tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88246577327900822502024-03-13T11:56:56.669-07:00Certa Cito Tri CoachingPaul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-77382845523023727102020-07-03T04:10:00.002-07:002020-07-03T04:17:55.982-07:00Getting the right balance<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>It's not all about blood and sweat</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DumvBarcYblIJ7OPlaooEVQ1x_9TpMGZPiXNydlxdFgtJO8Ajq5C5IwFLnUwmm2k_q7dYWbEPhiWY7Dypl9FxDcjk2cKSMOfa0Nv4RqQ-rs01Qb1g1n3d9wOkAq8IS-2zWbs6CZBTvM/s1600/94570954_10163306670655317_7163803221192867840_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DumvBarcYblIJ7OPlaooEVQ1x_9TpMGZPiXNydlxdFgtJO8Ajq5C5IwFLnUwmm2k_q7dYWbEPhiWY7Dypl9FxDcjk2cKSMOfa0Nv4RqQ-rs01Qb1g1n3d9wOkAq8IS-2zWbs6CZBTvM/s320/94570954_10163306670655317_7163803221192867840_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I read countless articles and see many, many posts by coaches on social media talking about training methods, the best way to increase FTP, how to squeeze out marginal gains, the best nutrition etc etc. But one thing that I very rarely see or read about, apart from a few coaches, is stuff talking about the other side of training, the stuff that goes on away from the pool, running track or on the bike. We can talk all day about how doing certain types of training will boost your FTP or how running to the correct intensity and at the right frequency will increase your run speed, but in mine and other top coaches opinions it's the things we do in our everyday lives that will also have a big impact on our training, race results and longevity in the sport. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">On one of the High Performing Coach forums that I'm on, there was a recent discussion about sweet spot. Not sweet spot as in the narrow band of intensity when cycling or running etc, but the sweet spot of our everyday lives and how maintaining this equilibrium can have a big impact on our training and lives in general. Looking at the diagram above it's clear to see how there are certain aspects that we need to get right in order to maintain the sweet spot. Although there are only three aspects listed there you could also add enjoyment, recovery, stress reduction, etc. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>What do you do to maintain your equilibrium?</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Firstly, what you're doing has to be enjoyable, it's no good having to force yourself to go out and train daily if your heart isn't in it. If you do that, sooner or later it will become a chore and you'll end up falling out with the sport altogether. So keep your targets realistic and remember it's ok to fail, as long as you learn from the mistakes, or what you could have done better. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Away from the training however, it's important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. </span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eat the right foods and don't have too many binge days; maintain a healthy balanced diet and you'll not go far wrong. There's no need to throw yourself into "fad" diets. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ensure you're getting enough sleep; for a lot of athletes we work full time and so have to juggle our training around in order to get the sessions in. For many people, the first thing they'll sacrifice in order to get the sessions in, will be sleep. If you're going to get up early in the morning, go to bed earlier, never ever underestimate the importance of sleep. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Limit day to day stress; almost everyone has a certain amount of stress in their daily lives, whether it's work, family or other concerns. When we're exposed to chronic stress our bodies produce a lot more cortisol and although a natural steroid hormone and essential to your body functioning properly, long term high levels of cortisol in the body can have big knock on effects to many areas of your physiology. Reducing stress is a good way of helping regulate cortisol production and ensuring you stay healthy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Enjoy doing things away from the sport; go for days out with family and friends, spend time relaxing and allowing your body to recovery from the rigors of training. There are 11 systems in the body, systems like the endocrine system, the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, the immune system etc etc and it's important to allow these systems to recover. Just because you don't feel fatigued, don't think that this means that your body is compromised in some way. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Find the right balance; as I said earlier, most of us work full time and a lot of us have families as well, so finding a balance between the training, family and work times is important. Focus on what's really important and fit in your training around that. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Be aware of mental health; many of us will suffer from some sort of mental health illness at some part in our lives, so it's important to recognise this and seek help. Whether that's professional help or just speaking to friends, family or a confidante it's extremely important to talk about things that are bothering you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Enjoy what you're doing; although structure is a key component in getting the most out of our training and races, it's important to enjoy what you're doing and sometimes the best way of doing this is just going out and doing something you enjoy, just ride, just run or just swim. Enjoy the freedom and doing something you love. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Use mindfulness and reflection techniques; in much the same way as a pressure cooker works or when a child is naughty and are sent to the "naughty step", it's important that we do things to help ourselves destress or reflect on things. This might be doing a bit of yoga, or sitting quietly and reflecting, contemplating and focusing on relaxing and letting your mind and body relax. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If you fail to take care of yourself away from the training, things will eventually catch up with you. You might not really notice it, or may only notice it when it's too late, but in order to get the very best out of yourself, it's vital to look after yourself in many more ways than just hitting the sessions on your plan. In order to be the very best you can be, whether that's in terms of as a person or as an athlete it's vital to look at every aspect of your life and lifestyle. Care for others, care for yourself and look after the things that are important. </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Structure can be really helpful</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As mentioned above, there probably aren't any of us that are full time athletes and we're all juggling work, family, training and racing to some extent. It's therefore important to strike the right balance between all these different aspects of your life. Although some people can do this without outside help, for others having an objective set of eyes to look at how your training plan is structured and how it allows you to train and recover effectively around family and work can be priceless. Whether you choose to employ a coach or not, it's essential to sit down and look at how you're going to structure your training and recovery, doing the right amount of sessions for you, at the right intensity and not doing too much hard stuff that will compromise you. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of us have heard the phrase "no pain, no gain", but I think this should actually be "pain, no gain" because doing too much of the hard stuff will guarantee a slippery slope to injury or illness. By doing the correct sort of training and at the right intensity, it will help minimise the risk of becoming overtrained and injured and/or ill. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-64125588958149660392020-02-24T17:40:00.002-08:002020-02-24T17:59:54.148-08:00Stress, being aware of it and how it can affect you.<h3>
<u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Stress</u></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've decided to write this latest blog on stress and how it can affect us, because it's something that's quite pertinent to me at the moment. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we, as coaches, talk to athletes about what factors they think may be affecting their fitness, or in fact their general well being, we get answers like poor diet, injury, not enough time to train etc etc. Rarely do we get responses that include high levels of chronic exposure to stress. Yet, in modern society, around 70% of adults are believed to be regularly exposed to prolonged high stress environments. Whether it's in the workplace, problems at home with just your normal day to day family life, or something more serious, the list is almost endless and the fact is that chronic stress has become a very common factor in most of our lives. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Waaaay back in time, when humans were still living in caves, stress was very useful for hunting and survival, because when a person is stressed the body releases a hormone called cortisol which can improve memory, increase heart rate and deliver a quick burst of energy. It can also reduce sensitivity to pain, which is no bad thing in certain situations. However, in modern society, it's pretty unlikely that we're going to be fighting off a sabre tooth tiger anytime soon. So we've gone from having an acute, short exposure to stress, to a prolonged, chronic stress exposure environment. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chronic stress levels can be a massive influence on our health and well being, as well as being an inhibitor for fitness gains due to a prolonged overproduction of cortisol. Some of the most common side effects of stress include memory loss, a weakened immune system, weight gain, loss of muscle mass and anxiety, to name just a few. Which is why it's important to try and reduce stress as much as we can, whether through exercise, meditation or other methods. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>How cortisol affects the body</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cortisol is the "fight or flight" hormone that's produced by the body's adrenal gland when we experience a situation of high stress, but one of the ways that too much cortisol can affect the body is that it can affect protein synthesis, which in turn will negatively affect the production of new muscle growth or aid muscle recovery following a tough training session or race. Overproduction of cortisol over a period of as little as 4 days can start to have a negative impact on your physiology and you may notice that you start to feel a reduced level of energy, a higher perception of fatigue and more muscle soreness. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although not quite fully understood yet, the effects of cortisol on the retention of fat within the body can often be observed as a higher level of visceral fat within the body. Of the two types of fat (subcutaneous and visceral), it's the visceral fat that's the most dangerous as it generally collects around the major organs and is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease and increased anxiety. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cortisol is also produced during high intensity training sessions as well, so it's vitally important that we recover properly from those sessions, because this can also lead to a prolonged overproduction of cortisol, which can also have the same sort of impact on your physiology as some stressors. Things like a weakened immune system and being susceptible to constantly getting colds, or injuries can also be signs of doing too much HIIT type training and not recovering properly. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sleep, diet and stress</u></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most adults don't get enough sleep as it is, nevermind with the effects of stress affecting us as well. In fact around 30% of adults admit to getting 6 hours or less of sleep per night and with chronic stress acting as a hindrance on us getting to sleep, it can become a vicious cycle.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most important aspects of recovery for an athlete is sleep, yet it's often overlooked or disregarded as not being as important as some other, more tangible forms of recovery. Yet if you don't get enough sleep your cortisol levels in the body can increase by anything between 37% - 45%. Because sleep is such an important aspect of recovery, yet stress can affect it so much, you can see why it's important to try and reduce stress levels wherever possible.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As triathletes many of us are often looking at numbers on the scales to try and achieve race weight, although I believe that body composition, not body weight, is a more important measure, but that's a discussion for another day. However, studies that I've read, podcasts that I've listened to and videos I've watched all highlight how stress can lead to emotional eating, which in turn can lead to depression and obesity. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Something that I've experienced myself and this prompted me to specifically ask the question on a podcast last year, was around emotional eating and how it can affect us. When we're stressed, many people will often turn to something they enjoy eating, unfortunately this often involves high calorie, sugary and fatty foods. However, this can become a vicious circle, we eat because we feel stressed or depressed, then we feel better very briefly before feeling crappy again, so we eat some more and so it can continue. It can be hard to control and there are apps that we can download that will help us to track our calorie intake as well as look at the macro nutrients in the foods we're eating. Everyone's different, but it's important to find a strategy that suits you and that you can use to manage your diet and nutrition if you're trying to curb what may be a poor diet that's spiraling out of control due to stress.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Managing and controlling stress.</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Triathlon, to many novices (and some more experienced athletes too), can seem almost overwhelming with all the acronyms, brands, training methods, rafts of information and general chat being thrown about, so you can see how even something like starting out in a new sport can be stressful. Yet, the very thing you're worrying about can actually affect your improvements. There are literally thousands of coaches around and using the services of a good coach, either by joining a local club, or by employing one will hopefully reduce a bit of the stress that you might feel. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Luckily, with the amount of information and tools available these days, there are lots of different ways that you can control stress. Making sure that you get enough sleep is probably the biggest factor and then other strategies like yoga or meditation can be employed. For some, simply getting out and doing some exercise can be a good stress relief. However, be aware that exercising too hard, too regularly will increase cortisol and can affect the very thing that you're trying to control in the first place. So try just going out and doing an easy session, no watch, no hrm etc and don't worry about uploading to Strava. Simply go out, go easy and enjoy it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's important that you can manage your stress levels and often doing something positive can help this, so preparing a plan of strategies that you can utilise if and when you experience stress, low mood etc is a good way of nipping it in the bud. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's important to recognise, also, what some of the symptoms of chronic exposure to stress can be, some of these can range from being in a depressed or overly/unusually emotional state, a compromised immune system and a general feeling of lethargy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak to me about how I can help you with any aspects of your triathlon training and racing, including the topics that I cover in my blogs, please feel free to message me via my Facebook page; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/">https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paul </span></div>
</div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-65408765254998710782019-09-17T07:57:00.000-07:002019-09-17T08:18:35.000-07:00Anti Doping<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>A Brief History</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm sure we've all heard about doping, unless you've been living on the moon for your entire life. However, a</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">nti doping is a relatively new thing, especially when considering that doping has been around for many decades. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of the earliest doping incidents that I'm aware of is the British cyclist Tommy Simpson, who sadly died during the 1967 Tour de France on the climb up Mont Ventoux. The autopsy revealed that as well as having alcohol in his blood stream there was also the presence of amphetamines and it's widely thought that due to the affect that these had on his mind, the diuretic effect of the drugs and alcohol as well as the heat on the climb, he pushed his body beyond its physical limits and sadly succumbed. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">More recently, many of us will have heard of or remember Ben Johnson smashing the 100m final, and world record, during the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. In fact it was after Johnson tested positive for stanozolol and was subsequently banned and stripped of his gold medal</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and with mounting pressure from athletes and the IOC that WADA (World Anti Doping Organisation) was eventually set up in 1999 and has been coordinating the fight against doping in sport internationally ever since and in 2015 the WADA code was changed and is currently the regulations that everyone is adhering to.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinygBlYbJ9UKtJLjfA329gxrJ63dr-p4CVjjm1bHRKZopIKNz8EDYOxzM5-p80miICZ1vZxN9QtdeP0kTU0wcpi6wmjV_XHNfiAdRgwBsbGFvtUng_0y9fBScjYCLyr_g6vTkYLyAebwQ/s1600/johnson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1086" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinygBlYbJ9UKtJLjfA329gxrJ63dr-p4CVjjm1bHRKZopIKNz8EDYOxzM5-p80miICZ1vZxN9QtdeP0kTU0wcpi6wmjV_XHNfiAdRgwBsbGFvtUng_0y9fBScjYCLyr_g6vTkYLyAebwQ/s320/johnson.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben Johnson winning gold in the 100m final in Seoul 1988</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following the formation of WADA many countries set up their own anti doping bodies, over the next decade or so and in the UK in 2009 the UKAD was set up (UK Anti Doping), which works under the WADA umbrella and is bound by the rules and regulations set out by them. After UKAD was set up it meant that all of the National Governing Bodies (NGB's) in the country were bound to the UKAD practices, rules and regulations regarding doping and drug use, whether prescribed, over the counter medicines, or more "recreational" and banned substances.</span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Anti Doping in the UK, know what you're taking</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">To some athletes, especially at novice level, you might think that doping is something that only elite athletes and pro's do and anti doping, or drug testing is something that only the elites or pro's will be subjected to. As a triathlete the amount of testing in our sport is relatively small, largely due to the infrastructure needed and the cost associated with both in competition and out of competition testing. However the British Triathlon Federation (BTF) is slowly addressing this and you might have heard of numerous age group athletes testing positive for banned substances in the past few years. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might also be forgiven for thinking that as an athlete who isn't racing at the "pointy end" of the field, or as someone who just does small races that you'll never be subjected to anti doping regulations or to a drug test, but the testing can and does happen anywhere. As an athlete it's your sole responsibility to know what you're taking and what you're putting into your body. If you're on a prescribed medication you should think about applying to your NGB about obtaining a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) from your Dr and carrying this with you in your kit bag. You might think that if you're just taking an over the counter medicine for a cough etc you'll be fine. How many of you have heard of Alain Baxter, the former skier who tested positive during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake and lost his bronze medal? All from taking an over the counter nasal inhaler, which, unbeknown to him, contained a banned substance. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlJERlc5JKgpW2KpfBYB5D7pwPbSKZHFiyuEc9UVKKKXzU7aFCLQK4h9nWI7kM5eg4Eox-aCrKZy5n-Bl0VT2n65B7Ih7ikd_CRCiO76UZzPLqg99OCA5ck5U-_YxsRr3PXoO_Pm7lQE/s1600/ukad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlJERlc5JKgpW2KpfBYB5D7pwPbSKZHFiyuEc9UVKKKXzU7aFCLQK4h9nWI7kM5eg4Eox-aCrKZy5n-Bl0VT2n65B7Ih7ikd_CRCiO76UZzPLqg99OCA5ck5U-_YxsRr3PXoO_Pm7lQE/s320/ukad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can check what's on the prohibited list by clicking on this link:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.ukad.org.uk/violations/whats-banned-sport-prohibited-list">https://www.ukad.org.uk/violations/whats-banned-sport-prohibited-list</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition to the general prohibited list, if you're taking medication and are unsure whether it's on the prohibited list, or if it contains ingredients that are on the list, you can check on the Global Drug Reference Online (Global DRO), to put your mind at rest and be on the safe side;</span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://globaldro.com/UK/search"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">https://globaldro.com/UK/search</span></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using supplements is also an issue that you need to be aware of and there are some supplements that you can take, which are freely available and that you'd think are totally safe and exempt from the prohibited list, but they can still contain trace amounts of banned substances. If you look on the <a href="https://www.informed-sport.com/">https://www.informed-sport.com/</a> website, you'll be able to look in much greater detail what you need to be looking out for and potential pitfalls. Many of these are innocent looking supplements like protein shakes etc and are generally no problem at all, but it's something that you need to be aware of. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Pressure to dope</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many, many reasons why people decide to turn to doping and although it's often thought of as a black and white choice of you either dope or you're clean, I think there can be a lot more to it and it's very far from being such a definitive thing. People will decide to dope for many reasons and although I'm 100% behind athlete's being clean, I think that as a coach it's part of our role to understand why people may get their heads turned or become tempted to try it out and it's our job to help educate them and guide them in the right direction, as well as being someone to listen to them and not being the type of person that as soon as someone mentions they might be tempted to dope, not going running off to UKAD. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I first started playing rugby, many moons ago, I was lightning fast but had virtually no muscle mass, by rugby player standards, so although I could evade tacklers I was never going to break a tackle and I'll admit that I did have the odd thought of "well if I just use steroids briefly, it'll bulk me up and will help me". I never went down that road, but I understand that there can be pressure and that particular situation was pressure that I'd put on myself. Pressure can be a massive influence and can be both external factors as I'll mention in a moment, or can be psychological. If someone is struggling psychologically, during their training or racing, they might feel like a little "pick me up" or that doping will help them to achieve their dreams.There can also be pressure from external sources too. If you see someone making huge progress that isn't in line with the training they're doing, or how long they've been active in the sport, or if you're an athlete who's just trying to break into the top AG places but can't quite make it, you might feel pressure or feel tempted to try something to give you that edge. But this is absolutely, categorically, not the way to do it. If you find yourself thinking like this, please speak to your coach or someone who will be able to help you and guide you in the right direction. I think doping is a massive area and is one that can be debated til the cows come home, but one thing that can be said with 100% conviction is that doping is wrong and people who dope may just need educating. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was recently completing the UKAD Accredited Advisor course and one of the quotes that I read was excellent, it said "<i>100% me = 100% pride, it's what's inside that counts</i>". I think that's a great saying and although there may be athletes who are doping and possibly achieving more, you can take huge satisfaction from knowing that all your achievements are your own and aren't enhanced. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZAl80wjJ_aqcIhXjwYn_2-GAF-ypVKvOrj9Kx67eCt9pzG4Kv2mvzCrWusqRwvHykgd-HSzDWv0StL4sEkFIJI668YfR3OhcdJ6M6CL-10vJlipSljL72EpgLFlDIS2e7WPgpFsHPHs/s1600/armstrong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="970" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZAl80wjJ_aqcIhXjwYn_2-GAF-ypVKvOrj9Kx67eCt9pzG4Kv2mvzCrWusqRwvHykgd-HSzDWv0StL4sEkFIJI668YfR3OhcdJ6M6CL-10vJlipSljL72EpgLFlDIS2e7WPgpFsHPHs/s320/armstrong.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going back to the pressure scenario, possibly the most famous doper was Lance Armstrong. As someone who has grown up as a keen cycling fan I used to idolise Armstrong and the way he'd attack or would control races by blowing the opposition away. I didn't believe all the doping stories at first, but it just goes to show that eventually it'll all come tumbling down. It says a lot about how prevalent doping was in that era that the UCI haven't awarded the yellow jersey to anyone else in any of the years that Armstrong was stripped of it, because so many riders in the peloton were doping. In more recent years riders have even said that in order to win you HAD to dope, which is a very sad thing to have to say, but it shows the pressure that some riders were under in order to deliver results. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak to me about how I can help you with any aspects of your triathlon training and racing, including the topics that I cover in my blogs, please feel free to message me via my Facebook page; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/">https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paul </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-60620708661431209802019-09-04T08:18:00.002-07:002019-09-04T13:55:26.883-07:00Helvellyn Triathlon - Race Report<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre Race</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For quite a few weeks leading up to the race people were asking me if I was looking forward to banishing some demons, after crashing out in 2017, but I always said "no" because as far as I was aware I had no demons that needed exorcising. I hadn't really thought about that aspect of my reasons to race at Helvellyn again and, as far as I was concerned, I was just doing the race because I enjoy it, or so I thought. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From late afternoon on the Saturday before the race I started getting flashbacks, not to the actual crash itself, but to what I felt like as I came round after it, with the medics there and the air ambulance, then to the following couple of weeks or so that I was in hospital. It was really weird and was something that I have never had before and it became a bit unsettling. As the evening wore on I was getting more and more anxious and despite going to bed early, due to the early start on Sunday, I ended up only having about 3 hours broken sleep. I didn't tell Ruth or Hannah how I was feeling because I knew that they were both also feeling anxious about me returning to the race that caused all of us so much pain and anguish in 2017. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going into the race I was fairly happy with my bike and swim fitness, neither were anything to shout about but not too bad, all things considered. I hadn't been able to run at all for 5 months, due to injury, leading up to the race, so I was hoping to just try and blag the run and get round as fast as possible. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<br>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race Day</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8j_NBbcFxyiVlOxfWTQwMkpXE58I_WBZ5ier4O2z-CXMFlr3V60nQOQWwUb7v4Cv8FrxLNtHb-D8hYTFYJ35xVI7bJ598PdqEuB2G4BovJVaj-SfmI8Xt5kNhWCUmDFhSgjKJIOY9Hw/s1600/69897772_1374983912656615_5236187448815386624_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8j_NBbcFxyiVlOxfWTQwMkpXE58I_WBZ5ier4O2z-CXMFlr3V60nQOQWwUb7v4Cv8FrxLNtHb-D8hYTFYJ35xVI7bJ598PdqEuB2G4BovJVaj-SfmI8Xt5kNhWCUmDFhSgjKJIOY9Hw/s320/69897772_1374983912656615_5236187448815386624_n.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My alarm went off at 0400, which is just ridiculous and shouldn't be allowed on a Sunday morning. I didn't bother trying to eat anything because I always struggle to eat first thing in a morning anyway and, besides which, I'd got a 90 minute drive up to the Lakes anyway, so could eat in the car and I already had a cold pizza saved from the night before, nothing beats cold pizza on race morning 😊. After checking I'd got everything that I needed for the race and being confident that I hadn't forgotten anything (ha, famous last words) I loaded the car and set off, meeting Jack just before the motorway we travelled up in convoy.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arriving in Glenridding the outside temp was reading 7 degrees and we were having fairly regular torrential showers, wtf?!?! A bit of a contrast from the 28 degree heatwave from the previous weekend!!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Off to registration and getting that sorted out, then back to the car park and getting our bikes and kit out to take to transition. Setting up in Transition it turned out that I had actually forgotten a couple of bits of kit and I really could have done with my gilet for the bike and I had no gloves (so much for being confident that I'd packed everything). Luckily Jack had a spare pair of gloves that he lent me. I ended up trying to put my wetsuit on early because I was so cold and needed to warm up because I was soaked and we were still getting the frequent heavy showers, so I ended up fighting with that for a while because it was wet from the rain, then it was just a case of hanging around, waiting for the race briefing before getting in the water (which they told us was 13 degrees!). </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swim</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCCTdxuAp1-9kwUX4YK4pnYHZvdsUgtoE4aXPwTzDAKTs58N2wNX4P7kdn5QEZqS9i9ZP31I5sdYlV72RlHm7Qw5qctqXvi4bzk-ZAp37JjMONiMrp_cgpEKVGapjU-LcD4DjK0CqN_E/s1600/5397995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCCTdxuAp1-9kwUX4YK4pnYHZvdsUgtoE4aXPwTzDAKTs58N2wNX4P7kdn5QEZqS9i9ZP31I5sdYlV72RlHm7Qw5qctqXvi4bzk-ZAp37JjMONiMrp_cgpEKVGapjU-LcD4DjK0CqN_E/s320/5397995.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was feeling surprisingly nervous before the race and was having all sorts of negative thoughts about racing, which was something that I haven't had for quite a few years now, so it all felt a bit alien, so just tried to push them to the back of my mind and focus on what was in front of me. The swim start was a bit bizarre, the starter said that the hooter "would be going at some point in the next minute", lol. Nothing like keeping you on your toes. People were still sorting goggles etc and getting in position when the hooter went and it was the usual swim start washing machine and there was lots of leaning on legs, bumping and shoving etc but I soon settled into my rhythm and kept hopping onto swimmers feet </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and drafting</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">off them </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for a little while</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> as the passed me</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Although it had been pretty cold when we first got in the water, the swim wasn't as bad as I'd expected and after we'd been swimming for a few minutes my mind was focused on the race and my stroke, so the cold didn't really feature. Rounding buoys I was expecting the usual dunking and jostling for position but it all seemed like quite a civilised affair. Either that or everyone else was in front of me! Although totally uneventful, the swim felt like it took ages and I was sure I'd done a poor time, but getting out of the water at the end of the swim and glancing at my watch, it was a nice surprise to see around 27 mins being displayed, which was a pb for this race swim. Off into T1, with numb feet, grass everywhere and what felt like the slowest transition I'd ever done, wrestling with my twin layer socks that I was wearing in preparation for the mountain trail run that was still to come and drawing plenty of laughs from the other athletes around me. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Lh-9f7avCrt7lmof5wep_HbJx75bpCEmKN_spv4Ro1KuWSl3huEbkFcct_ktoqj8-K03JGoKy0EWJbfbIG0uj_HvBYlAskpu4g1A-SrD58BVReVRhybgc-q4cfl6V6XSj7thGhbLBSc/s1600/69275501_2572105376173027_552916205443219456_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Lh-9f7avCrt7lmof5wep_HbJx75bpCEmKN_spv4Ro1KuWSl3huEbkFcct_ktoqj8-K03JGoKy0EWJbfbIG0uj_HvBYlAskpu4g1A-SrD58BVReVRhybgc-q4cfl6V6XSj7thGhbLBSc/s320/69275501_2572105376173027_552916205443219456_n.jpg" width="256"></a></div>
