Specific Conditioning)

Specific conditioning is perhaps the biggest missing ingredient in most Ironman training programmes and if you don’t focus on this key area, you will never achieve your full potential.

You can do all the running training in the world and be a world class runner, but you will never be able to perform at your best in the run, unless you ensure that you are conditioned for the bike leg and by that I mean being prepared for a 180km solo effort, the majority of the time being on the tri-bars.

If you don’t you will experience extreme muscular fatigue before you start the run and then there may be no way back, as you will be running the marathon in a serious state of fatigue. Having run numerous marathons, including the Comrades Marathon I can tell you from experience that an Ironman Marathon is a very tough challenge, both physically and mentally.

Hence it is important to consider what we can do to specifically condition ourselves for an Ironman Marathon and in this post I will focus on some of the physical aspects that I consider vital.

Core fitness is extremely vital! Having a strong core is instrumental in translating the power of the legs to propelling the entire body forward. This will improve efficiency which improves running. A strong core will help you in the swim, on the bike in the aero position and also on the run, so don’t neglect your core. If your core is weak your body, particularly on the run, is like a house of cards that will collapse under pressure.

Biking fitness is also vital as mentioned earlier and I am of the firm belief that it is a good bike that sets up a great run. Personally I’ve always prepared well on the bike, but have always held something back during the bike leg (except Las Vegas where I gambled and put it all out there on the bike but that was a 70.3), seeking to set up a decent run. This is really tough to get right, as you have to swallow your pride somewhat and forgo racing on the bike. It’s a tough ask when somebody you know comes past, especially if you believe you are stronger than they are and it can be compounded somewhat when they throw in a chirp or too as well.

One of the key challenges facing Ironman participants (particularly professionals and age group racers) is the fact that the IM Marathon is actually quite slow. A 50yo age grouper for example would ‘only’ need to race at 5 min/km.

So your normal speed-work will make you more efficient, but it won’t ensure you are specifically conditioned for your race. Hence we need to do some training at ‘race pace’, but the 50 yo would probably be doing most of his easy runs at 5 min/km which is hardly going to prepare him for how tough 5 min/km will be in an IM Marathon.

We could introduce some ‘brick’ sessions to assist us to narrow the gap between our race pace and our speed-work pace. An idea would be to do a steady bike ride (or longish ride) prior to the speed session, which should slow your pace down somewhat but not the effort, which is what we want if we are trying to simulate race conditions.

Another idea would be to ‘deaden’ the legs with a speed session or 5km steady run, then do a 2-3 hour bike ride at IM pace and then to run 10-15km off the bike at IM running race pace. I introduced Raynard Tissink to this type of session and it not only helped simulate race conditions, but also helped improve self confidence too.

Other methods of training ‘slower’ whilst still doing a quality workout, would be to do sessions with very short recoveries.

Pacing is also very important, so don’t gun it in the swim, or in the first hour on the bike, you will need all the energy that you can conserve for later in the day. Believe me seconds saved early on, could lead to minutes lost later on, invariably on the run, so remember that you are not racing anybody else, so stick to your plan and aim to beat the course and the elements.

Tapering fitness is all important, as arriving at the start line 90% fit and 100% healthy is far better than arriving 100% fit and 90% healthy, so be careful of overdoing it in the final month. Remember that you are tapering so that you can run well off the bike, not to record an awesome bike split, so stick to the game plan.

Long Rides provide endurance to set up the run

7 Tips for Running Tip # 5 (Fartlek)

Once you have developed your aerobic engine, you can aim to improve your economy, strength endurance and speed by incorporating a few quality workouts into your training. A change in training adds renewed focus, but training for a road race ( or IM/70.3) is very different and there are many added stresses, so be careful of going too fast, too soon.

There is no real need to try and become the next Haile Gebrsellasie or Raynard Tissink, but taking yourself out of your comfort zone will improve your running tremendously. At this stage I would like to emphasise the need for a ‘vision’ of what it is you are aiming for (Bill Hybels defines vision as “A picture of the future that inspires passion”), because you need to be really passionate to want to transform yourself, as moving out of your comfort zone requires determination and perseverance, as it can get tough at times. Hence, it’s best to try and do this with a couple of like-minded friends so you can motivate each other.

Training with Kyle Buckingham and Jamie in Kona, Hawaii

The Swedish word, ‘Fartlek’, meaning playing with speed, is perhaps the safest way for runners or IM athletes to improve their economy and speed, as it eliminates clock watching and racing in training.

‘Fartlek’ can be adapted and incorporated into many sessions, but here are a few suggestions;

• Speed Endurance: Instead of running your regular 60min loop at a steady state,  break it up into 5 sets of 6min steady and 4 min easy, where the steady portion is faster than that of your normal steady state run and the easy portion (keep running but not a super slow jog) ensures you recover before the next interval.  (10 minutes warm up)
• Speed Work: Go to a golf course (or similar) and have fun playing with speed, running ‘hard’ to the green, jogging to a tree, before pressing on to the next target. You may build up to 10 intervals of 60-90 seconds (with similar recovery), but don’t start off too fast, progressively build up your speed. Also watch your footing! (remember the warm up)
• Hill Work: Another great ‘fartlek’ type session is doing pyramids with the lamp-poles on a gradual hill and you will find that counting the poles takes some of the pain away. You might do a session of 4/8/12/8/4, alternatively 10 by 10, where you work hard for a specified number of poles followed by a jog down for recovery. (remember the warm up).

