern should you use?

This depends on a few variables such as your intensity, your lung volume, and how well you transfer oxygen in and out of your mouth. Some swimmers need five strokes to utilise all the oxygen that one full breathe provides yet others will start to fail after three strokes. So how do you find out what’s best for you?

Practice Drill
2 x 100 meter (freestyle) swims with 30 seconds rest as follows

First 25 meters – Breathe every two strokes
Second 25 meters – Breather every three strokes
Third 25 meters – Breathe every four strokes
Fourth 25 meters – Breathe every four strokes

Practice this drill once a week and you’ll find the best breathing pattern to suit. Be sure to fully exhale under water so that when you roll to breathe you are ready to take a full breathe.

Practice Drill
A particularly good breathing practice for beginners or those having trouble mastering freestyle breathing are breathing exercises at the side of the pool. Standing in the shallow end of the pool, bend at the waist while holding onto the side of the pool with one hand. Put the other hand behind your back and place your face in the water.

Fully exhale under water until you are ready to take a breathe. Rotate your body and head to your left side so your mouth exits the water line and you are able to take a full breathe. After taking a full breathe rotate your head so you’re now face down into the water again. Now repeat the process on your right side. Repeat this process until you have completed five breathes on each side, follow this by a 25 or 50 meter swim (depending on confidence) and practice alternate breathing.

Repeat the whole process a further four times.

Next time in swim training we’ll be looking at a few swim specific drills designed to improve your body position, leg and arm mechanics.

Happy training!!

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Gore Bike Wear Competition
To celebrate the launch of the new Gore Bike Wear 2008 winter range including the brilliant Oxygen Windstopper® and Alp-X collections Wiggle are giving away a complete set of gear to keep you warm and dry on your bike no-matter the weather! Whether your passion lies off road on the trails or zipping round the tarmac they have perfect additions for your cycling wardrobe. The first prize is a collection worth in-excess of £300 plus they have two high performance jackets to give away to the second and third place winners too!

Gore has been the market leader for many years in Germany and Europe, the GORE BIKE WEAR collection offers high-functional clothing for cyclists - from the spare time Rider to the full-on mountain biker right up to the professional road cyclists. And for all weather conditions! Until today GORE BIKE WEAR products have received more than 30 honours from European bike magazines.

The prizes
1st prize: Road: 1 x Oxygen Windstopper® Jacket, Oxygen Windstopper® Tights & Oxygen Windstopper® overshoe worth £315
or
MTB: 1 x Alp-X II GoreTex Jacket, Alp-X GoreTEX Shorts, Alp-X Thermo Jersey worth £325
2nd prize: Road: 1 x Oxygen III GoreTex Waterproof Jacket worth £129.99
or
MTB: 1 x Alp-X II GoreTex Jacket worth £165
3rd prize: Road: 1 x Oxygen Windstopper® Jacket worth £115
or
MTB: 1 x Alp-X Zip Off Windproof Jacket worth £120

How to enter
Buy any Gore Bike Wear product from wiggle to get entered into the draw for a chance to win these great prizes. Every product you buy will count for one competition entry each. Therefore, the more you buy, the greater your chance of winning!

Competition specific terms and conditions
1 entry to the draw per Gore Bike Wear product, per wiggle basket.
Competition closes 24th November 2008.
Winners will be published on wiggleblog along with their reaction / thoughts on the competition and their prize.
General Wiggle competition T&C’s apply. See here for details.

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It’s back to that time of year again when we’re base biking! I really enjoy this particular phase of the training cycle as you really don’t need to think too hard about it, just helmet on and steady away. Great time for the long social group rides in the great outdoors.

Your primary goal during the base phase is to lay a broad foundation of aerobic capacity and raw endurance. Secondary emphases are improving technique and increasing cadence and pedalling power. Your seasons racing goals and fitness levels will determine the length of this base period of your training, but typically can last between eight to twelve weeks (three lots of four week training blocks). Figure 1.0 shows a typical twelve week base period with three, four week training cycles. Notice the reduced training in week four of each block. This cut back will allow your body to absorb the training that you’ve already completed and prepare you for the next specific block.