<br></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bike</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaving T1 I didn't feel great, in fact I felt pretty crap and I felt tired and lethargic and just couldn't seem to get going on the bike. I'd put a jacket on for the bike leg because the forecast was for more strong winds, heavy showers and lower temperatures, but after 7 or 8 miles I was getting frustrated with it flapping in the wind, so I stopped and took it off. I think the Tailwind nutrition had also started kicking in by this point and the caffeine in it had certainly brought me round, so it was just a case of tapping out a rhythm on the climbs and making the most of the my extra "mass" on the descents and I'd find myself flying past people going downhill, only for them to catch me again on the next climb. This went on for about 20 miles or so, until I had really settled into my rhythm and the people who I passed on the descents were no longer coming back past me on the climbs. Going down the road towards Thirlmere we ended up in a line of traffic that was going slow and there were 3 or 4 of us who were stuck behind a line of slower moving cars which gave us chance for a breather and we even had a little chat between us for a few minutes, while we were being held up, but it soon dissipated after a couple of miles or so and we were able to start pushing on again. Going down one of the longer, straighter descents into Grasmere and I dared a glance at my Garmin bike computer and noticed I was nudging just over 47mph on the bike, but I felt really comfortable on it, with loads of confidence now in how it handled and braked. However, all through the bike leg I was keeping one eye on my power output and trying to keep it fairly consistent, with no big surges or pushes and I managed to do that reasonably well, keeping it to around 75 - 80% of my FTP. Plus, the knowledge that The Struggle was also looming ever closer as we got to Ambleside and was always in the back of my mind. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting to the mini roundabout in Ambleside where we turn left and that marks the start of The Struggle I put my chain onto the small ring in preparation, but I ended up rattling through the rest of the gears on my cassette and was soon in 1st gear. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The struggle is just bonkers, being a Cat. 2 climb and with an elevation gain of over 1400ft in less than 3 miles. The initial climb being around a mile long and at over 20% gradient is just a killer, which seems to be never ending. You round a corner expecting it to have levelled out a bit, but it's still there, the wall of tarmac. Through one reason and another and some external stresses I'd put a few lbs on in the weeks leading up to the race and as much of a benefit as it had been on the descents it was now a huge burden and all I could do is take it one pedal revolution at a time, each leg draining, lung bursting eyeball popping revolution was one closer to the top, but I took confidence in the fact that I was still catching and passing a few people though. Towards the end of The Struggle it kicks up again for the last few hundred metres and I honestly thought I was just going to stop and I'd have to push the bike up, it felt like I was pretty much doing a track stand in the middle of the road at one point because I was going so slow, but I managed a smile / grimace for the photographer at the top and then it was done, phew. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfQIjUYW_EnAwn3bq1_uJ3ecSaTunP7q3h9c8nDNiGQcG52ttUDKDR0SUELkesCVkhN1bY2J6xqKX5m8Un_mwR28MgdCUb3PzATP6mte3AtxLuwnVpQ_29VwfXg5UaArK2lgYJvdmFT4/s1600/5363344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfQIjUYW_EnAwn3bq1_uJ3ecSaTunP7q3h9c8nDNiGQcG52ttUDKDR0SUELkesCVkhN1bY2J6xqKX5m8Un_mwR28MgdCUb3PzATP6mte3AtxLuwnVpQ_29VwfXg5UaArK2lgYJvdmFT4/s320/5363344.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Turning onto the Kirkstone descent and my mantra was "just tip toe round the corners", which I kept repeating to myself. I was on the brakes from the top, not letting the speed or bike get away from me and I managed to have a quick look over my shoulder and couldn't see anyone close behind me which felt great, meaning I wouldn't have anyone passing me and making me alter my line going into any of the corners. Going past the point at which I'd crashed in 2017 I made sure I hit the apex perfectly and it was as if a huge weight suddenly lifted as I went through the bend, quite a bizarre feeling really and from then on I got more and more confident in the bike and how well it braked and handled and by the time I was halfway down Kirkstone Pass I was braking later going into corners, knowing it'd slow down and handle brilliantly through the bend. I was absolutely loving it and really buzzing from the descent now. Only a couple of miles to go and I passed a couple more athletes through Patterdale before coming back in to Glenridding and turning into T2, putting any subliminal demons well and truly to rest. Ha, up yours Kirkstone!!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o7n1AUlk_O-24xqtOM7u7AZtxkK38cm7QqkPKJAoeGFidx4M6SZjOdfBWgv3jVmz-tIKDqAPhr72XGI_VCxHyo0A5kqBO8B-ZroGL5Qv6stp9r8FE0M3nk9LJ3dsNnUQHS9rmtd08LA/s1600/69596055_1368527359980240_8629048962243887104_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="626" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o7n1AUlk_O-24xqtOM7u7AZtxkK38cm7QqkPKJAoeGFidx4M6SZjOdfBWgv3jVmz-tIKDqAPhr72XGI_VCxHyo0A5kqBO8B-ZroGL5Qv6stp9r8FE0M3nk9LJ3dsNnUQHS9rmtd08LA/s320/69596055_1368527359980240_8629048962243887104_n.jpg" width="179"></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had a reasonable T2 time (no need to wrestle with the socks this time), picked up my back pack and set off for a nice 9.5 mile jaunt up and over the 3rd highest (and my favourite) mountain in England. Coming out of T2 and I saw Gary, Jack's dad, so I asked him how far ahead Jack was and was surprised that it was only about 10 mins, so I set off trying to peg him back a bit, but it turned out that I was confusing ambition with ability and no sooner had I had that thought when my legs just laughed at me for trying to make them do something they hadn't done for 5 months and decided they weren't going to play. The usual pain in my back had kicked in as soon as I'd started the run so I'd taken a couple of painkillers and it was just a matter of waiting for them to kick in. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The run route for Helvellyn Tri is a "run" in the very loosest sense of the word. You can run for the first half mile at the most, then for most of us mere mortals it's a really tough slog up towards Hole In The Wall before bearing right and being able to run a bit more down towards Red Tarn, before heading up to Swirrell Edge. My ascent was really slow and weary, such was the lack of conditioning in my legs and I was losing loads of time but just kept putting one foot in front of the other and chatting with a few people as they passed me. I'd started cramping by the time I got to the bottom of Swirrell Edge and as is typical it was in my adductors, a really difficult muscle to stretch out the cramp. So there I am, half way up a mountain, getting battered by the wind and I'm punching my leg like I'm trying to tenderise a piece of steak, just to try and release the cramp. Luckily it worked, surprisingly, so I just cracked on with the ascent, stopping every so often when the cramp returned. I love Helvellyn and some of the routes to the summit are brilliant, with Swirrell Edge being among my favourites and because of my rock climbing experience and confidence I managed to make up about half a dozen places during the final scramble to the summit, where the wind and rain was horrendous. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">40 odd mph wind and horizontal rain was whipping at my body and feeling like thousands of pin pricks on any exposed flesh, so on with the windproof jacket and try to jog off the summit. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTM92rJjwKBfrwuIKHoOyKMFF0MBdGqaYbGnHkvP-u7dcgCnumxaqPYLo2uIoOWM9r3-XTbJMxcJWpezKk11sFYbbF-2T05Dt3ozOqhHYQS8-scO2HbIiwDf2D2NPx93rBFAdNAmXLrBw/s1600/5364964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTM92rJjwKBfrwuIKHoOyKMFF0MBdGqaYbGnHkvP-u7dcgCnumxaqPYLo2uIoOWM9r3-XTbJMxcJWpezKk11sFYbbF-2T05Dt3ozOqhHYQS8-scO2HbIiwDf2D2NPx93rBFAdNAmXLrBw/s320/5364964.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a surprisingly long way from the summit to where we drop down Keppel Cove to begin the steep descent and my legs were absolutely battered by this point, so when it got to the steeper parts of the descent I could only shuffle. It became quite frustrating and I was soon </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">haemorrhaging time and race positions, so all I could do was to just keep moving forwards as best I could. I knew well before this point that my target time for the race had gone out of the window so it just became a war of attrition and a case of getting to the finish line. I ran and shuffled as much as I could but I'm sure that valley has got longer since I last did this race! Eventually though, I was passing the old mines and YHA and knew that it was only a mile or so from there so just kept my head down and spirits up, plodding along to the finish area. Coming through Glenridding Village and into the finish chute, it was great to see Jack and Gary there, Jack having had a great race and finished in a superb time, it was good to finally cross the line.</span><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksPVzpqOa4rt2ga5055HO185lYc0i0-xgcHelC-I-qCwys0qnnZr5ztxtoYh0qpNBlYvR-2q1BAi3wCJLjho88SBd0WjUjpZeYP6GX5GuievFAB06l9r7rYa2v-_vCPFbTquwSMc3S4U/s1600/5400036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksPVzpqOa4rt2ga5055HO185lYc0i0-xgcHelC-I-qCwys0qnnZr5ztxtoYh0qpNBlYvR-2q1BAi3wCJLjho88SBd0WjUjpZeYP6GX5GuievFAB06l9r7rYa2v-_vCPFbTquwSMc3S4U/s320/5400036.jpg" width="213"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT8wHSWd1W9r4K5cvrGhL2LEmfYemSF2rkmS3GN4FQmcY15etuUdN6GBdPRO8o71ISUCtv7h1ZAddznD_AVSiBQo0OXQkw8S6U3neD8gi6IwSP-zyfcEQsQa4nap3CcvuYzPHmueKgGM/s1600/20190903_151937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1422" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT8wHSWd1W9r4K5cvrGhL2LEmfYemSF2rkmS3GN4FQmcY15etuUdN6GBdPRO8o71ISUCtv7h1ZAddznD_AVSiBQo0OXQkw8S6U3neD8gi6IwSP-zyfcEQsQa4nap3CcvuYzPHmueKgGM/s320/20190903_151937.jpg" width="284"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<br>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Summary</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Up until the day before the race I was feeling fine about taking on Helvellyn Triathlon again and I'd had no nerves or apprehension about doing it, so when the flashbacks and anxiety kicked in on the day before the race it was a really bizarre feeling, so maybe there was something in my subconscious that was drawing me back there, who knows. Maybe I did feel like I needed to get rid of some demons from that descent at Kirkstone. I'm so glad that I didn't shy away from this race after what happened in 2017, but I've never been one for dwelling on things like that and there's a really good phrase that I like using <i><b>"don't let your worst enemy live between your own two ears"</b></i>. If you suffer adversity, keep looking forward, stay positive and draw strength from those around you, never be afraid of telling people how you feel or asking for help, whether it's sport related or in life in general and never let things get out of control and stop you from doing something you love. Take stock of things, reflect and evaluate things, but always, always try to remain positive and looking forward.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing I do know is that Helvellyn Triathlon is the toughest race of this distance that I know of, but it's a fantastic test of strength, determination and skill. I'm not totally happy with my finish time, but knowing the reasons behind that, I know that the next time I race here I'll be in better condition for the run and will hopefully achieve the result that's eluded me on the three previous attempts on this course. Lastly, it was great to race alongside Jack, a fellow team mate from Invictus Tri, who has gone through a remarkable transformation as a triathlete over the past few years and who was doing Helvellyn Triathlon for the first time, he had a great result and I'm sure he'll be back there again in the future, along with a few other amazing team mates from Invictus Tri in Wigan, who are also looking for a new challenge. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUKOEpPwPqavZYVy3shTzFBcZXi2uuIiFJJIO7_XVhLyXn4bhO8jm7kP6os7DVs1OY52cKTDSv0lCfaUsNJ5r96QSkT0kLz4ai7-WNNPRl8Ur5p__2snRZ8V5Wiivy7cCO2SGEheglFA/s1600/69644833_2488277701263464_5422433710559461376_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUKOEpPwPqavZYVy3shTzFBcZXi2uuIiFJJIO7_XVhLyXn4bhO8jm7kP6os7DVs1OY52cKTDSv0lCfaUsNJ5r96QSkT0kLz4ai7-WNNPRl8Ur5p__2snRZ8V5Wiivy7cCO2SGEheglFA/s320/69644833_2488277701263464_5422433710559461376_n.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-83510779538464679532019-06-06T16:42:00.000-07:002019-06-06T16:44:09.111-07:00Should I do an Ironman (or any endurance race)?<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Should I sign up for an endurance event?</b></u></span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmaTlrPo9Us6txolLVtm8VTx7kLQ6hQ_eQ2GMjEAS93-_L1x_HqjgmizTKL1_EgLnWicY6LFSKP7gfWlfHd1l0xkGcL-tEvzerzkcLncAeHfMJl08RpfOGHvI-1fTDHw-L3Yi_YiIQF0/s1600/IMUK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1022" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmaTlrPo9Us6txolLVtm8VTx7kLQ6hQ_eQ2GMjEAS93-_L1x_HqjgmizTKL1_EgLnWicY6LFSKP7gfWlfHd1l0xkGcL-tEvzerzkcLncAeHfMJl08RpfOGHvI-1fTDHw-L3Yi_YiIQF0/s320/IMUK.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A very common trend that we often see, immediately following a very large race that generates a lot of focus from the triathlon and endurance community, is a sudden surge in people signing up for the same event the following year, with many of them being first timers or novice athletes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is great and serves to generate both more interest and revenue for the event organisers, local businesses and community and also builds the triathlon community / sport too. However, what we also see time and time again is that people sign up for an event often off the back of the "romance" of seeing athletes and club mates race in and complete such an event, but without having given considerable thought to everything that goes into completing an endurance event. Even before the first length has been swam or run is done or pedal turned on the bike, there are several questions that you should be asking yourself about signing up for such an event. Hopefully this post will help you to make an informed decision before signing up and spending hundreds of £'s on a race.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What motivation do I have for entering such a race?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How long am I giving myself in order to get fit enough to complete the race?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why am I competing in the race? ie, is it a long term ambition or just a new challenge?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">will I be able to fit in the training around my lifestyle, incl. work, family and daily routine?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What support do I have in place during the training? Family, coaching, team mates</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And those are just some of the questions that you should ask yourself before you even start thinking about training for the event and thinking about your age, your current fitness levels, your sporting background, what you want to achieve from the race, where will I get a training plan from? etc. etc.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, starting at the top;</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Motivation</span></h3>
<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-EK9Kz6_vE5yWu9RzJ6qIx8z2g8D96a2FTUBaYd4zwtqIPSGfB28omoVucsLUpgR6WKQhzax1Ks6zNw1Wm0o9D0kipMNK3MUYCHXKXyXifyJifr0A5GVzcnAIO_IA3xp1RrL42biFgE/s1600/motivation2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-EK9Kz6_vE5yWu9RzJ6qIx8z2g8D96a2FTUBaYd4zwtqIPSGfB28omoVucsLUpgR6WKQhzax1Ks6zNw1Wm0o9D0kipMNK3MUYCHXKXyXifyJifr0A5GVzcnAIO_IA3xp1RrL42biFgE/s200/motivation2.jpg" width="200" /></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Motivation can be one of the most powerful influences when choosing, signing up or training for a race. Is this a race that you've done before, or is there a specific reason why you've chosen this race? Be it fundraising, in memory of a friend or loved one, or that you simply want to get a new PB? There are many, many motivating factors for signing up for a race, above are just a few of them. Maybe you're part of a club and they often have a really good showing at this race and you've thought "I want a piece of that". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Timescales</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASXv1hwEocCQXp8opvTiMLkaVKXOrA9JIu8C4uazJTZeJlFf2zomHHhgiZI_nqeElkYs2rCShSOU1PYq1uOStYnRH0e3USYv9Z0msQLts2eUuK4UpefWd5n7ylncZkdkiSdSaek5v5Ho/s1600/calendar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="566" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASXv1hwEocCQXp8opvTiMLkaVKXOrA9JIu8C4uazJTZeJlFf2zomHHhgiZI_nqeElkYs2rCShSOU1PYq1uOStYnRH0e3USYv9Z0msQLts2eUuK4UpefWd5n7ylncZkdkiSdSaek5v5Ho/s200/calendar.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you've decided that you're definitely going to enter a particular race, what sort of timescales are you allowing yourself to prepare for the event? In my experience, it's possible for pretty much any able bodied person to complete an Ironman. However, what time you do it in will be reflected by both the amount of time you spend getting fit for the event and also your pre existing athletic ability. I've known athletes complete an Ironman with as little as 8 weeks specific training, or some have built up to it over a year, 2 years and sometimes longer. Wanting to complete an Ironman is a great goal, but if it's your first triathlon and you've not exercised for a long time, expecting to get the best out of yourself with a 6 month training plan isn't going to yield the best results. So make sure that you've given due consideration to how long you expect it to take you to prepare for the race. Ideally, speak to similar athletes as yourself and, ideally, speak to an experienced coach.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lifestyle</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V3QlLIFDoXgrksNLtH5e1Cp9PYE19fH_Pv8-MRq8H0UhCdanWGcD-4irUrTXv3OUMG7ZvDIgRzbvLUq64xDWwa60V6_8E2rOzFFRVTb1Yx7_JIcQengqORLKSqtKzxFH3AnNyy9iHnM/s1600/lifestyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1300" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V3QlLIFDoXgrksNLtH5e1Cp9PYE19fH_Pv8-MRq8H0UhCdanWGcD-4irUrTXv3OUMG7ZvDIgRzbvLUq64xDWwa60V6_8E2rOzFFRVTb1Yx7_JIcQengqORLKSqtKzxFH3AnNyy9iHnM/s200/lifestyle.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A big part of deciding whether to take on an endurance event is to consider what sort of lifestyle you currently lead. What sort of job do you do and will you be able to fit in training around that? Do you have a family or children that will inevitably take up a lot of your spare time. All too often we find ourselves making plans and then having to change them due to family circumstances, often at the last minute. How much stress do you have in your life? This can be day to day things like finances or relationships, as well as work related stress or other issues. Sleep deprivation is also a cause of increased stress levels. If you still enjoy going out to pubs at weekends and drinking with your mates, then eating a kebab on the way home, or watching tv sat on the sofa, eating takeaways, then you need to make the decision of whether or not you can put all that on the back burner for a while, whilst you completely change your lifestyle and follow a training plan? All of the above, and more, can play a huge part in affecting your training plan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Support network</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojXAc4vdXDbQAnF_Itdib0M_ysVQp1flI4VScPoF8jNlpEYtq7UWiwlmM013s8xlnl5vakh9NHuRYhV3q13CcaaVTZvUCNfr-7yGwdD30IhiDn7tEPbPwhpUThB14OvBPaBPb4rhOLyM/s1600/support.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="730" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojXAc4vdXDbQAnF_Itdib0M_ysVQp1flI4VScPoF8jNlpEYtq7UWiwlmM013s8xlnl5vakh9NHuRYhV3q13CcaaVTZvUCNfr-7yGwdD30IhiDn7tEPbPwhpUThB14OvBPaBPb4rhOLyM/s320/support.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When signing up for an endurance event you also need to consider your support network. This will often tie in with what's been spoken about above. By far the biggest part of the support network for most people is family and friends. If you have a partner or spouse who is fully supportive of your goals, or if you have parents who can help with childcare duties this will help massively. If you have a good boss at work, they may allow you a bit of flexibility in your hours if you need to start or finish work early some days, in order to train, this may be accommodated. Having a coach, although not essential, is a really good idea as it's someone who will offer you an expert opinion and will pick up on things that you may be missing, both training wise and lifestyle, as well as someone who will also help to motivate you and should understand the stresses that you're putting your body through as you train. Also, being part of a club with some like minded athletes is a huge advantage too. In my experience, quite often athletes who train in a triathlon club and follow a structured plan will fare better than those who tend to go it alone, especially if they go it alone and are self coached (although this is obviously doesn't apply to all of them).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Additional considerations</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you've given thought to the above, you will then start to think about other influences on whether or not to sign up for a race. Things like </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">age, your current fitness levels, your sporting background, what you want to achieve from the race etc. etc..</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although individual areas, the above and everything else in this post are all interlinked. For example, you may think "I'm only 25, I can easily do an Ironman". However, if you're 25 and have led a sedentary lifestyle for a number of years, you may struggle with the training load more than some one who is, for example, 50 years old but has trained regularly. This then obviously links in with the individuals current fitness levels. In my opinion, if someone can commit to a fully structured and progressive training plan that is specifically tailored to a certain distance / athlete type, then there's no reason why anyone shouldn't be able to complete an endurance race. It may take someone from a sedentary background and who is carrying a few more lb's a bit longer to prepare for an Ironman, than someone from a more energetic background, but there is absolutely no reason why each of them, or in fact anyone, can't reach their goals. All that being said, considerable thought needs to be given to whether you can actually commit to the time that's needed to train for an Ironman. Plans can consist of as little as 10 hours per week of training, but many of them peak at around 16 to 20 hours per week of training. So if you work full time and or have family commitments, it can be a real struggle to fit it all in. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being able to tailor your training plan to your own needs is very important and with the help of a coach or within a club environment of like minded athletes, this can be achieved much easier. Almost any training plan will work, there's no magic wand or secret formula that makes a particular plan special, but some have the benefit of being well established, or published in well known books and websites.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being a coach with considerable experience in getting a vast diversity of athletes through Iron distance races, endurance events and all triathlon distances from sprint upwards, and with well over 10 years experience in triathlon and other sporting disciplines, I can offer tailored, fully structured and progressive session plans to anyone from complete novice to age grouper. If you'd like to chat and discuss your needs, I can be contacted by following the link below to my coaching page</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bwAuh1vmHBDNrsgZGcoAyTpIvzRm-JGPY4ubL4agVGlCqdw23zMBpNn5nr_DVsCbPuy452WnJmc88UDvnpcr-PsA3DG2R-S2dWYhb7_xIAJ3CiTysEyQQtJTrepe02q1vUDBk19kuQM/s1600/17021747_1845972339015560_3940053126378569721_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="749" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bwAuh1vmHBDNrsgZGcoAyTpIvzRm-JGPY4ubL4agVGlCqdw23zMBpNn5nr_DVsCbPuy452WnJmc88UDvnpcr-PsA3DG2R-S2dWYhb7_xIAJ3CiTysEyQQtJTrepe02q1vUDBk19kuQM/s320/17021747_1845972339015560_3940053126378569721_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-30863554377523449852019-02-08T03:47:00.003-08:002019-06-06T16:52:50.193-07:00The importance of swimming<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>How important is swim training for triathletes?</u></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2NtN8KCpH3nw7l7Zl_wlOw9WyQxLFyJS9WzDBV_S60LpVGoWkuoBWqM-d3cjEI735bP23tiMEXLvvD_U284h0ZhXpv92PpkdaW_-Hhmxx-U9Ai0vZRchAd4L_0TyQSvdU-HUOwMDmx4/s1600/swim1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2NtN8KCpH3nw7l7Zl_wlOw9WyQxLFyJS9WzDBV_S60LpVGoWkuoBWqM-d3cjEI735bP23tiMEXLvvD_U284h0ZhXpv92PpkdaW_-Hhmxx-U9Ai0vZRchAd4L_0TyQSvdU-HUOwMDmx4/s320/swim1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this post I want to talk about the importance of swim training. I'm not going to go into technical stuff about stroke analysis or how we break down the stroke when doing stroke correction or coaching, but I want to talk about why I think triathletes should swim a lot and the knock on effects that can have when doing a race.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When training for a triathlon, especially a long distance triathlon, it's far from uncommon to hear people say "I just want to get through the swim" or "I'll just about survive the swim". Similarly, when I talk to people who say they'd love to do a triathlon but the swim puts them off, this doesn't have to be and shouldn't be seen as a barrier, but just another element of the sport that an individual needs to train on as much as the other disciplines, and in many cases even moreso. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Ironman swim</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uCwTrkrxzIwcgVhFA02PmSWtEexghTcXOFZzcrxreP7c8JJv6aT_Nd0YXHBNMYUs-PrVuciy6adx6ZXrAxhPSrQ1zx1EDk-DrdL8BJWqiroz7IfWe_gDe4z0U1wIyxeWo-lItNjzPXc/s1600/imuk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uCwTrkrxzIwcgVhFA02PmSWtEexghTcXOFZzcrxreP7c8JJv6aT_Nd0YXHBNMYUs-PrVuciy6adx6ZXrAxhPSrQ1zx1EDk-DrdL8BJWqiroz7IfWe_gDe4z0U1wIyxeWo-lItNjzPXc/s320/imuk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When people sign up for an Ironman, it's a huge commitment to take on, with most training plans peaking at anything between 15 - 20+ hours per week. However, with up to 50% of the overall plan being dedicated to the bike training, that leaves less than 25% of the plan to be utilised for the swim and run. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Concentrating on the swim for this post, if you look at the swim itself, it can have an absolutely profound impact on your race. You need to be absolutely confident that you can swim the distance and well within the cut offs. On race day there's going to be a fair amount of nerves, anxiety, fear and even excitement as you all get herded into the starting pens and the look of fear on some athletes faces being really noticeable. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then there's the swim itself, you jump off the pontoon for the rolling start and that's it, you're suddenly racing in an Iron distance event, the adrenalin kicks in and you set off like a torpedo. Kicking your legs, thrashing your arms while trying to find some clear water. Your rhythm and breathing goes out of the window and before you know it you look up expecting to be near the far buoy, but you've only gone 400m, not always in a straight line and you're gasping for air. At this point you've still got about 3.5km to swim. The affect that going anaerobic, even for a relatively short time during the swim, will catch up with you later in the race and will almost certainly slow you down as your body deals with the delayed reaction and accumulative fatigue. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you think about it in simple numbers, very few of us are going to become sub 1hr Ironman swimmers. However, with a dedication to training, pacing and efficiency, I'm convinced that many people are capable of around 1hr 10mins. However, if you look at the swimmers who say "I'll just aim for 1hr 45min" etc. That's an additional 35 mins swimming (of which there's a danger of trying to make it up on the bike), which is an extra 35 mins on their finish time, which at an average fuel expenditure of 100cal every 10 mins, is an additional nutritional deficit of 350cal, which you probably wont notice for the next 8, 9 or 10 hours, but it'll always be there. When you look at it in those terms, it's easy to see how important the swim is and how it can affect the rest of your race. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swim training</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWDTWqGRvDHzj4PftF_jBAfiufWUaJ5MSW8vDckfzgZKSpOPR_D_Ywfn6SoFBi7ClNLL_onkwasQV3POD2TAs0RZkGIqIOckXciKJt_BQOnRCRl4-_smVJWud3l3m9Zsur3aSAFJmLmc/s1600/swim2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="800" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWDTWqGRvDHzj4PftF_jBAfiufWUaJ5MSW8vDckfzgZKSpOPR_D_Ywfn6SoFBi7ClNLL_onkwasQV3POD2TAs0RZkGIqIOckXciKJt_BQOnRCRl4-_smVJWud3l3m9Zsur3aSAFJmLmc/s320/swim2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As triathletes it's no secret that we all love a gadget or something that we think is going to unlock that magic box and turn us into Lucy Charles or Harry Wiltshire overnight and whilst many of the training aids work, there's no substitute for just getting in the pool and swimming. Obviously, to make the most improvements you need to have a coach who can identify areas that are holding you back, then work on those rigorously and reap the rewards.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swimming is unlike any of the other disciplines in triathlon, where simply doing more won't yield exponential improvements. ie, If you want to get faster at cycling you do more specific speed work and strength work along with the endurance work. Similarly with running, if you want to get faster you do more running to a structured plan and you'll make improvements. However, with swimming, if your head or body position isn't correct, or you've got "sinky legs" or a poor and inefficient kick etc, there's only so far you'll get before you stop making improvements. Swimming isn't really about strength, it's about efficiency and how effectively you slip through the water. We've got a swimmer in our club who is a very slim teenager, but she's the fastest in the club. She's not as strong as most of the adult athletes but she's thrashing us all in the pool. Swimming is about efficiency and making yourself as streamlined as possible in the water, which, when coupled together with an effective stroke can make a massive difference. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another great benefit of swimming is how good it is at improving aerobic fitness. Even the shortest distance triathlon is an aerobic event because you're going to be racing for at least an hour in most cases and if you're doing an Ironman it's going to be anything from 10, 11 12 hours up to 17 hours, so you need a massive aerobic engine that will get you through the race. Swimming is also non impact training, so it's not going to affect your run or bike training, in terms of fatigue or if you've got a niggling leg injury and it's a good idea to nip to the local pool as often as you can and do an ad hoc swim. It's all going to work on your fitness and your swim fitness will transfer to your running too, but not vice versa.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the risk of going off on a tangent, I have a friend who is a pretty good runner and she did an Ironman in 2016. She knew she was a good runner, but lacked confidence in the water and on the bike, yet she concentrated on her running, which helped her achieve a sub 3.30 run on the day. However, if she'd trained for the other two disciplines in a more structured manner and knocked more time off her bike and her swim, which would have been perfectly achievable, she'd have qualified for Kona and the World Champs!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So next time you think you're just going to "get through" the swim, or you hate swimming etc, think about how much of an impact it could have on your overall race and the potential gains that can be made by embracing swim training and making improvements</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Train Smart</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sutty</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-46296778563940530912018-12-09T04:56:00.001-08:002019-06-06T16:53:31.862-07:00Testing and its importance<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Testing, why should we do it?</u></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the years that I've been competing in triathlon and more recently as a coach, I've come to realise just how obsessed many athletes are by numbers and data. So much so that some athletes are more intent on how their Strava uploads look, compared to what the objectives of their training plans are. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuEnljelkFIZmfgNYQZ8Kt8aiYnie7py1yTygn7418eKTj3u7YMMiVZM2fafVmb0E2Y7995LKKAwaZmRPYFDmKfzuIitZv1lLuZVwnvciDohhaGy4ZTcheMvqdsg_KM2VjnjFq6cw5m0/s1600/strava.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuEnljelkFIZmfgNYQZ8Kt8aiYnie7py1yTygn7418eKTj3u7YMMiVZM2fafVmb0E2Y7995LKKAwaZmRPYFDmKfzuIitZv1lLuZVwnvciDohhaGy4ZTcheMvqdsg_KM2VjnjFq6cw5m0/s320/strava.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've seen people stopping their watches during the recovery periods on an intervals run, so that when it's uploaded to Strava, it only shows how fast they've done the individual intervals. I've seen athletes deliberately push too hard in low intensity aerobic endurance sessions, just so that their min/mile numbers look better, the examples go on and on. This isn't something that I'm the only coach to notice though, I read an interesting article from an extremely highly regarded coach a few weeks ago, whereby he was stating that he thinks that many athletes are training so that their Strava uploads look good, or their training figures are the most important thing to them, rather than actually training to race. And in this era of social media, where everyone seems to scrutinise everyone else's figures etc, and there's a lot of peer pressure, it's easy to see how people can get sucked into this mindset.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All that said, however, I think there is a time and a place where numbers and data are important and that's during testing.</span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Why do testing?</u></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JC2aG5f7Dal0Z2oYQ-7741iX3nnxn2farYZ5IKFJru5vpIYFhJr_0MDshWFh726WQClyZXfMiAE3MHKpHzUygaHMD9dR6xcWpY7ltDeYPkTBdIWqkY6DuqHVn9z-Qeuf5hCAP0sfuxo/s1600/VO2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="920" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JC2aG5f7Dal0Z2oYQ-7741iX3nnxn2farYZ5IKFJru5vpIYFhJr_0MDshWFh726WQClyZXfMiAE3MHKpHzUygaHMD9dR6xcWpY7ltDeYPkTBdIWqkY6DuqHVn9z-Qeuf5hCAP0sfuxo/s200/VO2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my opinion I think that regular testing can help yield a lot of information about a particular athlete and how their training is going. There may be areas that require some remedial attention, or it may highlight other issues, ie, anxiety, stress, fatigue, injury, illness etc. etc. as well as showing any progress that an athlete is making. At the club where I coach, I deliberately add a "test week" at the end of each training block and it's been through these regular tests that we've helped to shape an athlete's training and also it's highlighted some athletes who have needed to rest / recover better and even a couple who I have advised to take a complete break from training in order to prevent too much fatigue and a risk of developing overtraining syndrome. The tests that we do are exactly the same each time and are carried out at the same locations, with the only variables being the weather and the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">state of the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">athletes current fitness / health. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many different forms of testing, each with their own aim and to a novice athlete it's understandable that it may seem like information overload, with a battery of tests and acronyms like VO2 Max test, FTP test, Lactate Threshold test, CSS Test, etc. However, with correct coaching and with someone to guide the athlete through these tests they can be extremely helpful in allowing an athlete to better gauge their intensity during sessions and, more importantly, their race pace or strategy. </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Using test data to help race strategy</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we carry out testing regularly it helps us to better "dial in" how hard we can push ourselves, how we can pace the swim, bike and run better and to help prevent us from flying off at the start and then blowing up later in the race. Personally, as an athlete and coach who is striving to gain a better knowledge and understanding of how training and racing at different intensities will affect me, I often "experiment" with things in training to help me race better. I'll often carry out a Functional Threshold Power, or FTP test, which will establish the theoretical power that I should be able to hold for 1 hour. During the last time trial bike test that I did, where we do a Time Trial on a 2.1 mile loop I was relatively new to training with power so I tried to ride the whole test at 100% of what my FTP was at the time. I managed to hold it for about 6 or 7 laps and then struggled for the last 6 miles or so. The next time I did the same test, at the end of the next training block I decided that I'd try to ride at about 75% to 85% of my FTP, which is more in line with the power output that I'd try to hold for the bike leg on an olympic distance triathlon. What I found was that I felt much stronger later into the ride and I was actually just over a minute faster than the previous test. Obviously, some of the time difference may be down to weather differences, or my improved fitness, but what it showed me is that by reducing my power output slightly, I was able to pace the test better.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREuLQOheJeQyLrsnfvagF_BqFsJk9BoMSILJShHJ5rVhyphenhyphen9sG9oPnXZ2leLIKjnYxygY0rfCeAWto88sC57wJJz5NxNJ0XEjHTDnxDjt-GzQSUtQlFN85Usgmy52Xr1k-EqQBUVSEeyrQ/s1600/Pimbo+TT.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="810" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREuLQOheJeQyLrsnfvagF_BqFsJk9BoMSILJShHJ5rVhyphenhyphen9sG9oPnXZ2leLIKjnYxygY0rfCeAWto88sC57wJJz5NxNJ0XEjHTDnxDjt-GzQSUtQlFN85Usgmy52Xr1k-EqQBUVSEeyrQ/s400/Pimbo+TT.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cycling isn't the only area that testing can be beneficial though. By doing regular testing for CSS, or Critical Swim Speed in the pool, or by doing regular Lactate Threshold Heart Rate testing for running we can learn from the data collected in those tests and, over time, we can learn a great deal about our pacing strategy and how hard we can push ourselves. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPwyEuMTAlyMAWfpI1UnzmR_O4NyidBOJGe3XeuOQWCo7azWrFTNnM9UXr_VGGlJ5xqH4Fbr1i1yY09qMzTm5q-APKmXZK-fkdgat6fQlzQijXyMUetWdfRNE1bORok1aIXmvbGjEof8/s1600/CSS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPwyEuMTAlyMAWfpI1UnzmR_O4NyidBOJGe3XeuOQWCo7azWrFTNnM9UXr_VGGlJ5xqH4Fbr1i1yY09qMzTm5q-APKmXZK-fkdgat6fQlzQijXyMUetWdfRNE1bORok1aIXmvbGjEof8/s1600/CSS.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Explaining Swim Smooth CSS theory</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For example, when we do CSS testing, this can help to establish the theoretical pace that we can swim at for a 1500m swim. How many of you have set off in a race, especially if it's a pool based swim, and thought that you were feeling great, only to end up gasping for air after 4 or 5 lengths? We all know why this is and if you go all out at the beginning, you're going to pay for it later in the race. By doing CSS swim sessions that have been gauged following a CSS pace established through testing, we can become more accustomed to what it feels like to swim at a particular pace. It may feel really easy for the first few lengths or first half of the swim, but as you tire you'll be glad that you haven't gone off too fast and you'll often find that your overall swim time is a lot faster than you expected.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZUe2e5rTp9ab1TFX5TguGhR0fCx2c0ts8geIYX4x6TQwabKSgP425VrHLWPCObk6GQkNM0onlCRwPl4L2P5UNBXwTmJjh795YvC7IuIfwn_eGPh0I4p7r_9slHRK4eFanEV9L4jnybE/s1600/lactate-chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="1024" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZUe2e5rTp9ab1TFX5TguGhR0fCx2c0ts8geIYX4x6TQwabKSgP425VrHLWPCObk6GQkNM0onlCRwPl4L2P5UNBXwTmJjh795YvC7IuIfwn_eGPh0I4p7r_9slHRK4eFanEV9L4jnybE/s400/lactate-chart.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the tests that I think has seen more of our club members benefit from, than any other, is the lactate threshold heart rate test. I mentioned in an earlier article that heart rate training shouldn't be the be all and end all for training, because it can be affected by many variables. If you're suffering from fatigue, tiredness, stress, anxiety, injury or illness, these are all factors that will have an affect on your heart rate. However, when using heart rate in conjunction with RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) it can be a great tool for helping your training and racing. By doing regular testing we can establish heart rate training zones for athletes and the more we do these tests the more we can "iron out" any discrepancies. We'll see where an athlete is suffering from one of the ailments mentioned above and we can learn what the optimal heart rate is for a particular type of training. ie, if you're doing an aerobic run you want to be doing it at a very low intensity, alternatively, if you're doing an intervals session you want to be pushing yourself hard. In my opinion, I think that by training to heart rate it can also help to develop an athletes psychology too. By that I mean that if you regularly train to heart rate you'll know how long you can hold a particular intensity for, so when you're nearing the end of a race and your heart rate is climbing you can tell yourself that you know you can hold that intensity for a certain length of time and will be able to keep pushing. It may feel like you're on your chinstrap and can't push any harder, but a little glance at your hr and you might think "oh, I know I can push harder than this". </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Using test results to establish training zones.</u></span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPdw31i0VdHLWWAX-2HaDSZCQIqUj6GAI-TR8dnVHD9mowtmNy8ie2q_eT8TbFQj8jbSY_Z1bf3evXX62cuoGeRiyvcd-4ef5Hshowy8irOtUU87xUYnFyFLapR1jqeu9TcBUBdZYYYU/s1600/Zones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="728" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPdw31i0VdHLWWAX-2HaDSZCQIqUj6GAI-TR8dnVHD9mowtmNy8ie2q_eT8TbFQj8jbSY_Z1bf3evXX62cuoGeRiyvcd-4ef5Hshowy8irOtUU87xUYnFyFLapR1jqeu9TcBUBdZYYYU/s400/Zones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Friel's training zones used in triathlon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However you look at it and whatever distance you're racing, triathlon is an endurance sport so we have to train as such.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are a few different ways of doing this, but one of the most widely used is the polarised training method where you'll split your sessions between being extremely easy, low intensity sessions and then other sessions at an almost max effort. The most widely recognised split of these intensities is to do 80% of the training in zone 1 and zone 2, with the remaining 20% or so done in zone 4 upwards. The vast majority of athletes who I have coached and trained with have all said that they've noticed huge improvements when they've adopted this training method and their results have been spectacular in some cases. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I'm trying to explain the importance of using the polarised training method, I'll often use the following analogy; Imagine your body is like a diesel engine and when you do your training at a low intensity, ie zone 1 and 2, you're developing an incredibly efficient engine, that will go for miles and miles on very little fuel and with very little risk of damage or injury. Then, when we combine this with the shorter, really high intensity sessions, this is like bolting a big turbo charger on the side of the engine. All of a sudden you've got this incredibly efficient, powerful engine that can deliver some fantastic top end speed, but also hold it there for a period of time as well. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope the above has helped and, as always feel free to contact me with any questions or queries and I'll do my best to answer them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Train smart</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paul</span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-81203836680500528002018-10-21T09:31:00.001-07:002019-06-06T16:54:46.324-07:00It's all about the bike!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>It's all about the bike</u> may sound like a cliche, or a well known book. But when it comes to triathlon, and more importantly, middle (70.3) and full (140.6) distance races it's far, far more than just a cliche. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvmiT14SUYTVk_yAPeo14oGDFo52-bCoX4AqGJGW1nzGIOiVWlX01eRb_KhH1P1c7ZvpKmLQe86-uAXcpfOl-vmpstV2XseA2V_oC9oj-pJn5bp-nTzyDcsBXUosZ-RLu3I5YdYMP0Bs/s1600/Pie+Chart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="720" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvmiT14SUYTVk_yAPeo14oGDFo52-bCoX4AqGJGW1nzGIOiVWlX01eRb_KhH1P1c7ZvpKmLQe86-uAXcpfOl-vmpstV2XseA2V_oC9oj-pJn5bp-nTzyDcsBXUosZ-RLu3I5YdYMP0Bs/s320/Pie+Chart.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For illustration purposes only</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I'm planning and writing session plans, especially those for longer distance races, the main focus is on the bike, with AT LEAST 50% of the overall session plan being dedicated to the bike. The main reason for this is so that you will not only give yourself the best possible chance of completing the bike leg in a time that you're happy with, but also so that you can get off the bike in T2 and exit onto the run with your legs in the best possible condition. Obviously, this takes some self discipline in how well / efficiently you pace the bike, ie. if you "smash" the bike leg and demolish your pb I can almost guarantee that you'll pay for it on the run. If you put too much into the bike and save yourself as much as 20 - 30 minutes, it'll probably cost you an hour or so on the run (in an Iron distance race). so pacing is of absolute paramount importance. I was at a seminar last year and the coach delivering it made the point that you can be a sub 3 hr marathon runner, but if your legs are shot when you get off the bike, it'll count for absolutely nothing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going back to the original statement of "it's all about the bike", there's a common misconception among novice athletes that if they're only competing in sprint or standard distance races they don't need to put the big miles in, as is the case for Ironman athletes. However, even if you're "only" racing sprint distances, you still need to be putting the miles in. In it's very basic form, triathlon is an aerobic endurance sport and even the sprint distance races will take around an hour for an experienced athlete and possibly twice that long for novice triathletes, so the main focus of your training should still be on building aerobic endurance, because the better and more efficient your aerobic endurance, the more efficient you should be. Endurance can only be developed by putting the long, easy miles in and then "bolting" the speed on top of that. In much the same way that we structure the run sessions, if you push too hard on the bike in training. your muscle cells, ie the mitochondria, won't develop and become more prevalent within the muscles, so although you might feel like you've buried yourself on a long ride, you've actually done very little in terms of building your aerobic endurance, so you can see why it's important to not only put the miles in, but to train correctly too. Personally I tend to race standard distance most of the time, but my weekend rides are still generally around 60 miles and then I'll use the midweek club rides to develop my speed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>The jump from sprint / standard distance to Ironman.</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the past few years I've noticed a huge growth in the popularity of Ironman and iron distance races, with many athletes making the jump from absolute novice or sprint distance up to full iron distance within a year or so. This is great and I've always maintained that if an athlete follows any properly written, structured and progressive session plan, they'll succeed in completing the distance. That said, for some athletes, there's a danger that if they don't train properly they'll always be chasing their finish time, instead of racing the event with absolute confidence, if that makes sense? These tend to be novices who train alone or don't follow a set training plan, so it's absolutely vital that more emphasis is placed on the bike training than the other disciplines, in general. Even more so when competing in Iron distance races. Yes, there'll be cases where someone is a competent cyclist and runner, but a weaker swimmer, in which case you'd still place a large emphasis on the bike, but you'd also focus on their swim, or whichever discipline was a significant weakness. I mean, what's the point of being a great cyclist and runner, if you can't make it past the swim cut off? So each case / triathlete is taken on merit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's all good and well having the best speedsuit, a fancy pointy helmet and a sleek TT bike, but if you haven't put the work in during training, you'll not get the most out of yourself or your kit. Most of us are "hobby" triathletes and we have varying degrees of motivation, drive and ambition, with some athletes having ambitions to push for age group places and others getting great satisfaction from racing with club mates etc, but at the end of the day, one thing that we all need to be doing is following a structured and progressive training plan. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thing with a lot of novice athletes though, is that they probably aren't used to sitting on a bike for 7+ hours, so regarding their bike training, the emphasis needs to be on aerobic endurance, which will mean putting the long hours in on the bike, often at what feels like an easy pace, as well as a fair share of speed and strength sessions. There's no set way to train for this, ie, some people say that winter is all about building endurance and summer is about adding the speed. But a friend of mine, who is a multiple Kona qualifier and age group winner, does most of his speed work throughout the winter and then adds the endurance element during the summer. It's horses for courses though and it depends on what works best for you, although it's generally easier to build endurance rather than it is to develop speed. Regarding the way that training is structured and following the 80/20 "rule", an analogy that I often use for endurance training is that if you think of the body as a diesel engine, which you can tune up to become highly efficient and deliver a lot of power etc, the more low intensity endurance training you do, but isn't particularly fast. Then, when you add in the really tough, short, speed and strength sessions, which is like bolting a big turbocharger on to the diesel engine and you've suddenly got this highly efficient engine, but it's also capable of delivering great speed too.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get hung up on power.</u></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9rz1SwKkJYmQFJ7tqdcQwILToToHaBDN6Z9xSuEvU6TR6Iu8BQ6b14A7bwWLabuWoUmSi_EIu3n4p8z66CPXNxzAlrNFhvRqf26fccdavRaVBYDnD6c2pgF6NXhxwiidbxnS_1-u27o/s1600/ftp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="982" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9rz1SwKkJYmQFJ7tqdcQwILToToHaBDN6Z9xSuEvU6TR6Iu8BQ6b14A7bwWLabuWoUmSi_EIu3n4p8z66CPXNxzAlrNFhvRqf26fccdavRaVBYDnD6c2pgF6NXhxwiidbxnS_1-u27o/s320/ftp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For illustrative purposes only</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></u></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While more experienced athletes will possibly have a power meter on their bike, which, if used correctly, will allow them to gauge their efforts much more accurately and efficiently, it's important not to get too hung up on the numbers. You could have the scenario where one athlete is capable of producing many more watts than another one, but because of the type of training that they've done, they may not be able to hold it for very long. This may work well on a sprint distance triathlon, but on an Ironman, they may find that they're struggling in the latter stages of the bike. So while it can be beneficial to use a power meter, the most important thing is to get your training structure right first and develop the aerobic endurance. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although this post started off more about 140.6 distance races, competing in and racing in sprint and olympic distance races is a totally different race strategy to that of an Ironman. If you're using a power meter your power outputs for sprint or olympic distance should be around </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">80% - 90% </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of FTP and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">70% - 80% </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of FTP, respectively. Whereas, during an Ironman, you should be throttling right back to around 60% - 65% of FTP, which may sound easy, but maintaining that sort of consistent power output for 112 miles requires not only a lot of restraint, but also a huge amount of aerobic endurance. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>In Summary</u></span></h3>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dedicate at least 50% of your overall session plan to the bike.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Train smart - structure your training so that approx 80% of the sessions are very low intensity, maximal aerobic function sessions and 20% are very high intensity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Get the miles in - no matter what distance you're racing, get the miles in and build your aerobic endurance "engine".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't get hung up on numbers too much. Strava KOM's are all good and well, but think about the session objective that you're doing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Be patient - there is NO shortcut or magic wand. It takes time, patience, dedication and discipline to develop as an athlete. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most importantly, enjoy it. Although it hurts during races and we might wonder why we do this, the rewards are immense.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-5830979274485955872018-08-01T06:11:00.003-07:002019-06-06T16:55:42.725-07:00Post race recovery<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Allowing time for the body to recover</u></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5jrgm" data-offset-key="fhasl-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fhasl-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="fhasl-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So, as the muscle pain subsides in my quads and calfs, I've still got some soreness in my ankles and knees. However, I'd already decided that I was going to take at least a few weeks off, post Lakeland 50.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5jrgm" data-offset-key="anqdg-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="anqdg-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="anqdg-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That said, I still often see posts on various Facebook pages and groups from people who are doing a "recovery run"". </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="anqdg-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="anqdg-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can you answer me a question? What exactly is a recovery run? If you've done a big race and have got any muscle soreness or stiffness and you haven't allowed your body time to start healing, how can doing an activity that is only adding to that trauma and fatigue make it a beneficial recovery?</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5jrgm" data-offset-key="ek22j-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ek22j-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="ek22j-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to do something that makes you feel as though you're doing something beneficial, try a little gentle swim, or a very short and easy FLAT bike ride, maybe even a walk. But don't do something that's going to delay the healing process. Make sure you eat healthy with plenty of lean protein to help with the muscle healing, healthy fats and carbs to replenish energy levels and glycogen stores and drink plenty of water. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5jrgm" data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0" style="background-color: white;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recovery takes time and can take weeks, and in some cases even months. Just because you're feeling better and your muscles might have stopped aching within a week of a big race, it takes a lot longer than that for the body to recover properly. There are 11 systems in the body and all of them have a direct connection with how we live our lives and do exercise:</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0"></span><br /></div>