Progression: Remember the goal of training is to prepare and to condition athletes physically & mentally to execute a projected goal pace in their targeted race. The body has amazing adaptability, so start off with a few & start off within yourself and build upon that and you will be surprised at how well you progress. The key with running is not to try and force it!

The aim is to have a bit of fun, while the focus is on getting out of your comfort zone, but don’t overdo it, as 1 or 2 killer sessions could lead to injury, or illness, so err on the side of caution and aim for gradual improvement. Utilize the principle of progression during your preparation. You may think it’s too tough to train hills, but if you start with one and add one extra hill a week, within 2 months you will have progressed to 8 hills and probably not noticed it. (Progession)

I view training for a Marathon or Iron Man like a Jigsaw puzzle. Keep your eye on the vision or goal (the picture on the box) and gradually build the pieces. As fun as it is working on the intricate pieces (above), don’t forget what I call the blue sky days, which for many are monotonous and time consuming. Those are the foundation blocks and you cannot build a good jigsaw puzzle without them and you certainly cannot produce a good 21km or marathon without them. And just like building a house, you do need the foundation (base work) to be laid first, otherwise something will give.

One final tip, remember a good week or month’s training is the sum of many parts, so be careful of trying to smash one particular session!

A good warm up is vital

Questions/Lessons from the Grey Fun Run

Although there was a record entry (1,800 entries) I think the cool, windy conditions kept a few of those entries in bed, but for the other 1,000 odd who participated, we were treated to an excellent event once again. Thanks to the organisers and the sponsors too, as there were some awesome prizes.

As an athlete I have over the years…. as a scholar, a son, a univeristy student, club runner and even more recently as an age group triathlete…. found that you do get influenced by the perceptions of those whose company you keep, or interact with. I’ve often heard that ‘you can’t do this’, or ‘this or that is impossible’ and we need to guard against allowing other people’s perceptions and even our own negative experiences placing a lid or a ceiling on our potential.

I have been able to use these comments to fuel my motivation, but as a young kid I was influenced by other people’s perceptions and thoughts on what I could achieve.

Today I was running with my 11 year old son Jamie in a 5km Fun Run and his goal was to be the first Grey Junior boy and hopefully make the top five overall. I thought he was capable of a sub 20 minutes, so my perception was that he would run the opening kilometers at about 3:50/km.

Well he was running sub 3:40 for the first km, which I thought was a bit too fast. Question is was I wrong or right to think this? Jamie was all too keen to hammer it, but running alongisde him, I was suggesting to him that he should relax and not chase the frontrunners (me fearing he may blow).

1st km whizzed by in 3:39 and Jamie was running with intent and I, all the while was trying to get him to ease off a bit to save something for the second half (2nd km 3:46).

The Question is, are we placing our perceptions as a limiter on our children? In my mind I felt I was doing the right thing and he kept going, picking the runners off one by one to finish second overall  & only 20 seconds behind the winner, Jared Cook of Grey High, winner of Cape Schools Cross Country this year.

However, maybe I should have let him run like the Kenyans…. just forget about the watch, run as hard as you can and if you blow, then you find out where your current ‘ceiling’ is and with age, mental and/or physical training you will gradually move that ceiling upwards. Are we too conservative in South Africa?

In SA we always say let the kids have fun, don’t push them too hard and I sort of subscribe to that thought process, particularly on the training front. But Internationally they say Champions need to be fearless and the only way they will ever do this is if they learn it when they are really young, before Parents, Teachers, Peers and even Coaches start limiting their beliefs.

One thing I do know is that Jamie loves his sport and plays rugby, soccer, water polo, participates in swimming, nippers, biathlon, triathlon and running so he is busy all the time and doesn’t train specifically for one particular discipline. I think he has a little of his Dad’s competitive spirit, but I need to be wary of limiting his beliefs by influencing him with mine.

As Parents (Teachers and Coaches) these are the challenges we face in our everyday lives. I am very wary of sport being too serious from too young an age, but for me the question will always be whose too much is too little and whose too little is too much?

I guess in this case I should just let Jamie (and Camryn) dictate their own pace of development, train to enjoy, participate in a variety of sports for diversification and fun, to learn from both individual and team sports.

The important thing is that kids need to enjoy what they are doing and usually you can see when they are enjoying and when it could become a bind.

The Long Run

“The Long Run is the Golden Key to unlocking the door (potential) to becoming a better runner!” – Alec Riddle 

The one key component of developing your ability as an endurance runner, is the Long Run, so try and do 2- 4 long runs a month (experienced runners can do a midweek long run of 90 minutes). One cannot develop a decent Base, without long runs and variety is, in my opinion, the spice in a runners life, so don’t try and do the same course, at the same time, same pace, week in, week out, or your motivation may wane.

How long is a Long Run? I would say 90 minutes or longer (45-60m+ for juniors)

Doing a Long Run in Kona (Energy Lab) with Kyle Buckingham 2012. Young Jamie in the foreground doing his ‘long’ run!

How fast should a Long Run be? In the inital stages of Base Training, I think err on the side of caution and run very easy, as just running long is stressful enough. Time spent running, or Time on Legs, is more important than the quality and running too hard in the Long Run can be self destructing. As you adapt and become more comfortable running long, then you want to run closer to your Aerobic Threshold/Limit for part of the run. (or most of the run for experienced runners).

Adap-tability is important in running & in an IronMan and improving your ability to adapt to various situations can be improved, while developing your base.