Provided you’ve had a reasonable phase of general preparation, start the phase with low volume and low intensity and gradually increase both. At first, most workouts should take place at the lower end of the endurance intensity range. By the end of the phase, most workouts should take place in the middle and upper parts of this range, as in hard group rides. Throughout the phase, the majority of your endurance rides should entail spinning at a slightly higher than optimal pedalling cadence. Also in the first several weeks of the base phase, do one or two technique drills each week and a set of power intervals or jumps in one of your weekly endurance rides.

After the first couple of weeks of base building, begin doing one weekly or biweekly long ride and increase the duration of the ride slightly every other week. About the same time, begin performing a weekly brick workout.

Towards the end of the base phase, mix in some more high-intensity training in an informal way. One way to do this is to begin attacking the hills you encounter in your endurance rides. Another way is by participating in indoor cycling workout classes. Speaking of which, if your winter training can’t be done outdoors you may need to resort to indoor cycling or turbo sessions. Don’t be too scared of the weather, just be sensible out on the roads and be prepared.

Over the next fortnight we’ll have a look at some typical base sessions, as well as some cycling efficiency drills. In the mean time there’s no harm to just go ride your bike, make the most of the remaining daylight!!

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To help you with your healthy eating and meal planning Trispace have introduced a fortnightly recipe, all of which are quick, simple and fun to make. They are specially designed for sports people who need to eat a diet high in carbohydrate, low in fat and rich in essential nutrients. Each recipe provides nutritional analysis to help you put together numerous healthy menus.The main meal recipes are divided into sections based oh nigh carbohydrate foods t enable you to plan your meals according to the recommended nutritional guidelines. Recipes suitable for vegetarians contain no meat, poultry or fish and are marked with a ‘V’ symbol.

‘Lentil Loaf’ (Serves 4)

Ingredients
100g (4 oz) red lentils
1 onion (chopped)
1 tbsp (15 ml) concentrated vegetable stock, or 1 vegetable stock cube
300 ml (1/2 pint) of water
50g (2 oz) oats, or fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten

Method
Place lentils, onion, stock concentrate and water in a large pan
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or cook in a pressure cooker for 3 minutes and release steam slowly
Stir in oats, or breadcrumbs and egg
Spoon into 450g (1 lb) non-stick loaf tin
Cover with foil and bake at 190 C/375 F/ Gas Mark 5 for 30 mins
Leave in the tin for 2 minutes, then loosen and turn out
Serve with rice and vegetables

Done, Enjoy!!

Nutritional Information (per serving)
Calories = 321
Carbohydrate = 50 g
Protein = 19.5 g
Fat = 6.1 g
Fibre = 4.9 g

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With the nasty weather on its way here’s a handy ‘cassette and chain’ cleaning guide, which will keep your bike it top condition throughout the entire winter.

Cleaning a tri bike is relatively easy. Use warm soapy water and a sponge to gently remove any road grime. For a gunked up chain, use biodegradeable chain degreaser.

You don’t need a snazzy chain cleaner, just use an old toothbrush to apply the degreaser to the cassette while you spin the pedals in order to spread it along the chain.

Leave for a few minutes, then you can wash it off, but not with a pressure washer. A sponge or stiff brush and water will be far better for your bike.

Apply water repellent to the chain (keep it away from the rims or where your brakes will touch) and wait 15 minutes for it to dry.

Now you can apply fresh chain lube and you’re done.

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I was browsing through the British Triathlon site earlier on today and came across this free music workout mix through the trinews section. I’ve had a listen through it and the music is really motivational. The length of the mix is only 30 minutes but would still be ideal to accompany a short turbo session. It’s very similar to a spinning type mix where there’s a specific structure to the session. It starts with a progressive warm up followed by the main session which includes a few increases in pace, before finishing off with a cool down.

The mix is courtesy Total Fitness Music, who also supply a whole host of other workout mixes which are available to download from iTunes from around £6/$11.

Track listing:
Ricky GZ ‘2 Can Play That Game’
South West Beats ‘It’s Love (Trippin’)’ (Original Mix)
Out Of Office ‘Break Of Dawn 2008′
Silverlake ‘Wide Open Space’ (Original Club Mix)
Karaoke Kids ‘Here (In Your Arms)’ (Extended Mix)
DP vs P&P ‘Get Your Kicks’ (12″ Vocal Mix)
The Potbelleez ‘Don’t Hold Back’ (Sam La More Club Dub)

Total time: 30.22

You can download the free music mix right here.

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