<ol style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; white-space: normal;"><span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulatory_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080;" title="">Circulatory system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Circulates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Blood">blood</a> around the body via the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_heart" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Human heart">heart</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artery" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Artery">arteries</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vein" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Vein">veins</a>, delivering <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> and nutrients to organs and cells and carrying their waste products away.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Equalizes temperature in the body</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Digestive system">Digestive system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Mechanical and chemical processes that provide nutrients via the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mouth" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Human mouth">mouth</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophagus" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Esophagus">esophagus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomach" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Stomach">stomach</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestine" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Intestine">intestines</a>.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Eliminates waste from the body.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Endocrine system">Endocrine system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Provides chemical communications within the body using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hormone">hormones</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integumentary_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Integumentary system">Integumentary system</a></span>/ <span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocrine_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Exocrine system">Exocrine system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skin" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Human skin">Skin</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_hair" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Human hair">hair</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_(anatomy)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nail (anatomy)">nails</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweat_gland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sweat gland">sweat</a> and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocrine_gland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Exocrine gland">exocrine glands</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lymphatic system">Lymphatic system</a></span> / <span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Immune system">Immune system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The system comprising a network of lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymph" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lymph">lymph</a>.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Defends the body against pathogenic viruses that may endanger the body .</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscular_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Muscular system">Muscular system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Enables the body to move using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Muscle">muscles</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nervous system">Nervous system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Collects and processes information from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sense">senses</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nerve">nerves</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Human brain">brain</a> and tells the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Muscle">muscles</a> to contract to cause physical actions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renal_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Renal system">Renal system</a> / <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Urinary system">Urinary system</a></i></span>/ <span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excretory_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Excretory system">Excretory system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The system where the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidneys" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Kidneys">kidneys </a>filter blood.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Reproductive system">Reproductive system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_organ" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sex organ">sex organs</a> required for the production of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offspring" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Offspring">offspring</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Respiratory system">Respiratory system</a></span>:<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lung">lungs</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Trachea">trachea</a> that bring air into and out of the body.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_system" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Skeletal system">Skeletal system</a></span>:</li>
<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bone">Bones</a> supporting the body and its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_(anatomy)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Organ (anatomy)">organs</a>.</li>
</ul>
</span></ol>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0">
</span>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0">
</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of these systems take an absolute hammering when you do a long endurance event and some of them will naturally heal quicker than others. However others can take a long time to heal or recover. You're far more susceptible to illness following a long event, for example, because your immune system is massively depleted. </span></span></div>
<span data-offset-key="2pedj-0-0">
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Similarly, the digestive system will also be affected. This explains why you can feel sick during a long event. Or why, when you've finished such a long race you've got very little appetite. All the systems will be affected in some way or another and ignoring the effects that endurance races / training has on your body will almost certainly lead to either a prolonged period before you recover properly, or in worse cases, you can lose months and months of training before you start to pick up again. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've read articles and interviews with athletes, some of them elite level too, who have lost almost a full season of racing because they aren't allowing their bodies to recover properly. I know there's the "old school" athlete who just tries to keep pushing through it, but eventually you'll plateau and then you'll notice that you start to drop off with your timings and results as you try and push your body harder to overcome what you're perceiving as a loss of fitness.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a long event, take a minimum of a week to 10 days off and do absolutely nothing. Allow things to settle down a bit. Then start introducing some light sessions, maybe a brisk walk or a very short jog. There's a common misconception that if you're not training, you're losing fitness. It takes around 2 weeks for any fitness levels to start to drop and if you're an experienced athlete they'll only drop off very slowly. Therefore, if you spend a minimum of 3 or 4 weeks recovering properly after a long event, any drop off in fitness will be negligible. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following this, start easing your way back in to training and build gradually. You might even surprise yourself as you surpass your previous levels of fitness due to the enforced rest and recovery period. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Train Smart</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sutty</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div style="font-size: 14px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-53191512725451793092018-07-30T10:05:00.003-07:002019-06-06T16:49:55.038-07:00Lakeland 50 Ultra Trail Marathon - race report<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lakeland 50 2018</span></u></h2>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuc7xGYoxRnPqVUKqZ2FOzMnSDta558vsa8dyDmQw2zWnm7O5FdFcbDeQxwKVdnuJgb9jdrj7uhCzYIc54eXSpw8rrxhUutQdV_V7KhprPpMpaFdnoqAGvUHOoWIfLpgQwr6tfH16dkwk/s1600/ff9bbbb2007fa0eb7e922c493e5ad548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1045" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuc7xGYoxRnPqVUKqZ2FOzMnSDta558vsa8dyDmQw2zWnm7O5FdFcbDeQxwKVdnuJgb9jdrj7uhCzYIc54eXSpw8rrxhUutQdV_V7KhprPpMpaFdnoqAGvUHOoWIfLpgQwr6tfH16dkwk/s200/ff9bbbb2007fa0eb7e922c493e5ad548.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Pre race</u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></u></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a fairly short and restless nights sleep on the Friday night, which wasn't unexpected due to the amount of people on the camp site and the general buzz of anticipation, as to what awaited us on Saturday morning. I was up early and pottering around the campsite, with virtually no one else about, having the choice of all the thunderboxes and I actually found one with loo roll in, which saved me from a panic and wasting a pair of socks. From the near 30 degree heat that we'd had on Friday as we cheered the Lakeland 100 competitors off, it was a pretty chilly morning with some torrential rain showers and heavy skies. Which to be honest was a bit of a relief for most of us fair skinned competitors. I was surprisingly relaxed and felt no nerves at all, which was really out of character for me, so I just enjoyed the build up and getting my kit on and as others started emerging from their tents and motorhomes the atmosphere started to grow too. I'd had a sausage and egg barm from the caterers on site and was looking forward to getting on with the day. Other Invictus team members started arriving and we were soon all together and going into the briefing, which had the usual humour from Marc Laithwaite. Then it was time to get on the coaches and head to Dalemain for the start.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaEeR1WHMMQBBcCzuaiFUwSVkxW-xuYiEfBD3anNwvBQoxtyGNglmjYmEE57CY37YD05_VI879lkLPMI-PZibxKUcUJNmdLMHGHR9dRz-6ptjcwDmAH7Msn34wpDq9ai7fFYLmqwMjyU/s1600/20180728_112001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaEeR1WHMMQBBcCzuaiFUwSVkxW-xuYiEfBD3anNwvBQoxtyGNglmjYmEE57CY37YD05_VI879lkLPMI-PZibxKUcUJNmdLMHGHR9dRz-6ptjcwDmAH7Msn34wpDq9ai7fFYLmqwMjyU/s200/20180728_112001.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dalemain start</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At Dalemain it was already busy with loads of supporters there already, as well as the competitors in the Lakeland 50 getting themselves sorted, there were also cheers and applause every time one of the Lakeland 100 competitors came through Dalemain, which was the halfway point on their race, those guys are something else completely. It was really good to see Clare, Gemma and Dave who had driven up from Wigan to support us, so it was quick hugs all round, last words of encouragement and then being herded into the starting pen, ready for the start of the Lakeland 50.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dalemain to Howtown 17.8km</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I still hadn't been feeling nervous, but I knew that it was going to be a tough day. I'd not been able to run properly for 5 weeks leading up to the race, due to injuries to my hip, thigh and glute and the arthritis in my knee had flared up a bit, but this wasn't going to stop me enjoying myself. The plan was to stick with Jack until Howtown, then I'd probably fall behind and settle into my own rhythm. So off we set, to the sound of ACDC, Thunderstruck ringing out from the p.a. system. What I hadn't banked on though was how warm it was when the clouds cleared and the sun came out and within 5 mins I was boiling hot and had to take my jacket off, this was the last time I was to see Jack. I set off again and just gradually settled into my own pace. Chatting to the odd other runner, having a laugh with some and generally just plodding along. It always takes me a good few miles to get into my rhythm, so I knew that I just had to relax and wait for that to happen. As we came through Pooley Bridge the atmosphere was great, with loads of people shouting and cheering and with the tourists thinking "what are these lunatics up to"? After an hour or so my back had started to hurt, which was slightly sooner than expected (it's usually about 2 hours), so I decided to take my first painkillers. I was carrying enough drugs to fell a baby elephant, so knew I'd be ok if I took them at the prescribed intervals throughout the day. So down with the first 2 codeine, pressed lap on my watch so that I knew when I'd taken them and I couldn't have any more pain relief for another 3 hours and just crack on. By the time I got to Howtown we'd had a couple of heavy showers and although the niggles in my legs were sore, I was happy with how I was going. Straight into CP1, quick dib of the dibber on my wrist, to check in at the CP, then I picked up a handful of jelly babies and biscuits and popped them into a plastic sandwich bag and off out again, ready to take on Fusedale.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_qN_B06mkcBtA9uRr_SobU5bAhEwYIQKvIYFWzA1c7_hpSGtpzN3AmnZJyrBHgA4ZmXDQMvY5CKPmxqnZlXOswmI3je4lGxqnwni9fXWZJM6SJlh1SfgKbP9pyt5BxFsBj561oI5Np0/s1600/20180728_135045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_qN_B06mkcBtA9uRr_SobU5bAhEwYIQKvIYFWzA1c7_hpSGtpzN3AmnZJyrBHgA4ZmXDQMvY5CKPmxqnZlXOswmI3je4lGxqnwni9fXWZJM6SJlh1SfgKbP9pyt5BxFsBj561oI5Np0/s200/20180728_135045.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP1 Howtown</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Howtown to Mardale 15.2km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Feeling fresh and energised by the little stop at Howtown I set off up Fusedale. I'd read comments earlier in the week that Fusedale is often referred to as "the cauldron" because it's so notoriously hot and humid in summer, but there was to be non of that today. I'd got chatting to a lad about stuff in general and we stuck together for a mile or so, until the climb started. It was about this time that the hail started too, so I just put my head down, pulled my hood up and kept plodding away. It soon became clear that many of the competitors were really struggling with this weather and were having some proper sense of humour failures (they obviously weren't northerners 😉), the pace got slower and slower until eventually I just stepped off the footpath and started passing them. The higher up we went the worse the conditions got, some people were literally being blown over by the gales and the hail stones were getting bigger and coming at us horizontally, it was that windy. Some competitors were even just stopping and sitting down. This just seemed to fuel my energy levels and I was overtaking loads of competitors, all the time I just smiled to myself, remembering that if you smile you can't feel fed up at the same time. As we got over the top of Fusedale and left onto High Cop the hail had stopped, but it was still windy and blowing a gale, so I thought it'd be nice to have a little trot with a tailwind. As I started to run though, the pain in my knee and hip suddenly went through the roof, I literally couldn't run at all. So I just had to make my way down to Low Cop and then down to Haweswater as best as I could, stopping regularly and keeping my mind occupied by taking water, salt tablets, jelly babies etc. Everyone who I'd overtaken going up Fusedale had now repassed me and I was feeling frustrated and a bit down. Fitness wise, I felt great, but the pain just wouldn't allow me to do anything more than walk downhill. As we got onto the footpath that runs parallel to Haweswater I managed a few little runs where the footpath was flatter and it was a relief to get some better pace going again. I'd stopped at a stream and refilled my bottle and the ice cold water tasted absolutely amazing, so I was using little things like that as a way of staying "happy" and focused. The weather was still changeable, going from pleasant sunshine to torrential downpours with virtually no warning at all. So it was a case of constantly jacket on, jacket off, jacket on, jacket off. At one point at the top end of Haweswater, at Mardale, there was a huge black cloud and a massive bolt of lightning and that's exactly where I was headed but I just focused on getting to CP2 at Mardale where I could regroup. Thankfully, by the time I got to the Checkpoint the cloud had passed and I could take on board fuel. I had what felt like a litre of Coca Cola and half a loaf of ham and cheese sandwiches, before setting off again.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cOUEZCQZB4D_wir7LJYPQyrWo5ZeNFl5u9G0YrjTDYTKP4soPhxzNghSKwQikT_iPQuc68Mcvu9noHXCR0IedzzIs-AdlbW17jB1pPsJZGjNhsy_ZsdCL7F2eOukeJAotj-4_nOb_XE/s1600/20180728_172129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cOUEZCQZB4D_wir7LJYPQyrWo5ZeNFl5u9G0YrjTDYTKP4soPhxzNghSKwQikT_iPQuc68Mcvu9noHXCR0IedzzIs-AdlbW17jB1pPsJZGjNhsy_ZsdCL7F2eOukeJAotj-4_nOb_XE/s200/20180728_172129.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP2 Mardale</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mardale to Kentmere 10.4km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not long after leaving Mardale we were treated to more of the Lake District's finest summer weather, with more driving rain, hail and gales. This time, directly into our faces. Ascending Gatesgarth Pass it was just a case of head down, grin and bear it, using my poles for balance as well as helping to push me up the incline. I'd done this part of the course a couple of weeks earlier, with Jack and Ste, as a recce and it was tough then, in nice weather, but today it was just brutal. I just concentrated on not looking up the mountain and just kept putting one foot in front of the other and the top would arrive sooner or later. Cresting the summit and we were going straight into the teeth of the gale, the driving rain sapping any body heat and I'd started getting colder and colder because I wasn't going fast enough to generate heat. Halfway down and I was shivering uncontrollably and getting a bit worried because I knew I had to warm up somehow, and fast. I was starting to let my head go down and I had a thought that "if I can get to Ambleside, I can drop out there", I quickly told myself to shut up, get a grip and keep moving. So I put my waterproof pants on and carried on shuffling down the steep descent, which was as much as the pain would allow. As I got nearer the bottom of the descent the footpath levelled off a little bit, so I was able to increase my pace to a slow trot. This felt amazing, not only because of the body heat it generated, but also because it felt so good to get some proper movement back in my legs. I caught up with a bloke who was just ahead and he'd been crying, so I asked if he was ok and he told me how cold he was and that he couldn't feel his hands, so we stayed together for a while and we both carried on towards the bottom. As we dropped lower, he seemed to pick up a bit and the feeling came back to his hands, so I set off again at a slow, painful trot. This was a key stage for me because I knew that by the time I reached Kentmere I was over half way, but as I went through the couple of fields before the Kentmere CP I looked at my watch and knew that any hope of a 15 hour race was a rapidly fading possibility, so then my focus shifted towards just finishing it. I was sore, cold, soaking wet, tired and hungry, so the next CP couldn't get here soon enough. The marshalls at the Kentmere CP were amazing, not just for being dressed in grass skirts and having a "beach party" but also by taking my bottles off me and filling them up with Coke, or blackcurrant juice, making sure I had enough to eat and drink and then I was off out again. I'd decided before the start of the race that I was going to spend as little time in each CP as possible, so I was still trying to maintain getting in there, quick refuel and fill up, sort myself out and get going again.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivg4KM7MboKR_nrsG9h6YiWZ13alA091SonSQXBc_CZlvdaA_UZsgdbCScFJD7-vYmAPXlZYb4NGitAKUjz77cqRKKXNerLNiNMnpT5OCyxMbpDamAJuLKsuIxr0nZAJbNOKKnpAdlUk8/s1600/20180728_200101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivg4KM7MboKR_nrsG9h6YiWZ13alA091SonSQXBc_CZlvdaA_UZsgdbCScFJD7-vYmAPXlZYb4NGitAKUjz77cqRKKXNerLNiNMnpT5OCyxMbpDamAJuLKsuIxr0nZAJbNOKKnpAdlUk8/s200/20180728_200101.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP3 Kentmere</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kentmere to Ambleside 11.8km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaving Kentmere I was still struggling with the pain, the painkillers didn't feel like the were still having a great effect and my back was aching even on flatter sections (it only usually hurts going up hill), but I knew that every single step I took, it was a step closer to the finish line, albeit 23 miles away. I'd had my third lot of painkillers by now and I tagged on to a couple of competitors from Manchester, so we spent a few minutes chatting about random stuff, until we got to the climb up Garburn Pass and they started to fall behind. I was feeling ok ish, so I just ploughed on, knowing that when I got to the top of here it was comparatively flat all the way to Ambleside, with just a few hills in between. I then caught up with another group and we stuck together most of the way to Ambleside. One of them asked me how I was feeling and I remember saying to him "I wish my body felt as fresh as my mind", I was content with how I was doing, knowing that I was strong enough to finish. Passing through Troutbeck was a surreal moment because there were 4 ladies wearing massive duck costumes at a road junction. Either that or these painkillers had just produced an awesome side effect. Dropping down to Ambleside the group I was with pushed ahead and I was alone again, until I caught up with a bloke who was by himself too. So we stuck together 'til Ambleside. He told me he wanted to start triathlon and had heard about the sport. He didn't know I was so heavily involved in the sport and I think he soon came to regret mentioning it when he couldn't shut me up talking about it. Coming up the road into Ambleside and we started jogging and it was a great feeling when I saw a friendly face in Gemma, who told me that she had a message from Ruth and Hannah and that they loved me. I think I managed to disguise my bottom lip going at this point. Luckily normality was resumed soon after when Clare told me that my mate Phil had posted to say "get a move on" or words to that effect 😃. Coming into Ambleside CP and it was great, partly because it was nice to see some proper civilisation for the first time in what felt like ages and I spent a while (far too long) talking to Clare, Gemma and Mike, before setting off again. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzfWMnxJeLt0o_CyWi35m5QmWuw1xlp9Yx3TRE49QH1xBSnvSqdjptdI1Mb7iEG6c26eG0G6BaQsuIi9CWggnCuikDYGg3m3z4A-X1hyvQANJBzcF9jY9QouoTCGQJh9zGWoORIdNvzo/s1600/20180728_224416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzfWMnxJeLt0o_CyWi35m5QmWuw1xlp9Yx3TRE49QH1xBSnvSqdjptdI1Mb7iEG6c26eG0G6BaQsuIi9CWggnCuikDYGg3m3z4A-X1hyvQANJBzcF9jY9QouoTCGQJh9zGWoORIdNvzo/s200/20180728_224416.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP4 Ambleside</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ambleside to Chapel Stile 9km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaving Ambleside and feeling ok I was almost looking forward to the next section. It was a nice flat few miles to Chapel Stile, with only a small hill in it. However, within 5 minutes of leaving Ambleside I remembered that I'd wanted to take my waterproof trousers and jacket off and put my headphones on, ready for some tunes if the going got tough in the dark. So there I am, stood in the pitch black, trying to strip off and get my headphones out, without knocking my headtorch off and with not enough strength to balance properly, I must have looked ridiculous. Wardrobe change completed and off I go again, before getting to a cross roads only to have complete brain fade. I was stood there looking at the Lakeland 50 road book guide that we all had, cross referencing it with my GPS map and I still couldn't work out which way to go. Maybe I wasn't as mentally fresh as I thought! Until someone coming up behind me shouted "go left". So off I went again. I knew that at the top of this road we went onto Loughrigg Fell and then it was on to Skelwith Bridge. After Skelwith we followed the river to Elterwater and I was hoping to trot again along here because it was so flat, but with the state of my legs, feet and back, there was no chance of that, so I just walked but used my poles and tried to set a good pace walking. I was actually catching a few people up and passing them, even though I was walking, so that did wonders for my morale. During this section I'd developed hiccups and they lasted for what seemed like hours. I was behind someone and had been hiccuping for ages and I'm sure he actually tutted, the cheeky sod. I'm pretty sure they were getting on my nerves more than his! Coming into Chapel Stile and I nearly took a couple of wrong turns and had to be corrected by another competitor a few times, before finally arriving at Chapel Stile Checkpoint and the most amazing chocolate cake. Again having my bottles taken off me to be filled with Coke, but my request for them to add a shot of Jack Daniels fell on deaf ears. I'd been feeling sick every time I'd tried to eat anything but jelly babies since the Kentmere CP, so when I tried the chocolate cake and didn't have any side effects it felt great.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03gdlHl5Tw_KzawjC-ykuZBxiYg13XfdVPDtdHqPWmlUW5nES1Mer49NX9rlgeR4Rg5Tkq7xlUZdcZTlBza6k0efey_laXMRTTHMA31Sy2al0Dt0SWIcvZsXqy7UNA3WrFphwxpLkTTo/s1600/20180729_004500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03gdlHl5Tw_KzawjC-ykuZBxiYg13XfdVPDtdHqPWmlUW5nES1Mer49NX9rlgeR4Rg5Tkq7xlUZdcZTlBza6k0efey_laXMRTTHMA31Sy2al0Dt0SWIcvZsXqy7UNA3WrFphwxpLkTTo/s200/20180729_004500.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP5 Chapel Stile</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chapel Stile to Wrynose 10.6km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From leaving Chapel Stile I knew I only had about 10 miles to go and although my body was screaming at me to stop and let it rest, but there was absolutely no way I was going to pack in so close to the finish, I could almost touch it, it felt that close. Just after leaving Chapel Stile and it started chucking it down again, so it was back on with the jacket. A couple of miles later and my headtorch started flashing, letting me know that the batteries were starting to run out. So I decided to change them, holding my phone in my mouth, with the light on, while I fumbled about in pouring rain trying to swap the batteries, before cracking on to the last checkpoint. During the next few miles groups started to form as competitors caught up with those in front who were starting to suffer now and this wasn't helped when we came to the first of two ladder stiles. All I could think was that Marc Laithwaite must be a very sadistic man, to put two 10ft tall ladder stiles in the course, at about 43 miles 😂. After these it was up another hill and following the footpath to the small forest, before the unmanned Wrynose CP. At one point, near the top of the hill, I looked behind me back down the hill and it looked absolutely awesome to see a really long line of torch beams all the way down the hill. After the forest it was just a case of traversing a hill and fighting our way through another sea of ferns and across some rocky ground, before emerging onto what's normally boggy ground, but was much drier because of the recent weather and a short walk towards the CP, which was the penultimate one. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZSeP2yOZ9omyDrDM3QgQrxaZud8jLROprLF77fp8YyF76dqn12pNlF7wpij6sYNTlWryr8R8-W1w6dxDFKDUWDXfxWfxuABJnG5GnlnYQzcRmcgVvSJD_DJjR-_C8MfevTwiH9lKfc/s1600/20180729_022521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZSeP2yOZ9omyDrDM3QgQrxaZud8jLROprLF77fp8YyF76dqn12pNlF7wpij6sYNTlWryr8R8-W1w6dxDFKDUWDXfxWfxuABJnG5GnlnYQzcRmcgVvSJD_DJjR-_C8MfevTwiH9lKfc/s200/20180729_022521.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP6 Wrynose Pass</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wrynose to Tilberthwaite</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was the penultimate leg of the race and I knew we didn't have all that far to go. By this point though any small hill felt like a mountain and each step going down hill felt like I was being struck by lightning, with shooting pains in my feet, ankles, knees and hip. Not to mention the constant ache in my back and shoulders. I was holding my poles behind me and lifting the weight of my pack up, to relieve the pressure on my shoulders and that seemed to help quite a bit. Coming to the bottom of Wrynose Pass and we turned off the road and up another hill. I knew that we weren't far from the finish now and I kept smiling to myself as I recalled some of the laughs that we'd had on the recce's that we'd done as a group. It was along this stretch that Mick put some dried grass on Jack's shoulder, only for Jack to chase him and try to throw him in a bush, with Mick squealing like a schoolgirl 😂, I don't think I'll ever forget memories like that and it was recalling those that made this section seem easier than it possibly was. I don't recall much else from this bit, apart from one bloke asking me how far to the CP and I said about 2 miles. I thought he was going to either start crying or punch me, such was his shock. I was obviously more tired than I thought, because it turned out to be just round the corner, oops. Shuffling into the final CP and I felt wrecked. I'd been on the course for over 16 hours and hadn't sat down since 1100 on Saturday morning, so I just asked if I could sit in one of their chairs. I knew this may be a mistake, but I just had to take the weight off my feet and knees. Luckily, after a few minutes I climbed out of the chair, actually in all honesty, one of the marshalls lifted me out. I grabbed some more jelly babies and was ready for the final 4 miles. I asked where the box was that we put our £1 toll fee for the Tilberthwaite steps, which was actually a charity donation to someone's young son, called Jacob, who is suffering from cancer, so just for one night the steps had been renamed Jacobs ladder. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq72PiiWtvBJs-Pyxt3buHu4Kha9VCn9AcHzZGhakL6j78JNSDyu3utGPwDu9neMLeqhBnkVqmbVVE-MsZADhuJK-WTvp04Hte9ysIsGW8Sad50Uv-aj9y2Rp_l3h8gXZr5YCEdbKEXs/s1600/20180729_031731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiq72PiiWtvBJs-Pyxt3buHu4Kha9VCn9AcHzZGhakL6j78JNSDyu3utGPwDu9neMLeqhBnkVqmbVVE-MsZADhuJK-WTvp04Hte9ysIsGW8Sad50Uv-aj9y2Rp_l3h8gXZr5YCEdbKEXs/s200/20180729_031731.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CP7 Tilberthwaite</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tilberthwaite to Coniston (finish) 5.7km</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaving Tilberthwaite I decided I'd put my headphones on, so searched for a suitable playlist, turned it up loud and hit the steps with all the ferocity and speed of a baby garden snail. I'd got Metallica - Blitzkrieg blaring out and all I could do was wince as I tried to lift a leg up a step at a time, before using my poles to push my body up and repeat all the way up. Luckily there are only about 25 or so steps and they were all lit up with green Cyalume sticks (so looked amazing from the bottom), but it felt like each step was 5ft tall and they were never ending. After conquering the steps I just used my poles to push me up the hill before I came to an old ruin. There was a low wall that was about 2 ft high and it was just too inviting to walk past without sitting down for a few minutes and have a little rest. I ate nearly all my remaining jelly babies, drank all my coke and set off again. Getting to the rocky scrambling section and standing at the bottom of it, looking up and thinking "how the hell am I going to get up there"? I just inched my way up it, taking it slow (very) and steady, eventually emerging onto the grassy footpath again. From here I knew I just had about 1.5 miles to the top before it was all downhill to the finish. As I got further up it started raining heavier and heavier, I'd got Slayer - Raining Blood playing now and the thrash metal just kept me going through the final bit. The rain started to ease slightly but I started to get really worried because my vision had started to blur, the higher I went the more blurred it got, so I was thinking all sorts of things about what was wrong with me. I was wiping my eyes to see if that helped, but it didn't. Then it dawned on me, I was walking into a bank of cloud and it was actually fog that was reflecting the beam of my head torch. The mind can play some funny tricks when it's tired. Panic over and it was up to the summit and down the other side. Descending was the usual pain with every footstep, but I was soon on the tarmac road that led into Coniston. At the T Junction I was met by Angie from McLovin' bikes who gave me some praise and told me Mark was up the road, so after getting up to him and telling him that he was a liar for telling me I'd love the event, I was off to the finish line, crossing with a time of 17 hrs 35 mins and 30 secs. After a quick finish line selfie I was taken into the marquee and met by a roar of cheers and cowbells (I still hate those bloody cow bells), before burying my face in my hands and blubbing like a baby, before sorting myself out and getting my medal and finisher photo. I was in absolute bits, physically, but I was buzzing from being able to get through the day and being able to dig deep when I needed to.