I once went to a talk by Arthur Lydiard inthe early 80’s, arguably one of the greatest running coaches of all time and he said that running two hours or longer is vital. He said that you stimulate & (re) awaken dormant muscle fibers and the more muscle fibers/capilliaries you are able to recruit, the better and more improved the bloodflow, resulting in more oxygen for your muscles. (Even Peter Snell Olympic 800m Champion did 22 mile hilly runs weekly under Lydiard’s guidance)

Awesome hills/trails in Boulder, Colorado

Incorporate hills and/or trails into some of your long runs, as this will help improve all round leg strength. Do at least one of your long runs, or part thereof for inexperienced runners, say once a month at a steady pace (for IM athletes remember the marathon run in an IM is much slower than your normal training pace and it is just as important to train at this ‘slow’ pace, for specific conditioning). In my earlier days a lot of South Africa’s top distance runners, including 9 times Comrades Champion Bruce Fordyce, used to focus on ‘time on legs’ runs, whereby you just go out enjoy the run, stop for drinks and spend time on your legs. I used to enjoy those runs immensely.

At the same time we don’t always want to run slowly (the plods), so when doing an easy long run, incorporate 2-3 ‘steady’ sections into the run. Example when running a Long Run run mostly @ an easy pace, do 20 minutes at a slightly faster pace (not too  hard simply a little faster), recover for a km or two and repeat 2-3 times depending on your level of fitness, finishing off at your easy pace.

One of the biggest mistakes made by ultra runners/triathletes is believing that they will lose endurance if they don’t run long regularly in the build up to their key race. DO NOT do Long Runs (longer than 90 minutes) within 3 weeks of your target race, as you may find your legs won’t recover sufficiently in time.

Additional benefits of the Long Run:

The Long Run builds both muscular strength and fitness. If your body is not strong you can push your body too hard, leading to injury. The Long Run strengthens the joints, ligaments & muscles.

The Long Run helps prevent injuries, as it provides a foundation that enables you to do faster work as you build to your key race. Think of a building, the bigger the fundation, the higher the peak.

The Long Run importantly assists the body in the utilization of energy sources. Most people try and run too hard and burn Carbohydrates (or Glycogen) which is very inefficient. Running long (and slower) enhances your ability to burn fatty acids as an energy source, thus sparing the more limited carb stores.

Hydration is important during Long Runs

Ironman Tip/s: We will talk more about specificity in a later Tip, but I would suggest running the odd long run, after a medium bike ride, as this will assist you to ‘slow’ down.

I thoroughly enjoy reverse bricks to improve running endurance (and reduce the chance of injury) and have found these to work very well for me. This involves running first and following up with a decent bike ride. For me, this is a common 3 hour workout, where I would run 90 min and then bike 90 minutes. This was a tip I picked up in Korea from Brendon Downey of endurancecoach.com, coach of many world class Triathletes.

Illustrating the importance of building a Base in the link below…..

http://ironmansa.com/2014/04/14/the-bigger-the-base-the-higher-the-peak/

 

Nutrition 101 (by Gordo Byrn)

NUTRITION 101 Practical Suggestions for Working Athletes Gordo Byrn is a top Ironman athlete who wrote a book “Going Long”, which is highly recommended for Ironman athletes, particularly newcomers to the sport. He shared this article on his experiences and sorting out his eating habits. These are the first steps that he took in order to begin his transition towards a healthier lifestyle, here are his thoughts. I’ve no formal training in diet or nutrition and have always found it very useful to consult with experts in all fields.  A few sessions with a good sports nutritionist are very valuable and I would recommend this to any athlete seeking to improve their performance, recovery or body composition.  The ideal consultant will be an athlete themselves and have experience working with others in your sport. Motivation I think it is important to understand our motivation in making the food choices that we do and, therefore, I’d like to share a few points on my relationship with food over the years. Food as a Signal – Thinking back over the years, the times when I have been making the poorest food selections have been the times when I was under the greatest levels of stress.  Stress can come from a variety of sources; training, relationships, children, work, finances, partner alignment with life goals and others.  When these sources of stress have been reduced, my food choices have improved. In this sense, my poor eating habits were merely a symptom of a wider issue in my life that I was failing to address. Food as Nourishment – Food is essential for our survival, period.  In the past, there have been times where I felt a certain sense of guilt at every meal.  It was almost like food had become an enemy and was preventing me from achieving my ideal self.  This is a very dangerous situation because it sets up a negative cycle. When we view food as a source of strength, it is far easier to establish a virtuous cycle where our strong nutrition choices move us towards our ideal self.  By acknowledging my flawed view of food, it became easier to see food for what it really is… a source of energy and pleasure. Food as Self – I have also had periods of my life where I believed that I was a “good” person when I ate well and a “bad” person when I made poor food choices.  Over time, I have realized that I am the same person regardless of my food choices.  I think this is an important point to realize, particularly in conjunction with why we like certain types of food (see below). In order to gain power over food, I believe, that it is best to avoid defining ourselves by the food choices that we make.  Once a choice is made, it is gone.  Regardless of its nature, all we can do is focus on the next choice.  Worrying about the past is a waste of time. Wiring By the way, have you ever wondered why you like fatty or sugary foods?  It’s because they taste good and make us feel good.  It’s not because we are losers! I think it is important for people to take total responsibility for their food choices.  While it may be interesting to know each of our personal life struggles, there is only one person who decides what we eat.  With a few medical exceptions, our body composition is completely dictated by a huge number of tiny decisions that we make on a daily basis.  In order to change ourselves, we need to take responsibility for ourselves. Remember that… What we look like today… Is based on decisions that we have made in the past. Likewise, What we will look like tomorrow… Is based on decisions that we start making right now. It is a classic conflict between short-term pleasure and long-term gain.  When you see an elite athlete standing before you, you are looking at the result of tens of thousands of little decisions that they have made over many years. What’s is it Worth? Before getting into the techniques that I have used, you should ask yourself what you are willing to commit and how important improvement is to you.  Why? Because there are no short-cuts and good nutrition is a lifestyle decision. That may sound intimidating, but I find it somewhat relaxing knowing that I get a fresh start every morning.  That makes it easier for me to deal with set-backs (and we all have set backs). Like any endeavour, our results are completely dictated by our commitment and dedication. Getting Started I believe that the first step is gaining information about your current position.  Start by keeping a food log for an entire week.  When I have my athletes do this, I tell them just to record “what” they are eating.  I tell them that I don’t care how much they are eating, I want an honest assessment of their current eating habits. When you are keeping your log, BE HONEST.  Anyone can “eat right” for seven days.  There is no point in fooling yourself and your advisers.  I have had people present me with food logs that are completely inconsistent with their appearance.  In order to make changes, you need to have an honest assessment of where you are. Armed with the log, you are now in a great position to visit that sports nutritionist.  By combining that log with your training diary, your professional advisor will be able to give you some excellent advice on how to make progress. Or you can read on…. Energy Dense versus Nutrient Dense Foods What do I mean by “energy dense foods”?  Energy dense foods are those that are high in calories relative to their size or volume.  Some examples: cheese, whole milk, butter, french fries, burgers, sweets, energy bars, and soft drinks.  These types of food can put a lot of calories into you at times when you don’t need them. There is a time and place for many energy dense foods.  However, when you are trying to lose weight, you need to know what you are eating.  In general, athletes that are seeking to improve their body composition should limit their intake of energy dense foods. Nutrient dense foods are foods such as: fruits, vegetables, fish and lean cuts of meat. Now… get yourself a highlighter pen and mark the energy dense foods on your log. Starting To Change The next step is to swap half of your energy dense choices for nutrient dense choices.  Why only half?  Several reasons: We all have limited willpower and we should apply it sparingly.  The people in your life that appear to have tons of willpower are just the same as you.  However, they have learned to apply their limited willpower to gradually mold themselves closer and closer to their ideal self. Radical change does not work.  We are trying to change habits that have been formed over years and, quite often, generations.  This is some powerful programming that needs to be adjusted. Cold turkey is not required for results.  While “cold turkey” works for some people, they often return to their old eating habits once they have shed their poundage. Our ultimate goal is to develop a healthy, long-term lifestyle that brings out your ideal self.  We want to make this long term change in a manner that maintains your quality of life. Reality Check Gordo, you make it sounds so easy.  Write a log, swap half my food and PRESTO, I’ll be transformed into my perfect self.  I don’t believe you! Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear.  What we are talking about is a long-term transformation.  It could take up to six months before you notice a major transformation (although your pals will notice before that).  Why is that?  It is because our bodies change very slowly.  Nature is slow and you will need to have patience.  However, if you make the changes then the results will come.  If you don’t believe me then drop me an e-mail and I will put you in touch with some of my athletes that have followed this advice. Tips and Suggestions Some “tricks” that work for myself and others. House Cleaning – Get yourself a box and clean out all the foods that are inconsistent with achieving your ideal self. I’ve always found that it is much easier for me to make excellent food choices when they are all around me.  I like to keep plenty of fresh fruit at my office, home, car and training sites.  This makes it a lot easier for me to stick with my plan. Treats – Think about some of your favourite foods.  During or after your long sessions, treat yourself to a moderate amount of these foods.  I like to focus on eating these foods slowly and consuming nutrient dense foods alongside them (this helps me moderate my intake). Acceptance – Constantly remind yourself that your goal is to bring out your ideal self.  Visualise the person within that you are helping to strengthen and bring forward.  This philosophy has been very useful to me for making positive choices in all aspects of my life.  It changes my mindset from “denying a candy bar” to “feeding my ideal self an apple”. Serving – Serve your meals in the kitchen rather than having large plates of food on the table.  If there is food in front of me then I will continue to eat well past when I am hungry (invite me over to dinner to see this in action!).  When I have been trying to improve my body composition… I serve in the kitchen; I use smaller plates and bowls; I tell myself that I can eat as much as I want, but that I have to wait 5-10 minutes between servings; I make a conscious decision to eat slightly slower than usual; and I increase my intake of foods that are high in fibre but relatively low in calories (apples are a favourite of mine). Patterns and Habits – Each of us has our own particular patterns and habits that either result in poor food selections or lead us towards poor choices.  Pay attention to when and why you are engaging in self-sabotage.  Show yourself some compassion and see if you can understand the motivation behind the feelings or situations that lead you down familiar paths. For example, my morning “bowl” of cereal has been a long-time habit of mine.  I love loading up on food in the morning.  Once I noticed the pattern, I made a substitution of a huge bowl of fruit salad.  I was just as full and able to shave a little out of my energy intake.  It doesn’t take many changes to start heading in your desired direction and once you are heading the right way, it gets easier. Perhaps, you have a habit of “pizza and beers” a few times each week.  By changing that pattern to “stir fry at your place” you might be able to achieve better food choices and see your pals at the same time.  When I lived inHong Kong, my friends got a lot of free meals at my place! Another example is fizzy drinks.  I had a friend in university who achieved significant results from switching from Coca-Cola to Club Soda.  Sometimes a simple change is all it takes. Scales – Personally, I think that scales are often counterproductive for athletes trying to improve their body composition.  Why is that? Scales encourage a short term focus while nutrition is a long-term strategy. Scales give artificial highs and lows.  Wake up down two pounds lighter and you are happy all day.  Find out that you are up three pounds and the world better watch out! Scales give inaccurate feedback.  What we weigh says very little about our ability as an athlete (and our worth as a person for that matter!).  While there are a number of sports where it is beneficial to have a high power to weight ratio, many athletes lose power faster than they lose weight. Athletes that have an excessive focus on weight tend to under hydrate and skimp on recovery nutrition.  They have a desire to “save” the weight that they just lost.  In reality, the fat has been burned and food/water is necessary to replenish glycogen, rebuild muscles and restore hydration levels – all essential in order to be able to train and burn more fat.  Proper nutrition is an essential part of this virtuous circle. Finally, and most important of all, it’s not about how much you weigh.  It is about how you look, how you feel, how you recover and how you perform.  A scale tells you nothing about these (although your mind might trick you into thinking that it does!). Spend some time considering your relationship with your scale.  It is affirming your ideal self, or helping the part of your mind that beats you up?  You may be better off pitching it in your housecleaning box. Go Natural – Probably the easiest thing to remember is to maximize your intake of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, fish and lean cuts of meat.  Focus on achieving a balanced, natural diet and you are well on your way to good health. Cooking – Many athletes have limited time in their lives.  I like to say that we all have the same amount of time, the only difference is how we use it.  In order to save time, I always make extra when I cook “healthy” that way I have leftovers for the days when I am busy. Fat – In the past, I have gone on very low fat diets.  This method of eating can involve a lot of stress as there is a high degree of “background hunger” associated with avoiding fats.  I have found that a more moderate approach to fats works for me.  These days, I am including small amounts of “good” fat in my diet.  My sources of dietary fat come from small amounts of olive oil, nuts, and avocados as well as substantial amounts of lean meat and fish. Starches – When I am choosing sources of rice, pasta, breads and other foods with a large amount of starch, I choose foods that have been subject to minimal processing.  As a result, I avoid boxed cereals, white breads, white pasta and white rice.  I favour wholegrain breads, unsweetened grain based cereals, whole wheat pasta and other grains that have been subject to minimal processing.  I tend to consume the majority of my starchy foods after training and look to combine them with nutrient dense foods. Listen to your Body – I believe that our bodies will tell us what they need.  The secret is learning to interpret the signals that we receive.  In the past, I have been prone to misinterpret these signals.  The classic one is when we feel hungry.  Somehow my mind might convince me that I need a box of Raisin Bran (maybe your mind likes bacon cheeseburgers).  When I started giving myself balanced nutrition, I discovered that I felt better and many of my cravings went away.  They still appear from time to time but I can better deal with them through treats and the other strategies above. By putting the above tips into action, I was able to realize that I didn’t really “need” all the poor food choices that I thought would make me happy.  By caring for my ideal self, I found it became easier and easier for me to make smart choices that support my long-term goals. Final Words You can do it!  There are many, many people that have been in exactly the same position as you.  They were full of self-pity, self-hate, despair and fear.  Despite their doubts, they decided that enough was enough and started a journey towards their ideal self. Make a decision today and take it hour by hour.  There will be hurdles to overcome but the rewards are worth the dedication required.  Always remember that you get a fresh start every morning and can take it one meal at a time. Show compassion to yourself, make gradual changes and build the habits that strengthen your ideal self.  Soon you will see that it was there all the time. Good luck, gordo