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWanGLMNJWa4a03rwccPojr9efxnYI7no4lFo2jWZO5repy7b2KazYBTqcYx8Oxu2yWJDGLbppQ-eqwms-H7gAXc5VWeLQ87Vd-MpBYBgbWESPt73h3m0qlSd49Cr7mQ0DpNs8dJOnJ8/s1600/20180729_050608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWanGLMNJWa4a03rwccPojr9efxnYI7no4lFo2jWZO5repy7b2KazYBTqcYx8Oxu2yWJDGLbppQ-eqwms-H7gAXc5VWeLQ87Vd-MpBYBgbWESPt73h3m0qlSd49Cr7mQ0DpNs8dJOnJ8/s200/20180729_050608.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finish Coniston</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In conclusion</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From last September, when I was lying in a hospital bed, feeling completely broken and in a world of pain, I've never looked back and thought "if only". I've only ever tried to look forward and remain positive. Yes, there have been many days of pain and many days where I just couldn't face putting my trainers on and getting out running again. But I've only ever tried to lead by example and remain positive for as much as I could. On some of the training runs that I've done, when I've been in absolute agony, bent double in pain and the people I've been training with have encouraged me to carry on and that I'm doing ok, when family have showed unwavering support, from literally lifting me out of bed and drying me off after a shower in the early days after my crash, or by helping Ruth out by giving her lifts to the hospital or to come and visit me themselves, or by just being subtle in their support, things like that have kept me going. Without the support of friends, clubmates and incredible family, I'm not sure I'd have got this far in such a short space of time. For all that, I'm incredibly indebted.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All the way through the Lakeland 50, I tried to remain as positive and mentally strong as I could. There were times when I could have let things get on top of me and stopping at the next checkpoint would have been the easy option, but I kept going. Drawing strength from recalling listening to people like Marc Laithwaite say that getting to the finish line should always, always be your goal and don't make any rash decisions that you will regret for a long time. When I said to those competitors that "I wish my body was as fresh as my mind", I meant it. I was so utterly focused on not giving up and knowing that the mind is by far the strongest weapon in any athletes armoury, because ultimately your mind will give up before your body will and I wasn't prepared to let this happen. On the Thursday before the race my dad gave me some advice (as dad's do) and he told me not to "over do it" and I could stop if it feels like it's too much. I told him that "that's just a state of mind". I didn't mean to sound arrogant or blase, just that I knew that I was mentally strong enough to finish this race and if I stayed strong mentally, my body wouldn't let me down.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lakeland 50 was the most brutal race that I've ever done, by a long way, to see grown men crying because of how they were feeling, to cope with not only an extremely tough course, but the weather conditions as well made it feel all the more like a great personal achievement. If you go into it with any sort of niggles and pains, it'll find them and amplify them tenfold. Similary, as you progress through the race you may find other parts start breaking down and will hinder your progress. But as long as you keep going forwards, putting one foot in front of the other, you can do it. These races are meant to be "enjoyable", but they're meant to really push you. Afterall, how do you know where your limits are, if you don't push yourself beyond them?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvEXm7jwQFdGJkWsSsFXYgLNHPAj8rQGE9XSYLHmtdOzpqybDpwofoLHT4fMp6tZaDHqu_9nfMAW398DfYgqiwf-hhFirHsTJveabQWfLl3w-fWIrxdQ4uAbwEY-ZtF2hrxwHnqaIYgU/s1600/20180730_141916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvEXm7jwQFdGJkWsSsFXYgLNHPAj8rQGE9XSYLHmtdOzpqybDpwofoLHT4fMp6tZaDHqu_9nfMAW398DfYgqiwf-hhFirHsTJveabQWfLl3w-fWIrxdQ4uAbwEY-ZtF2hrxwHnqaIYgU/s320/20180730_141916.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-74151460979688507842018-03-14T08:11:00.002-07:002019-06-06T16:56:57.710-07:00Heart rate zone training<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>What are heart rate zones?</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heart rate zones are a series of predetermined ranges of an athletes heart rate relating to a set intensity of exercise. The actual BPM of each zone will vary quite a lot from athlete to athlete, however the actual effort that each athlete is working at will be roughly the same. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Depending on what literature you read, there can be anything from 5 to 8 hr zones, and other coaches even split the upper zones into "sub zones". When I'm producing zones for the athletes that I coach, I tend to group the 3 sub zones together that are sometimes used in zone 5, although this is mainly for simplicity and ease of use for the athlete.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The zones that I use range from Zone 1, which is the easiest level of exercise, up to zone 5 which is Threshold and above. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've heard people say things like using zone 1 or 2 for fat burning, but in my opinion, this is the wrong way to look at it for endurance athletes. In it's very crudest form, we'll burn fat at all intensities of exercise and some studies suggest that we'll burn more fat at higher intensities. That said, it also depends on whether you've eaten and what it was, before exercising as this will relate to what fuel source your body will use first. In order to change the way that we think about zones, instead of thinking about their fat burning efficiency, think about what energy system being used in each zone is intended to work on. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In zone 1 and zone 2 you're working at the bottom end of the aerobic zone and this is the area or intensity that approx 75% of your training should be done in, if you're an endurance athlete. No matter what distance of triathlon you're doing, it's an aerobic sport and so that's the energy system that you need to pay most attention to. When people talk about using zone 2 for fat burning, what's really meant is that if you're doing a long aerobic session on the bike, or a long zone 2 run, in order to maximise the way that your body will utilise fat as a fuel source is to start off in a fasted state, then you're "forcing" your body to utilise fat as a fuel source which is a highly efficient way to fuel yourself during a long race, even though you'll still need to maintain an intake of roughly 60g of carbohydrate per hour in order to keep glycogen stores topped up. On a sprint or standard distance triathlon you can get away with using gels, or similar, as a fuel source, but on a 70.3 or 140.6 distance race you need to pay extremely close attention to how you fuel for it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I digress, back to zones. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, now we know that zones 1 and 2 are aerobic zones, this means that when you're training in these zones you're actively developing the efficiency at which your body synthesizes something called ATP. ATP or <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Adenosine Triphosphate stores and transports chemical energy and is what converts chemical energy into physical energy at a cellular level</span>. Within the ATP are organelles called mitochondria and these are often referred to as the power house of the cells all of which can be developed and increased in number during zone 2 training. Therefore, when you're working in zone 2 you're developing your aerobic fitness at a cellular level, which will yield massive results the more you do and the longer you do it for. It's because of these factors and the way that we develop our aerobic fitness that triathletes and distance runners / cyclists and swimmers do as much as 80% of their training at zone 2. It takes months and months, but with correct structure, progression and recovery, the results speak for themselves.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Zone 3 is also an aerobic zone but it's what we often refer to as tempo and depending on which coaches you speak to, or what literature you read, this can be a bit of a grey zone because it's working at the very upper limits of the aerobic system, but it's not hard enough to push into the threshold and anaerobic systems. So it's not developing your aerobic fitness as well as the zone 1 or 2 stuff and it's not making you faster and stronger as the sessions done at threshold and above are. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So then we start getting up to zones 4 and 5. Depending on the formula that you use to determine your heart rate zones, your threshold will be somewhere between mid zone 4 and the bottom of zone 5. In these zones you're working hard and although you're not developing your aerobic fitness as much, your speed will improve and your body will get more efficient at processing the lactic acid that you're producing. You'll also become efficient at utilising carbohydrates as a fuel source. As you push above your threshold your heart and lungs are working pretty much to their max and the lactic acid will build up in your blood to a level that you won't be able to continue exercising at. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">When you reach the point where you can't breathe any faster, you will have reached what's called your VO2 max - your maximum capacity of oxygen use, the higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are. These high intensity interval sessions are good for building up the body's resistance to lactic and will help promote fast twitch muscle fibres to fire and work. However, because the benefits for endurance athletes lie within zone 2 aerobic training, we try to limit the amount of high intensity sessions that we do to a max of 25% of our training. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Calculating HR Zones</u></span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">There are quite a few different formulae that can be used to determine your HR zones. The most basic of these is the 220 minus age formula, which will give you your theoretical max heart rate, which you can then use to set your zones as percentages of that. The main issue with this is that it doesn't take into account any underlying issues that you may have. Some people have a slower heart rate, sometimes because of medical reasons and others because of medication. Similarly, others may have a higher heart rate. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">The method I prefer to use is to do a test to determine your max hr and then work it out off that. To do this a running track is ideal because it's so flat, so there are no fluctuations caused by gradients etc. Start off by doing a good warm up for around 20 mins, to include some drills and strides etc. then carry out a 20 minute test. To do the test, the easiest way to do it is to have a run specific watch like a Garmin etc. Start off at a pace that you can just about manage to hold for 20 minutes, after the first 5 minutes, press lap on your watch and continue to run for the next 15 mins. By the time you finish your test you should be at a max effort and should struggle to go much further. Ideally, there should only be a few BPM between your average and max hr, as you'll learn that you can hold a high intensity for the duration of the whole 20 minutes. When you've finished the test take the data from the 15 mins of the test, looking at the average and max hr. These can then be used to set your zones. If you're using the max heart rate, zones can be set as:</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Zone 1 - 50-60% max</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Zone 2 - 60-70% max</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Zone 3 - 70-80% max</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Zone 4 - 80-90% max</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Zone 5 - 90-100% max</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Your average heart rate for the 15 mins of the test is what we refer to as threshold. This isn't the most scientific way of determining your threshold though. To do that you need to do testing in a laboratory environment where blood samples are taken at various intervals to determine lactate levels within the blood. The reason why we don't use the data from the first 5 mins of the test is because for this period you'll be settling into the test and your heart rate will still be rising to near max. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What you'll notice as you do more and more of the tests is that your max heart rate will gradually become more consistent across the tests as you develop as an athlete and learn how hard you can push yourself</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Using the RPE method</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">RPE refers to Rate of Perceived Exertion and is usually on a scale of 1 - 10 or 1 - 20. This scale is called the Borg scale and can be used to measure how hard your training sessions are. If you think of Zone 1 being the very easiest of exercise, probably a very fast walk and zone 5 being the hardest effort you can imagine and then look at that on a scale of 1 to 10, it'll give you a good indicator of how to grade your effort</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjOAaqJlho7wIkozFPizifg37347OuuGWBpSroP2DsdLOCyEM40cF-OOylv1jGp6lUwoKMDnvXdtj4uskXJR-cTv6uQXpmG-ivtvIZl2woE9VJQf3KdUhgmNGrZIIQAxBQVOOxVebJ80/s1600/rpe-scale-jpg-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjOAaqJlho7wIkozFPizifg37347OuuGWBpSroP2DsdLOCyEM40cF-OOylv1jGp6lUwoKMDnvXdtj4uskXJR-cTv6uQXpmG-ivtvIZl2woE9VJQf3KdUhgmNGrZIIQAxBQVOOxVebJ80/s640/rpe-scale-jpg-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Summary</u></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So to summarise very briefly, try and complete at least 75% of your training at zone 2 to increase your aerobic efficiency during a race or training session and complete the other 25% at a very high intensity to promote lactate tolerance and to develop speed. I can't stress enough just how important zone 2 training is though and without it or with not enough of it you'll not reach your potential within endurance sports. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-33748000191257039772018-03-12T20:52:00.001-07:002020-01-08T02:30:32.258-08:00The importance of recovery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDR2lYqX-qKZBpIRbLPxIOd0L5lKshyphenhyphenjIIZYB1GFmlhmRtC9YTZ3c-I5rg9IJh2erkQQATMJLDl87Ac7lQYfNNj_ivFEpqtuKXQmVaEzpvWSbjMvKN4LkCGIvL5xjDjRTdXleVFKI24Ww/s1600/triathlon_training_nutrition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDR2lYqX-qKZBpIRbLPxIOd0L5lKshyphenhyphenjIIZYB1GFmlhmRtC9YTZ3c-I5rg9IJh2erkQQATMJLDl87Ac7lQYfNNj_ivFEpqtuKXQmVaEzpvWSbjMvKN4LkCGIvL5xjDjRTdXleVFKI24Ww/s320/triathlon_training_nutrition.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've all done it, finished a big session, swam, ran or cycled our blood to water and what do we do when we've finished? Just jump in the car, go home, have a shower and chill out, often neglecting to refuel and / or rehydrate properly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many different ways that we can and should recover after a training session, whether it's just doing some stretches, foam rolling or eating and drinking the correct food. Some even go so far as to have an ice bath (bbrrrrrr).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before we can start thinking about how and what we should be doing to help our bodies recover, it's a good idea to know what happens to your body during and immediately after training or racing</span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u><br /></u></i></b>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u>During exercise</u></i></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZqeqppGBYBRjS5DEhiw58kS6Q_H9y4Km4dveoF_Jn6dXJ-CTPc5dW7n9zXuxAXxLPZneCbdcu4rkMf169pxO6xndZi3_rBFFoGa1k8JQKokjGJDj_Z_M7gbir2uCLnd5gCENe3h7J5A/s1600/sutto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZqeqppGBYBRjS5DEhiw58kS6Q_H9y4Km4dveoF_Jn6dXJ-CTPc5dW7n9zXuxAXxLPZneCbdcu4rkMf169pxO6xndZi3_rBFFoGa1k8JQKokjGJDj_Z_M7gbir2uCLnd5gCENe3h7J5A/s320/sutto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first thing you'll notice as you start a training session or race is your breathing increases and your heart rate rises. This is to</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> supply your muscles with more oxygen</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and to provide your brain with more blood, which can help you to feel more focused and there will also be a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"> number of "feel good" neurotransmitters are also triggered, such as the endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. Some of these are well-known for their role in mood control</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, which is why we can feel elated or content after a hard training session or race.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If it's a hard intervals session, as you continue through the session your body will be using carbohydrate as its primary fuel source because the body wont be able to metabolize fat for fuel efficiently at this intensity and your muscles will be using the glycogen stored within them for fuel. At a cellular level the skeletal muscle will be synthesiz</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">i</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ng something called </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adenosine Triphosphate (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ATP) in order to produce the muscle contractions that we need to move. In order to produce more and more ATP we need to increase our oxygen intake, so your breathing rate and heart rate will continue to increase. We can actually develop how well our body synthesizes and produces ATP by doing a lot of zone 2 or lower aerobic training, which will mean that we're far more efficient as athletes, more info on zone 2 training and how it works can be found on the links below:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/zone-2-training-for-endurance-athletes/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/zone-2-training-for-endurance-athletes/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1570513772"><br /></a></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-power-and-importance-of-mitochondria/">https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-power-and-importance-of-mitochondria/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">When you reach the point where you can't breathe any faster, you will have reached what's called your VO2 max - your maximum capacity of oxygen use, the higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are. As you progress through the session and your muscles start to fatigue and you can't take in enough oxygen to fuel the muscles, your muscles will start to fill with lactic acid, which is when you'll start to "feel the burn" or are heavy legged etc. At the same time, w</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">hile you're exercising hard, your muscles are being pushed literally to breaking point. This doesn't mean that they're going to snap or fail, but all the time you're exercising your muscles will be suffering from trauma and will start to develop micro tears in them as they struggle to cope with the intensity and workload. It's this trauma and these micro tears that gives you the feeling of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for a few days after a really tough session or race. As we progress as athletes, it's this constant trauma, recovery and adaptation that makes us faster and stronger.</span><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: arial;"><i><u>Post Exercise</u></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUgbpbuad7Pb4vASjeizN01trEEHpzMPDO9Q_rxZr0OyWT80JpcimjvG0-vD5iWUL3a1HiPzyRsd1C0BAXefxKLXb7Jgh2KtGRq5IA9chjexdGL5mLLalQ8DtWYQipTQT5IXGS8aEU1Y/s1600/after-interval-training.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="638" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUgbpbuad7Pb4vASjeizN01trEEHpzMPDO9Q_rxZr0OyWT80JpcimjvG0-vD5iWUL3a1HiPzyRsd1C0BAXefxKLXb7Jgh2KtGRq5IA9chjexdGL5mLLalQ8DtWYQipTQT5IXGS8aEU1Y/s320/after-interval-training.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Immediately after you've finished the session, yo</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; word-spacing: -0.96px;">ur body will be trying to normalise lactate levels and you're likely to still be breathing pretty hard and with a high body temperature but as we continue to recover</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> our heart rate and breathing will start to slow down and will return to normal and as a general rule, a good indicator of fitness is how quickly you recover after an interval or a session.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">30 minutes or so after you've finished your session you'll probably start to develop a raging hunger. Often a hunger so great that you'll feel like you could eat a horse. This is your body's way of telling you that you need to replace the glycogen stores that were used during the session. Carbohydrates are stored within muscles in the form of glycogen, so if you treat yourself to a slice of cake or something else that's high in carbohydrates after training is perfectly fine, within reason. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The ideal time to start refueling after a hard session is to consume a meal within an hour or so of the session / race completion. This can be either whole food or liquid form, and should</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> contain both fast-digesting carbs and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">protein</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">. This will prevent your body from using its own muscle tissue for energy and help encourage muscle synthesis. Regarding the muscle synthesis, i</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t's important to help the body to start the process of repairing and strengthening the muscles that have suffered from the trauma and impact of a hard session and one of the best ways to do this is to provide them with protein and carbs. Whey protein is an ideal protein supplement for this. When refueling after a training session, bear in mind the type of session that you've done. If it's been a really tough intervals session, or a session where the muscles are likely to have suffered trauma, then you're going to want to help their recovery and repair by taking on board proteins, as well as carbs. However, if you've just done a long swim and the muscles, although tired, won't have suffered the same level of trauma, then a more carbohydrate based refueling may be beneficial. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as refueling the muscles with protein and carbs, it's also important to rehydrate the body and to try and regain the electrolyte balance within. There are many different supplements available on the market, often in a tablet form and a popular one is the electrolyte tablets that you can dissolve in a normal drink. It's important to replace the electrolytes as well as lost fluids because if you just drink a lot of water after a hard session, there's a risk that you can <span style="background-color: white;">suffer from an electrolyte imbalance, which is when the amount of a certain electrolyte that you've lost via urine or sweat isn't properly replaced, or it can become more diluted by drinking too much water, which doesn't contain electrolytes. In extreme cases you could have a blood-sodium level that falls too low, or even develop something called hyponatremia. This can occur if you drink too much water during an event, such as a triathlon, because you lose sodium in your sweat. This dilutes the sodium content of your blood, so when your sodium levels are too low, your body’s water levels can rise too high which causes the cells to swell and in extreme cases can be fatal.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I've sometimes heard people say that no matter how much they eat after a hard swim, that they're still hungry. Hunger can actually be another sign of dehydration, so it's important not to confuse the two, especially if you're on a controlled diet. It's no good taking on board 2000 calories to refuel, if all you need is to rebalance your hydration levels.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><u><i>Recovery methods</i></u></b><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><u><i><br /></i></u></b>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the following section I'll talk briefly about some recovery methods that can be very beneficial. However, these don't relate to DOMS, that feeling that you get a day or two after a killer session when you really start to contemplate getting a Stannah Stairlift installed. When you're suffering from DOMS, as mentioned previously, this is actually trauma and damage to the muscle, which is totally different from just being a bit stiff, tired and aching. If you're suffering from DOMS there's little that you can do apart from just waiting for the pain to subside, although you may want to do a very gentle spin on the turbo or an easy swim or some pool jogging, but until the muscles heal, you should refrain from doing any strenuous training or racing, which will delay the healing process and will probably just exacerbate it.</span></span></div>
<h4>
<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: blue;">Stretching</span></u></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtnGpHygplmE26kPM0Gas6MfLv-3DCjFNzhRpTSQ0m_OSDZ6_r8wBvqmn8IqUOV2H3x0UBve3uRVhm4E-Q54LWQm-p9bF77qXKsZoKlAVMI_siY9fewbgX-TbdXe3p4IXHNA9rXQM3EM/s1600/stretching600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="620" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtnGpHygplmE26kPM0Gas6MfLv-3DCjFNzhRpTSQ0m_OSDZ6_r8wBvqmn8IqUOV2H3x0UBve3uRVhm4E-Q54LWQm-p9bF77qXKsZoKlAVMI_siY9fewbgX-TbdXe3p4IXHNA9rXQM3EM/s320/stretching600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Often the most familiar and widely used form of recovery after a training session is to do some stretching. Each stretch that you do doesn't really have to last long and their main purpose is that it helps to </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">keep the muscles flexible, strong and healthy, We need that element of flexibility in order to maintain a good range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight, Which can lead to poor form, which will ultimately and inevitably lead to injury. Stretches are best performed straight after a training session because the muscles are warm and supple, so will be responsive to the stretch. Never stretch a cold muscle though. If you think of muscles as if they're like plasticine, if it's cold and you pull it, it just snaps, but if you roll it in your hands for a while you can really stretch it, muscles can be thought of in a similar way. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">When doing the stretches, work on the muscles that have been used during the session and perform them in a controlled manner. Don't overstretch, push just to the point that you can "feel" it in the muscle and hold it there for 15 seconds or so. I find working through the stretches in a logical manner helps. ie, lower calf / achilles, then upper calf, then hamstrings, quads, glutes and into the upper body and so on. </span></div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></u>
<br />
<h3>
<u style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Foam Roller</i></b></span></u></h3>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-O4_O1c10oIR8XulraM5GZXSom6dK2_9Ew9t7xGVp22Fb2VMmNtrqsJk2lfQBvzG9eNoAFD4ZQxqfRn6-OibHuLmaeDssJ01vPOtJeLYPoGPzxJx6MJPchF0FV_BvLlM4cqYguqmWzAc/s1600/1280-foam-roller-calf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-O4_O1c10oIR8XulraM5GZXSom6dK2_9Ew9t7xGVp22Fb2VMmNtrqsJk2lfQBvzG9eNoAFD4ZQxqfRn6-OibHuLmaeDssJ01vPOtJeLYPoGPzxJx6MJPchF0FV_BvLlM4cqYguqmWzAc/s320/1280-foam-roller-calf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><u><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The foam roller is a great bit of (torture) equipment and can really help to ease out the aches and pains that we suffer from. As triathletes, we put our bodies through a hell of a lot. often far more than a single discipline athlete, as we work all the major muscle groups from shoulders to ankles and feet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The process of foam rolling is called self-myofacial release and can be done using a traditional foam roller, as seen above, or a hard rubber ball or even a rolling pin or golf or cricket ball. Foam rolling works by identifying trigger points or "knots" in the muscles and as we roll over them we can feel them as painful areas. Nearly every single athlete or triathlete etc will have muscle soreness and knots, so it's important to identify these and treat them regularly. By foam rolling regularly you will help to "iron out" the knots and help to keep all the muscle fibres running nice and parallel to each other. If you think of your muscles as fibrous tissue, sometimes these fibres become more rigid and can "stick" together. It's this that we can feel as knots. </span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Deep muscle compression helps to break up or relax tight muscles and adhesions formed between muscle layers and their surroundings. Imagine you are tenderizing your own muscles. They should be soft and supple like a baby’s muscles.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The most effective way to foam roll is to apply pressure to a specific muscle or muscle group, often your body weight is sufficient for this. Then roll slowly at a rate of about 5cm every couple of seconds. As you pass over an area that feels tight or painful, stop and pause for several seconds and try to relax the muscle. This can sometimes take up to 30 seconds or more. As you relax you should start to feel the pain ease. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you come across an area that's too painful to apply direct pressure, you can adjust the roller so that instead of applying direct pressure, you can work on the surrounding area and loosen the whole area. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You should roll as many muscle groups as possible and do it as regularly as every 48 hours or so. The more you roll, the more supple and loose your muscles will be, which I can guarantee will have a direct positive effect on your running. There are countless videos on YouTube that will demonstrate good foam rolling exercises.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u>Ice Baths</u></i></b><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sSbHnqrXffsC7MnjYn66H8oJVQhogK2D0pzhg81MRlnrG2l9x7DR9QYZTqZ0s72hrOzrS12tceZ6CwuHGiNotxO6azF4FEUfiWQAOMiMTCNXhk4GZRKmkq5bbOowpP1UkASdrRSzGas/s1600/mo+ice+bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sSbHnqrXffsC7MnjYn66H8oJVQhogK2D0pzhg81MRlnrG2l9x7DR9QYZTqZ0s72hrOzrS12tceZ6CwuHGiNotxO6azF4FEUfiWQAOMiMTCNXhk4GZRKmkq5bbOowpP1UkASdrRSzGas/s320/mo+ice+bath.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Possibly even more dreaded than the foam roller is the ice bath. This is really one of the most counter intuitive things to do for recovery and I'm not going to lie, is absolutely horrible for the first 5 minutes or so, until you go numb. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The theory behind ice baths is that they help the micro trauma that the muscles suffer during a tough session or race, in much the same way as applying ice to an injury works. Another way that they're thought to work is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">the cold causes your blood vessels to tighten, which in turn helps drain the lactic acid out of your tired muscles. If it's something that you're going to try, you don't actually need to use ice, I often just filled the bath with cold water only and sat in it for around 15 mins. That was perfectly cold enough, trust me. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There's much conflicting information as to whether ice baths actually work or their effectiveness, so if it's something that you feel is benefiting you, keep doing it. If you simply hate them and can't imagine anything worse, it's fine to steer clear. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></u></i></b>