Panic Attacks in Swim Leg

Swim Start, World 70.3 Champs, Las Vegas

David Brown of the Washington Post wrote an article on panic attacks in the swim leg of Triathlons. (See link below)

Panic attacks may come in many disguises and at various levels and even I suffered one at the World 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas. It was my first non wetsuit swim and I hadn’t factored this into my physical or mental preparation, so went off at full taps when the race started for our wave the 50+.

7-800m later I had literally hit a brick wall and was forced to slow down, hyperventilating, swimming doggy paddle, breastroke and being swum over. Fortunately for me I’ve swum in the sea and been dumped/barreled by huge waves and have learnt not to panic, plus we train to overcome overexerting ourselves. So I did not panic, recovered and was able to race on.

The reason I am posting this is that there are so many novices in our sport and the swim is daunting, particularly in the Ocean, so it is important that they prepare themselves mentally for the challenges, the pushing and shoving, the escalated heart rate from starting too fast.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/deaths-in-triathlons-may-not-be-so-mysterious-panic-attacks-may-be-to-blame

Base Training

Base,Base, Base!!! You have to develop your aerobic engine and the bigger the base, the more solid the foundation, the higher the peak. Build gradually, steadily
and frequently, interspersed with regular recovery sessions.

Putting in the hard yards!

The more consistent the pressure you put on your plumbing system(cardiovascular)  the better and the best way to do that is to train at a more consistent ‘effort’ level in base training, so be careful of taking the hard/easy methodology of training too literally.

I am a great believer in what I call steady state running. In an ideal world, discovering your  aerobic threshold, lactate turnpoints and key heart rate zones would be great,
but it is not absolutely necessary. Steady state running is running just beyond
conversational pace and upwards and there are two ways to judge when you have
‘maximised’ this form of training. (In other words just below the red line, as when you are red lining it you are upsetting the blood’s ph levels which can also lead to injury/illness).

One method is to do your steady state runs on set routes and the tempo/pace gradually increases automatically as you improve, or become fitter. Initially you will detect substantial time improvement, at similar effort,  session to session, or week to week, with some improvement thereafter,  although not as rapid. Once your improvement is negligible you are ready for  the next phase.

The other option, for those with heart rate monitors, is to run a set route and
either run at the same pace, while detecting a simultaneous lowering of the
heart rate, alternatively to run with the same effort, but faster due to the
natural progression and detecting a similar heart rate as previous sessions.
Once you find the effort, time, or heart rate is sticking somewhat you have
achieved your objective in this phase. Raynard Tissink used this methodology in his Base Training a few years back and the results were quite amazing.

Example: I was training 3 athletes for their marathon debut on this type of steady state training, just building a strong base and suddenly a local marathon popped up on the scene, with a US$2,000 bonus for a sub 2hr 15 min win. It was 2 months earlier than we were planning for so we had done no speedwork, not track, just steady state running and fartlek, but we decided to go for it on 8 weeks base training.  Simon Mpholo won on debut (2hrs 14) and the other two ran 2h15 (Norman Dlomo) and 2h16 (Petrus Sithole) respectively.

For me the key is to keep consistent pressure. So if I was running ‘hard’ twice a week interspersed with two easy runs (plus my long run), then I’m getting a graph where the peaks and valleys are quite far apart. So instead of woking on running the ‘hard’ runs harder, I would run those at a similar effort, or slightly easier and rather work on upping the effort in the easy runs, bringing the peaks and valleys closer, ensuring more consistent pressure on my plumbing/cardiovascular system. See pic below illustrating that in this phase of training, the graph on the left is the ideal!

Caution: Most runners are far too impatient and want instant results, so test themselves and as soon as you test yourself, you need ample recovery, which defeats the object. For this process to work you need to be patient, very patient and let the body adapt in its own time. Do that and you will be amazed at both the interim and end results.

Important tip for Triathletes: Learnt from 5 time World Champion Simon Lessing of Boulder Coaching: Runners and Cyclists often tend to neglect their swimming as it is a small component of Ironman or Triathlon, but doing more swimming is vitally important. It not only improves your swimming time (even if it is negligible) but it builds your aerobic engine with little chance of injury. As Simon says swimming helps cycling and running but it doesn’t work the other way around and good swimmers are able to be competitive in triathlons a lot sooner than good cyclists or runners. I totally agree with this, so do not neglect the swimming!

A Dream is a Wish until commited to a Plan!

 

Rest and Recovery

Cleansing your system and Recovery

Too many athletes race in training and do time trials to convince themselves that
they are on track. The body has a limited supply of ‘competitive juices’ and
you can either utilize them in the big event itself, or waste them. I have had
great results from athletes, once they have followed a training programme after
a rest, be it a planned rest, or an enforced rest. So cleanse your system by
giving your body a break before embarking on your programme!

After your Goal Race, or after a period of consistent running, you should be looking at a 2 week recovery period, before getting back into the routine of training. Most of us are so motivated the week after a race, that we start too soon and get sick or injured, or we lose our motivation within a few weeks. The reason being your body needs Rest and Recovery!

Once you have started your preparation and you are following a training programme, which should include mandatory recovery days and/or weeks, it is vitally important that you don’t get sucked into racing in training. Stick to the plan, it will pay dividends in the long run and believe in your plan, don’t commit  the cardinal sin of testing yourself in the build up to the big day, or you  will leave your best race on the training turf. (Do not dig up the potatoes,  you may ruin the crop)

Rest  is an integral component of a training programme. I liken the body to a sponge.
If you treat it well, it will always return to its original shape (after
training) and if you abuse it (overtraining), it will wilt. Most South Africans train too hard, too long, too fast with insufficient recovery and I have had the most coaching success with enforcing less over more.

Ockkert Brits once said embrace ‘recovery’, it is the only legal steroid available!

The Importance of Aerodynamics

When I was (still do) struggling with my weight I came across an article by Shayne Kondor that resonated with me and helped motivate me to work hard at dropping my weight and my BMI. In my opinion one of the biggest contributing factor to my success in Las Vegas at the World 70.3 Championships, was the fact that I managed to get down to a decent fighting weight.

Shayne Kondor is/was an experimental aerodynamicist at Georgia Tech Research Institute and an Ironman. The contents of this article which I have summarised are the work of Shayne Kondor.

Most aerodynamicists would be seeking methods to shave some time from a cyclists bike split and Shayne came up with an idea that eminated from wind tunnel drag measurements he had conducted on two cylists of identical weight, but with differing BMI’s (Body Mass Index).

Both cyclists weighed  85kg(188lbs) and were tested on time
trial/triathlon bikes with aerobars and deep section racing
wheels. Cyclist A was fitted on a 53 cm frame while Cyclist B was fitted on a
58 cm frame. If they are the same weight then they must have different builds to be
riding on such different size frames. There was a big difference in Body Mass
Index (BMI) between the two test subjects. Cyclist A had a stocky build with a
BMI of about 27, while Cyclist B was taller and proportionally leaner with a
BMI of about 24. Wind tunnel drag measurements showed that Cyclist B, with the
lower BMI, generated about 10% less wind resistance at the same speed, despite
being on a bigger bike.

Since their bikes were nearly identical, except for frame size, could BMI be a
significant aerodynamic variable? Wind tunnel tests by other aerodynamicists
have found that the cyclist’s body, alone, is responsible for about 2/3 of
their total wind resistance. Logically, the item that generates the most wind
resistance would be the first place to start improving aerodynamics. To get an
idea of how much time can be shaved by a lower BMI, let’s put Cyclist A and B
in a hypothetical 40K time trial on a flat course with no wind. Assume that
both cyclists can generate the same power at the rear wheel. Next, to make
comparison easy, let the stockier cyclist A finish the race in exactly 60
minutes, averaging 40km/hr.
Cyclist B could average 41,3km/hr, for the same effort! Lower
aerodynamic drag lets the leaner cyclist finish almost 2 minutes ahead at the end of
40K.