<b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><u><span style="color: blue;">Compression clothing</span></u></i></b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_38TLhh2GPUPLN92lPXX47rSMlnb4mD_9L6AasZ4yiBlL6ZsYebvzUnYqeAFK1L6VYyIltQk2Jo-d7WKzRhjlpV7KX2uA2fGyPYQUNa3PAtCYpZ5b79lGjkODhWdlSnTGozECw7uuko/s1600/CompresSport-Compression-Socks-and-Sleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="350" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_38TLhh2GPUPLN92lPXX47rSMlnb4mD_9L6AasZ4yiBlL6ZsYebvzUnYqeAFK1L6VYyIltQk2Jo-d7WKzRhjlpV7KX2uA2fGyPYQUNa3PAtCYpZ5b79lGjkODhWdlSnTGozECw7uuko/s320/CompresSport-Compression-Socks-and-Sleeves.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a plethora of compression clothing that's available to us. Big brands like 2XU, Compressport, Skins etc. etc all claiming to offer the best recovery products out there. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many people talk about the effectiveness of compression clothing, but personally, I've found that if my calves are a bit sore or tight, when I put my calf guards on it almost feels like instant relief, so it must do something. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The theory behind compression is that when the muscles are "held" or compressed by a specific garment they are stabilized, which in turn helps to reduce the amount of muscle vibration and oscillation, which is thought to help reduce fatigue. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a post exercise garment it's said that through this stabilization that an increase in blood flow is promoted to the muscles and this will help to heal the micro trauma in the muscle and to aid recovery</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Sleep</u></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5Y0V5nAQgbv9FhYrYhRscsypUH6mcbR9BF7g3POS9H6Y5fV2w0Acxg8n2tbLd3komM6qEdGuLgNsJn7GaLbhIGJgXXsbZSPe6aLdV7w_5eAxSH7VxKJ_GH3NUQcHitR2miKJxSsFaUk/s1600/sleep-clock-sleeping-woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5Y0V5nAQgbv9FhYrYhRscsypUH6mcbR9BF7g3POS9H6Y5fV2w0Acxg8n2tbLd3komM6qEdGuLgNsJn7GaLbhIGJgXXsbZSPe6aLdV7w_5eAxSH7VxKJ_GH3NUQcHitR2miKJxSsFaUk/s320/sleep-clock-sleeping-woman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly and possibly the most important fundamental of recovery is sleep. Most people take it for granted, but if you're not getting a decent night's sleep, especially after training, it'll eventually have an impact on your body, which in turn will impact your health, recovery and subsequent fitness. Ideally, you should be aiming for 8 hours sleep per night. When training for long distance races and feeling the pressure to fit as much training sessions in as possible, one of the first things that people will sacrifice is often sleep. You might think to yourself that you'll get up at 0500 and get out to do your long run or ride before you start your daily commitments, but you need to be aware that if you're going to do that, you need to go to bed earlier and make sure you still get a good nights sleep. I know children, work, stress etc can all impact your sleep, but if you employ certain things into your routine, it should help you to get a better nights sleep. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ol style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: myriad-pro, Freesans, Helmet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1.335em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Stick to a consistent sleep schedule and routine.</strong> Go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. A set sleep routine will "train" you to fall asleep and wake up more easily.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Cut down on caffeine.</strong> For some people, a single cup of coffee in the morning means a sleepless night. Caffeine can also increase the need to urinate during the night.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Be physically active.</strong> Regular aerobic exercise like walking, running, or swimming provides three important sleep benefits: you'll fall asleep faster, attain a higher percentage of restorative deep sleep, and awaken less often during the night.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Limit daytime naps.</strong> Prolonged napping can disrupt your natural sleep cycle and prevent you from feeling tired enough to fall asleep.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">If you use tobacco in any form, quit.</strong> Nicotine makes it harder to fall asleep.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Use alcohol cautiously.</strong> Alcohol depresses the nervous system, so a nightcap may help some people fall asleep. But this effect disappears after a few hours and may even lead to waking up throughout the night. Alcohol can also worsen snoring and other sleep breathing problems.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b;">Improve your sleep surroundings.</strong> Remove the television, telephone, and any other devices from the bedroom. This reinforces the idea that this room is meant for sleeping. An ideal environment is quiet, dark, and relatively cool, with a comfortable bed and minimal clutter.</li>
</span></ol>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u>In summary</u></i></b></span></h3>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Never neglect your recovery, it's equally as important as your training and if you want to keep progressing and keep the chances of injury to a minimum it's probably even more important than the training. It doesn't have to take hours and hours, but if you build it into your routine and make it something that you just do 3 or 4 times a week, it will pay dividends. I've lost count of the amount of people who regularly tell me they've got tightness in muscles or a niggle that wont go away, yet prevention is often much better than cure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a> </span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-24775696112006629752018-01-19T03:16:00.000-08:002020-01-08T02:31:57.886-08:00It's ok to fail<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b>Goal Setting</b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year I wrote a blog about mental strength and my thoughts on its importance within our sport. Within that blog was a section on how to break down your targets into manageable chunks. This is so that you make it easier and less daunting to manage your goals and targets. If you think about revising for an exam, you don't try to memorise everything that you've learned or everything you think you should know on that subject matter all in one go. You break it down into small chunks and you work on that until you start to build up your knowledge and get ready for the exam. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Similarly to academic progress, in order to progress as an athlete, if you want to really improve it's important to set yourself some goals. You may have a long term goal that may take a few years to reach, but within that you have to have short term goals as well and ideally these should be goals that will really push your limits and goals that you will sometimes fail at. They can be goals that you either set yourself in training sessions or in races, or goals that your coach will set for you.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b>Learn how to accept the pain</b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Part of our role as coaches is to identify areas that we can see where an athlete or club member can improve on. We've all got them, even the best triathletes in the world like the Brownlee's, Daniela Ryf, Jan Frodeno etc have all got areas that they can improve on. Granted, at that level of performance, the margins for gain are much smaller than they are for the majority of athletes of our level but they're still striving to find an advantage over a fellow competitor or to push themselves further and faster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a loose rule, I try to construct training plans so that they work out at about 80% - 20% with about 80% of the sessions being completed in zone 2 and the other 20% being really hard sessions. At the end of the day, triathlon is an endurance or aerobic sport, hence the necessity to really build the engine that we're so reliant on. Yes, we might be blowing and really fatigued at the end of a longer race, but there's no way that anyone can race a triathlon if they're working anaerobically for the whole race. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Daniela Ryf said in an interview a few months ago that although they do so much work in zone 2, the sessions where they're really pushing themselves need to be really taking them out of their comfort zone. She said if it's not hurting, you're not pushing hard enough. If you learn how to push your limits in training, it makes it a bit easier for you to either break out of a pack during a race, to drop that annoying swimmer that's constantly tapping your toes, or to gap the runner that's on your shoulder and breathing down your neck. This is really where the really hard sessions come into their own. An analogy that I heard for this was on a recent podcast were they called it "visiting the well". Meaning when we have to really delve into what we perceive as our reserves, if we do it in training and constantly push the limits of those reserves in the hard sessions, the easier it is to push yourself in a race, when you're in a dark place and hurting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A study was done relatively recently with some track athletes. They were told to run a very hard 800m. Their times were recorded and they were given time to rest and recover before being told to do it again. What the scientists found was that nearly all of them ran the second 800m faster than the first one. At first they thought that this was because their pacing strategy had improved, but when they looked at it in more detail, it wasn't that, it was just that they simply ran faster. The main theory behind why this happened is that either consciously or subconsciously they mentally accepted how hard the first time they ran and how much it hurt, but their brains thought "that wasn't too bad, we can push a bit harder next time". Again this links to part of my mental toughness blog were I talk about how your brain will give up before your body and the importance to train the brain to let your body to be able to push itself harder and further.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Failure IS an option</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going back to my original point of goal setting. It's important to realise that when we fail, it's actually ok, as long as it doesn't become a frequent occurrence. When we set a goal it can be anything. It can be to go a bit further in a run session. It can be to push yourself a bit faster up a hill on a bike. It can be to shave a few seconds off a pb. But they need to be goals that will push you. If you enter a race or attend a training session without a goal, it's much easier to become either a bit complacent or just go through the motions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With a lot of the people that I coach, the majority of them are coming into the sport as novices and they make rapid and big improvements in a relatively short time. This is because of the big improvements that they make purely from more structured or consistent training. Almost every race is a pb for them. However, as an athlete improves and gets fitter and faster, their improvements can plateau a bit as the huge initial jump in fitness levels out. This is where we need to start thinking about setting more and more goals in order to challenge us and push ourselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you sit down with your coach and talk about your race plans etc, they should ask you what do you want to achieve at a particular race? In a club environment this can be a bit harder because of time constraints etc. Nevertheless, there should always be goals. Some of these goals may seem out of reach, but they will be there to help focus you and drive you on in your journey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you set yourself a goal, for example, to go under 50 minutes for a 10k but when you race you don't quite manage it. You should reflect on what went well during the race, how you felt, could you have pushed any harder and also reflect on what didn't go so well and what you can do to change that. Then take those thoughts into your training sessions. Train with a fresh focus and think how hard you can push yourself during the relevant sessions. These days I never enter a race with the mentality of "I just want to finish it". Some coaches and people say that if you start putting a time on something that you're just putting pressure on yourself. Yes, you are putting pressure on yourself, but it should be a pressure to focus on what you're doing in training and to push yourself towards your ultimate goal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What you must never do though is just get used to having no goals, or if you do have goals and you keep failing to hit them, you mustn't let yourself get used to it. This will cause you to almost accept that you're going to fail before you've started and this is when you'll start to "choke" or "bottle it" during a race. You know you've done it in training, but you just can't perform on race day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span>Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-85408144869783498092018-01-07T10:01:00.001-08:002019-06-06T17:00:16.546-07:00The road to recovery and the importance of a team environment. <h3>
<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early days</span></b></i></h3>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After my crash, during the Helvellyn Triathlon on the 3rd September, my body was, or at least felt, completely broken. I literally couldn't move for the first 4 days, I was in a morphine and drug cocktail induced haze and the pain was completely indescribable, such was its magnitude. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, one thing that never, ever entered my mind was "how will I ever recover"? Instead, I was of the thinking that every new day brought me one day closer to recovery. Granted, at the time I had no idea when I would ever be able to get up and move around pain free, let alone train again. But by the following Friday, the physio on the Major Trauma Ward had managed to help me to sit up on the edge of my hospital bed. Through sheer determination, by the following Monday I was able to get out of bed (assisted) and shuffle to the bedside chair and the following day I was able to do it unassisted. I was determined not to be downhearted. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During my stay in hospital my family, close friends and team mates at Invictus Triathlon Club rallied round and were brilliant, helping not only myself but helping Ruth too. Organising lifts for Ruth to the hospital, taking over my Head Coach duties, I had a regular stream of visitors (not to mention all the sweets). My mum also came up from Reading and stayed with Ruth and Hannah to help with Hannah's 13th birthday party. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got home my recovery continued to be nursed along, with Ruth and Hannah being amazing in helping my recovery. Whether it was Ruth drying me after a shower, or pulling me up so I could get to the edge of the bed, or Hannah swapping beds with me because I could only sleep sat upright, I felt like I was making improvements every few days. </span></div>
<h3>
<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tentative steps </span></b></i></h3>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not being one to take things lying down, after a few weeks I took my first tentative steps outside. I decided to set myself the challenge of walking around the block, a whole 400m. Those first few walks took me literally 40 odd minutes and I was having to stop every few metres to rest my body. I was still wracked with pain but I had to do something, anything. One of the things I kept thinking about during this time were my team mates and how, as a coach, I still had an example to set. Although taking a step away from the club in order to convalesc, I still kept one eye on the members and what they were doing and I thought that if I can try and demonstrate a determination to recover, it may give strength and encouragement to some of the members, should they need it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gradually, over the coming weeks and months I made small improvements, slowly increasing my walks, albeit they were still a shuffle and still very painful. By the time we reached late November I was feeling a lot better and thinking about a return to work, even if just to get some sense of normality. </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Return to training, onwards and upwards</i></b></span></h3>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the beginning of December, 3 months to the day since my crash I returned to work, and with it, decided to try and start rebuilding some fitness again. I also made a slow return to coaching and I think it was being at those first few sessions that really gave me the spark and determination to push my recovery. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I borrowed some dumbells and a kettle bell and started doing some strength work. However, one that really shocked and surprised me was just how weak I had become. I had stopped lifting heavy weights after I started triathlon in 2008, but I'd carried on doing some basic strength work, so when it came to trying to do a press up and finding that I literally couldn't do a single one as a result of the amount of trauma that my body had gone through, I was really surprised. But I've persevered and I'm making slow progress. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also started doing some very short runs and a few turbo sessions too. I could see how some of our club members were training and pushing themselves and I fed off the buzz that was around the club. My runs gradually increased and I could see very small gains after most of my runs. Throughout this time I did my training away from the club, so I could focus purely on what I was doing, working on my mental strength and making sure I was also keeping the correct technique, but I was looking forward to returning to the club sessions and being part of the vibe again. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're now at the end of the first week of 2018 and I've just completed my first full week of training. I even managed a swim (of sorts). I'm under no illusions as to how much further I still need to go in order to get back to some sort of full fitness and I know it's going to be a very long road that will no doubt test me physically and mentally to my limit. But I know that being surrounded by so many team mates who are all on their own individual journeys, I know I'll get there. It might not be something that any of us readily think about, but it's hard to explain or emphasise just how important it can be to train in a club where we can all feed off each others enthusiasm. Without my family and team mates I'd still recover, but I think it'd be much, much slower and I'd struggle to get out and do the hard work, but I honestly think my team mates have been and will continue to be an absolutely invaluable part of my recovery. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone's reading this, who isn't already part of a club, get on Google and find one local to you. It's possibly the best thing you'll ever do in your sporting life. If you are already part of a club, get down to as many training sessions as you can. You'll get pushed harder to improve, you'll motivate others and you'll get some coaching that will help you improve. Not to mention the great buzz that you can get from training in a group environment. I guarantee that your results will almost certainly be better than if you train away from the club. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel like I've finally been able to start training for the Lakeland 50 ultra marathon and with the help of my coaching knowledge, great team mates and a supportive family I'm confident I'll make it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-44492719573109422302017-12-10T08:40:00.001-08:002019-06-06T17:01:36.065-07:00Transition - the 4th discipline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transition is often referred to as the 4th discipline of Triathlon, it's something that all of us should practice, but it's often neglected. It's the part of the race where big time gains can be made or lost.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although far, far more can affect your race and training during the swim, bike and run disciplines, it's often the transitions that most multisport novices worry about the most. It doesn't have to be this way though, so I hope that this article is of use and will help to dispel some of the fears that people have regarding transitions. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzEK1N2oWF-SgHZrQvW1X4Qc8u-FaZJr5mAIlATPOUCqoXIjLoOVTU1L_VcbjwWOwlCs987Xp_aCMZW81rEdGROwyMtDLwh8kgCbVfurRl4LYqzRMQnX92NRnATgSjPtKZq-dme1doic/s1600/transition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzEK1N2oWF-SgHZrQvW1X4Qc8u-FaZJr5mAIlATPOUCqoXIjLoOVTU1L_VcbjwWOwlCs987Xp_aCMZW81rEdGROwyMtDLwh8kgCbVfurRl4LYqzRMQnX92NRnATgSjPtKZq-dme1doic/s320/transition.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Setting up your transition</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transitions are often cramped and hectic spaces and can appear quite daunting to people who are new to the sport, with the hussle and bussle of everyone setting out their kit in their own individual ways, so that things flow smoothly as you go through transition 1 (T1) and transition 2 (T2). Just try to relax and go through things slowly and methodically and you'll be fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing to do when you're setting up in transition is to find your number on the racking and put your bike on it. The numbers will usually alternate with one bike pointing one way and the one next to it pointing the other. Most athletes will rack their bike by hooking the saddle on the transition rail, although some athletes hang them by the bars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkEliJr6ZWzJN-2Rezi7C_AcaZS8IaXY5gR9vlxeCF0FIXmWbt0vRlonqVgVsKmLyzlM5x_U827p4EK8UTI3BBGkJsw2q4_NWjrOuUEcMQmjp8ZHCuOK0tF-78EOUGYCfDTxnerf1VeU/s1600/img_0001_211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkEliJr6ZWzJN-2Rezi7C_AcaZS8IaXY5gR9vlxeCF0FIXmWbt0vRlonqVgVsKmLyzlM5x_U827p4EK8UTI3BBGkJsw2q4_NWjrOuUEcMQmjp8ZHCuOK0tF-78EOUGYCfDTxnerf1VeU/s320/img_0001_211.jpg" width="241" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After you've "racked" your bike, the next thing to do is set out the kit that you'll need in a race and in a logical way, so that you know exactly where everything is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally, the way I set my own kit out is to have a towel on the floor next to my front wheel. On top of this I put my cycling shoes at the front, with my running shoes behind them. I hook my helmet onto my handlebars so it doesn't get kicked about by other competitors, although the image below is also common practice by some. If I'm wearing glasses / sunglasses for the bike leg, these will go into the helmet too. As seen in the picture above, some people hang their number belt on the handlebars too, although other athletes sometimes put their number belt on under their wetsuit, before the swim, to save a few extra seconds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm10Z9jr_uf45ZKo2brthVjCHQibkhHS84NUGHi-2NRO1f0aqAV-tE1rxBTpZWYgxfn4AHDxsbKf0V3zhlwrnefI_xre5HxhnP-cnr7jbORyiDNk5HzPZ1S-s-3fiuojc3lQDvuObGtTA/s1600/IMG_1740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm10Z9jr_uf45ZKo2brthVjCHQibkhHS84NUGHi-2NRO1f0aqAV-tE1rxBTpZWYgxfn4AHDxsbKf0V3zhlwrnefI_xre5HxhnP-cnr7jbORyiDNk5HzPZ1S-s-3fiuojc3lQDvuObGtTA/s320/IMG_1740.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Once you've set up your main bits of kit you can start thinking about the other things to do before the race starts:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure you've got the right bottles on your bike and they're filled with whichever drink you'll be having.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're carrying a spares bottle make sure it's packed and is secure on the bike (more about this later).</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure you've got your nutrition on the bike, whether this is going to be gels taped to the top tube on the bike or you're using some sort of storage system.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your tyres should also be pumped up to the correct pressure, so it's worth taking a pump with you.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing to consider is sunscreen. Most triathlons that are Olympic distance and above will last anything between 2 and 17 hours, so if the sun's out you need to protect yourself from it. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you're happy with all your kit and how it's set out, go for a walk around the transition area. Look at where you come in from the swim and then walk to the "bike out" area and familiarise yourself with this and where the bike mount / dismount line is, walk to the "run out" exit, making sure that you're familiar with everything. Visualise yourself entering and leaving the transition area from the swim and into the bike leg and entering from the bike leg and where you're going to run out.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Up until a couple of years ago you were allowed to use a plastic box in transition at most races. These have now been banned by the BTF. However, you can use bags in transition, but it depends on the race and the amount of space as to whether you'll be allowed to keep these next to your bike. Some races will ask you to store them around the edge of the transition area while you're racing though.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="color: red;">The transition process</span></u></b> </span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First and foremost is to not try and do everything at 100mph. If you try and rush things too much it'll cost you more time and when it comes to transitions more haste definitely means less speed. That said, you shouldn't exactly stop and have a brew and a butty, which I'm sure some do, based on their times. If you do everything in a controlled manner you'll be fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxUBib2a0wY_S0421V1JxOrWgrCCtS2FRMQvwevhJbvKfGTkKQjsDSIUa4bBiTXmj8a_FGGsR5qgQVYVlUEqJmunqb_05JrNRdMa4xBRxao3BgE5lVAaq9F6SeDmGu437lVX7KPPevgk/s1600/EventPhotoHandler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxUBib2a0wY_S0421V1JxOrWgrCCtS2FRMQvwevhJbvKfGTkKQjsDSIUa4bBiTXmj8a_FGGsR5qgQVYVlUEqJmunqb_05JrNRdMa4xBRxao3BgE5lVAaq9F6SeDmGu437lVX7KPPevgk/s320/EventPhotoHandler.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transition 1</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your thoughts should turn to T1 not as you get to your bike, but as soon as you're out of the swim. If it's an open water swim this should start just before you stand up to get out of the water.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just before you stand up, pull the front of your wetsuit away from your body this will allow the wetsuit to fill with water and will mean that it will be massively easier for you to get it off. After you stand up, flip your goggles onto the top of your head and then start looking / reaching for the chord to allow you to pull the zip down. Once you've got the wetsuit unzipped, pull one arm out. Before you pull your other arm out, take your swim hat and goggles off and keep them in the hand of the arm that you're about to pull out of the wetsuit. As your arm is halfway out of the sleeve simply let go of your hat and goggles and they should stay in your sleeve. Alternatively, just leave your hat and goggles on your head until you get to your transition space. Ideally, by the time you're entering transition, you should have your wetsuit off to waist level.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chances are that you'll feel dizzy when you get out of the swim, this is perfectly normal and no cause for concern. Just be careful if you're running to T1, or if you feel really wobbly, just walk for a bit until you've regained your composure. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you get to your bike pull the legs of your wetsuit down. The easiest way to do this is by stepping on the wetsuit and pulling the other leg out. Repeat this until it's off completely, then put it, neatly, at the side of your bike.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point I usually stand on the towel that I put my kit on so that it dries my feet slightly, making it a bit easier to then put my cycling shoes on. If you're new to triathlon then chances are that you'll have flat pedals that don't require a cycling shoe, so simply put your run trainers on instead. Next thing to go on is my helmet. DO NOT touch your bike until you've got your helmet on, otherwise a time penalty may be incurred. After that I'm pretty much ready to go, so I grab my bike and head to the "bike out" and mount line. </span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transition 2</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></u></b>