Dropping a few unnecessary pounds is where aerodynamic improvement should start. A leaner body presents a lower projected area to the wind in any position on the bike;
thus, generates less wind resistance all around. Now lets say you’ve slimmed
down to a 20 BMI, how can equipment further cut wind resistance? The biggest
savings come from aero profile helmets and aero wheel sets, shaving 30-60
seconds from a 40K time, but these were very expensive seconds. Conversely,
just addressing body composition will shave minutes from a 40K time, without
having to buy a thing. While it could be argued that aero wheels have come a
long way in 20 years, shaving some inches off your waist can have equal impact
on your bike splits (and surely cost a lot less!).

Shayne Kondor is an experimental aerodynamicist at Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, GA, and a 4 time Ironman Triathlete. He has 17 years of experience in applied aerodynamics, specializing in active manipulation of air flow to improve control and reduce drag, and is the 2001-2 recipient of the AIAA Certificate of Merit for best technical paper in applied aerodynamics.  He has conducted wind tunnel drag measurements on triathletes, including the 2007 IM Hawaii Physically Challenged Division winner.

Las Vegas World Champs Race Report 2011

Firstly thanks so much for the overwhelming support….. what a tough day/race it was, but I suppose I knew it was never going to be easy, just had no idea it would be as tough as that.

Race week commenced with a few final tune up sessions in Boulder, before transferring Wednesday to Las Vegas…checking out the course, getting everything prepped, etc. I had checked out the opposition and knew I was in for a torrid time, as the field was so much stronger than last year’s World Champs, but it was amazing, I was at peace with that and deep down was relishing the challenge and one guy in particular I was looking to measure myself against was the 2010 Hawaii Champion, Michael Blue as I had missed racing him due to my broken collar bone. I slept brilliantly Friday evening (8 hrs), napped Saturday (too long I thought) and still managed to sleep right through Saturday night, always a good sign and indicator for me. I rose at 03h30 for breakfast and was feeling excited and amazingly not very nervous…..I was ready to go to war!

Swim

Getting to the race start (and the final bits and pieces) went better than expected and then the Pros were off (06h30) and ten minutes later it would be time (we were wave 4), time to test myself, to test my mind as I really believed I was ready physically… it was a wet water start and I had started in a good spot and got a good start, I remember swimming water polo style after 3-400m to see how I was doing and I was lying about 4^th on some good feet and I was pushing really hard.  At about 800m my first challenge surfaced, as I went into oxygen debt and realised I had started too fast(probably misjudged my ability without the wetsuit)… it’s the worst feeling ever, you are less than 15 minutes into a World Championships and you have just ‘blown’, you’ve lost the feet, are in no man’s land and faced with split second decisions… well mine was firstly to ban all negative thoughts/emotions and to try and think rationally/positively and not to panic, so decided to swim breastroke (yes about a dozen strokes as I was hyperventilating) and to wait for the small group about 60m back, in the meantime I had to recover before they caught me. Well I never recovered in that swim, so it was tough hanging onto the next group but I just had to if I was going to salvage something and when I hit land in about 32 odd minutes it dawned on me that I had just had the worst swim of my entire life (worse than last year with the broken collar bone), not a great start. There was a 400m run to ‘Transition’ 1 and I was labouring, this was not going according to plan, but all the while I was trying to remain positive.

Cycle

Onto the bike and what a tough start, uphill all the way out of Lake Las Vegas and I had no idea where I was lying, I imagined top 10, max top 15 so knew there was lots of work to be done, but I had to calm myself down, as I knew this was a demanding bike route, very hilly indeed and more than likely hot in the desert, with a tough run looming. I had discussed tactics with Raynard Tissink on a training ride Friday and he said I could not afford to ride too hard as the run will kill you…. so set about a strong, steady pace but was a little demoralised as I was not catching anybody other than a few ladies who started one wave ahead of us. I refused to look at my computer, for fear of disappointment, so focussed on eating and drinking (yuk….it felt like drinking from a kettle), a saviour for later in the day. I tried not to push the uphills too hard, but was hammering the downhills, something I had learnt from Raynard and a Powermeter.

I got a huge lift when I saw Raynard leading the Pro field, but was dismayed for him when I saw a group of 20 Pro riders working hard to chase him down about 200m back.

I also got a much needed lift when I made the turn and realised I was in the top ten and only about three minutes back…. I realised I must have been riding well and looked at my computer, 36,9km average and it was very undulatinf, so suddenly I realised I was still in the mix and made the turn… so I maintained my pace/effort and went through 60km in 1h37min (which is solid for me) and eventually I started catching a few riders, which helps your mind as riding on your own in the desert can play tricks on your mind. The problem with this course is when you get back to Lake Las Vegas, you still have 20km to Transition 2 and much of it is uphill, but fortunately I had ‘recceed’ this with Ray, so knew what to expect and it’s not that it is steep, it’s just it comes 2 hrs into the ride and your legs are fatigued. Going up the hill out of the National Park (or the Desert), my quads were showing signs of fatigue and shortly thereafter my hamstring started getting tight, so I decided to back off a little over the final 20km to ensure I had legs for the run. It was at this point 2010 Hawaii Champion Michael Blue came past at a rate of knots and I knew he was a good runner, so had to change tact and decided to keep him in my sights. Within no time he was some 200m down the road, but I held that gap until transition and imagined myself duelling this guy for the title. Yes, at this stage I still believed I could do it even though I was outside the top 5!