Similarly to T1, you don't start to think about T2 once you're there. Start to think about it when you're still a few hundred metres away. Think about dismounting the bike, how you're going to do that and thinking about where your transition position is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you get to your transition space put your bike back on the rack, remove your helmet and then take your cycling shoes off. A quick swap to your trainers and then set off on the run. Before you head off on the run you may want to grab a quick mouthful of your drink, or grab a couple of gels to keep you going. As T2 goes, there really isn't much more to it than that. However, as with T1, more haste is less speed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hints and tips for time saving</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the above gives a good idea of what you can expect during transitions, there are quite a few hints and tips that can make things easier and will save you time. Not all of what I'm about to talk about needs to be utilised by a novice triathlete but it will give you some ideas etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 1 - Talc</b>. Whether you're going to race in socks or not, putting bit of talc in your cycling and running shoes will mean that they will slide on quicker in transitions. A top tip if you're going to put socks on for the bike and run is to wear them before the race. This will stretch them slightly and will help in getting them on. If you are going to wear socks, put a bit of talc in these too, then leave them in your cycling shoes.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbgrOK8zurVcSBKS1BTweRvWVpauh4hCxp6VAIZoPzJEcvZ3P08PDo9acdOFRzjVECzGuU9C_3TGuC9P6q1kVTWHIzFIc5Iy1gJM5Wmwysf4XSrDmPYIA5IaMeDMYkiFKEtFNrRyvDZw/s1600/Talc-Baby-Powder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="400" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbgrOK8zurVcSBKS1BTweRvWVpauh4hCxp6VAIZoPzJEcvZ3P08PDo9acdOFRzjVECzGuU9C_3TGuC9P6q1kVTWHIzFIc5Iy1gJM5Wmwysf4XSrDmPYIA5IaMeDMYkiFKEtFNrRyvDZw/s320/Talc-Baby-Powder.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 2 - elastic bands.</b> Many of the experienced triathletes attach their cycling shoes to their bike with elastic bands. This is so that they can simply run with their bike to the mount line and jump straight on, putting their feet into their shoes as they ride off. This isn't something that I've ever done and, in my opinion, the time lost or gained is pretty much negligible at most levels.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde2ggpOlQ4CXFnV1VnL4j_ktVuVnIZCpVs2GPj49FNaCuxYaDX-ozJEodCqC8xPgadb5qNQfxRhgTc_DLryaL3hRu1bJpv0vhXZsIFLFqjz8l6dVoFB4C3LmYpdMnGhIxeHGb3Nktp2U/s1600/46688-largest_maccabike4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="617" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde2ggpOlQ4CXFnV1VnL4j_ktVuVnIZCpVs2GPj49FNaCuxYaDX-ozJEodCqC8xPgadb5qNQfxRhgTc_DLryaL3hRu1bJpv0vhXZsIFLFqjz8l6dVoFB4C3LmYpdMnGhIxeHGb3Nktp2U/s320/46688-largest_maccabike4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 3 - bike mount and dismount.</b> I don't want to spend too much time talking about this, but they're areas where time can be made up. There are many different ways to mount the bike: there's the flying mount, semi-flying mount, as well as the normal mount and scoot mount (Google these for more information). One thing that I do, do on the dismount though is to take my feet out of my shoes 100m or so before I get to the dismount line and then just rest them on top of my shoes until I'm closer to the dismount line, then I swing one leg over the bike and as I get to the dismount line I just hop off and I'm straight into the run towards my racking space, with no need to stop the bike to climb off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFm3oiI4thVYhIFW-QX02pwiPWXf40mxfRdM8lZeiuSIDc6hitJtupMtnXKH4cZdhjD7MSrs7tW3V58nD4sGBm4spPxA0yyxCTSZ3tQe2U6igPawB0_c3pT0SCmKwveS_VrgiUbwitHpA/s1600/Flying-mount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="650" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFm3oiI4thVYhIFW-QX02pwiPWXf40mxfRdM8lZeiuSIDc6hitJtupMtnXKH4cZdhjD7MSrs7tW3V58nD4sGBm4spPxA0yyxCTSZ3tQe2U6igPawB0_c3pT0SCmKwveS_VrgiUbwitHpA/s320/Flying-mount.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 4 - Tri specific cycle shoes.</b> Although any cycling shoe is perfectly fine for triathlon, wearing a tri specific cycle shoe can save time when putting them on and it also makes the dismount technique mentioned above a lot easier to achieve. With a Tri shoe they'll tend to just have either one or two wide velcro straps, instead of ratchet or buckle system like many road shoes. However, if you're doing a middle or full distance race (70.3 miles or 140.6 miles) a normal cycling shoe may be more comfortable during the race, providing more support. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57SsGjevX0BPo3DfhmVRnPGvtOu5HXN6gKYC3d-0CdQFY8M8Erlgg-Zz1Owoz2JwyTpNIpJg41AKxgJWqk3vYpOPOywohNcOpdDW4RwPjcYgyhsjUrZqT3_UHQ6Y7zzGc3uMKmreVme4/s1600/2014-Fizik-K5-triathlon-shoe01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="700" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57SsGjevX0BPo3DfhmVRnPGvtOu5HXN6gKYC3d-0CdQFY8M8Erlgg-Zz1Owoz2JwyTpNIpJg41AKxgJWqk3vYpOPOywohNcOpdDW4RwPjcYgyhsjUrZqT3_UHQ6Y7zzGc3uMKmreVme4/s320/2014-Fizik-K5-triathlon-shoe01.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 5 - Elastic laces.</b> It's surprising how long it seems to take to do something as simple as tying laces in transition. One of the best ways of getting around this is to use elastic laces. There are many different types of elastic laces and everyone will have their own favourite. When used with the talc, as mentioned above, you can save well over a minute when trying to put your run shoes on, if you use elastic laces instead of traditional tie laces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUa6Yq0zZTrSlYeRR3rirc4oVihkMRcrG4rGe8hTIinqWH1tN_sFbU0lWWmpLS4dD3NlMWvDgO3zye4KgaC2w5U93XPIr44DnUy9L7bD1Cnke35_4VpkGjKQobX61DkGrJS0bEUfBSYRo/s1600/elastieken-triathlon-veters-Xtenex-laces-x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUa6Yq0zZTrSlYeRR3rirc4oVihkMRcrG4rGe8hTIinqWH1tN_sFbU0lWWmpLS4dD3NlMWvDgO3zye4KgaC2w5U93XPIr44DnUy9L7bD1Cnke35_4VpkGjKQobX61DkGrJS0bEUfBSYRo/s320/elastieken-triathlon-veters-Xtenex-laces-x300.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No. 6 - spares bottle. </b>Although this won't save you time in transition, it's a great bit of kit and can be in the form of a saddle bag, or a flat topped bottle. In mine I keep a spare inner tube, CO2 cartridges and adapter, puncture patches, tyre leavers and a couple of other bits and pieces. They can be the difference between a DNF and just losing 5 or 10 minutes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope the above is of use to some and will help you as you start out on your Triathlon journey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sutty</span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-79563160540073402462017-07-28T02:32:00.001-07:002019-06-06T17:06:22.836-07:00Finding the best training plan and coach<div style="height: 0px;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><br /></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will I get along with the coach?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much to choose from</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The self coached athlete</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hiring a coach</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How much feedback will I get from the coach?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Will the coach produce a session plan that will suit my needs?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How will the coach deliver the sessions to me?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">how much will it all cost?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my opinion, the triathlon industry is currently somewhat saturated with coaches. Some of them have been doing it for decades, others, like myself are relatively new to coaching, with a couple of years coaching experience, but with many more years experience in terms of racing and training not just for triathlon, but all sorts of other events. This diversity of knowledge can be key and may allow the coach to offer a broader spectrum than just purely triathlon specific coaching</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The coach - athlete relationship is absolutely vital if you want to get the best possible results, in my opinion. The role of the coach is far, far more than just someone who writes training plans. They're a mentor, a leader, a confidante, a source of knowledge, a role model, a motivator, a friend, an organiser and much more. So it's key that when choosing a coach, they demonstrate as many of these qualities as possible. If you don't get along well with your coach, I think it is going to be detrimental to your training.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Different coaches sometimes offer different training plans ie, gold, silver, bronze or similar, with varying amounts of feedback or coach - athlete contact depending on what plan you opt for. Feedback is an incredibly important aspect of any coaching plan, both from the coach to the athlete and vice versa. The coach needs to be able to tell the athlete how they're performing and any areas that they need to focus on, as well as offering praise. Likewise, the athlete needs to be able to discuss with the coach how the sessions are working for them, whether there is anything that they think would suit them better and also how they think they're performing themselves.A great way of getting feedback is to have video analysis done by your coach. This not only allows both of you to review each particular discipline in slow time, but it also gives an opportunity for face to face feedback.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The type of session plan produced by the coach should follow on from the above points, in that the coach will have discussed the needs of the athlete and they'll have good idea of how they're going to get along. From this the coach can write a training plan that's specific to the athletes needs and time that they've got available to train. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coaches use many different ways of delivering sessions, some use web based apps like Training Peaks, which is a fantastic platform for both delivering the session and also for both the coach and athlete to keep a track on how things are progressing. Others use spreadsheets etc and emails to send session plans to their clients. Any of these mediums are perfectly good and the coach will be able to send plans, session updates and provide feedback using any of them. The way in which the session plan is delivered should, in my opinion, be reflected in the price of the plan. (see point 6)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost is possibly the biggest single determining factor when most people choose a coach. Unfortunately, with coaching it isn't always a case of "you get what you pay for". Some coaches charge quite large sums of money for delivering monthly session, whereas others are comparatively cheap. Some coaches are extremely affordable and offer a great service. As with most things these days, it's all about money and feeling like you're getting great value for money and I think that (for me) is possibly the single biggest factor. If a client is getting the best possible service, without paying a fortune, then both parties are generally happy.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">x</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZs7b03P1COXA7qmuOuKLENuym-zqpU6krgFfBHaSdTvgmtLpEi9YYGUL4-lmwqUpTH9ANzmYB5w13U63fiBoHKk2gOsxZfRc80MgGoILXpb4iv914lHyo9QGX1akOKUx8tpO7TVYHVM/s1600/Decisions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZs7b03P1COXA7qmuOuKLENuym-zqpU6krgFfBHaSdTvgmtLpEi9YYGUL4-lmwqUpTH9ANzmYB5w13U63fiBoHKk2gOsxZfRc80MgGoILXpb4iv914lHyo9QGX1akOKUx8tpO7TVYHVM/s1600/Decisions.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you go onto any internet search engine and type in "Triathlon training plan", you'll get a results return of hundreds of different plans, ranging from just a few £'s per month, to literally hundreds of £'s. All of them claiming to be the best. In coaching it's important to remember that one size doesn't fit all, so many clients and club members need their sessions tweaking a little bit, so that they make the most of the needs of the athlete and get the best out of them, with the time that they have available to train. Speaking to a very highly regarded coach and athlete a couple of weeks ago, something that we agreed on was that the main thing that all these session plans had in common was that they will all yield results if they're followed correctly. I often say to people when I'm coaching that there's no secret recipe for achieving success and making big improvements, but the most important thing is consistency, "consistency is key" and if you train well and consistently you literally can't fail to improve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, with that, how do you go about choosing the right training plan and coach? Well, one of the first things to think about is what your goals and targets are and whether you can realistically achieve them by training alone, or whether you would benefit from having a coach or training in a group environment?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWE6PISM_m0jfvDmOCqMI_h6cplgfJ9WRZbBYFZvCpkl5SIJgld-_5SJMPvmzuSboXaktNcluNcOdtSKvPJO3wJ38aHjfXE2OySXLT_wmMSgWjZiNv08aAA9_1pDunTVoRqZVoWjnxl4/s1600/tri+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="825" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWE6PISM_m0jfvDmOCqMI_h6cplgfJ9WRZbBYFZvCpkl5SIJgld-_5SJMPvmzuSboXaktNcluNcOdtSKvPJO3wJ38aHjfXE2OySXLT_wmMSgWjZiNv08aAA9_1pDunTVoRqZVoWjnxl4/s320/tri+books.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the first things to ask yourself when looking for a training plan is "what are you training for and what are your goals? These are both really important when choosing a training plan. Whilst it's important to have goals and ambitions, if you're new to triathlon and multisport it's important to have a sense of patience and a predetermined knowledge that it can be a long road in getting where you want to, in terms of what you want to achieve. One thing that you'll notice though is that as you improve and get fitter, your goals will constantly change and you'll enjoy pushing your boundaries further and further.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you decide to go down the route of being a self trained multisport athlete (triathlete/duathlete etc) there are some pitfalls that are associated with self training. The stand out ones for me are; does the athlete have enough knowledge on the principles of training and can they recognise when they're over training and need to back off , or when they need to push harder? How to establish "training zones" and does the athlete possess a training philosophy? Has the athlete training alone got the same mental focus, strength and drive to that of an athlete training in a group or under a coach? These, plus many other areas all need to be taken into consideration when deciding which path to go down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It can be a bit of a minefield trying to choose the correct training plan, with all sorts of questions that you'll need to ask yourself. A lot of triathlon training plans will be aimed at a particular distance, ie Sprint, Standard, Half Ironman and full Ironman. Whichever one of these categories you're training to race in, the fundamentals are going to be the same, in that you need a training plan that will contain sessions specific to the required distance of race that you're competing in and they need to be structured and progressive sessions too. Plus, the training plan needs to be adaptable to your current level of fitness. It's not good signing up to a training plan that's more suited to an Age Group triathlete, if you're just starting out on your own journey. You also need to consider how flexible the session plan is, in that can you juggle sessions round in order to fulfill work and / or family commitments, which is something that's extremely important in maintaining a healthy balance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once all the above has been taken into account, you may feel ready to sign up to a training plan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mu-gPfG11leeDdcRSMuY1tkMMzY08siqt7azdFStzHY6BUIe4WE7YzxY-lChV-3Mfh8bRziiOkaq-21pFdC7Rum4iI8jeI05cc83_DLShx60NIamVl3LWYIs0Q8BpM5xrg9OUAYVKE4/s1600/basic+plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="560" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mu-gPfG11leeDdcRSMuY1tkMMzY08siqt7azdFStzHY6BUIe4WE7YzxY-lChV-3Mfh8bRziiOkaq-21pFdC7Rum4iI8jeI05cc83_DLShx60NIamVl3LWYIs0Q8BpM5xrg9OUAYVKE4/s320/basic+plan.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you've decided that you may struggle with a generic training plan and would like to hire a coach there are some things that you may want to think about beforehand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are all very important when choosing a coach, so I'll address each one individually; </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8g5PEvIvuYzvvi9AHJ3JM17haWnNFj4e3LIMxkhm1a8_qJYvLg6EervwNuIuRO_gYkfh6wWFhfYU7mEokaWDoTGZz3LcUXWUiEwLXrFmr_FNsmorOd42tyLRbQvkqXSO_XV0p2C9RQ0/s1600/17904187_1869247003354760_8224237877063885058_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8g5PEvIvuYzvvi9AHJ3JM17haWnNFj4e3LIMxkhm1a8_qJYvLg6EervwNuIuRO_gYkfh6wWFhfYU7mEokaWDoTGZz3LcUXWUiEwLXrFmr_FNsmorOd42tyLRbQvkqXSO_XV0p2C9RQ0/s320/17904187_1869247003354760_8224237877063885058_n.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another point worth noting is that in recent years the sport of Triathlon has literally exploded onto the public scene, with names like the Brownlee brothers becoming household names. This has lead to a vast amount of online resource being available and it's worth noting that what one article or coach says is gospel, another will disagree or contradict it. This doesn't mean that one is right and owne is wrong, it's just the differing way that coaches perceive what they're trying to portray and get across. Similarly, if you ask a group of coaches a particular question, you'll get around 7 different answers. This doesn't mean that one coach necessarily knows more than the next, although some are obviously more experienced. It just means that each coach has his or her own philosophy on training, writing and delivering session plans.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope the above has been of some use and it helps make the choice of which path to go down a bit easier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
</div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-6470227468575889732017-06-07T07:44:00.002-07:002019-06-18T01:07:34.367-07:00How to pace an Ironman<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b>Just how important is it to pace an Ironman effectively and how do we go about it?</b></u></span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYsxx_d85MCssP1MRj782Kf29rVW2ghF2YrJtuoMzpNAL8Pa3lAcuU7AwBW9qHkwINbmH2Oi6gKqEsum2o_kq4SsqiHIyh3nyJr4qyMHCcRMu410PM91K0wHJ7dcqreKzwvmvSp899Rg/s1600/ironman_uk_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYsxx_d85MCssP1MRj782Kf29rVW2ghF2YrJtuoMzpNAL8Pa3lAcuU7AwBW9qHkwINbmH2Oi6gKqEsum2o_kq4SsqiHIyh3nyJr4qyMHCcRMu410PM91K0wHJ7dcqreKzwvmvSp899Rg/s320/ironman_uk_2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An Iron distance race is like very few other triathlons, in that you need to get so much right (and have a little bit of luck) in order to execute your race strategy. Training, nutrition and even clothing are areas that you'll have been working on during the months that you've been training and building towards race day and you should be approaching your race with confidence and positivity in the knowledge that you've trained consistently and correctly, your nutrition is spot on and you're going to be comfortable in the clothing that you choose to wear for the race. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, one aspect that you may not have put as much time and thought into is your pacing during the race. When training, we often train to an intensity that doesn't exactly reflect what you'll be doing on the day. Ok, we've done the thousands of miles on the bike, often varying between group rides, solo rides and shorter and some harder efforts and we've run huge amounts of miles at MAF or very low aerobic intensity and done some speed work too. But just how do you put all this into practice and pace yourself, holding enough in reserve to be able to execute the strategy that you want to and achieve your goals? It's absolutely vital to your ambitions and race expectations that you pace an Ironman race effectively and efficiently. Hopefully this post will go some way towards giving you an idea of how to do this. I've deliberately left out my thoughts on nutrition and hydration etc because these can be quite an individual thing, although knowing that you have to keep your electrolytes up, that your body will only process 60g - 90g (max) of carbs per hour and that it's sometimes difficult to eat on the run (I'd suggest consuming 75% of your race nutrition on the bike) are all essential factors, but I think that the in depth discussion around those aspects is something for another blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>First up, the swim</u></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEj6rXIwIJkYexZCquiRzCA4XTIq5btwKQd-73F74Q-uRocLx2IMjbrvX-EgWUF1_WojGiuVzrb5HXe0QPmYdzeWF1iJxjgX53Fhqh8Hc6Effggm62qMEow5KA1tz3VRRBGdFBQKinC1U/s1600/IMUK+SWIM.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEj6rXIwIJkYexZCquiRzCA4XTIq5btwKQd-73F74Q-uRocLx2IMjbrvX-EgWUF1_WojGiuVzrb5HXe0QPmYdzeWF1iJxjgX53Fhqh8Hc6Effggm62qMEow5KA1tz3VRRBGdFBQKinC1U/s320/IMUK+SWIM.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The swim is (obviously) the first part of the race and although this isn't usually where your race will be "won or lost" and you can be forgiven for thinking it may not have a massive impact on your overall time, but you'd be wrong and the potential is still there to have a poor swim and start off on the wrong footing for what's going to be a very long day out.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll possibly be thinking to yourself "this is it, this is where all the months and months and the thousands of miles of training, all those cold and lonely winter sessions are finally put into practice", so before the swim start you'll more than likely be feeling nervous (unless you're a robot) and you'll be hoping that everything goes well, or at the every least you'll be apprehensive or excited and the adrenaline will be flowing. This is when you first need to really focus, just think about the first couple of hundred metres or so of the swim. Are you going to find clear water and take your time, or are you going to get in the mix and draft? Whichever option, don't think too far ahead. As I said, you'll almost certainly have some nerves, so just focus on getting in the water, getting into your rhythm and and making sure you breathe out fully after every breath, controlling your effort and swimming well within yourself. Pushing a little too hard in the swim is so easy to do and you might not feel like you're doing it because of all the adrenaline that'll be flowing and you'll probably not get out of the water feeling tired either, but I guarantee that it'll catch up with you later on. I published in a previous blog about psychology and how it can affect your training and racing. If you're feeling really nervous, try smiling to yourself, talk to people / team mates / supporters and other athletes. This will help to distract you and will help to settle the nerves. Try to focus the nervousness into excitement, this will be less draining on your body and will make you feel energised, rather than lethargic.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you finally get into the water, be confident in your ability. You've swam this distance (and further) in training, find a bit of clear water or find someone's feet to swim on, and set off, focusing on your technique and BREATHING. With the rolling starts that IMUK employ these days, it's much easier to find some space and avoid getting smashed about and being caught up in the melee of what it used to be like with the mass starts, if that's what you choose to do. You don't need to be swimming in the middle of a bunch, fighting for space, which can be tiring and use valuable energy. Instead, as swimmers pass you, drop onto their feet and draft them, keeping your fingers a few inches from their toes. This is free speed and will definitely help you with your time. When focusing on your technique, don't swim too hard. Swimming isn't like running or cycling where you can look at your watch to see what pace you're doing or to see what your heart rate is so that you can back off if you're going too fast. But for most of us, we tend to swim at a fairly constant pace in training, when doing long and continuous sets, so focus on this and don't go flying off too fast, which as I said previously, is all to easy to do with all the adrenaline that'll be flowing. Don't race off too hard and end up blowing up before the first buoy, if you fly off the line and end up going anaerobic even if just for a minute or two, it can have a big impact on your race. You'll not notice it straight away, but in another 10, 11 or 12 hours it'll creep up on you and you'll definitely notice it then, so it's vital that you control your pace in the swim. Spend the 20 seconds or so during the Australian exit to adjust your goggles (if you need to) have a glance to the crowds and regather yourself, reset and get ready to complete the second lap, by which time you'll probably (hopefully) be completely relaxed and well into the racing mentality. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Onto the bike</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdziGyIPc8vn5W8cOAB4nBBEVexnrl6YwkCRk2djXhKgiaEAc8GTUDpQ3XDf6LpY0ZBTDOdDIuFXRhn2MMutY7fk5t9PjesoaCxD_vRHNf19MpOicN-wwIvth8ZFHgwZiaRMEu26u1Q8/s1600/babylon.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdziGyIPc8vn5W8cOAB4nBBEVexnrl6YwkCRk2djXhKgiaEAc8GTUDpQ3XDf6LpY0ZBTDOdDIuFXRhn2MMutY7fk5t9PjesoaCxD_vRHNf19MpOicN-wwIvth8ZFHgwZiaRMEu26u1Q8/s320/babylon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In terms of pacing, this is the most crucial of all three disciplines during an Iron distance race.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll probably be buzzing after completing the swim and seeing / hearing the cacophony of noise around the swim entry / exit</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and you'll probably be feeling great</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, so you can fully expect another big adrenaline hit. When you get onto the bike though, I can't stress enough how important it is to hold back and not push, especially on the flatter courses. Unlike the swim not being absolutely critical to your success and finish time in an Ironman (to a slightly lesser extent), the same cannot be said of the bike. If you push too hard on the bike, it WILL affect your entire race. A highly regarded coach and very successful athlete said about effort on the bike, “if it feels too hard, you're pushing too hard. If it feels just right, you're probably still pushing too hard. If it feels a bit too easy... it’s just about right”, although obviously this is dependent on the bike course and the hillier courses are harder to gauge. Similarly, if you're riding to a power profile make sure you stick to it, this is crucial. Also, if you know your heart rate zones for on the bike, try your best to control the efforts and not spike too much. That said, for the bike course for Ironman UK in 2019 and some other very hilly Iron distance bike courses you might need to employ a slightly different strategy because of the number of hills. At Bolton it can feel like you're either going uphill or downhill and because of the amount of hills, if you go too easily on all the inclines, the descents aren't long enough to make up that lost time. So I'd say push slightly harder on a climb than you might don in a flatter Iron distance race and then push harder still on the descents, but still riding well within yourself. If you haven't already practiced and done so in training I'd say it's worthwhile riding the first lap slightly easier than the second or third laps, depending on the course. But whichever option you choose, it's important to have one eye on the race as a whole.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because mental focus can be tiring when you're concentrating hard it's impossible to remain 100% focused on the entire race, so spend the first part of the bike, maybe even as much as the first lap of the course enjoying it. Say the odd nice word of encouragement to fellow racers, or have a bit of craic with some of them, soak up the atmosphere and support on the course, which for Ironman UK is often amazing and generally try and enjoy it because it will help to reinforce the positive mental energy. Although you'll probably have done numerous century rides during your training and often with a run off the back of them, you'll not have run a marathon off the back of a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride in training, so you need to keep that in mind. If you have a good taper during the week or so leading up to Ironman, you'll feel like an absolute machine when you get onto the bike on race day, so this is where you need to be very disciplined with your pacing. At your current fitness levels and with the taper beforehand, you'll probably be able to smash your previous PB's for the bike course, but it would come at a huge cost and you'd probably end up walking most of the marathon. Cramping / blowing up on the run is very often caused by pushing too hard on the bike, even by as little as 10%.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another very important aspect is your mental strength. Because the race is so long, it's nigh on impossible to stay focused and "in the zone" for the whole thing, so you need to be getting off the bike in T2 as mentally fresh as possible. But if you've spent the last 6, 7 or 8 hours really focused and pushing a tiny bit too hard, you'll get off the bike and will feel shattered and the thought of doing a marathon will fill you with dread. You need to be getting off the bike and feeling fresh enough to know that you can adopt whatever strategy it is that you've set out for the run.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>The run, it's in the bag from here</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfn-7HtMp89oP7A_MOEeSOjFT9RqyYIAszHKjb-RAA-p_rdqH3v-xs2hoI97new9jTSso_nbxQABRw4-0CrGXbpdnA7bKJSZBhM2Kh4EcCD28ssuF4nVKJBOHOJqEdjWQZrKAWBp8v6k/s1600/imuk+run.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfn-7HtMp89oP7A_MOEeSOjFT9RqyYIAszHKjb-RAA-p_rdqH3v-xs2hoI97new9jTSso_nbxQABRw4-0CrGXbpdnA7bKJSZBhM2Kh4EcCD28ssuF4nVKJBOHOJqEdjWQZrKAWBp8v6k/s400/imuk+run.jpg" /></a></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, you've swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and now you've just got a measly 26.2 miles to run, until you're at the end of the race 😊. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Firstly, you'll need a strategy that you're hoping to execute on the run. Even the best athletes will sometimes walk certain sections of the run during an Ironman. I was once told that it's inevitable that we'll have to walk at points of an Ironman run and one of the most important things to do is to make sure our brain to dictates to our body when we walk, not the other way round. By this I mean that for large parts of the run (possibly the majority of it), our body's will be in pain and will be screaming out to stop, but we have to push on and try to stick to a strategy whereby we dictate to our body when we stop and walk, not just when it's telling us to. This is where the long training runs that have been done as a run / walk are vital to your strategy. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> If you adopt a run / walk strategy on the run, it can help you massively. Some people run 10 mins, walk 3 mins etc, others run the downhill parts of the run and walk the uphill parts (Bolton is surprisingly undulating). Whatever you do, you need to have a plan A, B and C and sometimes D, E and F. It's rare that we set off on an Iron distance race with plan A and finish still carrying out plan A. There are countless variables and unknowns and for many people doing their first Ironman, the feeling of the progressive fatigue can be unnerving, concerning and sometimes overwhelming, so it's important that you can adapt to what's in front of you and keep a positive focus without too much anxiety. So to have different strategies, particularly for the run leg is very important to your overall plan. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A friend of mine told me in 2016 that they wanted to try and hold hr zone 2 for the marathon because that's what they'd been doing in training. However, whilst they were able to achieve this for the first few miles, they soon became aware that they couldn't get their heart rate up to anywhere near zone 2 as they started to suffer with fatigue, this is due to the parasympathetic nervous system being a lot more active during the chronic fatigue encountered towards the back end of an endurance race. In addition to that, I also told them, on numerous occasions, that they needed to stop thinking of it as a marathon. It isn't. It's a just a 26.2 miles run and you just get through it however you can. It was only after the race that they said to me "I can see exactly what you meant about it not being a marathon, now".</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you've trained properly and stuck to a progressive and structured training plan, this is what you need to put your trust in.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final bit of advice (which varies massively depending on the individuals opinion) is that if you're a first time Ironman athlete try walking down the finishing chute and soak up the atmosphere. There's nothing like it and the hundreds and sometimes thousands of spectators are all cheering you and you'll never, ever do your first Ironman again, so savour the moment. Unless you're within seconds of going under a big target that you set, walking the 30m of the finishing chute isn't going to make a significant difference to your finish time but will give you a buzz like no other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Naturally, all of the above is subjective and many coaches will have differing views and opinions, but I've tried to put together some helpful guidance based on what I've learned as a coach and experienced as an athlete as well as what I've learned from discussions with other coaches, all of whom are highly successful in both coaching and competing in endurance sports.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Remember though, pain is just weakness leaving the body<b> 😊</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><br /></span></span></div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-70504950126635668022017-05-08T07:31:00.002-07:002020-01-08T02:38:27.222-08:00It's all in the head<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Just how powerful is the brain?</u></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBB78zjiQiraHb7Cx1MkfT4tDT09M8IJ-rB1WxIaDtjMzhsVbCWOXU0Bdbl_ftFx6XiK3ccoZwIOrc2bsPEKnqdzFt3fFhOuUspr3YcbquvPcpuuc5jiWCgOOH47-6etRKnPvcw1pZBs/s1600/Brain-Training-Sports-Psychology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBB78zjiQiraHb7Cx1MkfT4tDT09M8IJ-rB1WxIaDtjMzhsVbCWOXU0Bdbl_ftFx6XiK3ccoZwIOrc2bsPEKnqdzFt3fFhOuUspr3YcbquvPcpuuc5jiWCgOOH47-6etRKnPvcw1pZBs/s320/Brain-Training-Sports-Psychology.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is quite a long one, so stick with it. It'll be worth it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you speak to any elite athlete, or indeed any experienced athlete or coach and ask them what usually quits first, the head or the body? The resounding response will almost always be "the body". This is because the mind is one of the most powerful tools available to an athlete. There are many sayings, such as "the body achieves what the mind believes" etc. Admittedly, some of these sayings are tongue in cheek, but the underlying message is still the same. That with proper training and with a strong mental attitude, almost anything is possible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a coach, something that I pay significant attention to, as well as the physical side of training, is training and focusing the mind. A few years ago I attended a seminar by a prominent Sports Psychologist and he went in to detail about how the brain is hard wired. For example, if you walk down the street with your head held high, looking above your own eyeline, it will improve your feeling of positivity. Similarly, it's actually not possible to feel down if you smile, it's just the way that our brains work. I'm not for one minute suggesting that we complete training sessions and flog ourselves during races grinning like a Cheshire cat. We'd soon all be locked up!! But it made me realise that if I can develop my mental toughness, I can achieve a lot of what I want to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First and foremost is the physical training. It goes without saying that in order to be able to perform at your physical best, you need to be in the best physical shape possible. However, if you marry a good foundation of physical fitness with a strong mental toughness, anything is possible, as the saying goes. An example of this is, I've heard of supremely fit soldiers who have attempted Special Forces selection and failed, simply because they've been "broken". I'm not saying that in order to get into the UKSF you just need to be mentally tough, but in order to get the very best out of your physical ability, you need to have a great mental toughness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When hearing the Worlds elite sportsmen and women interviewed, a lot of amateur athletes and members of the public think that they sound arrogant. Although, in my opinion it's not always arrogance, it's total self belief in what they do and what they're capable of. In order to succeed at the absolute pinnacle of a sport, you have to have 100% self belief. No professional athlete ever starts an event thinking "I hope things go well". They start thinking "I'm going to give this everything, I </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>know</u></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I'm capable of winning". At the level that most of us are competing at, many of us aren't going to challenge for the podium of a race, but that doesn't mean that we can't start a race with total self belief. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 2014, when I did Ironman UK, I had a shocking race given the training that I'd done and what I expected to happen on the day. For one reason and another, by the time I got to the run my legs were absolutely shot and I was struggling to move without cramping. However, no matter how bad I felt physically and however much pain I was in, there was never a single point on that run that I even contemplated not finishing, such was the mental strength that I'd developed. I'm certainly not alone in this mindset and I know quite a few people who regard themselves as incredibly mentally tough and this is a great attribute to have. The stronger the mind and willpower, the more success you will achieve. Although we do a lot of lower intensity sessions, the high intensity sessions should be just that. Intense to a point of hurting. Daniela Ryf, a pro triathlete, says that if it's not hurting, you're not pushing hard enough and having the mental toughness to push really hard is equally as important as having the mental toughness to carry on grinding out the miles on a really long session, whether it's running, on the bike or swimming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In order to develop mental toughness, it's something that we need to practice and focus on. So much focus is placed on the physical training, that the mental aspects are often neglected or completely forgotten about. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a coach, we're much, much more than just someone who can write and lead a training session. We also strive to be a confidante, a mentor and to motivate others and to inspire and act as a role </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">model, as well as having a vision of what we want our athletes to achieve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are four key areas which have an influence on performance, and for each there is an area of mental skills training which can enhance this area:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpXafcW8FeKYJPtn7pMYsQv0DxGBsAN1H8gMMSF7f7QAch8FoRqyPKxiFi6IkTE9C8jkt0fHatBfv0rvAM9hlCtE8RlEHcT8ozbGhG_fTK-pjUvSFtbh8hP35i5XHfh6riOtozQQ9GlA/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpXafcW8FeKYJPtn7pMYsQv0DxGBsAN1H8gMMSF7f7QAch8FoRqyPKxiFi6IkTE9C8jkt0fHatBfv0rvAM9hlCtE8RlEHcT8ozbGhG_fTK-pjUvSFtbh8hP35i5XHfh6riOtozQQ9GlA/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">Motivation</span></i></b>: in a nutshell, this is the reason that you give yourself for training. Be it self motivation in just wanting to improve, or whether there are external factors, ie fundraising etc. It's all something that motivates you. Set goals that are achievable and when each goal is reached, set another goal that's slightly harder. Be it knocking 20 secs off a pb, or completing a longer race. The trick is to continually push ourselves out of our comfort zone, but in a way that's not going to be overwhelming and seemingly impossible to achieve.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">Self Confidence</span></i></b>: You need to focus on what you're doing, not what's going on around you. Forget how fast Joe Bloggs is running during an intervals session, or that you're not in the advanced lane at swimming etc. You need to focus on what you can and have achieved yourself and what you're capable of. I often tell athletes to look at where they were 12 months ago and how far they've come. Then get them to focus on that feeling of positivity that they are actually improving and have made huge gains. Being self confident in your abilities will reduce anxiety in training and racing and will help you to remain positive. Keeping a training diary is a good way of doing this, as well as remembering all the positives that you've experienced from a particular race or training session</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">Focus & managing distractions</span></i></b>: Similarly to motivation, this is what drives you. Focus on your goals, no matter what they are. If you want to be able to complete a 5k race or if you're a seasoned triathlete and want to step up to Ironman, or even just get faster at what you do, focus on what you want to achieve and the process that you must go through in order to get there. A very experienced coach used to say to me "focus on the process, not the goal" ie, focus on what you're doing during training and the session objectives. If you follow these, the goal or end results will look after themselves. The two examples below are taken from the British Triathlon coaches hub and are really good references on different sorts of focus:</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b>Associative Focus</b>: Focus on the ‘feedback’ the body is giving, depth of breathing, discomfort in the legs for example. This can be trained to be a positive effect in that the athlete knows they are working hard and this will derive the right results.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b>Dissociative Focus</b>: Switch the focus away from themselves to the environment or music. This can be beneficial is the associative feedback is starting to cause negative thoughts, e.g. ‘this is hurting too much’.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Managing Distractions: There are many things that can be a distraction when training, preparing to race or in the race itself. Some of these are:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 10px;">
</div>
<ul style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">
<li>Pressure to perform</li>
<li>The possibility of failure</li>
<li>Things that have happened in the past</li>
<li>How you're going to feel in a race.</li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">
Instead of dwelling on the above, try to focus on more positive thoughts, ie:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;">You can only control the controllable. Meaning things like the weather, mechanical failure, injury during a race are all non controllable. Focus on what you can do to be in the best condition that you can be, both physically and mentally</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;">Focus on the process, not the goal. Don't look too far ahead, ie, if you're starting to train in January, for an Ironman in July, don't focus on the race. Just focus on what you're doing in each training block or individual training session and the rest will take care of itself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;">Have a plan A, B, C and even D. It's not often that a race goes exactly to plan, so it's important to have a back up plan and to be able to implement this without losing focus and getting too anxious when things go wrong.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Arousal Control</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;">: This is when any external factor can influence a training session, a race or simply anxiety levels. This can range from being totally calm and seeming to have not a care in the world (which us more nervous athletes long for), to being a quivering, nervous wreck at the other end of the spectrum and feeling sick at the thought of racing. These feelings are controlled by the emotional part of the brain, instead of the logical part of the brain. A great book on this is called "The Chimp Paradox", in which it talks about how we can learn to control our inner chim</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">p (the emotional part of the brain) and use the logical part of the brain to much better effect. For many triathletes, due to the length of the race, a more relaxed state is probably appropriate. Being able to remain calm in a chaotic swim start would be beneficial instead of getting over-exciting and swimming too fast, effectively destroying any race strategy.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When it comes to stress and anxiety it can be something that can be completely overwhelming for some people. Stress and anxiety is everywhere, whether you've had a tough day at work, the kids are playing up at home or you're worrying about a niggly injury that's preventing you from training. It all causes stress and anxiety. A while ago a coach said to me that I needed to accept that I can't train as much as I'd like to, not many people can and that what I needed to do was to try to be the best I could be with what time I'd got available. Up until that point I hated not being able to train which in turn caused stress in other areas, but once I accepted the advice I'd been given it became much easier to deal with, mentally. I still like to train and I always try to stick to the training plans as much as possible, but I can deal with not training much better these days. I often get messages from our club members apologising for not being able to make a particular session, I always tell them that it's absolutely fine and that juggling training with normal life is just that, a juggling act. As I said before, we can only control the controllables. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anxiety and nerves are also prevalent in and before races. As someone who, in the past, has suffered from really bad nerves before a race, despite the fact that I'd already been racing for a few years, something that I've tried to focus on is turning the negative nervous energy into positive energy. One of the ways that I do this is to try and turn the nerves into excitement. I also use distractions before a race to help keep the nerves at bay, I'll chat to people in transition when we're setting up, I'll talk to novices who seem nervous and try to get them to calm down, even though I'm helping myself as much as them. I try not to think about being calm and relaxed because this just makes me feel more nervous because it's a conscious thought process. Everyone deals with nerves differently, some say that they enjoy it as it really focuses their mind. For me, I find that it tends to suck all the energy out of me, so if I can control my nerves before a race, I can fuel properly and often tend to have a much better race. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I often tell our members that confidence breeds success and to only think positive thoughts, as much as practically possible. When I used to play golf I kept a diary in which I'd pick just 2 or 3 of the best shots that I'd hit during each round I played. I'd write them down and how I played the shot, what it felt like making a solid contact with the ball and seeing its trajectory through the air and where it finished. By writing this regularly and by occasionally reading it, it really reinforces confidence and a positive mentality. I nearly always put feedback on my sessions in Training Peaks when I've completed a session and I've found that by trying to remain as confident as I possibly can about what I've achieved, it reinforces what I already believe I'm capable of. Like I said earlier, I'm never going to challenge for a podium, but when I look back at what I was like when I first started racing in 2008, and what I've achieved since then, I honestly believe that I owe a large part of this to my mental strength, as well as following a good training plan and by being given some good advice along the way. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>When given lemons, make lemonade</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-z62RrAbQtWOEG9AzRgvz1N9NBBx4mEG-IrVHJN7o__Ud1w970z6YdBVAiZrhISIYB4yZC74JFoBwsxrjYj4PxV_ISAQtpatE-UDK2fSuNT-iBRSeToFFsqG5uTYzGPz7mjpndLLXOZM/s1600/goss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-z62RrAbQtWOEG9AzRgvz1N9NBBx4mEG-IrVHJN7o__Ud1w970z6YdBVAiZrhISIYB4yZC74JFoBwsxrjYj4PxV_ISAQtpatE-UDK2fSuNT-iBRSeToFFsqG5uTYzGPz7mjpndLLXOZM/s320/goss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lucy Gossage, a pro female triathlete, epitomises what mental strength is all about. a few weeks before the Kona Ironman World Championships in 2016, she crashed on her bike and broke her collar bone. For a lot of people this would have been the end of their season. However, Lucy did as much training as she possibly could, without aggravating her injury and ended up making it to the start line in Kona. Not only that, but she had her best ever finish to a Kona race, such was her mental toughness. In a great tweet, she posted that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>To summarise</b>, train hard and keep following a structured and progressive training plan. Getting to where you want to be will hurt, there's no two ways about it. As Greg LeMond used to say "it never gets easier, you just get faster". However, try to train your brain to be strong and remember, never ever give up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sutty</span>Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-81011752713406043052017-04-21T04:02:00.001-07:002017-04-21T04:10:22.354-07:00It's all about the power<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f39gk" data-offset-key="47goo-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="47goo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f39gk" data-offset-key="47goo-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="47goo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="47goo-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For nearly all of us, as triathletes, we're constantly trying to improve how fast we are on the bike leg (as well as the other 2 disciplines, obviously). The only way we can make significant improvements to how fast we can go is to increase our power output and how long we can hold that for. This is called your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and is the theoretical power that you can hold for 1 hour.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only accurate way to measure how much power (Watts) we're producing is to use a power meter. However, not all of us can afford the cost of adding a power meter to our bikes. One solution is to use a "smart" turbo trainer, which will give a power readout. However, because this power is measured at the rear wheel, where it's in contact with the roller, this measurement will be different to a calibrated power meter on the cranks or pedals. A smart turbo is still a very good way of measuring your power during a training session, especially when used in conjunction with one of the many training platforms that are available now. eg. Zwift, TrainerRoad, Tacx, Bkool etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f39gk" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="background-color: white;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In order to establish our FTP we need to perform a relevant FTP test, which usually takes around an hour or so and often consists of a gradual warm up, followed by some harder sets and higher cadence pedalling before commencing the 20 minute test that will determine our FTP. There are a lot of online platforms that will allow us to do an FTP test with a smart turbo. Zwift, Sufferfest, TrainerRoad etc all have FTP tests on them. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although having a power meter and being able to train and race to specific power ranges is widely considered to be, by far, the most effective training and indeed racing method on the bike, it isn't the be all and end all. We can also use the FTP test to establish specific heart rate zones, in a similar way to the ones that we establish for running. Again, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, training and racing to hr zones isn't infallible but will still give a good indicator of perceived effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If, by sticking to consistent training methods and pushing yourself during structured and progressive session plans you will definitely notice an increase in your FTP and how long you can ride for at an increased exertion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm currently working on a training plan for one of our clients who is hoping to boost their own power output on the bike, but the link below will take you to a blog that offers some great, but very simple, tips on how to increase our power on the bike. </span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bjv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<a href="https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/5-simple-ways-to-increase-bike-power/">5 simple ways to increase power on the bike</a></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f39gk" data-offset-key="6frbe-0-0" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6frbe-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="6frbe-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6frbe-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-16553880509988094462017-03-30T07:35:00.003-07:002019-06-06T17:08:29.717-07:00To train to heart rate or not?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a debate that's regularly being discussed in various circles. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I read an article which stated that athletes (in that coaches opinion) should avoid training using heart rate, and he gave some valid points against using heart rate to train with. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, whilst I totally agree that using heart rate to train with isn't totally infallible and any number of things can skew the "true" figure of the heart rate, in terms of BPM, for example, if you're ill, fatigued, stressed etc they're all ailments that can (and probably will) affect your heart rate and will often be noticeable through a change in your usual heart rate. However, in my opinion, through regular testing, using the same test parameters and the same environment that the test is undertaken in, I think that fairly accurate heart rate zones can be achieved, especially for running. Training to heart rate can be applied to lots of sports, with varying degrees of accuracy etc. But for the purposes of this post, I'm going to focus on running. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the club that I coach at our members carry out varying and specific tests at the end of each 6 week block of training, so that we can tweak HR Zones (specifically for running) and so that we can, over time, gain an accurate interpretation of each members heart rate values. Which we will then use to establish their specific training zones.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Obviously, not all athletes have the latest Garmin etc but for those that have, it can be all too easy to run along the canal, on a long run, with your eyes constantly looking at your watch every 4 steps, making sure that you don't stray from your predetermined training zone. But, I've found that by basing the effort that I want to run a particular set of intervals at, on the zones that I have established for my own training, I can achieve consistent efforts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This changes slightly when doing longer runs because we'll all probably experience something called cardiac drift. Cardiac Drift "<i>refers to the natural increase in heart rate that occurs when running with little or no change in pace. Many runners mistakenly assume that if they keep their runs at a consistent pace, their heart rate will remain relatively constant as well</i>" when, in fact, your pace will remain constant, but your heart rate will "drift" upwards. It's a totally natural occurrence, but one that athletes running and training for longer distances need to be aware of. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I often say to our members that they should try to learn how it "feels" to run at a particular heart rate / zone. They can then use this to gauge how hard they're pushing during a session, without the total reliance on using a hrm. However, where I think using heart rate really helps is if we're doing a, eg. 10 x 800m intervals session at threshold, as we progress through the session and fatigue really kicks in, the mind can play tricks and whilst you think you're running at threshold and still pushing as hard, when we check the data after it's uploaded some people find that they've often dropped off quite a bit. Not just in terms of pace, which is totally understandable, but in terms of effort as well. By keeping one eye on heart rate during the session, you can ensure that you're running at the desired effort for each interval and are, therefore, able to focus on pushing the body in order to improve performances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few years ago when a coach first introduced me to training with heart rate, I honestly felt like it transformed my run training. All of a sudden I could actually see a scale of what sort of efforts were required for any particular session and whilst other methods were also used, I've found training with heart rate to be incredibly beneficial.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I mentioned earlier though, training to heart rate is far from infallible, so I try to use varying methods to gauge my own training, these are (predominantly) heart rate as well as using the borg scale, or RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) methods. I'm also playing about with the Jack Daniels VDOT formula as well. That said I think that by carrying out regular testing and combining it with other methods, that training to heart rate has some fantastic benefits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being triathletes and having (for the majority) the desire to have all the latest bits of tech, together with the advances being made in heart rate watches, I think that training to heart rate is something that's going to become more and more prevalent in training sessions, particularly for athletes that are newer to the sport and as long as it's done properly, with regular testing and with a knowledge of how to gauge efforts when not using heart rate, I think it's a fantastic method of training. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In summary, I think there's absolutely a place for training with heart rate, but it isn't the be all and end all of how to train and it's often a case of an athlete finding what suits them best.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><br /></span></span>Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824657732790082250.post-81846445440635557702017-03-23T08:33:00.005-07:002020-01-08T02:38:44.347-08:00Periodisation<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Periodisation, what is it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might have heard coaches talk about periodisation, but what is is it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Periodisation: "is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. It involves a progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No athlete who wants to be at their peak for a particular race can train continuously and to the typically high intensities that we see during the peak or race phase, all year round without picking up injuries, at the very least. Or, in the worst case scenario, developing overtraining syndrome (something I'll cover at a later date).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Therefore it's essential that we break down our training into "cycles" or timescales that we can use to develop our fitness and gradually increase the amount of intensity and volume that we put into each session. These phases are called the Macro, Micro and Meso cycles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a nutshell, the Macro cycle can be viewed as your long term goal, ie. if you say that you want to complete a particular distance race in two years, your build up to that point could be deemed to be the Macro phase and will consist of varied, structured and progressive training and recovery until that point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Meso cycle is a much shorter period of time, usually up to a couple of months in length and may form the build phase of the training plan and could consist of two or three training "blocks". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Micro cycle is shorter still and can be anything from a few days, up to a couple of weeks and I would say that, at the most, this would form a single block of training, but can be even less than that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the club where I'm currently coaching we use these different phases in the plans that we deliver to our members. Most of our members will have a specific "A race" that they're working towards. eg. For the members that are doing Ironman UK in July, their Macro phase will be from the time that they signed up, to the day of the race or from the time that they make the decision that they want to complete an iron distance race within a certain time frame. The Meso cycles will be each of the 6 week blocks of training that we currently do, followed by a seventh week of testing and recovery to see their progression and to allow their bodies to recover from the stresses that it's been exposed to during the training block. Their Micro phase will be the weekly sessions that gradually progress as we move towards their goal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you've signed up to a particular race, or you've got ambitions to get to a level of fitness on or before a certain date, it's important that you think about periodisation and break down your training into manageable chunks. If you went out and looked at what training for an Ironman entails or if you're a novice and want to get to a standard that you can compete in your first race at, it can often be very overwhelming. But if you break it down into bitesize pieces, it's much less daunting and is easier to manage your training plans, as well as much more manageable physically and will help prevent overtraining, reduce the risk of injury and should help you get the best possible results.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another, probably more common, way that you might have heard of these phases referred to is the base, build, race and recovery phases. Normally I will typically plan these phases over the course of a 12 month plan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAQ0LHOz04J9TlWZPdf2z4p4S0gStlwc5x3WAVq8PwdRQy0cGchAI00IJ3j6NVFmCoHpdLjHo0bd79PJTXf8Izg2eKFv59JnGBd7yl_CHZBe0HLQHNb_knkwON9JlZcc3fo5OVRV3ol8/s1600/base.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="691" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAQ0LHOz04J9TlWZPdf2z4p4S0gStlwc5x3WAVq8PwdRQy0cGchAI00IJ3j6NVFmCoHpdLjHo0bd79PJTXf8Izg2eKFv59JnGBd7yl_CHZBe0HLQHNb_knkwON9JlZcc3fo5OVRV3ol8/s640/base.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, in the most basic of terms, we prepare, then we build, then peak for a particular race / series of races, then recover properly, before building again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If we look at a typical macro cycle over the course of a 12 month period, it would probably look something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9NqPtvhmLfpcb1K3uVGZv_RmuR-5ey454J-gqqWdxCRPzH45jkDrs680m9vJb05hSxcfT4YiG5zeEE2dLj_vJxT0GXv4OE3r4EDB5pwccPYOnOBNZC4B5_3ZkjabFs8PfMs7bO75trE/s1600/macro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="563" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9NqPtvhmLfpcb1K3uVGZv_RmuR-5ey454J-gqqWdxCRPzH45jkDrs680m9vJb05hSxcfT4YiG5zeEE2dLj_vJxT0GXv4OE3r4EDB5pwccPYOnOBNZC4B5_3ZkjabFs8PfMs7bO75trE/s640/macro.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the graph above you can see how there is a gradual build throughout the year, until we get past the race / peak phase and then we taper off again and recover. Obviously, if you're going to be doing an endurance event in March, for example if you were thinking of racing abroad, then you'd adapt the plan so that your peak / race phase of training coincides with the race.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As with all training plans, consistency is key and if you don't train consistently you're not going to get all the benefits of a structured and progressive plan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;">If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CertaCitoTriCoaching/" target="_blank">Certa Cito Tri Coaching</a></span>Paul Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12742202765075208932noreply@blogger.com0