Run

Into transition, on with the shoes and onto the run route… I was dismayed to hear five minutes down, as that’s a mighty big gap and it does play on your mind. Once again I had to avoid panic and force myself to hold back on the run and at the first turnaround (the run was 3 laps, but you could say 6 laps as midway thru each lap we passed the finish area to do second half of lap) it seemed I may be about 3 min30 secs down. After the turn and it was a solid 3km+ of gradual uphill (about 200m flat per 7km lap, otherwise up or down but not steep…. just a little steeper than Admiralty way but it was hot), so I started working and the gap started coming down and I was feeling comfortable and confident as I knew I had my running legs back, based on my training in Boulder. At 10,5km (halfway), Michelle and the kids told me I was 3^rd just over a minute down and in my mind I knew I had it, if things did not go wrong Note: Thanks to the Gill family for updating and sending over all the time splits to Michelle from South Africa (on your birthday Kimmie…Happy Birthday) and the nice thing is we are allowed to get splits at the World Championships!

But,  it was literally a split second later, disaster struck and I thought my race was over…..

My dreaded calf went into spasm, it was like a knife ripping into my calf the spasm was so severe and I can recall thinking why did I try and save 15 seconds and not put on my compression socks at the swim/bike transition…. shows how my mind was warped after my bad swim…. so I hobbled to the next aid station, stopped for ice and tried to ice it and suddenly the gap was out to 2 minutes again and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to run, if I would finish (sorry finishing would definitely happen, but wasn’t sure if could finish racing)…. so this incident was going to define my race and so many things went through my mind, prayer, the sacrifices, family, my late Dad & Reece who was the catalyst to my getting back into shape and I used each and every one to try and keep me going. Then this dude with 50 on his calf came past with about 8km to go and now it was him and I for the bronze and I recall two things so clearly….. #1 The saying Burn the Boats…. I had burnt the boats, there would be no surrender, no turning back, no quitting, no slowing down and #2 Change your running style…. I’ve no idea where that came from, but in a split second I thought if I keep on running as I normally do, the calf will plague me to the end, so I decided to switch to the Alan Robb shuffle and see if that would work.

So it was me and this stranger who looked so fresh, so strong… but I used an imaginary piece of cotton, attached it to his back and I was locked in, I managed to block everything else out, yes the pain was still there and it was burning but I kept on saying Hospital or Podium, there was no other alternative….. and then we passed Michelle, Natalie and the kids and the gap was coming down again and there was light…. But still 7km to go, the calf was tight, pain etched all over my face and I dare not take painkillers…anyway I was hanging on to this dude and he was pulling me along. I remember thinking how fresh I was compared to the year before in Clearwater, so I knew I had the energy, but the big question was, would the calf hold out, as it was on the brink?

At 5km to go, I started dreaming of the win again… the gap was under a minute now and we had passed the 2^nd placed guy. The turnaround had come and gone now it was a 3km climb, before the final mile downhill….. Jamie was on the side of the road shouting my favourite saying… “Dad, you can, you will, you want to!” and what a lift that was. I was starting to lose ground on the guy with 50 on his calf, only 20m but it was starting to get significant….the pain in my calf was excruciating and I knew I would have to gamble in Las Vegas, but it was a matter of when….. and then we were midway through the final lap and Michelle and Camryn were there like an oasis in the desert, shouting that he is just ahead and I was lifted once more, but I was unsure if they meant the dude with the 50 on calf or Bill Mc Leod who had been leading all day. And then we were all together, three of us shoulder to shoulder, less than 3km to go and it’s amazing how our minds work, as many, many years ago I had dreamt of such a scenario and in my dream I attacked when it hurt most…..and as we turned left for the final climb, I didn’t think twice, I just went as hard as I could and only then did I think to myself what are you doing….it was too late to change tact now, I was committed and I had to make this work, I had to try and break them up the hill…. I pushed and even forgot to drink at the aid station, but just stayed focussed, thinking of my Dad, Reece, Michelle, the kids and some very special friends….and at the turnaround I saw I had 30m and was just hoping the calf would hold out down the hill. I sneaked a look back and the dude with 50 on his calf was holding the gap, I was running scared now…I wasn’t going to lose, if I could help it, from this position… I thought imagine living life knowing you led a World Championship with 500m to go and you lost it…. So I closed my eyes and just ran as hard as I could those final few hundred meters. To be honest I don’t even remember crossing the line, as I collapsed and was whisked into the Medical Tent… the treatment and concern was great, but I needed out of there, I wanted to be with my family, to share the moment, to double check had I won and after about 15 minutes I was discharged and the celebrations began… I had finally realised my dream. (The irony was that the dude with 50 on his calf who pulled me for 8km was a lap behind me, but I was blissfully unaware… no wonder he looked so fresh when he came past me, he had just started running…. Anyway thanks dude you were a great guide sent to help me)

This morning I woke up at 5am and stumbled or hobbled into the lounge to check if there was a trophy, because I thought it was a dream… fortunately it was there and it was a dream come true.

Thanks to my family, my friends, my sponsors in particular Isuzu and also to Cytomax, Orca, Oakley and to Online Innovations. Also a big thanks to Acsis for their support in years gone by and to my colleagues at Consolidated Financial Planning. Also, thanks to the Lord for my talent and giving me the strength to believe that our best days are not necessarily behind us.

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